§ 22. Mr. J. Griffithsasked the Secretary for Mines whether he has had any recent consultations with the representatives of the Dominion of Canada in refer- 191 ence to the continued decline in our shipments of coal to the Dominion; whether in such consultations they have indicated to him the reasons for this fall in our exports of coal and the increase in the exports from Russia and other countries; and whether he is taking any steps to prevent a further decline in this trade?
§ Captain CrookshankNo consultations have taken place since those to which I referred in the reply I gave on 12th November, 1936, to my hon. Friend the Member for East Cardiff (Mr. Temple Morris). As regards the second and third parts of the question, I would refer the hon. Member to the reply given him on 9th November.
§ Mr. GriffithsHas the Minister received any representations from the Dominion that they experienced difficulty in getting supplies of coal from South Wales this summer, and is not the reason that for the moment it is more profitable to send coal to Italy; and does the Minister think it is desirable that South Wales coal should be diverted to the Italian market, which is purely temporary and we should lose the more permanent market?
§ Captain CrookshankI should like notice of that question, because I should not like to express an opinion offhand about the relative values of different parts of the export market.
§ Mr. GriffithsDoes the hon. and gallant Gentleman not think it is desirable to retain this Canadian market, upon which the full-time working of the coalfield depends, and that it is suicidal policy to lose a grip on this market?