748 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. October 20, 1916. SOUTH STAFFORDSHIRE AND WAR- WICKSHIRE INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS. The 49th annual meeting of the South Staffordshire and Warwickshire Institute of Mining Engineers was held at the Birmingham University, Edmund-street, Birmingham, on Monday, October 16, at 3 p.m., the chair being taken, during the first part of the proceed- ings, by the retiring president, Mr. G. M. Cockin. On the motion of the Chairman, the meeting passed votes of condolence with the families of the late Mr. F. A. Grayson and the late Mr. John Williamson. The Secretary read the report of the council for the year ended July 31, 1916. The council stated that notwithstanding 'the difficulties caused by the war, the position of the institute continued to prove satisfactory. The number of members now on the roll was 162. During the year three past-presidents, Messrs. John Williamson, H. C. Peake, and F. A. Grayston, had died, 713 3s. 4d., and an ambulance was purchased. The Royal Charter granted to the Institution of Mining Engineers had been received during the current year. Election of Officers. It was announced that the following officers had been elected for the coming year :—President, Mr. Langford Ridsdale. Vice-president, Mr; W. Charlton. Members of the council : Mr. H. W. Hughes (Dudley), Prof. W. S. Boulton (Birmingham), Mr. S. H. Cashmore (Tam- worth), Mr. F. H. Briggs (Nuneaton), Mr. W. H. Whitehouse (Walsall). Mr. Chia Chin Shao, of the Cannock Chase Colliery, was elected as an associate member. At this stage the chair was taken by the newly- elected president, Mr. Langford Ridsdale. He con- sidered his first duty was to ask the meeting to record their thanks to the retiring president, Mr. Cockin, and to the officers of the institute Mr. J. C. Forrest seconded, and the resolution was carried with acclamation. Presidential Address. The President, in the course of his address, said that the factors which determined the results of coal mining enterprise were subject to various outside influences, over some of which the engineer could exercise but little, if any, control. The changing conditions during the past year, which had tended to affect the cost of production from a purely engineer’s point of view, had from time to time been considered. He now proposed to consider some, not essentially engineering, conditions which affected the value of the minerals produced, and to refer to other conditions which might hereafter have that tendency. The earliest reference to the payment of wages to workmen by the weight, measure, or gauge of the coal gotten by them, appeared to be in section 29 of the Coal Mines Act, 1860, when the appointment of a checkweigher, or a person to take account of the weight, measure, or gauge, on behalf of the employed, was legalised. That provision was placed on a definite footing by the Mines Act of 1872. An exemption, enabling the owner to arrange for payment by measure or gauge, did not seem to have been largely applied for, although there might be, even at the present time, cases in which that method was in operation. It would seem, however, that certain of the carry- ing companies were influenced by the discussion pre- ceding this legislation to give consideration to the weights upon which their tolls or freight were to be collected. It was probably well known that the Birmingham Canal Company had obtained legal powers, and taken steps to ascertain the carrying capacity of the various boats which regularly passed over that system. It had been asserted that, having ascertained the carrying capacity of a boat, it was possible for the experienced gauger to detect so small a variation in the weight as 2 cwt. That some revision and adjustment of the weight of the coal sold by boat was necessary, appeared to be emphasised by the fact that there had come under the speaker’s notice the following weights, upon which payment of royalty under lease was based, namely :— A ton of— 20 cwt. of 112 lb. = 2,240 lb.—the statute ton. 20 cwt. of 120 lb. = 2,400 lb. (known as canal long weight). 21 cwt. of 1201b. = 2,5201b. 22 cwt. of 120 lb. = 2,640 lb. which was defined in the legal document in question as a customary ton—a term which might contain a subtle reference to the interest of the purchaser in the number of pounds contained therein. Of these weights, how- ever, the canal company apparently had only recognised at any time the statute ton of 2,2401b. and the long weight ton of 2,4001b., and in the year 1895 ceased to recognise the long weight entirely. There was reason to believe that similar readjustments have taken place on the canal systems immediately connected with the Birmingham Canal. It was possible that this vari- ability in the weight sold by boat tended to decrease waterborne traffic in cases where other means of transit proved available. The weight of coal carried by rail did not appear to have been immediately affected, but never- theless it would not be forgotten that here also consider- able alteration had taken place. Up to the year 1892, freight was paid upon each lot of 21 cwt. (2,3521b.), and it was upon that weight, as representing the sale ton, that railway charges were based. On January 1, 1893, however, the weight carried was reduced to 20 cwt. plus an allowance of 2 cwt. per wagon—an alteration which gave rise to considerable complaint; hence in 1894 the weight carried was revised so as to equal 21| cwt. (2,296 lb.) per ton, and upon those terms freight was collected up to June 30, 1907. At that date an important change was made, the railway companies having given notice that they would no longer carry, at the existing rates, a greater weight than 20 cwt. to the ton, which terms remained in operation up to the present time. The reduction from 21 to 20 cwt., plus 2 cwt. per ton, was regarded as a practical increase in rates, and resulted in protracted litigation. The traders claimed a refund of about 3*60d. per ton, but the rail- way companies established a counter-claim of 2d. per ton, as representing the increased cost of working, and ultimately a refund of the difference of about l'20d. per ton on traffic carried between 1893 and 1895 was made. No further refund had been made in respect of the last alteration, and it was held that sufficient notice of the alteration in the weight to be carried had been given. It transpired from the evidence given that the allowance of 1 cwt. per ton for wasatge was not warranted, as it was admitted that, owing to improvements in wagons and in working traffic by shunting, and sorting wagons by gravity, at 'the main junctions (known as “ hump shunting ”)—a method by which as many as 60 wagons could be sorted in 11 minutes, as against 50 minutes formerly occupied when shunting on the flat—the loss in transit became reduced to a minimum, and the actual weight, including the allowance made for wastage, was practically received by the merchant. On the table furnished at the enquiry, the average loss in transit worked out at a little over 161b. per ton, or practically 1 cwt. per wagon. Loss of Coal in Transit. The question of the loss of coal in transit as effected by the improved construction. of wagons, and the improved methods of shunting, was of interest. It was obvious that the loss would be greater during the period in which dead buffer wagons predominated, that a decrease would occur during the period of transition from dead buffer to spring buffer wagons, and that it would reach a minimum when spring buffer wagons only were in use; and the speaker had been assured that if the average loss per wagon when dead buffer wagons alone* were in use be represented by unity, the loss during the period of transition would be represented by 0-33, and that during the period in which spring buffer wagons only had been in use, by 0-11. The period concerned in the said legal proceedings was one in which both dead and spring buffer wagons were in use. It would therefore appear that if the loss were then as stated (about 1 cwt. per wagon) under the improved condition of shunting and sorting coal, at the sorting sidings, and the elimination of dead buffer wagons, the average loss per wagon in transit would be reduced to about 371b., or, say, J cwt. per wagon—a conclusion confirmed by actual test weighings which the ■speaker had made. In connection with these changes, consideration must be given to the charges representing the cost of fitting dead buffer wagons with spring buffers, generally providing and maintaining wagons in conformity with the latest specifications issued by the Railway Clearing House, charges which were now in force for shunting wagons when requiring repairs, and siding rent now payable under various conditions, which latter, however, had promoted the better working of wagons. Reference was made to the desirability of taring empty wagons Immediately before loading, a pro- ceeding which seemed to be necessary, as weather con- ditions, and any serious repairs carried out, tended materially to alter the tare weights deductable in ascer- taining actual contents, the error being proportionally less per cent, since wagons of larger carrying capacity had been brought into more general use. Passing reference was made to a proposal sought to lie embodied in contract forms issued by various public bodies, to the effect that the value of each consign- ment of fuel supplied should be determined by, and be proportionate to, its percentage yield of ash and calorific value as ascertained by the analysis of samples taken from time to time, the standard fixed being the analysis of a first consignment, and a margin of 5 per cent, being allowed. Experience had proved this proposal to be largely impracticable. Obviously, the physical con- ditions in a mine were entirely beyond the control of an engineer, but even were not that so, there would appear to be difficulty in arriving at a just and reliable conclusion. For instance, the actual analysis of three individual samples of engine fuel taken .from the same wagon immediately after loading gave results, the extreme variation in which proved to be : Moisture, 5-80 per cent.; ash, 6'37 per eent.; volatile matter, 9-58 per cent.; British thermal units, 14-5 per cent. Such were some of the minor changes which had taken place during past years; individually, their effect might not be great, but cumulatively it must be considerable, and when consideration was also given to the various enactments affecting mining which had been placed upon the Statute Book since 1872, there could be no question as to the importance of their influence upon the value and vendibility of coal. Price of Goal (Limitation) Act. Reference was made to proposals which had been formulated for rendering prices more stable and uniform, and avoiding difficulties between labour and capital interested in mining, such as Sir George Elliot’s scheme for the consolidation of the coal interests of the country, and working minerals on co-operative lines, and that of the Miners’ Federation in 1912 for the nationalisation of mines. To what extent, if any, progress had been made towards the realisation of one or other of these schemes, or a combination of them, was uncertain, but as a result of the economic disturbance which had arisen owing to the abnormal conditions created by the war, some far-reaching change might take place, to which the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act was possibly a prelude. It was probably correct to say that that enactment had accomplished its purpose in preventing any abnormal increase in the price of inland coal >at the pit mouth, but inasmuch as no legal restraint was imposed upon subsequent transactions, it was open to question whether it had entirely achieved its object, by controlling the free play of the influence of supply and demand. It would be conceded that it had struck a serious blow at the validity of contracts, although it was difficult to see how its provisions could have been effectually carried out under other conditions. It was possible that the tendency of this enactment had been also to perpetuate unfair competition in effecting a hardship where special and temporary conditions existed, as, for instance, where occasion might have arisen to introduce in a fresh market coal of unknown character, and which, in order to secure introduction, was of necessity sold at less than its absolute value. Among other objects probably in view may have been the dissipation of any suspicion of excessive profits being secured, thereby tending to prevent serious fluctu- ations in the rate of wages. Notwithstanding that the Eight Hours Act did undoubtedly promote the introduction of machinery for getting and loading coal, and thereby tend to render profitable seams or areas of coal which were regarded with suspicion, it would be conceivable that the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act had further influenced the development of workings which, under fluctuating and normal trade conditions, would be considered unprofit- able; but on the other hand, and in view of the pre- vailing scarcity of labour, it might operate against this by inducing the engineer to work more productive and accessible areas, and thus, against his better judgment, forsake the principles of sound mining practice. There must be few, if any, industries other than mining which were conducted under an enactment which, with its correlative orders, embraced about 2,000 regulations, and had legal limitation with regard to time, wages, and prices super-added: indeed, it would appear that the only limitation which had so far escaped the notice of the Legislature was the limitation of losses 1 Mr. A. M. Sopwith proposed a vote of thanks to KIr. Ridsdale for his presidential address, which he described as exceedingly interesting. At the same time, he wished he had dipped a little more deeply into the early times of the boating traffic. There was wonderful laxity with regard to the regulations of boating, and as to the capacity of boats in their early days. With regard to the latter part of the address, there was an instruc- tive reference to Sir George Elliot’s scheme. He had an impression that such schemes would be multiplied in the immediate future, because no person could fore- cast what conditions might exist after the war. They might depend upon it that there would be a very great deal of talk about nationalisation, and a great deal more about the benefits which would result from that; and he feared there would be less attention given to those practical questions of economy which had appealed to the experienced mining engineer. Mr. J. C. Forrest seconded the vote, remarking that it very well illustrated what a variety of departments of coal mining the mining engineer was called upon to study. They were surrounded with difficulties relative to registration and various branches of mining, but he thought Mr. Ridsdale had done good service in calling attention to the economical side of the profession, because he believed that in the future very serious aspects might arise in connection with that department of their work with which they would be called upon to grapple. Mr. G. M. Cockin and the President acknowledged the votes of thanks.