February 20, 1914..

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

415

For night work the men’s representatives asked that
payment should be at the rate of six turns for five all
over the coalfield; but the owners held that this would
be a breach of the Conciliation Board agreement, and
therefore they could not accede.

Another very interesting point was as to payment on
net rates for men employed at the by-product plant of
the Glamorgan Company. The owners declined to
consider this, on the ground that this was a separate
industry which did not come under the Conciliation
Board agreement.

Subsequently the Federation executive met and
decided to consider at their next meeting what further
steps should be taken for dealing with the questions
which had arisen at the Conciliation Board—namely,
averaging under the Minimum Wage Act, banksmen’s
wages, and the payment of six turns for five to the
workmen of the night and afternoon shifts at collieries
where such payment is not now made.

It is anticipated that the failure to agree in the
Conciliation Board meeting will bring about a state of
affairs the reverse of satisfactory; and that this closing
year of the term of agreement may be marked by serious
difficulties and irritating incidents. The three demands
of the men are to be pressed forward. On the first, the
question of “ average,” Mr. Watts Morgan, speaking on
Tuesday at the meeting of the Rhondda district of miners,
said that, in view of the failure to agree, a definite
policy must now be pursued; and he suggested that
they should either flood the courts with cases, or that
the places should be stopped when employers refused to
take a week as the basis for averaging wages.

On the next point, the men’s request is for 5s. a day
plus percentages, but the owners decline to fix more
than 3s. lOd. with percentages. On the other point, the
six turns for five, the workmen argue that at the smaller
and less remunerative collieries this is already conceded,
and therefore that the larger concerns should follow
suit. An additional cause of friction is the endeavour
to force the men’s schedule for all new work, the
employers strenuously resisting this.

At a meeting of the Western Valleys Miners’Asso-
ciation sanction was given to the workmen of the three
Tillery collieries to tender notices as a protest against
men having been thrown out of work. The manage-
ment stated that places had been closed because they
were unremunerative, but the contention of the work-
men is that old employees should have been put into the
new places instead of fresh men. It was reported also
to the meeting that at one local colliery workmen were
required, before they were allowed to start, to sign a
form stating that they were physically incapable of
earning the minimum wage rate; and the local lodge
was given permission to take such steps as might be
thought fit in order to put a stop to the practice.

The East Glamorgan District of miners favour the
idea of appointment of two whole-time colliery examiners
on behalf of the workmen. The different lodges have
sent in reports practically unanimous; but it has been
decided to refer the question back, so that it may be
more fully discussed.

The operation of the Minimum Wage Act occasioned
a dispute which led to between 1,500 and 2,000 men
stopping work at the Bedwas Navigation Colliery on
Saturday in order to discuss the giving of notices. Their
allegations, as made during a meeting in the morning,
were that one of the workmen who made a claim under
the Minimum Wage Act had been given 14 days’ notice
to leave; and a resolution was passed deciding to appoint
a deputation which should ask for withdrawal of the
notice to the man in question, and that if the notice
were not withdrawn they should all give 14 days’ notice.

Trades Unions’ Demands.

Mr. Asquith, on Thursday last, received a deputation
from the Parliamentary Committee of the Trade Union
Congress, who presented to him a series of resolutions
passed at the annual meeting of the Congress in
September last. Among the advocations were the
nationalisation of railways in the interests of the whole
community; a Bill to prevent employers of labour from
evicting their workpeople during a trade dispute; and
a measure providing for the payment of wages for
statutory holidays. Mr. Asquith, in his reply, dwelt at
some length with the nationalisation of railways,
and pointed out the great difficulties in the way.
He spoke of the Royal Commission which
the Government had appointed and which was going
into the whole question of the relations between railway
companies and the community. The Government, he
said, would wait with great interest and consider with
the utmost possible respect any pronouncement the
Commission might make upon this important topic. In
regard to the question of evictions during trade disputes,
Mr. Asquith said it was a question of whether they were
in a position to produce such a body of evidence as to
the misuse of the power of eviction as to make the case
one to need legislative treatment. The question of the
payment for statutory holidays was, he thought, rather
one for the Home Office than for himself. Fie would
lay before the Home Secretary what the deputation
stated on the subject.

Hull Coal Exports.—The official return of the exports of
coal from Hull for the week ending Tuesday, February 10,
1914, is as follows :—Antwerp, 362 tons ; Amsterdam, 600 ;
Alexandria, 5,013 ; Alderney, 110; Bilbao, 2,545; Buenos
Ayres, 2,171; Bruges, 656: Bremen, 1,492; Christiania,
1,683 ; Copenhagen, 274; Calais, 2,826; Drammen, 930;
Gothenburg, 102; Gnent, 3,240; Hamburg, 4,412; Har-
lingen, 270; Harburg, 2,498; Libau, 410; Lisbon, 197;
Naples, 707; Newfairwater, 229; Oxelosund, 4,231; Port
Said, 3,778; Rendsborg, 204; Ronneby, 1,784; Rotterdam,
575; Rouen, 2,972 ; Riga. 199; Stockholm, 443; Trelleborg,
1,351; Trieste, 4,863; Uddevalla, 754; Warberg, 1,173;
total, 53,054 tons. Corresponding period February, 1913,
total, 64,375 tons.

COlTfflECTAL MIMG 1OTES.

Belgium.

The following table shows the exports and imports of fuel
during January:—

	Imports.		Exports.	
	1914. Tons.	1913.  Tons.	1914. Tons.	1913. Tons.
Coal		638,491 ...	693,923 ..	.. 424,043 ..	. 396,386
Coke		76,540 ...	114,188 ..	.. 105,201 ..	. 84,080
Briquettes ...	33,428 ...	40,446 .,	59,082 ..	. 40,641

France.

Our Paris correspondent says:—There is considerably
more activity among the French collieries this last week
than during the preceding period, notwithstanding the
slackening of the demand for household descriptions owing
to the milder weather. Importations from Belgium are
still very small on account of the continued congestion of
the railways in that country—a situation which is becoming
very serious. The canals are now all open again, which has
helped the movement of coal from the French collieries,
but, on the other hand, the Nord Railway is troubled with
a shortage of wagons. Prices still rule very firm, and con-
tracts are being readily placed at current rates, indeed
buyers are proving more anxious to do business than they
were a little while back. As a matter of fact, the stoppage of
the canals helped the French collieries indirectly not a little,
for it interfered with the deliveries from Germany, and so
discouraged large consumers from depending upon the regu-
larity of this source of supply. The collieries at present are
making a big effort to increase their production as much as
possible, and are working overtime to the utmost extent
the men will do. Fortunately, they are still able to do this
without hindrance, for the new Act regulating the matter
will not come into force until July 1. This legislation
provides for an eight hours day, with a maximum of sixty
hours* overtime per capita, per annum. The question of the
shortage of labour is, however, still very pressing. I men-
tioned in a recent letter the importation of Kabyle labourers
from North Africa. These have not taken kindly to the
work in the North, but I hear that a similar experiment in
the South has been more successful. As things go, the
general output of France is expected to be quite two million
tons below the normal this year, without counting the
promised labour troubles. The Federation of Underground
Labour proposes to call a general strike on March 1 in order
to bring pressure on the Senate to hasten through a Bill for
the pension scheme, to which they have now added 1 fr.
a day for the women, with an allowance for children.

The colliery situation in the Centre of France is still
very strained, and prices are very firm indeed. Figures
regarding the output of the Loire coalfield are now to hand.
They show a total for 1913 of 3,344,309 tons, an increase of
44,653 tons over 1912, but as in the North the second six
months show an actual decrease of 65,000 tons below the
second six months of 1912. This coalfield is quite incapable
of meeting the growing demand of the district both for
household and industrial purposes, and in view of this
situation the metallurgical societies, acting through the
Chamber of Commerce of St. Etienne, are bringing pressure
to bear upon the railway companies to revise and reduce
the through rates from Germany, if only temporarily. The
German t collieries are already pushing this matter. With
the reductions proposed, such a change could not damage
the Loire collieries, for even then similar Garman coal
would work out some 3 or 4 francs dearer. These Loire
collieries, from the financial standpoint, are very sound,
and at current prices return from 4| to 5 per cent, interest
on the investment. The shares are not liable to such wide
fluctuations as those of the Northern coalfield. The
speculative market at Lille, where recent activity gave a
temporary fillip to shares, has again fallen listless, and
prices are again on the down grade.

The French iron trade is more promising again, partly in
sympathy with the improvement in Belgium, where buyers
are seeking to treat three to six months ahead at present
prices. French order-books are fairly full, and it is known
there are quite a number of requirements ready for placing.
Stocks of pig iron are now considerably below normal. The
East of France is still much quieter than the Centre.
Among fresh business this week the Est Railway has
placed an order for 80 third-class railway coaches, the Nord
Railway for 100 ordinary and 30 specially large goods cars,
and the Lens Colliery for 300 wagons.

It is stated that the “ pourparlers ” for the revival of the
French Tube Syndicate have fallen through, owing to the
uncompromising attitude of the Societe Montbard-Aulnoye.

Considerable attention is paid on the Paris Bourse to the
Tonkin collieries, which report a considerable increase of
production for 1913, the output being now over 320,000 tons,
an increase of over 60,000 tons as compared with 1912. They
also shipped 109,000 tons of briquettes, the profits being
about 2,000,000 fr. The dividend of 80 fr. a share gives an
income of 4|- per cent. There are now four pits working.

Russia.

It is stated that for use on the Southern railways the
English coal, for which orders have been given up to 100
million poods, are being mixed with Donetz coal. In the
first ten months of 1913, 373| million poods of Donetz and

English coal were delivered in the south, as against 266|
millions in the corresponding period of 1912. The railways
have stocks in hand amounting to 96| million poods
sufficing for two months. From the Donetz region alone
1,423,100,000 poods of coal were raised up to November 30,
or 236| million poods more than in 1912.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry has intimated
that he will continue to favour the import of British coal
until the Donetz collieries are in a position to assure the
needs of the home market. There has been some improve-
ment, especially in the supply of labour, but the high prices
obtainable are inducing the miners to put in demands for
rises in wages, and already sectional disputes have taken
place.

The following table shows the provisional output in the
Donetz coalfield in 1913 and the estimated production in
1914

	1913.	1914.
	Million	Million
	poods.	poods.
Coal 		.... 1,270 ...	. 1,493'1
Anthracite		295 ...	402*1
Coke		272 ...	321
Briquettes 		12 ...	36-5

TOE WELSH COAL AID IR0H TRADES.

Thursday, February 19.

Wrexham.

COAL.

The general state of the coal trade has been of a
satisfactory nature during the past week. The majority of
the pits have worked full time, and the quantity of available
tonnage has been good. In regard to house coal, trade was
never better, order books are full, as are sidings with
merchants’ wagons, the owners of which are pressing for
supplies from all quarters. The landsales depots, too, are
also busily employed. The steam coal market is somewhat
variable, but the advantage seems to be in favour of the
sellers; many buyers have been holding aloof in the hope
of reductions taking place, but their anticipations have not
been realised, and a goodly number of steam coal contracts
will be now fixed up speedily. There is no change in the
state of the gas coal market, and the enquiries are very few
as yet. Trade at the Mersey ports in shipping coal is good,
and the collieries around the Wrexham district who cater
for this trade are sending down fairly large quantities, and
it is understood that the prices obtained are quite satis-
factory for this class of fuel. Slacks are a little easy, and
spot lots have been sold at figures advantageous to the
buyers. Gas coke is unaltered. Current prices are as
follow:—

Prices at pit.

Prices at pit f.o.r. :—

Best house coal ......

Secondary do..........

Steam coal............

Gas coal .............

Bunkers ..............

Nuts .................

Slack ................

Gas coke (at works) ...

Prices landsale:—

Best house coal ......

Seconds ..............

Slack ................

Current
prices.
15/6-16/6
14/6-15/6
13/ —13/9
13/ -13/9
12/6-12/9
11/3-12/
6/6- 8/6
13/4-15/

17/6-19/2
16/8-17/6
10/ -12/6

L’st week’s Last year’s

prices.
15/6-16/6
14/6-15/6
13/ -13/6
13/ -13/9
12/6-12/9
11/6-12/
6/6- 9/
13/4-15/

prices.

15/ -16/6
13/6-15/6
12/ —13/6
12/9-13/6
12/ -13/
11/ -12/6
6/8- 9/2
16/8-18/

17/6-19/2 18/4-20/
16/8-17/6 16/8-17/6
10/ -12/6 10/ -12/6

SguOi Wales,

Cardiff.

GOAL.

Prospects are decidedly better than they were a week
ago, and prices have not only been maintained but improved
upon. Several transactions have been concluded at 19s. 3d.
for shipment during the month, and for March the same
figure is firmly quoted, with, if anything, an expectation
of even better prices during that period. The British
Admiralty are still only taking a small proportion of the
ordinary contract quantities, but there is no doubt that
stocks are becoming depleted, and must be replenished in
the near future. As soon as this extra demand comes on
the market there is every reason to expect that prices will
respond. During the last few days, in consequence of the
very severe weather which has prevailed, tonnage has not
been arriving in the expected quantities, but now it has
again commenced to arrive, and this again will have a
steadying effect on the market. Notwithstanding the few
arrivals, comparatively speaking, the pressure for tips has
continue^, though not to such a degree as prevailed a
few weeks ago, and there is no question that this
difficulty will again present itself in an acute shape
within the next few days. Charterings last week were
282,550 tons as against 363,300 tons in the preceding
six days, but it is a circumstance worthy of note that
the tonnage taken up during the year is practically
the same as the amount taken up in the corresponding
period of 1913, the figures to date being 2,732,000 tons as
compared with 2,731,000 tons last year. Shipments last
week amounted to 392,443 tons, or an increase of 60,432
tons compared with the corresponding week of 1913.
Swansea also showed an- increase of 15,176 tons, but
Newport and Port Talbot had a decline of 2,157 tons and
2,955 tons respectively. The Egyptian State railway
authorities are in the market for about 300,000 tons of
steam coals, and an unusual feature this year is the fact
that alternative tender forms are submitted for Welsh and
north-country coals. The Welsh coals are restricted to
the production of 15 collieries, classed as second-
class Admiralty steams, ordinaries and best Monmouth-
shires, and in the north-country specification five South
Yorkshire and six Northumberlaand and Durham
collieries are mentioned. Until about three years ago
this contract was confined almost exclusively to Welsh
coals, but in consequence of labour troubles and other