September 18, 1914.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

631

Cleveland.

It is reported that the Grinkle ironstone mines near
Middlesbrough are to be laid idle for a short time, owing
to alterations and repairs to the surface machinery. A large
number of men will be affected by the stoppage.

Yorkshire.

Doncaster's Water Supply—The New Miners' Battalion.

An important decision was recently arrived at by the Don-
caster Rural District Council, in reference to a water supply
for their area, which includes practically all the new colliery
villages around. It was recommended to the Council that
the report of Messrs. D. Balfour and Son, so far as it
relates to obtaining a supply of water from the Leeds Cor-
poration, be approved and adopted. The recommendation
was discussed in committee, and was debated by a full
Council for an hour and 20 minutes. It was ultimately
resolved that before adopting any scheme for providing the
district with a supply of water from Leeds, the Doncaster
Corporation be consulted, with a view to a joint scheme
being prepared for the whole area.

The formation of a battalion of miners for the new Army
now being raised for service at the front is exciting the
greatest interest in South Yorkshire, and particularly in
the Doncaster area, notwithstanding that it is the West
Yorkshire Coal Owners’ Association who have offered to
take the matter in hand. Col. Shaw, the head of the great
Hemsworth collieries, who has been authorised by the War
Office to raise the battalion of 1,200 men, resides at Cantley
Hall, Doncaster, but out of compliment to his mayoralty
of Pontefract, and his connection with that borough as well,
the battalion is to be known as the Pontefract Battalion of
the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, with which regi-
ment Col. Shaw has for many years been intimately con-
nected, both as hon. colonel of the 5th Battalion and colonel
of the 3rd Reserve Battalion. Recruiting offices have been
opened in various places for enlistment and enrolment, and
men are being sworn in daily. It is certain the battalion
will be easily raised. Until the men are called up for train-
ing they are proceeding with their usual occupation.

About 200 young men have given up their employment at
the Frickley Colliery underground workshops in order to
enlist. Some 60 National Reservists have also gone from
Frickley Colliery and South Elmsall to Pontefract and Don-
caster. The same story applies to other districts around.
The atrocious conduct of the Germans in destroying the
shafts of the Belgian mines and making it impossible for
the miners underground at the time to escape, has not been
lost sight of in the district of South Yorkshire, and has
undoubtedly had its effect upon the recruiting in the colliery
area.

Lancashire and Cheshire.

Colliery Mains and Local Authorities.

The proposal of the Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron
Company Limited to lay an electric cable from the Moss
Hall to the Ince Hall collieries is being objected to by the
Wigan Corporation, who state that if the proposal is
acceded to it will seriously and detrimentally affect the Cor-
poration electric lighting undertaking in the Ince district.
The Corporation has asked the Ince Urban District Council
to refuse consent to the breaking up of their roads. Further
communications on the matter are passing between the Cor-
poration and the company.

Some 20 members of the local ambulance brigade drawn
from Lord Ellesmere’s collieries in Walkden and adjoining
districts have been drafted to Aidershot to attend wounded
soldiers who are taken there.

Sir Lees Knowles, of the firm of Messrs. A. Knowles and
Sons Limited, colliery proprietors, Pendleton and Pendle-
bury, has intimated to men in his employ who enlist he will
reinstate them upon return. To married men he will make
an allowance equal to one-half wages, and to unmarried men
having relatives dependant upon them each case will be
considered on its merits.

Messrs. Andrew Knowles and Sons Limited have arranged
that the money granted by the firm to the dependants of
their workmen on active service shall be distributed by the
Accident Relief Committee. The committee, comprising
workmen from each colliery, has decided to undertake the
duty of visiting the families and enquiring into their cir-
cumstances, and issuing the necessary tickets for relief.

The opening out of the new mines at the Astley and
Tyldesley Coal Company’s Kermishaw Nook pits at Astley
and the Clifton and Kersley Coal Company’s new collieries
at Astley Green, will provide employment for over 2,000 men
and youths. There are now not far short of 1,000 men and
youths working at the Astley Green collieries. A model
colony of dwellings for the miners and their families is
being established not far from the pits.

The exports of coal from the Partington tips on the Ship
Canal have for some weeks past been on the decline, but
during the last few days there have been signs of revival
in this direction. Increased quantities of fuel for coastwise
delivery have come to hand from South Yorkshire and the
North Midlands, as well as from South Lancashire.

The Midlands.

Leicestershire Miners and the Relief Fund—Home Office
Prosecutions at Old Hill and West Bromwich.

A meeting was held last week at Coalville between repre-
sentatives of the Leicestershire Coal Owners’ Association
and representatives of the Leicestershire Miners’ Associa-
tion, to consider what steps should be taken to contribute to
the National Relief Fund. Mr. E. D. Spencer, consulting
engineer to the Ellistown and Bagworth Collieries, presided.
It was reported that the Miners’ Council had agreed to the
following recommendations :—That chargemen in stalls and
chargemen shifters should be considered‘as one class, and
should be asked to agree to the following weekly amount to
be deducted from their wages : (a) When four days or more
a week are worked, 6d.; (5) when less than four days, 3d.
Wage men in stalls and shovel men shifters over 21 years of
age to be another class, and they shall be asked to allow
the following to be deducted from their wages : (a) When
four days or more are worked, 4d.; (5) when less than four
days are worked, 2d. That banksmen and boys be asked to
contribute 2d. per week. The owners’ representatives said
they had not adopted any uniform system themselves as yet,
but were giving support in different ways; and they would
arrange, if the men would agree to this money being deducted
from their wages, to do the clerical work, and forward the
money to the different relief districts in which the collieries
were situated, to be credited to the workmen’s account.

Some important cases to the mining industry were heard
at Old Hill Petty Sessions last week, when Messrs. Robert
Fellows Limited, owners of the Fly Colliery, Old Hill, were
summoned for an offence against the Coal Mines Regulation
Act (1908), in that they caused, or connived at, two young
men, namely, John Saint and John Priest, being below
ground for the purpose of their work for a longer period
than was allowed by the Act. They were further summoned
for an offence against the Coal Mines Act (1911), by having
a mechanical contrivance for ventilation, and failing to pro-
vide and maintain in a condition to be put into immediate
operation adequate means for reversing the air current.
There was a third charge of not having an automatic con-
trivance to prevent overwinding in the apparatus used for
raising and lowering persons. The first two charges against
Messrs. Fellows were dismissed, and for not having a
proper winding apparatus they were fined £5 and £1 10s. 6d.
costs.

At the West Bromwich Police Court on Monday, before
the Stipendiary (Mr. N. C. A. Neville), Robert Fellows
Limited, colliery proprietors, Cradley Heath, were summoned
in respect of several infringements of the Coal Mines Act
(1911) at the Spon Lane Colliery. Information was laid
by Mr. William Saint, H.M. inspector of mines, the offences
being all on one day, July 9. Summonses were taken out
in respect of 11 infringements. Mr. C. H. Smith prose-
cuted, and said the defendants pleaded guilty, which was
an arrangement between himself and the defending solicitor.
He would, therefore, ask the Stipendiary to impose a sub-
stantial penalty in one case, and order the costs to be paid
in the others. The offences constituted a very grave breach
of the Act, and that was why it was thought desirable to
institute the proceedings. Evidence of the offences was
given by Mr. P. S. Lea, assistant inspector of mines,
who stated that there were men working in the mine at
Spon Lane at a depth of 175 yds. Mr. E. H. Grove, who
defended, said the mine was only taken over in March last,
and as the operations only consisted of the drawing of
water and the construction of a chamber for pumping pur-
poses, they did not think they were infringing the Act. The
Stipendiary remarked that the .management had started
badly. It was important that the regulations should be
complied with. A fine of £5 and £1 2s. 6d. costs was
imposed in one case, and the other summonses were with-
drawn on payment of costs.

Kent.

Snowdown Finances—Intermediate Equipments Withhold
Debenture Interest—“ Alien Enemies " in the Coal-
field.

The Snowdown and Tilmanstone collieries of the Kent
Coal Concessions Group are still at the 1,500 tons mark as
their weekly output.

In regard to Snowdown Colliery, efforts are at present
being made by the company which, it is believed, will result
in raising the further necessary capital to continue the sink-
ing to the Hard seam, whilst continuing to work the Five-
feet Beresford seam as at present. Both collieries have con-
tracts well beyond their present output.

The directorate of Intermediate Equipments Limited, a
company which set up surface equipment of collieries on
coal areas proved by borings in East Kent, have notified
their debenture holders that they are not in a position to
distribute interest due on September 1, owing to the war
having made it impossible to collect funds that would other-
wise be available. They state that unless an opportunity
occurs for the sale of the Wingham and Woodnesboro’ col-
lieries upon acceptable conditions, it is feared the debenture
obligation must remain outstanding till the termination of
hostilities. The share and debenture capital, it is con-
sidered, are ve~y fully represented by the Woodnesboro’
Colliery, and the predominant interest in the Wingham and
Stour Vallery Colliery with a large amount of unexpended
capital that has been rendered unliquid as a result of the
war.

Some peculiar positions have arisen out of the presence
of foreign sinking and boring companies in the East Kent
coalfield. The majority of the Germans employed got away
in time to rejoin their army, but in some cases they had
married English girls, who were left behind. In several
cases young Kentish women have been placed in the
extremely unpleasant position of being charged before the
magistrates as “ alien enemies ” who had not registered,
and in one or two instances they have been fined. Some
of the Germans who did not get out of the country in time
are now prisoners of war.

Scotland.

A Shot-Firer's Negligence..

“ The Safety of the Electric Safety Lamp ” was the sub-
ject of an interesting paper read by Mr. John George, repre-
sentative of the Ceag Electric Lamp Company, at a meeting
of the Cambuslang and District Mining Association on
Saturday evening. The author maintained that the electric
lamp stood for greater safety, more economy, more money
for the miner, and improved eyesight.

Before Sheriff Moffatt in the Falkirk Sheriff Court
recently, William Love, miner, pleaded guilty to a charge
that on June 26 in the Ball coal seam of No. 6 Pit, Muir-
avonside Colliery, occupied by James Nimmo and Company
Limited, coal masters, he being engaged in blasting opera-
tions and the person who fired a shot, failed before doing so
to take steps to prevent any person approaching the shot
along the coal face from the northward, and the now deceased
William Hunter Stitt approached it from that direction. It
was explained by accused that he had only been engaged at
this job for seven weeks. Formerly when a shot was ready
to be fired one man going one direction and another in the
opposite direction was all’the caution that he had ever seen
observed. There were three roads in this case. His lordship
remarked that accused’s omission was not what the statute
contemplated as a wilful omission. Had proper precautions
been taken Stitt would not have been killed. This must
have weighed very heavily on accused’s mind, and made him
understand how serious might be the consequences of the
slightest negligence or want of foresight. A fine of £3 3s.,
with the option of 30 days’ imprisonment, was imposed.

Mr. James Dickson, Johnstone, delivered an interesting
paper at the annual meeting of the North British Associa-
tion of Gas Engineers, held in Glasgow last week.
His paper gave some instructive details of a year’s experi-
ence with continuous intermittent vertical retorts at the
gas works in Johnstone.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

________________________________________

HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE.
CHANCERY DIVISION.—July 31.

Before Mr. Justice Warrington.

In the Matter of Jameson’s Patent.—On May 1, 1912,
Letters Patent (No. 10370 of 1912) were granted to
J. E. Jameson, O. H. Valpy, and E. A. Buckle
for “ Improvements in the treatment of peat and the like.”
The patentees claimed :—“ (1) In a process for the extrac-
tion of water from peat and like substances, passing an elec-
tric current through a pulp of same heated to a temperature
of at least 100 degs. Cent, under a pressure such that no
steam is produced substantially as described. (2) In a pro-
cess for the extraction of water from peat and like substances
passing an electric current through a pulp of the same heated
to a temperature of 100 to 120 degs. Cent, under a pressure
of about 10 atmospheres substantially as described. (3) The
process for the extraction of water from peat and like sub-
stances substantially as described.” On May 20, 1914, a
petition was presented by Wetcarbonizing Limited for the
revocation of the patent, and the petition was served on the
patentees. The petition alleged that the patent had been
granted to, and was owned by, the patentees, that it was
invalid, and that the petitioners and the public were pre-
judiced by the existence of the patent.

His lordship, in his judgment, said attention had been
drawn lately to the problems connected with the utilisation
of peat, first as a fuel fitted for the production of energy
for industrial purposes; and, secondly, as a material for
consumption in a gas producer plant for the manufacture
of sulphate of ammonia. One of these problems was how
to reduce the percentage of water in the peat so as to render
it a substance suitable for such purposes. Prior to the patent
in question Dr. Ekenberg had suggested that the object
might be attained by the subjecting of the peat, macerated
and rendered fluid by the addition of the necessary quantity
of water, to a high temperature under pressure, and he had
shown that, if the temperature to which the peat was sub-
jected were 160 degs. or upwards, so much water could be
pressed out as to render the residue available for industrial
purposes. Dr. Ekenberg’s process was known as the wet
carbonising process, and the result was effected by the
application of heat alone, and that of a very high degree.
The essence of the invention, the subject matter of the
patent, was that the same result is sought to be obtained
by subjecting the macerated peat to a comparatively low tem-
perature, 100 to 120 degs., and passing through it an electric
current. The patent was attacked on two grounds : (1) Want
of utility; it was alleged that the result claimed was not,
in fact attained; (2) insufficiency of the specification, and,
in particular, the absence of any proper directions as to the
quality of the electric current to be employed. The con-
clusion to which he had come on construction was that the
specification described a process in which an electric current
was employed solely to effect decomposition of the hydro-
cellulose, without recourse for this purpose to heat; in fact,
that it presented a contrast to the wet carbonising process,
in which an extreme degree of heat was the means relied
upon. On the part of the patentees, he had evidence, to
which he attached considerable importance, that the inven-
tion had for some time been put in operation, not, it was
true, commercially, but on a really practical scale extend-
ing far beyond the mere experimental stage. The result of
these operations had been to produce a pressed cake, the
percentage of water in which wTas reduced to such an extent
that it was suitable either for fuel or for consumption in a
gas producer for the manufacture of sulphate of ammonia.
The patentees showed that they recognised the varying con-
ditions applicable to the current by the statement that the
voltage might vary within wide limits. They had sufficiently
indicated that the current they were referring to was one of
a low density, and that having done this, they had done
all that was necessary in the way of description. He found,
therefore, that the assumption on which he had held that
the invention was useful was justified, and that the attack
founded on insufficiency failed. The result wras that the
petition must be dismissed with costs.

___________________________

THE BY-PRODUCTS TRADE.

Tar Products.—The position generally is satisfactory.
Benzols keep firm. Toluol is dearer. Carbolics, however,
are the exception, and both crude and crystals are easier.
Pitch remains much about the same. Naphthas are steady
steadily

is

1/1

/Il
1/1
2/ to 2/2
/8
1/H
/44
/4
35/to 35/6
33/to 34/
25/3 to 29/3

at recent quotations. Creosote, however,
advancing in price. Nearest values are :—
Benzols......................................
Do. North...............................
Toluol .....................................
Carbolic acid, crude (60 per cent.) ..........
Do. crystals (40 per cent.) ........
Solvent naphtha (as in quality and package)...
Crude ditto (in bulk) .......................
Creosote (for ordinary qualities) ............
Pitch (f.o.b. east coast) .....................
Do. (f.a.s. west coast) .....................
Tar ........................................

[Benzols, toluol, creosote, solvent naphtha, carbolic acids,
usually casks included unless otherwise stated, free on rails
at maker's works or usual United Kingdom ports, net. Pitch
f.o.b. net.]

Sulphate of Ammonia.—Considering all things, makers
in the north have met buyers in the matter of price, and
business has been more active, both for home use and for
exportation. Freights have naturally troubled exporters ;
and now some concession in price has
difficulty has become more manageable,
prices are:—
London (ordinary makes) ..........
Beckton ...........................
Liverpool .........................
Hull...............................
Middlesbrough.......................................

Scotch ports .......................
Nitrate of soda (ordinary) per cwt. ...

[Sulphate of ammonia, f.o.b. in bags, less 2| per cent, dis-
count; 24 per cent, ammonia, good grey quality; allowance
for refraction, nothing for excess.]

been made, this
Closing prompt

£10/18/9
£io

<£10/12/6

£10111/3 «
<£10/10
£10/12/6 to £10/15
10/9