§ Lieut. - Commander KENWORTHYasked the Secretary for Mines the number of horses now employed in the mines of the Lancashire coalfield; whether he has any official Reports as to the advantages resulting from the general use of mechanical haulage in these mines; and whether he considers that mechanical systems of haulage could be adapted for use in all mines?
§ Mr. SHINWELLThe number of horses employed in the Lancashire and Cheshire coalfield was 530 in 1923 as compared with 566 in 1922. No special reports have been made by the Inspectors of Mines as to the advantages of mechanical haulage in this coalfield, but the Inspector in charge has more than once noted with approval the progressive substitution of mechanical for horse haulage, for which many of the steeper mines in Lancashire are quite unsuited. It is the general opinion of the Inspectors of Mines that the substitution of mechanical for horse haulage can be parried much further with advantage; but it is not practicable everywhere.