(Answered by Lord Cranborne.) I shall be happy to collect further information for presentation to Parliament. Sugar Bounties-Effect of Abolition on Leeward Islands Sugar Estates. MR. M KENNA (Monmouthshire, N.): To ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether his attention has been called to a dispatch from the Governor of the Leeward Islands to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, in which it is stated that the abolition of sugar bounties will mean immediate ruin to many estates in the Leeward Islands; and, whether, in view of the circumstances under which these bounties are to be established, he proposes to take any steps to compensate the owners of such estates. (Answered by Mr. Austen Chamberlain, for the Secretary of State for the Colonies.) In the despatch to which the hon. Member refers, the Governor was urging the introduction of modern machinery as vital to the success of the Antigua sugar industry whether bounties were abolished, or not, but in estimating the immediate effect of the abolition of bounties on the American market, the Governor has fallen into an error, since, when the United States countervailing duties are taken off, the Continental State bounties will also be taken off, and the effect of the one will neutralise the effect of the other, and the position will be as before; while, as regards the more important Cartel bounties, which have never been countervailed in the United States, West Indian sugar will obtain the full benefit of their abolition, and will, therefore, be in a better position in the United States market than before the abolition of bounties. Scottish Continuation Classes Grant-- Proportion for Crofting Counties. MR. WEIR (Ross and Cromarty): To ask the Lord Advocate whether he is yet in a position to say how much of the £95,000, which has been granted by Parliament this year for continuation classes in Scotland, will be expended in each of the Highland crofting counties. (Answered by Mr. A. Graham Murray.) The amount of the grant in question which has already been paid to schools in the crofting counties is £2,455 17s. 10d. There are still two important cases outstanding. The claim in one case has not been sent in, and in the other it has not yet been adjusted. Wick School Board District -Extensi on of Area. MR. HARMSWORTH (Caithness-shire): To ask the Lord Advocate, as representing the Secretary for Scotland, to state if he has received an application to extend the Wick School Board district to the area which has been added to the burgh by the recent Provisional Order; and, if so, whether he has arrived at a decision in the matter yet. (Answered by Mr. A. Graham Murray) Such an extension of the Wick School Board district as is contemplated in the hon. Member's Question might be made. by the Scotch Education Department under the Education Act of 1878, or by the Secretary for Scotland under the Local Government Acts. No applica tion for such extension has been made to either Department. Hanwell Poor Law Schools-Ears and Throat Diseases. SIR WALTER FOSTER (Derbyshire, Ilkeston): To ask the President of the Local Government Board if he will give information as to the number of children in the Hanwell Poor Law Schools who are now suffering from diseases affecting the ears and throat; whether he will say what number out of the 88 mentioned in Mr. Cheatle's report, published early in the year, as being in danger of their lives and requiring surgical attention, have been operated on; and whether the Board of Management have issued a report on the subject. (Answered by Mr. Walter Long.) I have made inquiry, but have not at present received definite information as to the number of children in the Hanwell schools suffering from diseases affecting the ears and throat. Many of the children who were examined by Mr. Cheatle have since left, while there have been many new admissions. Of the number of cases mentioned in the report referred to, 73 have been successfully treated at the Hospital for Diseases of the Throat and Ears, Golden Square, and 12 more are going regarded as efficient; and what proporto the hospital to-day. Under an ar- tion of the Royal Marine Light Infantryrangement with the hospital authorities men qualify as gunners. 12 cases are received weekly for examination and operation. The managers have not yet issued a report on the subject. Torpedo Boat No. 81. MR. HARMSWORTH: To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty if he can state the reasons why Torpedo Boat No. 81 has been placed in the repairing dock, and how long she has been there. (Answered by Mr. Arnold-Forster.) Torpedo Boat No. 81 went ashore during the manoeuvres of 1901, and was badly damaged. Her salvage was, however, effected, and she was brought back to Portsmouth, and placed in No. 5 Graving Dock at that yard on the 19th August, 1901, since when she has remained there to relieve the pressure upon the basin space required for other ships, pending the completion of arrangements for reboilering and thoroughly refitting her. Had the dock been re quired for other purposes in the meantime she would have been floated out. Naval Gunnery-Telescopic Sights. MR. HARMSWORTH: To ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether telescopes for the purpose of improvement in straight shooting are supplied by His Majesty's Government to naval officers, or whether such telescopes are purchased by the officers in question from their private resources. (Answered by Mr. Arnold-Forster.) Telescopic sights are provided for certain types of guns, and the supply is being extended as manufacture admits. It is not the practice to furnish telescopes to the officers who are already in possession of them as a necessary part of their equipment. Marine Artillery and Light Infantry. (Answered by Mr. Arnold-Forster.) The information asked for in the first part of the Question will take some little time to compile, but I shall be happy to send it to the hon. Member if that will meet his wishes. As regards the second part of the Question, there is no rating of gunner in the Royal Marine Light Infantry, but practically every qualifies as "trained man, and receives extra pay as such. The exact proportion could only be ascertained by an examination of the pay sheets at the depôts and elsewhere, and would involve considerable labour. a Uganda Railway. man DR. AMBROSE (Mayo, W.): To ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the cost up to the present date to the British Treasury of the Uganda Railway. (Answered by Lord Cranborne.) The actual sum expended up to date which has been defrayed by the Treasury, or for which the Treasury will be liable, is £5,207,199. This sum is being repaid with interest by a sinking fund, and £373,222 5s. has already been devoted to this object. Condition of Macedonia. MR. BRYCE (Aberdeen, S.): To ask the Under Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he can give the House the substance of any recent Reports received from His Majesty's Consular Officers in Macedonia regarding the condition of affairs there; whether it is proposed to present to Parliament Papers on the subject; and, if so, when those Papers will be presented. (Answered by Lord Cranborne.) According to the latest reports from His Majesty's Consular Officers in Macedonia, tranquility seems for the time to have been restored. Small isolated bands of MR. HARMSWORTH: To ask the revolutionists are, however, still endeavSecretary to the Admiralty if he will ouring to create disturbances in the state what is the average cost per head more inaccessible parts of the country. of training the Royal Marine Artillery- His Majesty's Government are considermen and the Royal Marine Light Infantry- ing whether Papers in regard to the men from the time they join until they affairs of Macedonia can with advantage qualify as trained naval gunners, or are be presented to Parliament. VOL. CXVI. [FOURTH SERIES.] 2 X South Africa-Transfer of Blockhouses (Answered by Mr. Austen Chamberlain, from Military to Civil Authorities. for the Secretary of State for the Colonies.) MR. WEIR: To ask the Postmaster The Question seems to have been asked General, as representing the Secretary under a misapprehension. The West of State for the Colonies, in view of the African Railways have not been built by fact that the blockhouses in the Trans- contract, but departmentally. Tenders vaal and Orange River Colonies were have been invited from time to time for taken over by Lord Milner at a valuation materials, etc., as required, and to give agreed upon by him with Lord Kit- the information asked for would involve chener, will he quote the amount of that practically a reproduction of the accounts valuation; and to whom the block houses of the construction of the three railways have since been sold, and at what price. from the beginning to the present time. It is proposed to lay Papers shortly with regard to these railways. (Answered by Mr. Austen Chamberlain, for the Secretary of State for the Colonies.) It is understood that these blockhouses were taken over by Lord Milner for a lump sum of £50,000, and that they are on sale to the inhabitants of the districts at prices varying according to size. Pretoria Field Force Canteen. MR. WEIR: To ask the Postmaster General, as representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies, if he will state the number of contracts which have been entered into since the termination of the war for the supply of provisions and beverages to the Field Force canteen at Pretoria; will he state whether excisable liquors thus supplied are exempt from tax, the number of tenders for each liquor contract, and whether the lowest tender for each such contract has been accepted. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) There is no information to be given beyond that furnished to the hon. Member in reply to a similar Question put on the 2nd instant. † West African Railway Contracts. MR. W. F. LAWRENCE (Liverpool, Abercrombie): To ask the Postmaster General, as representing the Secretary of State for the Colonies, whether he can state the names of the firms who were invited to tender, and did tender, for railway material in respect of the Sierra Leone, Lagos, and Gold Coast Railways, also for coal for their use, and the quality and prices paid for delivery of coal and rails delivered at the various ports: And whether he will permit a Return to be prepared in detail of the cost of material prepared in detail of the cost of material and construction connected with the Lagos Railway. +See preceding volume, page 919. Irish Reformatory and Industrial Schools. MR. T. L. CORBETT (Down, N.): To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether, in view of the fact that of the seventy reformatory and industrial schools in Ireland only six schools presented accounts for the year 1901 audited by a chartered accountant, and whether, seeing that previous complaints to the same effect have been disregarded by the managers of these schools, he will state what steps the Irish Government propose to take in the matter. The (Answered by Mr. Wyndham.) managers of reformatory and industrial schools (with one exception, that at Baltimore, the accounts of which are audited in connection with the Education Endowments Act of 1885) are not at present required to submit audited accounts. The accounts of the five other schools in question are audited in pursu ance of arrangements voluntarily made by the respective committees of management. It does not appear to be necessary, upon the information before me, that special steps should be taken to require these institutions to submit their accounts to audit. Reserve Officers. COLONEL LOCKWOOD (Essex, Epping): To ask the Secretary of State for War whether, seeing that the step in rank given to the Reserve officers for their services during the Boer War, which appeared in the Gazette of the 17th October last, was substantive, he will explain why those officers are shown in the November Army List as still holding their former rank; will he state whether Army Medical School-Professor Wright. the promotion given to the Reserve made, and penalties are inflicted where officers in the Gazette of the 17th October firms are proved to have infringed the is to be antedated, in view of the fact clauses. that the delay in complying with the instructions contained in the Circular Letter of the 3rd of April to general officers, calling for the names of Reserve officers recommended for promotion, was not the fault of these officers; and will he explain why a Reserve officer reemployed during an emergency is deprived by Royal Warrant of his gratuity on completion of a period of service entitling him to a higher rate of retired pay. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) For the first part of the Question the hon. Member is requested to refer to the reply given to a Question put by the hon. Member for Northampton on the 11th instant. It was decided that no antedate should be given officers promoted in the Gazette of the 17th October, and that all should bear the same date. As regards the last part of the Question, it has been explained on previous occasions that an officer cannot draw both gratuity and increased retired pay. Army Clothing Contracts-Alleged Sweating. MR. TALBOT (Oxford University): To ask the Secretary of State for War what measures are taken to insure that the Government contracts for military cloth ing are executed in factories and not by outworkers; whether prices paid to women for making khaki trousers and tunics at the Royal Army Clothing Factory have been reduced from 3s. 9d. and 1s. to 2s. 6d. and 7d. respectively; and whether he will give an assurance that what is known as sweating shall not be sanctioned in establishments under the control of the War Office. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) The right hon. Member has been misin formed in regard to the figures quoted. No changes in price have been made since 1898, when that for a tunic was fixed at 3s. 1d. The price for trousers, 11 d., has not been altered. The contracts for making up clothing contain very strict clauses to prevent work being done at home, and to prevent sweating; frequent inspections of factories are See page 911. MR. GOULDING (Wiltshire, Devizes): To ask the Secretary of State for War whether Professor Wright is resigning his appointment in the Army Medical School in consequence of the refusal of the authorities to allow him to pursue his investigations in connection with typhoid inoculation at a London hospital. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) It was considered that, as the duties of the post to which Professor Wright had been appointed at St. Mary's Hospital would seriously interfere with those in the Medical Staff College, he should not be allowed to hold this appointment at the hospital. Professor Wright preferred to retain the latter, and has accordingly resigned his appointment in the Medical Staff College. South African War Furlough Allow ances for Returning Troops. SIR ELLIOTT LEES (Birkenhead): To ask the Secretary of State for War Office has been to station regiments whether the usual practice of the War returning from active service in South Africa near their depôts, thus allowing men going on furlough the opportunity, without unnecessary expense, of visiting their relatives; whether the number of battalions recruited in Scotland and the north of England is too great to allow of all returning being quartered in or near their own districts, thus creating cases where a man's railway fare and travelling expenses between the regimental district and the station where the regiment is quartered may amount to as much as two pounds or more; and whether, in cases where a battalion has been abroad for more than two years on active service in South Africa, and is stationed more than 100 miles from its regimental district, he will arrange that some allowance for railway fare shall be made to men proceeding to their own regimental district on furlough. The reply to the first paragraph is in the (Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) affirmative. As regards the second paragraph, there are not sufficient stations in Scotland to quarter the regiments the possible superiority of local naval defence for Jersey over defence by regular land forces has been considered; and, if so, by whom. MR. BRODRICK: No representation from the States of Jersey has as yet reached the War Office, so that I am not in a position to make any statement. I think the Hon. Baronet will agree with me that it is not expedient in the interests of national defence to discuss the other points raised in the question through the medium of question and answer in this House, but all these questions are being carefully considered, and the assumption that an effective force of Militia must be organised, if the regular force now in the island is to be main tained, is correct. Naval Manœuvres. *SIR CHARLES DILKE: I beg to ask. the Secretary to the Admiralty whether a Report can be presented to Parliament on such portions of the recent combined operations of the Mediterranean and Channel Squadrons as can be made public without prejudice to the public interests. THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. ARNOLD-FORSTER, Belfast, W.): The reports of the combined manoeuvres have not yet been fully considered by the Board of Admiralty, but when they have been so considered, there is no objection to laying before Parliament a report giving an account of the general scope and results of the man œuvres. *SIR CHARLES DILKE: It will be done by the Admiralty? MR. ARNOLD-FORSTER: Yes, Sir. Indian Currency-Effect of Closing the Mints Suggested Inquiry. SIR EDWARD SASSOON (Hythe): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for India whether he is now prepared to suggest to the Indian Government the advisability of instituting an inquiry as to the effect of the closing of the mints to the free coinage of silver, since the attainment of stability at sixteen pence per rupee, upon the economic condition of India generally. THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR INDIA (Lord GEORGE HAMILTON, Middlesex, Ealing): I am not of opinion that there is any sufficient reason for instituting a special inquiry, which would of necessity be elaborate, into the economic effects either of the closing of the Indian Mints in 1893 or of the stability of exchange which that measure was intended to produce and has proable to judge of them, appear to me to duced. Those effects, so far as I am be on the whole eminently satisfactory. -Present Position. MR. BRODRICK: The matter has Venezuela-Anglo-German Naval Action been inquired into, and steps were immediately taken to stop the overcrowding MR. SCHWANN (Manchester, N.): referred to. The causes of the over- I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether he proposes to give any information to the House as to the crowding are being made the subject of careful inquiry. |