§ MR. D. A. THOMAS (Merthyr Tydvil)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he has received a Resolution passed recently at a mass meeting of Aberdare miners, protesting in the strongest manner at his action in enforcing the order respecting the use of high explosives in mines in the face of the protests of employers and workmen in South Wales, and alleging that the new explosives will increase the danger of mining and seriously reduce the earnings of the men; and whether, under the circumstances, he will reconsider his determination to enforce the order?
§ THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE HOME DEPARTMENTI have received a Resolution passed at a meeting of Aberdare miners, which I am informed was not very largely attended, to the effect stated in the Question. The terms of the Resolution make it quite clear that the miners were entirely misinformed as to the nature of the explosives permitted, and have no experience of their practical working. The Order will not be enforced harshly, but it is my duty, in the interest of the safety of the miners, to see that it is enforced in all mines where there is danger of explosion.