Act]; to lie upon the Table, and to be receive 12s. a week less than those emprinted. [No. 115.] UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW. Copy presented, of Abstract of Accounts of the University of Glasgow for the year ending 30th September, 1907 [by Act]; to lie upon the Table, and to be printed. [No. 116.] ployed at Birmingham, and that the employees at Dudley are compelled to pass an examination in telegraphy and postal work, which test is not required of those employed at Birmingham; and whether he will state the reason for the difference in remuneration. MR. STAVELFY-HILL: To ask the whether he is PAPER LAID ON THE TABLE BY THE Postmaster-General of Criminal Appeal Rules, Copy the Criminal Appeal Rules, 1908 [by Act]. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS CIRCULATED WITH THE VOTES. Bonlahy Letter Arrangements. MR. J. P. FARRELL (Longford N.): To ask the Postmaster-General whether any petition has been has been received by him from the inhabitants of Bonlahy, County Longford, and neighbourhood, for an evening as well as a morning clearance of the pillar-box there; and will he direct that this be done. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The petition to which the hon. Member refers has been duly received, and inquiry is being made. I hope shortly to be able to send a reply. Coventry Post Office Medical Officer. MR. JAMES O'CONNOR (Wicklow, W.): To ask the Postmaster-General whether he is aware that the medical officer of the post office at Coventry is about 85 years of age, and that many of the staff at Coventry attend other medical men at their own expense, owing to their dissatisfaction with the medical officer's treatment; and whether, in view of his advanced age, steps will be taken to appoint another medical officer. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) I am having inquiry made, and will communicate the result to the hon. Member. Dudley and Birmingham Post Office Scale of Wages. MR. STAVELEY-HILL (Staffordshire, Kingswinford): To ask the PostmasterGeneral whether he is aware that the employees in the post office at Dudley aware that there are officers in the Dudley post office with thirty years service who are receiving 44s. per week, while those similarly employed at Birmingham, with a less amount of service, are receiving 56s. per week; and whether he can state the reason for this difference. The (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) I will answer the two Questions together. Under the recommendation of the Select Committee on Post Office Servants the new classification of towns in respect of scales of pay is to be based primarily on the volume of work modified where necessary by the cost of living. unit of work at Birmingham is 7,400, which places it in Class 1. The index number of the cost of living at Birmingham, as ascertained by the Board of Trade, is 96. The unit of work at Dudley is only 168, and the index number of the cost of living 90, the average being 100. Sorting clerks and telegraphists at all provincial offices are liable to be employed on sorting or service may require; but at the large telegraph work as the exigencies of the offices, though the work is more trying, the conditions are nearly always such that officers are, in practice, employed exclusively on sorting or telegraph duties, as the case may be, and it is not, therefore, necessary to train them all fully on both classes of work. Postal Officers and Territorial Force Camps. MR. CLAUDE HAY (Shoreditch, Hoxton): To ask the Postmaster-General whether he can servants state whether postal who are members of the Territorial Forces will have leave of absence from official duties to attend camp; if they will receive their Civil Service pay during these periods; and whether he can state the regulations issued by the Post Office dealing with this subject. fee. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The carefully considered, and it has been deregulations authorised by the Treasury cided not to make any reduction in the provide for the grant of special leave up to a maximum of fifteen days in such The Treasury Regulations as will be published im cases. regards pay mediately. ask Dundee Telegraphists' Wages. MR. WILKIE (Dundee): To the Postmaster-General whether the maximum wages of male telegraphists at Dundee, as a result of the departmental interpretation of the Hobhouse award, remains at the figure fixed in 1890; whether the maximum at Edinburgh is 4s. per week higher than at Dundee; whether the recent Board of Trade Returns show that Dundee is the city in Scotland in which the cost of living for the working classes is highest; and whether he will investigate the position of affairs at Dundee. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) In 1890 there were two classes of sorting clerks and telegraphists at Dundee. The first-class had a maximum of 50s., and the second-class a maximum of 40s. The classification of Dundee has been determined on the lines recommended by the the Select Committee on Post Office Servants, that is to say, primarily on volume of work modified where necessary by cost of living. The volume of work at Dundee is represented by about 1,120 units which places it in Class II., the range of which is from 800 to 1,700 units, and as the cost of living is not exceptionally high, it remains in Class II. On the same principle Edinburgh with about 4,780 units of work, and with the cost of living practically the same as in Dundee, remains in Class I. Naturalisation Fees. MR. BYLES (Salford, N.): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, having regard to the expectations held out by the Prime Minister to an important deputation several months ago, he is yet able to promise a reduction of the fee charged for naturalisation in this country, so that it may conform more nearly to the smaller fees charged in foreign countries. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) The question has been very fully and Tipton Death Inquiry. MR. T. F. RICHARDS (Wolverhamp ton, W.): To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his attention has been called to the death of a man named David Pearson, at Tipton, in Staffordshire, upon whose body an inquest was held and a verdict returned of death from natural causes, accelerated by excessive drinking and exposure; whether he is aware that it is alleged that a noxious drug had been given this man; whether, under the circumstances, the authorities had taken the necessary steps to elicit the true cause of this man's death; and whether he intends to take any steps towards making further inquiries into this case. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I have no information as to this case save which the hon. Member has kindly sent that contained in the newspaper report me, but I am making inquiries and will communicate the result to him. Children in Public Houses. MR. FIENNES (Oxfordshire, Banbury): Home Department, whether, in view of To ask the Secretary of State for the the widespread interest taken in the question of women taking infants and young children to public-houses, he will circulate to all Members the Home Office Report on this subject [Cd. 3813]. The Paper in question has been laid upon (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) the Table, and has been dealt with in accordance with the usual rule as to the distribution of Command Papers. Copies can be obtained by any Member interested on application at the Vote office. Religious Instruction in Training Colleges. LORD R. CECIL (Marylebone, E.): To ask the President of the Board of Education, in how many, and which of the training colleges no religious instruction is given; and how many students are provided for at such colleges. (Answered by Mr. McKenna.) The Board have not hitherto made inquiries as to the religious instruction given in training colleges, and I regret, therefore, that my information is confined to the colleges provided by the London County Council, to which I referred in my answer to the noble Lord on the 20th March. Egyptian Administration. MR. KETTLE (Tyrone, E.): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, whether, according to the present political arrangements in Egypt, it is within the competence of the Khedive to grant a constitution or representative legislature to the people of Egypt. (Answered by Secretary Sir Edward Grey.) Under present conditions, it would be necessary that if any step of the nature referred to were taken, it should be only in consultation with His Majesty's Gov ernment. Mandi Chiefship. MR. MICKLEM (Hertfordshire, Watford): To ask the Secretary of State for India, whether there is any record of the grounds upon which the memorial of Raja Dusht Nikandan Sen, Chief of Sukeh State, Punjaub, presented in 1904, and praying that the Raja's claims to the chiefship of Mandi might be inquired into and considered, was rejected by the then Secretary of State for India; and if so, whether he will state the reasons for such rejection, and whether the Raja was informed why he was not accorded a hearing. House to be printed on 28th July, 1873, do not know how the figures printed in Defence of India. SIR H. COTTON: To ask the Secre tary of State for India, if he will state in what year the Report of the Royal Commission which sat shortly after the Mutiny to consider the question of the forces necessary for the protection of India, and advised that 80,000 British troops were required, was presented to this House; and what is the reference number of the Command Paper in which that Report was published. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) The Report was presented in 1859. The reference number of the Command Paper is Cd. 2515. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) The proceedings of the Secretary of State in Council, which resulted in the rejection. of the memorial referred to, are on record. The reason for the rejection of the memorial was that it established no ground for interfering with the orders passed by the Government of India in 1897, recog British Garrison in India. nising the adoption, by the late chief, of a SIR H. COTTON: To ask the Secreson who is the present chief. The mem-tary of State for India, whether he is orialist was duly informed that the aware that in answer to a question put Secretary of State, after fully considering on 13th March, 1906, by the hon. Memall the circumstances of the cases, saw no ber for North Camberwell the following reason for interfering with the orders of figures were given by the Secretary of 1897. State for War of the total strength of the British forces serving in India in the years specified: January 1897, 76,995; January 1900, 66,581; January 1901, 63,623; January 1902, 63,958; January 1903, 75,740; October 1903, 76,380; October 1904, 76,938; October 1905, 78,061; and that the figures now given Select Committee on East India Finance. SIR H. COTTON (Nottingham, E.): To ask the Secretary of State for India, if he is aware that on page 909 of the Third Report of the Select Committee on East India Finance, ordered by this for the same years are as follows 1897-8, 76,376; 1900-1, 65,581; 19012, 62,999; 1902-3, 59,497; 1903-4, 74,709; 1904-5, 74,872; 1905-6, 77,268; and will he state the reason for these discrepancies. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Morley.) The figures given by me on the 26th of March last were then stated to be for the 1st of April in each year. The reason of the discrepancy between those figures and those which the Secretary of State for War gave two years ago for January and October, is to be found in the fact that the numbers vary at different times of the year according to the relief movements of troops between India and this country. Women Clerks at the Post Office. MR. FIELD (Dublin, St. Patrick): To ask the Postmaster-General whether he will state the respective numbers of women clerks from each branch of the Post Office in London whose names are noted as desiring transfer to Dublin; and seeing that junior members of such clerks, to the exclusion of their seniors, are about to be transferred to Dublin, will he say whether all future transfers will be regulated according to seniority and equality of efficiency. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) The total number of women clerks who have applied for transfer to Dublin is fiftyeight, of whom eighteen are employed in the Accountant-General's Department, twenty-nine in the Savings Bank, and eleven in the Money Order Department. Priority of application is the governing factor in the case of transfers. MR. FIELD: To ask the PostmasterGeneral whether, seeing that a number of Savings Bank women clerks were asked by the Savings Bank authorities, either privately or officially, sometime before the present Government came into office, if they would serve in Dublin, that the percentages of Irish deposits and withdrawals made through British deposit books and vice versa, as worked out by the Savings Bank, either privately or officially, show only one per cent. approximately on the totals, that, apart from the enormous inconvenience to Irish depositors, Ireland loses £30,000 per annum by having the London, that 99 per cent. of the manufactured stuff used in the Post Office in Ireland is not manufactured in Ireland, that clerical work can be as efficiently, and, having regard to the cost of housing accommodation, more economically per formed in Dublin than in London, and that it would be more in conformity with Irish ideas if the Irish Savings Bank accounts were kept in Dublin, he will further consider the advisability of transferring the work of keeping these accounts from London to Dublin. (Answered by Mr. Sydney Buxton.) I am afraid I have nothing to add to the replies I gave my hon. friend on the subject last session. Permanent Assistant Secretary to MR. FIELD: To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will explain, in reference to the promotion of Mr. Blain Secretary to the Treasury, who was the over Mr. Crowly as Permanent Assistant official responsible for this selection, and what proof did he put forward as to Mr. Blain being more meritorious than Mr. Crowly for the superior appointment. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) This appointment was made by the Board of Treasury. The Assistant Comptroller and Auditor. MR. FIELD: To ask the Secretary to the Treasury whether he will state the number of months sick leave the late Mr. Gleadowe had during the year immediately preceding his appointment as assistant comptroller and auditor; for what length of time did he occupy the latter position, and what sick leave did he have during this period; and whether, contrary to the Exchequer and Audit Department Act, he was selected for the position of assistant comptroller and auditor by the permanent officials of the Treasury. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) Mr. Gleadowe has been dead more than four years, and in these circumstances, I am not prepared to make inquiries as to the amount of his sick leave. His appointment was made in accordance with the provisions of the Exchequer and Audit Prevention of Railway Accidents. MR. ELLIS (Nottinghamshire, Rushcliffe): To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether any special appointments of persons have been made under Section 15 of The Railway Employment (Prevention of Accidents) Act, 1900; and whether any iuquiries have been held and experiments have been made under the same section. (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) The two assistant inspecting officers of railways, who have conducted practically all the inspections made under the Act of 1900, were added to the staff of the department in January 1901. An additional subinspecting officer was also appointed in March 1904. In addition to the inquiries which are continually being held, where necessary, by these officers into the causes of accidents to railway servants, and to numerous inspections under Section 13 of the Act, special investigation has been made in some cases where a railway company has objected to a rule proposed by the Board under the Act for reasons connected with special circumstances on a railway. The Railway Employment Safety Appliances Committee, who were appointed in April 1906, were also directed, inter alia, to make with the co-operation of the railway companies such experiments as they deemed expedient. From the Committee's Reports it appears that they have made experiments with either-side brakes for waggons, and have also examined many inventions and appliances. Railway Waggon Couplings. MR. ELLIS: To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether any committee has been appointed by him to consider and report upon the matter of automatic couplings of railway waggons, of whom it is composed, has such committee carried out any experiments, has it reported; and, if so, what is the nature of such report, and, if not, how soon is it likely to report. such appliances to existing waggon stock, and that consequently any extensive tests of automatic couplers under present conditions would be of no value. Prevention of Railway Accidents-Rules. MR. ELLIS: To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether rules have been made, and are now in force, with respect to all the twelve subjects mentioned in the schedule to The Railway Employment (Prevention of Accidents) Act, 1900; if not, which of the subjects are still without rules, and at what stage is the action necessary to make or complete the rules respecting it or them; whether any rules have been made under Section 1, Sub-section (2), of the Act, and, if so, what is their nature; whether any rules have been made under Section 1, Sub-section (3), of the Act, and, in that case, what is their nature; and whether any specific order has been made under Section 8 of the Act, and, if so, what is its nature. (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) Rules are now in force with regard to nine of the twelve subjects scheduled to the Act of 1900, and a proposed rule was published last August with regard to a further subject, brake levers on both sides of waggons, and has now been modified in view of certain objections received thereto. It has not yet been thought necessary to make rules with regard to No. 7, position of offices, etc., or No. 8, marking of fouling points, as such matters can be more conveniently dealt with, should occasion arise, than by general rule under Section 1 (1). No rules have been made under Section 1 (2) and (3) of the Act, nor have any specific orders under Section 8 been found necessary. Irish Provident Assurance Company. MR. N. J. MURPHY (Kilkenny, S.): To ask the President of the Board of Trade if his attention, or the attention of the Law Officers of the Crown, has been drawn to the position of affairs of the Irish Provident Assurance Company, (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) The Rail- Limited, and to the fact that thousands. way Safety Appliances Committee (con- of pounds of the policy-holders' money sisting of Colonel Yorke, the hon. Member have been spent by the directors in for Derby, and Mr. Turnbull) have con- various schemes with the object of sidered, among other matters, the making profits for themselves; and also question of automatic couplings. They that the funds of the company are not reported, after very full consideration, properly safeguarded in the interests of that it appeared to be impracticable to fit the policy holders, which makes it |