asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what requests have been made by the Tanganyika Government to the Overseas Food Corporation to grow sufficient crops at Kongwa, Urambo and Lindi to satisfy the needs of the workers employed in the groundnuts scheme in East Africa.

This matter has been under discussion between the Tanganyika Government and the local representative of the Overseas Food Corporation, and the Governor has informed me that the Corporation are planting a substantial area of maize this season.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if the officers of the Colonial Agricultural Service in Tanganyika are regularly consulted by the Overseas Food Corporation in the development of the groundnuts scheme in East Africa.

Monthly meetings are held at Dar-es-Salaam at which senior representatives of the Tanganyika Government and of the Overseas Food Corporation discuss matters of common interest, including agriculture. The Tanganyika member for Agriculture and Natural Resources and the General Manager of Agriculture of the Corporation or his senior representative attend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons have registered as being eligible to vote for the new Board of Municipal Commissioners for Singapore; and how many of these are Indians and Chinese respectively.

8,688 persons have registered. No precise information is available as to the number of Indians and Chinese who have registered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the Singapore Prison Department Report for 1947 reveals that 47 prisoners were whipped for offences against prison discipline in 1947 and 41 in 1946 compared with a total of 17 in three years before the war; and whether he will inquire into the reasons for this increase.

I will inquire into the matter and write my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the sugar producers and workers of British Guiana and the Barbados House of Assembly have asked that the British Government should pay a higher price for West Indian sugar; whether he is in consultation with the Minister of Food on this subject; and what action he proposes to take.

Yes. I am aware of these representations, and I have been continuously in consultation with my right hon. Friend on this subject.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what are the terms of the Police Ordinance recently introduced in Aden; whether he is aware that this Ordinance has aroused dissatisfaction; and what further action he proposes to take in this matter.

The legislation, of which I am sending my hon. Friend a copy, is designed to meet the need, disclosed during the disturbances of 1947, for the better control of processions and assemblies. Some local criticism of the legislation, based largely on a misapprehension of its purposes, was answered in the Aden Legislative Council on 17th and 18th of January. I am assured that these provisions will not be used in any unduly repressive manner.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what were the charges on which Dr. Edgar Millien, owner and editor of the Mauritius daily newspaper, L'Oeuvre, was recently convicted and the newspaper suppressed for one month; and if he will reproduce the offending matter in HANSARD.

Dr. Millien was charged, under Article 283 (1) (a) of the Penal Code of Mauritius, with the publication of a seditious article in his newspaper L'Oeuvre on the following counts:—of attempting (1) to bring into hatred the person of His Excellency the Governor of this Colony; (2) to bring into contempt the person of his Excellency the Governor of this Colony; (3) to excite disaffection against the person of His Excellency the Governor of this Colony. The following are extracts from the said article "Justice":—

Thus, Excellency, to protect a low-class individual whose conduct you know and on whom you know the judgment of a high Commission, you have not hesitated to throw in the street, to destitution, to demoralisation, to shame, men, women and children to whom you owed justice. You have in so doing committed a crime against a section of humanity which, I know, belongs for the greater part to a race of people for whom you have no consideration, because they are black. But you have committed a greater crime still, in dishonouring the British Justice which you represent here, the Mauritian dignity of people you govern, and the Empire which sent you throughout the world precisely to maintain its prestige before less advanced peoples. You have diminished this prestige. The result of the acts of your Government in this country has certainly contributed a lot to bring public contempt on the British Colonial Service. You have corrupted the ranks of the Civil Service, you have corrupted our population by the example you have given it of lack of respect for Justice and by the support you have given to the lowest feelings in this country.

This report (of a Commission of Enquiry into the Prisons Administration) has been made up, recopied, examined by the three members of the Commission, typed, retyped again and again in several copies, has passed through several hands and has perhaps been sent to the Secretary of State. I challenge you to know how I came to know its contents.

Don't try to find out. To take legal reprisals. You would make mistakes and would strike innocent people once more. Those who, in your eyes, are guilty of treason towards your corrupt Services are serving the country by helping the man who is cleaning these Services! When they run all the risks, they place themselves high above those who do harm believing they are running no risks.

My motions could not be discussed at the last two meetings of the Legislature because they were always placed at the bottom of the Order Papers which were as long as possible.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty the number of police officers employed at the naval base in Rosneath, Dumbartonshire; and the total amount of wages per week received by them.

Fifteen Admiralty Civil Police ranks are employed at the Royal Naval Base, Rosneath; their wages total £84 per week.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty how many cases of suspected sabotage have been reported in dockyards or aboard ship during the past six months.

In the past six months there have been nine cases in which there is an element of suspicion that damage has been wilful. No evidence has come to light to indicate that the motive for any wilful damage has been other than personal and petty or that there is any general connection between the various cases.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty when a decision may be expected in the case of Commander H. C. Cumberbatch, R.N., Retired, whose application for payment of removal allowance was forwarded to the Flag Officer on 15th October, 1947, in H.M.S. "Safeguard" letter No. 1167/BD165, and which, according to the Admiralty's last letter C.W. 28262/47 dated 7th April, 1948, was still under consideration.

Commander Cumberbatch is one of a number of reemployed retired officers who, under naval regulations as they stand at present, are not eligible for the payment of removal allowance. The position of these officers, however, is under consideration on an inter-Service basis as part of the general review of conditions under which removal allowances are payable in the three Services, and it is hoped that a decision will be reached shortly.

asked the Minister of Food in how many aerodromes he is at present storing imported grain; and what precautions he is taking to prevent damage by vermin and weevils.

My Department is at present using 54 aerodromes for the storage of imported grain. The buildings have been proofed against damage by rats and mice and the grain is piled in accordance with infestation control requirements. Any infestation by vermin or weevil is immediately dealt with by fumigation.

asked the Minister of Food what progress is being made with the building of houses for the European staff and African workers, respectively, at Kongwa, Urambo and Lindi; and if he is satisfied that the Overseas Food Corporation is having due regard to the welfare of its workers in this respect.

I have informed the Corporation of the inquiries in the first part of the hon. Member's Question, and have invited them to reply to him direct. The reply to the second part of the Question is "Yes."

asked the Minister of Food under what constitutional authority he decides the rate of profit to be taken by his Department on the sale of individual foodstuffs.

My right hon. Friend, as a Minister of the Crown, has the same right as any other person to decide at what price he will sell. In addition, he has statutory power under the Defence Regulations to control selling prices.

asked the Postmaster-General when it is intended to extend the existing mail service to the State of Israel to include a parcels post.

As I have already informed my hon. Friend by letter, a parcel post service to Israeli-controlled areas of Palestine became available on 10th February.

asked the Postmaster-General whether his regulations force a Post Office depositor who has reached the permitted limit of deposits to withdraw the yearly interest accruing, in order that he may keep within the statutory limit; or does the accruing sum also bear interest and is it added, without necessity of withdrawal, to the total amount allowed when further personal deposits cease.

The Savings Bank (Limits of Deposits) Order, 1946, provides that the limits of deposits shall not operate to prevent the crediting to a depositor's account of interest on the deposits in the account. Such interest is calculated to the 31st December of each year when it is added to the principal sum in the account and ranks for interest in the subsequent year.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the lack of adequate space in the Wilson Road post office, Ely, Cardiff; and as this sub-post office situated in a grocer's shop serves a heavily populated area, whether he will take steps to provide more suitable premises.

I am not aware that the accommodation provided at the sub-post office in question is inadequate. Inquiries are being made and I will write to my hon. Friend when they are complete.

asked the Postmaster-General why Parliamentary Papers posted from the House of Commons at 8 a.m. on the morning of Saturday, 12th February, did not reach the senior Member for Brighton at his home in Brighton till Monday morning, in view of the fact that there is an hourly train service taking only one hour from London to Brighton.

An 8 a.m. posting at the House of Commons post office on Saturday is too late to connect with the second and final letter delivery in Brighton, beginning at 11 a.m., on that day. Delivery on Monday morning would be in proper course. To secure delivery in Brighton on a Saturday, correspondence must be posted at the House of Commons post office in time for the final collection on the Friday evening.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether he will seek an amendment to the agreement reached with the A.E.U. with regard to dilutees, since this agreement has resulted in men classed as skilled under the agreement having in authority over them charge hands with 10 years' aircraft engineering experience but who are classed as unskilled by the A.E.U. and the Air Ministry.

No. The agreement to which the hon. and gallant Member refers was negotiated by my Department in 1939, at a time of acute shortage of fully skilled manpower in the aircraft engineering industry, and under its terms we were able to employ on skilled work a dilutee class of labour. Both the fully skilled workman and the dilutee receive the same standard rates of pay but in a number of cases fully skilled workmen receive a higher rate of merit pay than do the dilutees. Although, as the hon. Member indicates, many of these dilutees have now obtained ten years' aeronautical engineering experience, they still cannot, under the terms of the agreement, be classed as fully skilled. The dilutee who on other grounds is suitable for promotion to charge hand does, however, receive on promotion the standard rate of charge pay which would be payable to a fully skilled man in the same circumstances.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he has any statement to make regarding the disciplinary action taken at the Royal Air Force Station at Leconfield, following the unauthorised removal of a recruiting poster.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the replies I gave on 9th February to my hon. Friend the Member for King's Norton (Mr. Blackburn) and on 15th February to my hon. Friend the Member for Lowestoft (Mr. Edward Evans).

asked the Secretary of State for Air how many Regular officers resigned or retired in 1947 and 1948; how many applications to do so were refused; and if he will give details of the ranks of the officers concerned.

Forty-seven Regular officers retired at their own request or resigned in 1947 and 79 in 1948. Their ranks were as follows:

		1947	1948
Air officers	…	1	7
Group captains	…	6	8
Wing commanders	…	6	12
Squadron leaders	…	13	15
Flight lieutenants	…	12	33
Flying officers	…	9	4

In addition, 59 and 68 officers on short-term regular commissions were allowed to transfer prematurely to the Reserve in 1947 and 1948 respectively. Their ranks were as follows:

		1947	1948
Wing commanders	…	1	1
Squadron leaders	…	6	7
Flight lieutenants	…	29	17
Flying officers	…	21	30
Pilot officers	…	2	13

Detailed records are not kept of applications for voluntary retirement or resignation which are refused. Some are stopped at Command level, but so far as can be ascertained in the Air Ministry, 27 applications were refused in 1947 and 43 in 1948.

asked the Secretary of State for Air what conditions govern further promotion after aircrew passing out and promotion to aircrew 1; and what relation these conditions bear to work done and flying hours accomplished.

The conditions governing the promotion of aircrew above the rank of aircrew III are a combination of length of aircrew service, technical qualifications, and flying hours accomplished. As the application of these conditions is complicated, I am sending the hon. Member a copy of the relevant Air Ministry Order.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why aircrew at present serving cannot sign on for 22 years total service with pension as aircrew; and why men showing willingness to serve must also show willingness to be grounded at lower rates of pay if they desire to sign on for long service.

In the case of aircrew entered as signallers, engineers or gunners, vacancies for long service re-engagement as aircrew already exist. I am reconsidering the question of long service re-engagement as aircrew for pilots and navigators. The second part of the hon. Member's Question does not, therefore, arise at this stage.

asked the Secretary of State for Air whether it is his intention that Royal Air Force pay parades should, in future, in line with the practice in force before the war, be held weekly and not fortnightly; and whether he will make a statement.

Yes. I intend to introduce weekly pay as soon as practicable, but shortage of experienced clerks and accounting staff may cause delay. Weekly pay parades are, however, being introduced this month on a trial basis at 10 selected stations in Home Commands and B.A.F.O. (Germany).

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will make a statement on the memorandum sent to His Excellency the Governor of Singapore by the Air Ministry local staff union regarding pay and conditions of the civilian employees of the Royal Air Force in Singapore.

The Air Commander-in-Chief, Far East, has been asked to forward a copy of the memorandum referred to. I may say, however, that the Commander-in-Chief has already been informed that this union may be recognised locally for such grades of non-industrial staff as in his opinion it sufficiently represents.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation when the Aberdeen—London air service is to be resumed.

British European Airways Corporation do not propose to resume the Aberdeen—London service this year.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation what instructions he has issued to amend the present maintenance schedules on B.O.A.C., B.E.A. and B.S.A.A.C. services of daily inspections, to a schedule of maintenance only after 30 flying hours.

On the recommendation of the Air Registration Board following discussions with operators and others concerned, revised arrangements for the periodical inspection and certification of public transport aircraft by licensed maintenance engineers have recently been approved. The new arrangements do away with the need for a fresh certificate to be given every 24 hours, irrespective of the amount of flying actually done, and enable substantial economies to be made. They in no way affect the rules as to maintenance and pre-flight checks laid down for each aircraft through the system of approved maintenance schedules.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation when the experimental service between Cardiff and Liverpool is to begin operating; whether Section 4 of the Civil Aviation Act, 1946, was invoked by the Minister in order to secure the agreement of British European Airways Corporation to such an experiment; what are the estimated losses per annum which will be incurred by the operation of this service; and by whom will such losses be borne.

The answer to the first part of the Question is that a service Liverpool/Hawarden/Cardiff/Hawarden/ Valley will begin operating on 11th April for an experimental period of six months. The answer to the second part is "No." The financial result and the continued operation of the service will depend on the use made of it, but some loss is inevitable at the moment as is the case with nearly all the internal services. Any loss will fall to be met under Section 12 of the Civil Aviation Act.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation which of the existing internal services of British European Airways Corporation are to be suspended in order to offset the anticipated losses of operating the experimental Cardiff—Liverpool service.

None.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many Arabs have been rendered homeless as a result of events in Palestine; where these refugees are distributed at present; what steps are being taken to relieve their distress; and when and where it is proposed to resettle them.

There is a total of about 810,000 Arab refugees distributed as follows: Gaza area, 210,000; Palestine, 320,000; neighbouring states (Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Transjordan) 280,000. The United Nations organisation for the relief of these persons is at present dealing with about 600,000 of them.All member Governments were called upon by resolution at the United Nations Assembly to contribute to the cost of this relief, estimated at 32 million dollars for nine months, but so far the only substantial funds which have been made available for use are £1 million donated by His Majesty's Government and 5 million dollars advanced from the Secretary-General's Working Capital Fund. Assistance is also being given by the International Children's Emergency Fund, which has set aside 6 million dollars for this purpose, and by the World Health Organisation. Further funds will, however, be required before the end of March if effective assistance is to continue.Under the terms of the United Nations Assembly Resolution of 11th December, the Conciliation Commission is instructed "to facilitate the repatriation, resettlement and economic and social rehabilitation of the refugees and the payment of compensation." The United Nations Organisation for the Relief of Palestinian Refugees is due to be wound up in August, and it is therefore to be hoped that the Conciliation Commission will prove able to formulate a long-term plan and arrange for its implementation before that date.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what reply has been made to the letter which has been sent to the Military Governments of Germany and the Commandants of the Berlin sectors by the German Yearly Meeting of the Society of Friends.

The reply of the Military Governor to the letter sent to him by the German Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends on the subject of the death penalty reads as follows:

"The Military Governor has given due consideration to your appeal for the abolition of the death penalty. He regrets that he cannot express an opinion on this very controversial subject at the present juncture but you may rest assured that pleas for mercy are always very carefully considered."

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why the Property Control Branch at Minden gave a ruling on 4th May, 1948, under reference FIN/20 648 (PC), that former Jewish property which had been aryanised did not have to be declared under General Order No. 10 as Jewish property which had been the subject of compulsory measures.

The ruling in question related not to property which had been confiscated or forcibly removed from the original owners but to property which the present owner acquired in the ordinary course of business in which there was no element of coercion. It was given in order to avoid the unnecessary dislocation which would have resulted from the taking into control by Military Government of a large amount of property for the return of which no claim would lie. The ruling in no way prejudices the position of persons who make claims for the recovery of their property.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the area of former German territory which the occupying Powers have agreed should be given to the Netherlands; and what is the approximate further area claimed by the Netherlands Government.

Following the Six-Power talks in London on Germany in May last year, it was announced "that the delegates have agreed to submit for the consideration of their Governments proposals for dealing with certain minor provisional territorial adjustments in connection with the Western frontiers of Germany." Subsequently these proposals were discussed by the Governments concerned and it is hoped that a communiqué on this subject will be issued in the near future. I regret that until these discussions are ended I am not in a position to furnish the information desired by my hon. Friend.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, in view of our joint responsibility for the occupation of Japan, whether he has any knowledge of how long it is intended that United States troops shall remain in Japan; and whether he is yet in a position to make a statement concerning the date of the opening of negotiations for a Peace Treaty or similar instrument with Japan.

As far as I am aware, no decision has been taken as to how long United States troops are to remain in Japan. As to the Peace Treaty, I regret that the procedural difficulties, which have hitherto blocked progress have not yet been overcome.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what communication he has made to the Hungarian Minister in London as a result of the trial and sentence of Cardinal Mindszenty.

I have nothing to add to the reply which I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton (Mr. Teeling) on 14th February.

asked the Minister of Agriculture to state his horticultural policy for this year as a guide to farmers in Kent, as they are at present unable to decide what they should plant.

Suggested county acreages for the main vegetable crops for 1949, were sent to county agricultural executive committees in September last. I am sending the hon. Member a statement showing the figures for Kent. I have advised growers to plan for increased plantings of dessert apples and pears and of soft fruits, particularly strawberries.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will publish in the OFFICIAL REPORT the reasons for exempting domestic type water softeners, which have been slightly modified for industrial requirements, from Purchase Tax when industrial gas water heaters in a similar tax group are not so exempted.

The idea that domestic water softeners are exempt from taxation if modified for industrial use is due to a misunderstanding which is now being corrected.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will introduce legislation to make Scots one-pound notes legal tender throughout the United Kingdom, in view of the inconvenience caused to travellers by the existing law prohibiting their use.

No.

asked the Minister of Health how far housing work is being held up for lack of bricks, cement, steel or timber; and what type of housing is affected.

I am not aware of any such hold up.

asked the Attorney-General the Government's policy towards the appointment of welfare officers in the High Court to safeguard the interests of children as recommended by the Denning Committee.

The Government consider that legislation would be needed to give full effect to the recommendations of the Denning Committee with regard to court welfare officers. The possibility of appointing probation officers to assist the court in cases in which there is a dispute as to the custody of the children of a marriage which has broken up is, however, under consideration.

asked the President of the Board of Trade what investigations the Monopolies Commission has so far undertaken; and what industries have been referred to it.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply I gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Oldham (Mr. Hale) on 27th January, 1949.