June 21, 1918. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 1255 JOHN F. WAKE, Engineer, DARLINGTON. Sale— LOCOMOTIVES. 18 in. 2-6-2 Tank Loco., thoroughly overhauled, fitted with new boiler, 48 in. dia. wheels, 150 lb. w.p.; £3,250. 13 in. six-coupled Tank Loco., by Kitson, overhauled, 150 lb. w.p. 12 in. six-coupled Tank Loco., by Vulcan, overhauled, 150 lb. w.p. STEAM NAVVIES. Two 12-ton Wilson Crane Type Steam Navvies, under rebuild, very fine machines ; £2,000 each. ELECTRIC MOTORS OR GENERATORS. Westinghouse Alternator, 300-kw., 2,400 volts; £450. G. E.C. Alternator, 350-kw., 230 volts, 3-phase, 50 periods. Belt- or Rope-driven Generator, 230 volts, 100-h.p.; £300. Belt- or Rope-driven Generator, 500 volts, 250-kw.; £575. STEAM ENGINES. H. S. Compound Vertical Engine, by Robey, 124-b.h.p.; £220. Marine Type Compound Engine, 15 in. and 30Jm. by 33 in.; £550. BOILERS. Babcock & Wilcox Water-tube Boiler, 140 lb. w.p., about 250-h.p.; £650. Two Marine Type Boilers, 14 ft. 10 in. by 6 ft. 7J in. by 120 lb. w.p.; £600 each. 'One Marine Type Boiler, 10 ft. 3 in. by 9 ft. 3 in. by 120 lb. w.p.; £980. 12-h.p. Davey Paxman Loco. Type Boiler, 120 lb. w.p.; £250. CRANES. 15-ton Steam Travelling Derrick, 70 ft. steel jib; £650. 5-ton Steam Derrick, 75 ft. jib ; £360. Six Hand Derricks, 30 cwt. to 3 tons. 15-ton Steam O.H. Crane, 45 ft. span ; £650. 20-ton Square Shaft Rope-driven O.H. Crane, 34 ft. 5 in. span; £525. Three 3-ton all steel Goliath Cranes, 19 ft. 6 in. span ; £250 each. 5- ton Hand Bogie Crane, by Booth Bros.; £250. 3-ton „ ,, ,, by Piggotts; £85. GAS ENGINES. Magnificent 500-h.p. Gas Engine, with alternator; £2,500. 110-h.p. Crossley ZE Gas Engine and Producer Plant; £750. 80-h.p. Stockport Gas Engine ; £220. 45-h.p. Crossley Gas Engine and Producer Plant; £250. Two 35/40-h.p. Premier Gas Engines; £100 each. STEAM WAGONS, TRACTION ENGINE AND TRAILERS. 8-h.p. Foden Traction Engine, overhauled, 150 lb. w.p.; £650. 6- ton Atkinson Steam Wagon, 200 lb. w.p.; £700. 5-ton Yorkshire Steam Wagon, 200 lb. w.p.; £650. Two 5-ton Traction Wagons; each £65. Two 5-ton Timber Drays; each £65. MACHINE TOOLS. 48 in. Centre S.S.Sc. and Coning Lathe, 12 ft. chuckplate, 60 ft. bed. Hor. Boring Machine, 5 in. spindle ; £650. Hor. Boring Machine with two heads, 4i in. diameter spindle; £375. D.H. Milling Machine, by Smith & Coventry. Two Circular Milling Machines, by Ludwig Loewe. Large Pillar Drilling Machine, 4 in. dia. spindle. 4 Wall Radial Drills, by Noble & Lund, 2£ in. spindles; £50 each. HYDRAULIC PRESSES AND PLANT. 16 Vertical Hyd. Presses, with. rams 12 in., 10 in. and 8 in. diameter, for two tons per square inch pressure. Hyd. Pumps, by Fielding & Platt, 10 in. by 15 in., 12 in. by 24 in., and 16 in. by 24 in., for 1,500 lb. pressure. Electrically-driven Hori. Pumps ; £375. Hyd. Punching and Shearing Machines, by Fielding & Platt. Quantity Hvdraulic Pipes and Fittings. JOHN F. WAKE, DARLINGTON. Joists, Angles and Bulb Angles for Sale Second-hand; practically new. G. M. WHEATER & CO., 35, Quayside, Newcastle-on-Tyne. T?or Sale.—Lancs Boiler, 28 ft. by 8 ft., 1 with fittings, for 100 lb.; also pair of 4 in. ram Cameron STEAM PUMPS, double acting, and 500 ft. run of 4 in. Steam Flanged PIPES, and 500 ft. run of 3 in. W.I. Steam Piping; also 20 in. cylinder and 13 in. cylinder STEAM ENGINES, in first-class order; also 5-ton STEAM WAGON, by Straker Squires, in first-class order. GEO, DEAN, Stockton Brook, Stoke-on-Trent. T?or Sale, 30 ft. by 8 ft. Boiler, with all 1 1 fittings, for 60 lb. working pressure. Apply— BERRY HILL COLLIERIES, Stoke-on-Trent. For Sale, Dish-ended Receiver, 24 ft. 6 in. long by 3 ft. 8 in. diameter, 10 in. branch at one end and 6 in. branch at the other end, fitted with manhole on the top, for 80 lb. pressure. Apply, BERRY HILL COLLIERIES, Stoke-on-Trent. MAXAi For BELTS, ROPES, & WIRE ROPES. MAXA LTD., 43, Cannon St, London, E.C. 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.” *** For other Miscellaneous Advertisements see Last White Page. TO OUR READERS. The Government, by Order in Council, is issuing in- structions prohibiting the return of all unsold papers and periodicals. The effect of this will be that newsagents will only stock the “ Colliery Guardian ” if actually ordered by their customers, and to prevent disappoint- ment our readers should either subscribe for the regular supply of the journal direct, or place a definite order with their newsagent. 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, JUNE 21, 1918. Better supplies have been coming forward to London lately, but the pressure for coal is still very strong. Steam coal and double-screened nuts are particularly scarce. All descriptions of fuel are in strong request on the Tyne and Wear; but actual business is quiet, because there are practically no supplies for foreign customers. The Swedish railways refused a tender of D.C.B. quality at 60s. The pressure for house coal has lessened in South Lancashire, but remains strong in the south-west. Supplies of industrial coal are inadequate. In Yorkshire the position has become worse, and fears are freely expressed. The market position in South Wales has eased consider- ably, yet the shortage continues, and it is still impos- sible to obtain coals except for official purposes. The output in Scotland is fully taken up. Anthracite large is more freely offered in Swansea. Patent fuel makers are busy. Chartering on the Tyne still suffers through lack of neutral tonnage. Fixtures for Sweden are being arranged at record figures. The freight market in Cardiff is inactive. The Miners’ Federation of Great Britain has brought forward a proposal for a six hours working day, which is supported by most of the mining districts. In view of the continued pressure in South Wales, the allocation scheme has been postponed until July 6. The Coal Controller has circulated a letter, asking the miners of the country to work in peace and harmony during the present crisis, and stating that no increase in the output will reduce the rate of pay. The members of the Manchester Geological and Mining Society will visit No. 4 Nook Pit of the Astley and Tyldesley Collieries Limited, Tyldesley, on Wednesday, June 24, to witness experiments with the dust sprayer described by Mr. A. Rushton at the Society’s May meeting. The Board of Trade returns for May show a decline of 614,088 tons in the exports of coal, coke and patent fuel, compared with May 1917. The average value increased from £1 6s. 9|d. to £1 8s. l^d. The Whitley Committee on Relations Conciliation between Employers and Employed and have just issued a Report on Con- Arbitration. ciliation and Arbitration. This question can be considered from two points of view, according as the procedure is voluntary or compulsory. Either of these methods would appear to be preferable to a resort to strikes and lock-outs, which are admitted on all sides to be a crude and unprofitable way of settling disputes. Yet the right to strike is one of the most jealously guarded privileges of the working classes. It is also the most lightly used weapon of defence or offence, and no considerations either of patriotism or the common weal are allowed to stand in the way of its employment. To examine the reasons for the strange fascination which it possesses would lead us too far afield. It is enough to accept it as a fact inherent in the industrial psychology of every country whether in war or peace. The Whitley Committee finds that the experience of compulsory arbitration during the war has shown that it is not a successful method of avoiding strikes, and in normal times it would prove even less successful. The truth of the latter contention is, in fact, borne out by experience of attempts to enforce it in Australia and New Zealand a few years back. We believe that one important reason for this failure to substitute common-sense methods in the settlement of labour disputes is the comparative slowness of their procedure. Parties smarting under a grievance—it matters not whether this is real or imaginary — require a more prompt adjudication than a court of arbitration can ordinarily provide. Any machinery of this description necessarily involves an elaborate enquiry into the merits of the case. It is also subject to much of the uncertainty of a court of law ; and as these industrial disputes are invariably accompanied by a display of feeling often altogether disproportionate to the importance of the matter in dispute, a state of strain is set up which has hitherto been thought to be best relieved by u downing tools.” This being so, the Whitley Committee has set itself the task of finding some other method of relieving the strain. Obviously, the most direct means would be found in the establishment of more harmonious relations between employers and employed, whereby an initial strain would be less likely to be set up ; or, being set up, would be less likely to become acute. It has hitherto been held by the Government that neither strikes nor lock-outs should be tolerated pending an enquiry into the merits of a dispute. To most people this attitude seems fair and reason- able, but the Whitley Committee do not recommend any compulsion even in this case. It is merely suggested that the Ministry of Labour should be authorised, by voluntary agreement between the parties, to hold a full enquiry, without prejudice to their power to declare a strike or lock-out, either before or during the progress of the enquiry. The point of view of the Committee seems to' be that it is preferable to retain, and extend as far as possible, the system of voluntary conciliation and arbitration already existing in many trades, whereby these industries make their own agreements and settle their own differences. The State is relegated, as far as possible, to the background; and it must be confessed that the good work done in the past by conciliation and arbitration boards fully warrants their maintenance and encouragement. The theory seems to be that the work of such Boards will be still more successful after the Whitley scheme of joint industrial councils, district and works com- mittees have been effectively established. Even in the best circumstances, however, there will certainly arise cases in which the State must be called in in order to safeguard the interests of the community. A considerable part of the Whitley Report, therefore, is devoted to the consideration of the most convenient machinery for State intervention. The Committee has considered, in this connection, the Canadian Industrial Disputes Investigation Act, upon the working of which a report has been made by Sir George Askwith*. The matter has also been discussed in the Report of the Industrial Council, 1913f. The Ministry of Labour already possesses powers conferred under section 2 (1) of the Conciliation Act, 1896, upon the Board of Trade, but this machinery has hitherto generally taken the form of the “ single arbitrator,” an independent person, appointed by the Board of-Trade, as a sole judge, with the help, if necessary, of technical assessors. Later, in 1908, Courts of Arbitration, consisting of representatives of employers and men with an independent chairman, were established; and under the Munitions of War Act, in addition to the above, a Committee on Production, consisting of three independent persons appointed by the Govern- ment, was instituted as a tribunal to settle disputes. This body differs from the courts of arbitration mainly in the fact that its members hold continuous office, and are not appointed ad hoc. Whether a permanent body is better adapted to adjust disputes than a specially constituted committee, or a single arbitrator, depends upon circumstances. Where cases are required to be heard locally, the last- named would generally be the most convenient; but in many ways the experience gained by a permanent body would be more valuable, and greater confidence would be felt in their decisions. The Whitley Committee recommend the appoint- ment of a standing arbitration council, and par- itcular importance is attached to the co-ordination of decisions and the avoidance of conflicting awards. The practical way of accomplishing this object would be to publish and co-ordinate all decisions systematically. Lastly, the Committee does not favour the imposition of monetary penalties to enforce awards, preferring to rely upon mutual regard for moral obligation and respect for public opinion. We dare say this is the wiser course, and the one that may eventually lead to the desired end. The Whitley Committee certainly possesses the courage of its opinions. The present Report is entirely consistent with the principles it is advocating, and maintains a firm belief in the efficacy of its proposals. The weekly tables showing the mean The variation of the magnetic needle Magnetic have served a useful purpose in Meridian, directing the attention of mine surveyors to the possibility of error that may arise from the use of the miner’s dial. Whether we may reasonably describe this source of error as due to the fickleness of the magnetic meridian is, perhaps, a matter of opinion; but whether the term “ fickleness ” is correctly applicable or not, it is certain that some surveyors are beginning to lose faith in the magnetic meridian as a basis for an accurate survey. As a matter of fact, however, old as is the use of the compass, and useful as this appliance has proved to be, it has never really ranked as an instrument of fine precision. In a mine survey all accurate measurements are preferably made by means of a transit instrument, and since any surface bearing can be transferred down a shaft, it really does not matter a great deal whether the magnetic meridian is used or not, except so far as it is a matter of convenience to do so. Undoubtedly there is greater simplicity in a compass survey, but in these days of refined methods, when meticulous accuracy is to be sought, mere simplicity and con- venience are not in themselves to be considered as essential factors in the process of mine surveying. Nevertheless, the fact must be admitted that the miner’s dial is still largely used for mining work, and it will probably never be entirely superseded for general underground work. It is essential, there- fore, that surveyors should know something of the degree of constancy of the magnetic meridian not only with regard to its annual, but also its diurnal varia- tion. It is a fact that although the latter is often the more important, it has hitherto been entirely ignored. The amount of annual variation does not exceed 10 min., whereas there is often a daily range of 20 min. or 30 min. or even more. Another point has also to be considered. Whereas the mean annual variation is fairly constant, the diurnal variation, although regular and seasonal during a quiet period, becomes irregular during a period of magnetic storm. Such irregular disturbances are believed to depend upon the condition of the sun’s surface, and in the present state of knowledge they cannot be predicted. In a paper read last week before the Institution of Mining Engineers, Dr. Chree, superintendent of the Kew Magnetic Observatory, discussed the possi- bility of forecasting magnetic storms, and it would certainly be a great boon to surveyors if they could have warning when to expect them. Upon this point Dr. Chree says that although magnetic dis- turbances are not always specially prominent in years of many sun-spots, they are less frequent in * [Cd. 6603.] f [Cd. 6952.]