October 20, 1916. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 755 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ system of the experiment station. Each coal was tested after exposure to the weather for periods of six months, one, two, three, four, and five years. The retort was always in fairly good condition, but had, however, to be used at whatever temperature it happened to be, and with whatever thickness of carbon chanced to be on its interior surface. A systematic change occurred, how- ever, at the end of the third year, when the bench was rebuilt and a sectional silica retort substituted for the clay one previously used. Higher yields of gas were obtained in the fourth and fifth years than in any of the previous years, and this change is ascribed to the new silica retort. The results fluctuated somewhat from year to year, but no systematic change due to the coal could be noted. The conclusion reached is that the changes in the coal were too small to be discovered by the methods of testing and analysis. The results indi- cate that gas coals of this type can be exposed to the weather in a severe climate for five years (provided they do not heat in storage), and at the end of that .term will still be entirely satisfactory. The results of the tests at the end of the five-year period are as follow :— Pittsburg. Fairmont, Number of tests averaged ... 6 7 Products from 2,000 lb. air-dried coal— Dry coke, lb 1,363 1,306 Gas, ou. ft 11,102 ... 10,928 Tar, lb 169 173 Ammonia (NH3), lb 4-3 4-5 C.-p. of gas (Lend, argand)... 15-5 16-2 Heating value,B.t.u. per cu.ft. 620 628 Candle-ft. per lb. of coal 86-2 88-6 B.t.u. in gas per lb. of coal ... 3,446 3,428 ______________________________________________________ PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE. _________________________ ___________________________ HOUSE OF COMhiU^S.—October 19. Coal Output. In answer to Mr. Duncan Millar, Mr. Brace referred the hen. member to the Second and Third Reports of the Coal Mining Organisation. Committee. Generally, the industry had taken steps as far as possible to increase the output of coal in the ways indicated by the Committee and the like, but it would be understood that there was great difficulty at the present time in obtaining new plant. Pitwood (Home-Grown Supplies.) Mr. Acland, replying to Mr. Duncan Millar, said he could not at the present time make a statement of the steps taken by the Committee in the matter of the supply of pit- wood. He could, however, say that the Committee had pur- chased pitwood, and supplied it in various mining districts, and that they saw no reason to apprehend a shortage of home- grown supplies. As regards price, that for the home-grown article was usually a little below that for the imported, and prices had recently fallen. Railway Wagons (Pooling in Scotland). Mr. Duncan Millar asked what steps had now been taken to secure the pooling of railway wagons' in Scotland, includ- ing private traders’ wagons, in order to provide for the earlier despatch and delivery of coal from the pithead. Mr. Runciman replied that the wagons belonging to the principal Scottish railway companies were already pooled, and the question whether the arrangement could be extended to private traders’ wagons was receiving careful consideration. _____________________________________________________ INDIAN AND COLONIAL NOTES. ________________________________________________________ Australia. Labour Questions.—The recent colliery conference between the Western Miners’ Federation and the Western District Coal Owners’ Association, New South Wales, has been brought to a satisfactory conclusion. The increase is 2d. per ton on the hewing rate, and 5 per cent, to outside employees, in addition to that of the recent tentative agreement. Exploration in Victoria.—The Victorian Minister of Mines (Mr. T. Livingstonie) has arranged for sending out parties of men, under the guidance of members of the staff of the Geological Survey, for the purpose of examining the many unexplored areas of coal and clay lands in various parts of the State. Mr. Livingstone stated that the nature and extent of other mineral deposits likely to be useful in supplying raw materials for native industries wrould be closely investigated. A New Corps of Miners.—A new company, consisting of 19 officers and 550 of other ranks, is being formed for service abroad. These are to be called on as required, and as rein- forcements for those already at the front. Capt. Richards, the well-known ex-manager of Mount Morgan Mine, Queens- land, is organising the corps, and it is anticipated that no difficulty will be experienced in getting the requisite number of men together. Ail officers are trained mining engineers, and have been specially selected, after putting in a course at the Engineers’ Training School, Sydney. The n.c.o.’s have been principally selected from among managers of smaller mines and shift bosses from larger mines, who have had varied experience in . all classes of mining work. Canada. Feared Coal Shortage.—John T. Stirling, chief inspector of mines for Alberta, anticipates a considerable shortage of coal during the winter, owing to the scarcity of labour. In the Edmonton district there are 34 mines capable of pro- ducing a total output of 1,900,000 tons per year. The actual output during 1915 w^as only 457,930 tons, or about 24 per cent, of full capacity. Since then the number of men avail- able has been much reduced. Mine Rescue and First Aid Contests.—Mine rescue and first-aid contests were held at Coleman, Alberta, on July 1, four teams from British Columbia and four from Alberta competing, viz., tvro from Fernie, B.C., two from Michel, B.C., one from McGilivray Creek, Alberta, one from Cole- man, Alberta, and two from Lethbridge, Alberta. One of the teams from Fernie was successful in obtaining the first prize, the team from No. 6 mine, Lethbridge, v-on second prize, and the team from No. 3 mine, Lethbridge, third prize. In the first-aid contest three teams entered from British Columbia and four from Alberta, t.e., two from Fernie, one from Michel, one from Lethbridge, two from Coleman, and one from McGillivray Creek. The teams from Coleman were successful in obtaining the first and third prizes, while the McGillivray Creek team obtained the second prize, MINERAL STATISTICS FOR 1915.* Part I. of the Annual General Report on Mines and Quarries for the year ending December 31, 1915, as hitherto, sets forth the divisional statistics for the year, and also includes this year the reports of the divisional inspectors, which, owing to the war, have been much reduced. It will be followed by other parts dealing with labour and output. General remarks on other matters connected with the Department will appear in Part II. During the present emergency, the Report and statistics are limited to the consideration of the more important questions arising during the year, and the presentation of the more important figures. The form in which the statistics appear in this part of the work is governed by administrative arrangements. Persons Employed. The returns show that from January to July 1914 the number of persons ordinarily employed at the 2,988 mines under the Coal Alines Act was 1,133,746, or an increase of 5,856 on the figures (1,127,890) for the year 1913; but that on the last pay-day in December 1914 the number of persons employed had fallen to 981,264. The total number of persons employed under and above ground for the year 1915 was 953,642, showing a further reduction of 27,622 on the figures for December of the previous year. The number of persons employed at the 564 mines under the Metalliferous Mines Act in 1915 was 19,831, or a decrease of 3,878 persons as compared with the year 1914. Of the 953,642 persons working at the mines under the Coal Alines Act, 754,673 were employed below ground. Of the 198,969 surface workers, 7,521 were females. There is an increase of 945 females as com- pared with 1914. The number , of young persons under 16 employed below ground in these mines was 55,984. The total number of surface and underground workers under 16 was 81,671. At the mines under the Aletalliferous Alines Act, 11,869 persons worked below ground, and of the 7,962 surface workers, 140 were females. At the quarries under the Quarries Act there were 62,127 persons employed, of whom 40,029 worked inside the actual pits or excavations, and 22,098 outside. Com- pared with 1914, there is a decrease of 16,781 in the total number of persons employed at quarries. The persons employed occasionally at quarries are not included in the above figures. Output of Minerals. .The total output of minerals at mines under the Coal Alines Act was 264,497,263 tons, of which 253,179,446 were coal, 1,839,746 fireclay, 6,080,218 ironstone, and 2,998,652 oil shale. Adding 24,463 tons from open quarries, the total output of coal was 253,203,909 tons, which is a decrease of 12,460,484 tons on that of the previous year. This deficit is reduced by 2,172 tons, representing the output of coal from certain workings not included under the Alines or Quarries Act. The differences in the coal production in the several inspection divisions as compared with the previous year (excluding the small quantities obtained from quarries) are as follow :— Tons. Scotland ...................... -3,250,506 Northern ..................... -5,354,193 ...................... York and North Midland ...... 4- 696,507 Lancashire and North Wales .... —1,276,471 Ireland ........................... _ 7,843 South Wales ................ —3,427,128 Midland ..................... 4. 156,050 The total output of minerals at the mines under the Aletalliferous Alines Act was 2,815,816| tons, of which 1,795,887 tons were iron ore. The total quantities of stone and other minerals obtained from the quarries under the Quarries Act was 37,711,612 tons, of which 5,876,297 tons were iron ore. Adding to the produce of mines and of quarries over 20 ft. deep 482,610 tons, obtained from shallow open workings, we arrive at a total output of iron ore of 12,439,125 tons. Fatal Accidents. Accidents at the mines under the Coal Mines Act caused 1,297 deaths. Compared with 1914, this is an increase of 78. At the mines under the Metalliferous Mines Act there were 21 deaths from accidents. Compared with 1914, this is a decrease of 3. At the quarries under the Quarries Act the accidents resulted in 74 deaths. Compared with 1914, this is a decrease of 21. Death Rates from Accidents. The death rate of the underground workers at the mines under the Coal Mines Act was 1*55 per 1,000 persons employed, as against 119 in 1914; the death rate of the surface workers was 0-65 per 1,000 persons employed, as against 0-61 in the previous year. The death rate of the underground and surface workers as a whole was 1-36, as against 1’08 in 1914, which latter was the lowest on record for the United Kingdom. At the mines under the Aletalliferous Alines Act, the death rate of the underground workers was 1-43 per 1,000 presons employed, and of the surface workers 0-50 per 1,000. The corresponding figures for 1914 were 1’25 and 0’65 respectively. The death rate of the underground and surface workers as a whole was 1-06, whilst that of 1914 was 1’01. At the quarries under the Quarries Act, the death rate from accidents of the workers inside the actual pits or excavations was 1’55 per 1,000, and of the persons employed at factories and workshops outside the * From Part I. (Divisional Statistics) Mines and Quarries : General Report. By the Chief Inspector of Mines. quarries, but connected with them, 0-54 per 1,000. The corresponding figures for 1914 were 1-54 and 0-62 respectively. The death rate of the inside and outside workers as a whole was 1'19 in 1915, as against 1'20 in the previous year. All the death rates for 1914 were calculated on the number of persons ordinarily employed at mines under the Coal Mines Act during the period* from January to July of that year. ____________________________ THE GERMAN COAL AND IRON TRADES. We give below further extracts from German periodicals that have reached us, shewing the course of the cc^l and iron trades in Germany :— Ruhr Coal Market. The strained market conditions have latterly been accentuated by the usual autumn shortage of railway wagons, which was the one thing lacking to make the difficulties acute. The production of coke at the expense of the coal supply has reduced the available quantities of the latter to a minimum. The long-prevailing scarcity of small industrial nuts has become so inten- sified, that it is no longer possible to serve consumers with anything like adequacy. In fact, buyers must take what they can get, and manage how they can. The extraordinary demands of the iron works for coke have made this fuel also scarce, and deliveries are largely in arrear. Alany works which have decided to replace coal by coke for steam raising have been unable to get the necessary alterations effected in their boiler plant, and are finding themselves between the Scylla of a shortage of the fuel they previously used and the Charybdis of inability to make prompt use of corresponding quantities of coke. Those who have arranged to burn large coke —by means of the Ten-Brink grate—are better off than those who want smaller coke. Up to nearly the end of September the Rhine continued in good condition for coal traffic, but since then the water has been receding, so that craft could not get even as far as Mannheim without being lightened of cargo. The prevalence of fogs has also hindered the traffic. Loading conditions in the Ruhr harbours have been unfavourable, oncoming supplies having receded considerably, with little prospect of improvement, so long as the shortage of railway wagons continues. The riverside pit wharves below Ruhrort have also been shipping less than here- tofore, on account of the greater consumption at the pits’ own iron works; but, on the other hand, there has been an increased volume of shipment on the Rhine- Herne canal; and down-river shipments to Holland and Belgium have been maintained at about the old level. Iron Market in Upper Silesia. Business in iron and steel continues active, especi- ally for war material, the demand for which engages the full capacity of all branches. The entry of Roumania into the war cut off the growing trade with that country; but, on the other hand, has increased the demand for munitions, etc. Although the output of pig iron and raw steel nearly approaches the level of pre-war times, it is insufficient to meet current require- ments, and though many plant extensions have been inaugurated, the export trade has had to be confined to shipments of rolling mill products and tubes on exist- ing contracts, no new business being entertained. Prices have risen all round, owing to the increased cost of living, scarcity of labour, and high wages. All branches have enough orders in hand to last for five to six months, and works’ stocks have diminished to a very low ebb. Even unusual sections and dimensions of girders have been taken over by buyers, to avoid being left in the lurch. Scrap iron is in active request, and although the supply is ample, prices have gone up by leaps and bounds, ordinary broken scrap fetching 70 mk., core scrap 72’50 mk., ordinary turnings 60’50 mk., work- shop turnings 63 mk., castings scrap 68*50 mk., and engine castings scrap 76-50 mk. per ton delivered. __________________________________ Lancashire Miners and Absenteeism. — The joint secre- taries of the coal owners and the miners of Lancashire and Cheshire (Sir T. Ratcliffe-Ellis and Mr. T. Ashton) have issued the following important circular to the collieries and mining ledges of the two counties with reference to men who are persistent absentees :—“ The question of absenteeism was considered by the joint committee at their meeting on Monday, October 2, and it was with great regret the com- mittee learned that the attendance of some men at the collieries was by no means all what it ought to be. The committee was unanimously of opinion that the cases of persistent absentees from this time forward would have to be more efficiently dealt writh, and we were instructed to invite your committee to be good enough to report to us the names of those men who are of military age, who, in your judg- ment, are persistent absentees from work. The committee further is of opinion that the names so reported to us should be forwarded to the proper authority, with a view to having their certificates of exemption from military service with- drawn!. Will you be good enough, therefore, to make a fort- nightly return to us, giving the names and particulars of the time lost by those the committee regard as persistent absentees. The joint committee will also be glad to have the opinion of your committee as to whether the cases con- tained in your report should be dealt with as we have men- tioned above, viz., that steps should be taken to obtain the cancellation of their exemption certificates.” The circular will make it obvious to those miners of military age who are persistent absentees from their work, that it is a choice between “ doing their bit ” in the pits or the fighting line. Lancashire and Cheshire coal owners end miners do not stand alone in this action. The rules for the government of absentee committees in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire give pov-er to the general committee in each county to deal with persistent absenteeism from v’ork by “ withdrawal of exemp- tion certificate of person of military age.”