asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will give a special grant to Air Training Corps committees which are willing to launch special recruiting campaigns.

No. Air Training Corps committees which are willing to launch special recruiting campaigns should get in touch with their Reserve Command Group Headquarters which will help them in every way possible.

asked the Secretary of State for Air if he will make a grant to the Air Training Corps for nonmilitary activities such as sport, education and social functions in view of the attraction to recruiting provided by such activities and the deterrent effect of the charge for such activities falling on the boys and their parents.

No. Under the Education Act, 1944, the Ministry of Education and the local education authorities are responsible for providing facilities for such recreational, social and physical training. Accordingly Air Training Corps units apply to the local education authorities for such assistance as they require.

asked the Secretary of State for Air why it is proposed to increase the number of Press officers in his Department from 10 to 18; what additional work will be carried out by the additional staff; and bow many of the proposed staff will be located in London and overseas, respectively.

The number of Press officer and assistant Press officer posts has been increased with a view to improving recruiting for the Royal Air Force and the Auxiliary and Reserve Forces. The duties of these officers will in general be to assist in collecting information about the activities of the Royal Air Force in all parts of the world, and keeping the public informed. Of the eight additional appointments none will be in London; three will be in the provinces and five overseas.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation the total remuneration to be received by the Chairman of British European Airways for the 12 months commencing 1st March.

The remuneration of the present Chairman, Mr. d'Erlanger, is at the rate of £;6,500 per annum (salary) and £1,000 per annum (allowance for expenses). The Chairman-designate, Lord Douglas, who will take over on 14th March and relinquish his appointment on the Board of B.O.A.C. on the same date, will receive £5,000 per annum (salary) and £750 per annum (allowance).

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Civil Aviation if he has yet received the report of the inquiry into the loss of the Dutch air liner near Prestwick on 21st October.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what steps are being taken to organise an East Mediterranean pact including Turkey in conjunction with the Atlantic Pact.

No steps are at present being taken to organise such a pact.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what approaches have been made by King Abdullah of Transjordan to His Majesty's Government for assistance to enlarge and extend the port of Aqaba, so as to strengthen his country against the possibility of external aggression and to develop its internal resources.

Apart from a request in October, 1945, for a loan to enable the Transjordan Government to acquire some of the port installations there has been no approach by the Government of Transjordan for assistance in developing Aqaba port.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he will make a statement to assure the nations on the eastern border of the region affected by the Atlantic Pact that those participating in that pact are morally bound to give all help to threatened members but that commitment to war and supplies to carry it on must in democratic countries have Parliamentary sanction.

Since the negotiations for a North Atlantic Pact have not yet been concluded, it would be wrong for me to make any statement of this kind about it.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the outcome of the consideration given to the implications of the recent ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States that the Bermuda base, leased to the United States of America by Great Britain, was subject to United States legislation; and whether he is satisfied that there has been no abatement of British sovereignty.

As the hon. Member may be aware, the United States Government made an application for a re-hearing by the Supreme Court of the case to which he refers, and I understand that this application has just been refused by the Court. In the circumstances, I now propose to discuss certain implications of the opinion of the Supreme Court with the United States Government, though as stated in the answer given to the hon. Member on 7th February last, British sovereignty over the leased areas was not questioned by the Court.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether the claim for compensation he submitted to the Dutch Government on 28th August, 1947, in respect of the loss of British lives in a shooting down incident which occurred on 29th July, 1947, has yet been satisfied; and what steps he proposes to take to ensure that adequate compensation is paid forthwith to the relatives of those British citizens who lost their lives in this attack by Dutch aircraft on a civilian plane.

The claim to which my hon. and gallant Friend refers is still under negotiation between His Majesty's Government and the Netherlands Government. I have every hope that a satisfactory settlement will be reached in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he will consider earmarking a portion of the Palestine Arab Refugee Fund for the purchase of Yarmouth smoked herrings which have a high protein value and for which there has always been a constant demand in the neighbouring Arab countries.

His Majesty's Government's grant of £1 million to the relief of the Arab refugees was made to the United Nations Relief Organisation set up under the General Assembly's Resolution of 19th November. Under the terms of the grant the responsibility for deciding how this money should be spent rests with the Relief Organisation. The Relief Organisation was informed early in December, 1948, about the availability of British smoked herrings.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is now in a position to announce the name of the new Governor of Cyprus.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he proposes to take in order to bring areas in Malaya now occupied by Chinese squatters under proper administration.

I informed the House on 23rd February that a Committee appointed by the High Commissioner has recently submitted proposals for absorbing into the social and economic life of the country groups of squatters who are law-abiding and wish to make their homes in Malaya. The Committee's report, which includes recommendations for bringing the squatter areas under proper administration, is now receiving the urgent attention of the State Governments.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if 'he is aware that, without financial assistance, the Malayan Government cannot continue to meet their obligations to advance money to those tin companies who require it for the rehabilitation of their dredges, owing to the fact that Malaya's finances are stretched to the utmost by the cost of the present campaign, and that unless some relief can be given production of tin must start to decline, with a consequent loss of dollar earnings; and what action he proposes to give such relief.

Owing to the exhaustion of its surplus balances the Government of the Federation of Malaya has had to suspend the issue of loans for the rehabilitation of the tin industry. I am glad to say, however, that arrangements have been made for further loans to be made through the Industrial Rehabilitation Finance Board at the same rate of interest, i.e., 3 per cent. per annum.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware that, under present conditions in Malaya, it is impossible for prospecting for new areas of tin-bearing ground to go forward to replace those areas now being worked out and that, under these conditions, it will prove impossible for the tin-production target, set in the British Four-Year Plan, to be reached; and what it is proposed shall be done to provide adequate protection for the miners, in view of the importance of this dollar-earning commodity to the recovery of the United Kingdom.

Prospecting for new tin-bearing areas has been slowed down by the disturbances in Malaya. The protection of miners and mines has been carefully organised, but it is not at present possible to provide individual escorts for small prospecting parties in remote areas. The tin production targets for 1949 to 1951 were based on the assumption that existing mines would be rehabilitated. The figures for 1952 and later assume that new ground will be brought into production. These facts are recognised in the efforts of the authorities to restore order.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether his attention has been drawn to the Pensions (Amendment) Bill No.V. of 1949 (Mauritius), which allows women to remain in Government service after marriage except in the case of telephonists who are to be obliged to retire; and whether he will take steps to secure that telephonists are also included in the Bill.

I have seen this Bill. The authorities in Mauritius consider that the employment of women as telephonists after marriage is undesirable having regard to the social conditions in the Colony. I do not think that I should be justified in intervening with the discretion of the Mauritius Legislature in this matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps he proposes to take with a view to increasing public interest in Colonial affairs.

I am sending to my hon. Friend a report describing these measures in detail and would refer him to my reply to the hon. Member for Moseley (Sir P. Hannon) on 8th December last. With the same object in view, it is hoped to organise a "Colonial Month" in London to coincide with the official Colonial Exhibition. Museums, art galleries, missionary societies, and other institutions, including the Colonial Government offices in London have been invited to stage on their own premises and at their own expense displays of Colonial interest during the period 21st June to 20th July. There has already been an encouraging response. Business firms and shops in central London are also being invited to arrange special window displays, and the Zoo is showing a collection of typical animals from Colonial territories.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if, in view of the fact that he has for sometime been making no use of Glazebrook Hall, Rixton, Lancashire, he will de-requisition it with a view to providing accommodation for workers at adjacent factories and works, who at present have long distances to travel daily.

I assume that the Question refers to the camp on the Glaze-brook Hall site and not to Glazebrook Hall itself which is not in Admiralty possession. It is intended to convert at least part of the Glazebrook Hall camp to provide much needed married quarters for naval personnel serving at H.M.S. "Ariel." The future of the remainder of the camp is at present under discussion with interested Departments and I am not in a position to forecast the outcome.

asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty if he will now make a statement on the names to be applied to the warrant officer classes of the Royal Navy.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the statement I made during the course of the Debate on the Navy Estimates yesterday.

asked the Postmaster-General how many aliens have been given temporary employment in the foreign service of the British Broadcasting Corporation; and what are their nationalities.

The British Broadcasting Corporation states that, on 28th February, 1949, 318 aliens were in temporary employment in its foreign service. Forty-two nationalities are involved and I give the details below.

asked the Postmaster-General when television will be available for the North-East region.

I regret that I am unable to give even an approximate date for the extension of television to the North-East region.

asked the Postmaster General when he proposes to make the radio relay services part of the Post Office telecommunication system.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the answer given to my hon. and gallant Friend the Member for Central Hull (Captain Hewitson) on 24th February.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will review the post office business facilities in the Lleyn, Caernarvonshire, rural district.

I understand that the facilities available in this district for the transaction of Post Office business compare favourably with those in similar districts elsewhere. If, however, my hon. Friend will let me have details of any particular respect in which he feels the facilities are deficient I shall be pleased to look further into the matter.

asked the Postmaster-General if he will expand the facilities at Llaniestyn, Caernarvonshire, post office, in view of the increasing local demand and the inconvenience caused at present to local residents who have to travel long distances to conclude vital business.

I am examining this problem and will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he will reduce postage charges in view of the large surplus in last year's trading account.

I regret that I cannot anticipate my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget statement.

asked the Postmaster-General by what date he expects to be able to provide postal deliveries and collections, as well as other services, equal to those in force in 1939.

My right hon. Friend is anxious to improve Post Office services as soon as conditions permit, but a return to pre-war standards would make prohibitive calls on manpower.

asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the desirability of reducing the number of telephone calls, he will reduce the postage rate of postcards to a maximum of one penny, thereby popularising once more this alternative means of communication.

I regret that I cannot anticipate my right hon. and learned Friend's Budget statement.

asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that experiments have been made in the United States which have shown that telephone calls can be made on the same wires that carry electric current, and whether he will study the possibilities of thus supplying a telephone service to remote areas in this country.

The possibility of providing local telephone service over electricity transmission lines has been under examination for some time, but the scope for its use in this country is limited in view of the high cost of the terminal equipment in relation to the distances to be covered.

asked the Postmaster-General how many persons in his Department are employed as salesmen for the telephone services; and how much has been spent during the last 12 months on advertising the telephone services in order to attract new subscribers.

No officers are employed and no money is spent on trying to attract applications for telephone service. Three hundred and forty-two officers are at present employed on visiting applicants for service and subscribers who have asked for their existing telephone apparatus to be modified, in order to ascertain their precise requirements and to advise them on the most appropriate type of equipment that could be installed.

asked the Postmaster-General how many applications for the installation of a telephone were outstanding in Bury at the latest convenient date.

There were 337 applications outstanding at the end of February.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power at what price per ton opencast coal is being obtained from Winstanley Hall Opencast No. 3A site, near Wigan; and how this price compares with the price in 1946, when the workings were closed on account of the high cost of production.

On the first part of the Question I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave him to a similar Question on 3rd March. As to the second part of the Question, coal production on the Winstanley Hall No. 3 site was completed in 1946 according to contract, but negotiations for the extension of the contract to cover the working of the seam to lower levels then broke down as the contractor was unable to offer a price acceptable to the Department. A contract for the extended workings which are now referred to as Site No. 3A was let in 1948, improvements in opencast mining methods and in the types of excavating machinery available having enabled another contractor to quote an acceptable price which is in fact lower than the actual cost of working the original No. 3 site.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power why his regulations require that the successful tenderer for work on an opencast coal site should purchase a certain amount of plant from the Ministry of Supply whether he requires it or not.

It is not a condition of opencast coal contracts that any plant should be purchased from the Ministry of Supply or any other Government Department. Invitations to tender for these contracts specify the type and the minimum quantity of plant which my technical officers consider necessary to ensure the contractual output of coal. When my Department has available items of plant of the type specified they are offered for sale in conjunction with the contract, but the successful tenderer is at liberty to provide the whole of the required plant from other sources if he so desires.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the present estimated annual revenue from Purchase Tax on medicines and drugs, after allowing for the effect of Purchase Tax Orders which have been made amending Part II of the Eighth Schedule to the Finance Act, 1948.

About £9 million.

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he is in a position to make a statement about the possibility of a loan from this country to the Government of Burma; and whether he is bearing in mind that this country has already made substantial financial contributions to that country, now no longer part of the British Empire, without apparent benefit to British interests.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Minister of State on Monday, 7th March, to the hon. Member for Hornsey (Mr. Gammans) and the hon. Member for Leek (Mr. Harold Davies).

asked the Minister of Supply what tonnage of iron and steel scrap was received from Germany during 1948; whether the recent purchase of additional plant for scrap recovery will result in increased deliveries during 1949; and what approximate monthly tonnages are likely to be received during 1949.

The total imports of iron and steel scrap from Germany in 1948 were 856,976 tons. The provision in the summer and autumn of last year of additional plant for the scrap recovery operations in Germany resulted in substantially increased imports during the last few months of the year. I am unable to forecast what volume of scrap we shall be able to import from Germany this year.

asked the Minister of Supply the total expenditure upon the Tudor aircraft up to the time it was decided to restrict its use to freight carrying.

The total estimated expenditure is between £10 million and £11 million.

asked the Minister of Food what are the latest prospects for exports of rice from Burma; and whether the rice ration in Malaya is now likely to be affected by dangers to such exports arising from the unsettled conditions in Burma.

Exports from Burma during January and February have been maintained at a satisfactory level but the prospects for March must be regarded as uncertain. Fortunately, however, exports from Siam are coming out in very good volume and Malaya's stock position, together with supplies actually in sight, is sufficiently good to avoid any danger to the rice ration in the immediate future. A continuance of the disturbed state of Burma during the next month or two, when shipments should be at their peak, might, however, give cause for anxiety about the ration later in the year.

asked the Minister of Food, in view of the fact that he has decided to leave uncontrolled the prices of tomatoes during the 1949 tomato season unless prices reach unreasonable levels, if he will, for the guidance of growers and the distributive trade, define "unreasonable levels."

It is impossible to define in advance an "unreasonable price" for any horticultural product. Whether a price is reasonable or unreasonable at any particular period depends upon the season (which may be late or early), quality, current weather conditions, the incidence of disease and any other factor which may affect supplies or marketing.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what are the names and present population of the town council and rural district council areas in Newfoundland; and what are the names and present populations of townships with over 1,000 population which have not yet obtained any form of local government.

The following table gives the information requested.

asked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations what is the number of children in Newfoundland and Labrador who attend schools belonging to the Church of England, Roman Catholic, United Church, Salvation Army, Seventh Day Adventists, Moravians, Grenfell Mission and undenominational and interdenominational schools; and what percentages they are of total schoolchildren.

The figures are given in the attached table:

asked the Minister of Agriculture if he is aware that many junior foresters and foremen employed by the Forestry Commission receive earnings lower than the forest workers they supervise; and whether he will cause an early reply to be made to the salary claim submitted by the staff association concerned.

I am aware that in some cases workmen on overtime or piece-work may receive a larger cash wage than the junior foresters or foremen, but, in addition to their cash wage, foresters and foremen receive free accommodation or an allowance in lieu. An increase in the foremen's rate of pay was granted as from 1st January, 1948, and revised rates of pay for foresters and foremen are under negotiation with the men's union.