May 31, 1918.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1101

available supplies at Cardiff, owing to the strike, and
shipments have been restricted to British and Allied
Governments’ requirements. The demand in Scotland
continues strong.

The Swansea market improved considerably, and
anthracite large—particularly the better qualities—
moved off freely. Machine-made descriptions are in
good demand.

Freight business is still difficult owing to scarcity
of free tonnage. Loading turns are booked for two
or three weeks ahead in Newcastle. Scandinavian
destinations are quiet in Hull. Cardiff rates are
firm.

A committee of coal exporters, after interviewing
the Coal Controller regarding the question of broker-
age, arranged to communicate with various districts
in the United Kingdom with a view to further
action.

The Committee appointed by the Board of Trade
to consider the question of electric supply for all
consumers in the United Kingdom has reported in
favour of the appointment of Electricity Commis-
sioners with large powers of regulation, purchase,
and distribution. The formation of district boards
is recommended.

A meeting of the North of England Institute of
Mining and Mechanical Engineers will be held in
the Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle, to-morrow
(Saturday), commencing at 2 p.m. The agenda
includes a paper on “ Notes on Overhead Koepe
Winding Plant, Plenmeller Colliery, Haltwhistle,
Northumberland.” by Mr. G. Paw. The paper on
“ A System of Storing and Filling Small Coal, with
Remarks upon the Prevention of Spontaneous
Heating in Coal Heaps,” by Mr. J. Morison, will be
open for discussion.

Mr. T. Richards, general secretary of the South
Wales Miners’ Federation, has informed the Coal
Controller that if a meeting between the Tredegar
management and the workmen’s combined committee
could be arranged to-day (Friday), there would be a
general resumption of work at the collieries to-
morrow. The Controller consented to the proposed
meeting.

Reports from the United States forecast a fuel
shortage next winter, owing to transportation diffi-
culties. No improvement in car supply is reported.

We have received a copy of extracts
Certificate from the Report of the Central
Examine- Examiners on the November 1917
tions. examinations conducted under the
Coal Mines Act, 1911. This subject
possesses more than ordinary interest at the present
time when the new Education Bill is being dis-
cussed in Parliament. There can be no doubt
that our examination system has a profound
influence upon education. Many condemn the
system absolutely, but no other practical method
of selecting competent men has yet been devised.
At the best it can only be claimed that examinations,
as ordinarily conducted, are tests of knowledge
rather than of competency. In the case of managers
and under-managers of collieries, the distinction is
especially important. Not only are there many
capable men of sound practical experience who are
unable to do themselves even moderate justice in
written papers, but the converse is also true, and not
every one possessing the gift of setting out his
knowledge in written answers is endowed with
those special qualities which distinguish successful
managers. Yet there are certain features in the
examination system which do serve a useful purpose
in the elimination of the unfit. The examiners, in
the report before us, complain, for example, that
some candidates show carelessness either in reading
the questions or in complying with directions as to
the manner in which their answers are written.

These are elementary points, but they mean a great
deal. It would be difficult to form any other conclu-
sion than that students who fail to follow instructions
clearly set forth would scarcely be expected to
possess the fundamental qualities of a competent
official. It is true that this fault may, in some
measure, be due to inexperience in writing examina-
tion papers, and some blame may be attached to
methods of teaching in which insufficient attention
has been given to the art of writing answers; but
the fact remains that carelessness is one of the most
fatal defects that candidates for responsible posts can
betray, and examiners cannot be expected to enquire
how far this fault is due to a habit of mind, or to
what extent it arises from defective teaching. It
may, indeed, be doubted whether even more adequate
preparation for examination would in all cases
provide a remedy for a naturally careless disposition.

Another defect commonly shown in written
answers is a failure to keep strictly to the point, or
even, in certain cases, to grasp the true meaning of
the questions. Candidates are too apt to give stereo-
typed. or text-book answers, more or less akin to the
subject but not to the point. This is a far more
subtle failing, and it does not necessarily denote
serious mental incapacity. Young students, whether
from defective preparation or from an illogical habit
of mind, are much given to writing round a subject
without ever getting quite to the point. This defect
is perhaps more commonly found where the candi-

date possesses a considerable store of knowledge.
Inexperience leads him to believe that he will be
marked as much by the quantity as by the quality
of his answer. This fallacy is fostered by the very
conditions under which an examination is conducted.
With limited time, and perhaps relatively boundless
knowledge, he may almost be excused if he allows
his anxiety to unburden his load of information to
influence his judgment as to the limits which the
form of the question demands. But the fault may
also be due to the style of the question itself. There
are many types of questions which impose no limit
at all. Let us take, for example, the first question
set in November last in the paper on “ Winning and
Working,” for first-class (managers’) certificate of
competency. This question is “ Give an account of
the geological history of a piece of coal? ” This is
a most difficult question to answer concisely within
the limits of available space and time, and the
difficulty increases in proportion to the scope of the
candidate’s knowledge. We do not regard this as a
good type of question. The same kind of knowledge
could have been brought out in other ways, by which
the limits of the answer could have been more strictly
defined.

Of the value of examination questions for educa-
tional purposes there is ample proof in the examiners’
comments upon “ geothermic gradient.” Great
ignorance, they say, was displayed in the answers to
a question on this subject in the May examination.
In the November examination, however, most of the
candidates showed a fair knowledge of it. Similar
improvements, however, were not always displayed
in other cases. Thus, in regard to ventilation plans,
fundamental errors of principle, shown in previous
examinations, were again exhibited. We take it
that teachers will pay more attention to this point in
future ; for whatever may be the shortcomings of
the examination system, it is an invaluable method
of discovering weak places in the teaching.

With regard to sketches, it is clear that much
improvement is called for. The examiners complain
that in the case of the second-class candidate, with
few exceptions, these were worthless. Unfortunately,
this defect is not one that can be remedied in a short
time It is due largely to deficiencies in primary
education. Drawing has not received the attention
it deserves in our elementary schools.

The examiners infer that the papers show consider-
able evidence of cramming in the sameness of the
answers to some of the questions. The conclusion,
however, is not necessarily warranted. Much
depends upon the nature of the questions. It is
quite possible to set questions which cannot easily be
crammed; and, in any case, it is easy to append a
rider which could not be properly answered unless
the candidate really understood the subject. Upon
the whole, the questions set in these examinations
are not conducive to cramming in its generally
accepted sense. Sameness in certain answers may
mean little more than that the same text-book has
been used by the candidates. There is no harm in
this if students understand what they read. Mathe-
matical formulae, for instance, may be crammed, but
it is a comparatively simple matter to discover if
students can apply them.

The Ministry of Labour has issued a
Works report on works committees, based
Committees, upon an enquiry made by members
of the Department as to the constitu-
tion and working of works committees in a number
of different industries, among which are included
mining, iron and steel, and engineering. In a
preface to this report, Sir D. J. Shackleton points
out that the old trade union machinery has often
been overburdened, and has not always sufficed
to deal with the innumerable questions arising from
day to day. These conditions alone tend to the
conviction that it is desirable to establish a more
constant means of communication between employers
and men. The Whitley Report, as is known, arrived
at a similar conclusion upon somewhat different
grounds. The Whitley Committee considers, rightly,
that the circumstances of the present time are
particularly favourable for securing a permanent
improvement in the relations between employers and
employed. Not only is this so, but it is equally true
that, if this opportunity is not utilised, the nation may
find itself involved in serious industrial difficulties
when the war is over. The war has certainly brought
masters and men together as nothing else could have
done. A spirit of co-operation has been engendered
which has been an invaluable aid to increased
production. A community of interest between capital
and labour has been generally recognised, to the
mutual advantage of both parties. It is essential
that this spirit should be fostered and strengthened
if the work of reconstruction after the war is to be
effectually carried on.

At the same time, it is necessary to recognise that
this favourable atmosphere can only be maintained
by offering the men a satisfactory means of securing
improved conditions of employment and a higher
standard of comfort, both in their work and in their
leisure. The Whitley Committee seeks to attain this
end by providing an organisation whereby masters
and men may discuss with each other problems
affecting the well-being both of the industries and of

those engaged in them. This organisation, as we
have before explained, involves the formation of a
system of committees and councils, of which the
works committees form the fundamental units. In
the establishment of such a system, it would seem to
be the logical course to start from the smaller units,
and work upwards from these to the industrial
councils.

Adopting this view, therefore, let us examine the
application of 'the Whitley scheme to the colliery
industry. The works committees would, in this
case, be pit committees, consisting of an equal
number of repiesentatives of miners on the one hand
and officials on the other, who would meet periodi-
cally under the chairmanship of the mine manager.

In the Third Report of the Whitley Committee it
was recommended that information should be
collected ‘regarding works committees already
existing. This investigation has been recently
undertaken by the Ministry of Labour, and the
results are appended to Sir D. J. Shackleton’s report.
To achieve this object a questionaire was drawn up
embracing the origin, constitution, functions and
procedure of these committees, as well as their
relations with the trade unions on the one hand and
with the employers on the other. In the case of
collieries, an analogy with the proposed pit com-
mittee may be’ found in the output (or absentee)
committees established for the purpose cf increasing
the output of coal during the war. These output
committees, however, are merely sectional joint
committees of the miners. They include only the
classes of men actually employed on the output of
coal. The management is mainly represented by
underground officials, although provision is some-
times made for the attendance of representatives
both of the miners’ and owners’ associations. The
functions of these committees have been variously
interpreted, but their original object was to secure
greater regularity of work at the collieries. The
output committees have not been universally
established, and in some districts they have been
abandoned after a time. In other cases, however,
they have continued to work satisfactorily, improving
time-keeping and increasing output.

Upon the whole, however, the output committees
cannot be regarded as suitable models for the pit
committees contemplated by the Whitley Report.
The statement respecting them, which is printed in
an appendix to the above-mentioned report, shows
only too plainly that the spirit of co-operation has
been lacking in many cases, and has seldom been
really cordial. This may be regarded as a natural
consequence of the particular purpose for which
these particular committees were formed. Far more
hopeful are the results of Whitley pit committees
which have already been established in certain
Lancashire collieries. The purposes foreshadowed
by the Whitley Committee include a wide range of
subjects, all of which have an important bearing
upon the welfare of the men. Amongst these, special
mention is made of the better utilisation of the
practical knowledge and experience of the work-
people ; principles governing the conditions of
employment; means for giving the men more
responsibility for the manner in which their work
is carried on ; the adjustment of differences; security
of employment; adjustment of earnings; education
and research ; improvements in processes, machinery
and organisation; industrial legislation, and other
matters.

Practically every large question affecting industry
from the workman’s standpoint would thus come
within the purview of the Whitley committees and
councils. Amongst these, by no means the least
important is the question of grievances. The pit
committees would not be concerned merely with the
ventilation of grievances, but with a preliminary
enquiry into their reality. Frank discussion would
show either that they were unfounded or would help
to point out the remedy. It would promote a better
understanding of the different points of viewT,
removing misapprehension and throwing new light
upon subjects which are commonly regarded from
too narrow an outlook.

Lastly, we may recall the note of warning uttered
by Sir T. R. Ratcliffe-Ellis at a recent meeting of
the Mining Association of Great Britain. He fore-
shadowed the necessity for accepting new ideas and
new methods, for meeting changes “ not in the spirit
of opposition because they are changes, but with the
desire to recognise that changes have to come.”
These wmrds apply alike to masters and to men, and
it is upon the spirit in which the discussions are
conducted that the success of the Whitley com-
mittees will depend. As Sir D. J. Shackleton says,
these committees must be regarded as something
vital and something new-—something that enlists the
workers in real participation, and something that
offers fresh promise for the future.

Italian Lignite Production.—To meet fuel demands, the
lignite deposits of Italy have recently been worked to a
much greater extent than previously. This is shown by the
following yearly figures : 1913, 697,000 tons; 1914, 778,000
tons; 1915, 939,000 tons; 1916, 1,268,000 tons; 1917,
1,500,000 tons. The percentage of production is 72 per
cent, from Tuscany (chiefly the Valdagno district),
Umbria 13 per cent., Sardinia 6 per cent., and Bergamo
4 per cent.