§ Mr. D. GRAHAMasked the Secretary for Mines the number of pits in the county of Lanark where work has been carried on on Sunday in the same way as on any ordinary day of the week since the beginning of the present year; whether his Department is informed of the practice by the owners concerned and approval given; and, if not, whether any action will be taken by his Department to put a stop to the practice?
§ Mr. E. BROWNI have made inquiry, but I cannot find that work has been carried on at any pit in Lanarkshire on Sunday in the same way as on an ordinary week day. I understand that pits in this district have generally been working a full week during the period in question, and that when Saturday is a working day, a considerable number of men are necessarily employed during the week-end to prepare the pit for coal-drawing on Monday. The answer to the second part of the question is in the negative. With regard to the third part, I am sorry to say that I have no power to stop the practice to which the hon. Member refers; but I have no reason to think that it exists to any appreciable extent.