asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (1) what clauses were included in the Italian armistice terms to insist upon and facilitate the opportunity for escape of British prisoners of war known to be in camps within reach of German armed forces;

Article 3 of the Armistice with Italy signed on 3rd September, reads as follows:

"All prisoners or internees of the United Nations to be immediately turned over to the Allied Commander-in-Chief, and none of these may now or at any time be evacuated to Germany."

Is my right hon. Friend aware that, as a result of the failure on the part of the Italian officials, a very large number of British prisoners of war have been transferred to Germany, and can he hold out any hopes that some redress can be obtained?

As I say, we are trying to ascertain the name of the camp commandant, who must have been acting contrary to the instructions of his Govern- ment, and I hope that in due course appropriate steps will be taken against him.

Will His Majesty's Government publish, the full terms of the armistice, so that we may know all the details?

That is another question.

Has my right hon. Friend any information that other prison camp commandants behaved in a similar way?

No, Sir.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can yet state the general, political and economic terms of the armistice signed between Great Britain and Italy?

I have nothing to add to the answer which I gave on this subject on 20th October.

Is it not time that the right hon. Gentleman and his Department considered that this House is entitled to know all the terms, so that we can understand exactly the Government's policy with regard to the Italian Government?

I would not withhold anything from this House unless there were very good reasons for doing so, and in this case there are good reasons. Among others, we cannot give the House information without giving the same information to the enemy, and I would ask the House to leave this question in our judgment for the moment, with the assurance that as soon as it is practicable to do so we shall give the fullest information we can.

Could not we have it before the peace treaties?

Could not we have it in Secret Session?

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that a court-martial, sitting recently in the Isle of Man, decided that an officer of the Provost Marshal's Department had obtained a statement from a suspected person otherwise than voluntarily and had also interviewed a W.A.A.F. corporal in a locked room; whether that officer is still employed on the same type of work; and what steps are being taken to avoid such methods in future?

I have seen Press reports of this case. As the proceedings of the court-martial are still sub judice, my hon. Friend will appreciate that is not possible for me to make any statement at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether handkerchiefs are issued to officers and men of the Royal Air Force; and, if not, what facilities are provided to enable them to obtain these necessary articles coupon free?

Officers receive an allowance of coupons to cover all clothing requirements, including handkerchiefs. Airmen needing handkerchiefs are provided by their commanding officers with certificates which enable them to purchase handkerchiefs without coupons.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he is aware that on 6th October in the Winter Gardens, Blackpool, a lecture was given to the R.A.F. and W.A.A.F. by Rosita Forbes, in the course of which disparaging remarks concerning the war effort of our Russian Allies were made, calculated to prejudice the minds of listeners against the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; and will he call the attention of those lecturing to the Services to the need for promoting harmony and goodwill among the Allied Nations?

I should profoundly deplore it if anyone abused an invitation to lecture to the Royal Air Force by promoting disharmony between this country and our Allies. I am aware that the lecture referred to by the hon. Member has been the subject of criticism, and I have called for a report. As a general rule, lecturers are given guidance of the kind suggested and I will see that in future it is given in every case.

Can the Minister say what is the point of making such a statement as that there is nothing clever in the Russians having to lose so many thousands of square miles to the Germans when there is so much of an encouraging character that might be reasonably expected to be stressed? Is there not something sinister in this subtle selection of facts?

I have just said that I have not seen a report of the lecture and that I have called for a report upon it. I have condemned in terms which I hope will commend themselves to my hon. Friend statements which are calculated to cause disharmony.

If the report is unsatisfactory will this lady's licence to lecture be withdrawn?

I must wait and see the report. This lady is not on our list of lecturers.

Is it not the case that complaints have been made against this lady before because of her adverse criticisms of Russia when delivering lectures to the troops?

Will the Minister see that she does not do it any more?

asked the Secretary of State for Air the tonnage of bombs dropped on Germany during the four weeks ended 25th October and the estimated tonnage dropped in England during the same period?

During the four weeks ended 25th October, aircraft of Bomber Command dropped over 17,000 tons of bombs on Germany, compared with some 160 tons dropped on this country by the enemy.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will explain the position of education officers in the R.A.F.; whether they have the same rights as regards separation allowances for their wives and families, disability and widows' pensions, etc., as other R.A.F. officers of corresponding rank; or whether their commissions are honorary and they are without any assured rights other than those of civilians in the above respects?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. Member for Stourbridge (Mr. R. Morgan) on 21st April. Members of the Royal Air Force Educational Service, whether serving at home or overseas, are employed on a civilian basis. They retain all their rights under the terms of their civilian appointments and accordingly are not entitled to the pay, allowances and pensions of mobilised officers.

Does not my right hon. Friend recognise that the present position is very unsatisfactory, especially in regard to education officers who have to go abroad and face risks from the enemy and to their health without adequate protection for the future of their wives and children?

I received my hon. Friend's letter and this Question only yesterday, and I am looking into the facts she has put to me.

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production whether he is aware that the auditor's certificate and letter attached to the accounts of the Trafford Park Civil Defence Executive Committee for the year ending 31st August, 1943, indicated that various expenses borne by occupiers ought to be paid by the Ministry of Aircraft Production; and what action he proposes to take?

I am aware of the suggestion made by the auditors that part of the cost of the central management of the Joint Civil Defence scheme on the Trafford Park Estate should be borne either by my Ministry or by some other Government Department. The suggestion related to the cost of compiling the individual occupiers' accounts under the scheme, and appears to have been founded on a misapprehension since such costs are the responsibility of the occupiers themselves. I propose, therefore, to take no action.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that these joint schemes run by his Department are wasteful and expensive and, if they continue to be run by his Department, will he investigate whether it would not be proper that the cost should be borne by the Department and not by individual occupiers?

No, I am not aware of that. The joint schemes are more efficient from the point of view of fire prevention.

Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman not aware that those who have examined the schemes are satisfied that they merely add to the expense and diminish the efficiency and call for the provision of unnecessary staff at the Ministry for the job?

Is it not a fact that these charges, ultimately though not directly, must be met by the Ministry?

Ultimately they will be met by the Ministry.

Does not that make it even more unfair for independent firms not under the Ministry?

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production whether he is aware that both employers and employees in aircraft factories are feeling anxious about their position when hostilities cease, as the break clause in contracts, if put into operation, will mean that large numbers of employees both in the main factories and those of sub-contractors will run the risk of dismissal; and what plans he has in mind to prevent this happening?

I can assure the hon. Member that the problem to which he refers is being closely and urgently examined as a part of the wider problem of achieving the transition from war-time to a peace-time basis with as little dislocation as possible. The nature of the transition will depend upon the future course of the war and the dates on which it ends in Europe and the Far East respectively. The formulation of detailed proposals will, of course, depend upon the alternative use to which some aircraft factories may be put and decisions can only be taken as part of a general plan which is now under consideration.

Can we have an assurance that schemes for converting war factories to peace-time work are being considered, and can the right hon. and learned Gentleman indicate when some information can be given of a reassuring nature to employers and employees?

The matter is under consideration in respect of the different factories and the different possibilities of post-war utilisation. When it will reach a stage when something can be said it is impossible now to say.

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production why a steel girder footbridge is being constructed across Horseferry Road; what is the cost of it; and whether the owners of the two buildings which it connects are bearing any part of this cost?

This bridge is a temporary structure to improve communication between two of the buildings housing the headquarters staff of my Department. I am informed that the estimated cost is £1,850; the answer to the last part of the Question is in the negative.

asked the Minister of Aircraft Production whether he is aware that in recent proceedings at Bow Street police court the prosecuting counsel disclosed the contract price of the Seafire; whether this was done with his authority; and whether the contract price of other types of aircraft may now be made public?

I have seen reports in the Press of the statement referred to by my hon. and gallant Friend, who will appreciate that counsel was not addressing the court on my behalf. The principle remains that disclosure of contract prices is not in the public interest.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what steps he is taking to prevent a breakdown in the pharmaceutical service of the medical department of the Admiralty which will follow the threatened withdrawal of some 60 pharmacists for military service; and why these men cannot be transferred, as were dentists, from civilian officers to naval officers and so remain in the posts of which they have now specialised experience?

The number of pharmacists in the pharmaceutical department of the Admiralty who were under 25 at the date of their registration and whose deferment therefore became liable to cancellation following a decision on the call up of civil servants is 37 and not 60 as stated by my hon. Friend. The question of the retention of these men in the Admiralty service is, however, at present being reconsidered, and it would, therefore, not be appropriate for me to say anything further at this juncture.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the reason for Statutory Rules and Orders No. 1179 of 9th August, 1943?

It would not be in the public interest to disclose the reasons for which this Order has been issued.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is now in a position to make a statement on the question of giving a monetary award to holders of the D.S.M.?

No, Sir; this matter is, however, under consideration, and I will let my hon. Friend know when I am in a position to make a statement.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the respective functions and duties of the Admiralty and the Navy League in regard to the activities of the Sea Cadet Corps; and the existing machinery of co-operation?

The Admiralty is responsible for the organisation and the training of the Sea Cadet Corps. The Navy League administers the Corps on behalf of the Admiralty and looks after the social and welfare side. Co-operation is secured through an Executive Council, consisting of two members each from the Admiralty and the Navy League, which meets regularly under the chairmanship of the Admiralty Director responsible.

Would the right hon. Gentleman look into this arrangement? Thousands of boys want to join, the preparations at the Scottish camp this year were quite inadequate, and, in spite of the shortage of officers, I think much more might be done. Will the right hon. Gentleman ask one of his three Parliamentary Secretaries to look into the matter?

If the hon. Gentleman will send me any particular case, like the one he has mentioned, I shall be glad to look into it, but I must say in fairness to the Corps that the progress and increased efficiency in the last two years have been remarkable.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what measure of control is exercised by his Department over the expenditure by the Navy League of Government funds; and for what purposes are these used?

Grants made to the Navy League from Navy Votes are earmarked for expenditure on the administration and technical training of the Sea Cadet Corps. Expenditure from such grants is accounted for by the Navy League to the Admiralty.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has considered the case, of which particulars have been furnished him, where a naval officer who has made no contribution to the support of his wife since September, 1939, is continuing to draw and to pocket for his own use the wife's allowance appropriate to his rank; and how far this is permitted by Admiralty regulations in the case of commissioned officers and of ratings, respectively?

I have investigated the case to which the hon. Member refers and have ascertained that in fact this officer is paying to his wife, who has charge of the child of the marriage, a far greater sum than he is receiving as marriage and children's allowances. Under the Officer's Marriage Allowance scheme marriage and children's allowances are issuable to an officer who is separated from his wife whom he does not maintain provided he is responsible for the maintenance of his child or children. The position is different in the case of ratings since the marriage allowance is paid direct to the wife.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the money paid by the officer to his wife is paid by order of the court and is the amount appropriate for the support of the child and that a woman would be misappropriating money if she should use it for herself? So the question of the officer retaining the wife's allowance is really irrelevant to the question what he pays his wife for a different purpose.

I have no evidence of any widespread failure on the part of naval officers to meet their commitments, but, surely, if there is some disagreement on the part of the lady in the particular case as to the ruling of the court, she always has the court at her disposal.

Does the right hon. Gentleman admit that there is a distinction made in the Admiralty between officers and ratings and that officers are given the power, if they are mean enough to use it, of appropriating to their own use money paid by the taxpayers for the support of their wives, whereas a rating is not so permitted? Does he really justify such a class distinction?

The whole basis of the allowances is different, and it is not possible for me under the Act of 1865 to make any change in the law. But, in fact, we have no evidence of any widespread need to change the law.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he is aware that the Order in Council of 16th July, 1914, providing that service in the R.N.A.S. should count in all respects as service in a ship of war at sea, was cancelled by Order in Council of 24th October, 1916; and, since this alteration was not made adequately known to the officers then serving in the R.N.A.S., if he will reconsider his refusal to promote Captain Harold Briggs to Flag Rank on Retired List, for his services in making efficient the naval air arm which helped to destroy zeppelins and to master the U-boats in the last war?

As the reply is rather long, I will, with my hon. and gallant Friend's permission, circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether there has been any interruption in recent weeks of the regular delivery of letters from home to royal naval bases in Sicily?

No, Sir. There has been a regular delivery of mails by both sea and air to Sicily.

Can my right hon. Friend assign any reason for the fact that of the letters from two of my constituents to their sons in Sicily sent each week since June none has been received?

There have been a few complaints received, but they have usually been cases of mis-sorting and things of that sort, which have been put right as speedily as possible. The main delivery of mails has been quite regular.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been called to the difficulties that have arisen in Kenya in consequence of the low price paid for African-grown maize, as compared with the much higher price paid for that grown by Europeans, and to the complaints made before the Food Commission with regard to black-market operations, and whether he will make a statement on the working of maize control and the steps which will be taken to remove the disparity in price between maize grown by Africans and by Europeans, respectively?

There is no difference in the basic price paid for maize whether grown by Africans or by Europeans except on grounds of quality; and the differentiation in this respect amounts to 25 cents. per 200 lbs. The apparently greater disparity in price is due to the additional costs borne by the European grower, who sells free on rail in 200 lb. bags, while the African sells his maize loose at marketing centres which may be many miles from the railway. The Commission of inquiry into the food shortage and the system of maize control is expected to report very shortly. In the meantime it would be premature for me to make a statement.

Were not representations made that the lower price paid for native-grown maize has resulted in a falling-off in production, which is very undesirable, and will my right hon. and gallant Friend continue to make it clear that it is the quality of the maize and not the colour of the growers that is important?

Representations may have been made, but I think we had better await the report of the Commission to see whether they consider those representations justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether official endorsement has been given to further schemes of European settlement in Kenya; and what is the Government policy on this matter?

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for East Leicester (Major Lyons) on 13th October.

How soon does the right hon. and gallant Gentleman hope to be able to make a statement on this rather important matter?

Certainly not till I have received the reports and recommendations referred to in my answer.

Before the right hon. and gallant Gentleman gives consent to any proposals from the Legislative Council of Kenya, will this House have a chance of considering them?

Obviously the House will have a chance of considering any proposals long before they can be put into force, which would not be till after the war.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether there are any conditions as to the employment of labour on Trinidad sugar growers receiving a subsidy from His Majesty's Government; and whether such subsidy is payable to small as well as large growers?

The conditions of employment of labour in the sugar industry are governed by local legislation for the employment of labour generally which imposes no specific conditions on the sugar growers. No subsidy is at present paid to Trinidad sugar growers by His Majesty's Government. Should the situation change, I shall certainly bear my hon. Friend's suggestion in mind.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether His Majesty's Government intend to introduce legislation for the creation of an unemployment insurance scheme in Trinidad?

I understand that the Acting Governor of Trinidad appointed last month a Committee to explore the possibility of introducing in the Trinidad Legislature some contributory system of unemployment insurance.

Has the right hon. and gallant Gentleman any idea when the investigations will reach a conclusion?

I could not say. The Committee has only just been set up.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food the quantities of fish that are being withdrawn from Scottish ports to supply places in England previously supplied from Fleetwood?

Under the revised White Fish Distribution Scheme, which came into operation on the 16th October, half the entitlement of the Manchester market has been transferred from Fleetwood to Scottish ports. The quantities involved depend on landings, but the share transferred represents 7 per cent. of supplies landed in Scotland.

Does not the Minister think it is quite unfair that localities in Scotland which are already short of this particular food should be made shorter still by the transfer to Manchester of food that should be distributed among them?

No, Sir. The amount available in Scotland still represents a just proportion of the total landings in the country. There were other adjustments in the course of the year, which meant that Scotland really was getting rather more than a proper share, and this means that the position is now pretty well what it was at the beginning.

Will the hon. Member transfer his house to Scotland and get himself rationed there for fish, and find out where he is then?

If the hon. Member would go to Manchester, he would find that Manchester does not share his views.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food the percentages of the present components of standard flour?

National flour is at present milled from a grist consisting of 90 per cent. wheat and 10 per cent. diluent grains. Authorised additions are calcium at the rate of 7 oz. per 280 lb. of flour and dried milk at the rate of 2 lb. per 280 lb. of flour and customary improvers in normal proportions.

Can the hon. Gentleman say what are the components of the 10 per cent. diluent grains?

Barley, oats and rye.

What are "customary improvers"?

They are certain oxidising agents which improve the quality of the bread baked from the flour, and their nature depends on the kind of grain used, whether hard or soft.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether his attention has been drawn to the acute shortage of vinegar in the southern counties; and what steps he is taking to remedy it?

This shortage is not confined to the southern counties; it is general. At this period of the year there is a seasonal increase in demand. Increased allocations are made, but in war-time the increase is limited by a shortage of containers.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Food whether he was aware that there have recently been many prosecutions on behalf of the Ministry brought before Reigate Borough Bench for alleged minor offences of the food control regulations; that some of these summonses have been dismissed by the bench and, in other cases, small fines were imposed; and whether more discretion can be used to ensure that minor or technical breaches of these regulations should be dealt with by caution rather than by prosecution?

It has not been possible in the time available to gather the information required for a reply, but when the necessary inquiries are complete I will communicate with my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies approximately the number of smallholders who have been settled on land in Jamaica by Government initiative since 1938; the cost and extent of the land acquired; the terms regarding repayment of loans by the cultivators; and whether these land settlements have resulted in increased production and prosperity?

The report on the Jamaica Lands Department for 1942–43 has not yet reached me. Up to 31st March, 1942, 16,104 smallholders had been allotted settlements, covering an area of 75,590 acres, acquired at a cost of £518,930. The report does not state how many of these smallholders had been settled since 1938. A deposit of 10 per cent. of the purchase price is payable in advance by settlers; the balance is payable by instalments over a period of 10 years. The initial deposit is waived in necessitous cases. There has been steady progress in agricultural development on the settlements.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware of the demands made by the peasant growers of bananas in Jamaica for Government assistance to meet the cost of spraying their crops in order to combat the ravages of leaf-spot disease which is causing widespread poverty and distress among small growers; and what action has been taken?

I have not yet received representations on this subject. United Kingdom funds have been made available to the Department of Agriculture for dealing with control measures against the disease. A Banana Leaf-Spot Control Board has also been set up to provide assistance for growers by the issue free, on loan, of the necessary equipment and material. Funds for the Board's work are raised under the guaranteed purchase scheme financed from United Kingdom funds. Active research is being undertaken with the object of finding or breeding varieties immune or resistant to both leaf-spot and Panama disease.

Who gets these bananas?

The people of Jamaica, who grow them