§ 26. Mr. TOM SMITHasked the Secretary for Mines how many mines were closed and not reopened from 1st January, 1090 1927, to the end of December, 1930, and the number of wage-earners affected?
§ The SECRETARY for MINES (Mr. Ernest Brown)During the period 1st January, 1927, to 31st December, 1930, 1,279 pits in Great Britain, employing 113,000 wage-earners, were closed and not reopened. Of these, 649 were small pits employing 10 men each or less and in the aggregate only 2,837 men.
§ Mr. SMITHCan the hon. Gentleman say whether any of the colliery owners concerned blamed the quota system, which was in operation in some districts on a voluntary basis, for the closing of these pits?