EARL OF RONALDSHAYI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many manufacturers in this country employ white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches; and how many cases of necrosis there have been in each such factory in each of the last five years.
§ MR. GLADSTONEThere are ten firms using white phosphorus in the manufacture of matches. One firm has had five cases of necrosis during the last five years; the other firms have had none. This result has only been attained by means of an elaborate and costly system of regulation. Moreover, as intimated in the Memorandum prefixed to the Bill now before the House, recent events have shown that the existing regulations are insufficient to remove entirely the risk of necrosis, and that even more stringent regulations would be required if the use of white phosphorus were to be continued.