§ Mr. HENDERSON STEWARTasked the Lord President of the Council whether the experiments made during the past 14 months by the chief engineer of the corporation of Edinburgh and the chief chemist of the fuel research station into the hydrogenation of cannel-coal were conducted under the auspices of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research; and can he give any information as to the results of the experiments and the possible effect on unemployment in the Scottish coalfields if the process were exploited commercially?
§ Mr. R. MacDONALDThe experiments were carried out in collaboration with the Fuel Research Organisation of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research. They proved that, under certain conditions, Scottish cannel-coal can be used for the manufacture of coal gas and that the tar then produced is suitable for conversion into motor spirit by hydrogenation. Whilst this result is of undoubted interest, I am unable at this stage to offer any opinion on its effect upon unemployment.