§ Mr. MARDY JONESasked the Secretary for Mines whether the Government have considered, as a mining reform, the advisability of utilising one or more large and typical coal mines in one or more 2752W British coalfields now abandcned or uneconomic as productive mines for experimental purposes in connection with all the problems of safety and health in the working of coal mining in this country?
§ Mr. TURNERA great desl of experimental work in health and safety matters is already in progress in the coal mines of this country, and I am always ready to consult the Safety in Mines Research Board on the possibilities of further development; but my hon. Friend will understand that there are many proolems which cannot be effectively, or ever safely, experimented upon in a working mine. Other investigations such as those relating to falls of ground and haulage must take account of the enormous diversity of the conditions in different mines and these problems must be studied, not in one or two, but in many mines. A large amount of work of this sort lies ahead and the wider the participation in it is spread, the better.