September 29, 1916.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

607

many who had been hie personal friends for many years
past.

He valued this expression of their regard more
particularly because he believed its inception to have
been spontaneous among themselves. It marked the
expiration of more than forty years in his personal
connection with the management of the Wharncliffe
Silkstone collieries in very various capacities, beginning
with very humble ones. In looking back on such an
occasion as this, one must take an account of one’s work
—in how far it had been successful and in what respects
it might be held to have failed. In the management of
a colliery there were three duties with regard to which
one had to ask the question : (1) One’s duty to the
owners; (2) one’s responsibility for the safety of life and
limb of those who work in the bowels of the earth; and
(3) one’s responsibility to promote in our special com-
munity the conditions of happy and religious life. He
might claim to have always set each of these objects
before him in the course of his work, and in each case it
had not been free from disappointment.

The colliery commenced work in the year in which he
was born, 1854, i.e., more than sixty years ago, and
during those 60 years .£5,450,000 had been paid in
wages. It was no small benefit to a neighbourhood to
have a wage fund such as this provided, affording the
means of a decent living to some 5,000 people (including
the families of workmen). Whenever the day should
come that this source of income ceased it would be
badly missed, and the population would have to migrate.
It would, he trusted, be some hundreds of years before
South Yorkshire ceased to afford employment to all the
miners available, but it would not be so in that
immediate neighbourhood.

He had given them the amount paid in wTages at those
collieries in 60 years. He would like to tell them how
the total amount received by the shareholders compared
with that considerable sum. He could not conveniently
get the earlier figures, but since the present company
was founded in 1879 the percentage ratios of the
amounts received by labour, for mineral royalties, and
return on capital were : Labour, 89-24 per cent.; mineral
royalties, 8-44 per cent.; and return on capital, 2*32 per
cent.

This, of course, was not the rate of interest paid on
the capital, but merely a comparative percentage
showing the benefit which labour had received from an
enterprise in which both were associated, and it took no
account of the money spent on plant and stores.

The price of coal had risen immensely during the last
37 years, and he had had a statement put up which any
of them could see, showing the price of Parkgate hard
coal for each year. In 1879 it was 5s. 4d., in 1889 it
was 6s. 7d., in 1899 7s. 10d., in 1909 7s. 9d.; and it was
now, owing to the war, 14s. lOd. The great bulk of
that extra value of the coal had accrued to the workers,
and he need hardly say it represented a levy, in their
favour, on the people of this country as a whole. In
discussions nowadays it was generally assumed that
capital got an unfair share of the product of industry.
He was sure that, on the average, this was a great
mistake. Sir Benjamin Brown the other day, in a letter
to The Times, pointed out 'that capital was not at present
coming forward freely-enough to support and develop
our industries, and it was evident capital would not be
forthcoming for investment in risky undertakings such
as collieries unless the reward and security were
adequate. There was always something for which
money was wanted to enable increasing difficulties to be
overcome and improve the conditions of work. The,
drain on the capitalist never ceased. It was in the true
interests of the working man that capital should be
encouraged to provide the employment and its
appliances. It had become a hackneyed saying that the
interests of capital and labour were identical, but we
seemed still a long way off from realising this and acting
upon it. He would therefore (now that his personal
interest was drawing to a close) offer to them and their
class a word of friendly advice. Do not distrust
improvements in methods of working, and do not
hamper them by unreasoning opposition. Welcome
them and help them to have a fair trial. It was only
by keeping abreast of the times that old collieries could
be kept going, and it was to the interest of those
connected with the old collieries that they should be
kept going. They would find that labour always
benefited from improvements, especially in those
appliances which saved the more exhausting forms of
physical labour.

Belgian Fuel Output for the First Half of 1916.—During
the first six months of the present year the output of fuel
in Belgium amounted to : Coal, 8,379,032 tons (6,125,924
tons in 1915); coke, 208,812 tons (213,246 tons); briquettes,
1,077,735 tons (325,352 tons). Of these quantities,
2,152,228 tons (1,745,870 tons) of coal, 68,346 tons (39,054
tons) of coke, and 245,561 tons (147,972 tons) of briquettes
were produced in the Liege district; 3,833,430 tons
(2,621,527 tons) of coal, 130,740 tons (54,428 tons) of coke,
and 801,365 tons (157,428 tons) of briquettes in the
Charleroi district; and 2,493,074 tons (1,758,527 tons) of
coal, 109,726 tons (119,746 tons) of coke, and 30,809 tons
(19,490 tons) of briquettes in the Mons district.

Freuch Committee on House Coal Supplies.—M. Sembat
has laid before the Chamber of Deputies a Bill for fixing the
retail price of coals in France, so as to equalise the differ-
ence between the prices of French and imported house coals,
the former now selling at about 40-45 fr. per ton, whereas
the latter costs about 90-95 fr. In the meantime the Prefect
of the Seine has instituted a local coal bureau, to look after
the domestic coal supply of the Department, including
Paris, under the supervision of a committee. The bureau
is empowered to approach the civil and military authorities
in order to facilitate importation and obtain means of
transport and to control the equitable distribution of coal
among dealers, who will undertake to sell at the prices
fixed by the bureau and not to stock any but house or similar
coal (though they may sell screenings, for industrial pur-
poses, at fixed prices).

MINING INDUSTRY AND MILITARY
SERVICE.

The Cramlington Coal Company Limited has obtained
conditional exemption for a 29-year-old colliery clerk, the
tribunal being informed that already seven men from the
office had joined the Colours, and that the female labour
which had been employed was not as satisfactory as desired.

Before the same tribunal, seven butchers employed by the
local co-operative society were appealed for. The chairman
remarked that he was afraid that all of them could not be
exempted. Mr. Hutchings, a member of the tribunal, how-
ever, said : Why not? Their services are as essential to
the miners as a colliery clerk is to the coal company. I move
that they be given six months’ exemption.” This course
was adopted.

Mr. Marley, who appealed to the Darlington tribunal for
the exemption of a pay clerk in the employ of the Horden
Collieries Limited, stated that seven out of 13' trained men
on the company’s staff had joined the Army. The company
had encouraged them to do so, and was paying their salaries.
Enormous pressure was put on the company by the Govern-
ment for fuel and for the making of returns, and the clerk
appealed for was indispensable under the circumstances. The
tribunal, however, refused to grant exemption further than
to the end of September.

The substitution of older* men for younger ones in mines
was discussed at the Yorkshire miners’ tribunal on Satur-
day last, over which Mr. T. H. Mottram, H.M. chief
mining inspector for Yorks and the North Midland district,
presided. Capt. Featherston, the recruiting officer for the
district, called attention to the idea, remarking that the
collieries had not yet been approached, but he would be glad
if they would consider the scheme. Mr. Mottram remarked
that there was considerable objection to the proposed
exchange of men in mines. Their instructions were that
men were not to be liberated from collieries for the Army.
If they started to exchange men in the pits it would lead to
no end of difficulties, and there would be charges of victi-
misation and all .sorts of things. There were several
instances where local tribunals had exempted men to go to
the pits. Capt. Featherston enquired if he was to under-
stand that although there were men w7ho had been miners,
and who were to be put upon work of national importance,
yet if they were sent to the pits they would not be able to
give him substitutes for them. Mr. Mottram replied that
the urgency of the demand for coal was very great, and they
were bound to produce as much as they could. As regarded
men going to the collieries since June 24, when every man
of military age became a soldier, they were scrutinising the
lists very closely to see if any men or boys had crept in since
that date. If they were satisfied there were such on the list
they would refuse exemption when they came to deal with
them. No exemption cards were necessary in the case of
discharged soldiers, because the men had their papers.

At the Westhoughton (Lancs) tribunal on Saturday last,
the chairman (Mr. G. Gleave), speaking in reference to the
alleged restricted output of coal, said that at one local
colliery there were more men now employed than was the
case prior to the war. A great deal had been said about the
scarcity of coal, but at one place in Westhoughton they were
stacking coal along the siding, and there did not appear to
be any scarcity here.

At Leven tribunal, Mr. W. Walker appealed for four clerks
of the Fife Coal Company Limited. One of these was sup-
ported by the Admiralty, as he was a shipping clerk, but the
military opposed other two. The military asked if it was
the case that there were 30 male employees in the company’s
Leven office, of which eight were over military age and 19
of military age. Maj. Sibley said there were in the mines
men of exceptional intelligence, and there was one case where
a man was doing only one day’s work in two months who
might do the work of these clerks. Mr. Walker denied that
mon who entered the mines were qualified for the work, and
on it being asked if ladies could not be employed, he said
it was utterly impossible. Both claims were refused.

Mr. Francis Purvis, assistant secretary of the Scremerston
Coal Company Limited, Berwick, received conditional exemp-
tion. This was the only employee of the company for which
an appeal was made, and Mr. Brown, secretary, stated that
he was most essential. The work required great experience.
Incidentally, it was mentioned that the managing director
has been serving since an early period of the war.

At Hexham tribunal on Tuesday, the military authorities
opposed exemption being granted to three brothers, aged
20, 23, and 26 respectively, who were employed as timber
haulers. The opposition in the case of the youngest man,
who had not been passed for active service, was withdrawn,
but the appeal was pressed in the case of the two others.
On the men’s behalf it was stated that last year they led
1,500 tons of timber. They were now engaged by Messrs.
Fraser Limited, who supplied collieries with timber, and the
men’s work was of a skilled nature. The men had been
badged, and, though their badges had been removed, the
timber was still necessary for the collieries. The military
representative took up the simple attitude that, as the men
had been debadged, he could claim them. The tribunal
decided that the two elder brothers must serve.

The Abertillery tribunal dealt on Friday with the question
of colliery clerical staffs, a letter being read from' the Chief
Inspector of Mines, who stated that a scheme had been
approved for submitting to the local inspector the applica-
tions for exemption. The letter stated that the scheme was
subject to agreement between the tribunals, the military
representatives, and the employers, and that the local
inspector of mines would advise the military representative
upon the applications which were submitted.—Protest was
made by some members of the tribunal against what they
considered to be preferential treatment towards one section
of colliery employees, and the tribunal passed a resolution
disapproving the scheme.

The mining tribunal for the western district, at its
meeting in Swansea, on Friday, reviewed the list of exemp-
tions from military service, and dealt -with the cases of men
who had obtained "work in the collieries recently. Mr. Dyer
Lewis, H.M. inspector of mines, presided, and Mr.
E. Williams (Llangennech) sat with him as representing the
colliery proprietors, whilst J. D. Morgan, the anthracite
agent, sat as representative of the workmen. Mr. E.
Hewlett, M.E., managing director of the Ammanford
collieries, produced the lists from that and other undertak-
ings, and a discussion arose affecting not only Ammanford,
but also other collieries. In reply to a question by the
military representative—whether there were not more men
at the Ammanford collieries now than before the war. Mr.
Hewlett said there were hundreds less. Mr. Hewlett asked
the chairman whether it was to be understood that men

submitting to the Medical Board for examination were, if
they were passed as fit, not obliged to be called up. — The
answer of the chairman was that if a man who was
required to do so did not submit himself for medical exami-
nation before September 3'0, he was liable to be called up,
but that after examination every man who had been
exempted would return to his work at the colliery.—Mr.
Hewlett stated that some of the men whose names had been
submitted to the tribunal w7ere said to be unfit, and the
tribunal, so he understood, had not granted them exemption
cards, but had left them with the exemption of unfitness to
be decided by the Medical Board.—Mr. Dyer Lewis, the
chairman, said that every man dealt with by the tribunal
and exempted was given an exemption card ; but this was
contradicted by Mr. J. D. Morgan, the men’s agent, who
said that some of the men had not yet had their exemption
cards.—The chairman, in reply, referred to the great amount
of work that had to be got through, provoking the retort
from Mr. Morgan that they had better have two or three
checkweighers to come in and help.—Mr. Dyer Lewis said
that every card for the district west of the River Neath
would be in the hands of the colliery people by the following
Wednesday.—Whilst other collieries w7ere being dealt with,
the question once more arose as to the employment of boys
of 18, and the chairman stated : “ Aly instructions are that
a lad who was not employed at the colliery 12 months before
he became 18 years of age is not to be allowed to pass the
Court.”

INDIAN AND COLONIAL NOTES.

India.

Railway-owned Collieries.—Since 1860 the East Indian
Railway Company has owned and worked collieries at
Serampore and Kurhurbaree, in the province of Bihar and
Orissa. From these, according to the administration
report for the year ended March 31, 1915, there w’as, during
that year, an output of 564,471 tons of large coal, 51,082
tons of small coal, and 101,375 tons of slack, all of which
was used by the railway company at cost price, viz.,
Rs. 12,62,994. The number of persons employed ’was 8,663.
The Great Indian Peninsula has a collier}’ at Mohpani, in the
Central Provinces, which had a total output of 58,715 tons
during the year in question, whilst the North-Western has
one at Dandot, in the Punjab, which has been closed since
1911, and one at Khost, in Baluchistan (36,453 tons, prac-
tically all slack). The latter has also a pressed fuel factory
at Khost, which turned out 17,966 tons of patent fuel in
1914-15, which brought in Rs. 2,16,642—a loss on the year
of Rs. 3,453. The North-Western has a similar factory at
Haranpur, in the Punjab, but it wras closed at the end of
1910. In 1914 the East Indian Railway and the Bengal-
Nagpur Railway bought a coal field of 1,000 acres. This is
known as the Bokaro field, and is worked jointly by the two
companies, who raised 63,000 tons in the half-year ended
March 31 last. It is hoped to instal coke ovens there, as
these have been found very successful at Serampore. The
Bokaro field is linked up with the East Indian and Bengal-
Nagpur by a jointly constructed railway, 12 miles in length.

Australia.

For a considerable length of time there has prevailed,
throughout the Australian coal fields, a general feeling of
unrest, manifested as continuous disputes and numerous
stoppages of work. Recently the Australasian Coal and
Shale Employees’ Federation was revived, after a spell of
inanition, and under its initiative the whole of the collieries
in the Commonwealth affiliated with the Federation decided
upon a one day’s stop on July 20, principally in connection
with the demand for an eight hours day for all employees.
Work has been resumed, although in some districts the men
were anxious to remain out until their claims had been
granted. In view of the fact that the judge of the Federal
Arbitration Court summoned the respective representatives
to meet in Melbourne on July 26, the council of the Coal and
Shale Employees’ Federation decided to approach the acting
Prime Minister and urge that the question of an eight hour
bank-to-bank working day, and extra time for working
Sundays, holidays, and overtime be immediately dealt with
in the arbitration court, and if this were not satisfactorily
arranged an aggregate meeting was to be held on August 5.

The coal export trade of Newcastle for the six months of
the present year ending June 30 shows a falling off of
299,646 tons. The Commonwealth and New Zealand trade
increased by 9,751 tons, so the decrease is entirely confined
to the foreign trade.

The Coke Workers’ Union has been considering the posi-
tion of the Broken Hill Proprietary coke workers at the steel
wrnrks, Newcastle, w7ho are a branch of this union. Their
w’ork has been suspended, and the union is levying for the
relief of the members who have lost their employment. These
Newcastle wmrkers w7ere asked to increase their output, and
it is suspected that w7hen work is resumed there will be
some not re-employed.

Queensland Mining Industry.—A 4,000 mile tour of the
mining districts of Queensland has convinced the Minister
for Mines of that State that the prospects of the Bowen coal
area are still very fair. The State boring plant is just being
erected, and the wTork should be completed very shortly.
The Minister is as strongly in favour of the Bowen coal
field railway as ever. He considers that it would be a big
thing for the north if the Bowen coal field is a success, and
particularly if it is coking coal, as suggested. This w7ould
mean cheap fuel for the treatment of the low’ grade ores of
the northern mining areas. At Cloncurry there are millions
of tons of low grade ores which could be payably worked if
cheap fuel and an improved process were applied.

Victoria Coal.—The Governor's speech at the opening of
the Victorian Parliaments contained the following passage :
“ The ever-increasing demand for power and other purposes
emphasises the high importance of developing our known
reserves of coal. To this end it has been decided to actively
resume the exploration of our largely untested coal-bearing
strata by surveys, surface prospecting, and by boring. For
several years past large areas of known black coal-bearing
lands, aggregating 4,000 acres, have been withheld from
lease. It has now7 been decided to make these available for
private enterprise.”

Northumberland miners’ wages were advanced 19 per cent,
on Thursday under the sliding scale, the county percentage
now* being 131 per cent, above the 1879 basis, the highest
yet reached. The advance last quarter w7as 22 per cent.