the Appeal Court; and whether he will Postal Union, and the Chartered Comadvise the Government to cause legisla-pany is at liberty to fix the postage to be tion this Session so as to amend the law charged on correspondence from that that landlords cannot appeal unless they give evidence before the Sub-Commissioners' Court?

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: I am not aware of the matters mentioned in the first and second paragraphs. It is not the intention of the Government to introduce legislation with the object suggested in the third paragraph.

MR. DALY: If I send the right honourable Gentleman a copy of the judge's remarks will he inquire into the matter?

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: No, I do not see that I can do anything.

MR. DALY: Then has not the right honourable Gentleman control over the Irish Land Commission?

territory. There is no direct agreement between Her Majesty's Postmaster General and the Chartered Company, but the exchange of mails has been carried on under arrangements made by the Postmaster General of the Cape of Good Hope.

CATTLE DISEASE IN COUNTY CLARE.

MAJOR JAMESON (Clare, W.): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he is aware of the heavy losses sustained by the farmers of West Clare by the deaths of large numbers of cattle from a disease called fluke?

and are there any statistics of the number of cattle which the farmers have lost in West Clare through the disease during

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: I have no the last nine months? control whatever over it.

BULAWAYO POSTAL CHARGES. MR. MELLOR (Yorks, W.R., Sowerby): I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether he is aware that letters for Rhodesia bearing a 2d. stamp are charged 4d. at Bulawayo, while letters from Bulawayo to London are charged 6d.; and whether Rhodesia is in the Postal Union, and, if not, whether there is any and what agreement with the Chartered Company as to the rates of postage?

MR. HANBURY: The postage prepayable on letters from this country to Rhodesia is 2d. the oz., and the Postmaster General is not aware that a charge is made on the delivery in Rhodesia of letters from this country fully prepaid by means of postage stamps; indeed, a few years ago Her Majesty's Government agreed to pay extra high rates for the transit of correspondence for Rhodesia in order to obviate the necessity for such charge. The matter, however, shall be inquired into. The postage on letters from Bulawayo to London is 6d. per 1oz. Rhodesia is not at present in the

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: No information has been received either by the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council or by the Local Government Board as to the prevalence of fluke among cattle in West Clare.

MAJOR JAMESON: I hope the right honourable Gentleman will cause inquiry to be made into this matter.

STREAMSTOWN TELEGRAPH OFFICE.

MR. DONAL SULLIVAN (Westmeath, S.): I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, why the public telegraph business at Streamstown, county Westmeath, has been discontinued; and whether he can promise to have the office there reopened?

MR. HANBURY: Public telegraph business at Streamstown has not been discontinued; telegrams are still forwarded from the telegraph office at the station, but the delivery of telegrams outside the station has been discontinued at the railway company's request, the company apparently finding some difficulty The Postin providing for that service. master General is, however, in communication with the company on the subject.

FEAROZ, THE PARSEE.

MR. DAVITT (Mayo, S.): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to a prisoner named Fearoz, a Parsee, who was tried and convicted before the Recorder of London near the end of 1892, and whose sentence was one of four years' penal servitude, whether he can state what has become of the prisoner, whose sentence must have expired before this date?

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR TIE HOME DEPARTMENT: This man was certified insane, and removed to Broadmoor, in March, 1895. On the expira

whether any reason exists for withholding permission for the exhibition of this paper seeing that nothing objectionable is contained therein?

MR. HANBURY: The application referred to by the honourable Member was received at the General Post Office in making inquiry into the practice in on the 25th ultimo. Some time was spent similar cases in other Post Offices. The application has now been complied with.

SOLDIERS.

tion of his sentence in December, 1896, CIVIL EMPLOYMENT FOR DISCHARGED he was made a pauper lunatic, and removed to Hanwell Asylum. I have no further information about him.

MR. DAVITT: Is it not a fact that this prisoner became insane in consequence of his imprisonment?

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT: There is no indication of it.

MR. DAVITT: Will the right honourable Gentleman inquire of the prison medical authority what was the state of this man's health and mind when he was received in prison?

THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENT: I am quite willing to make the inquiry.

POSTAL TELEGRAPH CLERKS'
ASSOCIATION.

to

MR. BROOKFIELD (Sussex, Rye): I beg to ask the Under Secretary of State for War if he can give the House any information as to the civil employment which Government Departments, other than the War Office and Post Office, are now providing for reserve and discharged soldiers; and whether the provision of such employment is now part of a definite and systematic policy on the part of all Government Departments, including the Treasury and Her Majesty's Customs?

THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. W. ST. JOHN BRODRICK, Surrey, Guildford): Every effort is made by the War Office to secure from the various Departments of the Government any posts which they have available, and reliable characters are supplied to all men applying for such employment, but the systematic policy accepted by the War Office and the Post Office has not been adopted by other Departments, except the Treasury and its subordinate offices, which are governed by minutes issued in

1894 and 1895.

SALARIES OF IRISH ASSISTANT
TEACHERS.

MR. M'GHEE (Louth, S.): I beg ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether the local secretary of the Postal Telegraph Clerks' Association at Belfast requested permission to exhibit a copy of the agenda paper of the forthcoming conference of that association in the male telegraphists' dining room; will he explain why, though a fortnight has elapsed since the application was made, no answer has been returned, neither has the copy of the paper; and whether, see-two years in one of the Board's training ing that Government employees are said colleges only receive an average salary to enjoy all the rights of combination of £62 per annum, although some of the applicable to trade unions, he will state assistants may be University graduates,

MR. FLAVIN (Kerry, N.): I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury will he explain why Irish assistant teachers who have spent five years as monitors and

and may have spent 20 years as assistant | vessels projected are to be of 6,600 and teachers; and whether he can say why 8,800 tons respectively; whether he is Irish assistant teachers only receive an aware of the great and unusual activity average salary of £62 per year, as com- in the French Naval dockyards; and pared with the English and Scotch assis- whether there is an alliance between tant teachers, who receive respectively France and Russia? £97 and £100 per annum?

MR. HANBURY: The average income of male assistant teachers in Ireland, according to the latest available Return (for the year 1895), was £63 6s. 81d. In England the latest Return (for 1996) shows an average of £97 7s. 6d., and in Scotland (for the same year) of £103 7s.

9d.

But the three countries compare very differently when the total provision for teaching is taken in proportion to the number of children in average attendance. The average payment to Irish teachers was £2 4s. per child, as against £1 15s. in England and £1 18s. 7d. in Scotland. And it is also to be remembered that in Ireland more than 7-8ths of the total payment comes from the Parlia mentary Votes, and less than 1-8th from local sources; while in England the proportions are less than 2-3rds from Parliamentary Votes, and more than 1-3rd from local sources; and in Scotland the local contribution is between 1-3rd and 1-4th. The distribution of the total amount between the different classes of teachers is not a matter which directly concerns the Treasury.

WARSHIP CONSTRUCTION FOR

RUSSIA.

LORD CHARLES BERESFORD (York): I beg to ask the First Lord of the Admiralty whether the Russian Government have given orders for the construction of six new battleships immediately; whether two others are projected, and large orders have been placed for cruisers and torpedo-boat destroyers; whether three of the new battleships are to be of 12,675 tons, one to be constructed at the New Admiralty Yard, St. Petersburg, one at the Baltic Works, and one at Galerny Island; have two been ordered from Cramp's Yard, Philadelphia, and the sixth battleship been ordered to be constructed at Nicolaief, on the Black Sea, and will be of the "Three Saints" class, 12,660 tons; whether he is aware that the two

THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. G. J. GOSCHEN, St. George's, Hanover Square): I must preface my answer to the noble Lord's Question by stating that I know of no official statement of the Russian Government covering the ground which his Question covers. Most of the alleged facts appear to me to come from a statement in the Kronstadt Gazette, which, I think, has been called an official paper, I know not on what authority. My answer to the first paragraph of the noble Lord's Question is that I do not believe that the Russian Government have given orders for the construction of six new battleships immediately; I believe it to be correct that three new battleships are to be constructed at St. Petersburg, as suggested in the third paragraph. These are the three to be built in Russia, as I stated on the 4th instant. With reference to the fourth paragraph, I was not prepared to make myself responsible for the rumours that two battleships had been ordered from Cramp's Yard, in Philadelphia, until I had been able to test the statement. So far as I have learnt, it is not correct. One battleship only has been ordered at Cramp's; the other ship is a cruiser. With reference to Nicolaief, on the Black Sea, we received information long since that it was in contemplation to lay down a "Three Saints" there, but according to latest information it is not a battleship, but a vessel of the Vulcan type, of about 8,000 tons, which is to be laid down in that yard. The battleship Prince Potemkin, building at Nicolaief, which is a ship of the "Three Saints" type, has been under construction for some time, and has long since been taken into account, and is quite independent of any recent developments. As to paragraph 2, I know of no other battleships being projected; nor, if I knew, would it be right to attach value to intentions for the future, unless officially and definitely announced. We have several times had Russian ships carried forward as projected from list to list, which, after all, were never laid down. As to the fifth

CHANNEL MAIL SERVICE.

paragraph of the noble Lord's inquiries | those of the factory technical staff, who, with reference to the tonnage of such as a rule, are selected by the Director alleged projected ships, I expect there is General from the foremen as having a confusion. I know of no battleship of shown special aptitude for the duties such tonnage. Possibly the 8,000 ton required. ship may be the Vulcan, building at Nicolaief, and the 6,000 ton ship a cruiser. With reference to the question whether large orders had been placed for cruisers and torpedo-boat destroyers, CAPTAIN NORTON (Newington, W.): I I have heard of two orders for cruisers, beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, one at Cramp's already mentioned, and as representing the Postmaster General, one at Havre; and inquiries have been whether, in view of delays which occur made by Russian agents with reference to from time to time in the Channel mail destroyers. Whether orders have been service, owing to the inability of mail actually placed for the latter I have not steamers to enter or leave Calais Haryet ascertained. I have endeavoured in bour, his attention has been directed to this answer to sift the facts as far as an arrangement between the British and possible, but I cannot guarantee their French Post Offices to despatch the mails accuracy in the absence of positive infor- via Boulogne. only after a delay of not mation, and I must demur to making less than 24 hours has occurred; whether myself responsible for the correction of he is aware that on two occasions any facts which I am not able to verify. during the past winter mails have been My best answer would have been simply detained at Dover 24 hours; and will he to say that the attention of the Board of also explain why it is deemed necessary, Admiralty was constantly and fully in the interests of the public on both directed to the proposed large increases in foreign Navies. I have read in the newspapers that there is considerable activity in French dockyards.

ORDNANCE FACTORY.

sides of the Channel, to detain such important mails 24 or even 12 hours at Dover or Calais before despatching them by an alternative and available route!

MR. HANBURY: There is no such arrangement as the honourable and gallant Member seems to suppose. There 18 no fixed interval between the com

MR. GRETTON (Derbyshire, S.): I beg to ask the Financial Secretary to the War Office if his attention has been called to the fact that the last Ordnance Factory Estimates provide for 22 clerks on the establishment and not a single manager or mechanical assistant; if the managers who superintend the workmen and the assistant engineers who are responsible for the plant are now on the wages list and not on the establishment or included in establishment the charges; and if the Secretary of State will consider the desirability of not subordinating the technical to the clerical element?

THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY TO THE WAR OFFICE (Mr. J. POWELL WILLIAMS, Birmingham, S.): The managers and assistant engineers are on the wages list. The clerical staff are subject to the rules which affect the Civil Service generally, and their duties are quite distinct from

The First Lord of the Admiralty.

mencement of a storm affecting the use of Calais Harbour, and an attempt to substitute that of Boulogne; but it is, of course, necessary when news comes that Calais Harbour cannot be entered to ascertain not only whether Boulogne Harbour can, but also whether the neces sary transfer of personnel from the one port to the other can be arranged so as to save time as compared with waiting for the abatement of the storm. It is the fact that. on two occasions during the past winter. mails were delayed at Dover for more than 24 hours, but on the first of these two occasions. Boulogne, as well as Calais Harbour, was reported to be impracticable. On the second of them the mail was despatched to Boulogne as soon as it was possible to make arrangements for this purpose. Indeed, after they had been so despatched, the French Post Office urgently requested that they should be kept back till they could be sent via Calais.

MR. HANBURY: I am not aware that SIR WILLIAM PRIESTLEY (Edin- there is unanimity in the district in burgh and St. Andrews Universities): I favour of the acceptance of Mr. Baldwin's beg to ask the Financial Secretary to offer. On the contrary, I understand the War Office what further rank and that protests have been made by some of title will be conferred on Army medical those who are locally interested against officers under the expected new Warrant any step in that direction pending further after they have reached the rank of negotiations on their part with the railcolonel, and may be called upon to as-way company.

Financial Secretary to the War Office SECOND TERM JUDICIAL TENANTS IN when the Warrant containing the new constitution of the Army Medical Department will be issued; and whether he can state its provisions?

MR. ROCHE (Galway, E.): I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether, as the inhabitants in the district of the Portumna and Parsonstown fully subscribed; whether any changes Railway are unanimous in their desire that the line should be sold to anyone who would engage to re-open it, he will now direct that that line should be sold to Mr. Baldwin?