§ 64. Sir J. AINSWORTHasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that the Order issued by the Controller of Coal Mines in July, 1917, dividing the country into separate districts for the purpose of supplies of home grown timber for use in coal and ironstone mines is being constantly evaded; whether the attention of the Timber Controller has been repeatedly drawn to the shortage of stocks of mining timber at the coal and iron ore mines in Cumberland caused by large exports of timber to other areas, contrary to the Order; and what is the cause of the delay in making the Order statutory and binding?
§ Mr. WARDLEThere has been no Order issued by the Controller of Coal Mines in connection with pit timber, but an instruction was issued by him to the district committees in charge of the development and allocation of home-grown supplies to the effect that deliveries outside their respective areas would not in general be allowed. The Cumberland district is one in which there is a surplus of standing timber over that required by the needs of the district. The Coal Mines Department is in close touch with the Timber Supplies Department in this matter, and in urgent cases of need timber is supplied from Government stocks. It 168 is proposed soon to make the pitwood supply districts fixed and statutory, but the matter is at the moment held up by a difficulty in arranging Scottish pitwood prices.
§ Sir J. AINSWORTHMay I ask the hon. Gentleman how soon he expects the Government will be able to deal with the difficulty?
§ Mr. WARDLEIt depends upon making a bargain with some Scottish people.