January 21, 1916.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

135

So far has the development of the timber trade in
Newfoundland gone already that it has been decided to
create a new port, which shall be open for .a lounger period
in the winter than some of the ports which hitherto have
been used. Railway connection is being made with Heart’s
Content, where there is an excellent harbour; and'the reports
are that large areas of forest have been taken, and that
felling is actively in progress for colliery purposes. The hope
of speculators across the Atlantic is that even after the
war, shipment of colliery timber from Newfoundland will
continue, both on account of the proximity of the forest to
the seaboard, and also because of the facilities for shipment.

In a case heard at Merthyr, where a miner was summoned
for not placing his lamp outside the range of 2 ft. swing of
his pick, and not giving notice that his lamp was damaged,
the Stipendiary stated that the prosecutors had not complied
with the terms of the section in that there was no competent
person appointed in writing by the management for the
purpose of examining every lamp as it was returned. He
said that the Bench was of opinion that the Act intended
lamps to be examined immediately they were returned, and
that the damage should be reported by the wTorkmen at
once. Defendant had admitted the offence with regard to
the position of the lamp, and on that charge he was fined
20s.

The tin-plate trade is represented as in a condition of
great prosperity, this being based upon the price obtained
per box for tin plates, which is now nearly double the figure
of 12 months 'ago. But it has to be borne in mind that the
conditions are purely temporary, and altogether unhealthy.
Considerably more than half, probably as much as two-
thirds, of the production is taken by the British or Allied
Governments; and meanwhile, the Americans are supplying
customers abroad who hitherto have purchased from South
Wales makers. They have already surpassed the British
makers in the total of their exports, an unprecedented fact;
and are selling, notwithstanding recent advance, at a price
which is approximately 10s. per box below that of the British
maker. Wages are exceptionally high in South Wales, and
the cost of the steel bars used in manufacture is TH 10s.
per ton, as against less than £5 a year ago. These facts
go to show how difficult are the circumstances, not operative
at the moment, but in the immediate future, when the
exceptional demand by the Governments ceases, and mer-
chants have to look to the ordinary conditions' of business
and try to return to those markets into which the Americans
are now successfully and, to themselves, so satisfactorily
entering.

Northumberland and Durham.

Co-operative Society's Proposed Purchase of Colliery—
Checkweighman and His Wages—Division of Con-
tractors' Profits.

Messrs. Williams Brothers (Hull) Limited, coal exporters
and colliery agents, announce that they have opened an
office at Derwentwater Chambers, Quayside, Newcastle,
under the management of Mr. J. Lawrence McNeil.

.The miners at Murton Colliery have decided to levy them-
selves 6d. per man per month, with the object of paying
the sum of £10 to each widow or. mother who has lost a
husband or son in the war. They are asking local trades-
men to co-operate in the scheme.

An interesting announcement was made at the half-yearly
meeting of the Gateshead Co-operative Society last week,
when a member drew attention to the question of coal
supplies. Mr. Oliver, chairman, said the coal question was
a difficult problem. The Wholesale Society was going into
the matter, but it was -a huge undertaking. They were con-
sidering the purchase of a very large colliery—it was the
necessity of the situation that was making them take action
—but, even if they purchased the colliery, it was only a
fleabite as compared with the requirements of the Society.

Mr. Wm. Weir, compensation -agent to the Northumber-
land Miners’ Association, reports that during the quarter
ended December 31 last the -amount paid to dependants in
respect of fatal accidents was £2,775 8s. 7d.; 16 cases were
before the medical referee. Mr. Weir states : “ While
showing only a few disputed cases in the report, it is safe
to say that many more have come before us which cannot
well be entered. We are sorry to say that the number of
fatal accidents during last quarter is higher than we have
had for some time. While we are anxious that men should
attend work as regularly as they possibly can in order that
the highest possible output may be maintained, we are more
anxious that every precaution should be taken by our men
and boys regarding their safety, in order that the minor and
fatal accidents may be reduced to as low a point as possible.”

On Monday, 84 hewers from the Lady Durham pit,
Sherburn, were sued by Henry Parkin, checkweighman, for
their proportion of his wages. It was stated that plaintiff
had been checkweighman at the colliery for 16 years, and,
until war broke out, had always received his wages in full,
under the county average agreement, which varied accord-
ing to the price of coal. When war commenced, the levy
was 8d. per man per fortnight. In the following month it
began to fall away. At the end of October he was told
that the levy would not be sufficient to realise his wage
and that as there was a war levy of Is. 4d. per man per
fortnight, if any 'attempt were made to raise the levy for
his wages the men would be upset. He agreed, therefore,
to wait for the balance of his wages until the war levy
ceased. The war levy came to an end last March, and he
then applied for the arrears. He received no reply, and
a meeting was later held at which a ballot was decided
upon, the result of which was that he was dismissed in
May. The judge found for the plaintiff.

The returns issued by the Docks Committee of the Tyne
Improvement Commission show that, during December, a
total of 1,127,797 tons of coal and coke was shipped from
the Tyne, an increase of 65,722 tons when compared with
the clearances for the corresponding month of 1914, but a
decrease of as much as 607,068 tons when compared with the
shipments for December ,1913. The shipments included
965,926 tons of coal as cargo, and 114,581 tons as bunkers,
together with 47,290 tons of coke. It is noteworthy that the
coke shipments are 14,069 tons in excess of those for
December 1914, and 21,344 tons over those for December

1913.	The coal and coke shipments from the Tyne for the
whole of last year are recorded as 14,145,917 tons, a decrease
of 3,367,157 tons when compared with the shipments for

1914,	and a falling off of 6,154,038 as against the clearances
for 1913—figures which demonstrate very clearly that the
Northumberland and Durham coal trade has been exceed-
ingly hard hit by the war. The shipments as cargo
amounted to 12,317,187 tons ; and as bunkers, 1,431,080 tons ;
whilst the coke clearances totalled 12,714,837 tons. The
cargo shipments are 2,885,754 tons down as compared with

those for the previous year, and the bunker shipments are
520,449 tons lower, whilst the figures for coke are higher by
39,045 tons. When compared with the clearances for 1913,
last year’s figures are 5,466,673 tons less for cargo shipments,
777,330 tons lower for bunkers, and 89,965 tons more for
coke.

•Judge Greenwell decided a rather knotty point on the
question of pit bargains at North Shields last week, when
John Nichol, a miner employed by the Wallsend and
Hebburn Coal Company, at the firm’s Edward pit, Wallsend,
was sued by two of his workmates, Mark Rooney -and Wm.
Appleby, for £22, which they claimed as their share of
retention money in respect of a contract job carried out by
the three men. The point at issue was whether Nichol, who
made the contract, and subsequently took on the other two
men as “ mates,” was entitled to the profits of a successful
undertaking, -after weekly wages had been paid to all con-
cerned, or whether the outstanding or retention money should
be shared amongst the men who actually did the work.
Nichol contended that the undertaking was of a speculative
nature, and that, if it had not proved lucrative, he would
have had to bear the cost of the failure. The evidence given
by Mr. Wile, manager of the Rising Sun Colliery, at which
defendant had worked prior to taking on the contract, how-
ever, ws to the effect that, whilst Nichol was the only
signatory to the agreement, it was an understood thing that
the proceeds should be shared equally, and the paynotes
were accordingly marked “ Pay Nichol and Partners— ”
Judge Greenwell decided that defendant had no more right
to keep back the retention money than to withhold the
weekly pay. It was a dishonest attempt to keep back from
plaintiffs what they were entitled to, and he gave judgment
for the amount claimed.

Yorkshire.

Colliery Developments at Stubbin—Absenteeism: Procedure
of Local Committee.

Lieut.-Col. L. E. Pilkington, of the 5th Battalion South
Lancashire Regiment (T.F.), who has been made a Com-
panion of the Most Distinguished Order of St. Michael and
St. George, for service in the field, is the son of the late
Col. Pilkington, M.P. He is the managing director of
Messrs. Richard Evans and Company, colliery proprietors,
of Hay dock, and resides at Newton-le-Willows.

The Parkgate seam of coal was reached towards the end
of last week at the new colliery which is being sunk by
Earl Fitzwilliam, at Stubbin, near Rotherham. Sinking
operations have been proceeding for eight months, and the
coal has been found at 285 yds. depth from the surface.
The old goaf of the Barnsley seam, which had been on
fire for many years, had to be penetrated, whilst about
65 yds. below were the old Swallow Wood workings. The
first sod of the new pit was cut by Viscount Milton, and
sinking commenced in May of 1915. The section of the
seam is reported to be very satisfactory, and the colliery will
prove, an important addition. The parishes of Rawmarsh
and Greasborough will greatly benefit by the undertaking.

During the hearing of a charge against a Denaby filler
named John Gough, at Doncaster last Saturday, of neglect-
ing his work, it was- stated that the case had been dealt
with by the local committee set up by the masters and men
to deal with slackers and prevent police court prosecutions.
But the defendant had refused to recognise this committee,
which had ordered him to. pay a fine of 12s. 6d. The colliery
company now claimed £3 damages in the police court.—In
answer to General Bewicke Copley, C.B., chairman of the
Bench, Mr. Cocks, the manager of the Cadeby Colliery, gave
some interesting particulars. He said the colliery company
claimed 15s. per shift per man absent, but the loss to them
was very much greater. The defendant, or any other man,
had a perfect right to appeal to the magistrates if he
wished, and to decline to be dealt with by the local com-
mittee. The latter had power to fine a man, the maximum
fine being £1, and the minimum 2s. 6d. The local branch
of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association had called two or three
meetings to impress upon the men the necessity for regular
attendance. The magistrates enquired what became of the
money that was raised by the fines inflicted by the local
committee. The manager replied that it was devoted to
charitable purposes. The Miners’ Union representatives
themselves selected the charities. If a man worked regularly
for six weeks after having been fined, he could get his fine
remitted:	The Bench ordered the defendant to pay the

12s. 6d. fine inflicted by the local committee, and also the
costs of the prosecution.

Lancashire and Cheshire.

Little Hulton Colliery Subsidence Case: Judgment Reserved.

It was reported at a meeting of the Worsley District
Council last week that the Sanitary Committee had received
notice of the intention of Lord Ellesmere to work the Doe
Mine under Manchester-road and Bolton-road, Walkden, and
the Crumbouke mine under Worsley-road and Lambton-
road, Worsley.

According to official returns, just issued, the number of
students attending the mining classes in the Manchester -and
Bolton areas show a material reduction this winter com-
pared with previous years. The explanation lies in the
wholesale enlistment of young men employed in the coal
mining industry.

The trial of the action brought by John Henry Andrew
against the Earl of Ellesmere in respect of damages caused
by mining subsidence at Little Hulton, was continued in the
Chancery Court, at Liverpool, on January 13, 14, and 15
(see Colliery Guardian, December 24, 1915, p. 1303). The
plaintiff’s case was that previous workings by Messrs.
Roscoe would not affect his property until January 1913, and
that damage before that date was caused by the workings
of the Bridgewater Trustees, for which the Earl of Ellesmere■>
undertook to be responsible. The defence was that the
Bridgewater Trustees’ workings ended in 1901, and did not
cause any of the damage in question.—Mr. James Tonge,
mining engineer and surveyor, was recalled, and described
the injuries he observed in the property. Further details
were given by Mr. Andrew, the plaintiff, who mentioned
that he had been a collier and worked for the Earl of
Ellesmere and Messrs. Roscoe, but he had retired, and now
lived upon the rents of. his property. Mr. Daniel Morrison,
mining engineer, of Manchester, said he was of opinion that
the Roscoe workings would not begin to affect the plaintiff’s
houses before 1913. Looking round to find the cause of the
earlier damage, the only explanation was the removal of
coal from the Cannel mine in 1900 and 1901. This would
affect the pillars left in the upper seams, the Trencherbone
and the Five Quarters, in 1883. In the interval the pillars

might have moved but very slowly, and the further dis-
turbance set up in 1900 and 1901 would cause them to be
crushed to a greater extent. Mr. Morrison stated that in
the ’eighties it was thought advisable to leave pillars which
would support buildings on the surface, but opinion on
that point was now divided.—Mr. Gilbert Wilson, civil
engineer, architect, and surveyor, of Southport, gave the
results of his examination of the property. . It was badly
fractured as a result of unequal settlement due to mining
operations. His estimate of the amount necessary to restore
it to tenantable condition was £400.—The first witness for
the defence was Mr. Jesse Wallwork, general manager to
Lord Ellesmere. He produced working plans of the various
mines, and said that under the plaintiff’s property the Five
Quarters was 90 yds. deep. It began to be worked in 1850,
and was finished in 1883. In the Trencherbone, 168 yds.
below the surface, operations began in 1864, and wTere
completed in 1883. In both cases pillars of support were
left, but in his view they were quite inadequate, and the
working of those two seams caused the land to subside very
seriously indeed, more so, indeed, than if no pillars had been
left. Since the ’eighties the advantages of leaving pillars
had been questioned. The Cannel mine was 233 yds. deep,
and the last working by the Bridgewater Trustees in that
area was in 1901. Messrs. Roscoe had worked simul-
taneously the Cannel, Plodder, and Yard. It was a unique
thing in his experience for three mines to be worked con-
temporaneously, all advancing at the same time ; and the
result wTas that the pillar of support hypothetically arrived
at, for which provision was made, was insufficient, and the
effects upon the surface would become apparent at an earlier
date than if the mines had been worked separately. It was
better to work one seam straight out, and not start the
next for, say, four or five years, in which time the mine
previously worked would come absolutely to rest. The
Cannel seam was 2 ft. 3J in. thick, and its removal
separately would do little damage. The Plodder, 40 yds.
lower, was 4 ft. 4J in. thick, of which 3 ft. 5J.in. was taken
out. Another 40 yds. lower was the Yard mine, 2 ft. lOJin.
thick. Approximately 8 ft. of coal was removed at different
levels, and the disturbance was very different to what would
follow the working of one seam of equal thickness. It wss
earlier in date, and the damage would be more severe. He
had much experience of the Trencherbone, which produced
the best coal, and was a mine well liked. It had been
suggested that the Trencherbone rock was very strong and
kept its position notwithstanding enormous weights on the
top of it, the roof remaining longer than other roofs; but
he did not -agree with what Mr. Crowther said on that
point. His experience was that it came down just like the
rock in any other seam. In fact, it was more dangerous,
because in addition to what were called “ partings,” where
one stratum ended and another began, there were vertical
joints. Sometimes one could push a hand up them ; .at ether
times they were filled with sand, which could be scraped out
with a pencil. They were covered sometimes by a layer of
■shale, at other times by inferior coal about the thickness of
a pencil, which hid the breaks. Water came from them,
-and this water being left in the 'mine would cause the floor,
consisting of warrant, to lift and meet the roof as it
naturally came down through the superincumbent pressure
crushing the pillars. Ultimately it would form one compact
whole, as if there was no mine at all. The same process
would occur in the Five Quarters about the same time. The
plan of the Cannel workings by the Bridgewater Trustees
showed that the hypothetical pillar of support had an area
of 34,977 sq. yds., of which 5,761 sq. yds. had been worked,
a percentage of 16-47 per cent. Of that percentage, 10-34
was worked before 1894, and 2-01 in 1895, leaving 4*12 for
1900 and 1901. The effect of the last working would appear
immediately, but it would be very slight. In his opinion,
the Bridgewater workings could not have caused the damage
of which the plaintiff complained in January 1912, and
having regard to the circumstances, it was not difficult to
believe that it was brought about by the Roscoe workings.
The subsidence at the surface would be three-fifths of the
whole amount of coal worked out. Cross-examined, Mr.
Wallwork said the Roscoe workings would come in as
affecting the property in 1910. Abnormal circumstances
would affect the application of theories, but he did not think
there was anything abnormal in the way in which the
Trencherbone and Five Quarters had been worked. Sub-
sidence would follow the usual course, and the filled up
strata would become solid. The Trencherbone rock was
a sandstone, and varied in thickness, being 10 to 14 yds.
thick at different points, and it underlay all the plaintiff’s
premises.—Mr. Jenkins, for defendant, said it was a curious
thing that as far as the Law Reports were concerned they
lagged behind the knowledge of mining engineers. It was
not until 1909, in the case of the Butterley Company, v. the
New Hucknall Colliery Company, that the courts recognised
that subsidence must follow excavation. Excavation neces-
sarily .implied a subsidence of at least three-fifths of its
amount. The witness said he agreed with this statement,
it was borne out by his experience. If a pillar was left, the
subsidence would go on all round it, leaving -a sort of hump.
—Mr. Wallwork added that the subsidence would come to an
end in four or five years. Some of the inferior seams con-
tained a great amount of gas, which came away from the
breaks, and sometimes accompanied by a noise like steam
blowing away from a locomotive. It invariably came from
the floor, which it lifted up.—Mr. Howard James Walker,
mining engineer and surveyor, of Wigan, said the Canal
workings in 1900 and 1901 would not cause more than 2 in.
of subsidence to any part of the plaintiff’s property. The
Trencherbone and Five Quarters pillars were small isolated
patches of coal in the middle of a large area extracted, and
under such conditions the rock could not possibly stand.
The subsidence would work itself out in five or six years.
Subsidence from the Roscoe workings would begin to appear
about the middle of 1912.—Evidence as to the condition of
the houses was given by Mr. Henry Hartley and Mr. Thomas
Entwistle.—The Vice-Chancellor (Mr. Stewart Smith, K.C.)
reserved his judgment.

North Wales.

Capt. T. H. Parry, M.P., who is the son of Mr. Thomas
Parry, colliery proprietor, Mold, is on his way home from
Egypt. Capt. Parry was wounded at the landing at Suvla
Bay, but subsequently recovering, he returned to his com-
pany, and has since contracted frost bite, which has
necessitated his return home.

Notts and Derbyshire.

Check weighman's Alleged Interference with Management.

The Mansfield magistrates were engaged for five hours on
Thursday of last week in determining an unusual colliery
case. The manager of the New HucknaT Colliery Company
Limited, Mr. P. F. Day, sought for the removal of Herbert