asked the Secretary of State for War whether it is customary to consult the planning committee of counties in which the Department selects land for any military purposes; and whether he will consult the county council of Pembrokeshire before deciding to acquire large areas affecting the agricultural interests and the amenities of that county?

In connection with any proposal to purchase any considerable area of land for military purposes, it is now the practice of the War Office to consult, among other authorities, the Town Planning Division of the Ministry of Health.With regard to the second part of the question, a proposal for acquiring an area in Pembrokeshire is under consideration. No decision has yet been reached, and the matter is being dealt with on the lines indicated by my right hon. Friend the Minister for Co-ordination of Defence in an answer to a question on 1st February last by the hon. and gallant Member for Chatham (Captain Plugge).

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will state the number of Liverpool men who presented themselves for enlistment into the Regular Army during the year 1937, and the number who were rejected by reason of their poor physique during the same period?

The number of applicants to enlist, in the city of Liverpool, during 1937 was 2,024. Of this number 624 were rejected because they did not fulfil the medical or physical standards required by the Army. This does not necessarily mean that they were of poor physique. Recruiting statistics are kept according to the areas in which men enlist, and not according to areas in which their homes are situated.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what were the total numbers of horses in France, Germany, and Great Britain in 1927, and for the latest year for which figures are available; and what publications are issued by his Department to encourage horse-breeding and the most up-to-date methods of horse transport on British farms?

Excluding army horses, there were in 1927 and 1936, the latest year for which information is available, 2,927,230 and 2,774,000 horses respectively in France, and 3,810,072 and 3,407,100 respectively in Germany. On the basis of the Census taken in 1924 and 1934 and the annual returns of horses on agricultural holdings, the number of horses, exclusive of army horses, in Great Britain is estimated to have been approximately 1,700,000 in 1927 and 1,150,000 in 1936. Regulations and notes for the Guidance of Heavy Horse Societies assisted under the Improvement of Live Stock Scheme and Handbook of British Breeds of Live Stock, a new edition of which is in preparation, are issued by my Department.

asked the Postmaster-General what overtime was worked in 1937, by hours, in the London telephone service by the following sections, respectively: higher, clerical, executive and clerical officers, and writing and typewriting assistants, distinguishing each main branch?

During 1937 the amount of overtime performed by the clerical and typing staffs in the London Telephone Service was as shown below:—

By Grades.
	Hours.
Typist	9,700
Clerical Assistant	50,500
Clerical Officer	66,200
Higher Clerical Officer	600
	127,000

By Branches.
	Hours.
Sales	10,400
Accounts	102,500
Traffic and Staff	4,400
Typing	9,700
	127,000

This amount of overtime represents about 15 minutes a day per officer and every effort is being made to reduce the overtime to a minimum. The staff was increased by 138 (from 1,585 to 1,723) during the year.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he can form an estimate of the total cost to the Exchequer of a provision to give to the surviving spouse of married persons who were both receiving the old-age pension a pension equal to the sum previously received by both?

There are no accurate data as to the marital status of old age pensioners, and such estimate as could be made of the cost of the suggestion in the Question would be incomplete and would involve considerable labour. In these circumstances I fear that I should not feel justified in incurring the expense involved in making the estimate.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the amount of money taken from the reserves of cotton companies of Lancashire and distributed to individuals who were re- puted to have purchased the mills between the years 1918 to 1923?

The information asked for by the hon. Member is not available.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he will state the value of Japanese goods purchased by his Department in each of the last three years; and whether he will take steps to avoid the purchase of such goods during the present crisis in the Far East?

The India Office is not a purchasing Department and during the period in question its purchases were confined to a limited number of articles of office equipment. There is no reason to suppose that any of these articles were of Japanese origin. Since 1st April, 1937, the India Office has ceased to make any direct purchases of office supplies and now obtains all its requirements from the Office of Works and the Stationery Office. The second part of the question does not, therefore, arise.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will state the number of Liverpool men who presented themselves for enlistment into the Royal Navy during the year 1937, and the number who were rejected by reason of their "poor physique during the same period?

The number of candidates who applied for entry in the Royal Navy at the Liverpool Headquarters Recruiting Office during 1937 is 2,439, and the number rejected over the same period, for the reason that they were below the physical and medical standard required, is 1,137.

asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been drawn to the recent case at Croydon where an unqualified person was fined for selling certain tablets containing poison, and it was shown that he had acted in ignorance of the contents due to the fact that the tablets had been supplied by a wholesaler without any warning; and whether he will consider the desirability of making regulations placing upon wholesalers the responsibility of refraining from selling preparations containing poison to persons other than qualified chemists?

My attention has been called to reports in the Press of two recent cases at Croydon in which keepers of drug stores were convicted for selling a poison contained in Part I of the Poisons List, though the reports which I have seen do not altogether bear out my hon. Friend's description of the circumstances. As regards the second part of the question, I would point out that the Act itself provides for the sale of certain poisons by persons other than chemists; and I do not think that it would be practicable to place upon wholesalers the responsibility for ensuring that the retailers to whom they supply poisons are, in fact, entitled to resell them. Wholesalers are required to label the containers of poisons with the name of the poison and certain other particulars, and so far as the present cases are concerned, I understand that this requirement was complied with.

asked the Home Secretary the total number of garages and workshops which had been provided for the Metropolitan police up to and including 31st March, 1931, together with the expenditure thereon; and the total number of garages and workshops which have been provided subsequently to 31st March, 1931, together with the expenditure thereon?

Garages for police cars are provided as part of the premises of all Divisional and Sub-Divisional Stations and of some Sectional Stations. Separate figures of expenditure in respect of these garages are not available. In 1931 and 1932 a small garage at which minor repairs could be carried out was provided for each of the four Districts at an average cost of approximately £1,850. In 1935 a scheme was approved for the establishment in each District of two large garages with workshops at which all but major repairs and overhauls can be carried out. Six of these buildings have so far been provided on sites already in police ownership at an average cost of £15,500. In addition there is at Lambeth a large garage and workshop for the cars attached to Scotland Yard etc., which cost about £49,000 including site, and a General Repairs Shop at Barnes which cost about £27,500 including site. These were provided prior to 1931 and some £9,500 has since been spent on improvements to them.

asked the Minister of Labour, how many persons, at the most recent date for which the figures are available, had been registered as unemployed for a period of 12 months or over?

At 17th January, 1938, the number of applicants for benefit or allowances who had been continuously on the registers of Employment Exchanges in Great Britain for twelve months or more was 277,616. A proportion of these persons will have had one or more short spells of employment lasting not more than three days each during that period. Corresponding figures are not available for persons who were not applying for benefit or allowances.

asked the Minister of Labour how many county councils and borough councils are in membership with the Joint Industrial Council and how many are not?

The particular Joint Industrial Council which my hon. Friend has in mind is not indicated in the question, but on the assumption that he is referring to the Joint Industrial Council for Lancashire and Cheshire Local Authorities Non-Trading Services (Manual Workers), my information is that there are two County Councils, 28 County Borough Councils and 30 Municipal Borough Councils affiliated to this Joint Industrial Council. I understand that there are three Municipal Borough Councils which are not affiliated.