1106 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. June 9, 1916. EXPORTS OF COAL, COKE, AHO 8SAHUFAGTUREO FUEL FRO^I THE UNITED KIRGOO^ During May and the First Five Completed Months of 1914, 1915 and 1916. To May, 1916. May. Coal—Small. Coal—Through- and-through (unscreened). Coal—Large. All coal. • Quantity (tons). All coal. Value (<£). Tons. £ Tons. £ Tons. £ 1914. 1915. 1H6. i 1914. 1915 1916 Russia - 1,690 2,958 i — 533,074 • 10,735 1,690 369,634 12,080 2,958 Sweden 21,865 24,602 25,827 27,696 133,578 195,239 380,550 320,812 181,270 236,772 245,036 247,537 Norway 58,821 67,581 17,543 20,085 j 140,946 213,430 214,900 235,309 217,510 131,754 208,054 301,096 Denmark 10,101 12,397 34,481 39,899 , 166,988 250,377 255,938 264,761 211,570 163,577 210,917 302,673 Germany ... — ■ — • — — 811,720 — — 477,399 Netherlands 7,949 6,472 61,032 67,094 ' 37,341 46,792 156,244 108,854 106,322 95,738 90,169 120,358 Belgium — — — — ■ ' — — 145,417 — — 83,940 — — France 577,314 567,667 580,906 591,499 516,137 729,980 1,083,502 1,516,157 1,674,387 674,548 1,255,990 1,889,146 Portugal, Azores, and Madeira 23,144 25,899 24,284 23,824 35,367 59,011 82,725 81,810 82,795 62,158 76,424 108,734 Spain and Canaries 26,412 28,442 62,502 67,883 84,522 127,809 252,185 187,173 173,436 178,167 180,155 221,134 Italy 37,532 34,4«6 98,382 95,553 319,706 426,050 849,177 446,608 455,620 601,013 425,918 556,089 Austria-Hungary ' — — — , — ■ 74,046 50,323 Greece 2,995 3,511 7,857 11,146 10,563 18,047 54,755 36,618 21,415 38,319 32,315 32,704 Roumania — —- — — — —• 55,533 —. — 41,959 — — Turkey — -— ■ — — — — 31,816 3,484 — 25,013 6,184 — Algeria 10,503 10,586 33,074 41,790 | 28,511 41,273 125,467 93,963 72,088 87,385 98,120 93,649 Portuguese West Africa 268 463 11,638 17,068 6,840 9,268 2,077 28,933 18,746 1,791 30,847 26,801 Chile 462 1,121 — — 275 641 84,105 154 737 65,759 218 1,762 Brazil 2,562 3,397 9,101 12,911 18,884 32,156 103,761 51,175. 30,547 90,506 60,992 48,464 Uruguay 3,227 3,358 4,839 8,345 ! 21,110 26,139 86,014 25,277 29,176 78,731 31,692 37,842 Argentine Republic 6,833 11,534 5,377 6,445 74,184 99,688 291,307 144,211 86,444 258,415 158,165 117,667 Channel Islands — — 2,098 1,934 6,431 7,558 15,932 8,778 8,529 10,491 7,970 9,492 Gibraltar 4,137 5,159 11,556 17,987 16,662 29,389 10,658 23,380 32,355 7,519 23,318 52,535 Malta 1,529 2,294 4,630 5,399. 27,162 15,676 6,159 19,899 16,775 7,693 Egypt (including Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) 5,065 5,849 9,955 17,844 57,956 83,594 | 278,325 102,420 72,976 201,749 95,993 107,287 Aden and Dependencies — — — — — — I 16,449 13,561 — 14,803 13,596 — British India 92 103 — — 15 53 31,043 939 107 26,826 973 156 Ceylon 498 884 — — — — 23,375 14,390 498 20,396 18,418 884 Other countries 8,001 11,563. 13,325 18,446 i 52,702 72,850 131,074 50,616 74,028 102,203. 55,717 102,859 f" Anthracite 98,9< 9 119,077 __ 132,506 171,203 253,865 138,477 231,415 192,539 134,277 290,280 1 Steam 668,687 661,884 385,922 465,310 1,561,562 2,249,042 4,432,243 2,731.702 2,616,171 3,080,081 2,566,056 3,376,236 Totals Gas 3,155 3,308 539,966 535,213 7,288 9,507 1,096,487 662,045 550,409 683,344 449,768 548,028 1 Household 5,223 6,821 — — 31,674 41,474 142,963 99,879 36,897 91,775 96,595 51,295 L Other sorts 31,887 33,989 91,108 92,178 318 517 282,773 153,691 123,313 169,083 109,310 126,684 Total 807,861 825,079 1,016,996 1,092,701 1,733,348 2,474,743 6,208,331 3,785,794 3,558,205 4,216,822 3,356,036 4,392,523 Total (May 1915) 1,028,598 813,336 963,310 703,529 1,793,886 1,839,171 — — — — — Total (May 1914) 1,445,846 771,052 1,311,089 810,554 3,451,398 2,635,216 — — — — — — Coke .... — — — — ' — 75,082 61,299 125,295 61,802 68,232 204,971 Manufactured fuel —- — — — — — 186,050 120,564 141,887 163,294 118,707 192,966 Total of coal, coke & manufactured fuel - — — — - — 6,469,463 3,967,657 3,825,387 4,441,918 3,542,975 4,790,460 First five months of 1916. First five months. Anthracite 424,219 497,529 781 586 413,151 531,346 1,154,556 831,169 838,181 903,155 777,771 1,029,461 Steam ... 3,211,036 2,758,310 1,569,706 1,643,964 6,803,846 8,296,203 20,982,745 13,878,095 11,584,588 14,673,826 11,204,198 12,698,477 Totals Gas 23,486 23,491 2,420,719 2,188,421 39,447 44,257 4,746,561 2,959,425 2,483,652 2,994,748 1,867,302 2,256,169 Household 31,904 35,556 — ■ 181,293 212,306 603,010 434,471 213,197 399,008 363,308 247,862 w Other sorts 213,109 199,415 463,458 422,225 13,578 15,279 1,365,846 , 672,124 690,145 825,814 422,568 636,919 Total 3,903,784 3,514,301 4,454,664 4,255,196 7,451,315 9,099,391 28,852,718 18,775,284 15, f 09,763 19,796,551 14,635,147 16,868,888 Total for five months of 1915 5,081,204 3,411,870 4,260,068 2,781,530 9,434,012 8,441,747 — — - — — — Total for five months of 1914 6,728,569 3,567,867 6,164,586 3,839,076 15,959,563 12,389,608 — — — — — — Coke — — — — — 444,446 366,996 604,673 385,317 320,177 948,569 Manufactured fuel — — — — — — 852,326 509,471 586,296 742,755 461,276' 733,727 Total of coal, coke & manufactured fuel — — — — — — 30,149,490 19,651,751 17,000,732 20,924,623 15,416,600 18,551,181 Note.—The figures in the above tables do not include Admiralty and certain other shipments. LABOUR AHD WAGES. South Wales and Monmouthshire. Friday last brought a striking instance of surrender to the miners on the part of the Board of Trade in the matter of their claim for an increase of wages. Their desire wTas that there should be an advance of 15 per cent, on the standard commencing on June 1, whereas the employers sought a reduction of 7| per cent.; and the question could not be referred to an independent chairman, because Lord Mackenzie had resigned. The wage rate stood at 25*83 above the standard of 1915, and it w7as upon the increase in selling prices that the men based their claim for 15 per cent, advance, whilst the owners, in support of their claim for reduction, emphasised the increase in cost of production which has arisen by the higher prices of all material, by the lower output due to shortage of labour, and by other causes. At the Conciliation Board the two parties had failed to agree, and the workmen then appealed to the Board of Trade, who appointed Sir George Askwith to act as concilia- tor in an endeavour to bring the parties together. But it turns out in the result that the Board of Trade has itself acted really as arbitrator, >and has given an award which is a complete concession of the men’s demand for 15 per cent, advance. The document is so important that no apology is needed for giving it in full. It took the form of the following letter to Mr. Gibson, secretary of the Coal Owners’ Association :— Chief Industrial Commissioner’s Department, 5, Old Palace-yard, London, S.W., June 1, 1916. Sra—I am instructed by his Majesty’s Government to intimate to you. the attached settlement of the claim made by the miners’ representatives for an advance of wages. The secretary of the Miners’ Federation has been informed that the intimation has been conveyed to you. I am, yours faithfully, (Signed) G, R. Askwith. South W ales Coal Trade. Claim by the miners’ representatives for an advance of 15 per cent, as from June 1, 1916. The coal owners to concede the claim on the understanding :— (1) That the settlement of the present application be acknowledged as being entirely without prejudice to the views and contentions of the parties regarding the equiva- lent average net selling price for the minimum in accord- ance with clause 28 of the Conciliation Board agreement of 1915. (2) That the St. Aldwyn awards of September and November, 1915, the award of Lord Muir Mackenzie of February 1916, and any suggestions and comments subse- quently made on the matter, be similarly regarded as without prejudice to the question of the equivalent. (3) That in accordance with the Conciliation Board agreement, joint application be made now to the Lord Chief Justice to appoint an independent chairman. The application shall request the Lord Chief Justice to call the special attention of the chairman to the powers con- ferred upon him by clause 28 of the Conciliation. Board agreement of 1915 with regard to the question of the equivalent. The chairman shall be afforded such facilities as he may request for the purpose of instructing himself upon the facts required for carrying out the pro- visions of clause 28. .Upon receipt of this the employers passed the following resolution and sent a copy to Sir George Askwith :— The owners, having carried out, and being prepared to continue to carry out loyally, the terms of the Conciliation Board agreement imposed upon them by his Majesty’s Government in August of last year, must enter a very emphatic protest against the action of the Government in now adopting a course in dealing with the question of the general w7age rate which is contrary to the provisions of the agreement. The owners further strongly object to any advance .in wages being given to the workmen with- out enquiry into the facts in accordance with the terms of the agreement. The owners must, therefore, place on record the fact that they decline to be parties to any decisions which may be given by the Government in con- travention of the agreement. The position of the employers is now7 most difficult, for the ordinary procedure of the Conciliation Board has been set aside, the employers’ case practically ignored, and the agreement reached last year nullified. They declare by resolution that they are not parties to the Government decision; and if, at each difficulty, the Board of Trade is, through fear of a strike, to intervene and decide each issue raised, where is the authority of the Conciliation Board or its value as a negotiating body designed to arrive at agreed settlements ? This is the great question that has been raised and is being keenly discussed. The executive council of the South Wales Miners’ Federa- tion decided, at a meeting on Saturday, to accept the Government award granting an advance of 15 per cent, in toe wage rate, a letter to be sent to Sir George Askwith, giving formal intimation of this fact. It will be recalled that when the subject of altering the wage rate came before the Conciliation Board and agree- ment wTas found to be impracticable, the matter w7as com- plicated by the fact that Lord Muir Mackenzie, then inde- pendent chairman, suggested what the equivalent selling price to the minimum should be; and it was to this that the workmen took such strong exception that his lordship resigned the position. At the same time, the workmen passed a cordial recognition of Lord Mackenzie’s impartiality and fairness. The employers desired that a new independent chairman should be appointed at once, this being procedure in accordance with the agreement; but the workmen demanded that their application for 15 per cent, advance should not be dealt with by any new independent chairman, but that there should be immediate settlement. The miners’ representatives persisted in the view, although the owners pointed out that this suggested course would be directly con- trary to and in violation of the terms of the agreement, and that they were quite willing for any decision arrived at by an independent chairman to be made operative as from June 1. The clause of the agreement relating to this matter is No. 28, and is worth quotation :—