asked the Secretary of State for War how many of the cases of smallpox that were reported in the British Army during the year 1943 and up to the present date had been recorded as vaccinated prior to the attack of smallpox.

I regret that records for the whole Army are not readily available. But in two large Commands overseas, 66 cases of smallpox were reported in 1943. In one mild case vaccination had been carried out recently and in one other the success of a vaccination carried out two years earlier was somewhat doubtful. Nineteen of the patients had been vaccinated in infancy only and 45 had either refused to be vaccinated or there was no record that they had been successfully vaccinated.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether there have been any increases or decreases and, if so, of what nature, of the net pay and allowances of Army officers of and below field rank since September, 1939.

There have been no decreases since September, 1939, in the pay and allowances issuable to officers.The following war-time increases have been made:I.

asked the Secretary of State for War if he will give, in the form of a table, the basic rates of pay and allowances, each separately and with the variations due to the theatre of operations in which the officer is serving and the conditions under which he is living, namely, in quarters or in the field, of all officers of and below field rank in the Infantry, Royal Armoured Corps, Artillery and Royal Engineers and specialist corps, respectively.

The following tables give the information asked for in my hon. Friend's Question.

asked the Minister of Food what have been the imports of eggs in shell during the last six months; and whether, in the same period, there has been any increase in the importation of feeding-stuffs for poultry.

I regret that it is not in the national interest to disclose in time of war such information as my hon. Friend desires in regard to imports into this country.

asked the Minister without Portfolio what order of priority is to be given in the rebuilding period to the erection of dwelling-houses, flats, shops, schools, hospitals, warehouses, places of worship and entertainment, etc., with a view to ensuring that the needs of the people for living accommodation will be recognised as the paramount consideration in post-war rebuilding.

My hon. Friend may rest assured that the system of building priorities in the immediate post-war period will be designed to ensure that high priority is given to the building of dwellings for the people.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has at any time consulted with his medical advisers regarding the reaction on the mental, physical and nervous health likely to result from keeping persons in prisons for periods of years under the main provisions laid down for remand prisoners who only remain under such conditions for a few weeks; and how this advice has compared with the facts in practice.

I am, of course, in constant consultation with my medical advisers on all matters affecting the health of persons detained under Defence Regulation 18B. As I have stated on many occasions, it is not the policy to keep in prison persons who have to be detained under the Regulation, and all but a few special cases were accordingly removed to camps in the Isle of Man as soon as the necessary powers were obtained. The majority of those now in prison are either temporary residents who have been transferred from an Isle of Man camp, and will be returned there when the purpose for which they were transferred has been completed, or persons who have expressed a wish, on health or other grounds, not to be sent to the Isle of Man. The conditions governing detention in prison are very different from those of remand prisoners, because detained persons enjoy greater freedom of association amongst themselves, and throughout the day have liberty of movement within the quarters of the prison set apart for them. I am satisfied that such mental stress as exists is the result not of the conditions of detention but of the deprivation of liberty itself.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many persons arrested under Regulation 18B have broken down in mental, nervous or physical health; and how many of these have died shortly after their release.

I cannot accept the implication in this Question that the conditions of detention under Defence Regulation 18B are such that they cause a breakdown in the health of the persons detained. As a whole, the health of persons detained has been good, and experience has shown that complaints about health have usually had reference to a condition of health which existed prior to detention. From the fact that persons have, from time to time, been sent to hospitals or other institutions for special treatment, or released on medical grounds, it does not follow that their ill-health has been caused by the conditions of their detention. I have not the information to enable me to reply to the last part of the Question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been drawn to the decline in general health of Mr. Serrocauld Skeels, who has been detained since October, 1942, in Brixton prison; and whether, having regard to the state of his health and the fact 'that in June he will be 70 years of age, he will consider releasing him under suitable conditions at an early date.

I am not at present prepared to authorise release in this case.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any information he can give the House concerning the recent stabbing of the Reverend W. Clark-Kerr, a chaplain of the Church of Scotland, in Haifa.

I have been asked to reply. At about 9.30 p.m. on 15th February, the Reverend W. Clark-Kerr, wearing Army Chaplain's uniform, was walking along the street in Haifa, when he saw three soldiers chasing a civilian. He called out to ask what they were doing. They turned round and the civilian managed to escape. One of the soldiers then caught hold of the Reverend Clark-Kerr by his tunic; a scuffle ensued in which he was stabbed twice in the back. He fell to his knees and the soldiers made off. Unfortunately he was unable to give a good description of the soldiers and their nationality is unknown. Investigations of police and military have, so far, been unsuccessful. He is still in hospital, but I am very glad to say that his condition is satisfactory.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will now issue as a White Paper the reports and evidence in the recent trials relating to the smuggling of arms into Palestine and include in the White Paper a verbatim report of the speech impugning the integrity of the British military courts and officials delivered by Mr. Ben Gurion, on Monday, 4th October, to the Jewish National Assembly in Jerusalem.

I have been asked to reply. No, Sir, I cannot undertake to issue a White Paper on the lines suggested.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) whether he has any information which he can give the House concerning the recent murder of Inspector Green and Constable Ewer by Jewish terrorists in Palestine;(2) whether he has traced the source of any of the literature or funds now at the disposal of Jewish terrorists.

I have been asked to reply. On the night of the 14th–15th February in Haifa, British inspector R. D. Green and British constable H. E. Ewer challenged two suspicious characters carrying a parcel, who turned out to be Jews. So tar as can be ascertained, while the inspector was examining the parcel, one of the Jews shot him and the constable with a pistol. Both were wounded and fell to the ground, and the Jews ran away. One of them turned back, however, and fired at the policemen as they lay on the ground, and the Jews then made good their escape. The parcel was found to contain Stern Group pamphlets. I very much regret that both of these gallant officers died on the 16th February as a result of this dastardly attack on them while in the execution of their duty.The Stern Group, to which the assassins apparently belonged, is a secret terrorist organisation of Jewish extremists formed in Palestine about the middle of 1940. Soon after the Group was formed, its members entered upon a campaign of organised terrorism primarily with the object of obtaining funds for the furtherance of their so-called political campaign. My right hon. and gallant Friend has no information at present of the funds at the disposal of this terrorist group.

asked the Postmaster-General if he can now make a statement in regard to the use of radio in motor-cars.

I have been in consultation with my right hon. Friends the Secretary of State for the Home Department and the Secretary of State for Scotland, as a result of which the restrictions on the carriage of wireless receiving apparatus in road vehicles, which were imposed by Defence Regulation 8 (3A), have been removed. The owner of any receiving set which was impounded by the police from a road vehicle should apply for the return of his set to the police of the district in which the set was impounded.