§ MR. JOHN ELLIS (Nottinghamshire, Rushcliffe)To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the rules respecting the use of electricity in and about coal mines have now been settled and published; and, in that case, in what Parliamentary Paper can a copy be found.
(Answered by Mr. Secretary A Kers Douglas.) These rules have been settled with the owners" association and approved of by the men"s representatives. They are not yet in force, as they have to be proposed, by Statute, to each colliery owner individually; but the notices of proposal, some thousands in number, will all have been dispatched within the next few days, and the rules will, in each case, come into force, if not objected to, within twenty days from the receipt of the notice. The rules as settled have not yet been made public, but I shall be happy to send the hon. Member a copy if he desires it.