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THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

June 26, 1914.

more especially because the fees charged for private
tests are not by any means high. It is, in fact, a
grievance with those who possess a private consulting
practice, that a Government subsidy enables the
National Physical Laboratory to c nnpete on favour-
able terms with private interests. There is, of course,
much truth in this view, and no other result could be
anticipated from the establishment of a National
Laboratory supported even in part by public money.
Put we submit that such an institution is vital to our
industrial and commercial status. It has been a
long-felt want; its tardy establishment has led to
the growth of these private interests, and although
all would deprecate any undue interference with,
private consulting work, the prevailing opinion must
remain that the National Physical Laboratory should
be extended to the limits of public requirements.

The honour which has just been
Knighthood conferred upon Mr. Eedmayne, H.M.

for the	Chief Inspector of Mines, will give

Chief	pleasure to a great number of mining

Inspector, men, none the less because they have
at times failed to see eye to eye with
him. Few, indeed, will grudge this recognition of
the work that Mr. Eedmayne has done for the
industry. His energy has been stupendous, and he
has brought a quick and retentive mind to bear upon
problems of the greatest diversity.

In 1908 Mr. Eedmayne was called upon to fill his
present post of head of the newly created Mining
Department at the Home Office under somewhat
prejudicial circumstances. There was a feeling that
an outsider had been erected over the heads of the
existing inspectors, and this feeling was tinged with
the hue of suspicion when it was realised that
Mr. Eedmayne was connected by marriage with the
Prime Minister. These were narrow-minded con-
siderations, of course, that cannot really be sustained,
but they nevertheless served to create an unfavour-
able atmosphere around the appointment. On
the other hand, the capacity shown by Mr. Eedmayne
in the various roles of managef’, professor and author,
gave an ampler vindication of his selection than can
be said to apply to many public appointments.

In the succeeding six years Mr. Eedmayne has
been freely criticised, both personally and as the
agent of the Home Office. Some of this criticism, if
we may say so, has been justified, but we do not
know how any man of character could have escaped
it in these troublous years. An easy way to fill this
post of Chief Inspector would have been to follow
the mouldy traditions of official life and let things
slumber, unheedful of the jarring cries of science and
the democracy. It is impossible to bring in legisla-
tion without treading on somebody’s toes, and
Mr. Eedmayne has been regarded as the personifica-
tion of the Home Office in these matters. It
would be a euphemism, however, to say that the
Chief Inspector has not been largely responsible for
much that is in the Act and Begulations. He has
always been outspoken and courageous even in
supporting views that have largely failed to gain
general acceptance. His position has been a difficult
one. The servant of the State must necessarily
uphold a policy that does not always coincide with
the views of the captain of industry, and indepen-
dence does not consort well with the political motives
that infest Whitehall. The mistake that has been
made lies principally in combining, in the person of
the chief inspector, administrative and quasi-judicial
functions. His work has been too varied, and there
has really been too much of it. No man can carry
the threads of so many urgent problems in his brain
and be capable of sound judgment on all of them.
The consequence is that false analogies are apt to be
drawn, local conditions ignored, and generalisations
promoted to the sovereignty of infallibility. Whether
we side with the critics or not, we believe that few of
them could have carried out his multifarious duties
with greater credit. The fact is that the mining
department of the Home Office can still be improved
and strengthened, and Mr. Walker’s appointment as
Assistant Chief Inspector is a step in the right direc-
tion, if only for the relief that it will give to
Mr. Eedmayne himself.

LABOUR AND WAGES.
South Wales and Monmouthshire.

Five hundred men have been idle at North Blain a Colliery
owing to a strike of hauliers.

Upon a dispute as to house coal, about a thousand men at
Llangennech and Brynlliw collieries have threatened to
strike.

On Monday the men at Bargoed Colliery held another
meeting on the lamps question; and it was resolved . to
continue at work; meanwhile to have expert examination
in order to discover if possible the alleged imperfections in
lamps.

Abertridwr workmen, who changed their hours recently,
do not find them agreeable, and therefore another ballot is
to be taken in order to ascertain whether they will revert
to the old hours.

Fourteen hundred employees at the Lady Lewis Colliery,
Ynyshir, stopped work on Friday, because of a dispute
wherein five hauliers claimed half-a-day’s wages, they having
been idle owing to a fall. After consultation with the
management the matter was settled, and the one-day strike
ended.

Sunday labour at Cwmtillery and Bose Heyworth cokery
is to be paid for at “ turn and a-half,” and upon this agree-
ment the threatened strike is averted.

The 1,500 men on strike at Celynen object to the engage-
ment of outside men, while kcal miners, who places have
been stopped, remain idle, and they sent a deputation to the
management, but failed to extract a promise of preferential
employment for their confreres. Approach is now to be
made to the federation executive for financial support.
Originally 163 men were given notice, and only 25 are still
unemployed; and it is because the management will not
guarantee re-engagement for these—although they offer pre-
ference to older men—that the stoppage has taken place.

Dowlais colliers have voted 2,648 for and 924 against the
appointment of whole-time examiners, to be paid by the men.

The blast furnace men at Ebbw Vale, whose strike had, of
course, a direct effect upon the collieries, have now signed
an agreement similar to that of the miners, whereby they
undertake not to cease work until after due notice and until
after endeavour to arrive at agreement by negotiation.

North of England.

The final drafting of the new sliding scale agreement for
the regulation of wages took place at a meeting between the
wages committee of the Northumberland Miners’ Association
and the Northumberland Coalowners at the Coal Trade
Offices in Newcastle on Saturday. The principle of the
siding scale was agreed to between the committee and the
coalowners after many months of negotiation. Becently
the miners balloted on the proposal, and by an overwhelming
majority decided in favour of the scheme. The agreement
was formally adopted on Saturday, and will come into
operation immediately after the first ascertainment has been
made by the accountants of the two parties. The ascertain-
ment will be commenced with at once, and the first change
in wages, if any, will date from the first pay following the
ascertainment. The subsequent ascertainment of prices
will be made every quarter, a month being allowed for the
purpose, and any changes next year will operate in January,
April, July and October. The agreement may be terminated
by either side giving three months notice after December
31, 1914.

The position at Dawdon Colliery, where the men and boys
recently handed in their notices to cease work, has greatly
improved. The notices terminated on Thursday, but were
withdrawn as a deputation had arranged to meet the
representatives of the Londonderry Collieries Limited, and it
is confidently believed that the matter will be amicably
settled. The men are asking for a reduction of the damages
claimed by the company in respect of an unconstitutional
stoppage of work some time ago.

The Cumberland coal miners have decided by a large
majority to take a holiday during the first week in August.
Some time ago the Coal Owners’ Association asked the
executive of the Miners’ Association to reconsider their
decision, pointing out that there was no time to accumulate
coal to keep the coke ovens going, and that the result would
be a dislocation of the Cumberland coal and iron trades,
followed by short time and unemployment. On a vote being
taken among the men, there was a substantial majority for
the holiday. The men contend that a great advantage is to
be derived from all taking holiday together. About 7,000
men are effected.

The Flimby, Broughton Moor Coal and Fire Brick Com-
pany, owning the Watergate Pit, near Maryport, which
employs about 300 hands, have asked for a reduction in
wages, equivalent to about 10 per cent., and the output of
another tub (holding about 10 cwt.) per hewer per day,
stating that otherwise they might have to close the colliery,
owing to the high cost of production. Two meetings have
been held, and it is stated that the men have declined to
grant the concession, because of the long distances they have
to “ trail ” the tubs and other difficulties. The matter is
still unsettled, but the output has improved.

At a meeting of the executive of the Cleveland Miners’
Association, at Saltburn, last week, it was decided to submit
to the mine owners for their consideration a suggested
sliding scale for the regulation of wages paid to miners. At
the same meeting the executive resolved to submit to
arbitration a claim for extra payment for men employed on
the night shift.

The Cumberland iron ore owners have intimated to Mr.
T. G-avan-Duffy, general secretary of the Cumberland Iron
Ore Miners’ Association, their willingness to grant the week’s
holiday asked for by the association, following upon a ballot
which had been taken of all the men employed in the West
Cumberland iron ore mines, which resulted in 97 per cent,
of the men being in favour of the full week’s holiday being
asked for. Hitherto the iron ore miners had only one general
holiday in each year, and the granting now of a full week is
hailed as a boon among them. The week asked for by the
men and granted by the owners is the first week in August.
Over 4,000 men will participate in the concession.

The men at Eppleton and Hetton collieries have agreed to
the terms arranged between their representatives and Mr. J.
T. Bell, the new agent of the Lamb ton and Hetton collieries.
Prior to the conference the men withdrew their notices, which
were almost terminated, and general satisfaction is expressed
at the settlement.

Federated Area.

The Hafod Colliery, one of the largest in North Wales,
belonging to the Buabon Coal and Coke Company Limited,
will close down on Monday next for an indefinite period
owing to a dispute which has arisen with the surface men
in respect to hours of labour. A notice has been given to the
men in the following terms, that in consequence of the

Hafod workmen who are members of the North Wales Sur-
facemen’s Union having refused to work overtime without
they are given a guarantee of work for 11 days per fort-
night, whether the pits work or play, and certain work
having to be done at the colliery which cannot be done
when the pits are working, including the installation of an
overwinding apparatus, which has to be put in to comply
with the Coal Mines Act, the colliery will stop work on
Monday next until further notice. These workmen were
asked to work continuously over the week-end in order to
instal the plant referred to, but this the men refused to do,
unless the proprietors would guarantee to give them 11 days’
work per fortnight, which means that they would expect to
be employed whether the colliery was “ playing ” or not.
At present they work the same time as the men who get and
manipulate the coal, and when the latter stop, the surface
hands have to stop also. There are about 200 men in the
union referred to, but there are over 1,500 colliers and others
working the coal, who are in the North Wales Miners’
Federation, and which the dispute does not directly affect,
but who will be affected by the pit being stopped.

It was announced on Monday that the threatened strike
at the Bold and Collins Green collieries, St. Helens, had
been averted, all the non-unionists (the cause of the trouble)
having joined the union or left the collieries. The officials
of the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners’ Federation intend
prosecuting their campaign against non-unionists until all
are in the federation.

The strike of carters in the employ of Messrs. A. Knowles
and Sons Limited and the Clifton and Kersley Coal Com-
pany Limited is proving more serious than was at first anti-
cipated, and considerable inconvenience has been occasioned
at cotton mills and other local industrial concerns in conse-
quence of the difficulty experienced in obtaining supplies
of fuel. The employers have offered 25s. per week for one-
horse carters, and 27s. for two-horse carters. The men
have now modified their demand to 27s. for one-horse carters
and 30s. for two-horse carters.

The difficulty at Walsall Wood Colliery, Staffordshire,
where 1,200 miners were on notice because of the company
being unable to agree with the royalty owners, was settled
on Wednesday. The pit will go on working as usual.

The winding enginemen of South Yorkshire have taken a
ballot to decide whether they will work to the new code of
shaft signals. The winders have decided by an almost
unanimous vote that they will not work to the new code.
The general secretary of the Winders’ Union has visited the
officials of the Home Office to discuss the position, and try
to obtain some alteration in the new code.

Scotland.

The miners employed in the Baton Colliery, Dullatur,
have come out on strike as the result of a few of the men
having done down to work on Saturday after the general
body of miners had decided to remain idle on every
Saturday unless the management agreed to allow an earlier
stoppage on the working Saturday, as is the custom in neigh-
bouring collieries.

The application by the Scottish miners for an increase of
the minimum wage under the Coal Mines (Minimum Wage)
Act, 1912, was considered on Monday by the Joint District
Board for Scotland at a meeting in Glasgow. When the
Act of 1912 was passed at the close of the national strike,
the Board fixed the individual minimum at 5s. 10d., and at
that figure the rate has remained up till the present time
After tne passing of the Act the level of wages rose steadily
from about 6s. to 7s. 6d. per day as a consequence of the
periodical applications for advances lodged with the Concilia-
tion Board by the representatives of the men. Becently,
however, the position has undergone some change, wages
having been'reduced to the extent of 3d. per day on two
occasions. The present claim is that the minimum should
be 7s. 6d. per day. It is argued on behalf of the miners that
since the present minimum rate was fixed their average
earnings had increased, and that therefore they are entitled
to a higher minimum. The clause in the Act on which they
base their demand states that the Joint Board, in settling
any minimum rate of wages, “ shall have regard to the
average daily rate of wages paid to the workmen of the class
for wiiich the minimum rate is to be settled.” The applica-
tion first came before the Joint Board on Friday of last week,
and an adjournment was made till Monday, when Sheriff
A. O. M. Mackenzie, K.C., presided, and the other chair-
men, Sir Thomas Mason and Mr. C. J. Drummond, London,
were also present. The case for the men was presented by
Mr. Bobert Smillie, and that of the masters by Mr. Adam
Nimmo. The meeting lasted for about five hours, and at
the close it was intimated that the hearing of the parties
had been completed. It is expected that the independent
chairmen will give their decision in about a fortnight or
three weeks.

The Scottish miners, through their delegates, at a con
ference in Glasgow on Tuesday, have intimated approval
of the proposal for a four-day working week throughout the
Scottish coalfield. It was decided at the conference that
those districts which require to give notice terminating
contracts of service should do so at the earliest possible
moment, and that the executive call a special conference
within the next fortnight to decide finally when the four-day
policy is to be inaugurated. At the conference the delegates
present numbered 100, and represented 100,000 underground
workers. Mr. Bobert Smillie was in the chair. The meet-
ing, which sat in private, lasted for three hours. At the
close the following official statement was issued to the press
representatives :—“ Mr. Bobert Smillie gave a report on the
wages negotiations which had taken place during the past
few weeks, first before Lord Balfour of Burleigh on the
general wages question, in which the employers claimed a
reduction of 25 per cent., and, second, on the claim which
the miners had put in for an increased minimum wage
under the Minimum Wage Act. Beports were submitted
from the districts on the question of the adoption by the
Scottish miners of a poplicy of four days per week, when it
was found that every county had instructed their delegates
to vote in favour of such a policy being adopted. It was
agreed that those counties which require to give notice
terminating their contracts of service should be instructed to
lodge their notices at the earliest possible moment, and that
it be left to the executive committee to call a special con-
ference of the federation within the next fortnight to decide
finally when the four-day policy will be inaugurated. The
question arose as to the miners being advised to take a
uniform week’s holiday all over the Scottish coalfield. It
was agreed that no action be taken nationally in the matter
meantime.”

Iron, Steel and Engineering Trades.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 men employed in the engineer-
ing trades of Birmingham and district have sent in a demand
for an increase of wages to the Engineering Employers’