346

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

February 16, 1917.

Notes from the Coal Fields.

[Local Correspondence.]

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

Board of Trade Interference with Colliery Dividends—The
Value of Neutral Tonnage : Criticism of Government
Action and Inaction—Brokers1 and Shippers' Interests
Safeguarded—tl Continuity of Employment."

. A great deal of interest has been aroused by the action of
the Board of Trade in respect of a local colliery company’s
dividend, which that authority cut down by one-half. In
this case, the Board gives permission for only one-half the
amount to be distributed. Subsequently, the announce-
ment of two dividends on Saturday—namely, D. Davis and
Sons and the Cambrian Consolidated—removed the uneasi-
ness which had been experienced, for it was manifest that
the Board of Trade would not interfere with the ordinary
course of affairs, but was really, as had been asserted, only
concerned to prevent such distributions as would jeopardise
financial resources.

At the recent meeting of the Cardiff Chamber of Com-
merce, Mr. T. E. Watson (president) dealt with the ques-
tion of coal supplies to Erance and Italy, as well as of the
new time-charter and voyage rates for neutral vessels. So
long ago as September 5, he said, the Government had been
urged to notice that neutral tonnage was working elsewhere,
although this country was dependent in a continually increas-
ing degree upon neutral tonnage for the carrying of coal to
the two countries mentioned. The Central Executive was
therefore asked to agree to an increase in the rates of
freight; but they would not. The matter of the increase of
rates was not settled until a meeting on January 25—
although it affected the Imperial Government itseli—when
a resolution was agreed to by the new body called the Inter-
Allied Chartering Executive; and the rates were then
increased. The increased rates, he understood, did not
apply to Norwegian vessels, and negotiations were still pro-
ceeding; >and the Norwegian Consul at Cardiff had described
himself as “ entirely lost in the mass of bewildering regula-
tions and instructions.” At the last meeting of the Central
Executive, they had the presence of the representatives of
the French Government and French importers, and also of
the chief of the chartering department; and the latter gentle-
man assured them that the fears expressed in some quarters
as to his committee’s operations doing away with business
of local ship brokers and charterers were quite unfounded.
On the contrary, that committee would endeavour to avail
themselves of the present mode of doing business, and there
was no intention of extinguishing the broker. It was abso-
lutely impossible for business, at present transacted by local
brokers and charterers, to be done by any committee. Advert-
ing to the excess profits tax, Mr. Watson said that he did
not think that some of the leaders of the working men had
grasped the fact that the tax on profits in excess of those
made prior to the war amounted to 14s. in the £. He hoped
the authorities would keep the fact in mind, and that nothing
would be done which would cripple business. They now
had a gentleman as Shipping Controller who knew tramp
steamers and how they should be run, and he had requested
that in cases of delay, definite information should be given
him, so that full investigation should immediately be made.

There has been for two days before the Appeal Court an
important case brought by Messrs. Guest, Keen >and Nettle-
fold. The county court judge at Merthyr had awarded £300
compensation to the widow7 of a colliery repairer who was
killed at Bedlinog in March 1915. On behalf of the appel-
lants, counsel submitted that compensation had been wrongly
assessed because the judge had not taken into considera-
tion the fact that there was not continuity of employment
during one week in which the man refrained from going to
work in consequence of a strike. Lord Justice Warrington
observed that the question wTas whether the man’s absence
Was avoidable or unavoidable, and counsel replied that the
collieries were open the whole time. The Judge : “As a
matter of business, would the man have been able to do
any work if he had gone to the colliery?” Counsel replied
that the man chose to stay away, and his action was illegal
and against the proclamation which declared the strike
illegal, and therefore bis absence was avoidable. On behalf
of the workman, it was submitted that the award of the
county court judge was right, he being bound by the Appeal
Court’s decision in the case of Jones against the Ocean Coni:
pany, and that in assessing compensation, the total earnings
for the period of three years had simply to be added up; and
that was the amount of compensation 'awarded. In the
sense submitted by the 'appellants, it was almost impossible
to have continuous employment. It was a question of fact
for the county court judge as to what constituted a break
in the continuity of employment, and if the court were to
hold that absenteeism for a few days constituted a break,
the court would be inundated with appeals all over the
country. In the circumstances of this case, Price was
unavoidably absent from work. Counsel for Messrs. Guest,
Keen and Nettlefold, on the other hand, pointed out that the
case was one of far greater importance than .appeared on
the fact of it, for it might involve hundreds of thousands
of pounds. The Master of the Bolls, in stating that the
judgment would be deferred, said that it might be some
little time before their lordships would be in a position to
deliver judgment.

For stealing timber from the pit, 12 colliers at New
Tredegar have been fined; and it was stated by the prosecu-
tion that owing to the greater cost of pitwood, the company
were anxious to stop the practice of taking home wood.
Men had been warned, but the warning had not been heeded.
In defence, it was stated that the practice had been followed
for about 30 years.

The special committee appointed by Swansea Chamber of
Commerce has reported upon the circumstances attending
local trade, and after dealing with metallurgy, they referred
to shipping and coal trade matters. The coal industry they
desire to see develop on scientific lines—more particularly by
utilising the lower-grade coal. They wish to see established
greater facilities for cutting and grading coals; and the
report .also deals with the obligation of royalty owners in
sharing the burdens of the community, especially the local
rates.

The Ynisarwed Collieries Company has presented a motor
ambulance to the Neath Corporation, the condition of the
gift being that it is to remain in the custody of the Corpora-
tion for use in conveying wounded soldiers and patients to
the Swansea Hospital, or any similar institution. The car
was formally handed over to the Mayor by Mr. Evan Lewis,
representing the Ynisarwed Company, among the speakers
being Mr. D. Howell, one of the directors of that company.

The Main Colliery Company were summoned at Neath,
the prosecution being instituted by the Home Office, and
certain of their employees were also summoned for per-
mitting horses to be worked in an unfit state, for not pro-
viding underground roads of sufficient height, for not
furnishing sufficient food, and for making false entries in
the colliery books. The company had to answer two sum-
monses, the general manager two summonses, the manager
31 summonses, and there were a number against horse-
keepers—the total of summonses being 56. The inspector
deposed that he visited the pits on November 15, and found
horses underfed; that he examined roadways, and found
deep holes between the sleepers—four of the horses having
bruised fetlocks, and one broken knees. On a subsequent
date he found a number of horses out of condition, and he
found false entries in the register. A veterinary surgeon
gave corroborative evidence, and stated that two bushels of
oats per week were not sufficient for horses at work; but
for the defence, another veterinary surgeon said that two
bushels of oats, with a fair quantity of chaff, was suffi-
cient, and that, generally speaking, the horses were in
fairly good w'orking condition. The hearing was adjourned.

The new Pitwood Association at Cardiff was formed at a
representative gathering, and it was reported that 50
colliery companies, with a total output of between 30 and
40 millions of tons of coal per annum, had signified their
intention of joining. Mr. B. Nicholas is chairman, and
Mr. Einlay Gibson secretary pro tern. Very largely the
operation of the new association will be directed to the pur-
chase, supply, and distribution of home-grown timber for
use in the South Wales pits.

Mr. Marshall, secretary of the Swansea Committee, con-
tradicts any suggestion that there has been delay by the
Swansea coal exporters in making official returns, and he
quotes a letter from Mr. Stewart, secretary of the Central
Executive of Great Britain, which states that “ Your lists
have been the most accurate of all which have been received
either by the Erench Coal Committee or myself.” Mr.
Stewart added, however, that “ very serious defects existed
—particularly in the returns of two other districts.”

Mr. Jenkins, Admiralty representative at Cardiff, wrote
to the executive committee of the South Wales Miners’
Federation; and his letter was considered at a meeting on
Saturday. He asked attention to the accumulation of small
coal which was in wagons required for transport, and pointed
out that the holding up of so many wagons by the small
coal not only entailed serious congestion, but also must
imperil to a large extent the maintenance of continuous
work. The accumulation was principally due to the diffi-
culty of getting sufficient tonnage. Every device was being
employed to utilise small coal in directions where it was not
customarily used, but it seemed that one solution of the
problem was that the colliery companies shall stack the
small coal on the bank. In the present condition of the
labour market, however, the companies found it difficult to
obtain men to do that work; and he appealed to the Federa-
tion to prevail upon miners, out of work through inter-
mittent stoppages, to lend their services in this work of
banking the small coal.—The executive council agreed with
the desire that all that was possible might be done to comply
with the wishes of the Admiralty representative; and it
was decided further to suggest that Mr. Jenkins should
communicate with the miners’ agents in the different dis-
tricts where the accumulation of small coal took place, and
the council expressed a view that they saw no difficulty in
carrying out Mr. Jenkins’ suggestion.

The executive had before it also a question as to workmen
colliery examiners not having access to the books of some
colliery companies respecting. the ventilation of mines and
other matters, and it was resolved that this matter should
be considered by a sub-committee with the workmen
examiners, so that full investigation might be made.

Swansea Harbour Trustees had before them an applica-
tion which shows the steady development of that port, and
they have granted to Smith’s Dry Docks Company, of the
Biver Tees, an area near the Swansea South Dock where it
is intended to construct a dry dock capable of admitting
vessels up to 2,000 tons. It was reported also that the com-
mittee to settle disputes with the workmen is getting into
further operation, and that they have invited representa-
tives of the National Labourers’ Union representing the coal
trimmers to meet them at an early date in order to discuss
matters of joint concern. The trade of the port for January
was stated to show a total fall of 127,000 tons—the chief
part of this being in coal and coke, which were 104,000 tons
less. On the other hand, patent fuel shipments had
increased by 10,000 tons.

A striking decision was arrived at by a special miners’
conference which met in Cardiff on Tuesday, for they took
the extreme step of rejecting by a large majority the arrange-
ment which had been made between the Home Secretary
and the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain. That arrange-
ment had relation to the “ combing-out ” of surface men, it
being agreed that medical examination should be held away
from the mines ; that the exemption certificates should be
surrendered to the colliery recruiting courts and not to the
managers; that underground men temporarily employed on
the surface should not be regarded as surface men, and
therefore be liable to medical examination; that bona fide
miners who were temporarily absent from the mines on
August 14, 1915, should not necessarily be regarded as
having entered the industry since that date, and thus have
lost their status; and that the withdrawal of certificates on
account of 'absenteeism should not operate retrospectively.
A report of the interview with the Home Secretary was made
by Mr. James Winstone (president), Mr. T. Bichards,
M.P. (general secretary), and Mr. Vernon Hartshorn; and
afterwards very keen discussion followed, strong feeling
being manifest amongst the delegates as to the position
which had been created, scarcely any speaker except the
leading officials speaking in favour of the agreement arrived
at. The total number of delegates present was 281, repre-
senting 135,226 members; and, upon a vote being taken,
it was decided that the report of the executive on this sub-
ject could not be accepted as satisfactory. The vote for
acceptance was 1,092, whilst there were 1,626 votes against
—an adverse majority of 534; and as each vote represents
50 members, the totals are 54,600 against 81,300—an adverse
majority of 26,700. Some of the speeches made in opposi-
tion were extreme, and several speakers declared an opinion
that this “ combing-out ” process was only the beginning
of a general industrial conscription.

The constitution of this conference in its relation of accept-
ance or rejection of the scheme was questioned, it being
stated that some of the delegates had not received any
mandate from their lodges; and ultimately it was decided
that the conference should be adjourned until Monday, so

that the delegates might consult the workmen, and that, in
the meanwhile, the authorities might be asked to suspend
the operation of the medical boards and of the colliery
recruiting courts.

Addressing the monthly meeting of the Eastern Valley
miners, Monmouthshire, Mr. Winstone (president of the
Federation) said he considered the Government had made a
mistake in sending medical boards to the coal field without
consulting representatives of the Federation. Protest was
made immediately this action became known, and. subse-
quently a deputation waited upon the Home Secretary. As
to ex-soldiers, his opinion was that they were not liable to
be examined under the new order; and no colliery manager
had any right to ask for the exemption certificates of work-
men liable for service, as such certificates were to be sur-
rendered only to the collieries recruiting court.

Swansea Harbour Trust, at its monthly meeting on
Monday, received a financial statement which showed that
the trade for December ended in a deficiency of £6,748, due
entirely to falling off in the volume of trade. Sir Griffith
Thomas stated that the decrease in exports was entirely due
to the war, and he feared that because of scarcity of ships
the decrease was likely to continue. Colliery proprietors and
fuel manufacturers were fully booked with orders, and the
difficulty was due entirely to lack of tonnage. During the
quarter ended December, only 522,000 tons had been shipped,
whereas the authorisations for these three months were
1,234,000 tons—a falling off of 712,000 tons. In the month
of January, also, there was a falling off due to lack of ships
to the extent of 13'5,000 tons below the authorisations; so
that the shipments represented only about 50 per cent, of
the quantity authorised to.be shipped. France and Italy
were both in urgent need of coal; but exporters were unable
to satisfy their needs. He suggested that the limitation of
freight rates had been too low. This had been recently
increased twice, and he hoped the latest increase might
result in bringing more tonnage into the market, although
he had his doubts about it, because so long as shipments to
neutral countries were unrestricted and licences were granted
freely, neutral countries would be able to compete for tonnage
without any limitation of freight, and until there was a
limitation he was afraid it would be a competition of Allied
nations against neutrals, and that the neutrals would get
the tonnage all the time.

The special committee of the Swansea Chamber of Com-
merce which has had under consideration the question of
trade after the war, deals in its report with the settlement
of disputes, and proposes that in every industry there shall
be a court of arbitration consisting of representatives of both
employers and men, with an umpire agreed upon. No
strikes or lock-outs should be allowed, and all questions at
issue should be referred to the court. A strike or lock-out
fund is also proposed, with contributions both by the
employers and men—-this fund to be at the disposal of the
court—and if either side refuses to accept its decisions,
wages or profits are to be made up to the other side out of
the fund. Employers should, it is suggested, pay 2d. per
week for each man employed, and each man should pay
2d. per week, the money to be collected in the same way as
that for Health Insurance, employers affixing a 4d. stamp
on a card. One phrase in the report is not quite clear—
namely, that the fund should “have the guarantee of the
State.” The proposal embodies an idea that if neither side
could be financially exhausted by strike or lock-out, stop-
pages of work would inevitably cease; though it is difficult
to imagine a fund raised by pence to be sufficiently large
for financing those extensive industrial conflicts which are
foreshadowed by combinations of employers on the one hand
and of workmen on the other. Nevertheless, the proposal is
noteworthy, and is said to be approved in widely-separated
quarters.

Owing to compulsory idleness of men in some of the Mon-
mouthshire collieries, Mr. G. Barker, miners’ agent, Aber-
tillery, comments upon the fact that whilst people are
freezing in London with fireless grates, the colliers of Mon-
mouthshire are walking about the streets without any work
to do. In regard to one colliery, where over 1,000 men were
unable to work, the reason given was a shortage of coal
trucks; and Mr. Barker argues “ if coal cannot be shipped
regularly, why not divert the coal for home consumption?”

The Bhondda miners have discussed the hardship occa-
sioned by the increase in railway fares, and passed a reso-
lution calling upon the Government to reduce the fares, and
also the charges upon marketable produce and provisions.

Over 2,000 children in Merthyr and district have had to
be sent home from school on account of shortage of coal,
and this occurrence is not an isolated experience in the
South Wales colliery district.

The South Wales representatives who attended in London
on Tuesday a meeting of the Chairmen’s Committee of the
Central Executive for the Supply of Coal to France and
Italy, were Mr. T. Callaghan, Mr. Tom Evans (Ocean), Mr.
D. Badcliffe (ship owner), and Mr. T. P. Cook (Swansea).
After discussion of the new scale of rates of freight for
neutral vessels, and also the new scheme of war insurance,
the committee agreed that there was a prospect of consider-
able increase in the amount of neutral tonnage that would
be available for the coal trade—thus leading to material
advance in the quantities of coal supplied to France and
Italy.

On Monday a conference of business men with represen-
tatives of educational institutions took place in the council
room of Cardiff Chamber of Commerce—having been con-
vened by Mr. Joseph Shaw, K.C., chairman of the Powell
Duffryn Coal Company. The president of the Chamber
occupied the chair, and was supported by local mayors, by
Sir Clifford Cory, Lord Aberdare, Mr. T. J. Callaghan,
and many gentlemen associated with the coal and shipping
industries of the district. Consideration was given to the
general lines of co-ordination between the business and
educational interests of the district, it being desired to pre-
vent overlapping and to decide in what direction the
University College, the municipal technical schools, the
School of Mines, etc., should develop in the future. All
present were agreed as to the desirability of co-ordination,
and a business committee was chosen to draw up a definite
scheme. Mr. J. Shaw, with Mr. T. Vivian Bees (formerly
associated with the Ferndale Colliery) and Mr. F. W.
Gilbertson, were chosen to give evidence on behalf of the
business committee before the Boyal Commission.

Messrs. D. Davis and Sons, Ferndale Collieries, are
applying for £120,000 new money in the War Loan, and are
ear-marking £20,000 of this for employees. Any of the men
who decide to take up the War Loan will be given two years
in which to repay the amount, and the sum allowed to be
taken up by each man will be limited to half his usual
earnings. The arrangement will apply also to the Welsh