September 10, 1915. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 527 or Sale, pair of 16^ in. by 16 in. “ Marshall” Horizontal ENGINES, coupled, nearly new; cheap for luick removal; on seat, near Glasgow.—“SUPERIOR,” Wm. Porteous & Jo., Glasgow. anted, one D.C. Electric Generator, 50 to 150-kw., 500 volts, with or without switchboard; also Engine to drive same, gas, oil or steam, or turbine; low pressure, exhaust, or mixed steam —State price, condition, and where can be seen, SHERWOOD COLLIERY CO., Man-field. GLAMORGANSHIRE. ABERDARE. BLAENANT, MOUNTAIN, No. 9 and TUNNEL PITS, ABERNANT YARDS, FOUNDRY, and ENGINEERING and WORKS SHOPS. Messrs. Stephenson & Alexander (F.4.I ) are instructed to SELL by AUCTION on the premises, on THURSDAY and FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23rd and 24th, 1915, com- mencing each day at 11 a.m., the SURPLUS LOOSE. ELS TRIG POWFR, MOTOR AND OTHER PLANT, STORES AND MATERIALS, the property of the Marquis of Bute, comprising roughly about 500 tons Engine, Winding and other Machinery parts : about 500 tons C.T. and W.I. Sciap; 500 Wrought Iron Colliery Trams; 50 tons Bridge Rails, about 18 and 20 lb. per vard; about 50 tons C.I. Partings and Crossings; about 100 tons F.B. Rails, about 35 to 651b. per yard; Horizontal, Winding, Air Com- pressors and other Engines; 10 Lancashire and other Boilers (out of use); 14 in. 4-wheeled coupled Loco.; Steam and Gear-driven Pumps and Pump Parts ; Electric Generator, 25 h p., 120 v.; ditto, 220 V.D.C., 100 amps.; 140 kw. ditto, D.C., direct coupled to Beiliss St Morcom Engine; 175 kw. ditto, 550 v., coupled to pair Mather & Platt’s Engines with Exciter; 175 kw. ditto, A. O., direct coupled to Exciter: three D.C. Dynamos, 330 amps., 220 volts; 25 Motors, D.C.. 1, 1?, 2. 5, 10, 20, 25, 55, 70, and 90-h.p., for 100, 110, 120 440, 450, 460, and 500 volts, makers Crompton, British Westinghouse, Scott & Mountain, Mather & Platt, and others; Baby Bar Electric Coal Cutter, by Mavor & Coulson; Switches, Panels, Controls, Spare Armatures, &c.; C.I. and W.I. Arm, Split and Solid Belt Pulleys; 5 Lathes, 10 in., Ilin., 13in., and 18in centres ; 30 in. Break Lathe: Shaping, Planing, Drilling, and Plotting Machines, Moulding Boxes,'Ladles and other Foundry Gear, Smiths’ and Fitters’ Tools, Anvils, Bellows, fixed and loose Light and Heavy Shifting; contents of Stores, about 10 tons Brass, Copper, and Gun- metal, 500 Co die's’ Lamps; Cart Platform and Sack Weighing Machine; two Chaff Cutters, by Richmond & Chandler; six Tip Carts, Gambos, and Wagons; about 200 tons C.I. Blastfurnace Bottoms (commonly termed Iron Horses), &c.. &c. Catalogues are being prepared and may be obtained, when ready, upon application to the AUCTIONEERS, 5, High-street, Cardiff. \/U" anted, two Lancashire Boilers, large ▼ ▼ size, first-class condition ; state pressure and price.—Address, ’* BOILER,” Wm. Porteous & Co., Glasgow. For Sale, Mild Steel Chimney, self- supporting, 110ft. high, 4ft. 3 in. at top, 9ft. diameter at base 3 guy’ ropes; erected but never used, almost new.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3, Queen- street, E C. For Sale, Tanks, Boiler Shells, one 30 by 8, one 37 by 7 ft. 3 in., five 33 by 7, four 30 by 7, ready for delivery — “ O. T.,” care of Street’s, 30, C rnhill, E.C. For Sale, Vacuum Pump, Belt-driven, 9§ by 13f, 122 cubic feet per minute, by Dehne.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3, Queen-street, E C. For Sale, 40-n.h.p. Undertype Robey WINDING ENGINE, pair 14Jin. cylinders, 18 in. stroke, Boiler 100 lb. steam, coupled to two drums, 7ft. diameter. 18 in. wide; each drum lo ose of shaft with clutch gear, equal new.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3. Queen- street, E.C. For Sale, pair Winding Engines, 22 in. cylinders by 48 in stroke, drop valves, two drum®, 8ft diameter, 24 in. wide, by Holman; equal new, immediate delivery.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3, Queen street, London. For Sale, Compressor, by Holman, jet condensing, steam cylinder 19 in., air cylinder 18 in. by 30 in. stroke, hand variable expansion.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3, Q leen.street, E.C. Tpor Sale, two 50-n.h.p. Loco. Type BOILE RS for 150 steam, one 40-n.h.p., 120, by Davey Paxman, also 65-n.h.p. for 160, by Robey; all immediate delivery.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3, Queen-street, E.C. For Sale, 40-n.h.p. Self-contained Engine, cylinders 12 and 21 by 24, by Paxman ; also Cross Compound, by Robev, 17 and 33 by 40. flywheel 16ft. for seven ropes.—A. UNDERWOOD, 3, Queen-street, E.C. For Sale, 10 and 12-ton. Second-hand COAL WAGONS, and 10-ton COKE WAGONS, prompt delivery.— FITZ H. SEVERN, Parliament Chambers, Nottingham. YX7anted immediately, small Direct V ▼ driven Alternating GENERATING SET, about 100-kw., 50cycles, 500 volts.—Reply, with full particulars, EAST BRISTOL COLLIERIES, Kingswood, Bristol. anted, Works for Dismantling, Plant V V no longer required, boilers, tanks, machinery, &c., for prompt cash.—Write to E. J. WEBSTER, 119, Bow-road, London, E. J. W. BAIRD AND COMPANY, PITWOOD IMPORTERS, WEST HARTLEPOOL, YEARLY CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO WITH COLLIERIES. OSBECK & COMPANY LIMITED, PIT-TIMBER MERCHANTS, NEWCASTLE-ON-T YNE. SUPPLY ALL KINDS OF COLLIERY TIMBER. Telegrams—“Osbecks, Newcastle-on-Tyne.” * * For other Miscellaneous Advertisements see Last White Page. AND Journal of the Coal and Iron Trades. Joint Editors— J. V. ELSDEN, D.Sc. (Lond.), F.G.S. HUBERT GREENWELL, F.S.S., Assoc.M.I.M.E. LONDON, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1915. The London coal trade continues brisk, but the quantity available for the open market is small. An appreciable increase is shown in the seaborne returns, but railborne quantities are considerably reduced. Steam coals are firm. Licence restrictions during the past week have been even more severe than formerly, and this fact combined with inadequacy of tonnage has not been conducive to good business in the export department of the coal trade. These difficulties are felt in full force on the Tyne and Wear, but happily tonnage has somewhat improved during the latter part of the week, and the tone of the prompt markets at both places has benefited. The Lancashire house coal trade shows signs of improvement, due probably to the advice recently issued on the part of the Board of Trade. This has also had effect upon the household coal of the Yorkshire markets, for here, also, a better demand is reported. In this area the wagon shortage still hampers business. Steadiness again charac- terises the Derbyshire coal trade, demand and supply being well balanced. Until the very last moment the labour situation in the South Wales coal field seemed to disorganise business. Here, too, the tonnage question is acute, and it is reported that the future would be brighter were the supply of vessels to increase. Prices are irregular, and more or less nominal. Quietness reigns throughout the Scottish coal trade, licence restrictions and tonnage shortage being the chief causes. The matter of the proposed combine of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain, the National Union of Railwaymen, and the National Transport Workers’ Federation was again considered on Friday last by a joint committee of the three unions concerned. The Trade Unions Congress opened at Bristol on Monday. Mostly all the matters discussed had relation to the position of labour in the present war. Mr. Lloyd George addressed the members on Thursday. Prof. Schuster presided over the meeting of the British Association, which commenced on Tuesday, and referred to the task of science during the present crisis. In the chemistry section, on Wednesday, Prof. W. A. Bone dealt with the importance of a more scientific control of fuel consumption. By an Order dated August 16, the Home Secretary has added two new explosives to the Permitted List. The average value of coal, coke and manu- factured fuel exported from the United Kingdom during August was 18s. 0 2d. per ton, as com- pared with 13s. 3-Id. in August 1914, and 13s. llffid. in August 1913. The value during the first eight completed months of the present year is 16s. 5-3d. per ton as com- pared with 13s 92d. and 13s. ll*6d. respectively in the corresponding periods of 1914 and 1913. Of the total exports of coal during August, the mean value of the large coal exported was 19s. 8*6d.; through-and-through (unscreened), 15s. 2 6d.; and small coal, 16s. 10*7d. The average value of all kinds of coal exported was 17s. 8-3d., an increase of 8d. as compared with the previous month. Other- wise divided, it fetched the following:—Steam coal, 18s. 4 8d. ; gas coal, 14s. 8*7d. ; anthracite, 21s. 6’3d. ; household, 18s. 11-Id. ; other sorts, 15s. 5 6d. The average value of the coke exported was 26s. 2-Id. per ton, and of the manufactured fuel 21s. 11-8d. per ton. During August 3,853,794 tons of coal, coke and manufactured fuel were exported from the United Kingdom, at a value of £3,471,990, as compared with 3,209,399 tons, valued at £2,132,329, in August 1914 and 6,072,863 tons, valued at £4,242,381, in August 1913. The aggregate exports during the period January to August reached 30,962,900 tons, valued at £25,454,699, as against 46,276,159 tons, valued at £31,863,624, and 50,396,630 tons, valued at £35,201,466, in the corresponding periods respectively of 1914 and 1913. The French Minister of Finance has issued an Order prohibiting the re-exportation of coal and coke from France. To-day (Friday), Lord St. Aldwyn will preside as neutral chairman of the South Wales Conciliation Board, to consider the men’s application for a 12Jper cent, advance in wages under the new agreement, which was signed by both parties on Friday last. About 2,500 miners employed by I). Davis and Sons, at Tylorstown, have struck work on the non-unionist question. On Wednesday next the annual general meeting of the Institution of Mining Engineers will commence. The proceedings at the important Coal conference held at the Home Office, Mining on Thursday of last week, were Organisation, unexpectedly brief, and this has been taken to indicate one of two things—either a complete incompatibility of opinion, or, on the contrary, whole-hearted agreement. The brevity of “ conversations ” is generally controlled by one or other of these reasons. In the present instance, we believe, neither esti- mate is quite right, although the official statement issued after the conference gives little guide. The owners have decided, quite wisely, that the Miners’ Federation should be allowed to continue their efforts to secure greater regularity of work and less absenteeism. Undoubtedly there has been a great improvement recently in some districts, and a large proportion of the men are showing, in a practical fashion, a real sense of the seriousness of the national peril. But one cannot be very sanguine that any great material increase in the output will actually be obtained by this means. It is a remarkable fact that whilst unavoidable absentee- ism, due to sickness and accident and to other closely-related causes, is practically uniform through- out the country, the avoidable absenteeism is subject to great variations, and it is not always easy to find the cause of this variation. Attendance at work may be due to the conditions of working, to the system of management, to transport facilities, to social surroundings, to the rate of wages, to the oppor- tunities for pleasure, to local character, to the influence of leaders, and many other causes, which can be readily expanded by the reader. It is, therefore, too much to expect that the practical ideal of converting the best day’s attendance into a regular standard can ever be actually attained. If it could be reached, little else need be done and probably the miners’ leaders are the only people that can make the attempt. They will assuredly fail, however, if they commit the fatal error of encouraging the specious theory that duty and profits are inextricably mixed, and many of them, we fear, will go before the men partially convinced in their own minds that when the miners are invited to exert the coup redouble they are being enlisted not in the service of their country, but in the bondage of their plutocratic employers. We seriously feel that no mine owner should at the present time omit any opportunity to encourage the impression amongst his workmen that he is a patriot first, and a man of business afterwards; everything should be done that can be done to supply the workmen with wagons and to work the pits to their full capacity. Unfortunately, the only practical consideration at which many men will look is hard cash. There are few collieries that will seek to make disproportionate profits from the extraordinary efforts put forward by the workmen, but, where these efforts do bring grist to the mill, it is not always an easy proposition to determine the reward on an equitable or beneficial basis. Some of the members of Sir Kick a rd Redma yne’s Committee were wedded to a “bonus” system, but it is clear that a system whereby the man who is already doing his best could gain the premium, but the irreclaimable 10 per cent, is left untouched, even while it might be perfectly equitable, would not be effective in securing the primary object—namely, the improvement of the output. For this very reason it seems to us to be a very great pity that the eight hours question cannot be approached from a more rational standpoint, for the suspension of the Act would appear to be the only means of enabling the good workman to do his “ extra bit.” We know that a great many colliery owners, especially those who have adopted the multiple-shift system of working, are not anxious to revert to the arrangements that existed before the Act compelled them to revise their organisations. But no one has suggested that, even if the Act were suspended in toto, there should be any com- pulsion, or that any drastic alteration in the system of working should be made. All that has been contemplated is that the workman, whether he be a hewer or a putter, should be allowed to stay in a little longer to round off his daily task, and that the