asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education how many local authorities have taken powers under Clause 4 of the Physical Training and Recreation Act, 1937, to acquire, lay out, and equip holiday camps or camping sites, within or without their area, either with or without charge?

No proposals have so far been submitted by local authorities for the provision and lay-out of camps and camping sites under the powers conferred upon them by Section 4 of the Physical Training and Recreation Act, 1937, but two proposals have been submitted by voluntary organisations and a grant has been made in each case.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether the grants committee of the National Advisory Council for Physical Fitness has paid any grants to organisations concerned with physical fitness; and, if so, what were the methods by which these organisations were selected?

My Noble Friend assumes that the question relates to grants made to national voluntary organisations under the provisions of Section 3 (1) (c) of the Physical Training and Recreation Act, 1937. Such grants have been made to 17 national voluntary organisations (including the Central Council of Recreative Physical Training and the National Playing Fields Association). These grants were made after consideration on their merits of the applications of the voluntary organisations concerned.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education what steps are being taken for the training of leaders for the various branches of physical activity that may come under the scope of the National Advisory Council for Physical Training and Recreation?

Pending the establishment of the National College of Physical Training, grants have been made to the Central Council of Recreative Physical Training, in accordance with the arrangements outlined in paragraph 21 of the White Paper (Cmd. 5364), to enable them to provide, and to assist in providing, training courses for teachers and leaders. By this means a considerable number of courses, both for men and women, of varying types and duration have been held in different parts of the country, including summer vacation courses and training camps. The continuance and further development of these courses is contemplated in the coming financial year.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he can make any statement on the result of the new negotiations with the representatives of Eire?

The discussions have been adjourned and will be resumed later this week. In the meantime I am not in a position to make any statement.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury the value of Japanese goods purchased by each of the following Departments in each of the last three years: Board of Trade, Office of Works, Admiralty, Air Ministry, War Office, Foreign Office, Home Office, Colonial Office, and Board of Education; and whether he will take steps to avoid the purchase of such goods during the present crisis in the Far East?

The approximate value of Japanese goods, purchased in the last three years by or on behalf of the Government Departments referred to, is as follows:

—	1935.	1936.	1937.
Admiralty	£1,000	nil	nil
War Office	nil	nil	£3,000
Air Ministry	£12,700	£8,200	£2,000
Office of Works	£250	£250	£250
Other Departments	nil	nil	nil

In regard to the second part of the question, it is already the policy of His Majesty's Government not to buy goods from foreign countries if comparable supplies are available within the Empire, and a price preference is given to Empire products for this purpose.

asked the Minister of Labour the number of permits issued by his Department to German citizens for the purpose of taking up employment with Messrs. Siemens-Schucket (Great Britain) Limited; and whether he is satisfied that in the case of such employés their work cannot be done by British subjects?

pursuant to his reply (OFFICIAL REPORT, 10th February, 1938; col. 1235, Vol. 331), supplied the following statement:According to the records of my Department, apart from certain German nationals whose stay in this country is not subject to restrictions, two German student-employés and eight other German nationals are employed under permission by the company. Except in the case of the student-employés, permission is given on the ground that British subjects with the requisite qualifications are not available for the particular employment.

asked the Minister of Health whether his attention has been drawn to cases in which unmarried women have paid contributions for old age pension for a number of years, and have been notified that their contributions ceased in December, 1937; that, under the 1938 Old Age Pensions Act, persons participating in a pensions scheme of their employers are not eligible; and whether, in these circumstances, contributions paid by such persons prior to December, 1937, can be refunded?

My right hon. and gallant Friend is under a misapprehension. The Contributory Pensions (Voluntary Contributors) Act, 1937, terminated the insurance of certain women on 2nd January, 1938, but the women affected were insured not for old age pensions but only for orphans' pensions. It was understood that this change accorded with the wishes of the persons concerned. The termination of the liability to pay contributions gives no ground for claiming a refund of the contributions which were properly paid before the change was made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will give the names of any commons in respect of which application was made to his Department during 1937, or was outstanding on 31st December, 1936, under Section 194 of the Law of Property Act, 1925, to make an enclosure, specifying m each case whether a public inquiry has been held; the area of land sought to be enclosed; the purpose for which it was proposed to enclose the land; the area, if any, thrown into the common in lieu of the land enclosed; the result of the application; and the reason, in any case where consent has been given without an area being thrown into the common at least equal to the land enclosed, for not requiring that course to be followed?

The particulars which the hon. Member requires as to applications under Section 194 of the Law of Property Act, 1925, are as follow:

Name of Common.	County.	Whether Public Inquiry was held.	Area of laud affected.	Purpose of Inclosure.	Area of land thrown into the common in lieu of that affected.	Result of Application.	Reason for not requiring an equivalent area to be added to the common.
Applications in 1937.
The Green (Beaconsfield)	Bucks	No	76 sq. yds.	Erection of War Memorial.	None	Consent given	No material interference with public access.
Coleshill	Bucks	—	2 acres	Provision of playing fields.	—	Under consideration.	—
Manorial Waste Land (Llanddewi Aberarth, Upper).	Cardigan	—	35 perches	Extension of Churchyard.	—	Under consideration.	—
Chesil Beach (Portland)	Dorset	No	600 sq. ft.	Storage hut for war material.	None	Consent given	No material interference with public interests.
Bradnor Hill (Kington)	Hereford	No	2 roods	Site for Golf Club House and Car Park.	2 roods	Consent given	—
Village Green (Datchworth)	Herts.	No	3 roods 30 perches.	Provision of areas for games.	None	Consent given	No material interference with public access.
Woolbeding	Sussex	No	2 roods	Site for Village Hall	None	Consent given	No material interference with public interests having regard to the total area of the common (443 acres).
Results of applications which were under consideration on 31st December, 1936.
Schoolgreen (Fresh water)	Isle of Wight	No	2 perches	Erection of Fire Station.	None	Consent given	No material interference with public access.
Runuymede (Egham)	Surrey	—	9 sq. yds.	Erection of Refreshment Hut.	—	Under consideration.	—

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will give, by counties, a list showing the acreage of common lands and manorial wastes in rural parishes outside the Metropolitan area over which the owner of the soil of the common or waste has by deed given the public rights of air and exercise since the passing of the Law of Property Act, 1925, distinguishing between the acreage dealt with before 1937 and during that year, and a list of those counties in which no action has been taken?

The particulars are as follow:

Name of County and Acreage of commons or manorial wastes in respect of which public rights have been conferred by deed under the Law of Property Act, 1925.
—	Before 1937.	During 1937.
	Acres.	Acres.
Berkshire	1,117	170
Buckingham	213¾	—
Cambridge (Isle of Ely)	48.	—
Cornwall	8½	—
Cumberland	7,245	—
Derby	41½	—
Devon	9,151	—
Essex	50	209
Gloucester	1,018½	—
Hampshire	2,050	—
Hereford (and Worcester)	362	—
Hertford	791	—
Kent	388½	—
Lancaster	2,110	—
Oxford	24	—
Salop	356	—
Somerset	98	—
Surrey	10,643	—
Sussex	330	—
Warwick	178	—
Yorks (N.R.)	6½	—
Yorks (W.R.)	31	—
Caernarvon	4,679	—
Cardigan	26,791	—
Carmarthen	10,668½	—
Denbigh	7,953	—
Flint	57	—
Glamorgan	206	—
Merioneth	13,875	—
Monmouth	63	—
Radnor	10,987	—
Total	111,540¾	379
Grand Total		111,919¾
No deeds have been deposited in respect of lands in the following counties: Bedford, Cheshire, Dorset, Durham, Huntingdon, Isles of Scilly, Isle of Wight, Leicester, Lincoln, Norfolk, Northampton, Northumberland, Nottingham, Rutland, Soke of Peterborough, Stafford, Suffolk, Westmorland, Wiltshire, Yorks (E.R.), Anglesey, Brecon, Montgomery, Pembroke.

asked the Minister of Health whether his Department has obtained a decision on the question whether a woman now in receipt of a widows' pension and having reached the age of 65 years forfeits her right to a contributory old age pension should she marry a man junior in age?

The position in this matter is not in doubt. A widow who is in receipt of a widows' pension ceases on remarriage to have any title to pension in right of the insurance of her former husband. She has no title to pension on the insurance of her second husband until his death or until he attains the age of 65, whichever first happens. If however she was over 65 at the date of her remarriage and, having been insured, was qualified for an old age pension on her own insurance, that pension would become payable on her remarriage.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he has considered the representations addressed to him from the British people in South-West Africa expressing apprehension about their destiny and the possibility of their passing out of British control; and can he make a reassuring statement on the subject?

No such representations have been received by me. The matter is one for His Majesty's Government in the Union of South Africa who exercise the mandate in respect of the territory.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs why no action has yet been taken on the decision approved by the Imperial Conference, to build two fast high-class liners to combat subsidised American shipping competition in the Pacific; and whether they are likely to be laid down in the near future?

As stated in the Summary of Proceedings of the Imperial Conference, 1937 (Cmd. 5482), this question was referred to a sub-committee representing the Governments of the United Kingdom, Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia and New Zealand. The sub-committee reported that its discussions had reached finality. Further consultation between the Governments concerned accordingly took place, but as to this I am not yet in a position to add to what was said by my right hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade in reply to the hon. Member for Pudsey and Otley (Sir C. G. Gibson) on 23rd November.

Country from and to which consigned.		Date on which each Agreement came into force.		Imports into the United Kingdom.	Total exports from the United Kingdom.	Excess of Exports of merchandise (+) or Imports of merchandise (−).
				£'000.	£'000.	£'000.
Germany	…	8th May, 1933	…	36,188	28,925	(-)	7,263
Denmark		20th June, 1933		36,552	17,550	(-)	19,002
		20th June, 1936
Iceland	…	28th June, 1933	…	322	561	(+)	239
Sweden	…	7th July, 1933	…	26,232	13,975	(-)	12,257
Norway	…	7th July, 1933	…	11,577	9,312	(-)	2,265
Finland	…	23rd November, 1933	…	22,452	6,362	(-)	16,090
Soviet Union	…	21st March, 1934	…	29,097	19,516	(-)	9,581
France	…	1st July, 1934	…	25,666	30,051	(+)	4,385
Netherlands	…	1st August, 1934	…	32,016	17,089	(-)	14,927
Lithuania	…	12th August, 1934	…	3,272	1,963	(-)	1,309
Estonia	…	8th September, 1934	…	2,261	1,580	(-)	681
Latvia	…	12th October, 1934	…	5,355	1,845	(-)	3,510
Poland	…	14th March, 1935	…	10,858	7,623	(-)	3,235
Uruguay	…	3rd February, 1936	…	3,999	2,350	(-)	1,649
Turkey	…	17th September, 1936	…	1,635	1,572	(-)	63
Peru	…	9th October, 1936 (a)	…	5,160	1,201	(-)	3,959
Italy	…	16th November, 1936	…	7,822	5,576	(-)	2,246
Argentina	…	20th November, 1936	…	59,927	20,400	(-)	39,527
Yugoslavia	…	1st January, 1937	…	2,530	1,083	(-)	1,447
Cuba	…	(b)	…	4,576	1,428	(-)	3,148
(a) Date of provisional entry into force of tariff provisions.
(b) Agreement not yet brought into force.

NOTE.—The above figures are provisional.