March 7, 1913. ________________________________________________________________________________________ THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 493 of over 30,000, is dependent upon it. The annual output of coal is If million tons per annum; and the output of steel no less than 250,000 tons. The capital of the undertaking is £1,575,000, and dividends during the past 10 years have varied from 10 per cent, to 2| per cent., the average being about 6| per cent. ______ The directors decided to extend their steel manufacturing plant, and on Monday new sheet mills were opened by Mrs. Mills, wife of the managing director, so that the company will in future carry through the whole of the work, from smelting the ore to the making of corrugated galvanised sheets. The plant will produce about .500 tons of finished sheets per week, and it forms the first unit of a more extensive installation. The motive power is electricity, and the new works will provide employment for about 600 men. ______ In the course of a speech made on Monday, Mr. D. A. Thomas, one of the directors, stated that they contemplated sinking three or four new pits, and putting up a by-product plant; and he also pointed out that the prospects of the company did not depend upon low wages, for he believed they paid the highest wages in the coalfield. ______ It was decided, at a meeting of the Rhondda No. 1 and Pontypridd No. 2 districts of the South Wales Federation, held on Monday evening, that notices should be tendered on April 1 at every colliery in both districts, the object being to bring non-unionists into compliance. One opinion expressed at the meeting was that it was not advisable to penalise collieries where the whole of the men had joined the Federation; and a resolution was passed that (subject to a guarantee being given by the management that no non-unionists would be employed) those collieries which were clear should be allowed to continue at work. ______ As many as 40,000 men are affected by the decision arrived at, but it is unlikely that the stoppage will take place, seeing that the miners are rapidly falling into line, and paying up their subscriptions. During the month in which the notice runs a very active endeavour will be made to bring the outsiders into compliance. ______ Because an haulier gave an answer which seemed to reflect upon some of the workmen, there has been talk of the whole of the colliers giving notice at one of the Rhondda pits. Before the panel chairman, the man referred to, when answering a question, is said to have stated that, “ With a little more effort and energy the men could earn minimum rates.” This offended his fellows gravely, and there has been talk of a general putting in of notices. ____________________________________________________ CONTINENTAL MINING NOTES. Austria. Wholesale Coal Prices on the Vienna Exchange—Ostrau- Dombrau-Karwin coals : Large 28 10-29 10 kronen, cubes 27’60-28 60 kr., nuts 26’60-27 60 kr., small 23-23’20 kr., washed smithy coals 29-29 20 kr., coke 30-40 kr. per ton net cash, ex shutes Nordbahnhof. Upper Silesian coals : Best large 32’30-33 10 kr., best cubes 32’30-33’10 kr., medium large 31’50-32 30 kr., medium cubes 31’50-32’30 kr., seconds large 26’70-27 80 kr., seconds cubes 26’70-27’80 kr., best nuts I. 32’70-33 50 kr., II. 29’60-30’10 kr., best small 23’50-24 kr., seconds small 22’50-23 kr. In 10-ton loads: Best large 30’70-31 50 kr., best cubes 30’70-31’50 kr., best nuts 81’10-31’70 kr.—all net cash per ton, ex Nordbahnhof. Gas coke from Vienna Gasworks 32’60-37’20 kr., ex works. Lignite : Dux large 21 70-23’20 kr., Brux or Dux cubes 21’70- 23’20 kr., nuts 21’20 22 70 kr., Mariaschen cubes 23’70-25 20 kr., nuts 23’20-24 70 kr. per ton, ex Franz Josefs- or Nordwest-bahnhof. _________________ Belgium. Coal has been reached at a depth of 198 m. in a shaft sunk on the new Jemappes concession. The pit is situated close to the canal, between Mons and Conde, and the coal is said to possess good coking qualities. Fears of a general strike on April 14 have not been dissipated. General alarm, however, centres round the raison d’etre of the strike. The Belgian Chamber of Deputies refused to introduce universal suffrage, whereupon the Socialists decided upon the declaration of a general strike, failing an agreement on the question between the Govern- ment and Opposition. In 1902, it may be remembered that, in pursuit of the same object, a strike of coalminers and ironworkers was declared, which caused over 300,000 work- people to be idle, and led to scenes of great violence. On this occasion, however, the general feeling is that a strike will not take place, as the Socialists are giving indications of weakening. France. Coaldust Experiments.—M. Taffanel, at a recent gathering of engineers at Douai, gave some account of the first experiments conducted at the Commentry Mine, which has been placed at the disposal of the Comite des Houilleres by the Commentry-Fourchambault Company. The mine gallery that is being used is 1,125 m. in length, consisting in a slope of 300 m. and a gallery of 800 m., with numerous blind alleys. Two series of experiments have been carried out, but no very precise results have been obtained, owing mainly to the destruction of the electric wires. These will now be buried and the tests repeated. So far as can be ascertained, however, the results obtained do not differ markedly from those obtained at Lievin. MM. Taffane} and Dautriche have recently been engaged in examining the theory of explosives, but the enquiry has been inter- rupted by the temporary recall of the latter by the Minister of War, his presence being urgently required at the Sevran-Livry powder factory. A Tax on Colliery Profits.—The Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday adopted a Socialist amendment to the Finance Bill, which has the approval and support of the Government, and by which a tax of 50 c. per ton of coal shipped or sold is imposed on all mines whose net earnings, calculated as a basis for a proportional charge, amount to 1 fr. per ton. The tax is to become operative on October 1 next. All mines the net profit on which is equal to or less than 1 fr. per ton, will be exempt. In the case of mines whose net profit is quoted as from 1 fr. to Ifr. 50 c. per ton, the tax imposed will be equal to the excess in value over 1 fr. The tax will therefore only amount to 50 c. per ton when the profit is 1 fr. 50 c. or over. The original proposition of M. Albert Thomas was that coalmines should be subjected to the payment of an impost of 1 fr. 20 c. per ton of coal, coke, or briquettes despatched or sold. Mines whose net profit was less than 1 fr. per ton were to be exempted from the payment of the tax. He also proposed that all “ societes civiles ” formed prior to the law shall be transformed into “ societes commerciales.” It is stated that the second part of the proposition was to force the Anzin, Aniche and Bruay companies to fall into line with the other Nord and Pas-de- Calais companies. In the discussion in the Chamber the Minister of Finance maintained that the prosperity of the coal trade amply justified this surcharge upon earnings, which will bring in about £560,000. In connection with this, we take the following extract from the monthly circular of the British Chamber of Commerce in Paris :— “ In view of the numerous claims recently made by the French fiscal authoritities for payment of a patente tax of over | per cent, upon the total amount of contracts made by foreign suppliers with French administrations, we recommend British contractors to consider the advisability of inserting in their French contracts a clause specifying that the vendor is not liable for French taxes other than the import duty and registration tax, and that any additional taxes will be to the charge of the buyer. “ It might even be advisable to insert this clause in contracts with private firms. It should be noticed that this demand of patente or trading tax made upon British contractors in question is based upon a decree of the Prefect of the Seine, dated October 20, 1911, assimilating fournisseurs par adjudication ou marche des marchandises quelconques a I’Etat, d des Departements aux Communes, aux Etablissements publics, &c., to the close of fournisseurs de vivres ou substances de chauffage, d’eclairage, fyc., aux troupes de terre ou de mer, dans les hospices civils ou militanres ou autre etablissements publics. “ This is obviously a wide extension of a somewhat limited class of patente; the fiscal authorities justify it by a reference to Article 4 of the Law of July 15,1880, and the General Instructions of April 6, 1881, according to which professions of the trade not indicated in the schedules of the patente can be assimilated to a class by an arrdte prefectoral, given on approval of the Directeur des Con- tributions Directes, and by recommendations of the Mayor (Article 4. Law 1880). Interested parties can demand communication of these prefectoral orders, and every five years all assimilations of patente made since at least three years must be submitted for legislative approval.” _____________________ Germany. Coal Market in Upper Silesia.—The favourable condition of business is fully demonstrated by the recent decision of the Convention to remove all restrictions on the output, and to retain the winter prices for the coming summer. Delivery is still being urgently called for, as consumers are not by any means well stocked, and it will be difficult to satisfy their demands fully, even though traffic obstructions have now been removed. The iron industry, as the largest consumer, is also complaining loudest of delay, and there is no chance of the pits accumulating stocks, however desirable such a course might be. The scarcity is almost equally great in the case of coking coals, and the cokeries are therefore in difficulty over meeting the requirements of the furnaces. Deliveries of gas coals are large, and business in house coal is active, in spite of the late season, colder weather having set in again. Exports beyond the limits of the home market are extensive, and could be more so if the supply of material were more abundant. The Russian State Railways have placed large orders in the Dombrowa dis- trict, and have also lowered freight charges. Coal Syndicate Report for January.—Total coal raised 8,810,343 tons (7,792,879 tons January 1912), or 350,660 tons (307,109 tons) per working day. Calculated distribution 7,379.672 tons (6,275,823 tons), being 293,718 tons (247,362 tons) per working day, or 110’93 per cent. (94’87 per cent.) of the participation. Total coal distribution by the syndi- cated pits 9,044,489 tons (7,880,306 tons), or 359,980 tons per working day. , Deliveries, including local sales, miners* house coal, and supplies to pits* own ironworks: Coal, 5,673,794 tons (5,030,022 tons), or 225,823 tons (198,227 tons) per working day; coke, 1,985,545 tons (1,656,708 tons), or 64,050 tons (43,442 tons) per working day ; briquettes, 401,646 tons (333,976 tons), or 15,986 tons (13,126 tons) per working day. Ruhr Coal Market.—Nothing has arisen to alter the situation, the coal market being unaffected by the effects of the Balkan troubles and .the high price of money. The Syndicate takes over deliveries far in excess of the nominal participatipn figures, and there seems no immediate prospect of trade slackening. The iron industry is still the largest customer for its own particular classes of fuel, and the works will be busy for some considerable time at least. Coking coals are also affected by the same cause, and can hardly be raised fast enough to meet the demand. Gas and flaming gas coals are being exported in sufficient quantity to absorb the output readily, and a good foreign trade is being done in other kinds, especially to Holland, Belgium, and certain districts in the north of France. English coal is out of the running on account of its high price. In South Germany, industrial coals go off well, but as supplies are more regular, there is now no fear of a scarcity. The coke market is also very active. Exports and Imports of Coal.—The following shows the quantity of coal and other fuel exported and imported during January.— Exports. Imports. Jan71912. Jan. 1913. Jan. 1912. Jan. 1913. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Coal............. 2,452,695... 2,386,249... 759,501... 663,319 Liernite........... 5,246... 7,238... 591,830... 503,704 Coke............. 425,812... 628,164... 50,171... 49,853 Coal briquettes... 156,485.. 207,053... 3,324... 2,590 Lignite ditto.... 59,613... 129,129... 13,223... 9,294 568,722 tons of coal were imported, . From Great Britain as against 639,273 tons in January 1912. There was a decreased export of coal to Belgium, France and Holland* but larger quantities were sent to Italy, Russia and Switzerland. Output of Coal—The following shows the output of coal and other fuel in January :— January 1912. January 1913. Tons. Tons. Coal ............... 14.565,606 ... 16,536,115 Lignite____................ 6,865,208 ... 7,375,566 Coke ............... 2,340,366 ... 2,724,871 Coal briquettes...... 424,961 ... 498,288 Lignite ditto ....... 1,497,060 ... 1,771,187 The Hamburg Coal Trade.—His Majesty's consul-general at Hamburg has forwarded the following particulars regarding the trade in British and German coal at that port during 1912:—The total receipts of coal at Hamburg and Altona in 1912 amounted to a little over 9,000,000 tons, and thus the situation returned to the normal, and the increase was resumed which had been checked by the labour troubles of 1911. It is, however, to be observed that the importation of coal from the United Kingdom, in spite of the strikes in March and April of last year, which at the time caused a decrease of about 580,000 tons in imports, has increased by 734,000 tons over 1911. Since the end of the coal strike in May there were 1,314,000 tons more of English coal imported than in the corresponding period of 1911. It must however, be taken into consideration that in 1911 the imports of coal from the United Kingdom fell off by 500,000 tons on account of the want of water in the Elbe during the last half of the year, which made interior navigation impossible. In 1912 the receipts of Westphalian coal were 341,000 tons more than in 1911. Moreover, during the coal strike in the United Kingdom about 100,000 tons of coal were brought to Hamburg from Saxony, Silesia and Galicia. The follow- ing table shows the quantities of coal imported into the Hamburg commercial district during the last five years:— Imports of British Receipts of German Total imports and receipts Year. coal. coal. of coal. Tons. Tons. Tons. 1908 ... 5,015,000 . .. 2,460,000 ... 7,475,000 1909 ... 5,299,000 . .. 2,575,000 ... 7,874,000 1910 ... 5,221,200 . .. 3,197,600 ... 8,418,800 1911 ... 4,699,000 . .. 3,234,700 ... 7,933,700 1912 ... 5,433,000 . .. 3,575,500 ... 9,008,500 _____________________________ Russia. During the debate in Committee of the Imperial Duma on the Estimates of the Department of Mines on Monday, insistence was laid on the necessity of combating the rise in the price of naphtha, and it was decided that the most effective measure would be to open the southern ports to the free importation of foreign coal. The representatives of the Government raised no objection to this proposal.