MR. PRITCHARD MORGAN (Merthyr Tydvil)I beg to ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what period of time has elapsed since the last geological survey of North Wales and the County of Wicklow; was the last or any survey ever made with the view of ascertaining the probabilities of the gold-mining industry being carried on profitably, or were the surveys merely formal and general surveys; have any reports ever been obtained 721 by the Woods and Forests Office from any practical geologist or experts respecting such industry; and, if so, who made such reports: and when were such reports obtained, and have they been printed, and are copies available for the use of miners?
§ MR. GOSCHENThe geological survey is under the Science and Art Department, and questions with regard to it should be addressed to my right hon. Friend the Vice President of the Council. Numerous reports on the subject of the gold-mining industry in North Wales were made to the Commissioners of Woods by the late Sir Warington Smyth at various times. The Commissioners of Woods have also had before them published papers and reports by various experts, with which the hon. Member is, no doubt, acquainted. I may mention publications by Professor Ramsay in 1854, by Professor Ansted in 1858, and by Mr. Robert Hunt in 1866, and several papers of the late Mr. T. A. Readwin. Some of the information in the possession of the Commissioners of Woods with regard to gold mining in Wales and Ireland will be found in the Appendix to the Third Report of the Royal Commission on Mining Royalties.