44 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. January 1, 1915. COAL, IRON AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES. REPORTS AND DIVIDENDS. Avery (W. and T.) Limited. — Interim dividend at the rate of 5 per cent, per annum (6d. per share), free of income- tax, on the ordinary shares for the past half-year. Bristol Wagon and Carriage Works Company Limited.— The directors announce an interim dividend at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum on the ordinary shares for the half- year. Coventry Chain Company Limited. — The report for the year to August 31 last states that the net profit, after providing for depreciations, bad and doubtful debts, bonuses due to employees, and all charges, amounts to £14,974, to which has to be added the balance brought forward, 413,422, leaving an available balance of £18,396. The directors propose to pay a dividend on the share capital at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum, less income tax, to transfer to general reserve fund (making that fund up to £30,000) 467,175, and to carry forward £3,760. Glencoe (Natal) Collieries Limited.—The directors have declared a dividend of 1| per cent. (3d. per share) for the half-year ending December 31. Hedleys Collieries Company Limited.—The summary of accounts and observations of the Official Deceiver were opened on the 23rd ult., under the winding-up order made against Hedleys Collieries Company Limited, of 92, High- street, Pontardawe, Glamorgan. The company was formed in March 1904, to acquire, as a going concern, the business which had been carried on as the Hedleys Collieries Com- pany, together with collieries known as the Cwrt y Bettws and Raglan Collieries, together with the goodwill and liabilities. The consideration for the sale of the company was £60,000, which was satisfied as to £40,000 by the issue of £20,000 51 per cent, first mortgage debentures, and as to £20,000 by issue of 2,000 fully paid ordinary shares of £10 each. It appeared that from April 1901 to June 30, 1903, a net profit of £5,738 Ils. had been made, after charging interest on partner capital, of which the company had the benefit. From 1904 to 1910 a profit of £49,645 was made, but from then to 1913 there had been a loss of £25,157. In 1906-07-08 6 per cent, dividends were declared on both preference and ordinary shares. In May 1912 the company established the Garnet Colliery, and when the expenditure thereon had amounted to over £32,000, it was disposed of to the Garnet Colliery Company Limited, formed to take it over, for the sum of £30,000, of which £6,000 was satisfied by a 6 per cent, mortgage debenture, and £24,000 in fully paid shares. Some of the interest had been paid. In April 1914 £30,000 second mortgage debentures at 6 per cent, were issued as security for money advanced and to be advanced to the company. The amount now stated to be due under those debentures is £24,961. The coal from the companies’ collieries was for the most part exported to France, but on the outbreak of the war all shipments were stopped, and the collieries were closed down in the middle of August last, the failure of the company being attributed by its officers to that source. Since then the debenture holders had taken possession of the property and had appointed Mr. T. Ivor Jones and Mr. Wilfred Harold Copley as receivers. It was further reported that for the purposes of the statement of affairs, the Raglan Colliery had been taken as of the value of £80,000. The assets show the following figures :— Gross liabilities, £99,626, of which £27,105 is unsecured, and assets £95,725, subject to debenture bonds for £49,802. The contributories’ deficiency is returned at £53,783. Humphrey Pump Company Limited.—The directors report that the war has seriously affected the business. The directors called up the balance due on the ordinary shares, which are now fully paid, for the general purposes, and, more particularly, for the carrying out of a large pumping contract at Mex, Egypt. Unfortunately, owing to the war, this contract has been cancelled by the Egyptian Govern- ment. The contract for the five large pumps erected for the Metropolitan Water Board at Chingford has been success- fully carried to completion. The profit and loss account from June 12, 1913, to September 30, 1914, shows a deficiency of £16,174. > Kent Collieries Limited.—The report, which covers the period to September 30, 1914, states that at the date of the last general meeting No. 3 shaft was at a depth of 1,409 ft., and it has since been sunk 221 ft. to a depth of 1,630 ft. At 1,604 ft. it was arranged that pumping plant should be installed in case water should be struck when the seam was reached at 1,620 ft. As the shareholders were advised by circular on May 29, that seam was struck and passed through on the 22nd of that month. The seam is about 2 ft. in thickness, the coal being of excellent quality, with every indication that it could be worked economically and profit- ably. It is considerably harder than that passed through at the 1,275 ft. level. A subsequent analysis showed it to be of excellent quality, specially suitable for gas making, and comparing favourably in this respect with the best Durham coal. It also possesses good coking qualities, and seems specially suitable for producing a high-class coke for metal- lurgical purposes. The directors have been for some time in negotiation with the Channel Collieries Trust Limited for the provision of further funds, and a meeting will be called as soon as possible, when the proposals will be submitted. The accounts for the year show an expenditure on shaft sinking, mineral rents, plant, machinery, etc., of £48,439, and on administration of £12,741. Monks, Hall and Company Limited.—Dividend of 2?} per cent. (2s. 6d. per share) on the preference shares for the half-year to April 30 last. Natal Navigation Collieries and Estate Company Limited. —The report for the year ended June 30, 1914, states that the profit and loss statement shows that the net profit on coal, coke, and sundry revenue was £45,602, as against £42,776 from last year’s larger output. The cost of options and drilling that did not disclose coal of commercial value, amounting to £1,934, has been written off; the balance standing to credit of development account pit 3, namely, £2,290, has also been written off. The more favourable satisfactory results have been due to the increased average price at which coal has been sold, compared with the price during the previous 12 months. The interest on fixed deposits has been increased from £4,618 to £4,973. The amount of £13,396 debited against profit and loss account for depreciation brings the total written off for the last seven years to £85,398. The book value of the assets (excluding property accounts) is thus brought down to £85,357 for the three pits. Newport-Abercarn Black Vein Steam Coal Company Limited.—The directors, in view of the war, have decided not to declare an interim dividend. They report that 20 per cent, of the men employed at the colliery have joined the Colours, and weekly allowances are being made by the company to their dependants. This, together with the slackness of trade which has been experienced, will adversely affect the working for the present year. The Black Vein seam of their new pit was reached on November 5. Wood (Edward) and Company Limited.—The directors have decided to pay an interim dividend of 5 per cent, per annum on the ordinary shares for the half-year. NEW COMPANIES. Bayton Colliery Company Limited. — Private company. Registered Dec. 22. Colliery proprietors, mine owners, dealers in coal, ores, and other mining products, iron and steel masters, makers of steel, tin-plates, boilers, bricks, etc. Nominal capital, £8,000 in’ £1 shares. First three directors (who shall be permanent directors) to be appointed by subscribers. Qualification of ordinary directors, £1,000. Goodall, Clayton and Company Limited.—Private com- pany. Registered office, Pepper-road, Hunslet, Leeds. Registered Dec. 21. To acquire and carry on business of gas, colliery, and general engineers carried on by Leech, Goodall and Company at above address. Nominal capital, £40,000 in £1 ordinary shares. Directors :—L. Clayton, Oakhill, Shadwell, Leeds, gas engineer; J. Clayton, Wood- side, Wetherley-road, Leeds, gas engineer; J. J. Haines, Summercote, Roundhay, Leeds, secretary; R. G. Womson, Elmete-avenue, Round'hay, Leeds, engineer; C. A. Goodall, Oakdene, Halton, near Leeds, engineer. Qualification of directors, £100. Middlesex Engineering Company Limited.—Private com- pany. Registered office, 2/3, Eldon-street, E.C. Registered Dec. 21. Engineers, tool manufacturers, founders, metal refiners, electrical engineers, etc. Nominal capital, £2,000 in £1 shares. Directors and subscribers (one share each) :— H. C. H. Taylor, 5, St. Stephen’s-road, Hounslow, engineer; A. P. Whitehead, 61, The Drive, Fulham, S.W., engineer; W. A. Naish, 24, University-mansions, Putney, S.W., metal- lurgist. Qualification of directors, 100 shares. Oxley (George) and Sons Limited. —Private company. Registered Dec. 19. To acquire business of engineers, iron- founders, and merchants now carried on by William Oxley, Geo. H. Oxley, and Luther Oxley, at Vulcan Foundry, Atter- cliffe-road, Sheffield, as George Oxley and Sons, and enter into agreement. Nominal capital, £20,000 in £1 shares. Directors and subscribers (one share each) :—W. Oxley, 28, Watson-road, Sheffield, and G. H. Oxley, 60, Marlborough- road, Sheffield, ironfounders. This list of new companies is taken from the Daily Register specially compiled by Messrs. Jordan and Sons Limited, company registration agents, Chancery-lane, E.C. CATALOGUES AMD PRICE LISTS RECEIVED. The latest publication of the Chicago Pneumatic Tool Company deals with small power driven compressors. Messrs. Donovan and Company (47, Cornwall-street, Birmingham) send literature illustrating various electrical accessories, including distributing boards, telephones, bell materials, accumulators, motor starters, switches, conduits, etc. The British Aluminium Company Limited (109, Queen Victoria-street, London, E.C.) have published a new edition of “ Aluminium : Facts and Figures,” in pocket book form. This larger publication embodies, with other additional matter, data on aluminium tubes, rods, overhead lines, circles, etc. Some interesting types of electric haulage gear are described in a pamphlet that has been forwarded by the Electrical Engineering and Equipment Company Limited (Bank-buildings, 109-111, New Oxford-street, W.C.). In these gears, which are British-made throughout, the motors are specially designed to stand rough usage and frequent overload, a special gas-tight motor and oil-immersed con- troller being made to comply with the Regulations. A list of users shows that these gears have been installed at mines in all parts of the country; they are of the main, main- and-tail, and endless-rope types. OBITUARY. The death has occurred in London of Mr. Colin Dunlop,, of Lockerbie House, Dryfesdale, Dumfries, in his 70th year. He was long connected with the coal industry in Lanark- shire. The circumstances attending the death of William Shaw, the under-manager at Messrs. Lockwood and Elliott’s Shuttle Eye Colliery, Lepton, near Huddersfield, were enquired into at an inquest on Monday. Mr. Shaw died on Christmas Eve. On the previous day, while examining the workings of the pit, the tram in which he was travelling collided with a full corve of coal, which was being pushed by a hurrier named Fisher in the opposite direction. Mr. Shaw was thrown out of the tram, sustaining an injury to his spine which caused paralysis, to which he succumbed. A verdict of “Accidental death” was returned. Death has removed a well-known Teesside business gentleman in the person of Mr. James Callum, managing director of the Tees and Normanby Ironworks. Mr. Callum, who had not enjoyed robust health during the past few months, passed away rather suddenly at his residence, Ardberg, Westfield, Redcar, on Christmas Day. The condolences which were offered recently to Mr. M. W. Parrington, ex-president of the North of England Institute of Mining and Mechanical Engineers, because of the death of his son on active service, must now be extended to Mr. Thos. Taylor, of Chipchase Castle, chairman of the North- umberland Coalowners* Association, whose son, Capt. Hugh Taylor, was reported, on Christmas Day, to have been killed. Capt. Taylor, who was Unionist candidate for Sunderland, was a grandson of the late Mr. Hugh Taylor, who was the founder of the Ryhope Colliery and a prominent member of the River Wear Commission. He was born at Newcastle in 1880 and educated at Harrow and Balliol College, Oxford, where he obtained second-class honours in moderations in 1901, and third-class and a B.A. degree in 1903. He passed from Oxford into the Army and was granted his commission in the Scots Guards in 1904. He was promoted to a lieutenancy in 1905 and to a captaincy shortly after the outbreak of the war. In 1907 he married Mary, daughter of the late Henry Villiers Stuart, M.P., D.L., of Dromara, Waterford, Ireland. He leaves"a widow,*a son and a daughter. ABSTRACTS OF PATEMT SPECIFICATIONS RECENTLY ACCEPTED. 3363 (1914). An Improvement Relating to the Heating of Coke Ovens, Gas Retorts, or the like. H. W. Woodall, of the Manor House, Lytchett Matravers, Poole, Dorset.—This invention solves the problem by making provision whereby waste flue gases may be readily mixed with the oven gas or retort gas so as to lower the quality of the latter to about that of producer gas. The gas thus diluted with waste gases may be burnt in the burners and flues of an oven or retort constructed to consume producer gas, without adap- tation of such construction or with a minimum of adaptation. A simple arrangement for the purpose of the invention con- sists in a communication between the waste gas flue of the retort or oven and the main which conducts gases from the oven or retort or the purifying plant to the heating flues, and a device whereby gas from the waste gas flue is drawn or forced through such communication into the said main. The accompanying diagrammatic representation in elevation of a setting of vertical gas retorts shows an arrangement of the aforesaid kind. (One claim.) 3465 (1914). Improvements in or Relating to Steam or Gas Turbines. Societe Anonyme pour 1’Exploitation des Procedes Westinghouse-Leblanc, of 7, Rue de Berlin, Paris, France.—Relates to diffusers for steam and gas turbines having but a single rotary wheel, and has for its object to provide an improved diffuser for producing a vacuum greater than that of the condenser in the chamber in which the wheel rotates. Fig. 1 is a diagram, and fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of the improved diffuser connected to the casing of a single wheel turbine. Referring now to fig. 1, X indicates the chamber in which the turbine wheel rotates, and Y indicates the condenser. This figure, furthermore, shows the following developments, namely, (1) at A a portion of the ring of nozzles which, of course, is continued around the J II F whole of the circumference of the turbine ; (2) at B a portion of the ring of blades ; (3) at C a portion of a ring of fixed blades constituting the diffuser. In fig. 2 is shown a pre- ferred form of diffuser. The ring of fixed nozzles is indi- cated at A, and B is the turbine wheel which rotates in the chamber X. The diffuser is divided into two portions '(1) Opposite the ring of blades is a passage 0, which in the drawing is shown as being divergent, but which may, of course, be convergent-divergent. Said passage consists of .an annular channel defined by two surfaces of revolution D and E, and is not furnished with guide blades. The parts D and E are maintained in position by ribs F. (2) The passage C opens into a snail-shaped collector G, which terminates in a truncated diverging pipe not shown in the figure which opens into the condenser. (One claim.) 4816 (1914). A New or Improved Dust Distributing Truck for Collieries. E. Allday, of Alldays and Onions Pneumatic Engineering Company Limited, Great Western i f 7k I i e Works, Sydenham-road, Birmingham, Warwickshire; J. N. Collins, manager of the fan department at Great Western Works, aforesaid; and F. Lyon, draughtsman at Great Western Works, aforesaid.—The machine or appliance con-