January 7, 1916. 35 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN ________________________________________________________________________________ ________ siderable time ahead. Ordinary steams advanced between 3s. and 4s. per ton, and it was reported that a large quantity of second Admiralty coals had been sold over 1916 at 24s. and even 24s. 6d. per ton. In the first week of December the quotation ruled at 19s. to 21s., but at the end of the year 23s. 6d. to 25s. 6d. was being asked, and obtained. Best bunkers improved 2s. to 14s. to 15s., and cargo qualities remained steady at 8s. to 9s. per ton. Dry coals were unaltered at 25s. to 26s.; nuts, 25s. to 27s.; and peas, 20s. to 21s. Monmouth- shires also made a steady 'advance, and ranged from 22s. to 25s., according to quality. In bituminous coals there was no alteration in No. 3 Rhondda large at 23s. to 24s., but No. 2 qualities rose 5s. to 20s. to 21s. per ton. Best grades of patent fuel were still sold on the basis of 25s., but forward business over the first few months of 1916 could not be negotiated at a lower figure than 28s. Pit wood remained very high throughout the month, and at the end of the year realised 52s. to 53s. per ton. In the early days dense fogs interfered with the expected arrivals of shipping, but there was a decided improvement in the amount of tonnage avail- able, although nothing like sufficient for the require- ments of the trade. The Greek Government were again in the market for 50,000 tons of steam coals, and it was reported that a certain portion of the business had been allotted, but no details were disclosed. The Egyptian State Railways also invited tenders for 50,000 tons for delivery between March and December, and the Paris, Lyons, and Mediterranean Railway placed an order for 20,000 tons of patent fuel with a Swansea firm. In the labour market the only feature of interest was the endeavour to fix the equivalent selling price of coal, and Lord St. Aldwyn volunteered his services. The miners’ leaders, however, declined to proceed, and the negotiations proved abortive. This was followed by the resignation of Lord St. Aldwyn, who had previously indicated his desire to be relieved of the position; and at the end of the year, at a joint meeting of the Board, it was decided to request the Lord Chief Justice to nomi- nate a successor. At the. time of writing, statistics for December were not available. The shipments from the Bristol Channel for the 11 months ending November 30, amounted to 17,064,224 tons, as against 22,719,734 tons for the same period in 1914, being a decrease of 7,411,327 tons. The following table gives the foreign exports for each year from 1912 to 1915, inclusive :— 1912. 1913. 1914. 1915. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. January......... 2,434,907... 2,693,268... 2,538,836... 1,697,777 February ...... 2,450,603... 2,302,580... 2,538,805... 1,762,784 March ?........ 699,238... 2,447,110... 2,496,993... 1,923,279 April ........... 476,391... 2,717,016... 2,251,922... 1,644,120 May ........... 2,545,999... 2,187,753... 2,453,229... 1,503/38 June ........... 2,047,130 .. 2,475,292... 2,189,984... 1,468,386 July ........... 2,801,866... 2,873,830... 2,613,743... 1,280,725 August ................ 2,387,934... 2,142,151... 1,109,167... 1,218,897 September .... 2,387,536... 2,510,338... 1,388,798... 1,543,640 October......... 2,793,364... 2,616,148... 1,711,982... 1,482,104 November...... 2,614,539... 2,382,723... 1,426,275... 1,509,474 December______ 2,486,237... 2,502,338... 1,755,817... * 26,125,744...29,850,547...24,475,551...17,064,224 * No return for December. Coastwise Shipments. Cardiff. Tons. Newport. Tons. Port Talbot. Tons. Swansea. Tons. January 52,876 ... 62,309 .. . 9,430 ... 12,685 February . ... 50,480 ... 64,187 .. . 14,693 ... 17,890 March 53,333 ... 64,412 .. . 19,386 ... 19,629 April 4',894 ... 54,038 .. . 13,598 ... 20,695 May 40,023 ... 47,500 .., . 18,062 ... 19,330 June 45,705 ... 48,37b .. . 13,872 ... 26,264 J uly 40,789 ... 46,338 ... . 10.538 ... 10,168 August 46,751 ... 49,535 .. . 10.181 ... 14,980 September .... 44,853 ... 33,899 .. . 14,690 ... 19,399 October 48,310 ... 51,610 ... . 10,330 ... 16,567 November .... 49,171 ... 43,850 .. . 12,177 ... 16,751 Bunkers. Cardiff. Newport. Port Talbot. Swansea. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons January 268,226 ... 64,228 ... . 27,852 ... 44,671 February 250,038 ... -71,626 ... . 28,892 ... 33,813 M arch 296,213 ... 64,184 ... . 21,13«» ... 33,347 April 207.443 ... 64,747 ... 23,163 ... 35.253 May ..... 177,999 ... 56,464 ... 17,450 ... 24,852 June 161,023 ... 39,297 ... 16,420 ... 30,977 July 165,4*6 ... 48,095 ... 13,107 25,955 August 134,124 ... 47,973 ... 13,519 ... 22,306 September ..... 167,644 ... 50,611 ... 14,405 ... 20,669 October 131,646 ... 21,110 ... 15,96) ... 44 412 November 135,767 ... 41,007 ... 40,001 ... 20,367 Patent Fuel. Cardiff. Newport. Port Tulbot. Swansea. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. January 25,469 ... 2,784 ... 7,458 ' ... 28,327 February 21,120 ... 6,878 ... 6,039 ... 46,287 March ... . 29 709 ... 6,711 ... 13,721 ... 47,318 April 38.891 ... 3,213 ... 24,226 ... 76/09 May 26,167 ... 7,695 ... 20,035 ... 64,017 June 35,365 3,429 ... 10,710 ... 59/72 July 38.418 ... 4,013 ... 19,605 ... 61,001 August 29,720 ... 1,513 ... 26,949 ... 53,214 September 27,311 ... 5,729 ... 14,434 ... 46,057 October 22.761 ... 2,440 ... 9,127 ... 92,396 November 20,894 ... Nil ... 9,383 ... 24,133 Coke. Cardiff. Newport. Port Talbot. Swansea. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. January .... 7,852 ... 1,236 ... 19 577 February .... 4,387 ... 2,453 nil 513 March .... 6,856 ... 1,517 ... 3,975 ... 1,123 April .... 8,741 699 ... 3,557 672 May .... 7,150 ... 1,555 ... 1,342 332 June .... 10,395 932 ... 1,929 837 July .... 8,658 761 ... 2,939 ... 1,493 August .... 8,433 . ... 3,759 ... 2,391 898 September .... 9,751 ... 2,409 ... 1,575 3<0 October .... 8,736 ... 1,131 ... 1,976 ... 1,284 November .... 9,184 ... 4,188 ... 2,627 ... l,80> Table A given below shows the average declared selling prices of large and small steam coal at the four principal ports of the Bristol Channel for each month of the year, compared with those of 1914. _______ LONDON. There are many features in connection with the London coal trade which will make the year 1915 a truly memorable one. The scarcity of fuel, the great activity of the wholesale and retail trade throughout the ____________________________ In the earlier months of the year it was not infrequent for the North of London sidings to be full of loaded coal trucks, and yet at many of the southern stations, especi- ally on the London and South-Western Railway, the merchants and public generally were suffering from an absolute famine of coal, and had to resort to wood fires. The Great Eastern Railway Company also gave notice of the closing of many of their stations for goods and mineral traffic for long periods together, and the con- fusion brought about by this decision, especially to many of the factories along the Custom House line and the Thames side, will prove a never-to-be-forgotten experi- ence. The barging stations, such as Chelsea, Poplar, Blackwall, etc., have for many weeks at a time been closed stations, and for many months now orders for these stations have only been accepted by the railway companies when barges have been assured, and are in readiness to take the coal on its arrival. The seaborne market has’been fairly well supplied throughout the year, but no official quotations have been given in any single case. All have been contract cargoes, the last published quotations being 21s. 6d. in November 1914. The seaborne market was seriously affected in May last by a new Government order for all shipments to neutral countries to be under special licence. For a time this completely disorganised all export trade, but gradually it was recognised favourably, and, as a general principle, justifiable. The refusal to grant licences for export cargoes tended to reduce the demand. The Allied nations would undoubtedly take first consideration, but the restrictions as to Northern Europe ports and to South America greatly curtailed the export trade. The necessary control of British coal, and a proper proportion between the home and foreign consumption, was the'explanation issued by the Foreign Office. The marvel is that British exports have main- tained such a strong position during the whole of the year, and that, both in quantity and value, there should have been such a material increase, notwithstanding the whole of the time the nation, and, in fact, nearly the whole of Europe, have been engaged in the greatest war of history. Freights have varied considerably during the year, the average being 10s. from the Humber and the Tyne to London, the lowest being 6s. and the highest 16s. 6d. The release of interned boats during the spring and summer led to a substantial reduction in the freights for the time being. In July last the London County Council discussed at considerable length a scheme. for storage depots in London for the winter supply of coal, but the General Purposes Committee found that the difficulties in the way were practically insurmountable, there being no accommodation available at the London sidings for further stocks of coal, the approximate accommodation being for about 250,000 tons all told; but in order to meet the needs of the poorer classes alone, accommoda- tion would be required for 1/ million tons, and even if the land could be secured, the financial question would be a very important one, apart from the loss in slack and double handling of the coal. The real danger, how- ever, has invariably arisen from the fact of the unusually heavy demand for the Government use. Table A.—Average Declared Selling Prices of Large and Small Steam Coal from Bristol Channel Ports. / Large steam. Small steam. i Cardiff. Newport. Swansea, Port Talbot. Cardiff. Newport. Swansea. Port Talbot. 1915 1914. 1915. 1914. 1915. 1914. 1915. 1914. 1915. 1914. 1915. 1914. 1915. 1914. 1915. 1914. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. January 17 7 .. .17 7 .. .. 16 8 .. .16 3 . .. 18 3 .. .. 16 2 . .. 17 4 .. .. 17 3 . .. 10 2 . .. 9 5 .. .. 11 4 . .. 11 1 .. . 15 5 .. . 10 2 ., .. 10 0 .. .. 8 5 February 18 0 .. .17 9 . .. 17 2 ..16 7 . ..18 7 . .. 15 11 . .. 18 6 . .. 16 10 . .. 11 1 . ..97. .. 12 1 . .. 10 8 . .. 16 7 .. .. 10 1 . .. 9 11 .. ,. 8 4 March April 19 4 .. .17 9 . .. 18 6 .’ ..16 9 . .. 18 10 15 7 . .. 20 0 . .. 16 7 . .. 12 11 . ..96. .. 15 1 . 10 9 .. .. 15 o .. . 10 6 . .. 11 4. .. .. 8 5 22 3 .. . 17 8 . .. 19 10 . .. 16 5 . ..19 7 . .. 15 9 . .. 21 3 . .. 17 I . .. 15 0 . ..9 7 . .. 18 7 .. .. 11 1 .. .14 5 .. . 9 2 .. ,. 13 6 .. . 8 8 May June 23 2 . 17 10 . .. 22 3 .. . 16 7 20 11 .. . 15 3 25 2 .. . 17 2 .. . 16 1 .. .. 9 10 18 6 .. .. 11 3 .. .16 7 .. 9 9 .. . 15 9 .. . 8 9 22 6 . .’ . 17 11 .. . 23 6 . .. 16 8 .. .. 19 9 .. . 15 11 .. . 24 2 16 11 .. . 16 9 .. .9 7 .. . 20 1 .. .. 10 11 .. . 16 8 .. . 9 11 . .. 16 6 ., .. 8 10 July 20 2 .. . 17 11 .. . 21 1 .. .16 6 .. . 20 10 .. . 15 5 .. .21 0 .. . 16 7 .. . 15 6 .. .97.. . 19 10 .. .11 0 .. .17 9 .. . 10 0 .. . 15 10 .. .8 11 August 22 4 17 6 .. . 21 1 .. . 16 6 .. . 21 11 .. .16 9 .. . 23 11 :. . 19 1 .. . 16 5 .. .8 5 .. . 19 8 .. .. 9 10 .. . 19 10 .. ‘J 0 .. .12 10 . . 7 9 September 20 5 .. .18 1 .. . 20 3 .. . 16 10 .. . 22 8 .. . 14 11 .. .24 7 .. . 17 2 .. . 15 3 .. .7 9 .. . 18 4 .. . 9 10 .. .20 2 .. . 9 0 .. .. 15 10 .. ,. 7 4 October November 19 0 .. .17 8 .. .. 20 9 .. .16 8 .. .24 8 .. . 15 10 .. . 23 5 .. . 16 11 .. . 13 10 .. .77.. . 17 8 .. .. 9 0.. .21 0 .. . 8 4 .. . 14 11 .. 8 4 19 0 .. . 17 4 .. . 19 5 .. . 16 8 . .. 26 2 .. . 16 7 .. .24 2 .. . 18 5 .. . 13 5 .. .81.. . 16 7 .. .10 3 .. . 23 1 .. . 8 10 .. . 13 11 .. . 7 4 ^December .17 2 . ..16 5 . — .. 18 4 .. — . 17 4 .. .9 1 .. . 9 10 .. — . 9 1 .. — . 9 11 * Figures for December 1915 not available. Below is a table showing the total exports from the principal ports of the Channel, together with the increase or decrease compared with the corresponding months of 1914. Admiralty shipments since the outbreak of war are not included. Increase. Decrease. Tons. Tons. Tons. January 1,697,777 ... — . 841,059 February 1,762,784 ... — . 776,021 March 1,923,279 ... — . 573,714 April 1,644,120 ... — . 607,802 May 1,503,038 — . 950,191 June 1,468,386 ... — . 721,598 July 1,280,725 ... — . 333,018 August 1,248,897 ... 139,730 — September 1,543,640 ... 154,842 .. . — October 1,482,104 ... — . 229,878 November 1,509,474 ... 83,199 .’. . — Foreign Exports. The following table shows the foreign exports from each of the chief 'Welsh ports for each month from January to November :—• _ Cardiff. Newport. Port Talbot. Swansea. Tons Tons. Tons. Tons. 1,013,468 . .. 314,571 ... 87,210 ... 271,759 1,073,285 . .. 334,251 ... 111,519 ... 235,455 1,283,040 . 295,133 ... , 100,094 ... 237,272 871,759 . 326,092 ... . 129,252 ... 309,970 873,550 . 277,096 ... . 120,253 ... 216,728 798,185 . .. 257,591 ... 130,556 ... 273.635 664,813 . .. 241.540 ... 108.975 ... 255,316 660,273 . .. 286 937 ... 102,568 ... 179,730 904,870 . .. 308,515 ... 123.510 ... 198,581 706,630 . .. 169,185 ... 144,966 . ... 451,572 849,411 . .. 290,193 ... 148,628 ... 215,578 January... February ... March..... April ..... May ...... June______ July ...... August ... September .. October... November ... Minimum and Maximum Quotations of South Wales Coals for each Month in 1915. Ordinary Cardiff steams/ Best bunker smalls.* No. 3 Rhonda bituminous large.* Best Patent fuel* Best malting anthracite large (net).f Monmouth- shire Black Veins.* s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. January 19 0—20 0 12 0—14 3 17 6 18 0 18 0—21 0 22 6—24 6 18 0—18 9 February 19 6—21 9 15 0—18 0 17 6—22 0 22 0—25 0 22 6—24 6 18 6—22 6 March 25 0—31 0 18 6—21 6 22 0—34 0 25 0-40 0 22 h—24 6 24 9—36 3 April 35 0—40 0 21 (—22 6 3» 0 31 0 35 0—40 0 22 6—24 6 32 9 38 3 May 34 0—37 6 21 6-22 0 28 0—30 0 35 0—37 6 22 0—24 0 33 34 3 June 29 0-35 0 19 6—22 6 27 0—30 0 35 0—37 6 22 0—24 6 26 0—33 9 July 26 0—27 0 19 6—23 0 25 0—2 8 0 33 0—37 6 22 6—26 6 25 3—31 0 August 24 0—25 0 20 0—23 0 26 0—29 0 34 6—35 0 24 0—'0 0 23 9—31 9 September 22 0—23 0 15 0—19 0 22 0—25 0 33 0—34 0 28 0—35 0 22 9—25 0 October 19 0—20 0 10 0-16 0 21 0—23 0 27 6—34 0 31 0—37 0 18 6-23 3 November 18 6—19 0 10 0—12 0 20 0—24 0 24 0—27 6 35 0—37 6 18 0—19 0 December 20 0-23 0 12 0—13 0 23 0-24 0 24 0—2) 0 35 0—37 0 19 0—20 0 * F.o.b. Cardiff. f F.o.b. Swansea. whole of the year, the increasing demand for both house- hold and manufacturing qualities from the first day of the year to the last, the insurmountable difficulties in the cartage and delivery owing to the enlistment of so many of the men at the various wharves and depots, the shortage of craft in the River Thames through the Government monopoly for munition works, and the entire closure of certain portions of the railway lines whilst troops and armaments were being moved, necessi- tating the cancelment of a large number of trains—these all mark the year as exceptional and unique. The Port of London Authority gave notice early in the year for all the port rates to be increased as much as 20 to 25 per cent. The additional revenue was required to meet the increased cost of material and wages, but the announcement caused a considerable amount of dis- cussion at the time on the London market. Railway Traffic. Wagon hire has also played an important part during the year, and most collieries have given notice of an increased charge of 50 per cent, for wagon hire, on account of the lessened number of trucks available for