asked the Secretary of State for War when he anticipates that the new rates of supplementary allowances for soldiers' wives will be in full operation.

The White Paper stated that these changes would take effect from the nearest pay day to 1st May, though it would not in all cases be possible to bring the revised rates actually into issue until some time after that date. Arrangements are being made which it is hoped will enable soldiers' wives to draw the new allowances together with the arrears due since 1st May on 22nd May.

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is aware that in April, 1944, the officer commanding a company of A.T.S., of which he has been informed, organised a prize draw for the A.T.S. Comforts Fund in which the chief prizes were bottles of whiskey and gin; and whether he will draw the attention of all officers to the War Office booklet, Health Memoranda for Soldiers, which states that spirituous drinks should be avoided.

I understand that the prize draw to which my hon. Friend refers was organised in aid of an A.T.S. Comforts Fund. There were three prizes offered; a bottle of whiskey, a bottle of gin and a permanent wave. I understand that the booklet referred to, which was a pre-war publication, is no longer issued.

asked the Secretary of State for War what is the average messing charge paid by British officers serving in India.

I have been asked to reply. I cannot give a reliable average figure, as messing charges vary both according to locality and according to the conditions under which officers are serving. Since December, 1943, however maximum charges for officers have been fixed by Indian Army Order at 1 Re. 8 As. per day where free rations are drawn, and 3 Rs. 8 As. per day where rations are not issued in kind. These rates may be exceeded only by permission of the Brigade Commander and this is only granted where prices in the locality render it essential.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many military officers and assistant record officers in the Record Offices are of medical categories fitting them for service overseas.

I regret that it would not be in the public interest to give the figures asked for by the hon. Member. In order to serve overseas an officer must be in medical categories A or B, but over half the officers in Record Offices in these categories are over 50 years old and are not suitable on this account for service overseas. Those of the balance who are sufficiently experienced are either about to be sent overseas or are being held to meet commitments overseas in future. Assistant Record Officers are employed on civilian contracts and are not liable for service overseas. Their average age is at present 58.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs, what facilities for trade unions have been established in Southern Rhodesia for Africans; and what arrangements have been made to bring trade unions and industrial legislation into line with practice in other parts of the British Colonial Empire.

There is no legistion in Southern Rhodesia governing the establishment of trade unions by Africans, and I am not aware that such legislation is contemplated at present.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether the number of offences and imprisonments under the Southern Rhodesian Pass Laws relating to Africans is diminishing; and will he give the figures for 1938, 1939 and 1943.

The number of convictions under the Southern Rhodesia Native Passes Act in 1938 was 13,272 and in 1939 13,890. No comparable figure is yet available here for 1943, but the figures for prosecutions from 1940 to 1942 show some increase.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the present rates of pay and allowances for officers and other ranks of the Palestinian Constabulary and the terms of pension awarded to wives and dependants of officers and constables killed or wounded in the execution of their duty; and whether any increase of pay and allowances has been made since the war to meet the increased cost of living in Palestine and the Middle East.

The particulars are as follow:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Report has been received from the High Commissioner in Palestine in regard to the raising of levies, both Arab and Jew; whether this movement of auxiliary police or armed levies is being encouraged and to what extent is it known that arms and ammunition are now in the possession of both Jews and Arabs in large quantities; and what steps have been taken to impose such penalties for the possession of arms held illegally, such as expulsion from the country, which would induce all inhabitants of Palestine to surrender their weapons.

I am uncertain to what report my hon. and gallant Friend refers; if he has in mind the enlistment of Palestinians in the various formations of the Palestine Police, the position is that both Arabs and Jews are eligible for service in certain branches of the Force. It is known that certain quantities of arms and ammunition are in the possession of Arabs and Jews; and as a result of the recent outbreaks of terrorism in Palestine the Emergency Regulations which imposed the death penalty for carrying arms and sabotage have been reintroduced.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what number of persons suffering from pneumoconiosis, miners' disease, were regis- tered in 1943 and to the latest date in 1944 in the West Wales area; how many have been examined; what number are now on the waiting list; what steps are being taken to expedite the examinations; and will he state the number who, having been examined, were successful in their claims for compensation and the number unsuccessful.

The number of applications to the Silicosis Medical Board by or on behalf of coalminers in West Wales for certificates of disablement or suspension under the Compensation Schemes for silicosis and pneumoconiosis between the 1st January, 1943, and the 30th April, 1044, was 2,440. The number of certificates issued was 625 and the number refused was 663. The number of cases awaiting examination or decision at the end of April was 1,152. As I explained in reply to a Question by the hon. Member for Llanelly (Mr. J. Griffiths) on 17th February, I fully recognise the desirability of doing everything possible to cope with the large number of applications received, but the claims on the medical profession at the present time make it very difficult, if not impossible, to secure the services of qualified men who can devote time to this kind of work. Everything is being done by the existing staff of the Medical Board to deal with the applications as expeditiously as possible, but I am afraid that in present circumstances delay is unavoidable.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that, on the arrest of Mr. Arnold Leese, the police abstracted amongst other items of his property three pamphlets entitled, respectively, "Gentile Folly," "The Rothschilds," "Devilry in the Holy Land and L'invasion Juive," and that even since Mr. Leese's release they refuse to return these pamphlets to him; whether this is in accordance with his instructions; and, if not, if he will give orders for their restoration to Mr. Leese.

As Mr. Leese is aware, the pamphlets have been retained by the police in pursuance of an authority which I have given to them under Defence Regulation 93B.

asked the Secretary of Stae for the Home Department what representations he has had regarding the exercise of the Royal Prerogative of mercy in capital cases; and if he will make a statement.

I have had no recent representations on this subject. If my hon. Friend has in mind statements which have appeared in the Press suggesting that the exercise of the Royal Prerogative in capital cases should be entrusted to a tribunal composed of High Court Judges and others, my view is that the responsibility for advising His Majesty in this grave matter ought to remain with a Minister of the Crown, and the Home Secretary is the most appropriate Minister for the purpose. It is, of course, open to him to consult the trial Judge, and it is the usual practice to do so in any case of difficulty.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he will give the names and qualifications of the British experts who collaborated in drawing up the Joint Statement by Experts on the Establishment of an International Monetary Fund.

No, Sir. The experts in question are working for His Majesty's Government and it would be contrary to traditional practice to give the names of those who have collaborated in this task.

asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware of the difficulties experienced by employees of the railway companies in ascertaining the amount of income tax payable by them. under the Pay-as-you-earn system, inasmuch as the railway companies are unable, owing to shortage of staff, to give particulars of deductions made by them for taxation purposes from the weekly wages; and what action he is prepared to take to make such information available to such wage-earners.

The regulations governing "Pay-as-you-earn" do not oblige the employer to give the employee a weekly statement of the tax deducted from his pay, but the employer is required to give a certificate at the end of the year showing the total pay and the total tax deducted. The Tax Tables showing the deductions appropriate to given amounts of pay are, of course, available to enable employees to check any particular deduction, and I understand that if in any week an individual employee of a railway wishes to be informed of the amount of tax deducted from his pay the particulars would be given on request.

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether, in view of the fact that Scottish seed potatoes form the basis of the crop for the rest of the country, he will remove Government control through the issue of certificates; and, in view of the necessity of maintaining the world-wide reputation of Scottish seed, he will leave it to a voluntary association of growers in which buyers would have confidence to manage their own affairs.

The scheme referred to in the Question is purely voluntary and there is no compulsion whatever on growers to participate in it. It is administered on that basis through the Department of Agriculture for Scotland and the need for maintaining the deservedly high reputation of Scottish seed potatoes is fully appreviated. All Scottish Associations of Growers and Merchants are regularly consulted by me on matters affecting the scheme.

asked the Secretary of State for Air the salary and expenses of the Director-General of the A.T.C. and his deputy, respectively; when these appointments were made; and whether any officers of the A.T.C. were considered for the appointments.

The Director-General of the Air Training Corps was appointed on 1st February, 1944, and receives the pay and allowances of an Air Vice-Marshal plus an additional 25 per cent. of his pay in lieu of pension. The present Deputy-Director, who was appointed on 15th July, 1942, receives £800 a year plus bonus of £49 11s., together with Service retired pay. In addition both these officers are eligible for travelling and subsistence allowances at the regulated rates appropriate to their ranks. As regards the last part of the Question, the whole field of potential candidates was surveyed in connection with these posts.

asked the Secretary of State for War how many accidents to Service vehicles have been recorded since January, 1944.

Vehicles belonging to the three Services were involved in 36,000 accidents in the United Kingdom in the first four months of this year. This figure includes accidents involving Government vehicles and Government property only and accidents which did not result in a claim for damages being made.

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he will take all necessary steps to ensure that farmers can obtain a sufficient number of cartridges to enable them to keep under control pigeons, rabbits and other farm pests.

Both the output of cartridges for civil use and the reserve specially allocated for the purpose indicated by my hon. Friend have been substantially increased this year as compared with last. Cartridges from the reserve can be obtained through permits granted by County War Agricultural Executive Committees in cases where dealers cannot supply from their normal allocation of cartridges for civil use.

asked the Minister of Pensions whether the relatives of the airman, Reuben W. Carlier, who died in Canada on firth May, 1943, from a streptococcus infection introduced into the blood stream at the time of inoculation with diphtheria toxoid, will be able to claim any pension or other allowances that may be paid after the death of airmen on active service; and whether the other airmen who became ill through the inoculation have now all recovered.

The parents of the deceased airman are eligible for pension under the regulations of my Department subject to the ordinary requirement that they are in pecuniary need. An application made by them last year showed that the father was in employment and that they were not in pecuniary need, but they were informed that it is open to them to renew their application at any time if their circumstances so changed that this requirement is fulfilled. As regards the second part of the Question I understand from my right hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Air, that the other airmen who became ill through the inoculation have now recovered.

asked the Minister of Food whether he will give an assurance that imported bulb onions will not be allowed to affect the sale of English grown onions; and whether he will consider allowing a longer period for the English crops to be disposed of before the imported onions are put on sale.

The import of onions recommenced on a small scale this winter and further imports may be expected from December, 1944. Onions brought from abroad will continue for the present to be imported by the Ministry of Food, who do not intend, however, that they shall compete with the home grown crop either as regards price or period of marketing.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Economic Warfare whether, in view of the unsatisfactory attitude of the Portuguese Government on exports of wolfram to the Axis, His Majesty's Government are continuing to make supplies of coal available to Portugal.

Under the Azores Agreement His Majesty's Government undertook to supply coal to Portugal until 30th June, 1944. After that date the matter will be reconsidered in the light of existing circumstances.