Tuesday, 11 March 1924
The House met at a Quarter before Three of the Clock, Mr. SPEAKER in the Chair.
PRIVATE BILLS (Standing Orders not previously inquired into complied with).
2. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the London and North Eastern Railway Company has placed large orders for railway tyres in Belgium; and whether, in view of...
3. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he will set up a Departmental Committee to consider certain defects in the Bankruptcy Act, 1914, to which his attention has recently been...
7. asked the President of the Board of Trade what are the total exports for the years 1921, 1922, and 1923 from Great Britain to Germany; and can he also give the imports for the same period?
33. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that, according to the latest statistics issued by the Controller of Patents, the profit made by the Patent Office for...
4. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the loss of the s.s. "Okara," the s.s. "Trevessa," and the s.s. "Baron Blantyre," and to the fact that there...
11. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been called to the fact that the following vessels sailing from Hull to the East have carried coolie crews from February,...
25. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that on 1st March the s.s. "Solan" at Hull engaged four Chinese in the catering department in preference to four Hull men; and...
35. asked the President of the Board of Trade if the Government is taking steps to make the necessary alterations in the existing law affecting the use of life-saving appliances on the lines of...
6. asked the President of the Board of Trade what information he can give as to the results of compulsory arbitration in trade disputes among any nations who have adopted the principle; and...
46. asked the Prime Minister whether he proposes, in view of the constantly recurring industrial troubles, to introduce machinery which will enable the Government to intervene with its good...
8. asked the President of the Board of Trade the number of fabric-glove factories in Great Britain in the years 1921 and 1924, respectively?
9. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is prepared to circulate the Report of the Committee appointed by his predecessor to consider the working of the Safeguarding of Industries Act...
12. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware of the dissatisfaction due to the detention by the Customs officials owing to the difficulty of differentiating between cut glassware...
13. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he has received an application for the appointment of a committee under the Safeguarding of Industries Act (Depreciated Currency) to consider the...
14. asked the President of the Board of Trade what loans under £10,000 in all were guaranteed under the Trade Facilities Acts during 1923; what amounts under £10,000 have been...
15. asked the President of the Board of Trade what countries produce the 21.2 per cent. of the sugar crop of the world, which is grown within the British Empire, and in what quantities?
16. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he will inquire into the causes under which the price of bread has recently been increased, making it 100 per cent. over pre-War level?
18. asked the President of the Board of Trade how many cases which have been heard before the German section of the Mixed Arbitral Tribunal are awaiting judgment, and the dates when such cases...
24. asked the President of the Board of Trade if he is aware that there are 200 coastguard stations with station officers in charge at a pay of 57s. 9d. per week, and 130 stations in charge of...
29. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the French Government has recently concluded an agreement with the German Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik for the...
30. asked the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the Report of the Royal Commission on Compensation for Suffering and Damage by Enemy Action, he will state the attitude of the...
39. asked the Secretary of State for War if it is intended that the War Office shall at an early date take over from the Ministry of Agriculture the light horse-breeding scheme in Great Britain?
40. asked the Secretary of State for War what is the size and cost of the Army to-day, what it was on 1st April, 1914, the total numbers and cost on both dates of the military and civilian staffs...
41. asked the Secretary of State for War the number of civilian employés, including temporary employés, on 1st April, 1914, and at the present time, and the comparative amounts in...
42. asked the Secretary of State for War what are the active service strengths of a British and a French cavalry division in men, horses, rifles, machine-guns, artillery, and auxiliary fighting...
43. asked the Secretary of State for War what are the military reasons which require a garrison to be maintained in the island of Jersey?
Mr. PALMER: 66. asked the Secretary of State for War in what circumstances clerical labourers in the Royal Army Ordnance Services, Royal Arsenal and Dockyard, at Woolwich, are employed to the...
67. asked the Secretary of State for War whether, in placing contracts, the War Office adheres to the principle reaffirmed by Resolution 3, subsection (2), of the last Imperial Economic Conference?
70. asked the Secretary of State for War whether an agreement has yet been reached with the Government of India over the question of the number of British cavalry units in India?
71. asked the Secretary of State for War whether the Army Council, when reappointing Colonel Cobb to his present position, was aware that, despite all casualties during the War and since, the...
72. asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he can make any statement concerning the future location of the new Royal Artillery record office?
73. asked the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether the rate at which saddlers at Woolwich Dockyard are working 47 hours a week, namely, 1s. 1½d. per hour, is the official trades...
44. asked the Secretary of State for War whether with regard to the sum of £158,000 advanced on mortgage by the War Office to the Roe Green Garden Village, Limited, Middlesex, in September,...
Mr. TREVELYAN THOMSON: 47. asked the Prime Minister whether the Government are now in a position to state their reply to the recent representations made on behalf of necessitous local...
Mr. T. THOMSON: 48. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in view of the inadequacy of the present annual grant appropriated to slum clearances in England and Wales, he will increase the...
49. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer upon what day of the week the weekly Treasury Return is usually issued; what is the terminating day of the previous week covered by the Return; what day...
51. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what would be the additional annual cost of old age pensions if the present sliding scale was abolished and the maximum means' limit fixed at £49...
52. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he is aware that certain working men's clubs are being taxed on the grounds that concerts are occasionally given on the premises for the...
54. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if his attention has been called to the loss incurred by the revenue through receipt stamps not being affixed to receipts for purchases sold over the...
56. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what tariff, if any, is put on building material coming into Great Britain from other countries?
58. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in the event of the Rent Restrictions Bill becoming law, a revaluation of house property effected for the purposes of rating and taxation will...
59. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he can supply to this House any information as to the effect of the raising of the Stamp Duty on cheques to 2d. in 1918 as reflected in the...
60. asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether, in the event of further meetings of the Southborough Committee, he will give instructions that the investigations shall be made in public?
62. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, if competent ex-service men temporarily employed in Government Departments will in future be excused Civil Service examination?
74. asked the Secretary for Scotland why the efforts of his Department to provide water for the Sark Tower holdings have proved a failure; and whether he can hold out any hope that their needs...
75. asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is aware that in the new crofter settlements of Reef, Ardroil, and Dalemore, in the Island of Lewis, inconvenience is caused to the settlers owing...
76. asked the Secretary for Scotland whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that expenditure on English education in the current year has been unusually low, and that this will...
77. asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he is prepared to renew negotiations with the Air Ministry with a view to carrying out experimental flights over the waters to the North of Scotland...
79. asked the Secretary for Scotland whether he will take steps to secure that all rents of persons who are unemployed will be paid as long as their unemployment continues?
80. asked the Secretary for Scotland if he will explain why, in the recent allocation of grants by the Scottish Board of Agriculture, £3,500 was granted to the Edinburgh Veterinary College...
81. asked the Secretary for Scotland whether the Scottish parish councils have been consulted as to the proposed continuation of the Poor Law Emergency Provisions (Scotland) Act, 1921, until 15th...
82. asked the Secretary for Scotland whether, in view of the exceptional circumstances which prevail in the Western Isles, he will arrange that a part of the recent grant of £100,000 will be...
83. asked the Under-Secretary to the Scottish Board of Health if he is aware that certain municipal authorities have decided to proceed with a housing scheme which includes a number of...
63. asked the Financial Secretary to the Treasury whether, seeing that children who have not attended secondary schools are ineligible for employment in the Post Office and other Departments of...
Mr. EDMUND HARVEY: 84. asked the Secretary for Mines whether his Department is undertaking any measures to deal with cases of cruelty to pit ponies?
Mr. T. WILLIAMS: 86. asked the Secretary for Mines whether he has yet considered the extension of the number of years for which the Miners' Welfare Fund shall apply; and, if so, will he state...
89. asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been drawn to the 1923 Report of the Divisional Inspector of Mines for Scotland, to the effect that he has received many complaints in...
90. asked the Secretary for Mines if he will, in the interests of the safety of men, be prepared to make the necessary alteration in General Rule 47 of the Coal Mines Act that the official...
85. asked the Secretary for Mines if he can state how many iron-ore mines and other mines governed by the provisions of the Metalliferous Mines Act exist in Scotland, and where they are situated;...
88. asked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to a fatal accident at the Dinorwic quarries, Carnarvonshire, on Friday, 29th February; whether he is aware that this is...
91. asked the Minister of Transport whether he has under consideration an application from the City of London for an advance from the Road Fund towards the cost of the proposed St. Paul's bridge...
92. asked the Minister of Transport what is the maximum number of men it is hoped to employ at any one time this winter on the Glasgow-Edinburgh scheme; and what percentage of this number will be...
Mr. T. THOMSON: 94. asked the Minister of Transport whether it is his intention to include in the proposed Bill dealing with road traffic any alteration in the present lightning regulation for...
95. asked the Minister of Transport whether he is aware that the superannuated staff of the railways who retired upon the pre-War scale of pensions are still awaiting an adequate settlement; and...
96. asked the Minister of Transport whether the Government have reached any decision as to affording assistance to the proposed motor-way between London and Manchester?
97. asked the Minister of Transport how many meetings the Committee that is sitting on the question of motor taxation have held since 1st January, 1924, and how many meetings were held in the six...
100. asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the criticisms of his decision in the case of a London postman who was killed while riding a bicycle to the pillar-box he had to clear, he...
I beg to ask the Lord Privy Seal whether the Government propose to take the Financial Resolution in reference to the West Indian Islands to-night?
Return ordered, showing the Fleets of the British Empire, United States of America, Japan, France, Italy, Russia, and Germany, on the 1st day of February, 1924, omitting obsolete ships of all...
On this day fortnight, to call attention to the final decisions of Pensions Tribunals, and to move a Resolution.—[Mr. Foot.]
On this day fortnight, to call attention to the Over-capitalisation of Industry, and to move a Resolution.—[Mr. Tout.]
On this day fortnight, to call attention to Slum conditions, and to move a Resolution.—[Mr. Royce, on, behalf of Dr. Haden Guest.]
I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to enable persons to sell to the public Ice Cream and Mineral Waters between the hours of 9.30 p.m. and midnight, both on and off the...
"to enable persons to sell to the public ice cream and mineral waters between the hours of 9.30 p.m. and midnight, both on and off the premises," presented accordingly, and read the First time:...
Order for Second Reading upon Friday, 21st March, read, and discharged; Bill withdrawn.
"to extend the time for the completion of works under the Post Office (London) Railway Act, 1913," presented by Mr. HARTSHORN; to be read a Second time To-morrow, and to be printed. [Bill 70.]
Mr. NICHOLSON reported from the Committee of Selection; That they had added the following Ten Members to Standing Committee B (in respect of the Local Authorities (Emergency Provisions) Bill):...
Mr. NICHOLSON further reported from the Committee; That they had added the following Fifteen Members to Standing Committee A (in respect of the Representation of the People Act (1918) Amendment...
Order for Committee read.
Let mo refer first of all to the overseas work. During the past year we have maintained eight squadrons of the Air Force in Iraq. They are the central element of the British garrison in that...
I should like to say a few words with regard to co-operative work for the Army and Navy. The units for the Navy are organised now on a flight basis instead of a squadron basis. This has been in...
I now come to a subject which forms the centre feature of the Estimates and indeed of the whole Air policy, and that is the enlargement of the home Air Force. Many friends of this Government are...
The number of new squadrons to be formed for home defence this year is eight. By March, 1925, we shall thus have 18 towards the 52 outlined within the next five years or thereabouts. The first...
As to the general question of organisation, recruitment, and training, commissioned officers are divided into three classes—first, those with permanent commissions, to whom service is life...
The total of flying hours during the year shows a marked increase. The total hours is 50 per cent. more than it was in 1922, which again was 40 per cent. higher than in 1921. Overseas show a...
The progress of equipment for 1924–25, due to the expansion scheme, is, of course, to be accelerated. Our orders to the aircraft industry this year will total £4,500,000. They will be...
As to civil aviation, the House knows that the Ministry itself conducts no services for passengers, mails or freight. That is left entirely to private enterprise, we providing aerodrome...
With regard to lighter than air work, we have given serious consideration to the airship scheme associated with the name of the hon. and gallant Member for Uxbridge (Lieut.-Commander Burney)....
May I say a work now about a Department of which I am rather proud? By arrangement made some five years ago, the Air Ministry provides the meteorological service of the whole country. The...
I beg to move, to leave out from the word "That" to the end of the Question, and to add instead thereof the words, in the national interests it is essential that the Air Force should be...
I beg to move, That this House views with concern the continued depression in the Fishing Industry of Great Britain and urges upon His Majesty's Government the desirability of assisting the...
Again considered in Committee.
Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House do now adjourn."—[Mr. F. Hall.]
Debates in the House of Commons are an opportunity for MPs from all parties to scrutinise government legislation and raise important local, national or topical issues.
And sometimes to shout at each other.
