asked the Prime Minister (1) whether, in respect of duplicate passports which are issued by the head passport office on account of passports which have been reported as stolen or missing, accurate records will be kept for the period 1st January, 1939, to 1st December, 1939;(2) whether he can state for the years 1936, 1937, and 1938 an approximate figure of the number of duplicate pass-ports which were issued by the head passport office on account of passports which were reported as stolen or missing?

In 1936 there were issued in London 168,000 passports; in 1937, 240,000; and in 1938, 208,000. During these years the number of passports reported lost, mislaid or destroyed only amounted to a very small percentage of the total, but exact figures could not be obtained without the expenditure of a very great amount of time and labour. Although careful records are kept of all cases in which passports are reported to have been lost, stolen or destroyed, there are considerable objections to keeping a separate register.My hon. Friend may be assured that the records kept of individual cases afford a sufficient check and that special measures are always adopted where there are any grounds for suspicion that a missing passport may fall into wrong hands.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the evasions by certain of the signatories of their accepted obligations under the Convention of St. Germain-en-Laye, 1919, which have been brought to his notice; and can be now say whether these evasions are considered by His Majesty's Government to be breaches of that convention?

No evasions of the provisions of the Convention of St. Germain-en-Laye of 1919 have been brought to the notice of His Majesty's Government. The second part of the question therefore does not arise.

asked the Prime Minister whether he has considered the possibility of establishing a world court of international justice as the alternative to the attempted settlement of international disputes by armed conflict; and whether he is prepared, after the necessary consideration, to frame and submit proposals to that end for discussion with other Governments?

The Permanent Court of International Justice already exists, and in the view of His Majesty's Government there is no practical possibility of promoting a plan for any other world court of international justice.

asked the Prime Minister whether, since the Trades Disputes Act of 1927 was placed on the Statute Book, any review has been carried out of the adequacy of Whitley machinery in the Civil Service, for enabling representatives of approved associations of civil servants, and in particular industrial civil servants, to meet and discuss their problems with representatives of the official side; and whether he will consider the desirability of appointing a Select Committee to examine and report on this matter?The Prime Minister: I am afraid that at the moment I have nothing to add to the answer which I gave on this subject generally to the hon. Member for the Stoke Division of Stoke-on-Trent (Mr. E. Smith) on 16th March last.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether, in view of the representations which he has received as regards making the Royal Air Force training camp at Yatesbury a permanent establishment, any further steps have been taken to start a permanent camp elsewhere?

Steps are already being taken to provide permanent accommodation elsewhere for the training establishment at present housed in temporary buildings at Yatesbury. My right hon. Friend is aware of the representations which have been made with a view to the permanent establishment of the unit at Yatesbury, but in view of the many representations which were also made against the continued use of this site, he has undertaken that the temporary buildings will be removed, if possible within a period of four years, and the site reinstated.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he can make any statement on third party insurance of civil aircraft, which was recommended by the Gorrell Committee's Report on Civil Aviation?

Yes, Sir. My right hon. Friend hopes that it will be possible to bring into operation during this year Part III of the Air Navigation Act, 1936, which gives effect to the recommendation referred to in the report of the committee.

asked the Minister of Transport whether the village of Mydrim, Carmarthenshire, is to be supplied with electric power and light by the West Cambrian Power Company; if so, when it is proposed to start work on the scheme; and whether he is aware of the great need for electric power and light in this agricultural district?

I understand that the company do not consider that the prospective demand from this small and scattered village would, in itself, be sufficient to justify an extension of their mains, but that they are negotiating for certain power load in the vicinity and that if the negotiations are successful it would enable a supply to be provided to the village.

asked the Minister of Transport how many applications for Special Orders under the Electricity Supply Act, 1919, were made in the years 1936, 1937, and 1938, respectively; and how many in each case are still under consideration?

The number of applications for Special Orders, excluding applications by the Central Electricity Board, in the years 1936, 1937, and 1938, respectively was 9, 12, and 3. Six are still outstanding and of these one Order is now before Parliament, three are awaiting confirmation by me and two are under consideration by the Electricity Commissioners.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he can state the tonnage of the orders for steel sheets required in connection with air-raid shelters placed in South Wales and Monmouthshire, and the quantity for Monmouthshire separately?

Yes, Sir. 72,000 tons from South Wales and Monmouthshire, including 29,000 tons from Monmouthshire.

asked the Lord Privy Seal whether he intends to try to arrange a general test black-out for the whole of the industrial districts in South Wales; and, if so, in which month?

As I have stated in reply to previous questions, the primary responsibility for arranging practice black-outs rests with the local authorities concerned. I understand that a practice black-out for Swansea, Neath, Bridgend and the surrounding districts on nth May is under consideration by the local authorities of those districts, but that a final decision has not yet been reached.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can make any statement on the amendments to the Workmens' Compensation Bill in Barbados, which were referred to a Select Committee?

The Bill, which is modelled on the workmen's compensation legislation in operation in Trinidad and other West Indian Colonies, is a Private Member's Bill and was introduced with the full support of the Governor. I am informed that the Barbados Legislature was prorogued while the Bill was in the Committee stage, and that when it is re-introduced certain amendments which I have suggested will be moved by the Attorney-General of the Colony with the agreement of the Private Member concerned.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he can give any information on the steps taken in Barbados in pursuance of the recommendations of the Commission on the disturbances in Barbados; whether a labour adviser has been appointed; whether the regulations under the Minimum Wage Fixing Board have been drafted and advisory boards set up; and what steps have been reached as regards the Trade Unions Bill?

Since the reply which I gave to a question by the hon. Member for Dewsbury on the 14th December, rules for the constitution, appointment, and duties of advisory boards in Barbados have been approved under the Minimum Wages Act, and will be promulgated shortly. The Governor proposes to appoint in the first instance a board to advise on the terms of employment of shop assistants and employees in bakeries. A Voluntary Committee is now reviewing the wages of manual labour in Bridgetown and also considering conditions in bakeries, and the Governor proposes to await its recommendations before proceeding further.The Trade Union Bill, which was before a Select Committee of the Legislature last December has been amended to include provisions for exemption from tortious acts, and for legalising peaceful picketing. The Bill was reintroduced and read a first time in the House of Assembly on the 28th February.As regards the appointment of a Labour Officer, I regret that owing to the shortage of officers with the requisite qualifications and experience who would be attracted by this post, I have not yet been able to make a selection.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, to abridge the long period of separation of parents in the Colonies and their children in this country, he will ask Imperial Airways, Limited, if they could arrange for one or two flights at the beginning and the end of the summer holidays to the different British territories they traverse, of planes adapted to carry children at reduced fares?

I understand that Imperial Airways already issue special cheap rate tickets for schoolchildren with the object of enabling them to visit their parents during the summer holidays. The question whether additional aircraft are required to cope with the traffic offering is a commercial one in regard to which it would not be proper for me to intervene.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, in view of the announcement of greater measures for the defence of our Colonies overseas and the relatively small forces these bring into existence, he will consider forming a foreign legion or legions for each Colony which might desire to obtain methods of defence of this kind?

I have considered my hon. and gallant Friend's suggestion but I do not think that it is necessary to adopt it. The military forces maintained by Colonial Governments for defence can be recruited without difficulty from the inhabitants of the Colonial Dependencies themselves. Similarly if it were desired to expand those forces the requisite recruits could be obtained from the Colonial Dependencies; the limiting factor would be one of finance.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Board of Education whether he can state the number of schoolchildren in South Wales who receive milk at school; and the percentage of the total number who are in receipt of a free supply of milk?

On 1st October, 1938, the latest date for which figures are available, 144,126 children in public elementary schools in South Wales (including the counties of Brecon, Cardigan, Carmarthen, Glamorgan, Monmouth, Pembroke and Radnor and the autonomous urban areas within those counties) were receiving milk at school. During the month of January, 1939, 53,739 children attending public elementary schools in those areas received free milk. This figure is 37.3 per cent. of the total number receiving milk on 1st October, 1938, and 19.3 per cent. of the total number of children on the registers of the schools on that date.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he has considered an appeal from the engineers who are on strike at D. Napier and Sons to intervene on their behalf; and, in view of the importance of the work on which they are normally engaged, has he taken, or does he intend to take, any steps to bring the dispute to an end?

This dispute is being dealt with between the Engineering Employers' Federation and the trade union concerned by means of the ordinary machinery which exists between them to handle such matters.