1226 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. June 29, 1917. emergency legislation was not desirable, but that it would be better to rely upon the ordinary methods of supply through the coal dealers as heretofore. He anticipated that the chief difficulty would be that of distribution. If the Government could release petrol for motor traction, the distribution of supplies would be greatly expedited. The Corporation was precluded from storing coal at. the gas works for distribution to the people. The town clerk said that several municipalities were doing so, in defiance of the law. Mr. Calvert added that he did not think that any serious difficulty with regard to the coal supply in Middlesbrough need be apprehended. The Committee, however, decided to support the Reading resolution. Cumberland. A meeting of the Whitehaven miners’ joint lodges on Sunday resolved to extend fraternal greetings and hearty support to Mr. R. Smillie, president of the Miners’ Feder- ation of Gerat Britain, for the work he has done for the miners of Great Britain. The iron ore miners at Hodbarrow, Millom (Cumber- land), 1,000 of whom came out on strike a week ago, have decided to resume work as the result of a second appeal by the Ministry of Munitions. ’ A meeting of the Great Clifton Colliery officials last week decided to form a branch of the Cumberland Colliery Officials’ Association. Mr. Jas. Holmes presided, and a brief description of the work and aims of the association was given by the general secretary of the association, Mr. Wm. McTrusty, of Siddick. It was resolved that all offi- cials of the colliery should join, and the following, with a committee of six, were appointed as officers of the branch : President, Mr. T. Smith, Bridgfoot; treasurer, Mr. J. Armstrong, Chapel Brow ; secretary, Mr. J. Coggins, Great Clifton ; delegate, Mr. Wm. Lamont, Greysouthern. An explosion at the furnace in blast at the Workington Iron and Steel Company’s Lowther Iron Works at Work- ington, last week, blew out the ends of the blast tubes with great force, but none of the men engaged at the works were hurt. One of the three chimneys (about 80 ft. in height) at the disused Codfitz pit, situated between Camerton and Marron, was dismantled last week by the officials of the Allerdale Coal Company. Yorkshire. Colliery Owners' Contribution to Technical Education. At the Dewsbury, Huddersfield, and Halifax town council meetings held last week, the question of acquiring coal supplies for the poorer classes . during the coming winter was under discussion, and suggestions from the Controller of Coal Mines were considered, and steps taken to act in accordance therewith. At the Huddersfield Town Council meeting on the Tech- nical College Governor’s minutes, attention was drawn to a promise of the local colliery proprietors to contribute £500 for the provision of the equipment to the Hudders- field Technical College mining department when the exten- sions were completed. At the Keighley Town Council meeting, the question of the inadequate supply of coal for the town was under discussion, and one speaker moved a resolution that, “ in view of the present shortage and unequal distribution of coal, the Coal Controller be asked to confer upon the Keighley Corporation power to purchase, store, and dis- tribute coal in their district until the end of the war.” It was pointed out by the town clerk that this would require a special Act of Parliament. It was ultimately resolved to refer the matter for consideration by the General Purposes Committee. Mr. A. Hodgson, coal merchant, 25, Bradford-road, Clayton, has been elected a member of the Bradford Cham- ber of Trade, and is allocated to the coal merchants’ section of the organisation. The will of the late Mr. Albert Akeroyd, coal merchant, Gildard-road, Birstall, states that the gross value of the estate is <£4,616 Is. 6d., including £398 9s. 9d. net personalty. At an inquest in the Doncaster district last week, con- cerning the death of a miner named George Parkin, killed by a fall in the Yorkshire Main Colliery, it was stated 13 men were engaged in digging out the deceased, who was completely buried. The coroner remarked that the proportion of deaths from falls of coal was rapidly increas- ing, and it behoved everyone in a responsible position to see whether there was any preventable cause for these accidents. It was highly essential that something should be done, as things had been going from bad to worse. Maj. Peake, of Bawtry Hall, near Doncaster, a well- known colliery proprietor of Yorkshire, has just offered the sum of <£10,000 towards the cost of a new infirmary for Doncaster and district, as a memorial to his son, Lieut. Raymond Peake, Coldstream Guards, who fell in action in France some time ago. The new hospital has been necessitated through the development of Doncaster and district as a result of colliery enterprise. Lancashire and Cheshire. Mining Scholarship for Wigan District. The construction of the private railway from Lord Ellesmere’s Linnyshaw Colliery, Walkden, to Messrs. Burgess, Ledware and Company’s Wardley Mills, Walkden, has been postponed for the time being. A correspondent says certain leading colliery firms in the Manchester district are developing their retail trade by starting additional men and horses with lorries in Man- chester and suburbs. At a meeting of the governing body of the Wigan and District Mining and Technical College on Wednesday of last week, Mr. A. M. Lamb, J.P., chairman, reported that he had received a generous offer from Mr. Richard Chris- topher, of Holly Cottage, Haigh, near Wigan, to provide a scholarship, value £50 per annum for three years, tenable at the diploma course of the mining department of the college. Mr. Christopher desired that the scholarship should be awarded on the results of‘an open examination, preference, however, being given to candidates resident in the parishes of Aspull, Haigh, Ince, New Springs, or Standish, in the Wigan coal field. On the motion of Mr. Lamb, a cordial vote of thanks was passed to Mr. Chris- topher for his generous provision of the scholarship, the resolution of thanks also recording the appreciation of the governing body of the college for the valued assistance thereby afforded in the development of higher education in connection with the mining industry. This provision of Mr. Christopher, who was formerly associated with the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Limited, makes the third scholarship of equal value which has fallen to the mining diploma course at the Wigan Mining College during the present year. At the Wigan County Police Court on Friday of last week, a colliery drawer,' William Wilson, employed at the Duke pit of Messrs. Crompton and Shawcross, was charged with obtaining 2s. by false pretences on June 1. The alle- gation was that a tally on a tub of coal, which belonged to a collier named James Fagan, whose tally number was 470, had been removed, and the defendant’s tally, which was numbered 479, had been substituted. The suspicion of another drawer having been aroused, the defendant was watched, and was seen to go to the back of one of the tubs and do something, and later it was found that the tally 470 had disappeared, and that the tub carried tally 479, which had been substituted. The Bench considered the charge proved, and sentenced the defendant to two months’ imprisonment. Notts and Derbyshire. Three well-appointed mines rescue stations and brigades are now fully equipped for duty in the Notts and Derby coal field. Mansfield has had a station for about six years ; now Chesterfield and Ilkeston have followed suit. The three stations have been provided by, and are main- tained by, the North Midland Coal Owners’ Rescue Stations Company Limited. All three are splendidly fitted up. The permanent brigade is augmented by men from the various collieries. The Chesterfield and Ilkeston stations are on identical lines. Kent. Analyses have been made by the West Ham Testing Laboratory of the 4 ft. 5 in. seam of coal recently opened out in the No. 2 pit at Snowdown Colliery, with the follow- ing results : Calories, 8,000; evaporative power, 14-92; volatile matters, 19*56; fixed carbon 77*20; sulphur, 0*68; ash, 2-01. These results compare excellently with the analyses of the best known Glamorgan steam coals on the Admiralty list. Scotland. A largely-attended meeting of the Lanarkshire Coal Masters’ Association was held in the Christian Institute, Glasgow, when the principal subject under discussion was the Government’s scheme for the control of mines. The probable effect which the proposed scheme will have on the mining industry in different parts of Scotland was also discussed. , The week’s coal export at Burntisland was considerably higher than recently; 12,920 tons were shipped, an increase of 3,176 tons on the previous week. An accident, involving, injuries to seven men, took place at Lethans Colliery. The men were being lowered in the cage, when, as a result of an engine trouble, the cage crashed to the bottom. It has not precisely been estab- lished what caused the accident; one theory favoured by the . colliery officials is that the cause of the slip was an accumulation of grease on the brake blocks. The setting off of a miss-shot, after a lapse of some hours, was responsible for serious injuries to two stone miners employed in a Kelty colliery. Two Polish miners and a Spaniard, employed at Blan- tyre Ferme Colliery, admitted before Sheriff Shennan in Hamilton Sheriff Court on Friday of last week, having travelled on foot in the haulage road of the pit where mechanical power was used while the haulage was in motion. A fine of 20s., or five days’ imprisonment, was imposed on each of the accused. COASTWISE SHIPMENTS IN MAY. According to the returns issued by the Commissioners of H.M. Customs and Excise the following quantities of coal were shipped coastwise from the United Kingdom during May:— From Total cargo. i Total bunker. 1916. 1917. 1916. 1917. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Bristol Channel ports , 127,048 105,833 11,622 8,770 North-western ports 226,766 170,459 40,717 36,423 North-eastern ports 520,307 618,785 43,351 28,224 Humber ports 75,531 41,970 8,721 3,585 Other ports on east coast 2,131 1,640 10,586 5,501 Other English ports 2,760 3,926 1,900 1,729 Total from England and Wales 954,543 942,613 116,897 84,232 Ports on east coast of Scotland 57,971 56,258 9,283 7,358 Ports on west coast of Scotland 132,509 i 143,103 22,185 20,276 Total from Scotland 190,480 199,361 31,468 27,634 Irish ports | — 1 ' — 3,727 2,115 Total from United Kingdom 1,145,023 1,141,974 152,092 113,981 The destination of cargo shipments was as follows :— To ports in England and Wales....... Scotland................'.. Ireland ................ May 1916. May 1917. Tons. Tons. 712,807 ... 791,265 52,453 ... 24,284 379.763 ... 326.425 Mineral Resources of Great Britain—The Board of Agri culture and Fisheries have published a second edition of Volume IV. (Fluorspar) of the Special Reports on the Mineral Resources of Great Britain, prepared by the Director of the Geological Survey. Copies (price 9d.) may be obtained through any bookseller from Messrs. T. Fisher Unwin Limited, 1, Adelphi-terrace, London, W.C. 2; or from the Director-General, Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton. German Coal Famine.—Owing to coal scarcity, the Berlin authorities have cut down the lighting of the city gener- ally by two-thirds. In reply to a statement by Deputy Dr. Hess, that the supply of coal for domestic uses is practically at an end, the Chancellor admitted that the provision of coal is a most serious problem. The coal available is of bad quality, and, therefore, greater quan- tities are required for necessary industries. He can, therefore, do no more than promise better things. Accord- ing to the Cologne Volkszeitung, many works in the Rhine region are closed down, and serious distress is the result. The want of raw material is being increasingly seriously felt, and many bakeries in Coblenz and’Treves have ceased work owing to the scarcity of fuel. DECORATIONS AWARDED TO MINERS. The following awards of the Edward Medal of the Second Class are announced : — Charles Slack, deputy overman at the Woodland Colliery, Durham, for risking his life on November 2, .1916, in saving a hewer named Richardson, who was buried by a fall of roof. Percy Roberts Havercroft, Albert Henry Tomlinson, John Walker, and Edward Wingfield, for bravery in connection with a shaft' accident at the Waleswood Colliery, near Sheffield, on August 27, 1915. Herbert John Golledge, for rescuing the under- manager of the Braysdown Colliery, near Bath, who was injured in a shaft accident on February 25, 1917. The rescue entailed climbing down about 80 yds. of the shaft by means of horizontal buntons, or girders, which were 5 to 6 ft. apart. CONTRACTS OPEN FOR COAL AND COKE. For Contracts Advertised in this issue received too late for inclusion in this column, see Leader and Last Write pages. Stockport, July 10.—The Stockport Corporation invite tenders for the supply of coal, nuts, etc. Tender forms, etc., from the gas engineer, Great Portwood-street, Stock- port. Abstracts of Contracts Open. Abbeyleix (Ireland), July 3.—80 tons best Orrell or Whitehaven coal, 50 tons best hard Irish coal, 20 tons best soft Irish coal, for the Guardians. Tenders to the clerk. Workhouse. Antrim, July 7.—Coal (six or 12 months) for the Antrim District Lunatic Asylum. Tenders to the clerk of the Asylum. Blackpool.—The Gas Department of Blackpool wants quotations for the supply of gas coal in lots of from 500 to 5,000 tons, to be delivered at Blackpool Gas Works Sidings. W. Chew, engineer and manager. Chelmsford, July 2.—420 tons of coal for the Guar- dians, also coke. Forms from the clerk, 96, High-street, Chelmsford. Cleobury Mortimer, July 3.—Coal for the Guardians. Forms from relieving officer, Cleobury Mortimer. Cork, July 3.—400 tons of steam coal for the Water- works Committee. Tenders to the secretary of Committee. Croydon, July 2.—Coal and coke for Guardians. Forms from the Union Offices, Thornton Heath. Deal, July 10.—100 to 300 tons best steam coal for the Deal and Walmer Joint Water Board. Sealed tenders to be sent to the Offices of the Board, Queen-street, Deal. Ealing, July 2.—Coal and house coal screenings for the Electricity Works. Forms from the borough electrical engineer, Town Hall. Evesham, July 14.—Coal for the Guardians. Forms from the clerk, Union Offices, Evesham. Grimsby, July 2.—300 tons of house coal and 500 tons of gas coke for the Corporation. Forms from the borough engineer and surveyor, 170, Victoria-street, Grimsby. Henley-on-Thames, July 3.— 70 tons good house coal and 120 tons of locomotive coal for the Guardians. Tenders to the clerk, 12, Hart-street, Henley-on-Thames. Hertford, July 9.—60 tons of best house coak and 40 tons of steam coal, also coke, for the Hertford and Ware Joint Hospital Board. Tenders to the clerk to the Joint Board, Ware, Herts. King’s Lynn, July 5.—300 tons steam coal and 200 tons house coal, also coke, for the Guardians. Tenders to the clerk. London, W., July 3.—Coal and coke for three months for the Paddington Board of Guardians. Tenders to the acting-clerk to the Guardians, 313-319, Harrowr-road, Paddington, W. Nottingham, July 2.—Coal (12 months) for Education Committee. Forms from J. B. Ward, Education Offices. Southam, July 3.—Coal and coke for the Guardians. Forms from the clerk, Market-hill, Southam. Tullamore (Ireland), July 3. — 200 tons best coal (screened) for the Guardians. Tenders to the clerk. Tunbridge Wells, July 4.—Coal and. coke (nine or 12 months) for the Education Committee. Forms from the borough surveyor, Town Hall. Ware, July 9.—50 tons small steam coal for the Ware Rural District Council. Tenders to the clerk, Town Hall. Warrington, July 2.—Through-and-through coal (three or six months) for the Sanitary Works Committee. Tenders to the chairman of the Committee. Whitecroft (Isle of Wight), July 3.—300 tons steam eoal, also 50 tons house coal and 50 tons of coke, for the Committee of the Isle of Wight County Asylum. Forms from the clerk to the Committee. The date given is the latest upon which tenders can be received.