identification when he swears he is unable to give such evidence. Rights of Congolese Natives. MR. BENNETT (Oxfordshire, Woodstock): To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether he could give some assurance to this House that the treaty conditions, under which alone any annexation of the Congo State by Belgium would be acceptable to His Majesty's Government, would carry with them the right of the Congolese native to buy and sell freely of the produce of the soil. (Answered by Secretary Sir Edward Grey.) The views of His Majesty's Government in regard to the right of the Congolese native to buy and sell freely of the produce of the soil remain the same as those set forth in the circular to the Powers of the 8th August, 1903, which was published in Blue Book, Africa, No. 14 (1903). Census of Production. MR. CLYNES (Manchester, N.E.): To ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in respect to the circular, issued by his Department to employers, asking for particulars of wages paid to workmen which would permit a comparison between 1906 and 1886, he can also acquire information of the increased productive power of the workmen and of the greater pressure under which work is now performed, and also of the growth of profits and salaries amongst the commercial and professional classes during the past twenty years. to (Answered by Mr. Kearley.) The points which the hon. Member directs attention are of great interest and importance; but I do not think it would be desirable to complicate the inquiry now in progress as to money wages by attempting to deal with them in the same schedules. I hope that, in time, the results of the new Census of Production will furnish valuable information as to changes in output per person employed. The Income Tax Returns throw a good deal of light on the growth of income of the Income-Tax-paying sections of the population. Fire at Ancoats-Emergency Exits. MR. CLYNES: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has seen a report of the fire on Wednesday last as the mill of Messrs. M'Connell, Ancoats, Manchester, showing that to effect an escape windows were smashed by a large number of frightened women and girls, who for safety jumped into the street; and whether he can ascertain if proper and sufficient means of exit, in cases of fire, were provided at this mill on the fourth floor of which many girls were employed. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Gladstone.) I have received a report on the circumstances of this fire. The fire broke out on the fourth floor, and the girls employed on that and the two higher floors escaped without difficulty by an emergency exit and down a flight of steps into the yard. Some windows on the ground floor, in a different part by the fire, were broken by the crowd of the building not affected which had assembled in the street, and five or six girls employed in that part got out through them; this, I suppose, gave rise to the report referred to in the Question. The mill is provided with sufficient means of exit, to the satisfaction of the local authority and the Factory Department. Emigrants from Ireland. MR. WALTER LONG (Dublin, S.): Toask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland what was the number of emigrants from Ireland in the year 1906; how does this number compare with the number of emigrants from Ireland in previous years; what was the number in 1905; and what was the average annual number in the decennial periods 18751885, 1885-1895, and 1895-1905. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The number of emigrants from Ireland in the year 1906 was 35,344. The number for 1905 was 30,676. The average annual number in the decennial period 1876-1885 was 67,379; in 1886-1895, 59,977; and in 1896-1905, 37,746. Regular Officers as Adjutants in MAJOR RENTON (Lincolnshire, Gainsborough): To ask the Secretary of State for War, what is the number of Regular officers serving as adjutants in the Yeomanry, Militia, and Volunteers respectively; and their cost to the public. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) Fifty-six Regular officers are at present serving as adjutants in the Yeomanry, 143 in the Militia (excluding Channel Islands Militia), and 285 in the Volunteers. Their total cost is about £260,000 a year. Disposal of Plate of Disbanded Regiments. (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) I have no information as to the number of asistant clerks (new class) who are qualified, so far as length of service is concerned, for promotion to the Second Division, nor of those now employed in the Civil Service except in so far as the latter figure may be ascertained from the Civil Service Estimates. The number of those who have been promoted up to date is, I understand, sixty-six. Civil Contingencies Fund. MR. PIKE PEASE (Darlington): To ask the Secretary to the Treasury why no estimate in respect of repayments to the Civil Contingencies Fund has been presented in Class 7 of the Estimates for 1907-8. MR. HARMOOD-BANNER (Liverpool, Everton): To ask the Secretary of State for War what is to become of the old plate belonging to the various officers' messes of the Militia which is in value many thousand pounds, and will the (Answered by Mr. Runciman.) In terms of certain trust deeds, which accordance with the regular practice provide for the division of the plate this Estimate will be presented later amongst the officers then in the regi- in the Session, when the sum required ment when it is disbanded, be acted upon or opposed; will pieces of plate presented by officers still alive be returned to them on their leaving the regiment; and what is to be done with the various sums at credit of the mess funds, band funds, and canteen funds of Militia regiments on their ceasing to exist. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) The Government do not contemplate disbanding or the destruction of any Militia regiment under the provisions of the Territorial and Reserve Forces Bill. One of the principal objects in view in establishing county associations is to provide for the continuity of Militia traditions, and for the preservation of the distinctive character and belongings of each regiment in accordance with modern military requirements. Civil Service Assistant Clerks. MR. HUNT (Shropshire, Ludlow): To ask the Secretary to the Treasury if he will state the number of assistant clerks (new class) now employed in the Civil Service, the number of clerks who, by length of service, are eligible for promotion to the Second Division, and the number who up to the present time have been promoted to that rank. to be repaid to the Fund in respect of advances made therefrom during the financial year 1906-7 has been definitely ascertained. Outdoor Relief for Deserving Aged Poor. MR. BENNETT: To ask the President of the Local Government Board whether he will now re-issue the Local Government Board circular of August 1900, advising adequate outdoor relief for the deserving aged poor, with an addition explaining that the out-relief, where necessary, should be sufficient to include the cost of lodging and clothing as well as food. (Answered by Mr. John Burns.) I think that any question of re-issuing the circular should be deferred pending the Report of the Royal Commission on the Poor Law. Site and Cost of New Tea House in SIR WILLIAM BULL (Hammersmith): To ask the First Commissioner of Works if he can state where it is proposed to erect the refreshment kiosk in Hyde Park, and at what cost; and whether the contract for catering will be undertaken by the Office of Works; and, if not, whether it will be thrown open to tender. put a map in the Tea Room showing the proposed site for the new tea house. The cost is set forth in the Estimates for next year. I have not yet decided how or by whom the catering will be done. (Answered by Mr. Harcourt.) I will refused or given no answer; have the Commissioners written, or will they write, to all the owners of such land in that county; how much untenanted land in that county do they expect to acquire and distribute this year; and what do the Government propose to do, and when, with reference to untenanted land required for the people and not offered for sale. Working of the Irish Land Act. MR. GINNELL (Westmeath, N.): To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state, in respect of the working of the Land Act from 1st November, 1903, to 31st January, 1907, the number of applications for advances in cases within the zones; the number of these cases in which the sums applied for have been refused on account of excessive price or insufficiency of security; the number in which the sums applied for have been sanctioned without inspection of the holdings for value; the average number of years purchase of rent sanctioned, without the bonus, and with it respectively the number of applications for advances. in cases not within the zones; the number of these in which the sums applied for have been refused on account of excessive price or insufficiency of security; the number in which prices have been sanctioned; and the average number of years purchase of rent sanctioned without the bonus and with it respectively. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The hon. Member will find the information asked for, so far as it has been compiled, in Tables II. A, X., and XII., appended to the Report of the Estates Commissioners for the year ending 31st March, 1906. The current year's Report, which will be issued as soon as practicable after 31st instant, will contain further similar information. Sale of Land in County Westmeath. MR. GINNELL: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he will state the names of owners of untenanted lands in Westmeath whom the Estates Commissioners have asked to sell land for distribution, distinguishing those who have consented to sell on terms which can be entertained, those who have asked prohibitive prices, and those who have (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Estates Commissioners inform me that they have already approached a number of owners of untenanted land in Westmeath, and intend to approach all such owners according as their names and addresses can be ascertained. Negotiations with certain owners are proceeding. Until the Commissioners have completed their inquiries as to untenanted land generally they think it would be premature and misleading to publish any such partial information as is asked for in the Question. The O'Dwyer Estate. MR. GINNELL: To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, if he will obtain and issue an authentic copy of the judgment delivered last month by Mr. Justice Ross in the matter of the O'Dwyer estate, since the learned Judge denies the accuracy of the published reports of his judgment. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) I have referred this Question to Mr. Justice Ross, who informs me that he has no recollection of having seen any report of his judgment in the case mentioned, and could not, therefore, have denied its accuracy. No written judgment was delivered in the matter, and no authentic copy of it can therefore be supplied. Persons engaged in Rent Fixing, Valua ting and Inspection of Irish Land. MR. GINNELL; To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, if he can see his way to obtaining and circulating a list of those engaged in all the grades of rent fixing, valuing, and inspecting of land in Ireland, with the name of the original nominator of each. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The names of all persons who, on 1st January, 1907, were engaged in fixing judicial rents and | Pensions for ex-Soldiers-Cases of Kennedy and Stulch. MR. J. P. FARRELL: To ask the Secretary of State for War, whether his attention has been called to the case of a discharged soldier named Kennedy, now living at Longford, who caught cold and rheumatic pains during the South African War, and is now a permanent invalid, and will he direct that a pension be granted to him. MR. J. P. FARRELL: To ask the Secretary of State for War, whether, in the case of a man named Stulch, a discharged soldier living at Longford, any pension will be given him for his war services. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) I am afraid that I cannot trace the cases of the two men referred to in these Questions without fuller details. Will the hon Member be good enough to forward to the War Office the full names of the men, the names of their regiments, their regimental numbers, and the dates of their discharges, with any other information he may consider to bear on their cases. I will then cause inquiries to be made. Volunteer Officers as Acting Adjutants. SIR CHARLES DILKE (Gloucestershire, Forest of Dean): to ask the Secretary of State for War how many Volunteer units have Volunteers as acting adjutants; and, whether, in such cases the pay allotted to the adjutant is drawn by the acting adjutant. (Answered by Mr. Secretary Haldane.) There are twenty-four Volunteer officers acting as adjutants at the present time. These all draw the Army pay and allowances of their rank, with the exception of one officer who is an assistant adjutant, and who draws a consolidated allowance of £100 a year. Supply of Seed Potatoes to Irish Congested Districts. MR. THOMAS O'DONNELL (Kerry, W.) To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland whether any steps have been taken to supply seed potatoes to Cromane, Keel, and the other congested districts along the Dingle Peninsula, where the potato crop failed last year; and, whether the people have several times applied for assistance in this direction. (Answered by Mr Birrell.) Representations as to the necessity of aiding the people in these districts to obtain seed have been received. The people who require seed should take advantage of the money allocated by the Agricultural Department for seed through the local agricultural banks. Two of these banks operate along the Dingle Peninsula. Irish Evicted Tenants-Case of James MR. DELANY (Queens County, Ossory): To ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, whether the Estates Commissioners have received a claim for reinstatement from James Mooney, who was evicted in 1878 and 1880 out of two farms respectively on the estate of Mr. Pigott, Capard, Rosenallis, Queen's County; and can he say what steps have been taken to reinstate Mooney, or in the alternative provide him with another holding. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) The Estates Commissioners have received no application for reinstatement from James Mooney. The Clifford Estate, County Kilkenny. MR. O'MARA (Kilkenny, S.): To ask the Chief Secretary to the LordLieutenant of Ireland, whether negotiations for the sale of the Clifford estate, Thomastown, county Kilkenny, are taking place; whether he is aware that there are evicted tenants' tenements on this estate. and that now and for many months past a | calling, which they are powerless to do at feeling of resentment has existed through- present. out the surrounding districts against the landlord in consequence of his treatment; and, whether, in view of the fact that on a recent visit of an inspector of the Estates Commissioners the landlord and his agent refused any accommodation or settlement with evicted tenants, he will recommend the Estates Commissioners not to confirm the sale until this matter is adjusted. THE SECRETARY TO THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. EDMUND ROBERTSON, Dundee): My attention has been called to the damage to the "Shamrock," by a letter from the hon. Member and by statements in the local press; but I can find no evidence as to the nationality of the other vessel. Two vessels, instead of the one formerly employed, are now detailed to maintain a continuous patrol of these waters, and I regret that no further assistthe protection on other fishing grounds. As regards the last part of the Question, the Admiralty have no power to make any compassionate grant. I may add that the maintenance of vessels employed on fishery duties costs the Navy nearly £100,000 per annum, and the Admiralty are of opinion that the time has come for the whole question to be considered by a Committee including representatives of all the Departments concerned. (Answered by Mr. Birrell.) No pro-ance can be afforded without diminishing ceedings for the sale of this estate have been instituted before the Estates Commissioners, who have no knowledge of any negotiations between the landlord and tenants which may be in progress. The Commissioners have received but one application from an evicted tenant on the estate, and have decided that they can take no action in the case, seeing that the holding is not one to which the Land Law Acts apply, and that the evicted tenant is therefore ineligible for reinstatement under the Act. As no proceedings for sale are before the Commissioners the question of confirming the sale does not arise. QUESTIONS IN THE HOUSE. Foreign Trawlers off Plymouth. MR. MILDMAY (Devonshire, Totnes): I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the attention of their Lordships has been called to the action of a foreign trawler off Plymouth, whereby the drifter "Shamrock" was deprived of all her gear and her owner of his means of livelihood; whether in view of the fact that this is the last of a series of predatory acts by foreign trawlers, they will endeavour to give further and more efficient protection to the fishermen of Plymouth and South Devon; and whether, seeing that the owner of the "Shamrock," obliged, through previous losses due to foreign trawlers, to have recourse to borrowing money for the purpose, fitted out his boat and went to sea relying upon the protection promised by their Lordships of the Admiralty, they will consider the possibility of bestowing upon him a compassionate gratuity, so that he and his crew may be enabled to resume their VOL. CLXX. [FOURTH SERIES.] MR. MILDMAY asked what the nature of the Committee would be. MR. EDMUND ROBERTSON said the Committee would include representatives of the various Government Departments which were interested, including, of course, the Admiralty and the Board of Trade. MR. MILDMAY: Will the Committee be immediately appointed, in view of the paralysis of the industry owing to the present state of affairs? MR. EDMUND ROBERTSON said he only went so far as to say that, in the opinion of the Admiralty, for which alone he spoke, a Committee ought to be appointed. MR. MILDMAY: Then I will put a Question to the Prime Minister on the subject, later on. Cannot the Government make themselves answerable for the appointment of such a Committee? Maintenance of Sailors' Families. MR. SWIFT MACNEILL (Donegal, S.): I beg to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty whether it has come to the knowledge of the Lords of the Admiralty that in many cases the wives and children 3 E |