§ MR. BRADLAUGH (Northampton)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he is aware that at some coal mines in York shire the deductions made from the coal getter's wage, under "The Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887," Section 14, Sub section 2, are often in excess of the amount actually paid to the check-weigher; and whether he will instruct the Inspector of Mines to inquire and report as to the disposal of any surplus?
§ MR. MATTHEWSSo far as any information has reached me, I gather that at the request of the men employed at certain collieries in Yorkshire, the owners have been in the habit of making certain deductions from the wages of the men, which have been handed over to the treasurer of the men for the purpose of paying the expenses of the checkweighor as authorised by the Coal Mines Regulation Act. With regard to any surplus moneys arising out of such transactions, that is a matter to be dealt with by mutual arrangement between the owners and the men, and is not one in which I have any power to interfere.