June 21, 191$. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 1259 THE LONDON COAL TRADE. Thursday, June 20. Supplies have been coming forward into the metropolitan market with greater regularity during the past week, but the demand continues equally strong. The number of orders pouring in from the bulk of the general public does not show any signs of abatement, and the pressure for coals of all kinds, both for household and manufacturing uses, continues as keen as ever. Happily, the warmer weather has considerably reduced the actual consumption; but in view of the coming winter's demand, merchants are keenly anxious to lay in a fair stock of coal, and, with the present growing list of orders in hand and the urgency with which the deliveries are pressed, it renders any attempt to put coal into stock an absolute impossibility. A growing spirit of uneasiness, if not anxiety, is uppermost with all the traders on the market, in view of the continued shortage in the supplies. Collieries are working at full time with the decreased number of men available, and the depots report that the delivery trade is in full swing. All the large London gas works are keenly anxious to obtain better supplies, and are absorbing all the rail-borne coal possible, in view of so many of the vessels being commandeered. Wagon owners loudly complain that many of their wagons, sent in for loading for their own depots and for customers they are pledged to supply, are diverted. Practically no coal is offered on the open market—the whole of what is coming forward being contract coals. The attendance lately on the Exchange has been very poor, especially as the smaller traders find they can get a better supply of emergency coal from the Controller’s office. So far the number of vessels arriving in the Thames has been well maintained. Twenty-nine vessels were returned as arriving for Monday’s market, and six for Wednesday, but the bulk of these colliers are not of very heavy tonnage, for the most part 500 to 600 tons burthen. A few of the steamers carried 2,000 to 3,000 tons. Seaborne house coal is seldom available for ordinary domestic use, the boats being principally loaded with gas coals. No report has yet been received of the new regulations from the Board of Trade as to the issue of the official price list, or the rationing of the coals for household uses, but it is expected to take effect from July 1. At the recent meeting with the Coal Controller it was stated that last year's stocks on the ground were 2,000,000 tons, and that at the present time he believed there were 4,500,000 tons on the ground, so that the outlook for the coal supply next winter was not altogether so hopeless as many people seemed to think. Very little Kent coal finds its way into the London market. Private wagons have accumulated at many of the Midland collieries, and considerable delay in loading has been the consequence. From Messrs. Dinham, Fawcus and Company’s Report. Friday, June 14.—There was no alteration in the sea- borne house coal market, which remained quiet. No sales reported. Arrivals, 12. Monday, June 17.—There was a good supply of sea- borne cargoes, but no house coals were apparently on offer. Arrivals, 28. Wednesday, June 19.—The seaborne house coal market was rather quiet, the small arrival having been previously arranged. No cargoes on offer. Cargoes, 7. THE TIM-PLATE TRADE. Liverpool. The enquiry during the last few days has been good, and there are some big orders to be placed on Allied account, Prices stiffened, and as a rule the full official maximum is quoted. This at present stands at about 32s. per basis box for cokes, net cash, f.o.t. at works, and it is only on very favourable specifications that any concessions are being made. Wasters continue in good demand, and realise top prices. Terne plates are also in fair request, a moderate business resulting. THE IRISH COAL TRADE. Thursday, June 20. Dublin. The position has now become very acute in the port. The utmost difficulty is experienced in procuring supplies, and any coal which can be obtained is much below normal requirements. The outlook for the winter is also very uncertain, and consumers ill city and country districts are urged to lay in turf and wood as largely as possible. Coal prices (unchanged)■ Best Orrell, 51s. per ton; best Wigan, 49s ; standard coal, 46s. 6d. per ton, delivered ; coke, 49s. per ton. The quantity of coal discharged upon the quays from cross-Channel ports during the past week was 25,660 tons, compared with 18,074 tons the week previously. The Council of the Dublin Industrial Association last week decided to keep a register of persons and firms within reach of water transit to Dublin who have stocks of turf to dispose of, as those requiring turf can thus be put in touch with pro- ducers. The present contract price in Athlone is 3s. per box, being four times the normal price. Vast bogs in the district are now being cut in anticipation of a shortage later. The coal supply is causing considerable uneasiness in Sligo, and if an immediate remedy is not forthcoming the result will be a partial paralysis of business locally. It is stated that the Sligo Gas Company has only a week's supply, and there is little prospect of any renewal in time to enable them to fulfil contracts with the consumers. The Council of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce adopted a resolution protesting against a contract being made with an English firm of contractors for the making of the new line of railway to the Castlecomer Collieries without an opportunity having been given to Irish firms to tender, and directing that the question be raised in Parliament. Belfast. There is no change to report, except that supplies of Scotch coal have been coming forward somewhat more regularly. Other classes are only arriving very slowly in the port, and stocks are still much below the normal. Prices of household coals remain unchanged, as follow:—Best English coal, 51s. per ton; English nuts, 50s.; English kitchen coal, 50s.; Best English slack, 47s.; Scotch house- hold, 45s.; standard coal, 44s. per ton net. It is stated that the lessee of the Drumglass Coal Fields, Dun- gannon, discovered a ten-foot seam ©f coal at a depth of 20 ft. in the townland of Rossbeg, about one and a-half miles from Dungannon, and is taking immediate steps to work the seam. A member of the Coal Control Board Department, and the chief mining expert of the Department of Agriculture, inspected the disused coal mines at Congo and Killybrackey, near Dungannon. At a meeting of Tyrone County Council it was stated that an English syndicate was prepared to put down <£300.000 for the development of the Coalisland and Dungannon coal fields, but the Government would not give permission to have the scheme carried out. THE BY-PRODUCTS TRADE. Tar Products.—The market is practically repeating itself every week in the character of the business, as well as in the prices. The latter circumstance, of course, must be considered in relation to control, which now includes so many of the by-products. Pitch is in good request, yet the market quotation in London is unaltered, and provincial quotations are on the basis of 30s., East Coast, f.o.b. Crude tar stands at last week’s figures in London and the provinces. Creosote appears to be a little easier, and solvent naphtha is scarcely so firm as it was, although nominally the prices are unchanged. How far the removal of the Government control will affect carbolic acid is doubtful at present, but the market so far is not particularly good, and if a little briskness is infused into it at the end of the month, the change will be a welcome one to holders. Heavy naphtha is occasionally enquired for. Sulphate of Ammonia.—Private and official purchases are being made at the scheduled figures for the new season. For the home trade the quotation was <£15 5s. June-August, <£15 15s. September-November, basis 24|, less 10s. per ton to dealers and merchants. SOUTH WALES MINING TIMBER TRADE. During the past week the imports of foreign mining timber were upon a good scale. Supplies went quickly into consumption, but there was no shortage, the quantity of home grown timber available being much larger. The following shows the imports of foreign mining timber into South Wales ports for the week ended June 12:— Cardiff (including Barry and Penarth) :— Date. Consignee. Loads. June 7 Morgan and Cadogan........ 360 „ 7 Lysberg Limited ............ 240 „ 8 Lysberg Limited ......,... 540 „ 8 Lysberg Limited ....... 2,880 „ 8 Lysberg Limited ......... 216 „ 8 Grant Hayward and Co ..... 60 „ 8 Grant Hayward and Co..... 66 „ 10 Lysberg Limited............ 180 „ 10 Lysberg Limited ......... 192 ,, 10 Morgan and Cadogan....... 396 „ 10 Lysberg Limited ......... 120 „ 10 Grant Hayward and Co..... 120 „ 12 Grant Hayward and Co..... 120 „ 12 Lysberg Limited ....... 1,800 „ 12 E. Marcesche and Co........ 41 „ 12 Vyvyan Kelly and Co..... 1,200 Newport:— June 7 Budd and Co............... 36 „ 7 E. Marcesche and Co....... 300 ,, 10 Matthew Thompson ........ 300 „ 10 Matthew Thompson ........ 300 „ 16 T. P. Thomas and Co...... 960 Quotations were strong at the schedule price. Home Grown Timber Supplies. There is a scarcity of haulers in the surrounding district from which Welsh collieries secure their supplies of mining timber. With more adequate labour the deliveries of home grown wood could be increased to an exceptional extent. Notwithstanding this drawback, the supply of home grown mining timber for the collieries has increased greatly, and the deliveries this month are expected to be the heaviest in the history of the trade. The shapes in many cases were irregular and such lots were sold below maximum prices. A good number of sailing vessels and small steamers dis- charged Irish timber at Cardiff, but the total quantity received was not large. Authorities and the Home Grown Trade. Importers and merchants are displaying anxiety as to what the Timber Controller purposes doing respecting imports of pitwood. A belief is entertained that the foreign imports are going to be severely reduced again, if not cut off entirely. A rough census has recently been taken by the Department of Timber Supplies as to the quantity of home grown timber made this country suitable for the mines. It is estimated that over 900,000,000 cubic feet of wood suitable for mining timber is available, exclusive of young plantations which have not yet reached pitwood size. This quantity is said to be equal to a six years supply. Importers are wondering as to what further rules and regulations may be inflicted upon them. Already their businesses have been materially reduced, only 40,000 tons per month being allowed to be imported from abroad. It is thought that the intention of the Timber Controller is to make the country independent of foreign supplies, and thus conserve shipping tonnage and limit the country's indebted- ness. The great dr awback is the scarcity of labour, which is likely to become more pronounced in every direction. The Industrial Reconstruction Council has issued a manifesto on the subject of Capital and Labour and the Government, suggesting that since the Government is now directly interested in every branch of trade and in- dustry, and each department of State is in constant touch with manufacturers, trade committees and associations 'of all kinds, these innumerable connections between the Government and the trades give an opening which may never occur again to establish the principle of co-operation between labour and capital upon a sure and sound founda- tion, and therefore the Government should adopt the uniform practice iff all industrial and commercial matters of consulting only joint bodies representative of both em- ployers and workpeople’s organisations. In this very simple way the Government has the power to bring about an active co-operation between labour and capital such as many interested parties have desired for some time past. It is considered that no industrial or commer- cial question ought to interest the Government unless it also interests both capital and labour. The union between capital and labour in the discussion of any matter which <\rose would materially strengthen the position of a trade against unnecessary restrictions, and on the other hand any orders made by the Government on the joint advice of both parties would be more likely to find general acceptance. Notes from the Coal Fields. [Local Correspondence.] South Wales and Monmouthshire. Dock and Tipping Charges—A Disputed Claim—A QueS‘ tion of Weekly Reductions—Sale of Colliery Plant— Messrs. Baldwin's New Undertaking—Compensation Case in House of Lords—Collier’s Reckless Conduct. A preliminary conference has taken place between repre- sentatives of the different dock companies of the Bristol Channel ports to deal with the question of advancing the dock and tipping charges at the several ports consequent upon the Board of Trade authorisation that Swansea may increase their rates up to 50 per cent, beyond the statu- tory maximum. This authorisation, however, makes an exception in regard to charges for tipping and weighing coal and coke by machinery and limits that charge to a maximum of 6d. per ton. It has been decided that the Bristol Channel Dock Owners’ Association shall have a special meeting in order to decide what changes shall be made. A singular point was raised in a case against the Britannic Merthyr Coal Company, which came before the Bridgend County Court on Friday. The plaintiff claimed that by agreement between the employers and the Engine- men and Stokers’ Association in 1915 a rate of 5s. 6d. to 5s. 9d. per day was fixed as the pay for haulage engine- men. It was afterwards decided by an arbitrator that this agreement applied to enginemen, stokers, and surface craftsmen not members of the association, but of the Miners’ Federation, and that in such cases the rates were to be retrospective to November 19, 1915. The plaintiff in the present case was a member of the Federation, and had been receiving 5s. 6|d. per day, and he claimed upon the award of the arbitrator that he was entitled to 5s. 9d. per day as from November 15. His claim was submitted, to the Conciliation Board, who referred it to a representa- tive from each side; and whilst these agreed that the men should be paid 5s. 9d. (and it was paid from the date of their agreement, January 1918) they failed to agree that payment should be restrospective to November 15, 1915. The present claim was for the difference of 2^d. per day for 426 days between the periods mentioned. It was stated on behalf of the employers that the retrospective clause of the award made only the minimum rate of 5s. 6d. retrospective, as the rate was “from 5s. 6d. to 5s. 9d.” This it was urged gave a margin for negotiation, and as the man had been paid 5s. 6Jd., which was above the mini- mum, the award of the arbitrator did not affect him—any increase in his case being a matter of special contract between him and the employers. The county court judge, however, gave a decision in favour of the claimant, hold- ing that the award of the Conciliation Board referees must be retrospective. The Ebbw Vale Company were defendants in an action where the widow of a man fatally injured in the Prince of Wales Colliery claimed compensation. A sum had been paid into court, but the question at issue was whether the company had the right to deduct weekly payments made under the War Additions Act of 1917. It was con- tended on her behalf that the payments under this Act were made to meet the increased cost of living; but for the defendants it was argued that the employers were entitled to deduct any payment made during life in respect of an accident. The judge held that there was no authority for deducting payments made under the War Additions Act of 1917, as these did not come under the Act of 1906 ; and he therefore gave judgment for plaintiff, awarding <£294, with costs. Really the amount at issue was apparently only 30s., namely, 5s. per week for six weeks— a sum of <£292 10s. having been paid into court. Major R. G. M. Prichard, of the Glamorgan Yeomanry, who has died of wounds in Palestine at the age of 42, was at one time inspector of mines in the South Wales district. At a sale of colliery plant of the Nantyglo and Coal- brook Vale pits heavy rails went for <£10 per ton, light section rails at <£17 10s. per ton, colliery partings <£6 per ton, and boiler plates <£7. Weighbridges fetched good bids, and steel trams without wheels went for <£3 each. All the lots sold realised nearly <£5,000. Swansea Harbour returns for last week were not so favourable as those for the preceding seven days, ship- ments of coal having been only 45,213 tons, with 15,886 tons of patent fuel. Tinplate, iron, steel, etc., totalled 4,557 tons. The marked developments in iron and steel manufacture, to which attention has previously been drawn, is further demonstrated by the announcement that Crumlin Burrows, which lie on the sea coast between Swansea and Briton Ferry, will be the scene of new works. They will form part of the great extension of Messrs. Baldwin’s under- taking, some hundreds of acres of land having been acquired, with a great area of mineral territory. The House of Lords on Monday gave an important decision (by majority) in a case of peculiar interest and importance as affecting the basis of compensation. It was the action of a widow against Guest, Keen and Company. She claimed that compensation should be reckoned at the higher rate of wages which her husband had earned after a labour dispute. But the employers contended that it should be on a three years’ basis. The county court judge in Glamorgan had decided in favour of the widow ; but his judgment was reversed by the Court of Appeal, which decided in favour of the employers. In the House of Lords the Lord Chancellor thought the appeal should suc- ceed and the decision of the county court judge be affirmed, but two other of the law lords said they must disagree, and therefore the appeal was dismissed. The prolonged enquiry in the Chancery Division as to damage sustained by a butcher and sausage-maker at Ystalyfera through coal dust from the Pwllbach Colliery has reached its concluding stage. It was alleged that the plaintiff^ had to close two shops in consequence of the nuisance which he alleged, and it was stated that defen- dants had made an offer of <£700 as settlement, but that plaintiff regarded this as inadequate. Mr. Justice Eve reserved his decision. A serious^jcase came before the Llanelly police court, where a collier was fined <£2 for opening his safety lamp. The defendant pleaded that it had been the custom for eight years to open lamps. The evidence showed that the man had been engaged in cleaning out the sump when he opened the lamp, and that some time afterwards a small fire was observed. As a result the men had to be called out. It was alleged that the opening of the lamp had endangered the lives of the men. Notification has been received by the collieries from the District Coal and Coke Supplies Committee that per- mission is granted for production of the highest possible output until July 6. There is ample supply of shipping and an urgent demand for coal. Over 3,000 men were idle at the Cambrian Collieries on Wednesday as the result of an impression amongst them