630

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

Sepiembek 18, 1914.

Notes from the Coalfields.

[Local Correspondence.]

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

Capturing the Coal Trade—Activity in Local Steel Works
—Sale of Welsh Coal to Enemy Vessels—Powell
Duffryn Company's History and Position—Burnyeat,
Brown's Prosperity—Effect of Recruiting Upon Coal
Output—Trade of Newport,

“ The bulk of the coal trade will fall into British hands.”
This is the declared opinion of Sir Clifford Cory, Bart.,
M.P., head of the leading South Wales firm of Cory Brothers
and Company. He points out that as no German coal can
be shipped during the war, as also German vessels which
were customers to the foreign-owned depots are being swept
off the sea, their trade has gone. At Port Said, the
Deutscher Coaling Company, an association of steamship
owners and the Westphalian colliery proprietors, had had
their business brought to an end; while across the Atlantic
the Deutscher coaling depots at Buenos Ayres and the Plate
have been closed. At other depots in Monte Video, Colombo,
as well as in the Mediterranean, nothing is being done. Even
when in operation, a certain proportion of British coal was
preferred by the customers; and now all the orders will have
to come to this country. Even if the Deutscher Company
re-opened after the war, where would they get their cus-
tomers, seeing there would be practically no German
steamers afloat? As showing that war was anticipated
before it broke out, Sir Clifford cites a statement by the
chairman of one of the chief German lines about a month
before trouble arose. That gentleman said that if war
with Britain occurred it would ruin his trade—showing that
he expected conflict.

Mr. D. A. Thomas, chief of the Cambrian Combine, has
expressed an opinion which repeats the opinions previously
set forth by him as to the probability of American, no less
than British, owners profiting by the stoppage of the
German export trade. He points out also that the result of
the war will be that not only will Germany’s merchant fleet
be reduced and her competitive power be crippled for a
number of years, but that the payment of the indemnity
which must be imposed by the Allies will be a heavy toll
upon her trade for a number of years.

There should be good times close ahead for the local steel
works, and it is not surprising to learn that the whole of
the Ebbw Vale concern is, after a stoppage of some months,
to re-start immediately. Both at Victoria and Ebbw Vale
itself, it was decided that the blastfurnaces should be brought
into operation, and it follows that the steel shops will also
soon be in full operation. The demand for just the product
that Ebbw Vale supplies is near home, in the tin-plate
works and the galvanised sheet works, and Ebbw Vale Com-
pany have themselves a modern and splendid equipment for
producing the sheets. Stoppage of Belgian and German
imports has had prompt effect, for these came into direct
competition. To their annual output of close upon 2,000,000
tons of coal, the company have hitherto added about 180,000
tons of steel, and now that they have a free field and a ready
market in sight, that total should be largely exceeded—if
only labour can be obtained. That is the present difficulty,
so many men having joined the Army, and the collieries
making call also for a large number owing to depletions
from the same cause.

The views entertained by outsiders upon trade matters
are oftentimes amusing in their display of ignorance; yet
they, nevertheless, occasionally have the effect of casting
discredit upon persons who are not at all blameworthy. Of
such sort was the call for explanation why the capture of a
German vessel with 5,000 tons of Welsh coal aboard should
have been possible, the writer of the complaint being
evidently under the impression that some laxity as to ship-
ments was prevalent in the Welsh ports. Nothing of the
kind exists.

Supervision is strict and effective, even if the British
Admiralty had not, since war was declared, taken almost
all the output of best Welsh coal. As a matter of fact, nc,
such vessel as that indicated has left this district since war
broke out, and that fact disposes of the call for explana-
tion. Nor can any foundation be discovered for the sugges-
tion that Welsh coal supplies are reaching the Germans
through Holland or Denmark; for where export took place
it would be under guarantee as to home consumption. No
material quantities have gone in that direction. Transport
through Italy is also out of the question—apart from any
idea of cost—because of the derangement of railway service.
Coal depots abroad are also being so closely watched that
the sale to apparently neutral vessels of a full cargo, or
anything approaching it—indeed, any sale beyond reason-
able bunker requirements—would be a virtual disclosure of
warlike purposes. Altogether the most superficial review
of conditions must free South Wales from any suspicion.

The Powell Duffryn Company, through Mr. E. M. Hann,
the managing director, has forwarded an intimation to the
Rhymney Valley miners’ agent which has given widespread
satisfaction. Mr. Hann informs them that the directors
of the company have decided to make an allowance to the
relatives of married men who have gone to the war, 10s. per
week for the wife, and Is. per each child, and the same
allowance will be given where single men have left behind
a mother or sister entirely dependent upon them. •

A publication of singular interest, both historically and
in its present-day manifestations of coal trade conditions,
is the story of the Powell Duffryn Company, which has been
issued in book form within the past few days, and has occa-
sioned much comment in mining circles. It discloses facts
concerning the early days and peculiar difficulties of what is
now a leading undertaking in South Wales ; and it demon-
strates in striking fashion the development of coal mining
from the older form to the most modern methods in applica-
tion of labour-saving machinery, the utilisation of electricity,
and the manufacture of by-products. As a testimony to
industrial enterprise, it is conclusive, for whilst there is a
welcome absence of mere eulogy, there is full and clear
evidence of the business acumen, coupled with technical
skill, which mark the labours of Mr. Joseph Shaw (chair-
man) and Mr. E. M. Hann (general manager). Powell
Duffryn £1 shares are now quoted 43s. 6d. ex div., despite
all war’s alarms and financial disturbances: and dividends
during seven years have ranged from 15 to 25 per cent. In
August of 1913 undivided profits totalling £541,000 were
capitalised from the reserve fund and issued as £1 ordinary
shares to the holders of ordinaries—this being practically

a bonus of 50 per cent. The taking is 16,000 acres, over
1,000 being freehold, and the present output, soon to be
largely increased, is 4,000,000 of tons per annum.

Extension of by-product plants is general throughout the
district, one further instance being given in the report just
issued of Messrs. Burnyeat, Brown and Company. Inci-
dentally, also, that report gives evidence of the far-reaching
effects of the war, for the directors state that whilst they
hope to have the new coke ovens and the washery completed
within the next few months, certain parts of the by-product
plant cannot be obtained from the contractors until military
operations in Belgium are ended, and therefore the comple-
tion of that plant is likely to be considerably delayed. A
sum of £65,000 is set to reserve, and to meet the cost of
these extensions. This most successful undertaking dis-
tributes again a dividend of 25 per cent., the same as in
the previous year. In 1912 the dividend was 20 per cent.,
and in 1911 it was 15. As there has been such a large
outlay on capital account in excess of the capital issued, it
is proposed to capitalise £120,000 of the reserve, and to issue
this as a bonus to ordinary shareholders in the form of fully
paid ordinary shares. Seeing that the present ordinary
shares total £240,000, this bonus equals 50 per cent, of their
holding.

Recruiting ha's had effect in diminishing colliery outputs
not only by the withdrawal of thousands of men from the
mines, but also by the stoppage of work due to their friends’
desire to “ see them off.” Work has consequently been
irregular, with great shrinkage in the total of coal brought
to bank. With the removal of that exceptional hindrance,
it is expected that work will now become more regular, and
this, supplemented by growing confidence in the issue of the
war, should lead to improvement generally—though colliery
owners^ are still unwilling to give fresh credits to large
amounts, seeking rather to ensure cash payments for
supplies.

The enquiry by Egyptian State Railways for coal sup
plies brings to light once more the special risks to which
South Wales has been subject owing to the uncertainties of
deliveries; for once again part of the order is placed else-
where, doubtless as a safeguard against failure of deliveries
in due course. Uncertainties arise from irregularity of
output occasioned by disputes which ought to be disposed of
by negotiation without any cessation of work; and one hope-
ful feature of present conditions is that the general agree-
ment brought about by the war will form a precedent for
future action. As it has been practicable to settle disputes
because of the national crisis, it ought to be practicable to
settle for purely industrial reasons, to the advantage of all
concerned.

Cardiff Chamber of Commerce has once more drawn the
attention of members to the proclamation against trading
with enemies, considering it “ expedient and necessary to
again warn all persons carrying on business on the Cardiff
Exchange of their duties and obligations.”

The return of Newport’s trade for August shows a decline
in coal exports from 343,839 tons in August 1913, to 215,051
tons in the month just ended; and the pit wood imports fell
from 26,407 loads to 8,466. The export of galvanised sheets!
which should be considerable at Newport, because of
Lysaght’s, Ebbw Vale, and other works, showed a tremen-
dous decline—from 2,529 tons to 442 tons. Newport’s com-
mercial progress is, however, none the less a striking feature,
and the Harbour Commissioners decided at their last meet-
ing to spend £6,000 in widening the river channel and upon
other similar works to co-operate with the dock company.

The alien suspect referred to in last week’s notes was on
Monday brought before the magistrate at Marlborough-street,
London, and sentenced to two months’ imprisonment for
travelling more than five miles beyond his place of registra-
tion without permission. His name was Wilhelm Dette,
and a large number of plans were found at his lodgings,
amongst them plans of the South Wales coalfield, and par-
ticularly of the Naval Pit in the Rhondda. It was desired
by the prosecution that the magistrate should deal with the
case as it stood, the matter to be afterwards reported to
the military authorities.

M. Emanuel Pagot, who acted at Cardiff as assistant
coal inspector for the French Government, died suddenly in
most tragic circumstances in the public street. On Sunday
he lunched with a compatriot in Cardiff, and was on his way
home when a violent fit of coughing caused rupture of blood
vessels, and he died within a minute or two, a medical
gentleman who happened to be near at the time finding
that he was beyond all aid. He had suffered from serious
lung affection for some time.

Mr. Evan Owen, for so many years secretary of the
Miners’ Permanent Relief Fund, has been appointed secre-
tary of the Senghenydd Fund. The number of dependants
is 755, and the payments over £200 per week. The
fund now amounts to £114,907.

Northumberland and Durham.

Distress in the Washington District—Hewing off the Side
—Value of Ambulance Work.

A good deal of distress consequent on the irregular work-
ing of some local collieries and the total suspension of
others is reported. At Tow Law, the Black Prince Pit has
now been closed—perhaps permanently. The whole of the
coal tubs have been withdrawn, the haulage ropes taken
out, and the pit mouth boarded up. A distress fund has
been opened in Tow Law.

Washington Colliery has not worked a day since the out-
break of war, and the Us worth miners are not much more
favourably situated. A good deal of the output of these two
collieries goes to Germany in normal times. When 150 men
were required at Usworth for trench digging, 400 clamoured
for the work, so hard had they been hit. Mr. W. P.
Richardson, indeed, affirms that that district has been harder
hit, probably, than any other part of the country. Three
thousand families are affected by the lack of work.

At Crook a very much better state of things prevails. The
majority of the collieries are working five days per week,
and there is every prospect that they will continue to do
so. It is stated, however, that the management of the
larger collieries are feeling the burden of enhanced working
expenses. The Harvey seam at the Bowden Close Colliery
has had to be closed on some days owing to the increased
cost of working the coal. In other parts of the county most
of the pits are working to some extent, if only irregularly.

The Ashington miners have received the intimatf~»n, by
poster, from the coal company that the latter cannot give
any guarantee that the pits will continue to work with the

same regularity that has prevailed in recent weeks. There-
fore, continues the intimation, it behoves each man to take
advantage of the present activity by attending work at every
opportunity, as, in the near future, it is fully expected that
there will be a considerable amount of idle time, and,
should the war continue, as winter approaches everybody’s
resources will be strained to the uttermost.

Colliery owners, officials, and miners alike continue to
support right heartily the call to the Colours. In nearly
every instance where a miner is leaving his work in order
to join the Army the owners are making generous provision
for his dependants, and are guaranteeing him employment
on his return. The officials are acting as excellent recruit-
ing sergeants, a role for which they are fitted, not so much
by reason of their economic control over the miners—for to
use such an argument as that would savour of applying
coercion—as by reason of their fellowship with them.

The officials and workmen of East Holywell Colliery,
together with a number of personal friends of the recipient,
have presented Mr. J. T. Johnson, late under-manager,
with a purse of gold and a gold-mounted umbrella, whilst
Mrs. Johnson has been given a gold brooch and gold safety
tie-pin. Mr. Johnson has completed a service of 40 years
as an official at the colliery, and is a member of the Earsdon
Urban District Council and of the Tynemouth Board of
Guardians.

An interesting prosecution, involving the question of right
of private judgment by a workman, was heard last week,
when Thos. W. Nixon, hewer at Bearpark Colliery, was
charged with having failed to observe special directions given
to him by the officials. It appeared that Nixon was hewing
along with a man named Bousfield in what was called a
skirting, the width of which was to be 9 ft. The place was
chalked off, and the men were told not to go beyond the
9 ft. Later in the day it was found that the place had been
made 18 ft. wide, and. Nixon was .actually seen hewing off
the side. In consequence, more timbering had to be done.
Bousfield denied having hewed off the side, and the officials
• believed him, but Nixon, who was caught in the act, said
he would hew where he liked. For the defence, Mr. H. F.
Heath, instructed by the local miners’ lodge, said the case
was trivial, and ought never to have been brought into
court. There was not the faintest shadow of a case to show
that what defendant had done was unsafe. The men dis-
liked working the 9 ft. because there was some danger in
that work in case of men working alongside each other.
It was just as safe to drive the place 13 ft. as 9 ft. Had
there been any question of the safety of the men being
endangered, the lodge would not have defended the case.
Defendant was going to leave the colliery, and if he had
disobeyed orders, he was sufficiently punished by having to
remove. The chairman pointed out that the orders of the
management must be obeyed. If those orders were wrong,
the responsibility rested on the management. Defendant-
was ordered to pay 25s., including costs.

The e-xtent to which ambulance facilities at Durham
collieries have improved of late years was the subject of
some pleasant comment by Mr. Coroner Graham at inquests
which he conducted at Durham last week into fatalities at
Tudhoe and Roddymoor collieries. In the Tudhoe instance,
it was stated that, after the injured miner had been extri*
cated from the fall of roof, artificial respiration was tried
by three out of the six ambulance men, who were first-
aiders. Mr. Graham remarked that, if that was the
average percentage—50—of ambulance men at the colliery,
it was distinctly creditable. A witness remarked that there
were large numbers of ambulance men at the pit. In the
second case it was elicited that the three men who came to
the aid of the victim of the Roddymoor fatality were all
ambulance men, and that it was the practice of the manage-
ment to have ambulance appliances at every 40 yds. inbye.
The veteran coroner remarked : ” That information is a
revelation, I’m sure. In the early days—a matter of 40
years ago—there were no ambulance vans and appliances
such as we have to-day, but coup carts with straw in them
were used to carry the men home. It was cruel in those
days to enquire into cases where men were carried long dis-
tances from the pit to their homes in springless carts with
merely straw to lie on. We certainly do improve in some
matters.”

Mr. John Johnson, traffic manager for the Framwellgate
Moor Colliery Company, was knocked down by an express
train and killed near Brasside at the beginning of last week.
Mr. Johnson was 50 years of age.

During the fortnight which ended on Friday of last week,
the Northumberland collieries worked considerably better.
The Bly th group of steam coal collieries, for example,
worked quite steadily. Many others were able to work at
least on alternate days throughout the period. Some of
those which worked well in August were indifferently
employed in the opening days of September, however. Such
a case was afforded by Seaton Burn, which worked seven
consecutive days in mid-August, but only one day during
the fortnight under review. At Choppington the outlook is
far from cheering, for the ponies have been drawn to bank.
The Maud Pit at Backworth is to be stopped temporarily,
and the men put in the other collieries of the Backworth
group.

In his monthly circular to the Durham miners, Dr. John
Wilson, M.P., devotes considerable space to a consideration
of the unsuccessful compensation claim of G. T. Coulson,
hewer, of South Moor. Coulson, he says, was injured in
November 1911, and the facts were verbally reported to the
deputy an hour later. He continued working for nine
months, and then found that he had ruptured himself. After
being off work for a month or two, he claimed compensation,
but the owners objected on the ground that he had not given
proper written notice. That point was not pressed, how-
ever, but the judge found for the respondents on the ground
that the claim was not made within six months of the acci-
dent. Dr. Wilson’s comment is :—‘‘Although the written
legal notice was not pressed, it indicates clearly that our
verbal mode of giving notice will not stand the test if the
employers were desirous to challenge it. Of course, if such
were done, we could, after the first case, re-introduce the
legal and agreed form which we had in operation in the
first stages of the Act, but I have no idea that the employers
contemplate any such change from our present procedure.
The second point is one we have brought before the notice of
our members on many occasions. We would ask you to urge
upon the members of your lodges to be as precise as possible
in giving notice of the accident and in making a claim at the
earliest moment.”

Capt. Laycock, the principal owner of Seghill Colliery,
is proceeding to the front.