March 22, 191& THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 593 GLAMORGAN COUNTY COUNCIL. SUMMER MINING AND ENGINEERING SCHOOL, SOUTH WALES COAL FIELD. he Summer School will be held during the month of August. 1918, at the Technical College, Swansea, and Courses will be provided as followMining Engineering, Mechanical and Electrical Engineering (mainly practical), Teachers’ Course-Chemistry, Physics and Geology (mainly practical). A special Short Course for candidates preparing for the Firemen’s Certifi- cate wi 1 be conducted by members of the County Staff, and an examination will be held at the end of the Course. Full particulars, prospectus and forms of application may be obtained, on receipt of a stamped addressed foolscap envelope, from the CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICIAL, Glamorgan County Hall, Cardiff. TO COLLIERY PROPRIETORS, IRON MERCHANTS AND OTHERS. Mr. David Roberts, F.A.I., will Sell by PUBLIC AUCTION ON TUESDAY, MARCH 26th, 1918, at 12 o’clock noon, at the DULAIS ANTHRACITE COLLIERY, ONLLWYN, 10^ miles from Neath, THE SURPLUS PLANT AND MACHINERY, including: Quantity of Steel and Wrought Scrap, about 180 tons of T-headand BRIDGE RAILS, 92 SETS PARTINGS AND CROSSINGS, WINDING ENGINE, HAULING ENGINES, Fan Engine and Fan Pumps, Motors, Cables, Pit Head Frame, Steam and Water Pipes, Pit Horses, etc. Goods on view by appointment. Catalogues may be obtained from the AUCTIONEER, at his Offices, No. 19, Heathfield-street, Swansea. Telephone : No. 233 Docks. ertical Tandem Steam Dynamo Engine, 50-h.p., 12 in. stroke, 125 steam pressure, for SALE. GRAHAMSLEYS LTD., Newcastle-on-Tyne. ontractor’s Steel Rubble Skips, 10 ft. long by 5 ft. wide by 2 ft. 9 in. high, for SALE. GRAHAMSLEYS LTD., Newcastle-on-Tyne. anted, for immediate delivery, New or Second-hand SHUNTING LOCOMOTIVE. Must be in good condition. Cylinders 12 in. or 13 in. Steam pressure 140 to 160 lb. per sq. inch.—Apply, giving full particulars of engine, to Box 7027, Colliery Guardian Office, 30 & 31, Furnival-street, Holborn, London, E.C. 4. or Sale, a New Colliery, raising House, Steam and Gas Coals. Workings being developed and output increasing. 5,000,000 tons reserves.—Reply to Box 7026, Colliery Guardian Office, 30 & 31, Furnival-street, Holborn, London, E.C. 4. Large Crown 8vo. Cloth. Pp. 276, with 145 Diagrams, and Notes on Logarithmic Tables and their Uses. 7s. 6d. net. PROBLEMS IN LAND AND MINE SURVEYING : Being 400 Questions and Answers (200 fully worked). Many Examples taken from the Papers set by the Home Office, City and Guilds of London, &c., at the Surveying Examinations. By DANIEL DAVIES, M.I.ME., County Lecturer in Mining Surveying, &c. In Handsome Cloth. Pp. i.-xi. + 179. Fully Illustrated. 6s. net. THE EFFECTS OF ERRORS IN SURVEYING. By HENRY BRIGGS, M.Sc. Contents.—Introduction—Analysis of Error—The Best Shape of Triangles —Propagation of Error in Traversing—Application of the Methods of determining Average Error to certain Problems in Traversing—Propagation of Error in Minor Triangulation—Summary of Results—Appendix—Index. “ Likely to be of the highest service to surveyors . . . it is a most able treatise. ’ ’ —Engineer. _______________ LONDON : CHAS. GRIFFIN & CO. LTD., Exeter St., Strand, W.C. 2. J. W. BAIRD AND COMPANY, PITWOOD IMPORTERS, WEST HARTLEPOOL. YEARLY CONTRACTS ENTERED INTO WITH COLLIERIES. OSBECK & COMPANY LIMITED, PIT-TIMBER MERCHANTS, NEWCASTLE-ON-TYNE. SUPPLY ALL KINDS OF COLLIERY TIMBER. Telegrams—“ Osbecks, Newcastle-on-Tyne.” *** F°r other Miscellaneous Advertisements see Last White Page. AND Journal of the Coal and Iron Trades. Joint Editors— J. V. ELSDEN, D.Sc. (Lond.), F.G.S. HUBERT GREENWELL, F.S.S., Assoc.M.I.M.E. {At present on Active Service}. LONDON, FRIDAY,- MARCH 22, 1918. The London market is now well supplied with all qualities of household fuel. Wharves and depots are cancelling* outstanding orders owing to the plentiful supply. Hard steam coal and kitchen cobbles and double-screened nuts are scarce. A better supply of tonnage has helped the North- umberland pits, and some of the Durham collieries experience a considerable improvement. Prices are upheld. House coal is less urgently requested, but the fuel position generally is steady. Industrial fuel is in good demand. Steam coals are pressed for in Yorkshire, and other sorts have a firm tone. Busi- ness is livelier in some of the Midland areas owing to the approach of holidays. Working is still irregular in South Wales, but prices are unchanged* Admiralty collieries are fairly well stemmed. Business in the freight market is scanty, and the list of fixtures is a moderate one. The latest figure for Barcelona is 420s., a Glasgow fixture having been arranged at that price. Humber to London and Bordeaux to Bristol Channel are each quoted at 17s- Coal, coke and manufactured fuel exports in Feb- ruary (quantity not officially specified) were valued at £3,747,943, compared with the quantity valued at £3,782,536 a year ago. The miners’ ballot regarding the proposed comb- out of 50,000 resulted in an adverse majority of 28,576 (219,311 voting for the scheme and 248,067 against). A majority of 13,462 favoured the use of the Federation machinery if combing-out occurs. The Prime Minister informed a deputation that the National Service Department would recruit men from the mines regardless of the men’s adverse ballot. Further restrictive directions have been issued by the Coal Controller regarding salaries, fees, transfer of ownership, development work, etc. On Thursday afternoon, at a Presentation meeting of the Mining Association to Sir T. R. of Great Britain, held at the Savoy Ratcliffe-Ellis. Hotel, London, a presentation was made to Sir Thos. R. Ratcliffe- Ellis to commemorate the semi-jubilee of his tenure of the office of Secretary and Law Clerk to the Association. Mr. Adam Nimmo, president of the council, was in the chair, and, in an eloquent and feeling speech, paid a tribute to the high apprecia- tion by the members of the valuable services which Sir Thomas had rendered to the Mining Association during the past 25 years. These years have been marked by a period of strenuous activity both in the technical and administrative domain of the mining industry. Not only have mining methods been revolu- tionised in that interval, but the control of coal mines has been subjected to the ever-increasing restrictions of legislative enactments, which have demanded the constant and closest attention of the Mining Associa- tion, in order to preserve tolerable working con- ditions. In the course of the anxious phases through which the mining industry has passed during these years, the Mining Association of Great Britain has grown steadily in influence and authority, and it owes its present high position in no small measure to the skill and devotion of its Law Clerk and Secretary. Mr. Nimmo, whose able speech is reported in another column, made appropriate reference to the personal qualities which have enabled Sir Thomas to steer the Association, with honour and credit, through many critical stages of its progress. These qualities have won him the respect and esteem of all with whom he has come into contact, and the high value which the members of the Mining Association place upon his indefatigable labours was amply reflected in the enthusiasm of the presentation proceedings. We heartily associate ourselves with these sentiments, not only because we represent the great national interest with which Sir Thomas’s labours have been identified, but also on account of his long and valued connection with The Colliery Guardian Company. The presentation took the form of a portrait in oil of Sir Thomas by the celebrated artist, Sir A. Cope, R.A., together with a pair of .antique silver caddies of the period of George II. The portrait is an exceedingly fine example of Sir A. Cope’s work, and was much admired both as an excellent likeness and a work of art. The first report of the committee Compulsory appointed by the Ministry of Acquisition Reconstruction to consider the defects Of Land. in the existing system of acquiring and valuing land for public purposes has just been published. It is a subject of both general and special interest, and the enquiry concerns us all the more because a promise is made that subsequent reports will deal with certain special aspects of the question, such as those arising in connection with the acquisition of land for mining purposes. We make no apology, therefore, for referring in these columns to this preliminary report, which deals with the general principles involved in expropriation as now, under certain circumstances, permitted in English law. The committee, which sat under the chairmanship of Mr. Leslie Scott, has had specially in view the importance of this question in its relation to post- war problems of reconstruction, the keynote of which will be the promotion of increased national produc- tion for the purpose of making good the wastage arising from the war. The defects of the present system of compulsory purchase arise mainly from the expense and delay it often involves. Even in the case of Government departments acting in the national interest—suchjfor example, as naval defence or the provision of lighthouses—more money has been paid in costs than the whole value of the land acquired, and private persons promoting commercial enterprises have been placed in even a worse position. The unanimous conclusion of the committee is that some simpler, more uniform and less costly procedure has now become essential, both in the case of public departments and local authorities, and also of com- mercial undertakings serving a public purpose—that is to say, whenever the public interest requires the expropriation of particular land. We gather, in fact, from the terms of the report, that a wider interpretation than has been the case hitherto will be given to the expression “ public utility,” and that it will indude not only those social duties and obliga- tions which the Legislature has imposed upon local authorities, but also certain productive industries and commercial activities which can be shown to serve a public purpose. Clearly, such an extension of the power of compulsory acquisition of land might be difficult to define in exact terms. In the case of mining, for example, the opening up of new mineral properties might in many cases be deemed a work of public utility, but in other cases it might be otherwise. A “'wild cat” scheme, for instance, might be promoted in the interests not of the public but of the company promoter; and it would in such cases be essential that the proposition should be rigorously, scrutinised by a suitable independent authority before any powers of expropriation were granted. Thus, in the first place, it will be necessary to set up a general sanctioning authority, which the committee suggest should consist of a panel of commissioners, including experienced members of Parliament, and others of similar standing, but excluding Government officials and professional experts, who would, however, be entitled to give evidence with regard to any scheme, the intrinsic merits of which would be determined solely and finally by the commissioners appointed for the purpose. This proposal seems to be somewhat in the nature of a modification of the existing system of Par- liamentary committees. It is, in fact, not very clear how the present procedure would be simplified, except so far as the new proposal would avoid delays by enabling schemes to be submitted to the sanc- tioning authority at any time of the year, instead of being limited to a couple of months as is now the case. As for the matter of costs, provision is made for reducing expenses by giving the Commissioners a wide discretion over procedure and expenses, by enabling them to curtail unnecessary evidence and discourage unreasonable opposition. At the same time Parliamentary control would be retained over matters of policy, since the commis- sioners would have to submit to Parliament all unsettled questions of principle ; while the commis- sioners themselves would be periodically appointed by a Parliamentary selection committee drawn from both Houses. Although such a reservation of control by Parliament may be advisable in the interests of the nation, however, it seems to keep open the door for possible delay, since a scheme might still be hung up on a question of principle. An aspect of the question of compulsory acquisi- tion of land which is of more than ordinary interest is that which concerns afforestation. The Forestry Committee have recognised the necessity for the systematic planting of large areas of ground suitable for this purpose. It is recognised that this cannot safely be left to private owners alone, although their co-operation will be welcomed by the State. It will not do for comprehensive schemes to be delayed by any difficulty in land acquisition. Such land will invariably be semi-waste areas incapable of economic reclamation by any other means, and it is probable that there will be little or no difficulty in acquiring it by voluntary means. But that is not in itself a reason why compulsory powers should not be available in case of necessity. There are many cases in which an owner is not a free agent in regard to the disposal of his property. Land is often tied up by settlements or easement rights. In other cases the ownership is either undefined or in the hands of trustees representing several interests. By the Development Act, 1909, the Development Commis- sioners have already large powers of compulsory purchase, and these powers have already been exercised in certain cases in connection with road improvement. These, however, have been of a simpler nature than would be the case with affores-