asked the Secretary for Mines, whether he has given consideration to the gradual rise in the rate of eye accidents to miners in this country, which show that between 1920 and 1937 injuries to miners' eyes had increased from 3.71 in 1920 to 5.42 in 1937 per 1,000 persons employed; and what recommendations he proposes to put forward?

The following table shows the eye injury rate per thousand coal miners employed for the years 1925 to 1938. No official figures are available for earlier years.

Number of Persons with Eye Injuries from Accidents involving absence from work for more than three days at Mines under the Coal Mines Act, with rate per 1,000 Persons employed, for the years 1925 to 1938 (excluding 1926).
Year,	Number of Eye Injuries.	Number of Persons employed.	Rate per 1,000 persons employed.
1925	8,351	1,117,828	7·5
1927	7.904	1,037,39I	7·6
1928	7,366	951,632	7·7
1029	8,372	969,736	8·6
1930	7.985	94,3442	8·5
1931	6,764	877,141	7·7
1932	5,914	827,439	7·1
1933	5,874	797,294	7·4
1934	6,541	797,699	8·2
1935	6,507	779,502	8·3
1936	6,942	777,874	8·9
1937	6,978	803,359	8·7
1938	6,738	802,443	8·4

It will be seen that the rate for 1937 does not correspond with that given by the hon. Member.As regards the second part of the Question, continuous efforts are being made to persuade workers whose occupation renders them specially liable to such accidents to wear protective goggles, the design of which has recently been much improved.