Exports to the Colonies-Increases due to Wars.

(Answered by Mr. Secretary Brodrick.) expeditionary force was formally broken The inquiry was a departmental inquiry up in March, and the small body of troops and it has not been decided to publish which has since been in the field has been the Report. The recommendations have engaged in the pursuit of the ex-Sultan of been very carefully considered, and Sokoto. I have no information as to the action is being taken upon it. number of medical officers or veterinary surgeons attached to this small force. In answer to the second part of the Question, the casualties in action during April, May, and June, were three British officers slightly wounded; one British non-commissioned officer severely wounded; four native rank and file killed, four severely wounded, and seventy-seven slightly wounded. These include an engagement, the date of which is not precisely known, and may have been early in July.

MR. WHITLEY THOMSON (Yorkshire, W.R., Skipton): To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he will state, for the years 1900, 1901, and 1902, what are the amounts of increases in the exports to the colonies, due to wars in South Africa, Nigeria, and elsewhere, specifying the amounts of the increase to each colony.

(Answered by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain.) I cannot undertake to say to what extent the increases in the exports to the colonies are due to the wars in South Africa, Nigeria, and elsewhere; but it may interest the hon. Member to know that the value of the exports of the produce and manufactures of the United Kingdom to the South and West African Colonies respectively for the last five years have been as under-South Africa, 1898, £12,199,810; 1899, £11,370,125; 1900, £12,757,875; 1901, £17,154,380; 1902, £24,436,739. West Africa, 1898, £1,999,445; 1899, £2,116,080; 1900, £2,148,149; 1901, £2,347,319; 1902, £2,737,486.

Sugar Convention-Number of White Population of West Indies who will benefit.

MR. MARKHAM (Nottinghamshire, Mansfield): To ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies, will he state the approximate number of white British subjects in the West Indies whom His Majesty's Government anticipate will benefit under the Sugar Convention; and whether he has any particulars of the mortgages on the estates of the sugar planters and the number of absentee landlords.

(Answered by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain.) I have not the information necessary to answer the hon. Member's Question. In some of the West Indian Colonies no

Medical and Veterinary Officers with the regular census was taken in 1901, owing

Northern Nigeria Force.

MR. WINSTON CHURCHILL (Oldham): To ask the Secretary of State for

the Colonies whether he will state how

many medical officers and veterinary surgeons were serving with the Northern Nigeria Force during the month of June last; and what were the total casualties

of that force in action in the months of April, May, and June.

(Answered by Mr. Secretary Chamberlain.) The establishment of the medical department in Northern Nigeria whose duties include attendance on both the military and the civil officials, contains twenty-seven medical officers, of whom, owing to the absence of the remainder on leave, about eighteen are usually in the protectorate. The Kano-Sokoto

to inability to bear the cost, and reference to cases in which a census was taken

shows that as a rule no enumeration is made by colour. I may add that the the coloured British subjects in the West Sugar Convention is intended to benefit the coloured British subjects in the West Indies, who form the overwhelming majority of the population, quite as much as the white. I have no particulars of mortgages on sugar estates or of absentee landlords.

QUESTIONS IN THE HOUSE.

Recovery of Boer Bibles. MR. BRYN ROBERTS (Carnarvonshire, Eifion): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether he can state how many Bibles that were looted from Boer farms by British or Colonial troops

during the late war have been received | cases to Protestant clergymen ; are there

and restored to their owners in response to Lord Roberts's Memorandum on the • subject.

*THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. BRODRICK, Surrey, Guildford): Lord Roberts has taken this matter up privately-not officially. I am not aware of the results.

MR. BRYN ROBERTS: I beg to ask Mr. Attorney-General whether, in order to induce the restoration of Bibles looted from Boer farms in response to Lord Roberts's Memorandum on the subject, he can promise that persons voluntarily giving up the same will not be prosecuted for receiving stolen goods, knowing the same to have been stolen.

THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Sir ROBERT FINLAY, Inverness Burghs): I think the hon. Gentleman may dismiss from his mind any apprehension that any promise of the kind will be necessary.

Somaliland-Ammunition.

MR. DILLON (Mayo, E.): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War what is the nature of the ammunition with greater stopping power which has been sent to Somaliland; and whether he will give directions that any hon. Member who applies shall be supplied with specimens of the ammunition.

* MR. BRODRICK: The ammunition sent to Somaliland is Mark V. I am afraid that I cannot agree to supply specimens as suggested, but I will have a sample bullet sent to the tea-room.

SIR WILFRID LAWSON (Cornwall, Camborne): Does "stopping power" mean "killing power"?

[No answer was returned.]

"Blessing the Colours"-Roman Catholic Ecclesiastics.

MR. T. M. HEALY (Louth, N.): I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War under what conditions or regulations are Roman Catholic ecclesiastics invited to bless military flags; is this invitation extended in the case of the presentation of all new colours to Roman Catholic ecclesiastics; if not, is it extended in all

any cases in which Protestant clergymen are invited, in which Roman Catholic clergymen are not invited; in how many cases in the last ten years have Protestant clergymen been asked to bless colours when Roman Catholics were not invited, and in how many were Roman Catholics invited to participate with Protestant clergymen ; were Roman Catholic clergymen ever asked to officiate without the attendance of Protestant clergymen ; under what circumstances was the Bishop of Cork asked to bless colours along with a Protestant clergyman on the occasion of His Majesty's visit to Cork, when an Irish regiment, mainly Roman Catholic, was presented with regimental colours by the King; and would the War Office, before issuing such invitations, endeavour to ascertain the conditions upon which alone Roman Catholic ecclesiastics can officiate on such ceremonies.

for the consecration of regimental colours *MR. BRODRICK: The arrangements are in the hands of the general officer commanding and the officer commanding the regiment. Where the regiment is an Irish one, the representative of the Roman Catholic Church is usually invited by the commanding officer to take the consecration, the Anglican chaplain taking a share in the ceremony by agreement, as representative of the Protestants in the regiment. The statistics for which the hon. Member asks could not be obtained without considerable trouble. As regards the particular case mentioned, the Bishop of Cork offered personally to perform the ceremony, but at the last moment, realising that the ceremony was to be mixed, declined to take part and refused to allow any of his priests to officiate. In the case of the Irish Guards the Roman Catholic priest performed the dedication and then withdrew; and subsequently the Chaplain-General performed his part of the ceremony.

MR. T. M. HEALY: What is a "mixed consecration"?

* MR. BRODRICK: A mixed consecration is one at which the representatives of both Churches attend, and the representative of the Roman Catholic Church takes one part of the ceremony and the representative of the Protestant Church the other.

Companies.

viz., in the year 1873 actual values as follows, £626,000,000, and in the year 1883 actual values £667,000,000, values computed at prices of 1873, £861,000,000, he could give figures on the same basis for the years 1893 and 1902.

The Committee take the enumerated articles) were view that there is no reasonable necessity for the issue of workmen's tickets at those stations (within a radius of twenty miles) at which they are not already issued. Whether the Committee are right in contending that a sufficient service, as prescribed by the special Act of 1899, is already supplied, would be for inquiry in the manner provided by Section 32 of that Act. If representations of the nature there prescribed are made to the Board, I will cause a hearing to be held. As regards Ludgate Hill station, the Companies state that great complaint was formerly made of the overcrowding on the small platforms at this station, involving danger to the crowds collected there, and they suggest that it is in the interests of all concerned that the present arrangement whereby holders of workmen's return tickets are required to travel from neighbouring stations, instead of from Ludgate Hill, should remain undisturbed. This contention appears prima facie reasonable.

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: I cannot

Belgian Sugar Legislation. MR. LOUGH : I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether his attention has been drawn to the Bill which has been introduced into the Belgian Parliament with reference to sugar and sugar products under the Convention, and, if so, will he state whether the rates on the import of confectionery from this country have been fixed in accordance with Article III.; and, if not, does the Government propose to take any steps in the matter.

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: I have seen the Bill referred to by the hon. Member. The point as to whether the measure is in accord with the Convention is one for the consideration of the Permanent Commission.

Trade Statistics.

SIR CHARLES RENSHAW (Renfrewshire, W.): I beg to ask the President of the Board of Trade whether, in view of the fact that the Royal Commission on Trade Depression reported in 1886 that the declared value of imports and exports in 1873 and 1883 compared with the computed values (on the assumption that the values of the whole trade are affected by differences in prices as are the values of

give the figures in the precise form asked for without exhaustive investigation. The Board of Trade have, however, calculated an Index number showing the year since 1871, and the following figures average level of general prices in each based on that estimate may be of interest to my hon. friend. Declared value of imports and exports in 1893 £682,000,000; ditto in 1902 £878,000,000. Approximate computed value of imports and exports at 1873 values on the assumption that the average value of the articles of our foreign trade has followed the general movement of prices of commodities as shown by the Board of Trade Index number, in 1893, £1,029,000,000; in 1902, £1,323,000,000. If the above method were applied to the figures of 1883 the result would be £821,000,000. It is to be remembered that the level of prices in 1873 was higher than in any year since 1826.

MR. HERBERT SAMUEL (Yorkshire, Cleveland): Can the right hon. Gentleman give the separately on the same basis? imports and exports

MR. GERALD BALFOUR: Yes; that can be done.

West Hampstead Telephone Service. DR. AMBROSE (Mayo, W.): I beg to ask the he is aware Postmaster-General whether Cricklewood and Brondesbury districts that inhabitants in the of West Hampstead are anxious to use the Post Office telephone service; that the general manager of the telephone department has been written to with a view to have the telephone laid on to the houses while the road is up, and that no satisfactory cause of the delay has been given; and, if so, whether, considering that the ratepayers will be put to unnecessary expense if the road is repaired before the telephones are supplied to the houses, he will see that they are supplied without any undue delay.

IRELAND (Mr. ATKINSON, Londonderry; The operation of this enactment could N., for Mr. WYNDHAM): The facts, I I am understand, are correctly stated. making further inquiry in the matter and would ask the hon. Member to repeat the Question on Wednesday next.