§ 22. Viscount SANDONasked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to the issue of coal permits during the stoppage to a single room in a city office on the same scale as to a large household; and whether steps were taken to prevent such abuses?
§ Colonel LANE FOXThe answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. With regard to the second, the duty of issuing permits for the acquisition of coal for domestic or office use rests with the local authorities, with whose discretion I am reluctant to interfere. Obviously there must have been some anomalies and some lack of uniformity in local administration, but I am satisfied that on the whole their duties have been fairly and reasonably performed.