496 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. March 9, 1917. Notts and Derbyshire. In order to check 'absenteeism on the part of colliers in Nottinghamshire, six Hucknall men were summoned at the Shire HaU, Nottingham, on Saturday last. Mr. Beck, who prosecuted for the Sherwood Colliery Company, stated that the defendants were reported to the local joint absentee committee, composed of coal owners and men, by whom they were warned, but the warning had no effect, and they were reported to the general absentee committee, who ordered them to be prosecuted. The sum of £2 10s. was claimed from Robert Pickering, for five days’ absence; £4 from Albert Evans, for eight days; £2 10s. from William Clark, for five days ; £2 from Bertie Hillier, for four days; and 30s. each from Leonard Berridge and Thomas Sweenie, for three days. The presiding magistrate, in ordering the defendants to pay the sums claimed, reminded them that they were all of military age. The Midlands. The engineers’ reports to the South Staffordshire Mines Drainage Commission, issued on Saturday, state that the rainfall for the previous four weeks was 1-27 in. The pump- ing was 12,109,700 gals, per 24. hours, as compared with 11,689,500 gals, in January, and 11,335,400 gals, in the corresponding period last year. There had been a further increase of water at the Moat Pound, where it was now necessary to work the old engine about half-time, as well as the Gospel Oak Mond gas-driven plant full-time, to assist the new engine. There had been no diminution at Bradley, but at Deepfields the increase had continued, until it was now necessary to start the old engine to' assist the new engine by pumping Thick coal water. The Stowheath and Herberts Park engihes continued to be worked at full speed, while the water was being slowly lowered at Leabrook. There was little change at Crown Meadow and Park Lane. The underground levelmen had been engaged in moving portable plant from Dixon’s Horseley to No. 8 Gospel Oak, and in cleansing blast holes1 at gas engine plants.—The surface drainage engineer (Mr. S. B. Priest) reports that the work at culvert on Gospel Oak brook under the London and North- Western Bailway, where a small portable engine had been worked for the railway, was, for the present, completed. Bradley brook had been cleared, and the raising of Boggy Arm course, where sunk by mining on the downstream side of the Gospel Oak road, had been continued. Clearing had been done on Bunn’s Lane and Oak Lane courses J and on Groveland brook. Damage to Shaver’s End brook, caused by a “ crowning-in,” was being repaired.—With regard to the Old’Hill district, Mr. W. B. Collis reports that in the northern portion of this district the water at the Windmill fend pumping engine had somewhat abated during the past month, and had been well kept down. Kent. Last week at the Snowdown Colliery deep sink- ing was devoted entirely to bricking, the shaft being lined from 2,864 ft. to 2,940 ft., a distance of 76 ft. Sinking has now been resumed at 2,941^ ft., and it is hoped very shortly to strike the 4 ft. 6 in. seam of coal proved in the Barfre-' stone boring. Sergt. C. C. Griffin, D.C.M., B.G.A., who was on the clerical staff of Kent Coal Concessions until the outbreak of war, has been granted a commission, and is now. serving with a siege battery. Second-Lieut. Griffin has been at the front for over two years. Scotland. Two New Companies—Losses on Coal—Tonnage Difficulties —Maximum Retail Prices—Compensation Case—Decision Regarding Haulage. Two new limited liability companies have been formed in Scotland. One is the Bridgeness Company, Bo’ness, with a capital of £80,000 in shares of £10 each, the subscribers being Mr. H. M. Cadell, Linlithgow, and Mr. L. I. Cadell, Edinburgh. The other company is the Garscube Colliery, with a capital of £5,000. - . ’ At the annual meeting of Messrs. James Dunlop and Com- pany, Glasgow, it was stated that there was at present a loss on every ton of coal supplied to public works. Their coal is largely consumed in their own iron works, in local industries, and railways, and in Glasgow Corporation gas and electric works. The margin for shipment abroad, where higher prices are obtained, is therefore limited. A divi- dend is declared of 10 per cent, on the ordinary shares. Everything is being done to lessen works costs. At the annual meeting of the Fife Coal Company, Fife, it was stated that the improved results of the year had been due in great measure to contracts which they were fortu- nate enough to make for shipment to neutral countries at high prices, and which have now expired. Home prices were not reasonably remunerative. They had to send large quantities to the West of Scotland for munition works and industrial concerns, and also to some extent for shipment, because of the difficulty of getting vessels on the east coast. No terms have been communicated to the coal owners by the Government, who have taken possession of the collieries, so that, it was stated, no idea could be given as to the measure of profit to be allowed during the period of control. Negotiations have been proceeding for some time in the Coalburn district to get the colliery owners to provide a modern motor ambulance to convey injured workmen from the mines. The union officials have brought the matter under the notice of the Home Office, and it is understood that the owners were informed that the Mines Act clearly specified that the responsibility rested on them to provide ambulance service. A joint meeting of representatives of both sides is being held this week> and it is expected the matter will be satisfactorily arranged. At a meeting of the Geological Society of Glasgow, Mr. J. L. Begg read a paper by Dr. F. A. Bather oil “ Two New Species of Carboniferous Crinoids.” Mr. J. N. Harrison described “ The Bennan Sill,” and a paper on “ James Thomson’s Genera of Carboniferous Corals ” was read by Prof. J. W. Gregory. The District Coal and Coke Supplies Committee for Scot- land, acting on behalf of the Board of Trade, has made an arrangement with the representatives of the Scottish coal merchants prescribing the maximum charges for all deal- ings in coal for holme consumption. The Board of Trade have approved of this agreement, and its terms are to be regarded us applying henceforward to. ah retail sales of coal in Scotland. The prices for Edinburgh and Leith range from Is. 7d. to Is. 10d., according to quality ;• Fife district, Is. 3d. to Ls. 5d. ; Border district, Is. 4d. to Is. 8d. ; Stir- ling and North Aberdeen, Is. 8d. to 2s. From merchants buying from collieries in bulk to distributors of small quan- tities, maximum prices have also been fixed. The Court of Session disposed of a workmen’s compen- sation case raising the question of whether insanity was due to an accident. The respondent, a miner, had his scalp injured in 1912, and was paid compensation till November 1913. In March 1915 respondent accepted £50 in full dis- charge of his claim. That settlement was subsequently reduced in the Court of Session on the ground that respon- dent, when he signed the receipt, was of unsound mind. The Sheriff-Substitute found that respondent was insane and incapacitated for work, but that it had not been proved that insanity which accounted for his incapacity was due to the accident. The colliery company, however, had not proved that a new cause had intervened, and the onus being on them, they had failed to discharge it. He accordingly awarded respondent 14s. 5d. per week compensation from 1913. The company appealed. The Division reversed that judgment, and held that it was not proved that there was any causal connection between insanity and the accident. The man had recovered from the physical results of the accident, and the onus was on him to show that, in fact, insanity had resulted from the physical injury. He had not discharged that onus. Mr. Duncan Dunn, under-manager at Loanend Colliery, Newton, has accepted an appointment as a member of the management staff of Auchinraith Colliery, Blantyre, belong- ing to Messrs. Merry and Cuninghame, coal masters. Meetings are being convened of Motherwell feuars on the Duke of Hamilton’s estate, with a view to considering the question of damage to property by underground workings. In connection with the claim of the men employed in the dook of No. 2 Hopetoun Colliery, West Lothian, to be allowed the privilege of a conveyance when returning up the dook, the mines inspector, to whom the point was referred, has now given his decision. The mines inspector states very explicitly that he is against “ hurling ” the.men under the present haulage arrangements, but he is of the opinion that if the haulage engine could be placed under- ground, his fears would be removed. The owners do not propose to make any change until after the war. COAL, IRON AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES. REPORTS AND DIVIDENDS. British Insulated and Helsby Cables Limited. — The directors recommend a dividend of 10s. per share, together with a bonus of 5 per cent., making 20 per cent, for the year; £128,500 is set aside for reserve and depreciation; and £163,000 carried forward. Carnfol’th Haematite. Iron Company Limited.—The report states that the gross profit has been £24,288. Income-tax took £3,462, and directors’ fees, etc., £1,550, leaving a net profit of £19,275, which, with the £1,085 brought forward, made £20,360 available for distribution. ’ Out of this, £5,000 is placed to the depreciation reserve, and £2,000 is set aside for redemption of debentures, while the debenture interest takes another £7,920. There is thus left £5,440 with which to meet the preference dividend of £4,320, and provide a carry forward of £1,120. Cortonwood Collieries Company Limited.—Dividend of 5 per cent, actual, tax. free. Gloucester Railway Carriage and Wagon Company Limited. —A circular has been issued by this company intimating that the unpaid amount on class “ B ” shares will be called up—10s. per share on March 24, and £1 per share on June 27, September 29, and December 31. The capital has not been increased for many years, but the work at Gloucester and ‘ the out-stations considerably expanded. When the £3 10s. on the “ B ” shares has been paid, it is proposed to make the ordinary shares all one class, and to divide the £7 shares into shares of £1 each. Lambert Brothers Limited. — The directors announce an interim dividend of 5 per cent, on ordinary shares. Lincoln Wagon and Engine Company Limited.—The report for the year states that the balance of the profit and loss account, including the sum brought forward, is £30,447. An interim dividend at the rate of £7 per cent., less tax, was paid in August last, and the directors now recommend a further dividend at the rate of £7 per cent., making £14 per cent, for the year, less tax. A bonus at the rate of £2 per cent., less tax, will absorb £1,380, and £9,000 is to be added to the reserve, leaving £10,407 to be carried forward. Nova Scotia Steel and Coal Company Limited.—The directors report that the profit for 1916, after providing for maintenance renewals, expenditure on plant, and equip- ment, was 4,222,373 dols. The provision for depreciation, business profits tax for 1915 and 1916, sinking fund interest, and reserve for doubtful accounts, amounted to 1,490,586 dols., making income for year 2,731,787 dols. After fixed charges and preferred dividend, there was a balance of 2,104,477 dols., equivalent to 27 per cent, on common share capital, as compared with 1,510,609 dols. The net profits for year, added to previous surplus, gave a total balance at December 31 of 3,535,086 dols., equivalent to 46 per cent, on common share capital. Penrikyber Navigation Colliery Company Limited. — The accounts for the year ended December 31 show that the profit for the year, after writing off £6,464 for new works, providing for excess profits duty, and paying £2,750 for debenture interest, amounts to £49,226, which, added to the sum brought forward, £21,405, makes £70,632. The directors have placed a further sum of £6,802 to reserve account No. 2. The directors now recommend a dividend of 7| per cent, on the ordinary shares, less tax, which will make 15 per cent, for the year, leaving £26,329 to be carried forward. Tyneside Electrical Development Company Limited.—The report for the year ended January 31 states that the balance to the credit of profit and loss, after making the appropria- tion from general reserve, and including £3,654 brought forward, is £7,089. Out of this, the directors have trans- ferred to general reserve £3,283, and recommend a divi- dend at the rate of 6 per cent, per annum on the preferred ordinary shares (of this an interim dividend was paid in August last amounting to £999), and a dividend of 10 per cent, on the deferred ordinary shares, leaving £933 to be carried forward. It is proposed to pay the balance divi- dends on the 15th inst., less tax. The property has been sold by the receiver to a new company, called the .Tyne Electric Steel Foundries Limited. Under the terms of the sale, the debentures in the former company will be paid off and re-invested as preference shares of equivalent amount in the new company. No dividend in the liquidation on the company’s holding of preference and ordinary shares in the Electro-Flex Steel Company Limited will be received. Vulcan Foundry Company Limited.—The directors recom- mend that £37,086 of the reserve be capitalised and distri- buted as ordinary shares in the proportion of one new share for every 10 now held. Waste Heat and Gas Electrical Generating Stations Limited.—The directors state that the profits earned by the company during the year, after deducting administration expenses, amount to £40,080, less an amount which the directors have transferred to the credit of reserve account, £11,500, leaving £28,580. The balance brought forward from the previous year was £17,430, from which must be deducted the amount voted to war relief funds at the last annual meeting, £500, leaving £16,940. The profits avail- able are therefore £45,510. The directors propose to declare a dividend at the rate of 8 per cent, for the year ending January 31, 1917, which will absorb £25,600 (of this, an interim dividend of 21 per cent, was paid in August 1916, amounting to £8,000), leaving a balance to be carried for- ward of £19,910. Wells (J. and G.) Limited.—The directors’ report and balance-sheet for the year will be issued shortly. The Con- troller of Coal Mines has given consent to the directors’ proposal that the dividend on the preference and ordinary shares of the company for the year 1916 shall be 10 per cent., free of tax. The preference shareholders have already been paid 6 per cent, (less tax), and the ordinary shareholders an interim dividend of 3 per cent, (less tax). Hence the preference shareholders will receive a further dividend equivalent to £5 7s. per cent., and the ordinary shareholders a final dividend equivalent to £7 13s. 6d. per cent. Workington Iron and Steel Company Limited. — The directors have declared an interim dividend on the ordinary shares at the rate of 8 per cent, per annum (4 per cent, actual) for the half-year ended December 31, payable on April 2, less tax at the rate of 5s. in the £. A year ago 3 per cent, was paid. NEW COMPANIES. Buffery Colliery Company Limited. — Private company. Registered February 26. To carry on business of colliery proprietors, coal and iron masters, smelters, engineers, etc. Nominal capital, £2,000 in 2,000 £1 ordinary shares. Sub- scribers : O. and A. Marsh. Corrall and Company Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered office, 4, St. Dunstan ’s-alley, E.C. Registered February 24. To carry on business of dealers in, and to buy, sell, deal with, treat, manufacture, and prepare in any manner, coal, coke, cannel, briquettes, and patent and other fuel of all kinds. Nominal capital, £50,000 in 50,000 £1 shares. Directors : C. B. 0. Clarke and H. T. Bailey. Firth-Brearley Stainless Steel Syndicate Limited.—Private company. Registered February 22. To carry on business of steel, file, saw, and edge tool manufacturers and mer- chants, and cutlers, etc. Nominal capital, £30,000 in 30,000 £1 shares. Directors : F. Best, J. W. Friscett, H. Brearley, and J. Maddocks. New Turnoak Colliery Company Limited.—Private com- pany. Registered February 27. To take over mines at Birdholme, near Chesterfield, Derbyshire (the shafts of which have already been sunk for the working of the Deep Hard seam of coal under part of the Wingerworth estate), and to carry on the business of colliery owners, coal mer- chants, etc. Nominal capital, £12,000 in 9,000 £1 “A” shares and 3,000 £1 “ B ” shares. Directors : H. Shaw, H. E. P. Beard, and W. D. Wadsworth. Pall Mall Engineering Company Limited.—Private com- pany. Registered March 2. To carry on business of iron founders, mechanical engineers, manufacturers of motor engines, etc. Nominal Capital, £2,500 in 1,000 10 per cent, cumulative participating preference shares of £1 each and 6,000 5s. ordinary shares. Directors and subscribers (one preference share) : A. Watling and H. E. A. Digby. Quali- fication, £100. Raine (J.) and Son Limited. — Private company. Regis- tered February 26. To acquire and take over the business of coal exporters, ship brokers, coal merchants, and factors, etc. Nominal capital, £50,000 in 10,000 £1 preference shares. Directors : J. and W. Raine. Rubery (Samuel) and Son Limited.—Private company. Registered February 23. To carry on business of iron and steel merchants, etc. Nominal capital, £10,000 in 10,000 £1 shares. Directors shall be appointed by the subscribers. Subscribers : F. H. Pepper and H. Walker. Shore (Thomas) and Sons Limited.—Private company. Registered office, Salem-street, Etruria, Stoke-on-Trent. Registered February 26. To carry on business of mechani- cal engineers and iron founders. Nominal capital, £18,000 in 18,000 £1 shares. Directors : J., A., T., and W. Shore. Sun Fuel Company Limited. — Private company. Regis- tered February 28. To carry on business of manufacturers, sellers, buyers of, and dealers in patent fuels and fuels of every description, etc. Nominal capital, £50,000 in 25,000 7J per cent, cumulative preference shares of £1 and 25,000 £1 ordinary shares. Directors : A. E. Allen and W. Wood. Tingey and Company Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered office, 3, Staple Inn, W.C. Registered March 1. To carry on business of mechanical engineers now carried on by L. I. Robinson and W. H. Tingey at Eyre Street-hill, Clerkenwell, and 3, Staple Inn, W.C. Nominal capital, £1,000 in £1 shares. Directors : L. I. Robinson and W. H. Tingey. Qualification, 250 shares. This list of new companies is taken from the Daily Register specially compiled by Messrs. Jordan and Sons Limited, company registration agents, Chancery-lane, E.C. France’s Coal Supply.—The Temps announced last week that M. Herriot, Minister of Transport and Food Supplies, has decided to issue instructions to the Prefects of Depart- ments to take an immediate census of stocks of coal in excess of requirements for the next 30 days, both in fac- tories and in commercial and private houses. The measures to be taken, which will be administrative, will be left to the discretion of the Prefects. There is no question, in taking the census of coal in private houses, of requisitioning stocks, but only of obtaining statistics in order to enable the Government to take the necessary steps to prevent a recurrence next winter of a coal crisis similar to the present.