Mr. WEST:

asked the Secretary for Mines what was the average output per miner in 1921 and in 1934; and what were the average weekly cash earnings in those years of the miners in Great Britain?

Comparison between 1921 and 1934 on a yearly basis is impracticable owing to the national stoppage in 1921, but during the quarter ended 31st December, 1921, the average output per man-shift worked by all workers employed above and below ground at coal mines in Great Britain was 17.73 cwt., and the average weekly cash earnings of all workers employed was £2 18s. 10d. The corresponding figures for the quarter ended 31st December, 1934, were 23.23 cwt., and £2 6s. 8d., respectively.

Mr. WEST:

In view of the increased output per miner per shift and the decreased wages per miner per shift, has the Minister contemplated taking any action to reduce the great gap between producing and distributing prices in this country?

The hon. Member has overlooked the fact that in the last quarter of 1921 the average net selling value of coal per ton in the United Kingdom was 23s., and in the last quarter of 1934 it was 13s. 6d.

Is it not a fact that the present rates of wages paid to miners in Great Britain are the result of negotiations and ultimate agreements as between the mineowners and the miners' representatives?

Not wholly.

Mr. WEST:

Has not the hon. Gentleman missed the whole point and answered about the distributive side, not the productive costs, which was what I asked about?

I gave the average net selling value.

Mr. WEST:

But I am talking about prices, not wages.

This is prices.

asked the Secretary for Mines the total quantity and percentage of output of coal cut by machinery during 1934 and the comparative figures for 1913 and 1925?

During 1934, 103,700,000 tons of coal, representing 47 per cent. of the total output, were cut by machinery. The corresponding figures for 1913 were 24,400,000 tons and 8 per cent., and 48,100,000 tons and 20 per cent. for 1925.

Can the hon. Gentleman give any approximation of the number of miners displaced by machine mining, and what is the Department doing to meet the situation?

I cannot do that, because there are two major factors to be taken into consideration in regard to displacement; first, machinery, and, second, the regulation of output with the larger number of shifts worked per week.