asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it is proposed to give advances to the coffee industry in Kenya; why the promised aid to develop African grown coffee has not been forthcoming; and why Africans are still actively discouraged from growing it.

Advances have been sanctioned to assist the estates to finance proper maintenance after two successive seasons of very short crops, so as to prevent progressive deterioration which would jeopardise the survival of the industry. Encouragement has been given to the cultivation of coffee by Africans in suitable areas under Government supervision, but since 1941 the urgent requirements of fool production have precluded the opening of further areas for this purpose. The development of a native industry along co-operative lines, and the possibility of wider opportunities for Africans to grow coffee in suitable areas, are under consideration.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what safeguards will be offered to African squatters in occupation of land likely to be taken up in the extended new settlement schemes of European settlers in Kenya.

The legal position is that, under the Resident Labourers Ordinance, the contract between a resident labourer on a farm and the occupier is deemed, upon a change of occupancy, to have been assigned to the new occupier, provided that the labourer does not refuse his consent. The labourer's position would thus not be affected by the sale or subdivision of an existing farm for new settlement. I am, however, asking the Governor for a fuller report.

asked the Minister of Food if the feeding of young hunting hounds with new milk in the Cleveland area of Yorkshire is done with his approval and consent.

No, Sir.

asked the Minister of Food if he is aware that the Brandon and Byshottles Co-operative Society and others are being placed in a difficult position owing to an invitation for traders to register for pre-packed flour in 1941, being taken to mean flour which was packed by manufacturers and others prior to the time of sale; that the forms were duly completed, but co-operative societies now find it impossible to obtain supplies of flour bags, grease-proof paper, cap paper and cereal-fruit bags because they must be licensed as pre-packers before a permit can be issued; and, as this is causing inconvenience to the trade and traders, will he give permission for the above items to be purchased in the normal way.

I am making very full inquiries into this matter and will communicate with the hon. Member as soon as they have been completed.

asked the Minister of Food how soon eggs handed in under his scheme at Laurie Symington on a Friday will reach the wholesaler, and how far they will have been transported by the time that they get to Peebles.

The throughput of Messrs. Lawrie and Symington's packing station for each week ended Wednesday is released to Glasgow wholesalers on the Thursday and is in their hands by the Friday of the same week. Peebles is not supplied with eggs from this packing station, therefore, the latter part of the Question does not arise.

asked the Minister of Food what benefit there is to the public of passing eggs through packing stations in view of the fact that producers get the same price for eggs of all sizes and consumers also pay the same; what is the cost per dozen of passing eggs through a packing station; and whether he has considered the suggestions that it would be more economical for producers to hand the eggs to the Ministry at livestock grading centres without the superimposition of a packing station.

The benefit to the public of passing eggs through packing station is equitable distribution of eggs and the receipt by the public of eggs of first quality. Packing stations collect eggs from producers, examine and grade them, rejecting any unsuitable for human consumption, and pack them in suitable boxes for transport. For these services they receive a payment of 2s. 3d. per 120 eggs. Producers only get the same price for eggs of all sizes provided the eggs are of first quality. For eggs not of first quality various deductions are made. Consumers do not pay the same prices for all eggs, the maximum prices being 2s. per dozen for eggs of Category I and Is. 9d. per dozen for eggs of Category II. It would be impracticable for producers to hand in eggs at Livestock Grading Centres. Most

asked the Minister of Information whether any offer has been made to the American Forces in this

asked the Minister of Food whether, in connection with the marketing of gooseberries for the forthcoming season, he will consider giving an open market to the growers for a period prior to pre-emption in the same manner as was affected in the case of strawberries last year.

As the circumstances in which the two crops named can be picked are not comparable, I am afraid I am unable to adopt my hon. Friend's suggestion.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer the amounts paid into the Imperial Treasury from Northern Ireland and the sums expended in Northern Ireland and grants made to the Government from the Imperial Exchequer for the financial years 1939–40, 1940–41, 1941–42, 1942–43 and 1943–44, respectively.

Following is the information desired:country to make available qualified persons to answer questions regarding the institutions of this country.

Yes, Sir. This has been satisfactorily provided for.

asked the Attorney-General if he will consider introducing legislation to change the law relating to domicile in order to obviate the hardship caused to married women who, under the existing law, are by reason of their marriage domiciled outside the United Kingdom and are thereby prevented from pursuing any remedies they have against defaulting husbands not in this country.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer 'given to the hon. Member for South Croydon (Sir H. Williams) on 4th May.

asked the Minister of Supply whether he is aware that representations made by the staff side, commencing in July, 1943, on the withdrawal of payment to certain non-industrial staff for working on the Woolwich beanfeast day, still remains unsettled despite repeated reminders and protests to the deputy secretary; and whether he will ensure that the discussion with the deputy secretary, requested by the staff side on 23rd November, 1943, takes place without further delay.

A reply is being sent to the staff side on this matter this week.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works if he is aware of the delay in opening an additional British Restaurant at High Wycombe owing to the fact that though an indent for the necessary equipment was sent to the Ministry of Food on 8th October, 1943, and received by his Depart-merit on 18th December, orders to manufacturers for certain articles were only sent out on 8th February, 1944; and if he will take steps to expedite delivery as the restaurant is urgently required.

I understand that all the items have now been delivered except a refrigerator and a fish fryer. I wish to express my regret for the delay and I am having full inquiry made into the circumstances which gave rise to it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether an emergency factory-made house, similar to that now on view in London, will be erected for exhibition on Tyneside.

As the prototype house is necessarily constructed by hand large numbers cannot be made available for exhibition in various parts of the country. A second prototype will shortly be erected in Scotland. The distribution of tickets to view the prototype by the Ministry of Health through local authorities was designed to ensure that representatives from all areas should have an opportunity of viewing it.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works how factory-built steel houses are to be adapted to meet the urgent needs of rural centres of population where neither electricity, gas nor piped water supplies are available.

As my Noble Friend indicated in another place last week, if the prototype of the emergency factory-made house is approved, the Health Ministers will allocate them to the various localities for which they are suitable. The house is not intended for use in the circumstances described in this Question.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works whether the demonstration houses at Northolt are now complete; and whether he will arrange for Members of this House to have an opportunity of inspecting them.

No, Sir, the alternative demonstration houses are in various stages of completion, but as stated by my Noble Friend last week in another place all should be ready for inspection in July, when hon. Members of this House will be given the first opportunity to view them.

asked the Minister of Health if his records give the number of dwellings in rural areas in which no water is laid on and the number of dwellings in urban areas which have no water and no bathrooms, respectively; and whether such reconditioning is part of his postwar housing policy in view of the fact that without proper water supplies it is impossible to eliminate slum conditions.

I regret that precise information is not available under these various heads, but it is estimated that about 30 per cent. of the population of rural districts live in houses which are not connected to or within easy access of a water main. The improvement of unsatisfactory living conditions in both town and country by all possible means, including, of course, adequate water supplies and the provision of bathrooms, will form a most important part of post-war policy.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Works if he will make arrangements to abolish the charge of 2d. to members of the Forces for the use of chairs in public parks in London.

I have again sympathetically considered the suggestion first made by the hon. and gallant Member for Finchley (Captain Crowder) on 5th May last year that the charge for chairs in the Royal Parks might be waived in the case of Service personnel in uniform. As I stated on that occasion there are already in the Royal Parks free seats for some 8,000 people, of which 6,000 are in the Central London Parks, and I regret that it has not been found possible to adopt the suggestion.

asked the Minister of Labour upon what principle the decision is made on the one hand to direct civilians into factories at industrial wages and on the other hand to require Service personnel to work in factories while drawing their ordinary pay and allowances.

The rate for the job is the accepted rule in industry and this applies to Service personnel transferred to the Reserve for civilian work. When, however, urgent demands for labour have to be met by the temporary loan of Service personnel who must be available for military requirements at the shortest possible notice and who cannot for that reason be transferred to the Reserve, the men concerned must be kept under Service discipline and must receive their emoluments under the appropriate Service code.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is aware that there is grave anxiety amongst members of the No. 2 Medical Board, Manchester, regarding the action of the regional medical officer in dealing with complaints relative to the conduct of the chairman of the board; that eight of the 13 members of the Board are withholding their services as a matter of national duty until this matter has been fully investigated; and whether he will institute an inquiry into the position, details of which have been sent to him.

I am aware that difficulties have arisen in connection with this Board, and I have instituted an inquiry.

asked the Minister of Labour whether he is making any inquiry regarding women now employed in industry who will probably desire to continue so after the war; whether the survey, when completed, will be made public; and, if not, whether the decision arrived at will be made known to trade union, etc., bodies now concerned with the welfare of employed women.

No, Sir. I am not making an inquiry of this kind.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is in a position to give the date of opening of the new hostel and canteen for the use of His Majesty's Forces with regard to which his attention has already been drawn.

Certain necessary fittings have yet to be installed, but I hope that the hostel will be ready by the middle of this month

asked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware that there are complaints of the delay in receiving air-mail from Italy, in some cases letters taking as long as one month; and if he will take steps to speed up this service.

The air letter service from Italy has been considerably speeded up and for some time now the average time taken by air mail letters to reach this country from bases in Italy has been six days. The case mentioned by my hon. Friend must be exceptional.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware of the great anxiety felt by relatives of prisoners of war transferred from Italy to Germany owing to the cessation of correspondence since such transfer; and whether he will make representations to ensure the forwarding to this country of letters written to relatives from their present place of detention.

Some correspondence has been received from these men, but less than might have been expected. Strong representations have been made about this to the German authorities through the Protecting Power.

asked the Minister of Agriculture whether he is aware of the numerous cases of loss of animal stock by neglect and cruelty; and whether the war agricultural executive committees have the power in all cases where farmers have shown neglect which was punished by the courts of supervising all future control of stock of the farmers concerned.

No, Sir. I have no information which suggests that cases of loss of livestock through cruelty or neglect are at all numerous. The powers enabling county war agricultural commit- tees to exercise control over livestock kept on farms are designed to ensure the maintenance of efficient food production. The committees have no specific authority to deal with cases of cruelty or neglect of farm animals, but where wastage of food would result, action may be taken to regulate the numbers and classes of stock kept. If my hon. and gallant Friend has any cases of this nature in mind and will send me particulars, I will look into them.

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many British and American bombers, respectively, were lost over Germany and Northern Europe during the first four months of 1944.

During the first four months of 1944, 1,041 British and 1,117 U S.A.A.F. bombers operating from this country were reported lost over Germany and Northern Europe.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare what information he has on the subject of recent discoveries of oil in Turkey, especially in the Anatolia Province; to what extent German oil technicians are assisting in exploratory works; and whether German companies own oil concessions.

In recent years a number of drilling operations have been carried out by Maden Tetkik ve Arama Enstitusu Petrol Grubu, largely in the Ramandag and Adana districts. Although these operations have not been without result I understand that oil has not yet been discovered in commercial volume. Before the war approximately 14 German technicians were employed in Turkey on oil exploration duties. To-day only two remain. According to my information no oil concessions in Turkey are owned by German companies.