asked the Minister of Agriculture whether his attention has been drawn to the still existing shortage of supplies of fertilisers in Wales; what is the reason for this shortage and when he anticipates the supply will be equal to the demand?

I am not aware that there is any shortage of fertilisers generally in Wales. If my hon. Friend's question is intended to refer to supplies of basic slag under the Land Fertility Scheme, the position in the current fer- tiliser season is slightly more favourable than it was last season, 33,000 tons having been delivered up to and including nth March, 1939, as compared with 32,000 tons in the corresponding period of last season. Supplies of basic slag are, of course, dependent on the output of certain kinds of steel of which it is a by product, and there is reason to anticipate that increased supplies of slag will shortly be available as a result of the increased production of steel.

asked the Minister of Agriculture what is the amount spent by the Herring Industry Board since its inauguration in 1935 on advertising the consumption of herring in the United Kingdom; is he aware that up to the reconstitution of the Board by the Act of 1938 this expenditure resulted in fewer herring being consumed in Great Britain than prior to the constitution of the Board; and what action is to be taken to attempt to revive the pre-war trade in salted herring to the Baltic countries?

The amount spent by the Herring Industry Board in home-market advertising is approximately£61,700 and the Board are satisfied that their propaganda has had a beneficial effect. According to estimates which they have compiled there has been an increase in the home consumption of British caught herrings since the constitution of the Board from 458,000 crans in 1934 to 535,000 crans in 1938.As regards the improvement of the British trade in salted herrings with the Baltic countries I am informed that representatives of the Board left this country a few days ago for the purpose of exploring the question in those countries.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will state the number of appeals to the Umpire against disallowance of unemployment benefits in Great Britain during the 12 months ended February, 1939; the number rejected; and how many of the appeals were made on the initiative of the insurance officers, giving separate figures for Lancashire?

During the 12 months ended February, 1939, 4,047 appeals against disallowance of benefit in Great Britain were decided by the Umpire (including 809 appeals by the Chief Insurance Officer). Benefit was disallowed by the Umpire in 2,535 of these cases. Figures on this basis have not been compiled for Lancashire, but for the North Western Division, which includes Lancashire, Cheshire and a small part of Derbyshire, the corresponding figures were:— 1,019 appeals to the Umpire (including 237 by the Chief Insurance Officer), benefit being disallowed by the Umpire in 590 cases.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland what was the number of convictions for drunkenness in Renfrewshire, including the burghs therein, Paisley, Dundee, and Aberdeen, respectively, for each of the years 1932 to 1937, inclusive?

The numbers for the years 1933 to 1937 are as follow:—

Year	Renfrew shire, including all burghs therein.	Paisley	Dundee	Aberdeen
1933	469	171	618	287
1934	542	185	739	320
1935	637	192	761	329
1936	769	186	776	327
1937	953	198	1,035	292

The numbers of convictions in 1932 in Paisley, Dundee and Aberdeen are not available. The number of convictions in that year in Renfrewshire, including all burghs therein, was 363.The figures include convictions for being under the influence of drink when driving, or attempting to drive, or when in charge of, a motor vehicle, and exclude convictions for breach of the peace.

asked the Home Secretary whether he has now been able to arrange for the periodical issue of a return showing the arrival and departure of alien refugees; and whether this return will be made in the most informative and comprehensive form possible?

I hope the following statement will give useful information. I am arranging for periodic returns to be made giving similar information in the future.The following figures relate to persons who, on arrival in this country, were over 18 years of age.Between March, 1933, and March, 1938, there arrived in this country the following number of persons from Germany who could be classified as refugees:—

Men.	Women.
4,325.	3,310.

Of these, 2,058 went out again during the same period, so that the total number of refugees from Germany in this country on 31st March, 1938, was 5,577.Between 1st April, 1938, and 31st October, 1938, there arrived in this country the following number of refugees:—

German.
Men.	Women.
1,151.	869.
Austrian.
Men.	Women.
1,425.	1055.

During the same period 362 German refugees and 167 Austrian refugees left the country.Between 1st November, 1938, and 28th February, 1939, there arrived in this

country the following number of refugees:—

German.
Men.	Women.
845.	512.
Austrian.
Men.	Women.
2,217.	1,567.
Czech.
Men.	Women.
357.	169.

During the same period 255 German refugees and 311 Austrian refugees left the country.The number of refugees in this country on the 28th February, 1939, was as follows:—

German.
Men.	Women.
4,674.	3,663.
Austrian.
Men.	Women.
3,340.	2,446.
Czech.
Men.	Women.
357.	169.

In addition to the adults comprised in the figures given above, the following number of children and young persons under the age of 18 have arrived:—

German	…	…	3,679
Austrian	…	…	688
Czech	…	…	37
Total	…	…	4,404

The enumeration of those under the age of 18 who have since left has not yet been undertaken.