LOW COAL STOCKS IN BRITAIN

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5326, 12 February 1947, Page 5

LOW COAL STOCKS IN BRITAIN

(Press Assn.-

commons' debate

umprecedented demand declares mr. attlee i

—Rec. 9.30 v.m.)

LONDON, Feb. 11. When he made his statement in the House of Commons, Mr. A ttlee vsaid that despite the steady increase in coal production during the past few months the demand for coal and electricity had increased beyond all expectations. The available g.-nerating plant in the country wis rapidly approaching the noint where it would be overhvtded. The country should have been able to get tbrougb the winter if the weather had been normal. The Government was well awave oi" the serious loss which the electrii it v cuts inflieted and of the liardsoiin many were fcrced to suffer, but ihe action had to be taken. Frozen railway points, tunnels and lines hlocked by snow, and aeeumulation of laden wag-gons and disorganised vailway traffic, and the arrival of further supplies of coal depended on 'he weather. If consumers co-operated the iccks would he sufficien't to overome the emergency. The publie -•eemed so far to be respondins: ex- •• dlently, but it was still too early Ti forecast how soon Ihe power could he restored to industry. No Warning Was Given Mr. Attlee was replying to Mr. Hiurehill, wh*o had asked whether the Government had any further Miitement to make on the cuts. He interposed after Mr. Attlee's statement: "It is everyone's duty to comnlv with the Government's dircctions and do his utmost to *fielp, but why ■vasn't warning given hefore the cuts vere announced? Mr. Attlee replied that reports on he position were still arriving when •he House met on Friday. and Mr. ^hinwell's statement was made as -on as possible. Mr. Anthony Eden said Mr. Shinwell had not spoken until the end •f a long speech, the greater pai't of ■vhich was spont in abusing the Oppohioii for having dared to suggost ■hat there might he hn industrial -risis. Alr. Attlee said : "He was replying 'c attacks made upo-n him." Mr. Arthur Greenwood, who was acting I.eader of the House. suggested that a debate on the situation houhi i>e held to-morrow after memhors had had time to eonsider the Th'ime Minister'a statement, but he ■ ielderl to pressure from the Opposii 'ou and agreed to move the adjournni 'nt of the House to enable tlie subieel to be dehated this evening. Debate Taken at Once j Mr R. S. Hudson opencd the debate -'or the Opposition. He said the main ! '•ritieism agninst Mr. Shinwell was that he was warned repeatodly about the inevitable results of allowing the •t.al stock position in the summer to l>e so- had. Mr. Shinwell had refused i •> admit that the situation was serious — or rather oue moment he adniitted it was serious, then he hecame uptimistie and contradicted the warnino- he had previously given. Also, depsite knowing, as he must have known, that stocks were perilously low, he made no . adequate plans to meet the emergency that was almost bound to a'rise. Mr Hudson said Britain started tlie winter with only weeks' supply of coal. Theref'ore it was perfectly dear that the Minister's excuse that *the crisis had arisen/as the result of unexpected demand since Octoher would not bear examination. Mr. Shinwell. in replying, said the iast thing he sought to do was to minimise tlie gravitv. of tlio situation. The ilisturhanee. however hrief it; might lie, was bound to impair industrial production, and this Britain was anxious to avoid. Referring to Mr. Hudson's allegation of an inadec/uate stock position, Mr. Shinwell said that was fundamental. It was the pivot on which the whole of Britain's economic system must turn. The inadequate stock position was not new. It began to emerge after the French disaster in 1940. Mr. Shinwell added that from the thnc of the fall of France the British nits had been denuded of lusty, vig--crous labour because the men had been allowed to drift into the forces and the munition factories. 4nadeduate stocks combined with dwindling manpower was already the situation emerging toward the end of Ihe war when the Labour Government was returned to grapple with the situation. Nevertheless during 194G a to-tal of 70,000 men and bovs were attracted to th>- mines because they were assured of the reforms which they had long asked. ' He pointed out that the Labour Government built coal stocks to almost 11,000,000 tons last Qctober compared with 6,800,000 tons in May, 1946 — because the miners put their backs into it and produced more. "I was not satisfied," saicl the Minister. "I repeated the warnings in practically every speech I made.". He added that if the Government early in the winter had adopted a rationing seheme it would have led to short time in industry and to un- . employment, imcl would have impeded Britain's industrial elfort.