March 6, 1914. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 527 PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE. HOUSE OF COMMONS.—February 26. Rescue Work at Mines. Mr. Wedgwood asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to rescue brigades under the Coal Mines Act, whether the men in these brigades are entitled to any pay apart from the allowance made for loss of work time for actual drills • whether they receive any retaining fee for holding themselves at call; whether they receive, like firemen or lifeboatmen, any annual allowance for the risky nature of the work they are undertaking. Mr. McKenna said the remuneration of the men who volunteer to become members of these brigades is a matter of arrangement in each case between the mineowners whose duty it is to maintain the brigades and the men themselves, and I have no information on the subject. Mr. Wedgwood : If the men did not volunteer, would it not be the duty of the mineowners under the Act to provide the men for the purpose ? Mr. McKenna said he did not think any difficulty had arisen of the kind suggested. He would rather not answer the question as to whether it would be incumbent on the mineowners to provide men under the Act until it arose. March 2. Fuel for the Navy. In Committee on Supply, The First Lord of the Admiralty introduced the Supplementary Estimate. In the course of his statement he said the first cause was an increase in expenditure upon the oil reserve, representing .£500,000. The average price of oil, including freight, had more than doubled in the last two years, but they now had safely stored in this country considerably more than three years’ peace consumption for the whole of the existing very large oil-burning fleet. They should continue to keep either purchasing and storing in this country, or else in view, under definite war contracts or other effective arrangements, sufficient oil to enable them to conduct a whole year of war. Month by month, as the fleet increased, the oil position would be fully maintained and even improved in the next 12 or 14 months by estimates and arrangements which he would ask Parliament to approve when the General Estimates of the year came to be con- sidered. It had been suggested that the policy which the Admiralty had followed in regard to oil-burning ships was contrary to the recommendations of the Royal Commission. Both the series of reports and the minutes of evidence of that Commission, except perhaps the final report, which he was now considering, were strictly confidential. He had, however, received from the chairman of the Commission, From Total cargo. Total bunker. 1913. 1914. 1913. 1914. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Bristol Channel ports 290,304 310,548 18,861 18,037 North-western ports 234,913 262,554 63,601 69,436 North-eastern ports 715,989 713,219 27,699 28,156 Humber ports 203,578 226,740 11,084 13,858 Other ports on east coast 9,557 11,797 7.439 8,671 Other English ports 3,293 2,719 4,074 3,979 Total from England and Wales 1,457,634 1,527,577 132,758 142,137 Ports on east coast of Scotland 91,453 85,907 20,459 16,227 Ports on west coast of Scotland 93,241 107,451 30,758 47,907 Total from Scotland 184,694 193,358 51,217 64,134 Irish ports ! —- 13 4,409 3,187 Total from United Kingdom 1 1,642,328 1,720,948 188,384 209,458 Lord Fisher, the following statement, which had been agreed upon unanimously by the whole Commission :— (1) The advantages to be derived from the use of oil fuel and the imperative necessity for such use if the Fleet is to be maintained in a condition of the highest attain- able efficiency, are conclusively established by the Commission’s first interim report. (2) The Commissioners are of opinion that the oil resources of the world are amply adequate to meet the requirements of the Fleet if suitable measures are taken to secure supplies. (3) Large reserves should be accumulated in this country, and with certain other storage centres on British territory, the extent of these reserves should bear a prescribed relation to the consumption under peace requirements, and this will give a definite basis. Mr. Lee said Mr. Churchill had established beyond any possibility of doubt the superiority of oil as a fuel for the service of the Fleet, if other things were equal, that is if the price and the availability of supply was in any way compar- able to coal, but unfortunately that was not the case. He had shown that since the original policy was adopted the price of oil had been forced up to an altogether fanciful figure, and that it was four or five times as expensive as coal at present, and there must be considerable anxiety in the mind of the Admiralty and anyone else as to the available sources of supply. It would have been less rash and less premature if the Admiralty had gone more slowly in this matter, and had waited, at any rate, before developing it on the scale which now obtains, until the Royal Commission had further reported, and until the certainty of adequate supplies had been more effectually guaranteed. Mr. Molteno urged that the disadvantages of oil were greater than its advantages. We, of all countries, should not endeavour to dispossess coal in favour of oil. Of Welsh coal millions of tons were exported to every country of the world. It gave freights to out-ships, and it supplied our miners with wages to the extent of .£100,000,000 annually. Why, then, should we be the persons, and not someone else, to go out of our way to dispossess ourselves of our premier position in the whole world ? They should not leave a matter of this vital importance in the hands of the experts. Coal could be carried with perfect safety. Not only so, but the bunkers formed a protection for the vital parts of the ships. Sir Arthur Markham asked why it was not in the public interest to disclose to the House of Commons the prices paid for all prices of fuel, stores, munitions, and coal. There was no one manufacturing in this country who could in the least be damnified by the prices being stated. Did the First Lord think, when he refused to disclose the price he was paying for coal, that he was paying merely the market price ? A few months ago the Admiralty sent out enquiries for coal. As the right hon. gentleman knew, there is a ring of people who are on the favoured list to supply coal. Some of the companies with which he (Sir Arthur) is connected are on this favoured list. There are two two different lists—one for the supply of coal to foreign ports, and one for the supply at home. The Admiralty sent out an enquiry for immediate delivery. The enquiry came to a company with which he was connected, and the price of coal to the Admiralty was at once increased by 2s. a ton beyond the price at which they were supplying coal to other people. The Admiralty accepted the offer, and imme- diately telephoned thanking them for the low price at which they were supplying the coal. He would produce papers to support the facts. Why should not the country know the price they were paying for coal ? Mr. Churchill said if the hon. member for Mansfield would put down a question he would present him with the reasons on this subject which had hitherto been held to be sufficient by the House of Commons. COASTWISE SHIPMENTS DURING JANUARY. According to the official coal tables, the quantities of coal shipped coastwise during the month of January 1914 were as follow:— The following were the shipments:— To ports in England and Wales...... Scotland............... Ireland ................. Shipments to London aggregated 779,520 tons. destinations of cargo Jan. 1913. Jan.1914. Tons. Tons. 1,220,802 ... 1,250,196 82,201 ... 94,260 339,325 ... 376,492 According to the Board of Trade Journal the number of coal, iron and steel companies registered during 1914 was 267, having a nominal capital of .£12,482,286. The figures for 1912 were respectively 223 and <£7,991,520. Approved Societies in Mining Districts.—Mr. G. Locker- Lampson, in the House of Commons on Wednesday, asked whether any information had reached the Insurance Com- missioners showing the probability of grave deficiencies in various approved societies in the coalmining districts on the first valuation; and, if so, what the Government pro- posed to do to meet the case of miners who had paid their full contributions under the National Insurance Act, and, after a declaration of a deficiency, fell ill. Mr. W. W. Benn replied that the Chancellor of the Exchequer could not undertake to publish conjectures as to the probable position on valuation of particular societies or of societies operating in particular districts. MB WO. North of Englands A quarterly meeting of the Wages Board of the Northumberland Miners’ Association and the coal- owners of the county took place on Saturday at the Coal Trade Offices, Newcastle, in respect to an applica- tor an advance in miners’ wages. The last occasion on which the owners had a request for an advance before them was on November 29, when the rates remained unchanged. Wages were last advanced in August 1913 by per cent., making wages 52| per cent, above the bases of 1879 m the case of underground workers and banksmen, and 42 per cent, in respect of other classes of surface labour. At Saturday’s meeting Mr. Tom Taylor presided. At the conclusion, it was officially announced that wages remained unchanged. The owners pointed out that there was a falling market, and that during the recent boom in the coal trade the Northumberland miners had done rather better in wages increases than had the Durham miners. Tne men’s representatives contended that they had not done as well out of the prosperous times as they considered they should have done. When there had been depressions in the past, the Northumberland men’s wages fell very low, and therefore they had had a greater recovery to make than had the Durham men. The wages committees of the Northumberland Coal- owners’ Association and of the Northumberland Miners’ Association will meet at the Coal Trade Offices, New- castle, to-morrow (Saturday), to receive the report of the sub-committee appointed to consider the percentage rates and other matters concerning the proposed new sliding scale for the regulation of miners’ wages in the county. All the men and boys at the Thistleflat Colliery, near Crook, together with the workmen employed in the cokeyards and the brickyards, to the number of 290, have received notice to terminate their employment in 14 days’ time, dating from February 20. The colliery has been seriously troubled by water for some time, and on one or two occasions had been badly flooded. It is expected that it is only a temporary stoppage, and that all the old workmen will be taken on again. Federated Area. Another meeting was held at Manchester on Friday last of the joint committee of the Coal Conciliation Board for the Lancashire and Cheshire area to continue the negotiations on the question of surfacemen’s wages. Since the last meeting the men employed at the pits of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company had on a ballot decided to hand in their notices. The executive com- mittee of the Federation deferred further action until they should know the result of the present meeting. Mr. Charles Pilkington again presided, and Mr. T. Greenall was in the vice-chair. There was a long discussion, and the following report was afterwards given by Sir Thomas Ratcliffe-Ellis (coalowners’ secre- tary) and Mr. Thomas Ashton (miners’ secretary), the secretaries to the joint committee :—“ Both sides have a reasonable anticipation that a friendly settlement can be arrived at, but the proposed terms cannot be disclosed until they have been submitted to and approved by the coalowners’ meeting next Tuesday, and the Miners’ Federation meeting on March 14.” An important step was taken on Monday by the owners of the Rotherham collieries, where the men have been out on strike for three weeks against the interpre- tation of Sir E. Clarke’s minimum wage award. Messrs. John Brown and Co., at whose pits the dispute originated, decided to grant the minimum wage, for which the men have been agitating, and the following notice was posted at their pits :—It is intended to pay at these collieries the new minimum, subject to the regulations of the Conciliation Board dated October 21, 1912, J anuary 6, 1913, and April 15, 1913. Colliers who do not earn the minimum will therefore be paid 7s. 3d., plus the addition of the 1888 rate, provided for by these regulations. It is also intended to pay on the first pay day after resumption of work to all colliers entitled thereto the arrears for the weeks ended February 11 and 15, this being the arrears up to date. These notices have been posted at all Messrs. John Brown and Co.’s collieries and the Dalton Main Colliery, making the minimum wage 7s. lid. The result of the ballot of members of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association on the question of handing in notices to enforce a settlement of the Rotherham miners’ strike was announced to the council of the association at a meeting at Barnsley on Tuesday. The ballot, according to Mr. J. Wadsworth, M.P. (general secretary), showed “a tremendous majority” in favour of tendering notices. It was officially stated that the council discussed the matter at considerable length, and in view of the fact that they had received a circular from Sir Thomas Ratcliffe-Ellis and Mr. Ashton, of the joint Conciliation Board, calling a meeting at the Westminster Palace Hotel, London, on Wednesday, March 11, and that a number of large coalowners had agreed to pay the minimum at the rate of 7s. lid. per day (as compared with 7s. 5d.) and 8s. per day (com- pared with 7s. 6d.) to coal-getters, and other classes of labour in similar proportion, they had agreed to adjourn the meeting until March 13. If no settlement was arrived at in the meantime, the ballot which had been taken would be acted upon, and notices given to the delegates at the meeting, so that there would be sufficient time for the notices to be handed in to the owners by the following Monday. A deputation has been appointed to wait upon the managements of the collieries con- cerned in order to ascertain the precise meaning of the notices which are posted at the pits. The trammers employed at Manvers Main have now returned to work. A revised pay-sheet has been drawn up, and the Colliers’ Committee have agreed to give the trammers in the Parkgate pit an increase of 4d., and a half-share in the bye work, so that the trammers at present in receipt of 4s. lOd. will get 5s. 2d., and those