132 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. January 15, 1915. __________________________________________ ________________________________________ ______________________________________________ it is the greatest difficulty with which our American rivals have to contend. Unaccustomed to transact business on a c.i.f. basis, it is probable that the recent phenomenal rise in freights has left them with no profit on contracts that have been arranged, for the prices fixed on the basis of existing rates left the barest margin. The rise in freights, however, at a time when production has been curtailed to an even greater extent than the industrial demand, must necessarily result in higher market prices, and already we are hearing outcries against the rise in prices. The ascertained values shown in the foregoing tables prove conclusively that, although the cost of working has greatly increased, the pithead and f.o.b. price of coal is now lower than it was 12 months ago. The high prices quoted in London and other centres remote from the coalfields are entirely to be accounted for by the pressure upon our railway systems and the disorganisation of the coastwise traffic. The proposal to employ captured enemy vessels in this class of trade is therefore to be welcomed, and further, it is probable that in assenting to the transfer of interned vessels to American ownership, so long as they were not employed in transmitting contraband goods to our enemies, we should be acting in the best interests. __________________________ Exports and Imports of Coal Tar Products.—The follow- ing shows the values of coal tar dyes imported into the United Kingdom in December and the completed year 1914, compared with those of the preceding year :— Deeexnber. ^3^ 1913. 1914. 1913. 1914? Alizarine and anthracene £ £ £ £ dyestuffs.............. 20,332.. 16... 272,245... 131,986 Aniline and naphthalene dye staffs..............129,629...51,331...1,542,545..1,105,857 Synthetic indigo ........ 5,974... 1,589... 76,695... 50,560 Other coal tar dye stuffs.. — ... — ... 570... 154 The quantity of aniline and naphthalene dye stuffs imported during the year 1914 amounted to 192,369 cwt., the quantity in December being 6,798 cwt. Imports of alizarine and anthracene dye stuffs aggregated 31,220 cwt. in 1914, and those of synthetic indigo reached 15,516 cwt. The values of coal products exported during the year and in December were as follow :— December. Year ending Dec. 31. Coal products, not dyes ( 1913. 1914.' 1913. 1914? - £ £ <£ Aniline oil & toluidine 1,724... 11,910.. . 28,863.. . 54,766 Anthracene — ... 225.. 1,448.. 1,271 Benzol and toluol 22,945... 22,226.. . 302,846.. . 195,503 Carbolic acid 15,341... 12,720.. . 190,490.. . 135,409 Coal tar, crude 1,121... 887.. . 16,339.. 9,801 ,, refined and varnish 4,701... 4,024 . . 68,639.. . 57,238 Naphtha 2,703... 360.. . 24,612.. 17,327 Naphthalene 2^308... 1,051.. 37,665.. . 23,986 Pitch 112,538... 24,967.. .1,100,046.. . 708,753 Tar oil, creosote, &c,... 35,020... 28,253.. . 592,433.. . 524,553 Other sorts 21,216... 27,386.. . 297,767.. . 296,680 Total 219,617... 134,009... 2,661,148.. .2,025,287 Coal tar dye stuffs 15,679... 8,561.. . 177,246.. . 167,947 The following quantities of the above products were exported :—Coal products, not dyes : Aniline oil and tolui- dine, December 369,430 lb., completed year 1914 1,976,964 lb. (1,350,6781b. in 1913); anthracene, 112,8501b. and 633,4071b. (564,372 1b.); benzol and toluol, 365,392 galls, and 4,163,773 galls. (6,654,589 galls.); carbolic acid, 12,040 cwt. and 130,853 cwt. (168,884 cwt.); coal tar, crude, 4,581 cwt. and 48,104 cwt. (87,949 cwt.); ditto, refined and var- nished, 214,422 galls, and 2,677,983 galls. (3,071,432 galls.); naptha, 7,701 galls, and 390,223 galls. (515,392 galls.); naphthalene, 2,060 cwt. and 61,825 cwt. (86,053 cwt.); pitch, 296,966 cwt. and 7,209,271 cwt. (9,731,364 cwt.); tar oil, creosote, etc., 1,626,846 galls. and 31,157,766 galls. (36,757,792 galls.); other sorts, 41,703 cwt. and 602,888 cwt. (704,240 cwt.); coal tar dye stuffs, 2,066 cwt. and 45,040 cwt. (48,673 cwt.) Exports of sulphate of ammonia in 1914 were as follow :— Quantity. Value. 1913. 1914. 1913. 1914? To— Tons. Tons. £ £ Germany................ 9,388... 3,427... 124,122... 43,087 France.................. 8,874... 2,486... 121,317... 29,630 Spain and Canaries.... 60,852... 64,149... 834,174... 774,201 Italy ................. 5,822 5,060... 80,738... 62,543 Dutch East Indies.... 37,119... 54,869... 502,870... 615,408 Japan .................. 114,583 .. 87,776... 1,545,399...1,077,438 United States of America ............ 36,919... 43,601... 497,730... 516,808 British West India Islands (including Bahamas) & British Guiana ........... 10,012... 11,990... 138,248... 141,234 Other countries ...... 39,485... 40,519... 545,949... 483,521 Total................. 323,054...313,877...4,390,547...3,773,870 ____________________________________________________ LABOUR AMD WAGES. South Wales and Monmouthshire. The Naval Colliery workmen have had a meeting to con- sider the question of doctors’ poundage, and they have decided that the amount should remain unaltered, namely, 2d. in the <£; the money to be collected at the colliery offices. It has to be noted, however, that one effect of the operation of the Insurance Act is that the subscribers to “ the doctor ” have been considerably reduced in numbers; most of them, under the operation of the Act, relying on panel doctors. Five hundred men ceased work last week at the Tirydail Colliery, their notices having expired. The stoppage was due to failure in reaching agreement on minimum wage basis. The total number of enlistments from Glamorgan alone have reached 40,000, probably the highest number for a ' single county in the kingdom, and as the men are mainly colliers, the effect upon labour supply may be imagined. ' From the Ebbw Vale Company alone, 4,000 men have gone out of 12,000. North of England. The dispute between the workmen of the Wellington Pit, Whitehaven, and the management, which has been pending for the last three weeks, has been settled. On Saturday a committee representing both sides visited Wellington Pit, and inspected the working, where, it was alleged, “ sliping ” had taken place, and on Tuesday there was a meeting at the colliery office. On Tuesday evening the Whitehaven miners’ agent stated that after the evidence had been heard, the matter was left in the hands of a committee, consisting of Messrs. Graham, Martin, Cape, and Barker, and their finding was that the men who were dismissed be reinstated,’ and the “ cavils ” drawn forthwith. The “ cavils ” for the ensuing quarter were accordingly drawn on Wednesday, and work will continue at the three pits without the interruption which was threatened when the men gave their 14 days’ notice. A meeting between the representatives of the Cleveland Ironstone Mine Owners and the Cleveland Miners’ Associa- tion, was held at Middlesbrough this week, to consider the question of wages to be paid to the miners during the current three months. After some discussion it was agreed that wages should be reduced by 0-75 (three-quarters of one) per cent., to take effect from the 25th inst. A meeting of the executive of the Cleveland Miners’ Asso- ciation was held at Saltburn this week. An application was considered from the North Skelton lodge for permission to take a ballot of workmen employed at the mine to ascertain whether they were prepared to tender notices to cease work as a protest against the action of a number of men who refused to pay subscriptions to the union. Permission was given. Federated Area. At a special meeting on Monday, the Yorkshire Miners’ Association unanimously decided that a ballot should be taken in West Yorkshire in accordance with a resolution of the Miners’ Federation on the previous Thursday in regard to the West Yorkshire coal owners’ refusal to comply with Judge Amphlett’s award. The whole of the members in West Yorkshire were recommended to vote in favour of tendering 14 days’ notice, unless the employers are prepared to pay the award. Mr. J. Wadsworth (general secretary) said he thought the award gave the West Yorkshire men an advance of 4d. per day on their minimum wage, but some men had waited six months and had not received a single penny. The owners had said they were paying the award, but declined to pay the three advances of 5 per cent, given by the Coal Conciliation Board. The resolution means that if the men secure a two-thirds majority notices will be tendered, and the men at the collieries where the owners refuse to pay the advances will be brought out. Fifty thousand men are affected, and the ballot will be taken next week. Mr. Wadsworth said those who paid would be allowed to work their collieries. Two collieries were carry- ing out the award. It may be added that the question at issue only affects the limited number of men who fail to earn the minimum wage. Some time ago the North Wales Miners’ Association applied for an advance of Is. per day to the present minimum wage, which now stands at 6s. 7^d. per day. Several meet- ings took place between the representatives of the employers and the men, and it has been agreed to submit the matter to the decision of the independent chairman, his Honour Judge Moss. Severe criticism against the method at present adopted in regard to house coal allowance to miners was made at a meeting of the Gedling Colliery branch of the Notts Miners’ Association. Men who had paid for their coal six or seven weeks ago, it was stated, had not got their allowance yet. The men passed a resolution, seeing that the officials of the branch had practically exhausted their powers to get the grievance remedied, to put the matter into the hands of the council of the association, and in the meantime ask the executive of the council to intervene in the matter. A meeting of the Coal Conciliation Board for England and North Wales was held at the Westminster Palace Hotel, London, on Thursday afternoon, for the further considera- tion of a proposed new wage agreement in the Federated area. Mr. F. J. Jones, West Yorkshire, presided, with Mr. Stephen Walsh, M.P., in the vice-chair, and Sir Thomas Ratcliffe Ellis. Mr. Thos. Ashton, joint secretary, was unable to be present. Some progress has already been made by the parties in the negotiations, the miners’ section of the Board asking for a new wage basis to supersede the basis of 1888, from which wages are now calculated, and which is regarded by the men as obsolete, and a minimum of 7s. per day. The position, has however, been completely changed by the decision of the Yorkshire Miners’ Council to take a strike ballot. It is understood that the South Wales Miners’ Federation hold that the decision of the Scarborough conference in 1913 precludes the making of any further sectional wage agreement, even on the basis of a new wrage standard and a minimum of 7s. per day, but that future wage agreements must be part of a national wage settlement. The coal owners and the men’s sections both held meetings previous to the meeting of the Conciliation Board. At the outset the coal owners introduced the West Yorkshire dispute,- but the men’s representatives replied that that question was now in the hands of the Federation, and it was no further discussed. The coal owners then suggested that the dis- cussion of the details of the proposed new wage agreement should be remitted to a committee of 10 members, composed of five from each side of the Board, including the chairman and vice-chairman and the joint secretaries. This suggestion was accepted by the men’s section, and the committee sat until six o’clock, when they adjourned until this (Friday) morning. Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. A meeting of the Federation executive was held in London on Friday of last week. Mr. Robert Smillie, president, was in the chair. Mr. S. Roebuck, on behalf of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association, called attention to the decision of the magistrates in the prosecution instituted by the Home Office against the management of the Wharncliffe Silkstone Colliery in connection with the recent explosion, in which the defendants were found not guilty. The executive passed a resolution expressing the opinion that serious cases of this nature should not be tried by a bench of local magistrates, but should be heard by a County Court judge, as in Scotland. The Federation officials were instructed to interview the Home Secretary in connection with the matter, with a view to obtaining an alteration in the law. At the request of the Durham Miners’ Association, the executive endorsed the Labour candidature of Mr. W. Richardson and Mr. Batey for the Houghton-le-Spring and Shields Divisions of Durham. Iron, Steel and Engineering Trades. The ascertained price of No. 3 Cleveland pig iron for the months of October, November and December is certified to have been 50s. 9-53d. per ton, as compared with 51s. 4-13d. per ton in the previous three months. This means a reduc- tion in blastfurnacemen’s wages of 0-75d. (three-quarters of one) per cent., which will bring the wages down from 24 per cent, above the standard to 23-25 per cent, above the standard. The reduction will take place as from January 2. In the previous quarter there was an increase in wages of 0-25 per cent. __________________________________________________ THE LOMDOW COAL TRADE. Thursday, January 14. __________________________________________________ The London coal trade for the past week has continued fairly brisk. The demand for house coal somewhat toned down as the mild weather set in and the railway companies were able to bring forward the supplies with greater regularity. The depot trade has fallen off, but the orders for country stations continue good. The merchants and coal depots along the London and South-Western Railway more particularly have apparently suffered most from the short supply, and it was only on Friday and Saturday last that notices were sent out that consignments for the London and South-Western line could be resumed. Since then an unusually large tonnage has been brought forward to these stations, but fears are still entertained that the coming movement of so many of the troops with their complement of stores and material may again lead to some of the southern lines being closed to mineral traffic. Pit prices are still ranging fairly high, but there is no panic or fear of any famine in the coal supplies. The wagon question is a serious one, and the railway companies are evidently settling themselves into a very determined attitude towards getting both empties and loaded wagons into a more satisfactory condition, and already so far as the London depots are concerned, the arrivals of the loaded wagons and the despatch of the empties have shown a marked improvement during the past week. The main difficulty, however, is the shortage in the output from a number of the Midland collieries which is still pro- nounced, owing to so many of the pitmen having joined the Forces, but even with the lessened demand some of the colliery representatives are barred from selling anything further until the accumulated orders on the books are somewhat reduced. On Monday last Sir Frederick Treves addressed the merchants and factors in connection with the Red Cross work, and urged the starting of a subscription list. The matter has since been taken up heartily and a fund started, a satisfactory response is still proceeding. The fears of a threatened strike in Yorkshire has intensified the anxiety on the part of some of the traders to get a fair stock early in hand, but happily there is somewhat more than a possibility that a strike may be averted. The advertised prices in London still remain at 32s. for best Wallsend, but as the price during the corresponding period of last year was 31s. there is little to comment upon in this respect. The principal factors which help to keep the prices high during the present open mild weather are:— Firstly, such a large number of railway wagons are in use by the Government for the transport of military stores, troops, &c., that fewer are available for mineral traffic; secondly, the serious delay in transit has brought about a great scarcity of coal at some depots, even though abundant supplies are on the way. The irregularity in many cases has been most irritating ; occasionally a wagon runs through in a day or two, but others are three to four weeks on the journey up ; the third reason is that the shortage of men and horses at the London wharves and depots owing to the war makes it exceedingly difficult to secure anything like prompt delivery, even when the coal is available ; and another factor has been the enormous number of barges used in the building of pontoon bridges and engaged in various ways in military work on the river. The seaborne market was very short again in supplies. Nineteen vessels were returned on Monday as having arrived in the Thames and 10 for Wednesday’s market, but all were contract cargoes. Welsh Admiralty qualities range from 21s. to 22s. per ton f.o.b. Cardiff, and in the Humber ports South Yorkshire hards have advanced to 14s. 9d. to 15s. 3d. f.o.b. for prompt delivery. The Board of Trade announce their intention of using a number of the interned vessels for the coasting trade and for bringing seaborne coals into the port of London. _________________________ From Messrs. Dinham, Fawcus and Co.’s Report. Friday, January 8.—There was a little better enquiry for seaborne house coal at to-day’s market, but no cargoes offering. Cargoes 15. Monday, January 11.—The seaborne house coal market was again without supplies to-day with little prospect of any coming forward at present, no sales were therefore made. Cargoes 19. Wednesday, January 13.—There was no alteration in the seaborne house coal market to-day, with no cargoes oil offer. Cargoes 10.