asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will separate Dagenham from the Romford postal area and make it an independent area.

I would refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 26th January.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General the number of telephone lines installed in the borough of Dagenham on 1st January, 1954, and on 1st January, 1955, giving the figures separately for those parts of the different exchanges which are in the borough and showing any increase.

Following is the information:(The figures are for the exchanges mainly concerned, which also serve areas outside the borough).

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General what progress he has made in improving postal communications between the island of Jersey and France.

Since I last wrote to my hon. and gallant Friend the postal services between Jersey and France have been improved, with the result that letters for many places are now delivered a day earlier than they used to be. We are considering what further improvements we can make, but the situation is complex and may require legislation: I will write to my hon. Friend as soon as possible.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will make a statement concerning the position regarding wireless licences for people who have a relay service.

One of the conditions of the Post Office licence to every broadcast relay company is that service should be given only to people who have wireless licences. Many relay subscribers seem to think, however, that the company itself will take out the necessary licences, and we are considering how this situation can best be met.

asked the Assistant Postmaster-General if he will inform the House of the results of the discussions between the Independent Television Authority and the British Broadcasting Corporation on the proposal to share transmitter masts.

This is a matter for negotiation between the B.B.C. and the I.T.A.; my noble Friend understands that they have not yet reached final conclusions and that discussions are still proceeding. It will in any case be necessary for the I.T.A. to start with a temporary station in London, which will be at Croydon.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air in what areas low-flying training is permitted in the vicinity of the towns of Skegness, Spilsby, Horncastle, Alford, and Wain-fleet; and if he will indicate the size of these areas.

Alford and Wainfleet lie at the edge of two overlapping areas in which authorised low flying training is carried out. Horncastle and Spilsby are inside these areas, which, taken together, cover about 950 square miles. Spilsby and Alford also lie near routes along which low-altitude flying on a set course is practised. Another route of this kind passes two miles west of Skegness. Low flying over Skegness is forbidden.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air if he will give permission for the renting of a hangar on the Waltham, near Grimsby, airfield, as requested in the correspondence which has been sent to him.

My hon. Friend will now have received my letter of 31st January on this subject.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air what plans his Department has for building a new mast on Dartmoor at Sharpitor; and whether he will give an undertaking to consult all local interests concerned before any such step is taken.

My noble Friend has received representations from local interests about a proposal by the Air Ministry to erect a steel radio mast at Sharpitor. He is having the need for the mast re-examined and I shall write to the hon. Member to let him know the result.

asked the Under-Secretary of State for Air how the performance of the Hunter aircraft compares with the performance of Soviet bombers in operational service or likely to be in operational service shortly.

I am confident that the all-round performance of the Hunter and its very heavy armament make it capable of dealing with all types of bombers which might be available for attacks against this country in the next few years.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware that, despite his promise of last July that the four portal cranes ordered for the port of Immingham would be dispatched last September, not one has been erected; and, since good work is being lost by the port of Immingham owing to the lack of modern machinery, what steps he is now taking to see the promise he made last July is honoured.

No such promise was made. My hon. Friend the Joint Parliamentary Secretary passed on in July the information which he had received from the suppliers. This information appears to have erred on the side of optimism.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what proportion of oil, destined for the United Kingdom, was carried during 1954 from the Persian Gulf in vessels sailing under the flag of other nationalities; and what steps are being taken to insist on the utilisation of British-registered vessels for this purpose.

I regret that this information is not available. The answer to the second part of the hon. Member's Question is, None. Her Majesty's Government are strongly opposed to any attempt by Governments to impose conditions involving preference for particular flags.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he has yet received the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into London Transport; and when it will be available to hon. Members.

Yes, I have received the Committee's Report. It will be printed as soon as possible, and I hope that it will be available to hon. Members in about two or three weeks' time.I should like to take this opportunity of thanking Mr. Chambers and his Committee for their very thorough and comprehensive Report, and the immense amount of valuable work they have put into it.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he has yet approved in principle the British Transport Commission's plan for the modernisation and re-equipment of British Railways; and in what way priorities will be decided as between the various proposals contained therein.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will make a statement on the proposals for the modernisation and re-equipment of British Railways put forward to him by the British Transport Commission.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will consult with the Home Secretary with a view to ensuring that the need for developing Welsh rail communications is taken into account before Government approval is given to the British Transport Commission's railway modernisation scheme.

I would ask the hon. Members to await tomorrow's debate.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will make a statement about increases in the amounts payable to retired railway superannuitants.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave on 8th December last to my hon. Friend the Member for Altrincham and Sale (Mr. Erroll).

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will commence discussions with the Transport Executive in order to ensure that the claims of railway superannuitants are considered as part of the railway reorganisation scheme.

No. The two subjects are quite distinct.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether a date has yet been fixed for the coming into operation of the new freight charges scheme.

No. The British Transport Commission expect to submit a draft scheme to the Transport Tribunal very soon. When the Tribunal has settled the scheme, after public inquiry, it will fix the date on which it will come into operation.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation to give an estimate of the increase in passenger and freight traffic for which he is making provision in East of Scotland airfields this summer; and whether this includes an air port-of-call between Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

I hope that passenger traffic in the East of Scotland will increase by between 10 and 15 per cent. The freight figures remain very steady.The answer to the second part of my hon. and gallant Friends' Question is, no.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation when the statistics for road accidents for 1953 will be published; and the reason for the delay.

I hope to publish "Road Accidents 1953" very shortly but I cannot yet give an exact date. The delay in publication is due to the pressure of work involved in preparing the new Highway Code and the Road Traffic Bill.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation (1) the number of organised cycle races held on public highways in England and Wales during 1953 and 1954, respectively; the number of accidents involving persons competing in such races; and the number of persons killed or injured in such accidents;(2) the provisions of his regulations with regard to the duties of the authorities concerned when informed by the organisers of a cycle race that it is to be held on a public highway, or when asked to authorise or facilitate such a race.

There are no regulations requiring organisers to inform authorities of proposed cycle races on the public highway, but they usually consult the police. Organisers state that there were approximately 500 massed start races and 11,000 time trials during 1953. The number of massed start races in 1954 was slightly higher. I have, I am afraid, no separate figures in respect of cycle accidents occurring during these races.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation whether he will now give a date when work on the construction of the Dartford-Purfleet Tunnel will be resumed.

As I told the hon. Member for Dartford (Mr. Dodds), at Question time, the preparatory work of overhauling the existing plant and equipment has now begun. This is estimated to take at least nine months, and constructional work could follow.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation the results of the research into the problem of traffic-weaving at Hyde Park Corner carried out recently by officers of the Road Research Laboratory.

The Road Research Laboratory has recently been taking measurements of the flow of traffic at Hyde Park Corner in connection with proposals for an enlarged roundabout, which have been prepared by the L.C.C. These figures are now being studied by the various experts concerned in this project.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he will include the Rood Hill by-pass at Congleton in the development programme for that town for 1955–56; and if he has considered the details of the need for this by-pass which have been sent to him.

I cannot promise to authorise this scheme for 1955–56, but on receiving an application from the Cheshire County Council I will consider giving it an early place in the road programme.

asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is now in a position to say when work on the Whiteinch Tunnel will be started.

I understand that the Corporation of Glasgow, who are the promoters of this scheme, expect to obtain possession of the whole site, do the necessary demolition work and start actual construction of the tunnel before the end of 1955.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will make a statement on defence.

Yes. The annual Statement on Defence will be presented on 17th February.

asked the Minister of Defence the number of men who enlisted into the Regular Army and Royal Air Force on three-year Colour engagements, other than short-service engagements, in 1951, and the number who, up to 31st December, 1954, prolonged their Colour service, separate figures being given for each Service.

The number of men enlisted in the R.A.F. in 1951 on three-year engagements was about 23,000. Up to 31st December, 1954, about 800 of these men had prolonged their engagements. The number of men enlisted in the Army in 1951 on three-year engagements (excluding the Army special short-service engagements) was about 1,950. For the reason explained to the hon. Member by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for War on 9th December last, I am unable to say how many of these men prolonged their service but I can say that by 31st December, 1954, 779 men serving on this form of engagement had prolonged their service.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will divide the figures shown under the heading, "Prolongation of Service," in his table of male recruitment to active Forces in terms of man-years in the period 1950 to 1954, so as to show for each of the years and Service command the length of the original Colour engagement prolonged and the number of men concerned with each engagement.

I am having the information collected and will write to the hon. Member as soon as it is available.

asked the Minister of Defence if he will make available to the House, before the debates on Defence and the Services Estimates, a statement on the supply of aircraft for the Services.

Yes, a White Paper on this subject will be presented to Parliament later this month.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what revisions are contemplated in the Anglo-Jordan Treaty of 1948, as a result of his talks with representatives from Jordan.

No revision of our 1948 Treaty with Jordan is contemplated at present. The Treaty was mentioned by the Prime Minister of Jordan in connection with present and future political developments in other Arab countries.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs how many nations have ratified the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation; and what consultation has taken place, with a view to obtaining more technical and economic assistance from the West as a means of solving the problems of South-East Asia.

Siam is the only country that has actually deposited its instrument of ratification with the Government of the Philippines. But I understand that the other signatories hope to have done so before the Bangkok Conference. Consultations regarding Article III of the Treaty have taken place through diplomatic channels and will be continued at the Bangkok Conference.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, since President Eisenhower has announced the intention of the United States of America. irrespective of obligations to act only in conformity with the Statutes of the United Nations, to defend Formosa and the Pescadores, he will indicate to the United States of America that this country cannot take the risk of permitting the maintenance of large United States military installations in this country and near London.

No.

asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs when the present British consular officers were appointed for Tamsui and Taipeh in Formosa; and from what Government exequaturs in respect of these officers were obtained.

Her Majesty's Consul and Her Majesty's Vice-Consul at Tamsui were appointed on 20th October, 1953, and 7th November, 1953, respectively. Neither officer's commission was presented for an exequatur. There is no officer holding a commission at Taipeh.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has yet made any decision upon the holding of a conference for the African Colonial Territories.

I have nothing to add to the reply I gave to the hon. Member on 20th October.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the numbers and values of monkeys of various kinds exported from British Colonies and Protectorates during each of the past five years, showing the Colony or Protectorate of origin and country of destination in each case; and the purpose for which these exports were made.

Monkeys are not separately shown in the Trade returns, and I do not think that the cost of a special inquiry could be justified.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement upon his recent visit to Nigeria.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the remarks I made this afternoon on the Second Reading of the Colonial Development and Welfare Bill.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies the numbers of electors for the North, West and East regions of Nigeria and the Cameroons, respectively; what percentage this is of the possible electorate under adult franchise; the percentage of registered electors in each region who did vote; and the various party strengths finally returned in each region.

The information available at present is set out below.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will give the number of electoral offences found in the Nigerian election; and if he will list the numbers for specific offences.

I regret that the information requested is not available.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will give the party strengths in the North Region of Nigeria for the primary elections; and the party strength finally returned.

The great majority of successful candidates at the primary elections had no declared party affiliations. The party strengths of those who declared affiliations were:

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many persons in detention camps in Kenya have been released during the past two months; and how many have been added to the number detained.

Figures for January are not yet available. In November and December 2,692 persons were detained and 594 released.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) what information, not previously available, came to hand between the time at which a re-entry permit to Kenya was issued to Mr. J. Singh and the time when it was decided to forbid him to re-enter the country;(2) how far the ban on re-entering Kenya placed on Mr. Singh also covers his wife.

Certain information regarding Mr. Jaswant Singh's association with the Mau Mau movement came into the hands of the immigration authorities after the re-entry permit had been issued. His readmission was consequently deemed to be against the public interest. The ban does not apply to his wife.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will institute an inquiry into the removal to a reserve of 17 Kikuyu employed in the Young Men's Christian Association Hostel on Hospital Hill, Nairobi.

No. I refer the hon. Member to my right hon. Friend's reply on 26th January to the hon. Member for Dunbartonshire, East (Mr. Bence).

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he has further considered the suggestion of securing a visit to this country of a representative delegation from the Kenya Legislature; and with what result.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what action he has taken regarding the matter of the proposed delegation from the Legislative Assembly of Kenya to the United Kingdom.

I have put the suggestion to the Governor, who has warmly welcomed it. I hope it will prove possible to arrange such a visit in the fairly near future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will publish a full statement on the reasons for the resignation of Colonel Young from service with the Kenya Government.

Yes. In response to a similar Question, not for oral answer, by my hon. Friend the Member for Billericay (Mr. Braine) yesterday, I am circulating in the OFFICIAL REPORT a statement which has the agreement of the Kenya Government and Colonel Young.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will make a statement about Colonel Young's recent resignation from the Kenya Police Force.

The following statement has the agreement of the Kenya Government and Colonel Young.Colonel Young has explained to the Secretary of State that the reasons for his relinquishing his appointment as detailed to His Excellency the Governor at the time of his resignation were not directly concerned with the policy adopted by the Kenya Government on the Police Commission recommendation that members of the Kenya Police Force should be given the status of a constable at common law. While the policy embodied in the Kenya Sessional Paper did not go as far in implementing this recommendation as Colonel Young could have wished, he told the Secretary of State that he would have been prepared to accept this and try to make it work.There was, however, a difference of opinion between the Kenya Government and Colonel Young on the functions of the police force in the emergency. It was their common aim that the Kenya police should be regarded as impartial custodians of the law and should command the trust and confidence of the public. Colonel Young explained to the Secretary of State that in his view no progress towards this aim could be made unless the police were given a greater measure of independence in the performance of their functions than they at present possessed in the emergency areas, and unless it was recognised that the respect of the public for the impartial administration of the law was seriously jeopardised by the activities of the Home Guard, whose powers were liable to abuse owing to their lack of discipline.The Kenya Government, for their part, were determined to eradicate abuses among members of Kikuyu Guard. But they considered that for so long as the present violent phase of the emergency lasted it was essential that the Administration, the police and the military should jointly concentrate all their efforts on bringing terrorism to an early end, and that for this purpose there must be the highest degree of integration and co- ordination between the three bodies at all levels.The Home Guard, in their view, had been playing, and must play, an essential part in the campaign, and while they recognised that in such an irregular unit, in which the standard of discipline could not be raised in a short time, abuses might occur and regrettably did occur in some cases, they were taking effective measures for greater control to prevent them occurring in the future.It was in these circumstances that Colonel Young expressed a lack of confidence in the police policy of the Kenya Government, and felt that he could not make further progress in reorganising the force in conformity with his ideas during the remaining three months of his secondment, and relinquished his appointment. The Kenya Government regret that he felt unable to continue as Commissioner for the full year, and are grateful for the very valuable work he has done during his tenure of the post.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps have been taken to make it possible for those who have taken the Mau Mau oath to obtain release from that oath by ritual cleansing; and with what result.

Cleansing oaths were administered on a large scale during the early part of the emergency, but were found to be largely ineffective both for the reason that the oath being sponsored by the Government was not regarded as binding and because areas where cleansing had taken place were subjected to heavy re-oathing by Mau Mau shortly afterwards.A confessional system is now generally used in place of the cleansing oath; the basis of this system is to get the people to make voluntary and public confessions inculpating oath administrators and other members of the sect, thus breaking the law of the oath. This has proved most effective and as the people see that confessors are not dying as a result of breaking their oath, confidence and confessions are increasing.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what measures are planned for the development of broadcasting in Tanganyika.

The present low-power transmissions from Dar es Salaam will be supplemented in May by a new 20kw station covering most of Tanganyika. It is planned to set up regional stations subsequently.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Director of Extra-Mural Studies for the University College of East Africa has now been appointed.

As my right hon. Friend the Minister of State informed the hon. Member on 28th July last, the University College of East Africa a t Makerere is an autonomous body. This is, therefore, a matter for the college authorities, and not one within my responsibility.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether the Governments of Kenya and Tanganyika have now studied the work of the Extra-Mural Department of the University College of East Africa; and what action they are prepared to take in their own Territories.

I wrote to the hon. Member on 26th October last informing him of the views of the Governors of Kenya and Tanganyika. I now understand that the Kenya Government is considering the provision of funds; the Governor of Tanganyika is doubtful whether the establishment of extra-mural work in that Territory is immediately practicable but similar activities are being undertaken by other bodies.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that the recent legislation in Uganda to permit the purchase and consumption of spirituous liquors by Africans contravenes the Congo Basin Treaties; and whether he proposes to take action regarding these treaties.

The provisions of the Bill published by the Uganda Government are not considered to be contrary to the spirit of the Congo Basin Treaties, as indicated in the preambles to the Berlin Act, 1885, and to the main St. Germain-en-Laye Convention, 1919. The present legislation is directly discriminatory against Africans. The Bill is designed to remove this discrimination and to deal with widespread and increasing illicit distillation of harmful liquors.This is now a major social evil in Uganda; the liquors are particularly dangerous, and have caused many deaths. The restrictions imposed by the existing legislation have thus not succeeded in their aim of protecting Africans against the evils of drinking.I agreed to the introduction of the Bill and do not propose to take any further action in the matter.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1) the nature of the representations made by officers of the Government to the native authorities that they should make orders banning meetings of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress and restricting the movements of members or delegates of Congress;(2) in how many native authority areas in Northern Rhodesia orders or rules have been made banning meetings of the Northern Rhodesian African National Congress or restricting the movements of members or delegates of Congress; and under what authority these orders or rules were made.

No representations have been made of the kind suggested. No orders or rules have been made in any native authority area banning meetings of the Northern Rhodesia African National Congress. Six native authorities have made orders requiring Congress members or delegates to seek their permission before entering or holding meetings in their areas.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he will take steps to prevent the lowering of the school-leaving age in Mauritius.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies why it is proposed to reduce the school-leaving age for children in Mauritius from 14 to 11 years of age.

No school-leaving age is prescribed by law or by the educational code in Mauritius. The recent reorganisation is intended to make it possible to take the primary syllabus in six years instead of seven by stabilising the age of entry and by consequential rearrangement of classes. Children starting at five plus should complete their course at 11 plus, when they can pass on to some form of secondary education or remain in the primary school.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement upon the plan of the Mauritius Government to purchase the generating and distributing plant of the General Electric Supply Company Limited of Mauritius; and the sum involved in this transaction.

After protracted negotiations with the company about the purchase of its output, and faced with its intimation that it would cease to supply current after the end of 1954, the Central Electricity Board recently offered to purchase the company's undertaking outright. I understand that negotiations are proceeding, and I am not in a position to make any further statement at present.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will make a statement on the recent visit of the Minister of State to Aden.

My right hon. Friend visited Aden during the recess for the purpose of acquainting himself with conditions in the Colony, and also the Aden Protectorate, which has never before been visited by a Minister. I am studying his report and hope to be able to make a statement in the near future.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies what steps are being taken to initiate talks with the new Government of Jamaica on the question of emigration to the United Kingdom.

I have no doubt that the Governor of Jamaica will take an early opportunity of discussing this question with the new Jamaican Ministers.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies how many Chinese, by birth, naturalisation, or registration, in Singapore and the Federation of Malaya have formally renounced their right to exercise the privileges of Chinese nationality.

I assume that the hon. Member has in mind those Chinese in Singapore and the Federation of Malaya who are citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies or citizens of the Federation of Malaya. The Government of China have made no legal provision to enable any Chinese to renounce their Chinese nationality either in whole or in part.

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies to what extent the police and military authorities have invited the co-operation of the leaders of the various communities and public men in Malaya; and how many conferences of such bodies have been held to create greater public confidence and to consider methods of settling the present emergency, other than by arms.

Four political leaders—one Malay, one Chinese, one Indian, and one European—are full members of the Director of Operations Committee, which meets every fortnight to direct the day-to-day conduct of the emergency. The Committee has under constant review all means of ending the emergency, whether by force of arms or otherwise. Similarly, wide representation has been established on all State, Settlement and district war executive committees, which deal with day-to-day operations against the terrorists and meet frequently.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will make a statement on the restrictions upon the acceptance of orders from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and Eastern Europe for merchant ships.

I would refer the hon. Member to the reply which I gave to his similar Question on 27th January.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty the amount of orders booked by British shipyards in 1954 and the amount of orders booked in previous years cancelled in 1954; and the corresponding figures for 1953.

The figures are as follows:

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty what benefit the shipbuilding industry received from increased steel supplies during 1954.

Largely as a result of improved steel supplies, the tonnage of new merchant ships completed in United Kingdom shipyards in 1954 rose to 1·5 million gross tons, the highest output since the war. The tonnage launched also rose to a level which has only once been exceeded since 1930. The figure for tonnage on which building started in the last quarter of 1954 was the highest on record for any quarter of any year since the war. Finally, the United Kingdom share of tonnage under construction throughout the world rose slightly from 35 per cent, in 1953 to 37 per cent, in 1954.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty to give an estimate of the approximate total cost to the Exchequer of placing all Maltese employed in Her Majesty's Dockyard, Malta, on corresponding British rates of pay.

The total extra cost of placing all Maltese civilian employees in Her Majesty's Dockyard, Malta, on corresponding British rates of pay is estimated very approximately at £1,500,000 a year for industrials and £100,000 for non-industrials. It does not follow that expenditure on Malta Dockyard would actually increase by these amounts in the hypothetical circumstances envisaged by my hon. and gallant Friend. The amount of work which could be allocated to Malta would continue to depend, among other things, on the financial resources available to the Admiralty and the cost of doing work there compared with the cost of doing it elsewhere.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he will reconsider the decision which he made last year to close the dockyards for the period of the employees two weeks' holiday during the peak of the holiday season, in view of the fact that many holidaymakers, both British and overseas, are thus prevented from visiting the dockyards; and whether, in view of the plea of Britain's holiday resorts for industrial workers and Government officials to be given holidays at other than the peak period of the holiday rush, he will change the dockyard holiday period.

I would refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend to the hon. and gallant Member for Portsmouth, West (Brigadier Clarke), on 9th December, 1954, in which he was informed that there would be no closed fortnight in the Royal dockyards in 1955. The times at which most dockyard employees will take their holidays will in consequence be spread over a period of five months, lasting from 1st May to 30th September.

asked the First Lord of the Admiralty when the fleet carrier H.M.S. "Ark Royal" will be accepted into service.

H.M.S. "Ark Royal" will be provisionally accepted from the shipbuilder on 25th February, 1955. She is the sister ship of H.M.S. "Eagle," and is one of the two largest units of the post-war fleet. The "Ark Royal" will be able to operate all the types of high performance aircraft which will come into service, and will incorporate a number of important new features. She is the first operational ship of the Royal Navy to be fitted with steam catapults.

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how

Following are the numbers of convictions in England and Wales under Sections 11 and 12 of the Road Traffic Act, 1930:

asked the President of the Board of Trade the quantity of raw cotton coming from British Commonwealth sources, the Sudan, the dollar area, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and other areas, respectively, for 1951, 1952, 1953 and 1954; and the percentage which supplies from each area represent of total imports.

Imports into the United Kingdom of raw cotton^* were:

asked the Secretary of State for Scotland how many elderly people have received chiropody treatment under the scheme operated by Lanark County Council; and what sum of money was contributed by Exchequer grant for this service from its inception until December, 1954.

The service began on 4th January of this year, and 29 persons had received treatment by 26th January. Expenditure will in due course rank for 50 per cent. National Health Service grant.