December 4, 1914.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1185

area of the two seams now being worked are upwards of
200 acres in extent, in addition to which a portion of the
local coalfield is as yet unproved. For the sake of the
employees, it is to be hoped that an enterprising company
will take the concern over, and be able to work it at a profit.

The local collieries are feeling somewhat keenly the
depletion of the numbers of their men, owing to the number
who have enlisted, and those who will continue to absent
themselves from work since the outbreak of the war. As
previously stated, certain small collieries have been com-
pelled to close down; and it is now a fact that unless an
improvement takes place in the attendance at another col-
liery, where considerably over 1,000 men are employed, the
question of closing this colliery also will have to be con-
sidered by the management.

Mr. Percy Lloyd Jones, who*is a well known mining
engineer in Denbighshire and Flintshire, has been gazetted
a second-lieutenant in the 4th battalion of the Royal Welsh
Fusiliers.

It is intended to apply for powers by a syndicate now
being formed for permission from the Light Bailway Com-
missioners to revive and continue the powers for the compul-
sory purchase of lands, and revive, extend, and continue the
period for the completion of the construction of the railways
and works in Carnarvonshire and Merionethshire connected
with the Portmadoc, Beddgelert, and South Snowdon Rail-
way, and to authorise the transfer of that undertaking and
that of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway Company.
Every support locally is being given to the scheme, which
will no doubt benefit the locality materially when carried
out.

Notts and Derbyshire.

The Manners Colliery Company Limited, of Ilkeston,
inform us that they are erecting a washing plant, which it
is hoped will be completed by January 1, 1915, and after
that date they will be open to supply washed double screened
nuts and washed peas. The analyses of Manners’ washed
coals are as follow : Washed double screened nuts, 3’74 ash;
12,535 calorific value in B.T.U. Washed peas, 3.29 ash;
12,555 calorific value in B.T.U.

The Midlands.

South Staffordshire Mines Drainage.

The reports to be submitted at a meeting of the South
Staffordshire Mines Drainage Commissioners have been
issued. In regard to the Tipton district, Mr. E. Howl states
that the pumping had been 8,364,500 galls, per 24 hours,
compared with 8,184,300 galls, the previous month, and
10,043,900 galls, in the corresponding period last year. The
Gospel Oak Mond gas-driven plant was working full time
to assist the new Moat engine. The old Moat engine had
worked only to deal with the Tibbington level water during
short stands of the new engine. The Deepfields engine was
keeping water down to bottom coal level. The water was
still sinking at Leabrook, and was a little less at Park Lane,
but there was no diminution at Crown Lane. Reporting on
the Old Hill district, Mr. W. B. Collis states that the Wind-
mill End engine was still able to deal with all the water of
the northern portion of the district. Some strengthening
of the Windmill End bye pit shaft had been done against
cavities caused by an old fire in the thick coal. The Buffery
Colliery Company had, under agreement, entered into occu-
pation of the Buffery bye pit.

Kent.

Tilmanstone Closed Down — Sale of Guilford Colliery to
French Metallurgical Company—Sinking to the Deeper
Measures at Snow down.

The Tilmanstone Colliery, near Dover, closed down on
Monday, pending the reconstruction scheme. It is probable
that the colliery will come into the market.

Some interesting details regarding the present position of
Kent Colliery affairs were given by Mr. J. Dewrance, who
presided at the meetings at Dover on Monday of the Guil-
ford Colliery Syndicate, the Kent Coal Concessions, and the
Intermediate Equipments Limited. The meetings were
called for the purpose of approving certain alterations in
the articles of association, to enable boards of directors to
be appointed to the Guilford Syndicate and Intermediate
Equipments, and to give the directors of the three com-
panies powers to enter into contracts with any other colliery
company in which they were interested; also to eliminate
certain portions of the articles relating to the remuneration
of directors, these having agreed to act without remunera-
tion. It was explained that the idea was to appoint the
same board of directors to each of the companies, which will
amount to a cheap form of amalgarhation, and put all the
companies on a fair basis. With regard to the Guilford
Colliery, it was explained that a contract of sale had been
entered into with the Fours de Chatillon Company, of
France, for the disposal of the colliery for £150,000. Of
this £37,500 was to have been paid in July, but there was
some little delay, and in the meantime the war broke out,
and most of the directors and others concerned were row
fighting at the front. Under certain circumstances the
Government will arrange to have advanced to the syndicate
through the bank a certain proportion of the money, pay-
ment of which was delayed through the duress of the war.

The alterations of the articles of association of all three
companies were approved. A scheme is on foot, Mr. Dew-
rance explained, for an all-round moratorium as far as the
affairs of the companies are concerned, the object being to
bring about the sinking to the lower seams of coal, and thus
increase the value of the assets of the coalfield. In the
case of seven of the companies the committee of shareholders
has gone to the Court, and the Court has ordered a meeting
of the creditors under section 120 of the Companies Act. At
this meeting the creditors will be asked not to press for
payment of their debts until six months after the war.

An agreement has been entered into by the Kent Coal
Concessions Limited with Snowdown Colliery Company for
sinking to deeper seams in the colliery, in order to open
them out by a shaft. The shaft of Snowdown Colliery which
is thus to be taken down is now 250 ft. below the Four Feet
Beresford seam that is being worked. The Snowdown Hard
seam is 700 ft. below the Beresford seam, and 2,340 ft. from
the pit top. Other thick and probably even better seams
were proved by the boring at greater depths.

Scotland.

Sheriff and Rescue Apparatus—The Situation in the Forth.

The opening meeting for the session of the East of Scot-
land branch of the Association of Mining Electrical Engi-
neers was held in .the Fife Mining School, Cowdenbeath, Mr.
N. A. Wilkie, Bowhill, the branch president, in the chair.
It was announced that four members of the branch had
been awarded first-class proficiency certificates at the most
recent examination promoted by the association, and that a
money prize had been won by Mr. James Gillespie (Messrs.
Siemens Brothers, Glasgow) for his paper on “ Electric
Winding at Collieries.” Mr. Wilkie delivered his presi-
dential address, in which he described in an interesting way
the various fatal and non-fatal accidents which during the
year had occurred in connection with the electrical side of
mining.

An enquiry into the death of Henry Kerr, miner, Half-
way, Cambuslang, who was suffocated in the splint ccal
seam of Gilbertfield Colliery, Cambuslang (Messrs. John
Watson Limited) was held before Sheriff Shennan and a
jury in the Hamilton Sheriff Court last week. The
principal witness examined was James Paterson, the fire-
man. He believed that Kerr’s life might have been saved
if there had been rescue apparatus available at the colliery.
Several members of the rescue party were overcome by the
gas, and their lives were endangered. The rescuers, in his
opinion, would have ran less risk of suffocation if they had
been provided with smoke helmets. Mr. G. C. Macintyre,
writer, Hamilton, on behalf of the Lanarkshire Miners’
Union, emphasised the bravery of the men who had assisted
in the rescue operations, and expressed the hope that his
lordship would make a recommendation which would assist
the miners in their efforts to have rescue apparatus installed
at the colliery. Sheriff Shennan said he had every sympathy
with the miners in this matter, but this was not a case in
which such a recommendation could be made. His advice
to the jury was that they return an open verdict, setting
forth the fact that Kerr had met his death from suffocation.
The jury returned a formal verdict as directed.

Following upon the general conference of traders with
reference to the ^closing by the Admiralty of the upper Forth
ports of Bo’ness and Grangemouth, the Scottish coal owners
held a meeting in Glasgow on Friday last to discuss their
own special position. Representatives were present, from
Fifeshire, the Lothians, and Lanarkshire. It was pointed
out that certain collieries were very much dependent upon
the ports of Bo’ness and Grangemouth for the disposal of
their outputs, and that the closing of these ports would
handicap them very heavily, more particularly in regard, to
existing contracts. Cargoes would now have to be diverted
to Leith or Granton, or even to the Clyde, entailing more
mileage bv railway, for which the railway companies would
be entitled to charge. Deprived of the natural outlet for
their outputs, the coal owners naturally thought they were
entitled to very substantial concession in the matter of rates,
and even to be placed in no worse position than before the
closing of the upper ports of the Firth. This view had been
taken also by the Board of trade, who had suggested that
the coal ought to be carried to Leith or Granton at the same
rates as had been paid previously for conveyance to Grange-
mouth or Bo’ness. After full consideration of the matter
it was decided to la.v all the facts before the Board of Trade
with a view to facilitating an arrangement w’ith the railway
companies.

Representatives of the Scottish ccal owners on Tuesday
visited the Board of Trade, where Mr. J. M. Robertson,
M.P., received two deputations, representing the western
district of Scotland and Fife and Lothian respec-
tively, to make proposals for relief of the situation. The
proceedings were private. One of the means su^ested by
the representatives was the introduction of special rates for
the conveyance of mineral and s^ods traffic, which has now
to be conveyed to ports on the Firth of Clyde further from
the pits than heretofore. At the meetings there were present
(in addition to the coalmasters) representatives of the North
British and Caledonian railway companies. Mr. Robertson
assured the deputations that their views would be presented
to the proper quarter. The Board of Trade realised the
urgency of the matter, and the decision arrived at would
be issued as soon as possible.

Mr. George Welsh has b°^n appointed general superin-
tendent of the Lanarkshire Mines Rescue Station at Coat-
bridge at a salary of £150 and a free house.

OBITUARY.

Mr. Thomas Dean, of Thorncliffe, Wiltshire, a well-known
Blackburn coal merchant, died in a private nursing home at
Manchester on Thursday last week. The deceased, who
was 58 years of age, was a son of the late Aiderman John
Dean, mayor of the town in 1866. He himself had served
for a ghort term on the Town Council.

The death has occurred, at Burnhopeside Hall, near
Lanchester, of Mrs. Sarah Jane Hedley, widow of the late
Mr. Edward Hedley, who was a member of the firm of
Messrs. Hedley Bros., the owners of South Moor and
Craghead Collieries. Mr. Hedley died 18 years ago.

It is with much regret that we have to report the death,
under tragic circumstances, of Mr. J. E. Gibson, who for
many years past has represented the Vauxhall Colliery
Company as salesman. His body was recently found in the
canal, near Llangollen, and although an inquest has been
held, nothing has come to light to show in what manner,
or under what circumstances, the tragic affair occurred.

Miners and the Prince of Wales’s Fund.—A deputation
from the War Emergency Committee waited upon Mr. Her-
bert Samuel (President of the Local Government Board)
and the chairman of the Prince of Wales’s National Relief
Fund (Sir George Murray) on Tuesday, and urged that the
committee should grant more adequate allowances in the
case of civil distress, as the mining community, who were
paying to the Prince of Wales’s Fund, were on the verge
of a revolt against making any further payments from their
wages unless a drastic improvement took place in the pay-
ments received by them in case of distress. Mr. Samuel
and Sir George Murray listened sympathetically’ to the
views expressed by the deputation, and promised to give
the matters referred to due consideration.

TRADE AND THE WAR.

Pittsburg Manufacturers Seek Business—The Sulphur Dye-
ing Process—The New Trading With the Enemy Act—
German Piracy—Supplying Iron Ore to the Enemy—
The Koppers Company : Controller Appointed.

We are asked to state that the City of Pittsburg, the
manufacturing centre of the United States, have delegated
to the United Kingdom Mr. J. Rogers Flannery, chairman
of its Foreign Trade Commission, to invite enquiries
regarding materials and supplies hitherto obtained in
markets not now accessible on account of the war, and to
form, on behalf of Pittsburg industries in general, such
connections with British firms and business men as may be
mutually advantageous. The principal materials for which
Pittsburg is well known are:—Steel and iron of all grades
and in all shapes, rolled, cast and malleable; bars, rods and
sheets ; chains, wire, spikes, bolts, nuts, &c.; machinery of
all kinds ; electrical supplies of every description ; tin-plate
and hardware, safes, lamps, cement; coke and coal; cork in
many qualities; glass in sheets, plate, window, chimney,
globe, glassware, &c. The chairman has an index of many
other articles, numbering about 20,000 in all, with the
names and standing of the manufacturers of same, which
may be inspected at the London office, 64, Victoria-
street, S.W., where he will be pleased to answer all enquiries,
and to meet interested parties by appointment.

At the last meeting of the central executive 'committee
of the Employers’ Parliamentary Association, held in
Manchester, great dissatisfaction was expressed at the
difficulties experienced by applicants in securing licences
to exploit patents held by or on behalf of “ alien enemies,”
and also at the extremely unfair treatment of successful
applicants in the granting of such licences for the period of
the war only. The secretary reported that since the last
meeting of the central executive committee at which this
subject was considered, he had been informed that the
Board of Trade had tested the new Lodge-Evans sulphur
dyeing process, with satisfactory results, the claims of the
inventors being substantially verified. The inventors had
also been requested to make arrangements whereby the
dyeing industry as a whole would benefit thereby, and he
(the secretary) was informed that at the present time no
less than 55 dyeing firms, some of them amongst the largest
concerns in the country, had contracted with the inventors
for the use of the process. An instance was given of an
apparently quite unnecessary licence to trade with the
enemy being granted by the Home Office pursuant to powers
vested in the Home Secretary by the “ Trading with the
Enemy : Proclamation No. 2,” paragraph 8. The Committee
were emphatically of opinion that the exercise of such
powers, unless the clearest proofs were given of its neces-
sity, was highly reprehensible. The Trading with the
Enemy Act (1914) Amendment Act was also discussed at
considerable length, but inasmuch as most of the points
raised by the association had been incorporated to that
measure in committee, it was deemed advisable to defer
further action until next meeting.

The Trading with the Enemy Act (1914) Amendment
Act, which passed through all its stages in Parliament last
Friday, constitutes a custodian of enemy property—the
Public Trustee in the case of England and Wales —to
whom dividends and other moneys which fall due to aliens
during the war may be paid. The custodian is then at
liberty to deposit the money with a bank or invest it in
securities approved of by the Treasury. Where money had
been paid into an account with a bank, or paid to any
person in trust for an enemy, before the passing of the Act,
the person or firm by whom the payment was made must
give notice within 14 days requiring the money to be paid
over to the custodian. Companies, whether incorporated
in the United Kingdom or not, which have a share transfer
or share registration office here, must communicate to the
custodian “ full particulars of all shares, stock, debentures,
and debenture stock, and other obligations of the company
which are held by or for the benefit of an enemy.” The
Act gives power to a judge of the High Court to vest in
the custodian any property of an enemy upon the applica-
tion of a creditor or any person otherwise interested.
Section 6 of the Act makes the assignment of debts by an
enemy invalid. The person to whom such an assignment
is made will have no rights or remedies against the
debtor unless he is able to prove that the assignment was
made by leave of the Board of Trade or before the war
began. Similarly [section 8 (1)1 no person is to have any
rights or remedies in respect of a transfer of securities
made by or on behalf of an enemy, unless the transferee
can prove that the transfer was made before November 19
in good faith and for valuable consideration. The Act
places a restriction on the incorporation of new companies
by forbidding the Registrar of Joint Stock Companies to
give a certificate of incorporation without (a) a statutory
declaration by a solicitor engaged in the formation of the
company that the company is not formed to acquire the
whole ot any part of the undertaking of a person, firm, or
company, the books and documents of which are liable to
inspection under subsection (2) of section 2 of the principal
Act; or (6) a licence from the Board of Trade authorising
the acquisition by the company of such undertaking.

A message from Christiania states that the War
Assurance Ship] ing Bureau has received a despatch from
Antofagasta, Chili, that the sailing vessel “ Helicon,” of
Risoer, has been stopped on the high seas by a German
cruiser, which compelled her to give up her cargo of coal.
The “ Helicon ” was badly damaged in the operation. The
Minister for Foreign Affairs has received no information
regarding the affair. Tht“ Helicon ” was on a voyage from
Australia to Coleta Oliva in Chili with a cargo of coal.

The Admiralty have assumed control of the King’s Dock
at Immingham, and regulations for its government have
been issued.

At the Mansion House on Tuesday John Frederick
Drughorn was remanded on a charge of trading with the
enemy by supplying iron ore to persons carrying on
business in the German Empire. Mr. Travers Humphreys
stated the case for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The defendant, he said, was the governing director of Fred.
Drughorn Limited. After the outbreak of war he sent iron
ore into Germany through an agent in Rotterdam. He
arranged terms with the Swedish exporters of the ore, made
a contract in London, and gave directions to his agents in
Rotterdam how to carry the business through. After the
transactions were completed money was sent by the Swedish