§ Major GLYNasked the President of the Board of Trade how many blast furnaces have been demolished in England and Wales and Scotland since January of this year; what is the total number of blast furnaces now in operation; and whether, seeing that the figures of steel ingots and castings manufactured within the United Kingdom in the month of September as compared with September a year ago show a falling off of 267,000 tons, he can give the corresponding falling-off in the production of pigiron in the same period?
§ Mr. W. R. SMITHThe information asked for in the second and third parts of this question is contained in the issue of the Board of Trade Journal for 23rd October last, which shows that, according to statistics compiled by the National Federation of Iron and Steel Manufacturers, the number of furnaces in blast at the end of September was 104, and the output of pig-iron (including ferroalloys) in that month was 425,000 tons as compared with 664,600 tons in September, 1929, a falling off of 239,600 tons. Information as to blast furnaces dismantled is collected by the Federation annually, and particulars for the expired 881W portion of the current year are therefore not available; but the reduction in the total number of furnaces in blast between the end of December, 1929, and the end of September, 1930, was 58.