MR.W. J. GALLOWAY (Manchester, S.W.): I beg to ask Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he is aware of the widespread dissatisfaction there exists with regard to the compulsory MR. SPEAKER: The hon. Member declaration, to be made before a Justice must give notice of that Question. of the Peace by friendly societies' officials ["Hear, hear!"] as a preliminary to the registration by MR. HENRY LABOUCHERE the Friendly Societies' Registry Office of (Northampton): I beg to ask the Under amendments of rules; and, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Treasury will undertake either to make whether the assent of any of the great a new Treasury Regulation under the Powers to the proposal to take funds authority of Section 38 of the Friendly from the reserve in the Egyptian Caisse Societies Act, 1875, abolishing such de la Dette, in order to meet the costs of declaration; or, if this course is not the expedition towards Dongola, was practicable, to amend the Oaths Act, or assured before the assent of all was other Act dealing with this matter, so asked; and whether he can say if the that this requirement may be done away statement that two-thirds of the bonds with? of Egyptians loans now in circulation THE CHANCELLOR OF THE EXbelong to Frenchmen is approximately CHEQUER: I am not aware that there correct? is widespread dissatisfaction on this subMR. CURZON: No, Sir; the applica- ject. There may, of course, be occasiontion was made simultaneously to the ally some difficulty in remote country Governments of all the great Powers. places in the attendance of friendly There is no information in the Foreign societies' officials before a Justice of the Office showing the proportion of Egyptian Peace, but that cannot be considered as bonds held by Frenchmen. sufficient justification for the abolition of

a regulation which is the only protection | placed at the Board's disposal for the to the members of a friendly society purposes of the Act generally, and not against the registration of amendments merely for the purposes of making loans, not duly made by the society.

THE FIRST LORD OF THE ADMIRALTY (Mr. G.J.GOSCHEN, St. George's, Hanover Square): I am now able to inform the hon. and gallant Member implied by this phrase. No reply has that the Admiralty have determined to at Pembroke Dockyard which was disyet been received, but it is understood carry out the plan for building a jetty cussed in the last Parliament. The cost from a recent speech by the French will be between £80,000 and £90,000. Minister for Foreign Affairs that a notification respecting the Treaties in the course of the coming financial Foreign Powers is about to be made by Progress will be made with the work the French Government.

DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE.
MR. J. H. DALZIEL (Kirkcaldy
Burghs): I beg to ask the First Lord
of the Treasury, whether the proposal
MR. H. C. F. LUTTRELL (Devon, for a special pension to His Royal High-
Tavistock): I beg to ask the Presi- ness, the late Commander-in-Chief is made
Local Government Board with the concurrence of His Royal

principle of the trade unionists was not to by the different Departments. As the undersell each other, and they had been mover of the Resolution of 1891, he had largely debarred in the past from taking received a large number of complaints Government contracts. Since 1891 they during the past few years, and he dehad had extensions of the principle of sired to bear witness to the great forbearthe Resolution. Two years ago, the ance and consideration which the Dethen Government, on complaints being partments had shown with regard to made that certain men were excluded those complaints, and to the attention from work on the ground that they were which they had given to the subjects of trade unionists, came to the conclusion those complaints. He had no intention that in regard to Government con- of going into the particulars of those tracts no preference should be shown complaints upon that occasion—it would as between unionists and non-unionists. be time enough for him to do so when In his view no class of the community the Committee for which he asked was would grudge the cost necessary for appointed. He hoped, however, that carrying out the principle of fair employ- his hon. Friend who had undertaken to ment. What had been the result of the second his Motion would give the House experience of the working of the prin- some instances which would show that ciple of the Resolution during the last there was some foundation for the comfive years? It had unquestionably plaints to which he had referred. shown that a great deal of good had been complaints had come from almost every done in the direction intended in regard class of labour employed by Government to certain classes of labour, and he should contractors, from persons engaged in the like the House to understand that in building, printing, engineering, shipbringing forward this Motion on that building, clothing, accoutrements, and occasion he had no desire to censure any other trades. The nature of the comDepartment of the Government. Under plaints was that in spite of the Resoluthe old system the course taken was a tion, the Government contracts were very simple one, because the lowest frequently given to notoriously unfair tender was usually accepted without any houses-that where it had been agreed condition being made as to the terms that a certain rate of wages should be upon which the workers employed in paid it was not paid, that the conditions carrying out the contract were to be of work with regard to hours and overtreated. That system had given rise to time were such that the best workmen, a considerable amount of dissatisfaction and especially trade unionists, could on the part of certain persons employed not accept employment under Governin particular classes of labour, who comment contractors, that unskilled labour plained of the way in which the Resolu- was employed instead of skilled labour, tion was administered. The question, and that where it had been agreed that no doubt, was beset with difficulties, but work should be done by hand it was they were difficulties which might and executed by machinery. There was also ought to be overcome. In his view the much dissatisfaction with regard to the chief advantage of the appointment of a mode in which all inquiries were conCommittee would be to smooth down ducted by the Departments, some comthose difficulties, and to place the prin-plaining that their cases were only partly ciple laid down in the Resolution upon investigated, others that their coma firmer basis, so that it should be more plaints were ignored or almost so, while fairly administered in the future than again others lamented the delay that it had been in the past. There had been had occurred in investigating their coma lack of uniformity in the administra-plaints, which had been so protracted tion of the principle of the Resolution that the decision was not given until the Mr. Sydney Buxton.