32 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. July 5, 1918. MEAN MAGNETIC DECLINATION at Kew Observatory, Richmond, in Degrees and Minutes, for each Two-hour Interval in the Week June 23 to 29, 1918. Magnetic character. Intervals—Hours G.M.T. 0h.-2h. 14° + 2h.-4h. 14° + 4h.-6h. 14° + 6h.-8h. 14° + 8h.-10h. Uc + * 10h.-12h. 14° + 12h.-14h. 14° + 14h.-16h. 14° 4- 16h.-18h. 14° 4- 18h.-20h. 14° + 20h.-22h. 14° 4- 22h.-24h. 14° 4- ! Mean for day. 14° 4- Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Sun., June 23 0 50*5 50’0 47’0 46’0 49’0 56’0 59’0 56’0 50’5 50’0 51’0 51’0 51’5 Mon., ,, 24 0 52’0 50’0 47’5 48’0 50’5 56’0 57’5 56’5 52’5 50’5 51’5 51’0 52’0 Tues., „ 25 0 51’0 50’0 46’5 46’5 50’0 55’0 56’5 56’0 52’0 51’5 52’0 51’5 51’5 Wed., „ 26 0 51’0 49’0 47’0 45’0 45’5 52’5 58’0 58’0 54’0 51’0 50’0 47’5 50’5 Thurs., „ 27 0 47’0 47’5 44’0 43’5 46*5 52’5 56’5 55’0 51’5 50’5 50’0 49’0 49’5 Friday, „ 28 0 48’5 48’0 45’5 43’5 44’5 51’0 55’5 55’5 52’0 50’5 50’0 50’0 49’5 Sat., „ 29 0 49’5 48’5 46’5 44’5 45’5 50’0 54’5 54’0 52’0 . 51’0 - 1 51’0 50’0 50’0 Mean value for Diurnal i n e- Ih. 2h. 3h. 4h. 5h. 6h. 7h. 8h. 9h. 10b. llh. 12h. 13h. I4h. 15h. 16h. 17h. 18h. 19h. 20h. 21h. 22h. 23h. 24h. month. quality (i.e., Junel917 -1’2 -1’2 -1’4 -2’1 -3’8 -5’5 -6’5 -6’4 -4’9 -2’3 + 1’5 +4’7 + 6’5 +7’4 4-6’5 4-4’7 4-2’8 4-1’2 4-0’3 4-0’4 4-0’2 4-0’1 -0’2 -0’8 14° 59' ’7 June’17 departure from May 1918 -0’7 -1’0 -1’3 -2’2 -3’2 -4’4 -5’5 -5’3 -3’9 -1’1 + 2’5 +5’3 4-6’5 4-6’3 4-4’8 4-3’2 4-1’7 4-<»’4 -0’3 -0’4 —0’4 —0’2 -0’3 -0’5 I4°51'’6 May T8 mean value for May 1917 -0’4 -0’2 -0’6 -1’3 —2’9 —4’5 -5’0 -4’9 -3’3 -1’0 + 2’6 +5’0 4-6’4 4-5’8 4-4’0 4-2’5 4-1’2 4-0’1 -0’1 -0’4 -0 9 -0’9 -0’6 -0’8 15° O'’6 May T7 day) The day is counted from Oh. (midnight) to 2 th. (mi I night) G-.M.T. Character “0” means a day wholly free from any but small disturbances. Character “ 1 ” means a day part or all of which is moderately or considerably disturbed. Character 2” means a day pirt or all of which is highly disturbed. The normal value for an hour is the mean declination for that hour in the month, derived from quiet days only, or from all days excluding those of character “2” On a day of character “ 0** declination at any hour will usually be within about 3' of the normal. On a day of character if 1” the departure from the normal will usually not exceed 5', but it may occasionally be as much as 10', or even more. On a day of character {S 2 ” the departure from the normal will seldom exceed 20', but departures of 30' or even on extreme occasions of 1° or more may occur. The above values were obtained from measurements made after “ smoothing” the curve. Meteorological Office, July 3. Northumberland Miners’ Association has elicited the fol- lowing 10 nominations to fill his place : Robt. Smillie, president of the Miners’ Federation; G. Skedge, Church Pit; A. Kinghorn, Barrington; J. Summers, Bebside; T. Forster, Bomarsund; A. Walton, New Delaval; G. E. Middleton, Mickley ; W. Dent, North Seaton; G. W. Shield, North Tyne; and G. H. Warne, Woodhorn. As Ashington and district practically control the county vote, by reason of the large number of mine workers thereabouts, and there is a strong movement in favour of the selection of Mr. Warne as candidate for Morpeth, the probabilities of Mr. Warne’s election to the vacancy are very strong. Second-Lieut. Thomas Dunn, R.F.A., who has been awarded the Military Cross, was in the office of Mr. J. S. Hindley, of the Anglo-Continental Coal Company, New- castle Quayside, prior to the war, and joined up in August 1914. Cumberland. Last week, at the Allhallows Colliery, near Mealsgate, a steam engine driving the electric generator got out of control, and the driving wheel was smashed to atoms. A heavy fragment of the wheel was thrown about 40 yards away, clearing the shops in the vicinity. Another piece hit a truck standing on a siding, knocking it off the rails. No one was hurt. One district of the pit, which is entirely dependent on electric haulage, has been thrown idle. Over 100 men are affected, and it may be some weeks before the necessary repairs can be completed. The members of the Cumberland Winding Engine Men’s Association have handed in notices, to expire on July 16, on account of certain grievances as to conditions of work. Mr. W. Serginson, formerly of Aspatria, and recently employed at William Pit, Great Clifton, and the Plen- mellor Colliery, Haltwhistle, has been appointed manager at the Longframlington Colliery, Northumberland. At St. Helens Colliery, Siddick, the clippers, about 40 in number, struck work on Thursday morning last week for an advance of wages, and upwards of 600 hands were idle for two days. At a meeting on Friday, however, it was agreed to resume work at once, pending an interview with the management on Tuesday. Yorkshire. At last week’s meeting of the Bentley (near Doncaster) Urban District Council the housing question was discussed. A letter was read from Messrs. Barber, Walker and Com- pany, of Bentley Colliery, stating that more housing accommodation was badly needed for men working at the pit. They estimated 300 additional houses would be required after the war to provide for men returning from the Front, and their families, and also for the future de- velopment of the pit. The council agreed that the housing question was a very serious one, and decided to debate it at its next meeting. The surveyor stated he could get out plans for a housing scheme within three months from a given date. The Adwick-le-Street Urban District Council, a neighbouring authority, also in a colliery dis- trict, is at present preparing a housing scheme, more houses being urgently required for the miners of Bullcroft and Brodsworth. The communal kitchens opened in the colliery districts of Woodlands and Carcroft, in the Doncaster colliery area, are proving a great success, and are now recognised by the Ministry of Food as national institutions. There was a formal inauguration of the Carcroft kitchen this week. The local collieries have rendered great assistance to the undertaking. The chairman of the Management Commit- tee is Mr. T. Blunt (manager of the Bullcroft pit) ; the hon. treasurer is Mr. C. Gatley (secretary of the Brods- worth Colliery); and the assistant treasurer is Mr. Palmer (of Bullcroft Colliery). The kitchens have proved a great boon to the miners and their families. At the half-yearly meeting of the Guiseley and Yeadon Coal Company it was reported that the sales for the six months ending May 31 amounted to <£13,379 13s. 7d. The net profit was £688 16s. 3d., or £60 10s. more than in the corresponding period of last year. The directors and officers were all re-elected. Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire. A meeting of the Midland branch of the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers was held at the University College, Nottingham, recently. The election of officers for the ensuing year resulted as follows : Mr. F. Church, Tibshelf, president; Mr. A. R. Davies (Bolsover) and Mr. W. Wynes (Monsfield) vice-presidents; Mr. E. R. Hudson (Ilkeston), hon. secretary and treasurer; Mr. F. Smith (Pinxton) and Mr. F. W. Rowley (Eastwood), auditors; Mr. Church and Mr. Hudson, representatives on the general council; Messrs. E. E. Beadsmoore (Pinxton), F. Cusworth (East Kirkby), J. Drabble (Staveley), J. E. Humble (Warsop), S. Dean (Mansfield), and F. W. Rowley, branch council. Congratulations were extended to three members of the branch, viz., Mr. G. P. Hay, Mr. J. E. Humble, and Mr. E. Watkinson, on obtaining first-class certificates at the recent examination, Mr. Hay securing the second position in the full list of successful candidates. A fire broke out on Wednesday at Welbeck Colliery, near Mansfield, among the stock of pit props and other timber in the colliery yard. Work was resumed at Newstead Colliery on Thursday, after a stoppage of several days. The terms of the settle- ment include notice to three men who entered the pit in 1914. Scotland, On Saturday Mr. David Gilmour, O.B.E., of the Ministry of National Service, furnished explicit details as to the steps which ought to be taken with regard to the release of skilled miners from the Army. Additional copies of R.C.M. (1) headed “ Union Recommendation for Release from the Army for Coal Mining ” have been circulated amongst branch secretaries. In this form the colliery firm or the manager for whom the soldier formerly worked must sign a declaration expressing a willingness to find work for the man, giving details of the man’s name, regimental number, location, unit, and the local terms applicable to the precise form of mining at which he was ordinarily engaged. Forms must be forwarded to Mr. David Gilmour, Room 128, Ministry of National Service, Windsor Hotel, Victoria-street, London, S.W.l. At present applications should only be made in respect of soldiers in home units and of a category below B2. The executive council of the Scottish Colliery Clerks’ Association and the executive council of the Scottish Coal- masters Association have agreed to arbitration on the question of increases in the salaries of those of the colliery clerical staffs who are members of the S.C.C.A. Negotia- tions are proceeding for affiliation of the Clerks’ Associa- tion with the Scottish Mine Managers’ Association. On Saturday afternoon 60 members of the East and West of Scotland branches of the Association of Mining Elec- trical Engineers visited Arniston Colliery, near Edin- burgh. They were received by Mr. Peter Milligan, general manager of the Arniston Coal Company Limited. At a public meeting held at the close of the inspection it was agreed to form a new branch of the association for the Lothians area, Mr. Peter Milligan being elected the first president. The other office-bearers are : Vice-presidents, Messrs. J. R. Laird, Bathgate and Bunting, Edinburgh ; secretaries, Messrs. W. Landale Frew, Glasgow, and Arthur Robinson, 28, Forth Bridge, Edinburgh. Broomfield pithead, at Stonehouse, the buildings in con- nection with which were destroyed by fire a fortnight ago, is rapidly being repaired, and all the men will probably be re-engaged next week. Roscobie Lime Works have been acquired by the Shotts Iron Company Limited, and will, in all probability, be developed on an extensive scale to provide lime for smelting purposes. Owing to the termination of the lease the plant at Dixie Pit, belonging to Messrs. John Nimmo and Son Limited, Dunfermline, is being offered for sale. At the majority of the collieries in Fife the miners pur- pose taking a full week’s holiday, despite the appeal by the Coal Controller. The coal shipment from Methil for the week totalled 26,077 tons, as against 27,845 tons in the previous week. Burntisland showed a marked decrease, only exporting 6,480 tons. At a meeting of the Mid-Lothian branch of the Colliery Under-Managers’ Association in Edinburgh reports showed that throughout the district the coal and mineral oil com- panies had paid all arrears due to the members under the agreement entered into between the two associations. Mr. Strachan, organising secretary, stated that the executive council of the association had put in a claim for a further increase in their wages of £1 per week, and pointed out that the concession of this claim would still leave them from 10s. to 20s. under their colleagues in England and Wales, and there was a movement on foot by the National Federation of Under-Managers to put forward a claim for a uniform minimum wage for all under-managers in the British coalfields. Shipments of coal from the Clyde last week totalled 98,988 tons, as against 105,513 tons in the previous week and 108,687 tons in the corresponding week last year. From the Forth the shipments are 17,800 tons, and from Fife ports 32,636 tons. The Chief Inspector of Factories made the following appointments as certifying surgeons under the Factory and Workshop Act : Dr. D. Robertson for the Cruden dis- trict (Aberdeen), and the medical officer in charge, Royal Aircraft Establishment, South Farnborough, for the Farn- borough No. 2 district (Hants). A vacancy in East Nottingham is notified. Miners’ Wages Advance.—After a conference between Mr. Lloyd George, the President of the Board of Trade, the Controller of Coal Mines, and Sir Richard Redmayne, on the one side, and the executive committee of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain on the other, on June 28, it was decided to allow the claim put forward by the latter body for Is. 6d. a day advance in wages for persons over 16 years of age, and 9d. per day for persons under 16. LABOUR AND WAGES. South Wales and Monmouthshire. At a joint meeting of representatives of coalowners and colliery examiners in Cardiff on Monday, the question of wages and conditions of employment was discussed, Mr. B. Nicholas being in the chair. The different points at issue were argued at length, but the parties failed to come to an agreement. The chairman stated that as the Coal- owners’ Association would be meeting the next day he would put before them the arguments that had been submitted on behalf of the examiners; and if any proposi- tion were made which would tend to improve the situa- tion the joint board would be summoned to meet at an early date. On their part, the executive of the Examiners’ Association expressed dissatisfaction at the situation, and have decided to call a conference of the whole coal field on Monday next, so that delegates, after hearing the report, may decide as to what action shall be taken. It will be remembered that the present Joint Board was formed after a strike of the examiners just before Christmas, when the coalowners undertook to “ recognise ” the men’s union, and it has to be noted.that the joint body has disposed of a number of secondary matters. The present claim, however, is for general improvement in the wages and conditions. The miners of the Avon Valley, near Port Talbot, in the course of a meeting on Saturday at the District Council offices, Neath, accepted a report from the Joint Disputes Committee that where it was agreed that men should work seven days a week they were entitled to seven days’ war wage. Concerning a dispute at the Oakwood Colliery, a unanimous resolution was passed that unless the enginemen be reinstated forthwith the workmen should tender notices. It was decided also that a levy of 6d. per man and 3d. per boy be declared in order to maintain Labour representatives on public bodies. The Western Miners’ Association discussed at its meet- ing the question of Saturday afternoon and Sunday night labour at headings and stalls, and it was decided as far as possible to bring about the abolition of such labour. The Pontypridd and Rhondda district of miners at their meeting on Monday evening heard complaints from men at the Lewis Merthyr Colliery as to the employment of female labour in the lamp room, protest being made against this. It is understood that a deputation is to wait upon the management. North of England. How well the Northumberland miners “ stuck in ” to their work last month, despite the fact that other sec- tions of the local industrial community were holidaying during most of the last week in June, is shown by the figures which have reached Burt Hall with reference to the employment of the collieries during the month. Thus 43 steam coal pits worked an average of 5-49 days per week, as compared with an average of 5*46 days per week in May and 5-47 days in April. Twenty household coal pits worked an average of 5-48 days per week, as compared with 5-48 days in May and 5-19 days in April. The general average, therefore, was about 5-49 days per week, as against 5-47 days in May and 5-19 days in April. Mr. W. Westgarth (Ryton) presided over the half-yearly meeting of the Durham County Colliery Enginemen’s, Boilerminders’ and Firemen’s Association, held at Durham on Thursday of last week. Mr. W. B. Charlton, agent, reported that the association was quite in accord with the proposal to adopt section 3 of the Trades Union Act, 1913, as a necessary preliminary to becoming affiliated with the Miners’ Federation. The chances being that the present controlling authority had come to say, it was there- fore incumbent upon them to seek a blend with the major body, whose arrangements with the Coal Controller had affected all workers in and about the mines. Then in further arrangements the chief council of the miners would be advantaged by having all sections represented. He spoke strongly in favour of all colliery associations join- ing the Miners’ Federation, each organisation, however, reserving to itself the management of its own special affairs. He deeply regretted that a condition of member- ship of the Federation was the enforcement of a contri- bution towards the Labour Party’s funds. To demand a fixed levy in excess of the cost of general purposes was wrong, and they would object to contributing to the political fund of the Federation. On the question of the eight-hour day, he regretted that the proposal to ballot the county was again before them. They had discussed the request very frankly with the employers, urging all that practice and experience gave in support. They found the strongest repelling element in the fact that in many districts the men who had by agreement ten hours per shift positively refused to be loosed at the end of ten hours, choosing rather to work twelve and to be paid a quarter extra each shift, and even threatened to leave the colliery if they were forced to finish in one shift each day. He asked the meeting to believe that the counter-resolution of the executive was in the members’ truest interests, and trusted that they would adopt the recommendation. The election of executive men resulted : Winding enginemen (one wanted), E. N. Coates (Crook), 147; E. Alexander (Hebburn), 134. Underground workers