§ Sir W. Darlingasked the President of the Board of Trade what was the total amount of pit props imported into the United Kingdom for the last year; and what amounts were imported by Government or Government agencies and what amount by free agencies.
Mr. H. WilsonThree hundred and sixty-four thousand three hundred and seventy-seven piled cubic fathoms of pit props were imported into the United Kingdom in the year 1950 from the following countries:
Piled cubic fathoms. Canada … … 8,179 Irish Republic … … 725 Soviet Union … … 49,723 Finland … … 148,004 Sweden … … 52,991 Norway … … 7,827 Poland … … 26,264 Germany … … 18,620 France … … 37,454 Portugal … … 9,374 Yugoslavia … … 5,216 Total … … 364,377 Of these imports 90 per cent. were purchased on Government Account.