January 5, 1917. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 25 of formal agreements. Representations have been made to Norway with a view to prevent export inconsistent with the terms of these agreements, and an early settlement is expected. A statement has been circulated to the effect that the Government is preparing to co-operate financially with collieries which may have to stack coal in default of adequate transport facilities, or which may require further support in share issues. Negotiations are in progress between the British and French Governments with regard to the distri- bution of vessels for the transport of two million tons of coal monthly to France. Meanwhile applications for licences are being restricted, for the current quarter, to 40 per cent, of the mean importations for the corresponding three months of 1916, The purely artificial conditions which The Coal prevailed throughout the past year Trade in render it somewhat difficult to appre- 1916. ciate the real position of the coal trade during that interval, and make it almost impossible to forecast its future tendency. The operation of ordinary economic factors can scarcely be considered normal when at every turn their natural tendency has been in one way or another disturbed. Taken as a whole the result has not been unsatisfactory. In some cases it has been exceptionally good, but the difficulties have been unprecedented owing to circumstances arising from the war. Let us in the first place consider the question of prices. In normal times there is a natural tendency for coal prices to rise and fall in sympathy with the seasonal demand, and the curve generally touches its minimum in the summer season. In the past year this course has been in most cases reversed, and we have witnessed the unusual phenomenon of a summer time peak. The reason for this is not difficult to understand. The Price of Coal (Limitation) Act has operated towards the maintenance of a fairly uniform level so far as the home trade is concerned, but in the early part of the year the price of export coal and bunkers still followed natural economic laws, and rose sharply in response to an active demand and a considerable increase in the cost of working. This tendency, however, was checked at later dates by several causes. The fixing of limitation prices, for French and Italian ports, the former coming into force in May and the latter in September, had an immediate effect in somewhat lowering prices so far as those countries were concerned. But an even more potent factor in the situation has been the effect of the licensing system upon neutral trade, combined with practical difficulties in the matter of tonnage, both of which causes operated in restricting the only free markets still available. It is not the time to criticise the working of the methods adopted by the Govern- ment in dealing with the export coal trade, some of which cannot be understood in the absence of fuller knowledge of the circumstances. Undoubtedly a, serious state of things had arisen both in France and Italy, and it was essential that steps should be taken to relieve the situation in those countries. But there was also much legitimate anxiety with regard to home supplies for military purposes, and on more than one occasion an embargo was placed upon the export to neutrals of unscreened steam coal, owing to the fear of a shortage in small coal for home use in munition works. Less intelligible was the restric- tion sought to be imposed by a regulation requiring that all steam coal for export should be certified as unfit for coking purposes, the impracticability of which was speedily demonstrated by the New- castle Advisory Committee. As for the practical working of the French and Italian schemes, owing to several causes the results have not been all that might have been expected. Ship owners have been somewhat shy of the trade to these countries for various reasons, amongst which perhaps the most serious is the congestion at French ports and the delay resulting therefrom. Neither are the prices to our Allies under these schemes very attractive as compared with pre-war costs, for the limitation freights are still excessively high, ruling in some cases 400 per cent, and in others 600 per cent, above Prices. Description of fuel. Per ton. January 1,1916. Per ton. July 1, 1916. Per ton. January 1, 1917. Best Northumbrian steam coals f.o.b. Tyne... „ „ steam smalls „ Best Durham gas coals „ Durham coking coals „ Best Durham blast-furnace coke del. Tees-side Durham bunkers f.o.b. Tyne Foundry coke f.o.b. Tyne Best Lancashire house coals at pit „ ■ slacks „ Best Yorkshire Silkstone „ Barnsley thick-seam house Best Haigh Moor (London) „ . Yorkshire steam coals „ Best Derbyshire house coals „ Large „ nuts „ Best Staffordshire house coals „ Welsh steam coals f.o.b. Cardiff... „ Welsh small steam coals „ „ ... „ Semi-bituminous ■ No. 3 Rhondda, large . „ No 2 ” >, 55 55 Patent fuel „ 55... Best Welsh malting anthracite f.o.b. Swansea Special foundry coke, Cardiff Scotch ell coals f.o.b. Glasgow ; „ steam „ „ ... „ splint „ „ Fife steam coals, f.o.b. Methil Fife treble nuts „ „ Hetton Wallsend,. London / 22s. 10s. 6d. 21s. to 22s. 21s. 36s. 21s. to 22s. 36s. to 38s., 21s. to 22s. 14s. to 15s. 20s. to 22s. 18s. 6d. 20s. to 21s. 17s. to 18s. 17s. 15s. : * * ■ 12s. fid. to 13s. 6d. 24s. to 25s. 23s. to 24s. 20s. to 21s. 24s. to 25s. 36s. to 37s. 6d. 42s. 6d. to 45s. 21s. 6d. 18s. to 20s. 22s. to 26s. 21s. to 22s. 21s. to 22s. 50s. to 52s. 6d. 31s. to 32s. 6d. 35s. to 36s. 33s. to 35s. 42s: 6d. 33s. to 35s. 43s. 6d. to 47s. 6d. 21s. 16s. • 30s. to 32s. 18s. 6d. to 19s. 6d. 20s. to 21s. 17s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. 17s. 15 s. 22s. _ * 30s. to 31s. 47s. to 48s. 45s. to 48s. 35s. to. 37s. 6d. 50s. to 55s. 31s. to 33s. 62s. to 65s. 25s. to 30s. 24s. to 27s. 6d. 33s. to 45s. 40s. to 50s. 23s. to 25s. 29s. to 30s. 17s. to 17s. 6d. 25s. to 27s. 6d. 18s. to 20s. 37s. to 39s. 17s. to 19s. 40s. to 45s. 22s. to 23s. 16s. upwards. 2Qs. to 22s. 18s. 6d. to 19s. 20s. to 21s. 17s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. 18s. to 18s. 6d. 16s. to 17s. 22s. * 19s. to 20s. 28s. to 30s. 28s. to 30s. 27s. to 28s. 36s. to 37s. 6d. 29s. 6d. to 32s. 62s 6d. to 67s. 6d. 19s. 6d. to 24s. 19s. to 25s. 23s. to 32s. 29s. to 30s. 23s. to 25s. 6d. * Nominal; best sorts oft the market. Freights. January 1, 1916. July 1, 1916. January 1, 1917. Tyne to— * Rouen .. 21s. 46s. 49s. Marseilles 50s. 87s. 6d. 63s. fid. Genoa 66s. 6d. 90s. to 92s. 6d. 64s. 6d. Alexandria 72s. 6d. 110s. 62s. 6d. London 15s. 12s. 16s. Cardiff to— Genoa y 66s. 70s. to 75s. , 59s. 6d. Bordeaux 32s. 34s. 37s. Marseilles 48s. 45s. to 72s. 6d. 58s. 6d, Havre 21s. 22s. fid. 23s. 6d. Barcelona.. 50s. 62s. 6d. to 65s. 60s. Las Palmas 35s. 47s. 6d. 37s. 6d. Alexandria •67s. 6d. 90s. 82s. 6d. River Plate 40s. 45s. 62s. 6d. Wages. Percentage of wages above standards. District. Northumberland .... r Jan. 1, 1916. ... 78 f .. July 1, 1916. . 112 f •• Jan. 1, 1917. . 120 f Durham ...... ... 75 f .. . • 88ft .. . 107JJ Federated area ... 95Jf .. . 23p .. . 23F South Wales and Mon.,., ...25’831 „ . 40’83f .. . 55’83t§ Scotland ... 118|” .. . 143ft - . 175 f * Above the new standard, which is 50 per cent, above the standard of 1879, with a minimum wage of 10 per cent, above the new standard or 60 per cent, above the standard of 1879. . t Including the war bonus. I Above the 1915 standard, or 83’75 above the standard of 1879. ’ § Above the 1915 standard, or 133’75 per cent, above the standard of 1879. those existing before the war. This is not to be ascribed so much to the rapacity of ship owners as to the excessive running costs, and the abundance of profitable charters available for a restricted number of unappropriated vessels. We have referred at some length to the export side of the coal trade because that was the only branch of the industry from which the coal owner might have expected to recover some part of the high mining costs brought about by the considerable increase in wages and in the price of materials of almost every kind—increases which were scarcely contemplated at the time the Price of Coal (Limita- tion) Act was framed. Stated concisely, it may be said that this Act has been successful in maintaining a fairly fixed maximum so far as the home trade -is concerned; while the rapid advance in export prices in the first half of the year was finally reversed by the influence of several factors, amongst which the most effective were the sparing issue of licences, the dearth of tonnage, and the special terms made for the French and Italian demand. A notable feature, particularly ‘ in South Wales, was the important part played by small coals, which have fetched even higher prices than large coal. This apparent anomaly was due to the fact that owing to Government demand there was little or no large coal available for export, and as the price of requisitioned coal had been fixed from the beginning of the war at an exceptionally low figure, the price of lower grade fuel rose at times to an unprecedented level. The action of the Board of Trade in June, in adding 2s. 6d. per ton in the South Wales area to the 4s. limit fixed by the Act, was an official recog- nition of the large increase in working costs, but the concession was resented by the miners, and indirectly precipitated the crisis which led to the whole coal field being taken over by the Government under the Defence of the Realm Act. A state of turmoil had existed in this area ever since the war began, and a painful impression had been caused by the perpetual efforts which were made to embarrass the Govern- ment during the critical period of the war. It should be recorded that, im the midst of these stormy episodes, the coal owners, against their own interests, placed themselves unreservedly in the hands of. the Government,; and their patriotic action was duly appreciated and expressly acknowledged by Mr. Runciman, who was then President of the Board of Trade. Coal owners have been called upon to make more than one sacrifice in the national interest, and possibly more will yet be demanded of them. An Order in Council has already been made to empower .the Board of Trade to use private coal wagons as may seem fit for facilitating transport, and the Government has announced its intention to take entire control of the whole of the ’collieries in the country. What this may eventually mean cannot yet be stated. To a certain extent this control has already been in force, for there has been no single branch of the coal industry which has been free from restrictions of one kind or another. If it should mean something of a similar nature to that which has been adopted in the case of railways, it will certainly remove a great amount of anxiety with regard to ways and means of making ends meet. Of course there would be a big deficit on profit and