1252

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

December 17, 1915.

Notes from the Coal Fields.

[Local Correspondence.]

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

German Coal Firms Trading in Britain—Colliery Merge:
Griffin Nantyglo Property United with Ebbw Vale—
Swansea Docks and the Coal Trade—The Railway
Wagon Situation.

The position of German coal firms in South Wales was
the subject of discussion by the Cardiff Chamber of Com-
merce on Monday. It arose upon a suggestion that the
Chamber should support -a proposition coming from Norwich,
intended to be brought before the meeting of the Associated
Chambers; but the discussion widened beyond the limits of
the suggestions contained in the Norwich idea. The
president (Mr. T. E. Watson) observing that the proposals
were far-reaching and serious, suggested that the Associated
Chambers should be asked to call a special meeting to
discuss them; and Mr. J. A. Jones, the Cardiff delegate to
the Associated Chambers, dwelt upon certain of the pro-
posals, and said that whilst the German coal trade had been
helped, the coal trade of Great Britain had been hampered
by the Government having given an indirect benefit to the
German trade through the imposition of the coal tax. That
had tied traders’ hands behind them, and given American
and German producers a footing which he feared they would
keep.—The president . pointed out that reform was needed
in respect of the limited liability laws of this country, for
some of the strongest competitors of late years had been
companies, professedly British, but in which every farthing
of capital was German. There was Frachtkontor Gesell-
schaft, which came for the purpose of undermining our
supremacy in the foreign coaling stations, and instituting
German depots where English depots existed. Then there
w7as the firm of Hugo Stinnes. Mr. Stinnes was known to
be one of the largest colliery owners in Germany; and
“ Hugo Stinnes Limited ” was, under English laws, an
English institution. Every farthing of the capital was
German; so was the controlling power; yet under our absurd
laws this firm masqueraded as British, competing <and taking
orders, but not paying income-tax, because they reported to
the Treasury that the profits made really belonged to their
German house, whilst the English company received only a
commission of Id. per ton. Then there was the Vulcan
Company, pretending to be a Dutch company, which bought
coal, and competed with us right and left, but it was
German capital controlled by Thyssen, the great German
colliery owner. Ultimately the suggestion that the
Associated Chambers should be asked to call a special
meeting was carried.

Very great interest was evoked by the announcement on
Tuesday that the holding of Messrs. D. Davis and Sons in
the property of Messrs. John Lancaster and Company had
been acquired jointly by the Ebbw Vale Company and
Messrs. T. Beynon and Company. Whilst John Lancaster
and Company would still exist as a separate entity, the
board of directors would include Mr. F. Mills (managing
director of the Ebbw Vale Company), Mr. J. W. Beynon,
Mr. D. A. Thomas (of the Cambrian Combine), and Mr.
L. F. Beynon. The Lancaster property covers 4,000 acres,
and has an output of 1| million tons per annum. It is
situated in the neighbourhood of Abertillery, and therefore
on the west joins the Ebbw Vale property. The sales agents
will be Messrs. T. Beynon and Company, who already occupy
the same position in regard to the Newport-Abercarn, the
Ebbw Vale, and the Fernhill undertakings; and with this
addition they will have control of nearly 5,000,000 tons per
annum. The colliery management of the Lancaster pits
will, it is stated, come under Mr. M. Falcon, general
manager of the Ebbw Vale Company’s undertakings, and
the present Lancaster staff will remain unchanged. The
number of Lancaster employees is about six thousand, and
the number of the Ebbw Vale about twelve thousand.
Messrs. D. Davis and Sons, who held nine-tenths of the
Lancaster interest, acquired this as recently as 1911. The
Griffin-Nantyglo coal of the Lancaster undertaking is well
known, and has a high reputation in the market. Mr. J. W.
Beynon, chairman of the new board of directors of John
Lancaster and Company, under the reorganisation, is man-
aging director of the Newport-Abercarn, a director of the
Ebbw Vale Company, also of the Rhymney Railway Com-
pany; and he has other industrial interests in the district.

Relations between the Swansea Corporation and the
Harbour Trustees came under discussion at a meeting of the
Trust on Monday, the financial difficulty once more bringing
it into prominence. The Corporation has a liability in
respect of the new King Dock. This guarantee terminates
at the end of 10 years from the opening of the dock. Six of
the years have already expired; and during the earlier
period the increase in trade rendered an 'appeal to the Cor-
poration unnecessary. With the falling off of business,
however, due to the war, the trustees have had to make a
call upon the Corporation to honour their guarantee; and
an arrangement was made whereby the Corporation should
advance £65,000 out of a total of .£150,000, application being
made to the Local Government Board by the Corporation for
permission to advance the same. Reference was made to
the Treasury, and last week intimation came to hand that
the Treasury would not consent to the issue of the loan by
the Corporation. Speaking at the Harbour Trust meeting on
Monday, Sir Griffith Thomas (the president) stated that
further representation was to be made to the Treasury by
both the Corporation and the Trustees; and he hoped the
Treasury would reconsider its first decision and authorise
the Corporation to make the advance. The matter is more
complicated by a request that the Corporation representation
on the Trust should be enlarged in view of this contribution
which is to be made. The importance of this matter lies in
the probability that unless the loan is issued, the trustees
will have to increase their rates for coal shipment.

The president of the Swansea Chamber of Commerce (Mr.
Cook), referring to the shortage of railway trucks, said that
the coal trade had not suffered very much in the Swansea
district, because colliery owners provided their own wagons.
There had, however, been much trouble in respect of the
release of trucks used for inland trade, and it had been found
necessary to draw the attention of the Board of Trade to the
subject. Mr. Cook thought that one remedy for this would
be the pooling of wagons, which should be practicable now
that all railways are under the Government control.

During the past week more discussion has taken place on
the question of pooling wagons, and it has been pointed out
that, owing to the fact that they open at the ends instead of
at the sides or bottoms, the trucks in South Wales are not

suitable for the proposal. Sir Clifford Cory has taken the
matter up; but it is anticipated that, for the reason stated,
the proposed pool will not be instituted.

With reference to the international situation, it is worthy
of note that considerable difficulty has arisen in South Wales
ports during the week regarding Greek tonnage. On one
afternoon a message was received that no Greek vessel would
be allowed to leave the various ports, and with the existing
scarcity of tonnage, the order created no little alarm. The
Customs authorities, however, denied all knowledge of the
order, and during that night at least one vessel of the nation-
ality concerned left the port. Others which were loading
have completed and left. The message proved to be no more
than a rumour, although its effect on the market was con-
siderable. Sine then, the Greek Government has comman-
deered the larger vessels. Whilst the shipping of Greece is
a material factor in the Bristol Channel ports, the exports to
that country in normal times are very heavy, and for several
months past they have dwindled down to less than one-sixth
of the normal quantity. The proportion over a long period
was only about half of that for the corresponding months of
1914.

Lieut. D. R. Phillips, who is a director of Messrs. Franklin
Thomas and Company, coal exporters, of Cardiff, entered
upon his duties in the Army Service Corps on Monday. He
received his commission two or three months ago, but as his
firm had important coal contracts with the French Govern-
ment, extension of time was granted before taking up duty.
The members of the Cardiff Coal and Shipping Exchange
entertained him to dinner at the Park Hotel on Friday last
week, and presented him with a sword, on which were
engraved the names of the donors.

The Rhondda Council are considering the problem of supply
of coal to persons in the locality. One of the speakers at a
recent meeting stated that whilst the great .majority of resi-
dents were employed at the colliery, and, consequently, got
their coal at a low rate, there were a large number who had
great difficulty in getting coal at all. Suggestions were made
as to the opening of a municipal coal depot, etc.; but Aid.
W. H. Mathias suggested that the better course would be to
make an appeal to the colliery companies. Those with which
he was connected wrould reserve a quantity of coal for local
use at reasonable prices. Mr. Mathias’s suggestion was
adopted, and a resolution making the appeal was passed.

Although the counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan have
made perhaps the largest contribution to the New Army in
proportion to the population, the closing days of the Derby
campaign were marked by heavy enlistments, a large propor-
tion of the men being colliers.

The Senghenydd miners have levied themselves in respect
of the hospital at Cardiff; and it was reported to the board of
management that these contributions now total £20 a month.
The contribution of the men is Id. a week each; and from
the neighbouring colliery of Abertridwr £40 has been received.
The secretary stated that these two collieries would be giving
over £500 a year, whereas before the penny-a-week-contribu-
tions system had been started the contributions had not
reached £100. The chairman of the board remarked that a
levy of Id. a week over the whole coalfield of the district
would put the hospital on a sound basis. Special thanks
were accorded to Mr. W. Thomas of Senghenydd, and Mr.
T. Price, of Abertridwr, for their services in the matter. It
is understood that meetings of colliers in Nantymoel and
Ogmore in connection with the scheme are being held.

It has been reported to the Newport Harbour Board that
the dispute between themselves and the dock company in
respect of the deep water channel, was referred to arbitration,
and the award of the arbitrator was in the form of a special
case to be submitted to the court. That special case had,
however, been postponed by arrangement, the dock company
having expressed a desire for agreement; and after discussion
the Dredging Committee of the Harbour Board has arranged
all the points of difference with the dock company except one,
namely, what amount of money should be spent in maintain-
ing the deep water channel to the new dock. The company
suggest that their liability should cease when they had spent
£18,000, but the committee think the amount should be
£20,000.

The assertion that there is not at the present time a suffi-
ciency of colliery inspectors, because some of the inspectors
have enlisted, gives rise to a demand that the workmen should
themselves appoint whole-time examiners; and the proposi-
tion is now put forward that the Federation should take up
the matter.

It is significant of the condition cf the coal depots abroad
that the Dutch liners have abandoned the Suez Canal route,
and purpose to work between Europe and Asia vid the Cape
of Good Hope, although this involves several days’ extra
steaming. The alleged reason is the uncertainty of getting
supply at the coal depots. The stronger reason probably is
the fear of the managers that military operations may
develop and occasion hindrance in the passage of the canal:
but, after making allowance for this, there remains the fact
that the coal depots are badly depleted; that coal is
tremendously costly, the rate of freight to Alexandria running
to more than £3 per ton; and that by calling at the Cape
the steamers can probably get Natal coal at a reasonable
figure. The incident affords one more illustration of the evil
results to the coal trade generally brought about by the high
rates of freight.

The Divisional Court have decided the case which arose
out of the Senghenydd explosion. The Divisional Court on
Wednesday decided that the Mines Act intended to make the
owners responsible, and not the manager alone.

Northumberland and Durham.

Collier Entombed for Seventeen Hours—Alleged Sale of
Workmen's Allowance Coal—Fire at Cambois Colliery
—Timbering Custom and the Regulations.

Last week, William Pigg, a hewer at Hebburn Colliery,
was rescued after being entombed in the pit for 17 hours.
He was working in the Bensham seam on Friday, and,
detecting signs of an impending heavy fall, hurried off to
warn another man, named Appleton. The latter retired in
safety, but, before he could follow, Pigg was cut off by a
fall about 30 yds. in length. He commenced systematically
to timber the place, in order to secure himself against
further falls, and waited the arrival of a rescue party.

At the Edmondsley Workmen’s Club last week, Mr. R. C.
Simpson was presented with a gold watch, with a solid bangle
for Mrs. Simpson. Mr. Simpson, who has been employed at
Edmondsley Colliery for over 20 years—during the last seven
of which he has been under-manager—has now been
appointed to a similar position at the Polka Colliery, Murton.

Mr. G. T. Oglanby, who has left Kibblesworth, where he
was under-manager, in order to take up the position of
manager at Darton Main Colliery, near Barnsley, has been
presented by the officials and workmen «at the former colliery
with a massive oak roll-top writing desk, along with a
beautiful china tea set for Mrs. Oglanby.

Last week, two putters, named Wright and Ibinson, were
fined 40s. each by the Sunderland justices for the offence of
taking coal off the sides of the pit roads in the Ry hope
Colliery. For the company' it was stated that the roadway
where the defendants were found was originally 4 yds. wide,
but, owing to men taking coal off the sides, it was now
7 yds. across.

When John Hunter, cartman, was charged at Consett last
• week with having stolen 15 cwts. of coal, the property of the
South Medomsley Coal Company, it was stated that he was
in the employ of the contractor, who delivered the workmen’s
coal to the workmen’s houses. The company’s solicitor said
that enquiries showed that a practice had arisen under which
private people, who ought to purchase their coals in the
ordinary way, had been in the habit of buying from certain
of the workmen coal, to which the latter were entitled, at
great reductions in price, an absolutely illegal practice, and
one to which the owners were determined to put a stop.
The case was adjourned.

The great utility which ambulance work originally under-
taken for the saving of life and limb in the mines has been
proved to have in connection with military matters since the
outbreak of war, is illustrated by the career of Mr. J. T.
Scott, of the Cowpen Isabella pit. For eight or nine years
Mr. Scott has been instructor of ambulance classes of the
Northumberland County Council. In August of last year
he was appointed sergeant-major «at the military hospital,
Canterbury. He has recently been given a commission as
first lieutenant, and drafted to the Second Birmingham
War Hospital.

Upwards of 300 members of the West Shield Row lodge
of the Durham Miners’ Association have threatened the
colliery management with very7 drastic action, because, they
allege, the quality of the house coal supplied to them by
the company is not up to the customary standard.

Owing, it is supposed, to the fusing of a wire on some
newly-installed electrical machinery in a haulage engine
room in Cambois Colliery, late on Wednesday night of last
week, a somewhat serious fire broke out in the pit.
Fortunately, only about 40 men were below the surface at
the time, and these, who were preparing the mine for the
night shift men, were all got out safely. The fire and rescue
brigades from Ashington and Elswick were called, and
though considerable damage was done in the vicinity of the
engine room, which is about 50 yds. from the bottom of
the shaft, the outbreak was soon confined to a small area
of the pit. It was not deemed necessary by the manage-
ment to bring the pit ponies to the surface, and these were
merely removed to another part of the workings. As a
result of the fire, however, the workmen wTere laid idle for
several days. The work of repairing the damage is being
expeditiously carried out, and it was reported that work had
been partially resumed on Monday. The rescue brigades,
wearing breathing apparatus, worked continually for about
14 hours.

Colliery custom had a good deal to do with the decision
of South Shields magistrates in a case where David Walls,
a hewer employed by the Harton Coal Company at St.
Hilda Colliery, was charged with having infringed the Coal
Mines Act by failing to timber properly the place where
he was working. On a tour of the Hutton seam being made
by the Government inspector, it was found that Walls had
cut into the face 2 ft. 8 in., and lengthwise for a distance
of 9 ft. 6 in., and no sprags had been set. The regulations
specified that sprags should be set every 6 ft., as soon as
practicable, but Walls said at the time that there was no
danger, and he did not think spragging was necessary.
Mr. W. O. E. Scott, who prosecuted on behalf of the
company, said that that was just the point in the case.
The men thought they could use their discretion in a case
where the seam was hard and firm, and did not need to
trouble about sprags. The hewers, however, must have no
discretion in that matter. Accidents had occurred, some
fatal, and the Bench was asked to deal with the case in
such a manner as to clear away any misunderstanding.
Cross-examined by Mr. Newlands, defending, Robert Sewell,
a deputy overman, admitted that the putting in of the
sprags was left to the men’s discretion, and no effort had
been made to enforce the regulations. This statement was
contradicted by Mr. Hedley, the colliery manager, who said
instructions had been posted at the pit head, and nothing
was left to the discretion of the workmen. Mr. Newlands
submitted that, in view of the admission made by Sewell,
there was no case to answer. He remarked on the awkward
position of the colliery company, and said that if they had
not taken action, action would have been taken against them.
The chairman stated that, in view of what Sewell had said,
the case would be dismissed, as the Bench was of the opinion
that Walls had acted in accordance with the custom of the
colliery. There was a distinct regulation on the point,
however, and that decision would have no bearing upon it.
It remained for the colliery management to see that it was
carried out. Two similar charges against other workmen
were then withdrawn.

Cumberland.

The new waste heat plant of the Cumberland Waste
Heat Owners’ Company was inaugurated at the Whitehaven
Iron and Steel Company’s works at Cleator Mcor, last week,
in the presence of Sir Clifford Cory and others. The directors
of the Waste Heat Owners’ Company Limited, and of the
Whitehaven Haematite Iron and Steel Company Limited,
paid a visit of inspection to the new power plant which has
recently been installed by the Waste Heat Company on the
premises of the iron works. The power station is situated
on the north side of the works adjoining the L. and N. W.
Railway. This is the first plant of its kind laid down in
West Cumberland. If successful, the waste heat from other
furnaces will be utilised and distributed to other works.

Yorkshire.

Progress of Hatfield Main Colliery Sinking — Cadeby
Disaster Relief Fund — Decreased Output and Lost
Time.

Excellent progress is being made with the colliery sink-
ings at Hatfield Main, near Doncaster. The Barnsley bed
is now being rapidly approached, and the interesting announce-
ment that the goal has been reached may be expected at
almost any time. Some experts incline to the belief that