824

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

April 16, 1915.

is .one of very considerable importance. Hitherto, the men
have had to work full time before they could claim the benefit
of the minimum wage, and, for a while back, there has been
an agitation to have the rule relaxed. This has now been
conceded by the coal owners, and on and 'after the pays com-
mencing the 19th inst. the rule will operate as follows :—
If the pit works more than three days in the long week—
which is alternate to the short working week of five shifts
—men may -be absent one day without endangering their
minimum pay; but, .if the pit only works three days, then the
full time must be worked. Men who work seven days per
week — fanmen. pumpmen, and horsekeepers, etc. — will
henceforth be entitled to the minimum wage if they work
six days in one week. In the short week of five days, full
time must be worked as before, in order that the men may be
entitled to the minimum. There was a suggestion that the
alteration should not come into force until the war is over,
in case it might induce some men to take a day off in the
long week, but the inien’s representatives intimated to the
owners that they did not think that the concession would
lead to any working time being lost unnecessarily. The
men would, it was asserted, appreciate the relaxation of the
rule, which had been felt to be too severe, and would work
quite as well under the revised regulation.

Acting in accordance with the recommendation of the
Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, the Northumberland
miners recently tendered notice, to the coal owners to termi-
nate, on June 30, the present wages agreement, which is
run on a sliding scale. In order to discuss the terms of a
new agreement to replace the present sliding scale, a meet-
ing has been arranged between the coal owners of the county
and the representatives of the Northumberland Miners’
Association, the Deputies’ Association, and the Colliery
Enginemen’s Society, to take place at the Coal Trade Offices,
Newcastle, on the 24th inst.

A meeting was held at Middlesbrough on Monday between
the representatives of the Cleveland ironstone mine owners
and the Cleveland Miners’ Association, to consider the
question of wages to be paid to the miners during the
ensuing three months. Mr. W. W. Store, who presided,
placed figures before the deputation, which showed the men
to be entitled to an advance of 1-90 per cent., which the
owners offered to concede. The men’s representatives said
they would place the offer before the men, and the meeting
was adjourned to the 26th inst.

, The scrutineers for the Northumberland Miners’ Associa-
tion have completed the count of the votes recorded for and
against holding' the miners’ picnic this year. The voting
was :—Against holding the picnic, 285; for, 238; majority
against, 47.

Federated Area.

The miners employed at South Kirkby Colliery appear to
feel they have a grievance in regard to the filling up of the
places of those who have enlisted in connection with the
war. They have forwarded a resolution to the colliery
management, in which they protest against the importation
of young men, eligible for the Army, being introduced in
place of those who have enlisted. Strong steps, so the reso-
lution runs, will be taken to prevent the continuance of
this, if necessary.

At a council meeting of the Yorkshire Colliery Deputies’
Association, held at Barnsley, the following resolution was
passed unanimously by delegates representing 2,000 deputies
and shot-firers :—“ That this meeting considers it to be
expedient to appeal for an advance in wages for all deputies
and shot-firers in Yorkshire, as a result of the increase in
the cost of living of over 30 per cent. It therefore petitions
the coal owners for an advance of 20 per cent, upon all
existing base rates, or where , the standard wage is paid
without percentage, an advance of not less than Is. per day.
The above to take effect on April 14.”	■

Mr. Thomas Greenall, president of the Lancashire and
Cheshire Miners’ Federation, presided over an' executive
council meeting last Saturday in the new Miners’ Hall,
Bolton, at which a report was given in connection with the
application for a war bonus of 20 per cent. A resolution
was carried in favour of national action, and it was agreed
to ask the executive of the Miners’ Federation to communi-
cate with the Board of Trade, with a view to arranging a
meeting between the coal owners and the Miners’ Federation
before the conference which is to be held in London on
April 21.

Scotland.

With reference to the claim made some time ago by the
Scottish colliery enginemen to the Scottish coal owners for
a wages increase of Is. fid. per day because of the high cost
of living, a meeting of the executive council has been held
in Glasgow to consider the claim. Mr. Peter Dewar, Blan-
tyre, presided, and Mr. Robert Shirkie, the secretary,
reported that he had been in communication with the secre-
tary of the Scottish Coal Owners’ Association, but up till
then there had been no satisfactory result. The coal owners
held that as the enginemen’s wages were regulated by the
wages of the miners, the enginemen would require to wait
until the miners’ claim was first considered.

The executive committee of the National Union of
Scottish Mine Workers met in Glasgow on Saturday. A
serious dispute was reported from Cadzow Colliery,
Hamilton.

The workmen’s representatives on the Board of Concilia-
tion for the Regulation of Miners’ Wages in Scotland gave
formal notice on Friday last week for the termination of
the existence of the Board, to take effect in three months’
time according to the rules.

A meeting of the Scottish Conciliation Board was held on
Friday last week at Glasgow, for the purpose of considering
a proposal made by the National Union of Scottish Mine
Workers that a new wages agreement should be drawn up.
Mr. Adam Nirnmo presided at the meeting of the Board,
and Mr. Robert Smillie acted as vice-chairman. Mr. Smillie
indicated the terms on which the miners were prepared to
enter into a new agreement. The chairman, on behalf of
the coal owners, stated that, in view of the national crisis,
they did not think it advisable to discuss a new wages agree-
ment at the present time. It was agreed that another
meeting of the Board be held to consider the matter at a
later date if either party desired it. The application, which
was made by the miners a few weeks ago for an increase
of 20 per cent, in the existing rate of wages, was not
considered ’by the Board.

Iron, Steel and Engineering Trades.

The application of the Cumberland blastfurnacemen for
a war bonus has been refused, and as a result the men
threaten to hand in their notices. The matter will be con-
sidered at a meeting of the National executive. The
employers base their refusal on the ground that the furnace-

men are sharing the benefit of the high prices ruling for
haematite, wages having advanced 22J per cent, 'as a result
of the past quarter’s 'ascertainment under the sliding scale
operating in’Cumberland.

The Midland iron and steel trades operatives recently put
in a demand for a “ war bonus ” extra to the rates conceded
under the sliding scale, and on Monday afternoon the Wages
Board met at Birmingham to discuss the proposal. No
communication was made, but it is understood the employers’
representatives recognise the justice of the demand of the
men for extra pay to meet the increased cost of living, and
granted a weekly payment to all operatives, subject to the
condition that, a full week was worked.

London Coal Porters.

As the result of an amicable conference between the
London bunkering employers and the representatives of the
London bunkering coal porters of the Dockers’ Union, the
men employed in coal porterage have received a substantial
increase of wages, which will hold at any rate until the war
is over. The memorandum of the -.agreement provides :—
(1) Welsh coal, at present 16s. per 100 tons, employers to
pay an extra 3s. per 100 tons; (2) All other coal, at present
16s. per 100 tons, employers to pay an extra Is. 6d. per
100 tons.

Miners and Easter.

The Prime Minister has sent the following telegram to
Mr. Thomas Ashton, secretary of the Miners’ Federation of
Great Britain :—“ I appreciate highly the sacrifice which
the miners have made in giving up the greater part of their
customary holiday at Easter in response to the appeal made
to them. I desire through your Federation to express to
them the thanks of his Majesty’s Government.—H. H.
Asquith.”

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS.

The Editors are not responsible either for the statements
made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents.

All communications must be authenticated by the name and
address of the sender, whether for publication or not.
No notice can be taken of anonymous communications.

As replies to questions are only given by way of published
answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped
addressed envelopes are not required to be sent. ,

THE REDUCTION OF WORKING COSTS AT
THE COAL FACE.

Sirs,—-By the time you receive this letter the dis-
cussion between Messrs. Halbaum and. Gibson may be
forgotten. I have read Mr. Halbaum’s letter in your
issue of March 12 with a great deal of pleasure, and
am looking forward keenly to seeing Mr. Gibson’s
definition of his practical man.

What is a practical man? You remember the famous
“ Harriman letters.” Roosevelt wrote to the railroad
wizard, and said : “ You and I are practical men.” A
short time ago Count von Somebody or Other proclaimed
that Roosevelt was a wind-bag. And one might ask,
was Harriman a practical railroad man? It is highly
probable that he could not lay a length of rails, or even
drive a spike. Yet he took over the management of
bankrupt trans-continental railways and made them
highly profitable.

Perhaps he was a “ bold speculative thinker,” and if
there is need for such men in the mining industry
to-day, may I ask why does Mr. Cashmore suggest the
use of 8 or 10cwt. tubs in a seam 5|,ft. thick? Mr.
Gibson is alarmed by the fact that 600 tubs must be
handled at the conveyor and filled per day. But if the
capacity per tub is 32 cwt., it will only be necessary to
handle 150 tubs per day.

This is something the practical man and the bold
speculative thinker can consider, and they might think
it over.	Samuel Dean.

Delagua, Colorado, U.S.A.,

March 29, 1915.

MINING DISCUSSIONS.

Sirs, — I hardly perceive the raison d'etre of the
letters which appear in your issue of the 9th inst. over
the signatures of “M. C.” and Mr. John Gibson. “M.C.”
knows perfectly well that, so far from objecting to facts,
I am always looking out for new ones; and Mr. Gibson
knows equally well that, so far from objecting to dis-
cussion, I am more apt to delight in it. Fortunately
for myself, all those who know me at all are in posses-
sion of the same knowledge—a fact which Mr; Gibson
seems, to have forgotten • to reckon with. My sole
objection is to ill-mannered conduct in discussion, and I
have already informed you that I object to this simply
because bad manners discourage discussion, and ulti-
mately prevent the facts from coming' to light. The
more facts we can get hold of, and the more freely we
can discuss them, the better; and unless the laws of
courtesy be ignored to any extent, no discussion—and,
more especially, no “ scientific ” discussion—should
run the risk of degenerating into a “ row.”

7, Mafeking-road,	H. W. Halbaum.

Roath Park, Cardiff.

April 10, 1915.

[Correspondence on this subject must now cease.—
Eds., C.G.]

A subsidence occurred on Monday in the Ube coal mine,
near Shimonoseki (Japan), the galleries of which extend
under the sea. Five hundred and ninety-three men were
working ^t the time, and 300 of theim are reported to be
missing.

THE FREIGHT MARKET.

1 The volume of business done in the ' outward freight
market shows a gratifying improvement on the 'attenuated
list of last week. What, however, is not so pleasing is
the fact that rates, especially on the north-east coast, appear
to have taken a determined turn upwards once again. Coasting
figures are little altered, from 6s. fid. to 7s. Tyne to London
being the basis. North France, however, starting the week
at 13s. fid. to Rouen, has advanced to 17s., with 17s. 6d.
reported. The Bay is markedly dearer, at 16s. 6d. to Bor-
deaux. The Mediterranean has Genoa done at 25s., with
30s. now quoted. At South Wales the upward tendency is
not so pronounced. Indeed, where comparison between this
week’s list of fixtures at Cardiff .and that of a week ago is
possible, it is to be noted that Bordeaux, Caen, and Genoa
are'firmer, Las Palmas and River Plate steady, St. Nazaire
weaker, and Honfleur, Lisbon, Monte Video, Rouen, and
Trouville reduced. Chartering has been very active, and the
trend of rates for near ports is towards an advance. Other
home ports are similarly conditioned.

Homewards, the North Pacific is represented by 87s. 6d.
from Vladivostock to Denmark or Holland, with 85s. quoted
for the United Kingdom. For May tonnage 90s. is asked,
and vessels are scarce. The nitrate ports have a great
scarcity of boats, and up to 100s. is quoted. Rice ports
are offering up to 85s. from Java to United Kingdom for
tonnage. East Indies are slow, with 76s. paid on guaranteed
d.w. from Calcutta. The Mediterranean rates are steady,
with no great demand, however. America has ruled very
firm, with 160s. conceded for very medium capacity Galves-
ton to Havre on full form “ O,” whilst 175s. has been
refused for Liverpool for a 170 ft. boat. The Atlantic ports
are wanting cotton tonnage, and offer up to 140s. to 150s.
Savannah to Liverpool. Grain rates are unaltered, with
little enquiry. Lumber is slow. Deals have booked a few
vessels at about 130s. from St. John. The River Plate is
dull. Heavy rains are interfering with the movement of
grain in Buenos Ayres and Santa Fe. Rates, however, are
well maintained.

Tyne to Algiers, 3,600, 21s.; Barcelona, 3,000, 30s.; Bor-
deaux, 3,200, 15s.; 6,300, 16s. 6d.; Cette, 2,300, 23s.; Caen,

1.500,	14s. 9d.; 1,400, 15s.; Calais, 600, 18s. 6d.; Genoa,
1,700, 25s.; Las Palmas, 2,200, 20s.; 3,100, 21s.; London,
1,700, 7s.; 2,000, 6s. 6d.; 2,700, 6s. 6d.; 6s. 6d., C.T.;
Naples, 4,200, 30s.; Oran, 2,500, 20s.; 2,200, 21s.; Port
Said, 5,000, 27s. 6d.; Palermo, 3,500, 30s., reported; Rouen,
1,600, 13s. 6d.; 1,700, 15s., reported; 1,900, 15s. fid.; 1,400,
16s., reported; 3,000, 15s.; 1,500, 16s. 6d.; 1,450, 17s.;
2,000, 17s.; 4,400, 16s. 6d.; 3,100, 17s. 6d., reported; St.
Vincent, 2,400, 21s. 6d.; St. Nazaire, 2,800, lfis.; Teneriffe,

2.200,	20s.

Cardiff to Aden, 7,000, 31s. 3d.; Alicante, 700, 19s.;
Algiers, 4,200, 22 fr.; Alexandria, 5,000, 25s.; Buenos Aires,

3.500,	26s. 6d., April; Brindisi, 3,700, 24s., 500; Bordeaux,
1,900, 13J fr.; 1>7Oo, 14| fr.; 2,200, 16 fr.; 1,650, 17 fr.;
Caen, 800, 12s.; 2,000, Ils.; Cherbourg, 1,250, 11s. 6d.;
Catania, 1,600, 21s., 500; Calais, 1,500, 16s.; Cape Verds,

1.500,	17s. 6d., April 22; Genoa, 2,900, 20s.; Granville,
1,400, 10s. 4|d.; Honfleur, 800, 12s.; 900, Ils. 6d.; Havre,
1’000, Ils.; Lisbon, 3,200, 16s.; 3,200, 15s.; 1,000, 15s. 9d.,
350; Las Palmas, 3,700, 15s.; La Pallice, 1,700, 14 fr.,
400; 1,650, 13J fr. coal, 14£fr. fuel; La Rochelle, 1,650,
13J fr. coal, 141 fr. fuel; Monte Video, 3,400, 25s. 6d.,
April; Marseilles, 4,400 , 23 fr.; 3,800, 24fr.; 2,700, 25 fr.;
Malaga, 2,000, 18s.; Nantes, 1,500, 14 fr.; .2,000, 13J fr.;
Piraeus, 3,800, 24s. 6d., 500; Palermo, 3,300, 21s.; River
Plate, 3,600, 26s. 6d.; Rochefort, 1,650, 13Jfr. coal; 14J fr.
fuel; Rouen, 3,000, Ils. 6d.; 1,000, 12s. 6d.; 1,600, 12s. 6d.;
Rio de Janeiro, 5,000, 27s., 500, April 23; 5,200, 26s. 6d.,
500; 2,300, 25s. 9d., 500, April 20; St. Nazaire, 1,500, 13 fr.;
2,000, 13fr.; St. Malo, 880, 10s.; Trouville, 950, 12s.

Swansea to Rouen, 1,500, 11s. 9d.; 1,200, 12s. 3d.; 1,850,
12s.; 900, 12s. fid. coal, 13s. 3d. fuel; Alicante, 2,000, 19s.;
La Pallice, 2,200, 13 fr. coal, 13J fr. fuel; Huelva, 1,200,
18s. 6d.; Alexandria, 3,000, 25s. coal, 25s. 9d. fuel; Havre,

1.200,	10s. 6d.; St. Malo, 1,200, 10s. 3d.; 1,000, 10s. 3d.,
fuel; 650, 10s,; Genoa, 1,900, 21s.; Dieppe, 1,000, 10s. 3d.,
fuel; Algiers, 2,200, 22 fr. coal, 23 fr. fuel; Bordeaux, 1,500,
16 fr. coal, 16J fr. fuel; La Rochelle, 3,000, 12 fr.; Roche-
fort, 3,000, 12J fr.; Tonnay Charente, 1,000, 13 J fr.

Newport to River Plate, 5,000, 26s. 6d.; Rouen, 3,000,
Ils. 6d.; 1,600, Ils. 9d.; St. Nazaire, 1,500, 13 fr.; Nantes,
1,150, 14 fr.; Havre Canal, 1,000, 10s. 9d.; Algiers, 5,700,
21 fr.; Oran, 5,700, 21 fr.; Catania, 1,600, 21s., 500;
Palermo, 3,300, 21s.

Forth to London, 1,700, 8s.

Hull to Rouen, 1,800, 13s. 3d.; 2,400, 13s. 3d.; 2,400,
14s.; Dunkirk, 1,300, 17s. 6d.

Goole to London, 1,350, 7s.; 800, 8s.; Dieppe, 800, 17s.

Port Talbot to Trouville, 850, 12s.; Rouen, 3,000, Us. 6d.;
2,000, 11s. 9d.; Marseilles, 4,800, 23 fr.; Caen, 850, 11s. 6d.;
Bordeaux, 1,950, 17 fr.; Calais, 1,300, 16s.

Blyth to Caen, 500, 16s.; 850, 17s.; Rouen, 2,700, 14s. 9d.;
3,000, 15s. 3d.

Glasgow to Valencia, 20s.; 1,700, 21s. coals; 24s.
fertilisers.

Methil to Sundswall district, 2,000, 17s. 6d., 500.

Burntisland to Sundswall district, 2,000, 17s. 6d., 500.

Partington to ■West Italy, 4,000, d.w., 25s., April.

Wear to Bordeaux, 3,000, 16s. 6d.

Hartlepool to Oran, 1,800, 21s.

OBITUARY.

The death has occurred of Mr. Benjamin Bowker, of
Horne-street, Accrington, formerly a mining engineer
employed at the collieries of Messrs. George Hargreaves
and Company. . Deceased was 78 years of age.

Mr. Edwin Beilby, for 46 years estate agent at the
Haydock colliery offices of Messrs. Richard Evans and Com-
pany, has passed away.

Mr. Milton Spencer, of Waterfoot, a member of the office
staff at the Rossendale Collieries of Messrs. George
Hargreaves and Company, has died at the age of 24 years.

Mr. Hugh Turney, under-manager at Messrs. John
M‘Andrew and Company’s No. 6 Pit, Thankerton Colliery,
has died in the workings of the mine while engaged with
two men repairing the coal conveyors. He had bent down
on his knees, when he suddenly groaned and expired, death
being certified as due to cardiac disease.