958 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. May 9, 1913. more ash than the average British coal, but in other respects it ranks as of good quality :— Table A.—Some Results of Analyses of Shansi Coals, by Prof. E. T. Nystbom, of the University of Tai Yuan Fu. Anthracitic Region. District. § .K-e § ® 1 rA 3 2 fl O t> -A a! ® S3 00 ‘0 s "To fl 'fl 02 0 Cfl ® ’S fl cs r> O Per Per Per Per Ulolnviaa cent. cent. cent. cent. cent. Tse Chou 76-78. . 9-70... 3 50... 1002. . 064.. . 7 821 Cheng Hsien.. 65 25. . 18 60... 0 50... 15 65. . 0 67.. . 7,350 Lu An 78-51. .. 1041... 2-56... 8 52. . 110.. . 7.997 Tai Ku 68 58. . 24-71... 4 29... 2 42. . 1-40.. . 8,456 Ping Ting 85 80. . 612... 0-46... 762. . 089.. . 7,932 Shou Yong .. 73 95. . 21-35... 0 85... 3 85. . 2 63.. . 8.395 Yu Tsi 73-30. . 10-90... 1-05... 1475. . 107.. 7,438 Hsin Chou .. 56-22. . 30-77... 117... 11 84. . 0-64.. . 7,490 Bituminous Region. Hsiang Ning.. 71'84. . 19-43... 068... 8 05. . 066.. . 8,031 Ping Yang .. 5712. . 22-38... 001... 20 40. . 058.. . 6,930 Chi Chou 61 68. . 27-32... 008... 10 20. . 0-82.. . 7,778 Hung Tung ... 65 40. . 27 60... 3-50... 3 50.. . 4 49.. 8,385 Ning Hsiang.. 77-85. . 1710... 105... 4-00. . 1-60.. . 8,375 Fong Chou .. 67-63. . 19 80... 1-30... 11-27. . 1-21.. . 7.736 Tai Yuan 71 83. . 13 98... 051... 13'68. . 0-89.. 7.522 Tsing Lo 49-50. . 43-00... 2 10... 540. . 0'56.. . 6,940 Ta Tung 61-32. . 30-17... 4 45... 4 06. . 1-29.. . 8,160 Richthofen estimated the amount of available anthracite in Shansi to be 630,000 million tons, and that of the bituminous deposits to be still greater. This is not Considered too liberal an estimate by many other observers. On this basis there is sufficient coal in this province alone to supply the whole world at the present rate of consumption for many centuries. A large number of small mines are scattered throughout the coalfields, none of them having an output greater than 100 tons per day. The mines are worked by levels, incline drifts, and vertical shafts. The deepest shafts are found in the Tze Chou district, where some of them attain a depth of 300 ft. At the present time not more than half-a-dozen mines throughout the province use steam power for winding or pumping, and none of them employ any means for guiding the load in its passage through the shaft. Although labour is cheap, it becomes too costly to operate mines at a profit if the quantity of water exceeds 1,000 gallons per hour. Though mining is carried on in all its crudeness, coal can be bought at the mines for Is. to 3s. 6d. per ton. Coal that can be bought for 3s. a ton at mines 10 miles away from Tai Yuan, costs 8s. in the city. Thus it is patent that the transport charge forms a big item in the price of coal when it is conveyed only a few miles from the mine. No statistics are available as to the output of minerals in China ; but, judging by observations of the regularity of animals and barrow trains loaded with coal throughout the mining districts of Shansi, one could not safely place the annual output at less than 3,000,000 tons. Most of the coal is consumed for domestic purposes. In 1898 the Pekin Syndicate—a registered British company—secured the rights to mine coal in the Ching Chua district (Honan), where they are now turning out about 4,000 tons per day. At the same time they obtained a large concession in Shansi to mine coal and iron ; but they were never allowed to commence mining operations, because of the hostility of the provincial authorities, and their mining rights were bought back by the Shansi Government in 1907 for a sum of .£350,000. Immediately after this transaction was com- pleted a Shansi mining company was formed with a capital of £150,000, most of this sum being issued as share capital, and every shopkeeper was compelled by the officials to take a certain number of shares ; the amount each had to take being allocated according to the extent of his business transactions. Two sites were fixed upon for. operations, one in the anthracitic area at Ping Ting, and the other at Shou Yang, where the coal is bituminous. At the former place the output in 1910, when the writer visited the place, was 50 tons a day. In the course of three years a great deal of capital had been spent by this company, with very little to show for the money. The plans of development are on an ambitious scale, the opening of mines with a large output and the erection of steel works being contemplated. Shansi, one of the richest coalfields of the world, and containing great iron ore deposits, will not be exploited by concessions to foreigners, and there is not much hope that immediate development of these resources will be undertaken by the Chinese; therefore, with all its potential wealth, Shansi will still remain an agricultural province. The opening of mines and the development of other industries have been kept back in Shansi through political disorder, conservatism, and notably because of the primitive condition of the main roads and the absence of waterways and railways, which make conveyance slow and expensive. When the railway was established connecting Shansi with the Peking and Hankow railway, a mistaken notion of economy must have prevailed in the minds of the Govern- ment. Instead of constructing a railway of the standard gauge of 4 ft. 85 in. (the gauge of the Imperial railways of China), the metre gauge was adopted. The railway is 150 miles long. Many schemes have been suggested for the transhipment of coal and other material from the Shanshi railway to the Peking Hankow railway, and vice versa at the junction near Cheng Ting. The tran- shipment will prove to be a formidable obstacle when the traffic is developed, and the only satisfactory plan of tackling the problem would be to make a standard gauge by enlarging tunnels, embankments, and rebuilding all the bridges. Up to the present, the only mines in Northern China on an extensive scale are those based on foreign capital and control. At Tongshan, mines were opened by the Chinese in accordance with foreign methods as far back as 1878. In 1900 the mines became the property of a British company. The mines are well equipped and the annual output from the Tongshan and Linsi shafts is about 1,175,000 tons. A few miles from Tongshan, in the same coalfield, a Chinese miningcompany commenced operations in 1909. These mines have an excellent surface equipment, including an electric installation of 1,200 kw. All the engineering is in the hands of Germans. The annual output is about 225,000 tons. The Tongshan company and the Lanchow company amalgamated in 1912. In the north-west of the province of Chihli, the Ching Shing and Lin Cheng mines are situated. The capital in the former company is divided equally between Germans and Chinese, and in the latter between Belgians and Chinese. The money is provided in each case by the foreigners, the Chinese capital being nominal. The coal at these mines is of bituminous character, that of Ching Shing being the best coking coal in North Cnina. The surface equipment at Lin Cheng is excellent in every respect, and the machinery is ample for dealing with 2,000 tons a day. The annual output from these mines is 150,000 and 130,000 tons respectively. At the Pekin Syndicate mines, situated in Northern Honan, great difficulties have been encountered at these mines owing to the presence of an enormous quantity of water which has been partly overcome by the erection of a very big pumping plant made by the well-known British firm of Messrs. Hathorn, Davey and Co. The annual output! of the mines is about 360,000 tons. It is generally known that the wages paid to the workers in mines in China are very small compared with those paid in European countries. The low standard of skill counter- acts much of the economy of their low wages for the following reasons:—(a) Greater amount of direction and supervision necessary; (6) greater waste of material; (c) more ground has to be kept open for accommodating a larger number of men, which increases the cost of repairs; (d) more time taken in lowering and raising a larger number of men in and out of the mine; (e) want of ability to take care of themselves in an emergency, whereby the accident rate will naturally be high. The cost of produc- tion at the pit’s mouth in China, without considering interest and redemption of capital, is 5s. to 6s. per ton of coal. Before China can make real progress in mining and other industries, the many shortcomings that have been mentioned must be set aside. At present, the cry is “ China for the Chinese.” If China gets rid of all European assistance, it is not difficult to predict what will become of her railways and mines. One of their delusions is that they have learnt enough from the European by this time to manage their country by their own exertions. They are unquestionably in the greatest need of engineers, mining laws and educa- tion in the different industries for the development of the latent resources of their mighty empire. On the motion of the President, seconded by Mr. Hugh V. Hart-Davis, Mr. Williams was heartily thanked for his paper. In opening the discussion, Sir Thomas Holland spoke of the part likely to be played by China and Japan in the future when they have sufficiently taken on Western ideas. Japan, China, India and Australia may come into competition with the United States of America in those big markets on the borders of the Pacific and Indian oceans. He was glad to think that those who had been responsible for India had realised the situation in time, and that India was now prepared to take its share in those markets. In the matter of iron, pig iron had been manufactured in India for some years on a small scale. Recently, arrange- ments had been made to produce steel as well as pig iron, in order that these markets may be accessible to India. Mr. Caldwell, who has had experience of mining in China. Mr. G. H. Habrison, H.M.I.M., and Mr. D. H. F. Mathews, H.M.I.M., joined in a short discussion, and Mr. Williams replied to one or two questions. The Late Mr John Knowles On the motion of Mr. Stanley Atherton, seconded by Mr. Mathews, and supported by Mr. Harrison, the meeting placed on record its appreciation of the late Mr. John Knowles and its sympathy with his bereaved family. Mr. Knowles, Mr. Atherton said, joined the Manchester Geological and Mining Society in 1889, and although he had pot taken an active interest in the working of the society, he had at all times good- naturedly done what he could to assist mining students. Those who had worked with him at Maypole and Hulton disasters knew what an excellent influence he had on the men engaged therein. AMBULANCE COMPETITION IN EDINBURGH. Lothian Mineworkers’ Shield. A suggestion was made towards the end of last year to form a Mineworkers’ Ambulance League for the three Lothians. The idea was well supported by the mining communities of these counties, and after some pre- liminary meetings the Lothians Mineworkers Ambulance League was formed and committees appointed to carry out its objects, which are “ to promote the studies of all branches of ambulance work.” ■ as The officials include Lord Murray of Elibank, who is honorary president; Mr. W. Walker, H.M. divisional inspector of mines for Scotland, president and chairman of committees. There are general, executive and local committees appointed to carry on the work of the League, and Mr. H. J. Humphrys, H.M. inspector of mines, acts as honorary secretary and treasurer. When the organisation was in course of formation, Lord Murray of Elibank, who is much interested in the encouragement of ambulance work amongst the great mining community in Mid, West and East Lothian, with which area his lordship was more particularly associated during the 12 years he sat in the House of Commons, offered, through the chairman of the League, to present a shield for annual competition. This offer was heartily accepted. The first local competitions under the auspices of the league were held at Bathgate, Tranent and Edinburgh on Saturday, April 12 last, when 23 teams competed. This number was reduced to six, and these six teams competed for the shield on Saturday last in the Artillery Hall, Grindlay-street, Edinburgh. The teams com- peting were :—Representing East Lothian: Preston- links No. 1 ; Prestonlinks Colliery No. 3 team. Representing Midlothian: Loanhead Colliery ; Young’s Shale team. Representing West Lothian : Kinneil Colliery; Greenrigg Colliery. The examination, which was conducted by the St. Andrews Ambulance Associa- tion, consisted of three parts—oral, practical and transport. The competition resulted as follows :—First, Prestonlinks Colliery No. 3 team; score: 871 oral, 76 practical, 92 transport—total, 255J. Second, Loan- head Colliery; score: 86J oral, 67 practical, 933 trans- port—total, 247. Third, Kinneil Colliery. Fourth, Young’s Shale team. Fifth, Greenrigg Colliery. Sixth, Prestonlinks Colliery No. 1. The names of the winning team : John Gilmour, Archibald Malcolm, Robert Baillie, Richard Hamilton, and Daniel Nesbit. At the close Mrs. Walker, wife of Mr. W. Walker, H.M. divisional inspector of mines for Scotland, presented the shield and gold badges to the winning team, and a set of silver badges to each of the remaining teams. Mr. Walker, in congratulating the Preston- links No. 3 team on being the first to win the Lord Murray of Elibank shield, said he thought the large attendance and the great interest evinced augured well for future success, and showed that the competition had come to stay. He hoped the time was not far distant when they would have a national competition for all the mines in Scotland, and perhaps one day the best teams in Scotland would compete against the best in England.