§ 34. Mr. D. GRENFELLasked the Secretary for Mines whether he can provide the figures showing the total numbers of horses and ponies employed underground in mines at the end of January, 1927; how many animals are being worked on one shift per day, two shifts per day and three shifts per day; and the numbers employed for six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven and twelve or more shifts per week since work was renewed after the national stoppage?
§ Colonel LANE FOXI regret that the information is not available. The number of pit ponies employed underground at the end of 1926 was 56,745.
§ Mr. GRENFELLDoes the Department get any particulars at all as to conditions underground?
§ Colonel LANE FOXYes, but if we have to make an application to every individual colliery it would devolve a lot of work on people who are wanted for other things.
§ Mr. GRENFELLDoes the Minister not know that horses and ponies are employed regularly on more than one shift a day?
§ Colonel LANE FOXNo, Sir. The last return we had was some time ago but it gives information which is very useful and more or less up to date. That Report shows that in a number of cases ponies were working more than one shift per day, but certainly not in the majority of cases.
§ Mr. LAWSONHas the Department not got inspectors to examine the pit ponies for the purpose of supplying the kind of information for which we are asking?
§ Colonel LANE FOXOf course we have inspectors and they examine the pit ponies. I get their reports regularly but a general report for the whole coalfield would be a very different matter.