§ 136. Sir W. Smithersasked the President of the Board of Trade how much rubber was destroyed by fire at Mitcham on the Government dump on 1st, 2nd and 3rd June; what was the value; whether it was insured; why was such a large accumulation permitted; and why was it not made available to industry sooner.
§ Mr. BelcherAbout 8,000 to 10,000 tons of scrap rubber, valued at from 140,000 to 150,000, was destroyed. The loss is covered by insurance. The dump at Mitcham is one of many set up during the war in various parts of the country to store rubber collected by local authorities. For economy in sorting, distribution and general management it is necessary to concentrate fairly large quantities on each dump. All the scrap has been offered to industry and the great bulk of the reclaimable material has been sold for future delivery.