§ Viscount WOLMERasked if the Home Secretary can state how many explosions of a serious character have occurred in coal mines since 1872, and in how many of them has there been reason to suppose that the intake air road has been either the seat of origin of the explosion or has shown evidence of as great or greater violence of the explosion than did the return airway?
§ Mr. McKENNAThe number of colliery explosions that have occurred since the year 1872 in which twenty-five or more lives have been lost is forty-five. It is impossible to give a definite reply to the last part of the question. In many cases the point of origin of the explosion was not discovered, but it is probable that in fourteen the explosion originated in the intake airway. Further, the question whether the greater violence was displayed in the intake or return airway cannot in many cases be determined from the reports, but in sixteen cases it is clear that greater damage was done in the intake. It must be remembered, however, that the greater violence as a general rule will be displayed in the haulage roads owing to the presence of dust, and the intake is much more commonly used for haulage than the return. In the recent disaster at the Hulton mine, much greater violence was displayed in the return because the haulage was in the return and in addition to coal dust a small quantity of gas was also present.