MR. DUNCOMBE: Is there any charged to the Borough of Sligo. The possibility of those Resolutions being local Magistrates and the Corporation rescinded? [Cheers.]

[No answer was returned.]

REVENUE RETURN.

of Sligo have condemned the preaching, as stated. The preachers have been offered the use of the Town Hall and also, I believe, an open space of ground for the purpose of holding their services,

MR. T. LOUGH (Islington, W): Ian offer which, in my opinion, they beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, would be acting wisely in accepting. I whether he is willing to grant, for the think it would be equally wise if those years ended 31st March 1895 and 31st having influence in the district would March 1896, a Return in continuation of advise the people not to molest the Parliamentary Paper No. 314, being a preachers. The police have instructions Return showing, for the year ended the to prevent, and have prevented, any 31st day of March 1894—(1) the amount obstruction being caused to the thoroughcontributed by England, Scotland, and fares in Sligo by preaching in the Ireland, respectively, to the Revenue streets. The rioting and disorder which collected by Imperial officers; (2) the have necessitated the presence of an expenditure on English, Scottish and extra force of police, have arisen from Irish services met out of such Revenue; attacks made by the mob upon the and (3) the Balances of Revenue con- preachers walking through the streets to tributed by England, Scotland, and Ire- and from the place of preaching. land, respectively, which are available for Imperial expenditure?

*MR. HANBURY: Yes, Sir; the Government are willing to grant this Return.

STREET PREACHING (SLIGO.) MR. J. C. FLYNN: I beg to ask the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, will he state on whom will fall the expense involved by the dispatch of a large force of constabulary, consisting of a district inspector, a head constable, nine sergeants, and fifty men, from head-quarters to Sligo, to aid the local authorities to cope with the situation caused by the open-air preaching held in that town; is he aware that the proper authorities have condemned this street preaching as an act of obstruction and calculated to provoke disorder and breaches of the peace, and that these preachers have been offered the use of large halls in the town, and of open spaces outside the town; and, whether, under these circumstances, the police authorities will take steps to so deal with cases of alleged obstruction as will tend to preserve peace and order in the town of Sligo?

*MR. GERALD BALFOUR: One officer, one head constable, nine sergeants and 40 men were sent from headquarters to Sligo in connection with the open-air preaching. A portion of the expense entailed in dispatching this force will be

CARRIAGE OF MAILS (IRELAND). MR. HAYDEN: I beg to ask the Secretary to the Treasury, as representing the Postmaster General, whether the new line of railway from Galway to Clifden has yet been utilised for the carriage of the mails; and, if not, what is the cause of the delay, and when will an arrangement be come to on the matter?

*MR. HANBURY: There are no trains running on the line at hours suitable for the night mail, but the Department is considering whether any advantage would accrue from using the Company's trains for the day mail. It is not clear that they afford any advantage over the existing road service.

WARRANT OFFICERS.

MAJOR RASCH (Essex, S.E.): I beg to ask the Financial Secretary to the War Office whether he will consider the hardship of withholding long service medals from warrant officers, inasmuch as a non-commissioned officer of 18 years' service can apply for the medal, but a warrant officer of 17 years' service is not entitled to it although senior in rank?

MR. POWELL WILLIAMS: The medal is a testimony of good conduct as well as of long service; and upon the latter point I think I cannot do better than read to my hon. Friend the words

of a recent minute of the Adjutant-culture and treatment of flax would General, viz. —

arrangements have been made by the hope it will not be long before it is Indian Government to afford an asylum presented. We have already sent Dr. in our territories, or in those under our Sidney Copeland to Gloucester to ininfluence, for the Siah Posh Kafirs who quire into and report upon the epidemic. have escaped from the Afghan invaders; will the nature of any such arrangement be indicated to Parliament; and whether EDUCATION (BACKWARD CHILDREN). His Highness the Ameer of Kabul has caused 16,000 of the Kafirs to be deported and distributed amongst the local authorities in Afghanistan?

THE UNDER SECRETARY OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS MR. CHAPLIN: I have communi- (Mr. GEORGE CURZON, Lancashire, Southcated with the Commission, and I have port): Her Majesty's Government underbeen informed that it is impossible to stand that, the Sultan having requested name a day when the Commission's the Khedive to express his views with Report will be laid on the Table. The regard to the advance of Egyptian troops Commissioners have been for a long time in the Valley of the Nile, the Khedive, engaged on its preparation, and they in reply, stated that the British and

Egyptian Governments have agreed that POTATO CROP (IRELAND). the movement is opportune for enMR. P. MCDERMOTT (Kilkenny, deavouring to bring back Dongola, which N.): I beg to ask the Chief Secretary is part of a province formerly held by to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, wheEgypt in the Soudan, under Egyptian ther he is aware that the spraying of administration, and that an Expedition, potato crops in Ireland with strawsonite accordingly, has been dispatched thither. has resulted in preserving them from MR. W. REDMOND asked, whether blight and of increasing the quantity of the explanation given by the Khedive sound eatable potatoes by one-fourth of was not altogether a different explana- the yield more than where spraying has tion from that given by her Majesty's not been used; and, whether his attenGovernment? tion has been drawn to the Blue-book of Agricultural Statistics (Ireland) just issued, which shows that where spraying has been used the most beneficial results were obtained; and, if so, will he advise the Government to take steps to make the application of the system universal during the coming season?

MR. CURZON: No sir, the two explanations are precisely identical. [Laughter.]

MR. W. REDMOND asked whether it was not the fact that Her Majesty's Government stated as the reason for the expedition the necessity of repelling an attack on the Egpytian frontier? *MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member is pursuing in an argumentative way the Question which has been answered.

MR. J. M. PAULTON (Durham, Bishop Auckland): With reference to the last answer, may I ask whether the House is to understand that the object of the present expedition is strictly limited to the re-conquest of the province of Dongola ?

The

*MR. GERALD BALFOUR: results of the experiments conducted in 1895 by the Agricultural Department of the Land Commission for the purpose of testing the value of strawsonite and other solutions as preventives of the spread of potato disease in Ireland are fully detailed in the Report recently presented to Parliament. These experiments, on the whole, were most successful and satisfactory in their results, and indicate that a timely application of the solutions is beneficial, not alone in prolonging the period of growth of the plant, but in lessening the ill-effects of the disease and increasing the relative yield of potatoes. I may remark that the experiments, which were originated in the year 1891 at the request of the Irish Government, SIR ELLIS ASHMEAD-BARTLETT have since been carried out from year to (Sheffield, Ecclesall): I beg to ask the year, and the results attained, with other Secretary of State for the Colonies, whe- information, have been embodied in leafther he is now in a position to inform lets and very extensively circulated the House as to President Kruger's throughout Ireland amongst the farming reply to his Dispatch of 4th February, and the invitation to visit England?

MR. CURZON: No, Sir; the House is to understand what is the object of the expedition, in the eyes of the Government, from the various speeches which have been made by Ministers. [Laughter.]

PRESIDENT KRUGER.

MR.J.CHAMBERLAIN: I answered this Question on Friday, the 27th, and I have nothing further to add to that reply.

SIR E. ASHMEAD - BARTLETT asked whether the statement contained in The Times of Friday last as to an offensive and defensive alliance between the Transvaal Republic and the Orange Free State was corroborated by any information which the right hon. Gentleman had received?

MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN: I have no information confirming that statement. Mr. George Curzon.

classes and other interested persons. Inow propose to ask the Land Commissioners to issue the recent Report to Poor Law Boards, agricultural societies, and other bodies interested in the matter, as well as to the Press, and also to continue the circulation of the leaflets.

RECOVERY OF DEBTS.

MR. D. H. COGHILL (Stoke-uponTrent): I beg to ask Mr. AttorneyGeneral whether he has had his attention called to a resolution passed by the Associated Chambers of Commerce on the 25th instant, in which they express

their opinion that it is

on

desirable that opened on Sunday, and also if he has Scotch and Irish debts should be re- any information from the Trustees of the coverable in the English county courts, British Museum and National Gallery as provided the debts have been contracted to when they propose to open the museums in England, by delivery to a railway com- and galleries under their control pany or goods agent, and that English Sunday? debts similarly contracted in Scotland and Ireland should be recoverable in Scotland and Ireland in a reciprocal manner, and whether he will take steps to give effect to this resolution with the least possible delay!

THE FIRST LORD OF FHE TREASURY: The Government are prepared to open South Kensington and Bethnal Green at a very early date-indeed, almost immediately. Those are museums under the control of the President of the THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL (Sir Council. The National Gallery, the RICHARD WEBSTER, Isle of Wight): My National Portrait Gallery, and the attention had not been called to the reso- British Museum are in the hands of lution referred to by my hon. and learned trustees, and correspondence is still Friend until his Question appeared upon going on between the Government and the Paper. Legislation would be re- the trustees, though I have no reason quired to give effect to the suggestion. to believe that any difficulty need be and I am not prepared, at any rate apprehended as to the final conclusion during the present Session, to embark of a satisfactory arrangement. upon the somewhat thorny questions which would be raised by any proposals of the kind.

LIQUOR TRAFFIC COMMISSION. MR. WILLIAM JOHNSTON (Belfast, S.): I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury if he will now give the names of the Members of the Royal Commission on the Liquor Traffic, and state the terms of reference to the Commission?

:

THE FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY (Mr. A. J. BALFOUR, Manchester, E.) I am sorry again to repeat an answer I have given more than once. The list of names is very nearly completed, but it is not so far advanced as to enable me to make a statement to the House. If, however, my hon. Friend will repeat his Question on the motion for the adjournment of the House to-morrow, I hope to be able to give him some information. I hope to have some information to-morrow morning.

MR. PATRICK O'BRIEN (Tipperary, N.) gave notice that he would repeat the Question at the rising of the House to-night. Failing an answer he would repeat the Question to-morrow.

MUSEUMS (SUNDAY OPENING). MR. MASSEY-MAINWARING (Finsbury, Central): I beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury when he will make his promised statement as to the date upon which the South Kensington and Bethnal Green Museums will be

MADAGASCAR.

*SIR C. DILKE asked, as a question of which he had given private notice, whether the Government had reason to believe that France contemplated favouring her own trade in Madagascar at the expense of that of other Powers; and, if so, whether Her Majesty's Government would consider the possibility of friendly and joint action in the matter with the United States?

MR. CURZON: The point is one of very great importance, but we have as yet received no information from the French Government of their intentions, and I am afraid, therefore, at the moment I cannot add anything to what I said on Friday night.

*SIR C. DILKE: The attention of the right hon. Gentleman has been called to what purports to be a communicated note in reply to what he said on Friday night.

MR. CURZON: Yes, Sir, but no such communication has officially reached us.

MATABELE RISING.

MR. SYDNEY BUXTON (Tower Hamlets, Poplar), asked whether any information had been received by the Colonial Office later than the telegram which appeared in the morning's newspapers with reference to the rising in Matabeleland?

MR. J. CHAMBERLAIN: No, Sir; that was the last telegram received.