§ Sir R. GOWERasked the Secretary for Mines (1) whether any report has been received by him regarding broken-winded horses employed in coal mines in this country; and what the nature of such report is;
(2) whether his attention has been called to the circumstance that many horses and ponies employed in coal mines in South Wales are suffering from broken wind and that stone-dusting of the haulage roads has a detrimental effect upon the respiratory organs of such horses and ponies; and whether he will consider the desirability of introducing legislation making the employment of horses in dry and dusty mines illegal?
§ Mr. SHINWELLI have received no such report as is referred to in the first question; and though I have made inquiries, I can find no grounds for the suggestion in the first part of the second question. The number of horses in 925W South Wales suffering from broken wind is very small, and shows no tendency to increase. Post-mortem examinations of the lungs of horses employed in mines in different parts of the country have revealed no evidence whatever of the lungs being adversely affected by stone dust. The answer to the second part of that question is therefore also in the negative.