40 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. January 2, 1914. many different patterns are in use, few of them are satisfactory. Wire guards have been found to be unsuitable owing to the liability of the wires to break and penetrate the eyes, and other reasons. Considerable trouble has been taken by. the management to secure a suitable type of guard. There seems, however, to be a consensus of opinion in favour of a thick leather protec- tion above the eye, and this is being widely adopted. In many cases a good deal of work has had to be carried out in order to comply with the requirements necessi- sating the separation of the stables from travelling or haulage roads and their ventilation with intake air. The number of horsekeepers has been largely increased in order to comply with the Act. He adds:— “ I do not think that the mining community is less humane than other classes of labour. I have every reason to believe the contrary, and it is to the interest of the mine officials to attend closely to the preservation and health of the horses and ponies ; but there are mauvais sujets in every community, and it may be expected that the great prominence which has been, and is, given to the care and treatment of the animals employed in mines will result in a diminution in the loss of animal life from injury and disease.” Inspections on Behalf of Workmen. Very little advantage appears to have been taken in most of the districts by the workmen of the provisions relating to inspection of the mine or part of the mine by their representatives. For instance, Mr. Wilson (Liverpool and North Wales district) says that he has not heard of a single case in his district, he not having received any report. Mr. Johnstone says that, so far as he has been able to ascertain. “ not a single inspection has been made of any mine throughout the whole division during the year.” In certain districts, notably Northumberland and Durham and parts of the York and North Midland and South Wales divisions, the powers in this respect under General Rules 38 of the Act of 1887 were taken advantage of, and these regular inspections by the workmen on behalf of the workmen continue. Safety Lamps. The effect of the provisions contained in section 32 (1) (&) has been the introduction of safety lamps into a number of collieries, especially in Scotland. Prevention of Coaldust. The dust accumulating in the roadways of the mine is being more frequently cleared away than heretofore, but this will have to be very carefully and very frequently performed in order to ensure safety. The dust removed from the mine could, in many cases, be utilised for firing boilers, and in many cases in the York and North Midland division this is being done. With a view to rendering the dust harmless, different methods are being adopted such as watering, application of deliquescent salts, and dusting with shale or stone dust. More attention has been directed to the question of stonedusting. Thirty collieries in the York and North Midland Division have adopted this method either by creation or extension of stonedust zones or by more extended treatment of the roads. Stonedusting is also being practised in the Durham mines. Seven mines in the Midland and Southern Division are stonedusting, but in Scotland, Lancashire and South Wales little has been done as yet, though in the last two named districts there are some mines in which great quantities of coal- dust are made. Weekly Payment of Wages. In Scotland at the great majority of the mines the owners and workmen have mutually agreed on the adoption of weekly payment of wages instead of payment fortnightly or at longer intervals. In Northumberland and Durham the custom has for long been to pay fort- nightly, but now, with the exception of one or two cases, weekly payments have been adopted, payment being usually made on the Friday and Saturday alternately. In the York and North Midland division no action has been taken in this matter, wages having been paid weekly for years. In the South Wales and the Midland and Southern divisions the weekly payment of wages is now practically universal; only at very few mines—two in Shropshire and several in Gloucestershire are fortnightly payments still being made. It is stated that President Woodrow Wilson intends to adopt some policy whereby trusts will be given every opportunity of conforming to the law before a prosecution is inaugurated. This would indicate that he has decided not to introduce any vigorous trust legislation this winter. As the great difficulty about the Sherman Law so far has been that nobody knows what it means, it is expected that the Department of Justice may formulate, more or less definitely, a set of rules for the business world. COMTIMEHTAL MIKIKG MOTES. Belgium. The Belgian Hous 3 of Representatives has passed an Old Age Pensions Bill giving pensions of .£14 8s. a year to all miners who have worked for 40 years in the mine or have been invalided. The following table shows the exports and imports of coal during the 11 months ended with November:— Imports. Exports. T913. 1912? ^1913. 1912?" Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Coal ......... 8,116,243 ... 7,409,763 ... 4,498,231 ...4,652,783 Coke.......... 1,032,131 ... 860,784 ... 1,013.221 ... 923,206 Briquettes... 430,612... 391,744... 580,835... 578,752 France. The Coal Trade Situation.—Our Paris correspondent says • While the general coal trade of France may be said to be finishing a good year of business in fairly satisfactory shape the situation as a whole is by no means good, for, if on the one hand, the collieries are able to maintain prices, it is only on the expectation of a reduced output, coupled with a reduced demand. As regards prices, the French mines are still able t) con- tract at about 50 c. higher than at this period last year, so retaining some of the rise in prices which took place during the past year—Lens, Lievin and Bruay, to take three typical examples, selling on the basis of 25 fr. a ton for their large “ through” coal on wagon at the mine. Washed peas and beans are in extraordinary demand, and the available French output of these is almost entirely monopolised under contract by the big consumers and contractors. The French washed coals always enjoy a preferential market over those of other countries because, from the small amount of handling and transport that they require, they turn out in better condition on delivery than any of their competitors. This also applies to the “ through ” coals, which the French mines grade into three qualities“ Largo through” (which, when asked for a closer definition, they describe as containing about 50 per cent, large), “30/35 per cent, through,” and “20/25 per cent, through.” From a strictly commercial standpoint, it is difficult to arrive at a clear standard as to the value of these classifica- tions. Large through (gros tout venant) corresponds fairly well to the English classification “ through.” The two other grades, which sell at 2 fr. and 3 50 fr. respectively b?low the price of gros tout venant, whatever it is, are sup- posed to be relieved of a certain proportion of their lumps. It is to be feared, however, that the facilities for a detailed handling which the general circumstances of the French colliery output naturally afford, lead to a great amount of irregularity in the grading—hence one frequently receives a 20/25 considerably better than a 30/35, or a 30/35 as good as a gros tout venant. When taxed with such differences the collieries fall back upon their established formula that the percentage figure means the percentage of pieces of coal of over 2 to 4 centimetres in diameter—a fairly wide saving clause. Taking into account the difference in price, how- ever, the 30/35 classification is the most mj sterious of the three, and because of its irregularity is not so popular as the 20/25. These smaller “ through ” coals are the current grades preferred by French manufacturers, especially the 20/25 which even more than the large “ through ” gives the standard price for quotations in this class of business. For the household market, washed cobbles and nuts are practically the only grades in demand, taking France as a whole, grates being more particularly adapted for these. Here Belgian coal comes into sharp competition with the French, which, although they have ousted Mons, are not so well considered for household purposes as Charleroi. Belgian coal can also be carefully washed and calibred, benefiting likewise by the fact that it is shipped direct by wagon from mine to destination, to such an extent that a French retail depot keeper will begin to claim if he has more than 7 per cent, dust in a 10-ton wagon, say, of small cobbles. Except in anthracite, English coal is a negligible quantity in the household market of the interior of France. The retail demand is universal for a calibred coal, which, of course, could not bear sea transport, while to calibre on the spot to any extent in anything more friable than anthracite is a commercial impossibility. It is the question of transport which gives the French collieries their strongest hold over their home market, although in quality they come well up to a good Yorkshire. The duty of 1*35 fr. a ton is not protective. They are so secure in their position that they do not compete with one another, having an agreement as to prices. There is an established scale among them applying to all their various coals. The buyer, therefore, has no choice but one of quality. Some of the big collieries, indeed, will not grant contracts to middlemen, the established conditions of such contracts including a rebate, varying on the quantity taken, upon the current price at the time of cmtracting. The feeling of the French coal market as to future prices seems still fairly hopeful. The collieries anticipate some little falling-off in their production owing to the limitation of overtime, the new eight hours day and the shortage of labour, so that with the local preference for their coal they should be quite able to dispose of their output without reducing prices. There is still talk of a strike in the early spring, but with the recent Parliamentary ameliorations there seems very little for the men to strike for. The only danger lies in the quarrels between the two rival trade unions, each of which is struggling hard for popularity. Germany may constitute an increasingly keen competitor, for already agents here are figuring on reductions of 1 mark to 50 pfennigs for contracts to be renewed in the spring, March and April being the busy period for contractors in France to fix up their yearly engagements with manu- facturers and retailers. The German intentions must enter into the calculations of such even now, since yearly contracts with the French collieries—the only possible way of dealing in these cmls—must be entered into about the end of the year, even as early as November. There is so little free coal kft available afterwards that the middleman would almost certainly be hampered in the development of his business. During this last autumn a number of contractors were caught f short,” having oversold their contracts with the French mines, and they were glad to pay premiums of as much as 2 50 fr. to obtain free coal. The Germans will, however, be very anxious for business. Their home iron trade is slackening off considerably, so that their local demand is showing a steady diminution, and stocks are growing pretty big. On the other hand, there is now no immediate fear of price-cutting from Belgium. The recent sharp fall in prices there has been checked, stocks which had grown somewhat abnormally large, are now reduced to a fairly average level, reviving the u^ual demands upon the output, while Belgian industries seem in tolerably brisk shape. At all events, there is no likelihood of a rush