§ Motion made, and Question proposed, "That this House do now adjourn."— [Mr. Kaberry.]
§ 10.1 p.m.
§ Mr. F. H. Hayman (Falmouth and Camborne)I have been lucky enough to get this Adjournment debate to speak about the Cornish granite industry and the difficulties which are now facing it. Everyone here is familiar with the granite cliffs of West Cornwall of which Lands End forms part. Lands End is known the world over, and so is Cornish granite because, as I shall show, Cornish granite has been used in works all over the world.
This week I have had to draw attention to two Cornish industries which are suffering heavy blows at the present time. The Cornish pilchard industry has been affected by heavy imports of South African pilchards which have depressed the canning industry and are depressing the pilchard fishing industry itself. But although the granite cliffs of Cornwall are a danger at times to the fishermen and a landmark to them at most times, it is not my purpose to speak any more about that industry now.
The granite industry has been witnessing in recent years a steady drift of skilled craftsmen from the industry. That drift has been marked by the full employment of the post-war years, although unemployment is increasing as a whole throughout the country and is slightly increasing throughout Cornwall. In 1947 the granite masters produced a handbook setting out the main features of the industry and employed acknowledged experts on geology, architecture and civil engineering. The Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall, now Sir Edward Bolitho, in a characteristic foreword, said that Cornwall has always been proud of her granite and we have always been proud of our granite industry. Sir Luke Fawcett, who was then General Secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Building Trade Workers, contributed a chapter on welfare. It was an enterprising production, and I will hand the Minister a copy at the end of this debate in the hope that he may find time to peruse it.
506 Granite in Britain is localised. It is found in the North of Scotland, in Cumberland and Leicestershire, in Devon and in Cornwall. I believe that the Aberdeen granite industry at the present time is appealing to the Government for aid, just as I am making an appeal now for the Cornish granite industry, but we were first in the field with our appeal. We might say that Aberdeen and Cornwall are suffering both from depression in the granite industry and from the lack of television facilities for the Coronation. I hope we shall be more fortunate with the granite industry than we have been over television.
In my constituency we have the Carnmenellis granite mass, an area of 40 square miles, and most of the quarries in Cornwall are situated in that granite area. My home is close to it and I believe that the mass itself is the base of a former mountain system. The Phoenicians are supposed to have traded in granite lintels as well as in tin, but that is something of which we are not sure. What we are sure of is that granite is a very fine stone for use in many ways.
The megalithic menhirs of West Cornwall have stood for centuries and were the first granite structures in these islands. In Cornwall we know them as "longstones," which is an apt description, but in addition there is a modern example of Cornish granite used in construction in the river wall of the South Bank Festival of Britain Exhibition site.
We can find fine examples of Cornish architecture in the Cornish churches, particularly in the towers. In Camborne Church there are magnificent monolithic granite pillars. In Launceston, in the constituency of North Cornwall, there is a magnificent example of carved granite architecture. A modern example of the use of granite in ecclesiastical architecture is the Metropolitan Cathedral of Liverpool. There are also civil engineering and monumental sides to the industry.
The Cornish and Devon industries are somewhat interlocked. Dartmoor granite supplied the stone for the first Eddystone lighthouse in 1759. The Plymouth breakwater, which took 10 years to build, was erected early in the 19th Century. London Bridge is of Devon granite and has stood for 120 years, but that is a comparatively short time when compared with some of the old Cornish bridges 507 which still carry the immense weight of modern vehicular traffic.
Cornish granite was used in big extensions in Devonport dockyard a century ago. Rennie's Waterloo Bridge was of Cornish granite and so is the modern Lambeth Bridge, as well as other London bridges. Cornish granite was used in County Hall, London. It has been used in lighthouses all round the coasts of Britain and in the high level bridge at Gateshead. Anybody who has motored through Cornwall must have admired the magnificent granite piers of the railway viaducts. In harbour works we can quote the Manchester Ship Canal, the Dover harbour walls and breakwater, harbour works in India, Ceylon and the Argentine, as well as the naval bases of Gibraltar, Singapore and South Africa.
It will be of interest that a trade union was formed in Constantine in my constituency, for granite workers in 1832 and another in the constituency of the hon. Member for Cornwall, North (Sir H. Roper). That was two years before the Tolpuddle Martyrs were sentenced. So that it can be seen that the men of Cornwall are as tough as the granite and were prepared, as they still are, to take great risks.
At the end of the 19th Century thousands of men were employed in the industry. By 1914 the number had fallen to about 2,500 and, by 1939, to 1,200. Today the number is 700, and it is an interesting fact that 100 are working employers. I am sorry to say that this evening I have had a telephone message saying that in the last week or so 40 men have been declared redundant in one of the works. Freeman's Yard at Penryn is an example of the magnitude of the fall. This yard alone employed 1,500 at the beginning of the century. Today there are only 40 apprentices in the industry, which is a very serious ractor.
A reason for the decline is the introduction of machinery, about which no one can complain because the production of machinery involves labour and we cannot rely on antiquated methods. Another reason is granite imports in the inter-war years from Scandinavia, Germany and Czechoslovakia and the competition of Italian marble. The growth of cremation and the formation of lawn cemeteries 508 have also had an effect on the monumental side of the industry, but these factors are inevitable and will increase.
In 1950 the granite industry of Britan was facing a crisis. It had a great shock when it failed to secure a contract for granite for work on the Manchester Ship Canal. The contract went to Norway, but a licence was granted for only half the granite required and we were glad to see that British granite was used for the second part of the contract. Part of that work came to Cornwall. Last year the Cornish and Devon granite industries had another shock when they failed to secure the use of granite, or any really effective consideration of its use, for a reservoir in connection with the South Devon Water Board. The National Parks Commission took a hand and also the Consultative Council for the Stone Industry but, for the first time, arrangements are being made to use a stone other than granite for a Dartmoor reservoir.
The industry has excellent arrangements for sharing contracts so that the small man gets a look in as well as the big firm. The President of the Board of Trade, in an answer to the Question put by me on 17th March, said that the imports of granite wholly or mainly manufactured in the post-war years had risen from 20,000 tons in 1947 to 79,000 tons in 1951. An interesting factor is that in the first three post-war years the price averaged £8 a ton and in the last three years it was £22 a ton. Even so, those running the industry in Cornwall regard that figure with some suspicion even allowing for all the favourable factors which go to the production of Scandinavian granite. Marble, wholly or mainly manufactured, was imported in 1948 at the rate of 50 tons and, in 1951, there were 850 tons at a cost of £76,000. These imports hit the smallest firms most because they depend on monumental work.
We ask the Minister to investigate the possibility of limiting imports, to inquire whether Italian marble is subsidised, as some think it is, whether there are any imports of Indian granite, and what is the effect of this on our economy. We also ask him to consider the possibility of illicit imports. The allegation has been made; I hope that it can be examined. I have no idea of the country or countries of origin. We ask the appropriate Minister to consider the use of 509 granite in connection with sea defences of the East Coast. Examples of such work can be found at Dawlish and Penzance, in the constituency of the hon. Member for St. Ives (Mr. G. R. Howard). There is plenty of waste granite in and around the quarries of Cornwall. I am reliably informed that it can be shipped from Falmouth to the East Coast at 30s. a ton. There is the possibility that it might be used in the sea defences of Holland. We ask that that might be considered.
Last year the Imperial War Graves Commission decided to place an order with a single firm to get the inscriptions on the gravestones engraved by machinery instead of allowing the work to be parcelled out among firms all over the country in which there were skilled craftsmen. Again, although the Consultative Council for the Stone Industry intervened, the Imperial War Graves Commission had its way, to the detriment of the industry.
I ask the Minister of Labour to keep separate statistics for the granite industry so that these can be used as a barometer of the state of the industry. I would ask the First Lord and his colleagues to consider every method and possibility of using granite in engineering works, in bridges and harbour works, because they have always been the mainstay of the industry. I ask Government Departments to be lenient in granting licences for the building of bridges containing much stone work.
The Minister of Works recently said that he was permitting £10 million worth of licences for City of London offices. We ask that the use of granite for facing buildings be encouraged. Unity House is an example of polished granite used in that way, as is the Kodak building in Kingsway. Granite was used in the building of New Scotland Yard. We ask that the repair and reconditioning of old and damaged buildings where granite was previously used be taken into account so that granite can be used again.
We say that everything should be done to preserve this ancient industry. The machinery that has been installed cannot be used to the full because there is insufficient work, and that means that the overhead costs are unnecessarily high. We cannot afford to lose the skilled 510 craftsmen who have so enriched our aesthetic and industrial life. If the present trend continues it will not be long before it will be impossible to get craftsmen even for maintenance work. We must keep the long-term interests of the industry in mind. Finally, I say, let us do something while there is yet time.
§ 10.19 p.m.
The Secretary for Overseas Trade (Mr. H. R. Mackesou)I am grateful to the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Mr. Hayman) for the tone in which he raised this important subject, and also for his courtesy in letting me know the general line that he intended to take. But for that I should have had little hope, as he will appreciate, of answering the questions of which I have a note, covering the Ministry of Agriculture, the Treasury, the Admiralty, the Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Labour, the Imperial War Graves Commission, the Ministry of Transport and the Post Office, as well as the Department which I represent. Without previous indication of those questions, it would have been extremely difficult for me to have answered the hon. Member.
I take it the hon. Member would like me to refer to that Cornish industry rather than to the industry as a whole. The industry is concerned both with marble and granite, and produced 7,800 tons last year compared with 7,100 tons in 1951. The hon. Gentleman suggested that we should reduce the import of marble and granite, particularly from Italy. The short answer to that is that neither this Government nor the preceding Labour Government had any doubts on this subject. It is not the policy of this Government, nor was it that of its predecessors, to use import restrictions for protectionist purposes. If we did that the complications to our export trade would be very severe. Such restrictions are used, and we are obliged to use them for balance of payments reasons in order to protect our economy. If any industry appeals for higher tariffs it would be for that industry to put up a case which would receive careful consideration.
The technical position with regard to imports of the various kinds of granite and marble is as follows. The former Administration placed rough marble on open general licence in March, 1951, as part of its policy for the liberalisation of 511 European trade. The present Government revoked the general licence in March, 1952, as part of our total import cuts imposed for balance of payments reasons. In continuation of the policy of liberalisation of international trade pursued by the preceding Government. the present Government have recently been able to restore rough marble to open general licence, in view of the improved situation of our balance of payments.
Raw granite, manufactured granite and manufactured marble are in a different category. They are admitted only under limited bilateral quotas fixed during trade negotiations with several overseas countries to which the hon. Gentleman referred, and in particular with Scandinavia. The level of imports under the quotas is small compared with the pre-war level. The total imports of marble and granite, rough and manufactured, were 43,000 tons in 1952 compared with the pre-war level of 119,000 tons.
The time at my disposal is limited and I will answer the hon. Gentleman's questions as quickly as possible. If I can assist him by correspondence, I shall be at his disposal. He asked whether Italian marble is subsidised. I have looked into this, and I am assured by our Ambassador in Rome that there is no reason to suppose there is any export subsidy by the Italians. If the hon. Gentleman has any information to the contrary, I hope he will let me have it. The hon. Gentleman and the House will know that the whole question of export subsidies is being actively pursued by the Government in connection with the International Monetary Fund. We do not approve of subsidisation, but we have no reason to suppose the Italians are doing it. Imports of Indian manufactured granite were 8,955 tons in 1938 and 280 tons in 1952.
I was interested in the hon. Member's suggestion that illicit imports of granite may be coming into this country, and I took it that he meant in the form of ballast in ships. I am advised that this is entirely a matter for the Customs, but if there is any information in his possession about that, I hope I may have it. I am prepared to deal with it, although it is a matter for which the Customs are responsible, and, in fact, the hon. Gen- 512 tleman should write to the Financial Secretary to the Treasury.
I was extremely interested in the hon. Gentleman's suggestion that we might be able to dispose of some of this very valuable stone, produced by this fine race of Cornishmen—
§ Mr. John Taylor (West Lothian)And Aberdonians.
§ Mr. Mackeson—to Holland for the Dutch sea defences. I was in Holland about a month ago visiting the flooded islands of Goeree and Overflakkee, and I found that they put stone in the bottom of their dykes. I do not know where this stone comes from, but very large quantities are being used. After this debate we shall send a message to our commercial counsellor in The Hague to see if we can dispose of any of this to our Dutch friends; but, of course, it is a matter for the industry and not for the Government. We will do what we can by asking the commercial counsellor to see if that is possible.
Very large quantities of stone are being used to fill these dykes. The problem at the moment is not so much concerned with stone but with clay to cover the embankments. I believe that this is also true of our own sea defences in East Anglia for which my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture is responsible. The Consultative Committee for the Stone Industry, to which the hon. Gentleman referred, have examined a suggestion that Cornish granite should be used to rebuild our sea defences.
This has been submitted to an inter-Departmental committee under Lord Waverley which is investigating the whole question of the safety of our sea defences. It is open to the granite industry to supply evidence to this committee of the advantages of granite but the possibilities have already been noted. I shall see, as a result of the hon. Gentleman's remarks, that the matter is again referred to. The most effective action the industry could take would be to tender for the rebuilding schemes of the various local authorities, the river boards and other bodies concerned.
The hon. Member referred to the Imperial War Graves Commission. It is the normal policy of the Commission to use Portland stone for headstones all over 513 the world, but there are exceptions because of climatic conditions and other reasons, and granite and marble headstones are used in certain places, of which Scotland is one. During the last war quotations were invited for granite headstones, but unfortunately the prices were too high. The Commission, like all Government Departments and private concerns, has to take into consideration the importance of keeping down expenditure.
The hon. Gentleman asked about the possibility of the Minister of Labour splitting his returns on employment to give details of this industry. I cannot commit my right hon. and learned Friend tonight, but we will consider the matter. I would say that the fewer publications issued by the Government the better. We are already printing a very great number of statistics.
I have left to the last the important point which I am sure is behind the anxiety of the hon. Gentleman and my hon. Friend the Member for St. Ives (Mr. G. R. Howard), who has raised all these questions recently with the various Ministers concerned. Perhaps my Department have come off a little more lightly in the treatment than has the Ministry of Agriculture with whom I know my hon. Friend has had considerable correspondence. The Ministry of Works Building Apprenticeship and Training Council are looking into the question of skilled labour which is a matter of the greatest importance to our country. It would be a tragedy if this country lost the skilled masons to whom we owe not only the buildings built by our forbears but the House of Commons in which we are so proud to be today.
The Ministry of Works are anxious to assist building in stone, and consideration is being given for the question of giving some priority for the inclusion of natural stonework in the construction of buildings built by Government Departments. The difficulty is that, generally speaking, granite is initially more expensive. The cost factor is, of course, important to private enterprise and to Government Departments, though it is equally true that, broadly speaking, granite gives considerable saving in long-term maintenance costs.
514 The Government's policy is to licence maintenance work in stone freely and to consider favourably applications for medium-sized new works in stone. The Ministry of Housing may make a grant under the Housing Act, 1949, towards the extra cost of building in stone in stone districts, which, of course, would include other places besides Cornwall. As the hon. Gentleman will know, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Works recently announced that licences to the value of £10 million will be issued this year in connection with new projects in Central London. One of the criteria for the selection of the projects concerned is the contribution they could make to the employment of stonemasons.
This, I think, illustrates our attitude to the industry. We are most anxious to help them. I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman for raising this subject. I appreciate the difficulties of the industry. The price element naturally comes into consideration, but I cannot honestly say that the import restriction for which the hon. Gentleman asks could reasonably be granted. That would be a complete change in the policy of British Governments for a long time, but I have already given him an opportunity to advise his friends to apply for an increase in the tariff.
§ Mr. G. R. Howard (St. Ives)I am sure that the hon. Member for Falmouth and Camborne (Mr. Hayman) would agree with me when I say that we in Cornwall are pleased that my hon. Friend has been so helpful in his reply to this debate. I hope that the Waverley Committee which is inquiring into the rebuilding of the sea defences in the flooded areas will bear in mind the fact that even though the initial cost of granite may be heavier the stone is so good and will last so long that in the end there will be a saving, and that its employment will assist this Cornish industry which has suffered over recent years.
§ The Question having been proposed after Ten o'Clock, and the debate having continued for half an hour, Mr. DEPUTY-SPEAKER adjourned the House without Question put, pursuant to the Standing Order.
§ Adjourned at Twenty-nine Minutes to Eleven o'Clock.