asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can provide statistics showing how the value of cotton exports from this country to those countries with whom trade agreements have been reached has been affected in each case; and whether, for this purpose, he will state what was the value of such exports to each of the countries concerned during the year preceding the agreement and during 1937, respectively?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave him on 19th July last.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what proportion of British re-exports to Russia during the first 10 months of this year were carried in British vessels; and whether he proposes to take any steps to provide for the increase of this percentage in the near future?

With regard to the first part of the question, I regret that the in-information desired is not available in respect of broken periods of a calendar year. In 1937, 2 per cent. (by value) of re-exports from this country to the Soviet Union were carried in British vessels, as compared with 25 per cent. in 1936. As regards the second part of the question, I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply which I gave on 15th November to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Wycombe.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can state the amount and value of imports and exports between Germany and Turkey and the United Kingdom and Turkey, respectively, in 1933 and 1937?

The value of imports into and exports from Turkey, in trade with the United Kingdom and Germany, respectively, during each of the years 1933 and 1937 is as follows:

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he has any information and can give particulars of the number of ships ordered by British firms at present being constructed in German shipyards?

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I have given to-day to my hon. Friend the Member for Croydon, South (Mr. H. G. Williams).

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will state the number of new factories started in Lancashire for the years 1935, 1936, and 1937, stating the number in each borough, city, and county area, respectively, and the number of persons employed?

The precise information desired is not readily available, but I am sending the hon. Member copies of the last three annual Surveys of Industrial Development, which contain details of the new factories established in certain parts of Lancashire in each of the past three years.

asked the President of the Board of Trade whether the provisions of the Sea Fish Industry Act with respect to the remuneration of fishermen are now in operation in the various ports?

Yes, Sir, with some minor exceptions in respect of which action will be completed very shortly.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in the further statement which he proposes to make upon the subject of war risks to property, he will also include the intentions of the Government in regard to compensation to workmen engaged in duties and in places which will make them specially liable to war risks?

I hope shortly to be in a position to make a statement covering both the matters to which my hon. Friend refers.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that persons in search of work who have suffered from industrial disease have to disclose this when they sign on for employment, with the result that they are often refused work; and will he consider amending the Workmen's Compensation Act so as to remove the question of disclosing what the person has suffered from?

My right hon. Friend is aware that this has occurred in many instances in the case of men who have suffered from miners' nystagmus. The Stewart Committee have made recommendations for amending the Workmen's Compensation Act with a view to removing any difficulties in the way of the reemployment of these men and proposals for giving effect to these recommendations will, I understand, come up for discussion on a Private Member's Bill next Friday.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will consider amending paragraph (iii) of Sub-section (2) of Clause 8 of the Workmen's Compensation Act, which deducts weekly payments of compensation to the extent of £100 should the person die from his accident?

The hon. Member does not say what amendment he desires, but the matter does not appear to my right hon. Friend to be one on which amending legislation could properly be considered in advance of the report of the Royal Commission.

asked the Home Secretary by what procedure persons landing in Great Britain from the Dominion of Eire who have been naturalised in Eire under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act, 1935, and have not become British subjects, are differentiated from other citizens of the Dominion of Eire landing in Great Britain who are British subjects?

No restrictions are placed on such persons landing in the United Kingdom from Eire, and they are not subjected to any differential treatment.

asked the Home Secretary whether he is aware that an application for a permit to live in this country was made for Miss Elfriede Kant, an Austrian of Jewish birth but Christian religion, on 26th August last, and has not yet been dealt with; and whether he will take steps to expedite the granting of this permit?

A communication with regard to the case of Miss Elfriede Kant has already been sent to the hon. Member with regard to the grant of a visa for the United Kingdom; and instructions about the case have been sent to the Passport Control Officer in Vienna.

asked the Home Secretary what are the precise requirements demanded by his Department in the case of a refugee entering this country; what is required from private individuals desiring to help refugees from Germany and Austria to come into this country; what is required in the case of such a refugee who intends to emigrate to another country; what facilities for training are available for those intending to emigrate; how many refugees have been admitted for permanent residence into this country since 1933 from Germany and Austria; and how many for eventual emigration to another country or to one of the Dominions?

If the refugee is a child or young person coming here for education, facilities are freely granted in any case where arrangements can be made to provide a home and maintenance. As regards older people, the guiding consideration is what arrangements can be made to enable them either to settle here or to go later to another country. As regards refugees who remain here, it is necessary that proper arrangements shall be made for their maintenance, and if they are to take employment that this shall not involve displacement of our own people.As regards those who are intending to go to another country, information is required as to what arrangements can be made to effect this object, and what arrangements can be made for their maintenance while here. Training schemes for those intending to emigrate have been organised by various voluntary bodies and these schemes are being extended.It is very desirable that private individuals who wish to help refugees should do so through the appropriate refugee organisation, and a list of those organisations was printed in the OFFICIAL REPORT for 2nd December.

asked the Home Secretary whether he will state the number of children under 16 years of age who have been allowed to enter this country from Germany and Austria since 1933; whether the number has increased in the last 12 months; what facilities for education are allowed or provided for these children; and whether any help has been given in any way by his Department to provide maintenance or educational assistance for such children?

Children and young people are freely admitted to this country for educational purposes if arrangements have been made for their maintenance and education while here, but no grants for this purpose are made from public funds. Some of the German and Austrian children were admitted with their parents; others are being maintained here by parents living abroad; for others arrangements are being made by the voluntary societies or by private persons who are willing to receive children in their homes. There are no separate statistics showing how many Germans and Austrians were under the age of 16 at the time of their admission to this country.

asked the Home Secretary what are the requirements in the case of religious or social bodies who are helping refugees to enter this country; whether they are allowed any special facilities in relation to this urgent work; and whether he is doing all that can reasonably be done to help these voluntary bodies in coping with the heavy burden of labour and expense involved in this work?

I fully recognise the value of the work which is being done by the voluntary organisations which are raising funds and devoting time and labour to helping refugees and I am anxious to give the fullest facilities to the voluntary organisations engaged in the work. For this purpose my Department is working in the closest collaboration with the Co-ordinating Committee for Refugees and with the several religious and social bodies represented on that committee.

asked the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will make a statement respecting the declaration of the Australian Government that they are willing to accept 15,000 Jewish refugees from Germany; whether this means 15,000 families or individuals; and whether he has any information respecting similar possibilities in New Zealand and Canada?

The announcement recently made by the Australian Minister for the Interior has been reported fully in the Press, and was to the effect that the Commonwealth Government had decided that Australia should assist to the extent of receiving up to 15,000 refugees over a term of three years, subject to their being able to comply with the immigration regulations. I understand that the figure given refers to individual refugees.The answer to the latter part of the question is in the negative, but statements made by Dominion statesmen indicate that they are fully alive to the importance and urgency of the question.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the increased popularity of the television service and the subsequent reduction in the price of television receiving apparatus, arrangements can now be made to provide an extension of that service to other large centres of population in this country outside the London area?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by the Assistant Postmaster-General on 1st December to a question on this subject by the hon. Member for Lichfield (Mr. Poole).

asked the Minister of Pensions whether he can give the number of pensioners, and the amount paid, in the last financial year in each of the following categories: totally disabled, in mental institutions, and other categories?

During the last financial year there were approximately 28,000 totally disabled and 411,000 partially disabled pensioners, of whom 5,750 were in mental institutions. Pensions were also in payment to about 127,000 widows and 219,000 dependants. The above figures include officers, nurses and men of non-commissioned ranks. The records of my Department do not enable me to give separate figures for the cost of the different categories.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether it is the policy of the Pigs Marketing Board to comply with the wishes of producers with regard to a named curer?

The Bacon Industry Act provides that where a producer has nominated a curer as the person to whom he wishes his pigs to be sold, the Pigs Marketing Board may not cause the pigs to be sold otherwise than to that curer, except in the circumstances specified in a notice which the Board is required to publish at the same time as offers are invited from producers. I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend a copy of the relevant notice issued in connection with this year's offer of contracts.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware that the Pigs Marketing Board has not accepted the nominated curer in the case of a contract offered by Mr. Frank Corbishley, of Grindle House, Shifnal, Shropshire; whether he will give the reason of such non-acceptance; and whether any extra cost will be incurred by the Board by reason of an increased distance between the farm and the factory in respect of this contract?

I am informed that Mr. Corbishley attached to his offer to sell pigs under a "nominated curer" contract, a stipulation which the Pigs Marketing Board could not properly accept, and that from a letter subsequently received from Mr. Corbishley the Board understood that he left his offer unconditionally with the Board. An "open offer" contract was made by the Board on Mr. Corbishley's behalf, in accordance with which he will receive an allocation premium of 2S. per pig. As to the last part of the question, no extra expense will be incurred by the Board.

asked the Minister of Agriculture how many contracts for which Messrs. J. C. Lloyd and Son, Limited, of Park Street, Shifnal, have been nominated, have not been accepted by the Pigs Marketing Board; and in how many cases Messrs. J. C. Lloyd and Son, Limited, have received contracts where they were not the nominated curers?

Excluding the case referred to in the preceding question, the answer to the first part of my hon. and gallant Friend's question is "none." As to the second part, I am informed that Messrs. J. C. Lloyd and Son, Limited, have received two contracts in respect of

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has considered a communication from the Honey Producers' Association of Great Britain with regard to the various substances which are being sold as honey in this country; and whether he is in a position to make a statement?

The answer to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. The Food and Drugs Act, 1938, empowers the Minister of Health to make regulations relating generally to the labelling and composition of food, and I have no doubt that any representations

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he has any information of the number and value of draught horses imported into this country for each of the past five years?

Information is not available regarding the importation into the United Kingdom of draught horses as such, but the following statement shows the numbers and values of mares and geldings, whether horses or ponies, imported in each of the years 1934 to 1937 inclusive and in the first ten months of 1938.from the interests concerned would receive careful consideration.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he will give the figures of the imports of table poultry from Holland during the months of July, August, and September for the years 1936, 1937, and 1938?

The imports into the United Kingdom from the Netherlands of dead table poultry (including imports of tinned and canned poultry, which are however negligible), are as follow:

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether it is intended to re-purchase the naval arsenal site sold to the Hong Kong Government last year; and, if so, what the purchase price will be?

The site of the old Arsenal Yard at Hong Kong, which was vacated on terms agreed with the local Government, was never the property of the Admiralty, and no question of repurchase therefore arises. Inquiries have recently been made by the Admiralty as to the terms on which possession of a part or the whole of the site could be acquired but no decision on the point has yet been taken.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty whether he has knowledge of any men who were mobilised in the recent emergency and who, upon demobilisation, were not re-employed by their former employers; what steps he is taking to secure the reinstatement of such men; and will he give the names of the employers concerned to the House?

Information has come to the notice of the Admiralty of 17 reservists and pensioners and four retired officers who were not on demobilisation re-employed by their former employers. One pensioner and one officer were prevented by the mobilisation from taking up civil posts.Efforts have been made, both in collaboration with the Employment Exchanges and by other means to secure the reinstatement of these men, or to obtain alternative employment, and in many instances these have been successful.In general the attitude of employers has been irreproachable, and I do not think it would serve any useful purpose to publish the names of the very few who might seem on the information available not to have shown the same public spirit.

asked the Minister of Health whether he is aware that 14 members of the crew of the oil tanker "British Petrol," lying at Purfleet, Essex, were detained in the Denton Isolation Hospital on 27th November, suffering from an illness which had not been diagnosed; and whether he has now any information as to the nature of the illness and its cause?

I am informed that 21 members of the crew of this ship were admitted to hospital in London suffering from colic accompanied by diarrhoea and fever, and that two further cases were reported when the ship reached the Tyne. It appears that the illness was the result of food poisoning due to one of the salmonella group of organisms, but it is not now possible to ascertain to what particular article of food the infection was due.

asked the Secretary of State for War why encouragement is being given to Territorial Reserve officers to join the general Reserve in the case of units which have ceased to be infantry and have become anti-aircraft; and how many officers have made the change?

I am not aware that any such encouragement has been given. Officers of the Territorial Army Reserve who did not wish to continue their attachment to the re-equipped units were given the option of transferring to the General List of the Reserve, and about 280 officers have done so.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he has knowledge of any men who were mobilised in the recent emergency and who, upon being demobilised, were not re-employed by their former employers; what steps he is taking to secure the reinstatement of such men; and will he give the names of the employers concerned to the House?

I gave particulars to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Chatham (Captain Plugge) in reply to a question on 22nd November. According to the latest information I have, the number of men who have neither been reinstated by their former employers, nor found other employment, is reduced to 32. On consideration, I do not think it would be advisable to publish the names of the employers concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for War (1) whether he can state the cost per gun supplied to a medium battery of the Royal Artillery in 1935 as compared with that produced to-day, and also the cost per gun supplied to a heavy battery for 1935 and to-day;(2) the cost of rifles now delivered as compared with the cost in 1935, and also the prices of those produced in the Royal arsenals as compared with those supplied by private firms?

It is contrary to rule to disclose the cost of individual weapons of war.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will give the figure of strength of the Regular Army, including British troops in India and Burma, at the last convenient date?

On 1st November, the strength of the Regular Army, including British troops in India and Burma, was 200,088. This excludes 4,731 Colonial and Indian regular troops serving in the Colonies.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the number of persons, exclusive of the clerical staff and salaried persons, employed in each district of the mining industry in Great Britain for the years 1920 to 1937?

As the reply involves a statistical statement too lengthy for publication in the OFFICIAL REPORT, I am sending a copy to the hon. Member.

asked the Secretary for Mines whether he will state the number of clerical and managerial staffs, respectively, employed in each district of the mining industry of Great Britain for the years 1929 to 1937?

I am sending the hon. Member a statistical table giving the information asked for, except that I am unable to give separate figures for clerical and managerial staffs.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will make a statement on the advance of the child guidance clinic movement in Scotland?

I regret that I am not in a position to add anything to the reply given to a question by the hon. and learned Member on 15th November, except that I have since been informed of the establishment of a school guidance clinic at Kilmarnock. As indicated in the previous reply, I feel that in the present stage of its development the advance of the movement for the provision of such clinics is best left to local initiative.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he has any knowledge of men who were mobilised in the recent emergency and who, upon demobilisation, were not re-employed by their former employers; what steps he is taking to secure the reinstatement of such men; and will he give the names of the employers concerned to the House?

Three such cases amongst men called out for service with the Auxiliary Air Force were brought to my notice. These were referred to the Ministry of Labour and I am informed that all three men are now in employment, one having been reinstated by his previous employer. In these circumstances, I am not satisfied that it is desirable to give the names of the employers concerned.