§ (1) This Act may be cited as the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage) Act, 1912.
§ (2) This Act shall continue in force for three years from the date of the passing thereof and no longer, unless Parliament shall otherwise determine.
§ Sir RUFUS ISAACSI beg to move, after the word "Mines," to insert the words ("including mines of stratified ironstone"). The point of this Amendment is to alter the title so as to include the words "mines of stratified ironstone." It alters nothing in the Bill, as the Bill already says stratified ironstone is included. It is necessary in order to bring the Bill into harmony with the practice and forms of the House. It is unnecessary to say more, except in regard to one important matter which I can only do very briefly as you, Mr. Whitley, happen to be in the chair at this moment. You were in the chair when the matter was discussed very briefly in Committee. All I 385 desire to state now is that it is of importance that when a law officer makes a statement to the Speaker and to the House and it afterwards turns out that the law officer was mistaken in his recollection of a definition in a Statute that he should state it in the House and should state it to you. I desire to state that when the question did arise at the last moment before the question was put as to the Second Reading my recollection was that in the Coal Mines Act of 1911, the definition of coal mine included stone mines, shale mines and fire clay mines. The Act does not in fact deal with the four classes of mines, but I was wrong in thinking that the definition was coal mine. The definition was, in fact, mine. That is the whole point. I state that in order that the House might understand how the difficulty had arisen and that I might put myself right with you, Sir, and with the House.
§ Amendment agreed to.