asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the number of cases of wilful criminal homicide reported to the police for the periods, 16th April to 18th November, in the years 1947, 1948 and 1949, respectively.

I regret that it is not possible to give figures for this exact period during the three years in question; but the number of murders reported to the police in England and Wales during the period from 1st April to 30th November in each of these three years was 139 in 1947, 128 in 1948, and 101 in 1949. These figures include some cases which were subsequently established to be crimes other than murder, for example, manslaughter and infanticide.

Will my right hon. Friend therefore, agree that these figures show that during the period when capital punishment was abolished there was a diminution in capital crime, and that that good result still continues notwithstanding the restoration of capital punishment.

When I looked at these three sets of figures I thought that every person who read them would draw different interpretations from them. I do not intend to quarrel with my hon. Friend's interpretation, although I do not necessarily agree with it.

Is it not, however, quite clear that, no matter how people may differently interpret them, the figures show beyond controversy that there was no increase during the period when capital punishment was not imposed?

Yes, Sir, I think that can be said, but the three sets of figures taken together also bear out the contention which I have advanced in this House, that crimes of personal violence are diminishing by comparison with a few years ago.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he is aware that the average passenger is unable to read the unusually small print on the slips provided for display on taximeters in respect to the 3d. increase; and if he will arrange for more suitable notices, for which there is the space available, and so avoid undue irritation to taxi-drivers and passengers.

I agree that this simple notice is on the small side, owing to the restricted space available either on the taximeter or the fare table, but I have heard of no practical difficulty resulting.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that on this tiny slip of paper more than half the area is occupied by the two words "Police Notice," and that the message to the public is on less than half of the slip? If my right hon. Friend cannot accept my simple practical suggestion, would he supply a microscope to each taxicab?

No, Sir. I think that is not necessary, and I understand that even the drivers agree that the tip does not need to be examined in that way.

Are not taxi-drivers keeping the public informed, in the meantime, in unmistakable language, of their views on the increase in the petrol tax?

I am glad to know that the hon. and gallant Member can recognise the language.

Is it not possible to put the three pence down as an extra in the space where luggage carried outside is shown?

No, Sir, because the extras do not count in the money which has to be handed over by the driver to the proprietor of the cab. The arrangement is that two-thirds of the money which appears on the top set of figures will be received by the owner. All the extras go to the driver and the hon. Gentleman's suggestion would, therefore, not be fair.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he can now say whether he is satisfied that the present system whereby prisoners automatically earn remission of sentence not exceeding one-third of the whole sentence unless such remission is forfeited by bad conduct is a better arrangement than the earlier system whereby remission of sentence was only granted as a reward for good conduct.

Yes, Sir. The earlier system, based on a daily award of marks, was in practice no less automatic than the present one, which is just as effective as an incentive to good conduct and much simpler to operate.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what information exceptional precautions were taken by the police in London on 11th March, 1950, in connection with the visit of 30 Scotsmen and women from Dumbarton; and if he will make a statement.

I am not in any event prepared to disclose the sources or nature of information received by the police, but in fact no exceptional precautions were taken in London itself in connection with this visit.

May I ask the right hon. Gentleman whether it is normal for a bus load of people to be met by the police, escorted by them the whole day and the names taken of all the passengers, who are informed that they are Irish and that the pipers with them would go to gaol if they let out even a squeak? Is this really the normal process in connection with any party arriving from anywhere?

That is not the account that has been given to me by the police of what happened.

Were any precautions taken in Dumbarton when some very doubtful characters from London appeared there recently?

Does the right hon. Gentleman realise that the information I have is first-hand, that the people who gave it to me are perfectly respectable and that these are facts, whatever the police report may be?

If the hon. and gallant Member will see me, or make a statement about this matter, I will have it investigated. I will certainly investigate the statements that were made in his first supplementary question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police it is proposed to divert from normal duties to protect the march of the London Union Movement through East London on Sunday, 7th May, 1950.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that Sir Oswald Mosley has announced his intention of marching through the East End of London on Sunday, 7th May, to address a meeting at Ridley Road, Dalston; and what steps will be taken to prevent a breach of the peace arising.

Appropriate police measures will be taken to deal with any contravention of the Commissioner's Order prohibiting political processions. It would not be in the public interest to give details of any such measures in advance.

Will my right hon. Friend consider whether, without condemning freedom of speech, he has not powers under the existing law to prevent these appeals to racial hatred being made in districts where they are calculated to cause the greatest provocation?

The procession which was the basis of this arrangement has been prohibited, and I am quite certain that I have no further powers that I have not exercised.

As there is to be a meeting instead of a procession, are there not powers which the Home Secretary possesses to suggest that meetings should not be held in that part of the country, which would mean police being drawn away from their very valuable anti-crime duties at a time when their presence is very important elsewhere?

No, Sir. I have no power to discriminate between meetings, and I am determined not to do anything that will lead to any suppression of free speech. If anything is said at this meeting which makes it appear likely that a breach of the peace will be caused, appropriate action will be taken.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he intends to transfer to the Public Record Office in the interests of historical research such of his remaining Departmental records as are more than 50 years old; and how far access to these records by the public will be subject to any restrictions.

Records prior to 1870 are already with the Public Record Office; those of the following 30 years are expected to be transferred by the end of 1951. Access to the majority of these records will not be subject to any restrictions but certain classes of paper, as, for example, those which might be used in such a way as to give pain to living persons, will not normally be open for public inspection.

Does the right hon. Gentleman appreciate that these records are of as much public and historic interest as those of the Star Chamber, whose publication at present in a London evening newspaper is, presumably, not subject to any restriction? In view of this would the right hon. Gentleman remove all restrictions when the documents are released at the end of 1951?

No, Sir. I think that one must have regard to pain that might be caused to living persons if certain papers were open to public inspection. Apart from that, they will be available for inspection by anyone who wants to see them.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many open remand homes now exist; approximately how many male and female young delinquents these accommodate; what percentage abscond; and, in the light of experience, what extension of the experiment is to be made.

The 86 remand homes in England and Wales provide places for 1,462 boys and 402 girls. Figures showing the number of children who at one time or another in 1949 were in remand homes are not available, but the total must be greater than the number of places, since many children are in for short periods only. Some 634 boys and 277 girls absconded in 1949. Remand homes are not classified into open and closed institutions, but the general policy is to rely as little as possible on physical means of restraint to prevent absconding, and this policy is kept under review in the light of experience.

I do not think that my right hon. Friend has answered the last part of my Question, which was:

" in the light of experience, what extension of the experiment is to me made?"

I thought the answer implied that there was no experiment. The remand homes are not divided into two classes. As little physical restraint as possible is applied.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the committee which have been considering complaints of slowness of the counting of votes in certain constituencies, and kindred matters, at the recent General Election, has now reported; and whether he will make a statement.

The Electoral Conference is not a formal committee that presents formal reports. I have had the benefit of its advice on the counting of the votes and other matters, and there will be a further meeting next week. With regard to the last part of the Question, I have nothing to add at present to the answer which I gave to a Question by the hon. Member for Fife, East (Mr. Stewart), on 6th April.

Can the Home Secretary say whether he will increase the allowance for those engaged in counting the votes, so as to enable there to be more men counting the votes in future than at the last Election?

That is one of the matters which are now under consideration by the Conference.

Where the counting of votes is slow because of the small size of the town hall, will the right hon. Gentleman consider allowing the count to take place in another building which is of suitable size?

The place where the count takes place is a matter for the Returning Officer, and quite frequently it takes place in the halls of schools and similar places which may be more commodious than town halls in small towns.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why travellers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland are still required to be in possession of passports or travel identity cards; and if he will make a statement.

The requirement is necessary in order to enable the entry of aliens into Great Britain through the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland to be controlled. Control at the land border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland is not practicable.

If, as I understand it, the real purpose of these travel regulations is to check the movements of citizens of the Republic of Eire travelling between their country and this country by way of Northern Ireland, could the right hon. Gentleman say why these checks cannot be equally well, if not better, carried out by the security authorities in Northern Ireland? Does the Home Secretary realise that the continuance of these war-time restrictons is causing grave resentment on the part of many British subjects travelling from one loyal part of the United Kingdom to another?

I know that inconvenience is caused, but it is not only citizens of the Irish Republic whom it is necessary to check in this way. Unless this check was applied, very undesirable aliens might enter this country via the Irish Republic, because the check made at the Irish Republic ports is not nearly as close and severe as at our ports.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will have a survey made of the siting of towing vehicles for trailer fire pumps in the Axbridge Rural District; and, pending the receipt of a report from such a survey, whether he will give instructions that no towing vehicles are to be removed, and that any removed during the last two months should be replaced.

No, Sir. This is a matter for the county council, who are the fire authority, but I shall be glad to bring the hon. Member's suggestion to the notice of the county council.

In view of what is happening already in that part of Somerset, could not the right hon. Gentleman draw the attention of the county council to the fact that they are depleting fire cover in a very dangerous manner over a wide area?

No, Sir. I have been very careful in his matter and I might be told by the county council that I am going beyond my powers if I did that; but I am sending the comments of the hon. Member to them and I have no doubt they will see his supplementary question.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many coroners have no legal qualification; under what authority they admit hearsay evidence; in what circumstances they may exclude the Press from an inquest or hold an inquest in camera; whether they are required to make and preserve records of evidence given before them; and what steps are taken to ensure uniformity of procedure in coroners' courts.

The answer to the first part of the Question is that this information is not available; to the second, that the coroner's discretion as to what evidence should be admitted at an inquest is vested in him by Common Law; to the third, that while a coroner's court is ordinarily open to the public, the High Court confirmed in 1827 that the coroner has a discretion under the common law to hold an inquest in private for reasons which appear to him necessary and proper; to the fourth, that coroners are by Statute required to take depositions in cases of murder and manslaughter and that it is generally accepted that they should keep those records and should also keep records of the evidence given in other cases; and to the fifth, that coroners are independent judicial officers who are not answerable to any Government Department, but are bound by the common law and the provisions of the relevant Acts and the rules made thereunder.

Does not the right hon. Gentleman think that all this discloses a rather unsatisfactory condition in coroners' courts and that it is time legislation was introduced to secure some form of uniformity? In view of his answer last week, that this would arouse controversy, does he not think that each of these suggestions could pass through this House without any political controversy?

I am not sure that five " non-controversial " matters would not develop into controversy.

In view of the fact that no verdict of a coroner's inquest can be mentioned at subsequent proceedings, and that it is now general to adjourn pending proceedings, does he think that coroners' courts now serve any purpose to the community?

Oh, yes, I think they have their uses.

As my hon. and learned Friend the Member for Hove (Mr. Marlowe) said, this is not a party political question, but is the right hon. Gentleman aware that there is a very considerable depth of feeling, legal and otherwise, that this whole matter needs review by this House?

I think it is a matter which, when there is time, might advantageously be considered.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many cases involving deprivation of citizenship he is proposing to refer to the Committee of Inquiry appointed under the British Nationality Act, 1948.

I have under consideration three cases which may be referred to the Committee.

Can my right hon. Friend say when the recommendations of the Committee will be reported to this House?

No, I do not think they have to be.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he expects to be in a position to present his proposed amendments to the regulations concerning electoral registration.

Probably in June.

Will the right hon. Gentleman make sure that when such simplification as is to be carried out is carried out there will be adequate publicity, so that everyone will know what they have to do?

The regulations will have to be submitted to this House and there will be an opportunity for discussing them, if that is desired. I will endeavour to see that through the B.B.C., and other methods of publicity, adequate knowledge is conveyed to the public.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department why four children between the ages of eight and 12, deserted by their parents, were charged at Hull Juvenile Court with stealing dinner tickets from school; and how it came about that a mentally defective brother of 13 lived with them unknown to the officials of the Children's Committee.

When the four children were charged it came to light that their father, a trawler engineer whose wife had deserted him, had arranged with the children's grandparents, who live a mile away, to provide meals for the children and to look after them during his absence at sea. The fifth child, who is not mentally deficient but educationally subnormal, was received into care by the Hull City Council when the other children were placed in the remand home on 19th April. The case against the four children is still sub judice.

asked the Minister of Health which two county or county borough councils in England and Wales receive the highest equalisation grants in relation to their total expenditure ranking for grant; the percentage such grants represent; and also the percentage that departmental grants for specific purposes represents.

The two highest equalisation grants are those paid to the county councils of Cardigan and Montgomery of approximately 67 per cent. and 64 per cent. respectively. Departmental grants for specific purposes range widely in form and amount and cannot readily be represented as a percentage.

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that these equalisation grants are paid in such a way as to stimulate authorities such as those to which he has referred into wanton extravagance?

It remains a fact that for the first time for many years some of these authorities are able to take advantage of local authority services; and even after the payment of these grants many of these authorities are still poorer than most authorities.

Is my right hon. Friend aware that were it not for these equalisation grants local government would become almost impossible in the areas mentioned, and that there is deep gratitude to him for introducing them?

I think that is the case.

Has not the attention of the right hon. Gentleman been drawn to the criticism of these grants made by the Comptroller and Auditor-General in the accounts for the year 1947–48?

These grants are being made on the authority of Parliament after proper consideration, and Parliament is the best judge in these matters.

asked the Minister of Health the total valuation expenses of all local government authorities in 1947–48; and the estimated cost of the transferred functions to the Inland Revenue for 1950–51.

The figures are in no way comparable since there was only routine expenditure in 1947–48. In 1950–51 preparations are being made for a complete new valuation of the country. The routine expenses of local authorities on valuation in 1947–48 amounted to just over £11 million. I understand that the Inland Revenue estimates for 1950–51 provide a sum of £2,350,000 for salaries in preparation for the forthcoming revaluation.

Is not it a fact that the Estimate for the Inland Revenue included some quarter of a million pounds to be paid to panels of outside valuers, to whom part of this work has had to be farmed out because the Inland Revenue has been unable to recruit the necessary staff.

That always was the case. A very large number of authorities used outside valuers in this way. I do not know why the hon. Member is taking exception to it.

asked the Prime Minister whether he will give consideration to the necessity of retaining the Ministry of Civil Aviation in view of the urgent need for economy in the national expenditure.

I have been asked to reply. I would refer the hon. and gallant Member to the answer which my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave him in reply to a similar Question about the machinery of Government, on 27th April. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has been retained as a separate Department because there is a continuing need for it in present circumstances.

But it was not a similar Question that the Prime Minister answered on 27th April. My Question refers to the Ministry of Civil Aviation. If the right hon. Gentleman agrees that aviation is simply a modern form of transport, would it not be wiser to merge these two Ministries into one, and save all the more?

I follow the argument but I would assure the hon. and gallant Member that he exaggerates the amount of saving he contemplates as a consequence. It is a point worthy of consideration from time to time, but we have come to the conclusion that as things are, it would not he a wise step.

asked the Prime Minister if he will state in some detail the steps that have been taken to implement the recommendations contained in the Report of the Committee on Intermediaries, Command Paper No. 7904.

I have been asked to reply. Departments have been instructed to give effect to the recommendations of this Committee. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister sees no useful purpose in giving a detailed account of the steps taken in each Department to carry out these instructions.

Will the right hon. Gentleman ask the Prime Minister if he is aware that under the Socialist policy of State control and centralised administration, bribery and corruption is inevitable, and that the passing of unreasonable laws compels honest citizens to be criminals?

Imputations and insinuations are out of Order.

asked the Prime Minister in view of the fact that the Secretary of State for the Home Department ceased at the end of 1947 to have the authority under the Emergency Laws (Transitional Provisions) Act, 1946, to decide who shall leave the United Kingdom, and therefore who shall be entitled to a passport, which Minister now decides who can leave the United Kingdom and who is entitled to a passport, and on what authority.

I have been asked to reply. There is at present no general power to prevent any British subject leaving the United Kingdom. Travellers intending to visit foreign countries are obliged by the laws of those countries to be in possession of national passports; and while it is possible in theory to leave the United Kingdom without a passport, in practice it is virtually impossible to do so. The question whether a United Kingdom passport may be granted is decided by the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, exercising the Royal prerogative.

Does that mean that British subjects who wish to go to Gibraltar or Malta or to the Dominions have also to have a passport? Is it not true that they can travel without passports?

I would not like to answer that without notice. It virtually depends upon whether the country at the other end needs such an instrument to admit them. But I am not sure about that.

In view of the right hon. Gentleman's reply, can we take it that passports are the right of British subjects and, therefore, cannot be taken from them?

No, that is not so.

asked the Lord President of the Council what estimate has been made of the total cost of the Festival of Britain; what is the estimated value of tourist trade for the year 1949; and by what amount is it estimated this figure will be exceeded, as a result of the Festival, during 1951.

The total net cost of the Festival of Britain is to be not more than £9 million. The estimated expenditure by tourists in this country for the year 1949 was £43.2 million and for 1951 it is hoped that the value will reach the £60 million mark. It is not possible to estimate how much of the increase could be attributed to the Festival of Britain.

asked the Lord President of the Council by whom will H.M.S. " Campania " be manned during the Festival of Britain; and under what flag.

The " Campania " will be manned by Merchant Service officers and crew. As I told the House in reply to the hon. and gallant Member for Bristol, North-West (Lieut.-Commander Braithwaite) on 2nd May, she will wear the Red Ensign.

Can the Lord President say whether the ship is being manned by a certain line?

I am informed that Messrs. Furness Withy and Co., Ltd., have been appointed as managers.

asked the Lord President of the Council what publicity is to be given in overseas countries about the Festival of Britain and extending an invitation to all residents.

The British Travel and Holidays Association, which conducts a world-wide publicity campaign to attract visitors to this country, is giving due emphasis in all publicity media to the Festival of Britain, 1951. In addition, the Festival Office is itself publicising overseas the whole Festival programme. These two campaigns are being closely co-ordinated in order to ensure that there is no duplication of effort.

Which of these agencies, advertising abroad, has advertised in America, " The food you get on British Railways will astonish you "?

asked the Lord President of the Council if, in view of the increase in the number of Questions which cannot be answered in the time allotted for Questions because of the increased number of Ministers, he will propose an alteration to Standing Orders to increase the time for Questions.

No, Sir.

Having regard to the immense amount of time that is taken in asking supplementary questions, will not the right hon. Gentleman reconsider this matter, particularly as one of his supporters took up two columns of HANSARD at Question Time yesterday?