asked the Secretary of State for Air (1) the average length of time that elapses between the accepted enlistment of men with the R A.F. and their final call-up for service;

(2) whether his attention has been called to the case of Victor Crane, of Brandon, Oakfield Road, Shrewsbury, who was accepted for enlistment in the R.A.F. in February, 1943, and was still waiting to be called up for service at the time of his death in March, 1944; and whether steps will be taken to curtail this waiting period in future cases or, alternatively, to release enlisted men for service in other branches of the Armed Farces.

In view of the length of the answer, I will circulate it in the OFFICIAL REPORT.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether airmen serving overseas have any entitlement to return home after a certain period; and, if so, what length of time that period is.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. and gallant Member for Stockport (Wing-Commander Hulbert) on 22nd March by my right hon. and gallant Friend the Under-Secretary of State.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that soldiers serving abroad think that such an entitlement does exist, and that they are very unsatisfied because they have not the same treatment as men of the R.A.F.?

I am afraid I can only answer for the Royal Air Force.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he can make any statement on the international discussions to which Britain is a party, in regard to the future of civil aviation.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given yesterday by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister to the hon. Members for Seaham (Mr. Shinwell) and Duddeston (Sir O. Simmonds).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works in what way it is proposed to utilise the services of the Fairmile Company in connection with the Government programme for prefabricated houses.

I have been asked to reply. The services of The Fairmile Marine Company were made available to my noble Friend in an advisory capacity by my right hon. Friend the First Lord of the Admiralty in the initial stages of the construction of the temporary house prototype.

I gather there is no intention to use this firm?

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty if he will cause all possible steps to be taken to improve the service of mails to the Royal Navy.

The naval mails organisation is kept constantly under review so that despatch and receipt of naval mails may be speeded up as much as possible.

Will the hon. and gallant Gentleman convey to the First Lord the fact that there is a great deal of discontent in regard to the mail service to the Royal Navy, and that unless it is improved, this discontent may very well swell into a grievance?

There have been very few complaints compared with the number of letters which have passed.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if, in view of distress among growers of citrus crops in Palestine, the Government will apply to this production the same principle applied elsewhere to sugar, cocoa and bananas and make arrangements to purchase the whole of the surplus citrus crop; and whether the present unsatisfactory loan system will be reviewed.

As stated in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Dewsbury (Mr. Riley) on 15th March, the system of guaranteed cultivation advances, which was introduced when the normal markets for the citrus crop were lost, has been continued up to and including the current season in full agreement with all sections of the Palestine industry, as represented on the Citrus Control Board. There are important differences in the technical conditions and organisation of the citrus industry, as compared with the other industries mentioned by the hon. Member, which determined the choice of this as the most suitable method of giving assistance. No representations for the loan system to be reviewed have been received from the industry itself.

Do I take it that this particular principle which has been applied to other crops has been specifically ruled out in the case of citrus crops?

A request has been made for some purchase, as well as for the existing assistance. I am considering that but, on the whole, I am against it as I think any additional assistance should be given through the existing machinery.

Could the right hon. and gallant Gentleman say roughly what proportion of the citrus crop of Palestine now finds a market; and what proportion is wasted?

If the hon. Member will put that Question down, I will give him an answer, not only roughly but accurately.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent I.C.I. are now the sole importers licensed by the Palestinian Government for the import of certain chemicals; and whether such imports relate solely to chemicals manufactured by I.C.I. or whether the licence covers other chemicals imported by I.C.I. but purchased by them from their competitors in Great Britain.

I have made inquiry by telegram of the High Commissioner for Palestine and will communicate with the hon. Member on receipt of the High Commissioner's reply.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will inquire into the legal position of the land, approximately one mile deep and 200 miles long, along the banks of the River Niger on which the Royal Niger Company had an option and which was transferred to the Government in 1916; whether the Government claims a legal title to the land; and whether compensation has been or is likely to be paid or the land returned to the Southern Nigerian people.

I am consulting the Governor as to the position and will communicate further with the hon. Member on this subject in due course.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether any decision has yet been taken to implement the recommendations of Mr. Hornell's Report made in 1926 on the Fisheries of the Seychelles; and whether Mr. Hornell's recommendations will be considered as a suitable scheme under the Colonial Development and Welfare Act.

Mr. Hornell's main recommendation, namely, the amendment of the Seychelles Fishery laws to prevent indiscriminate fishing, was carried into effect by Ordinance No. 3 of 1942. In addition, efforts are being made to encourage the local fishing industry with the advice of a Fishery Board, and it is hoped to arrange for a marine biologist to visit Seychelles to conduct a preliminary survey with the object of developing deep sea fisheries.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport how many canal boats or barges are now being used between London and Birmingham; and how many women are working upon them.

The through journey between London and Birmingham is made by narrow canal boats which operate in pairs. Six pairs of boats are now worked by women crews; each crew consists of three. Most other boats are manned by family crews, but I regret that I am unable to say how many women there may be among them.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether any decision has been reached regarding the merits of the different proposed sites for a road-bridge over the Forth near Queensferry; and whether he can announce the policy of the Government in this regard.

I regret that I am not yet able to add anything to the reply which I gave my hon. Friend on 22nd March. I have, however, made arrangements to place the plans of both the proposed bridges in the Library of the House for the information of hon. Members who may be interested.

Are my hon. Friend and his Noble Friend aware of the keen desire that exists for a decision with regard to this matter at the earliest possible moment, with reasons for the choice of site? Will he endeavour to get a decision of the kind expedited?

I will bear in mind what my hon. Friend has said.

Would my hon. Friend remember that this matter has been under consideration for the last 50 years and that hopes have been raised in Scotland that greater speed will be made in the next 50 years?

Would my hon. Friend consult with my hon. Friend the Member for Inverness (Sir M. Macdonald), who, I understand, has plans for attaching a road bridge to the existing iron bridge, and see whether it is possible also to lay his plans in the Library for the benefit of Members?

Yes, Sir, if there are any further plans I will certainly try to lay them.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport if he will take steps to improve the service of mails to the Merchant Navy.

In consultation with my right hon. Friend the Postmaster-General, I have made constant endeavours to improve the mail services to members of the Merchant Navy. Last December a Crew Mail Section was set up in my Ministry, and other new arrangements were brought into force. I am sending my hon. and gallant Friend details of these arrangements, and I shall be glad to look into any specific complaints which he may have had.

Does that mean that the system of airgraphs is to be extended to the Merchant Navy?

At some points I think it does.

Why has there been a wait of three years? There has been a shocking delay.

I cannot accept that criticism. We have been constantly working at the problem with the Admiralty, but the operational difficulties are very great indeed.

Is it not a fact that the naval control officers at the various ports have been doing very useful work in connection with this matter?

Yes, Sir, and we are most grateful to the Admiralty for all the help they are giving.

asked the Minister of Information if, when reprinting the publication called "The Eighth Army," he will consider the advisability of deleting certain, controversial passages in which reference is made to highly-placed Army officers.

The Ministry of Information is not proposing to reprint this book.

In any similar publication in the future will my right hon. Friend make it clear that it is not an official document?

That problem is quite easily solved. Every one of our books, except the one mentioned in this Question, hears the word "Official" on the front page.

Why does the Minister propose not to publish this book any further?

Because I am a prudent keeper of the public purse. The total printing of this book ran to 1,500,000 copies and, so far, 1,175,000 have been sold.

If the right hon. Gentleman is a prudent keeper of the public purse, will he look at the number of officials he has in the United States?

Do I understand that in future any document issued by a Government Department is not official unless the word "Official" is printed thereon? Is not that a new departure?

I think some people really need instruction. It means only one extra word added to the book. With regard to the suggestion about the number of British officials in the United States, my hon. Friend the Member for Seaham (Mr. Shinwell) has probably fallen into the error made yesterday by the Noble Lord the Member for King's Lynn (Lord Fermoy), who, in a Question, multiplied the number of British officials in the United States by seven.

Surely any document issued by a Government Department is official, unless the contrary is stated thereon?

I think that is a very good generalisation.

Then why put the word "Official" on this document?

asked the Minister of Information whether any steps will be taken to translate into foreign languages and circulate in the U.S.S.R., the South American Republics and neutral countries, the publication of his Department entitled, "The Services Handbook," in order that these countries shall have an authoritative account of the exploits of our Armed Forces since the outbreak of war.

This handbook is one of several reference books produced chiefly for use overseas. Most of the material in it has been published in every country in which the Ministry of Information is represented.

Can the right hon. Gentleman tell us what it costs?

If the hon. Member will give me notice I shall be very glad to provide him with that information.

Has this handbook been translated, or has it been sent abroad in English?

We have representatives in 47 countries. I do not know whether it has been translated into the languages of all those countries, but I should imagine that it has.

asked the Minister of Information in what capacity Dr. Schacht is employed by his Department.

Dr. Schacht, who is an Orientalist of world repute, is employed on a fee basis to check the texts and proofs of certain of the Ministry's publications in Arabic and Persian.

Is he still a German subject?

Yes, Sir, he is still a German subject, but he is no relation to that slippery doctor who looted the City during the last seven or eight years.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will consider the immediate abolition of the discrimina- tion which at present exists regarding the infliction of corporal punishment on coloured West Africans serving in His Majesty's Forces while not applicable for the same offences committed to British white soldiers serving in Africa.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my right hon. Friend to my hon. Friend the Member for West Leyton (Mr Sorensen) yesterday.

Can we be told categorically whether there is any discrimination in the punishment of coloured and white British troops for offences of a similar character?

My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, when he replied yesterday to a similar Question, made it clear that coloured troops come under a disciplinary code which is subject to Colonial legislation and that white troops come under King's Regulations.

What representations is the hon. and learned Gentleman or the Secretary of State for War making to the Colonial Office on this matter?

My right hon. Friend said yesterday that he had consulted the Colonial Secretary and the hon. Member had better put any other question down.

In view of the fact that the flogging of coloured men for offences for which white men are not flogged has caused a great deal bf disquiet in this country, will my hon. and learned Friend take some action?

I can assure my hon. Friend that as a result of the representations which have been made we are examining the whole of this problem.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether, to meet the requirements of the vast extension of tame rabbit keeping in this country, adequate feeding stuffs are available and expected to be available during the present year.

Concentrated feeding-stuffs for rabbits are supplied under the Feeding-Stuffs Rationing Scheme only for breeding does, and I have no reason to doubt that it will be possible to provide such rations throughout the year.

Is this a reference to the Government's bill of fare?

Is there any discrimination between white and black rabbits in this Country?

asked the President of the Board of Trade on what grounds Middlesbrough has been left out of the North-East Coast Development Area.

Middlesbrough has not been included because, so far as can be foreseen, its needs for new industrial development will be less than that of Tyneside and the County of Durham.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that there are no statistics to confirm the view that he has expressed; that for all industrial purposes Middlesbrough is, and always has been, a constituent part of the North East coast, and that a serious injustice will be inflicted by leaving it out of the special arrangements which have cost more than £60,000?

There are material differences between the economic conditions of Middlesbrough and those of other parts of the North East area, but what the hon. Member says will be borne in mind.

Can the right hon. and gallant Gentleman give any indication of what the differences are? That is the point of the Question.

There are differences in industry. The bulk of the North East area depends almost entirely on coal. Middlesbrough does not, and it has the advantage of large steel works too.

In view of that altogether inaccurate answer, I give notice that I will raise the matter on the Adjournment.

asked the Prime Minister if he will facilitate visits by serving officers to address Members of this House under reasonable precautions and in the interests of information and mutual understanding.

No, Sir. His Majesty's Government consider that such visits would be incompatible with the duties, of serving officers.

Has it not been for many years the almost invariable practice of the Ministers concerned to prevent such visits, and would not such visits be popular and practical?

I have nothing to add to my answer.

asked the Lord President of the Council what changes have been made in the membership of the committee set up to report on penicillin and to conduct clinical trials and what is its present composition; whether he can make a report as to progress to date; and whether the committee is in contact with all firms engaged in the manufacture of this drug.

The only change in the membership of the Penicillin Clinical Trials Committee set up by the Medical Research Council, since an answer on the subject was given to the hon. Member on 10th June, 1943, has been the appointment of six additional members. With permission, I will circulate the names of the present members in the OFFICIAL REPORT. As regards progress, a report by the Committee on the use of penicillin in treating war wounds was published by H.M. Stationery Office on 24th March as Medical Research Council War Memorandum No. 12. A full account of the work done at one of the main centres where trials are being made was published in the "British Medical Journal" of 15th April, and further reports are being prepared. There is close contact between the Committee and the firms manufacturing penicillin, which are in fact represented on it.

Is the right hon. Gentleman satisfied that progress is being made with the manufacture of this very valuable commodity?

Yes, Sir.

How soon will supplies of penicillin be available for trial in the various hospitals? Cases are crying out for it.

Perhaps my hon. Friend will put that question down. It has nothing to do with the Question on the Paper.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that the "British Medical Journal" is a very illuminating journal, which ought to be circulated much more fully than it has been in the past?

Will there be volunteers in the hospitals on whom this new medicine will be tried, or can it be tried on anyone?

asked the Minister of Production when the German Mark IV tank, equipped with a 76 mm. gun firing a 14–lb. shot, was first in action in North Africa; and how soon thereafter he took effective steps to produce a tank equipped with a larger gun firing a heavier shot a greater distance.

A German Mark IV tank with a high velocity gun was first seen in action in Africa in September, 1942. It is not possible to compare British and enemy weapon developments without giving away information which would be of the utmost value to the enemy.

Has the right hon. Gentleman studied "The Eighth Army" booklet which states clearly that a tank of this description with this gun was in action in November, 1941?

The tank to which I referred is one with a special high velocity gun. The German Mark IV was originally armed with a 75 mm. gun of much lower velocity.

Is my right hon. Friend quite satisfied with the action which has in fact been taken?

I do not wish to embark in the realms of prophecy. We have taken what we think to be the appropriate steps.

asked the Minister of Supply how much money has been spent on the production of the Centaur tank mounting a six-pounder gun; and whether production has now been discontinued.

It is not expedient to give information as to expenditure on production of items of war equipment from which the enemy might make useful deductions. The answer to the second part of the Question is "Yes, Sir".

Will the Minister explain how the enemy could make useful deductions about a machine that has never been in action and never will go into action? Why should money be wasted on it?

That is just one of the deductions from this answer that the hon. Member has no right to draw.

Is it not the responsibility of this House to look after expenditure? If this Department is wasting money on useless vehicles, we have a right to know how much they have wasted.

I cannot accept the suggestion in the hon. Member's supplementary question.

Might it not be disastrous if the enemy got to know the full depth of the incompetence of the Ministry of Supply?

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that, in requisitioning the Mart Billiards Hall, Carlisle, to establish a British Restaurant, his Department is depriving the owner of these premises of his only means of livelihood; and, seeing that the financial terms of this transaction are imposing a great hardship upon this man, will he readjust the same on a more reasonable basis.

The owner of the premises to which my hon. Friend refers is receiving payments determined in accordance with the provisions of the Compensation (Defence) Act, 1939, and I am not able to adopt my hon. Friend's suggestion.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that this man is 75 years of age and that, after he has met his commitments, he is left with less than £1 a week to live on?

Under the Act there is no power to give compensation for loss of profits. That is what the House did—not my Ministry.

What is the necessity for this requisitioning in view of the fact that all the licensed premises in Carlisle except two are Government property controlled by the Government under the Carlisle licensing scheme?

They do not provide quite the same facilities. This is a British Restaurant where you can get meals. The others are mainly places where you can get drinks.

I am positive that it was never envisaged, when the Regulations were passed, that this man should have his livelihood taken away from him and all his assets liquidated.

I am very sorry. We looked round to see whether there was any other building which could be taken for this British Restaurant, and investigations were made to see whether there was available land to put up a temporary building, but neither was available and I believe it is in the interest of the majority of the people to have these facilities.

Is it not the case that the Act to which my right hon. and gallant Friend refers was passed through the House in September, 1939, that no Member had seen it before he arrived that day, and that we were told that it had to become law that night?

I do not know that that concerns my Department. I was a Member of the House, and it is in the recollection of every Member.

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman not aware that other Ministers sitting beside him are exercising powers to compensate people for loss of profits in businesses that have been taken over?

Is the right hon. and gallant Gentleman aware that under the Act of Parliament that he has quoted there is a gross disparity of treatment, as between railway and shipping companies on the one hand and this kind of case on the other? Will he undertake to look into Section 6 of the Compensation Act?

That question should be put to someone else.

Does the right hon. and gallant Gentleman realise that there are within 100 yards of the centre of Carlisle four publicly-owned hotels, any one of which could have had its catering facilities extended for this purpose?

We are guided in these matters by the local authority. It is the local authorities who run these British Restaurants and this was recommended to us by the properly elected local authority of the borough.

Would it not be better to have no British Restaurant here than to have this injustice?

asked the Minister of Food whether he will allow the manufacture of ice-cream during the summer months.

Just before the House rose I received a deputation from Members on this subject and, whilst there is, I am afraid, not much chance of my being able to allow the manufacture of ice-cream this summer, I would prefer not to make a definite statement until the representations arising from this talk have been fully considered.

Will the Minister provide an opportunity for a statement on the subject when a decision is arrived at?

Certainly.

asked the Minister of Food why he has exempted jam and marmalade belonging to His Majesty's Government from the transport zoning arrangement prescribed for all other jam and marmalade in the Emergency Powers (Defence) Food and Food Transport (Jam and Marmalade) Order (S.R. & O., No. 300, of 1944); and why the Service Departments should not be required to be as economical in the use of transport as the civilian population.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given him on 5th April in answer to a similar Question.

But the anwer of 5th April was unsatisfactory and the Question was not put orally. Cannot the Minister give me any reason why the military authorities should be extravagant in the use of transport, at a time when the civilian population are asked to be careful?

I do not think they are being extravagant. All the War Office orders, for instance for jam, are being placed, after consultation, through my Ministry, with the firms nearest to the Army depots to which the jam will have to go.

asked the Minister of Supply if his attention has been drawn to the fact that, in the year following the concentration of the paint industry, the principal firm in that industry, Messrs. Pinchin, Johnson and Company, Limited, has increased its profits from £453,000 to £553,000 and its dividend from 8½ per cent. to 10 per cent.; and whether any employees of this firm or of any of its subsidiaries are or were on the staff of his Ministry engaged in controlling the paint industry.

Yes, Sir, but I would point out that the paint industry has not been concentrated. A member of the staff of a subsidiary of the firm referred to is serving in the Miscellaneous Chemicals Control.

Is it not the case that, although the industry has not, technically, been concentrated, the Government are routing orders so that only certain firms. are privileged to receive the orders; that the Ministry of Labour has taken as much as possible of the labour employed by other firms, and that concentration has, therefore, been achieved not straightly but crookedly?

There is no foundation for any suggestion of that kind. There has been no concentration, straight or crooked.

Will the Minister do what he can to help the hon. Member for South Croydon (Sir H. Williams) to reduce the profits of industrial firms?

And will the Minister also take notice of the same hon. Member's suggestion that the capitalists cannot be trusted?

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why, in view of the strain borne by volunteer wardens who work long hours during the day, it is considered necessary that wardens' posts should always be manned at night by two voluntary wardens even when one only has been found necessary in the past.

The manning of wardens' posts is a matter to be decided by the local authority in consultation with the Regional Commissioner. Where, therefore, in vulnerable areas, it has been decided, in the light of operational considerations, that posts should be manned at night by two persons, whole-time or part-time, my right hon. Friend would not wish to intervene. There are, of course, many other areas in which posts are manned only on an alert.

Has any kind of guidance been given to areas that are not so vulnerable not to employ voluntary wardens unnecessarily, in view of the very long hours that many of them work during the day?

This matter has been fully gone into with the Regional Commissioners, and between the Regional Commissioners and the local authorities.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policewomen are enrolled in London; how many more are needed; and how many women have volunteered to serve.

The number of attested women police in the Metropolitan Police District is 175. Four recruits are about to undergo a course of instruction, and one application for appointment is under consideration. Twenty more women are needed to bring the number up to the authorised establishment.

What action is taken to see that there are sufficient policewomen, not only in London but throughout the country?

This Question applies only to the Metropolitan Police District, which has set a good example in this matter, but if my hon. Friend knows of any women suitable for this position, perhaps he would be good enough to bring the names to our attention.

Is it not true that the women of the country have been pressing for women police for the last five years, ever since the war began, and that we could have given the Minister plenty of good names, if the Government had had the intelligence and the vision to ask for them?

The noble Lady would make a good one.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer at what date he expects the conference between American and British monetary experts on post-war currency to come to an end; and when he expects to make a statement to this House as to the trend of the discussion at this conference.

My right hon. Friend hopes to make a statement on this matte: very shortly.

Has the Minister's attention been drawn to an Associated Press statement in Washington, that early and complete agreement is expected between Grea Britain, the United States, Canada and Russia on the subject of post-war currency; that the position is to be based on gold, and that only one point remains to be settled? Is there any truth in that statement?

I have not seen that particular statement, but if my hon. Friend will await the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, which will be made very shortly, he may find an answer to his question.

Even though the right hon. Gentleman has not seen the statement, he must know what is going on. Is there any truth whatever in it?

Is there any intention on the part of the Government to get back to the gold standard.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis assessment is made for the purpose of Income Tax upon any sum of money paid as compensation for loss of profits or loss of user in respect of vehicles or other similar income-earning machinery put out of action consequent upon the default of one from whom such compensation is claimed.

I am not clear as to the precise kind of case my hon. and gallant Friend has in mind. If he will let me have particulars of the case which is in question I will inquire into it and communicate with him.

Is it possible to indicate the general principle?

Speak up.

The general rule is that sums received by a trader specifically as compensation for loss of profits form part of the taxable receipts of the trader. If the hon. and gallant Member will put a specific Question to me I will look into it.