July 26, 1918. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 187 MEAN MAGNETIC DECLINATION at Kew Observatory, Richmond, in Degrees and Minutes, for each Two-hour Interval in the Week July 14 to 20, 1918. Magnetic character. * Intervals—Hours G.M.T. 0h.-2h. 14° + 2h.-4h. 14° + 4h.-6h. 14° + 6h.-8h. 14° + 8h.-10h. 14c + 10h.-12h. 14° 4- 12h.-14h. 14° + I i 14h.-16h. ! 14° 4- 1 16h.-18h. 14° + 18h.-20h. 14° 4- 20h.-22h. 14° + 22h.-24h. 14° 4- Mean for day. 14° 4- Min. Min. Min. ‘ Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Min. Sun., July 14 1 49’0 48’5 46*0 45’0 47’0 53’5 56’5 57’0 55’0 52’5 50’0 45’5 50’5 ' Mon., „ 15 1 49*5 48*0 44’5 ! 47’5 49’5 53’0 56’0 56’0 52’5 50’5 50’5 51’5 51’0 Tues., ,, 16 0 50‘0 48'5 47’5 i 46’5 48’0 52’0 54’5 55’5 53’0 50’0 51’0 49’5 50’5 Wed., „ 17 0 49*0 49’0 46’5 ’ 45’5 47’0 53’0 56’5 56’5 54’0 52’0 51’0 49’5 51’0 Thurs., ,, 18 0 49’0 47'0 44’5 45’0 48’0 53’5 57’5 56’0 53’5 52’0 51’0 50’5 50’5 Friday, „ 19 0 51’0 49’5 46’0 ! 44’5 45’0 51’0 . 55’0 53’5 50’5 49’5 50’5 50’5 49’5 Sat., „ 20 0 50*5 49’0 1 47’0 ! i 46’5 47’0 51’5 56’5 56’5 53’0 : i 51’0 ' 50’5 50’5 j 1 50’5 Mean value for Diurnal i n e- lh. 2h. 3h. 4h. 5h. 6h. 7h. 8h. 9h. lOh. llh. 12h. 13h. 14h. 15h. 16h. 17h. 18h. 19h. 20h. 21h. 22h. 23h. 24h. month. quality (i.e., July 1917 -0-2 —0’4 -0*3 -1’2 —3’3 —5’2 -6’5 -6’7 -5’6 -3’0 + 0’8 +4’6 + 7’1 4-7’9 4-6’2 4-3’9 4-1’7 0’0 -0’4 -0’1 4-0’2 4-0’4 4-0’3 -0’1 14° 59'’1 July "17 departure from Junel918 —0’8 -DO -D6 -2’8 -4’0 -4’9 -5’2 -5’1 -3’9 -1’3 + 2’5 +4’9 4-6’4 4-6’4 4-5’3 4-3’5 4-1’7 4-0’7 0’0 -0’1 4-0’1 4-0’1 -0’4 -0’8 14° 51'’2 June’18 mean value for 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 4-6’5 4-7’4 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 day) The day is counted from Oh. (midnight) to 21 h. (mi inight) 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 part 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 “ 133 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 “ 233 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 “ smoothing33 the curve. Meteorological Office, July 24. space. They suggested that props should be fixed further from the wagonway or, if there was not space, might be let into “canch.” Had that precaution been taken, that fatality would not have happened. The coroner remarked that although there was no regulation to stipulate the distance of timber from the wagonway, that was a recommendation which the owners might adopt, particu- larly in new districts. The Government inspector of mines said that opened out a very wide question, which would affect the coal mines throughout the country. The jury endorsed the men’s inspectors’ recommendation. A verdict of “ Accidental death ” was returned in each case. The late Sir Wm. Haswell Stephenson, colliery pro- prietor, ship owner, company director, etc.—in fact, Newcastle’s best known and most representative business man—who died recently, left estate valued at £85,601. Having regard to the large sums given in his lifetime to charitable and benevolent institutions and objects in and connected with Newcastle, Sir William made few charitable bequests. To Mr. Herbert Shaw, the secretary of New- castle Chamber of Commerce—to whom the coal trade has been much indebted for efforts to facilitate business since the war commenced—Sir William left £1,000. The bulk of his estate he left to his daughter, Miss K. M. B. Stephenson. Some correspondence has recently taken place in a Newcastle newspaper as to methods of expediting the output of coal, and one writer has advocated that the miners should work twelve shifts per fortnight instead of eleven, and should add one hour per day to their toil. This view is opposed by Mr. Wm. Campbell, of West Wylam, who states that he is quite certain that the adop- tion of the proposal would retard the output, “ knowing, as a miner, the unhealthy and foolish competition that is rampant among the hewers, which necessitates their whole energy and strength being kept at high tension during the entire progress of their work, which culminates in exhaustion. Moreover, where much blasting is donp and the pit not too well ventilated, many of the hewers are ‘ gassed ’ before the present shift is finished, and the miner knows, unfortunately too well, the prejudicial effect, that this ‘ gassing ’ has upon him during the rest of the shift, when he becomes practically powerless as a coal- getter. Then there is the heated and vitiated atmosphere to contend with. . . . The miners, in endeavouring to fulfil the obligation that the extra day and extra hour would impose upon them, and being already in a devitalised condition from their earlier work, would soon succumb to the unnatural strain of trying to perform a physical im- possibility. The result would be absence from work for a week or two that they might recuperate. All this wasted energy and time for the sake of compelling an exhausted man to try and produce a few more hundredweights of coal per day.” The workmen and officials of the various collieries and works under the charge of Mr. Austin Kirkup, agent of the Lamb ton and Hetton Collieries Limited, have contri- buted £266, and the firm has subscribed £100 towards the funds of the British and Foreign Sailors’ Society. A special meeting of the Council of the Northumberland Miners’ Association is to be held to consider recommenda- tions by the coalowners as to the employment of women as surface workers at the pits in the county. In view of the shortage of male labour, it is suggested that women may usefully be employed at lamp cabin work, weigh ana token cabins and store houses, as storekeepers, time- keepers, registrars, screeners, in “ wailing ” and washing coal, at the colliery shops, in stacking and sawing timber, attending surface rope haulage, daubing coke-oven doors, working on the exhausters at coke-ovens, and generally on by-product work under suitable conditions. The North-Eastern Steel Company has recently installed at its Acklam works, Middlesbrough, electrically-driven hoisting machinery for the handling of wagons of up to 35 tons gross. The hoist was formerly operated on the hydraulic principle, and, in order to avoid stoppage of work, a new steel hoist structure, with motor-house on top, was built against the old structure, so that the handling of wagons was not interfered with during the installation of the electric hoisting plant and wagon table. The council of Newcastle Chamber of Commerce decided on Monday to co-operate with the North-Eastern munici- pal authorities in urging the insufficiency of the fuel and lighting allowance for the district. A member pointed out that not only was the “ ration ” inadequate but that the Order would increase transport troubles in one respect, as landsale collieries would have to send their coals by rail to get rid of them, whereas they now have a market by road. The Retail Coal Prices Committee of Newcastle City Council has decided that all prices specified in the schedule of permissible maximum prices chargeable on the sale of coal by retail for domestic purposes within the city and county of Newcastle, dated June 24 last, shall be, as from July 12, increased to the extent of Is. 6d. per ton and Is. l^d. per 15 cwt. For smaller quantities the prices shall be : One cwt., from carts Is. 10^d., at shops Is. ll^d., and at depots Is. 8£d. ; i cwt., ll^d., Is., and lO^d. respec- tively ; two stones, 6d., 6^d., and 5^d. respectively; and one stone, 3d., 3^d., and 3d. respectively. In his July circular to the members of the Northumber- land Miners’ Association, Mr. Wm. Straker refers to the recent negotiations with the Coal Controller for a further war wage for miners, and states that, in the course of these, the increase in the percentage of working time lost by miners was frequently referred to. “We pointed out,”, says Mr. Straker, “ that there were many contributory causes for this in connection with the recent comb-out of miners for the Army, but, as that was about completed, these would now cease and an improvement would be shown. . . . We assured the Controller that, so far as we could, we would do everything possible to reduce the percentage of absenteeism, but, at the same time, we reminded him that absenteeism was not the only cause of the output being less than otherwise it would be. In many cases the managers of the pits were to blame, and until pit committees had power to deal with the management in such cases there would be a great reluctance on the part of colliery workmen to have anything to do with such cpm- mittees. This was at once recognised by the Controller, and he agreed that power should be given to these com- mittees to investigate every cause interfering with the output of coal at any mine.” Mr. Straker adds that the Miners’ Conference agreed to the draft agreement, which gives each district power to frame its own rules in accord- dance with the principles indicated. Each pit committee will investigate cases of absenteeism, declining output, and seek in various ways to lessen absenteeism. Cleveland. At a meeting of the General Purposes Committee of Middlesbrough Corporation on Tuesday, the Mayor (Mr. Calvert) stated that the Corporation had asked the Board of Trade to suspend the operation of the Fuel and Light- ing Order for several months, so that time might be given to consider it. They had also asked that Middlesbrough should be exempted from that part of the Order which dealt with the rationing of gas, because of the unique position in which Middlesbrough stood in that respect. They had sought an interview with the Coal Control Board with a view to making representations regarding Middlesbrough, and it had been agreed to meet a deputa- tion. On the eve of that appointment, however, the Board cancelled it on the ground that a gas supervisor would be appointed from the town and district, and would talk the matter over with them. The borough engineer (Mr. Burgess) had been appointed overseer under the Order, and had reported that an administrative staff involving an expenditure of £7 to £8 per week would be required for Middlesbrough. The Corporation had made represen- tations that Middlesbrough should be definitely excluded from the coal rationing scheme, but no reply had been received, and he did not think they could take any further steps at the moment. He did not think the scheme could be administered in that borough at under £1,500 a year with the army of officials that would be required. Coun- cillor Sadler averred that the cost might go up to £3,000, £4,000, or £5,000. It was agreed to defer making any appointments in connection with the administration of the Order until a reply had been received to the representa- tions made to the Coal Control Board. Cumberland. The annual meeting of the Cumberland Coal Trade Conciliation Board was held at Workington, last week. Mr. J. Dickinson was appointed chairman pro te/rn. ; Mr. R. Steel, of Whitehaven, was re-elected chairman; Mr. J. Dickinson (Aspatria), vice-chairman; Messrs. T. P. Martin and T. Cape were re-appointed joint secretaries ; and Mr. C. C. Hodgson, of Carlisle, was re-elected neutral vice-chairman. Three nominations were submitted for the neutral chairmanship, and the appointment was left over until replies had been received from them. At an ordinary meeting of the board, held afterwards, Mr. Steel presiding, an application from the men for an ad- vance of a shilling a day on the standard base rate for underground day wage men and boys, was referred to the neutral chairman. It was decided that Monday and Tuesday in Bank Holiday week should be observed as holidays at the pit. York. A special meeting of the Coal Merchants’ Section of the Bradford Chamber of Trade was held on Monday evening last, under the chairmanship of Mr. Joshua Smith. Mr. H. Mosley was unanimously appointed local trade super- visor under the Household Fuel and Lighting Order. A small advisory and finance sub-committee, comprising the chairman, Aiderman Jn. Garnett, Mr. B. Galloway, Mr. H. Triffitt, Mr. E. Smith, and Mr. J. Bennett, was appointed to act in conjunction with the local supervisor. It was decided that as from July 1 to September 30 a levy of one penny per ton on house coal handled should be made to cover the expenses of both the local and divisional supervisors. In this regard it was resolved that an agreement form should be prepared, similar to one already drawn up by the Leeds trade, covering the whole of the financial arrangements in view. Upon consideration of the Bradford quota towards the regular financial needs of the divisional supervisor, it was found that the York- shire Federation’s estimate of a farthing per ton would work out at very materially more than a quarter of the total sum required for the whole divisional area, and there- fore the meeting instructed the Bradford representatives on the Federation to press for information as to a quota due from Bradford on a proportionate tonnage basis for the whole of the area. The coal merchants of Sheffield have enjoyed the ad- vantages of a trade organisation for some years, and on Wednesday a separate association was formed by the re- tailers and dealers. The meeting elected Mr. Arthur Pye president, Mr. G. T. Nicholson vice-president, Mr. W. H, Knott secretary, and Mr. Powdrill assistant secretary. Lancashire and Cheshire. The Wigan Mining and Technical College is making provision for the training of lady works chemists, for whom there are many openings at the various collieries, iron and steel works, and in their allied industries. Lady chemists have recently been engaged in the Lancashire coalfield by colliery firms, such as the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Limited. At the Liverpool County Quarter Sessions last week, William Sword, manager of the Clock Face Colliery, belonging to the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Limited, appealed against a conviction of the St. Helens magistrates, who had imposed a fine of £2 for an alleged breach of the Defence of the Realm Act, the charge being that he induced a soldier to break the King’s Regulations. A drawer deserted after enlisting, and returned to the pit. It was urged that the manager could nbt have known of the enlist- ment, and the Court adopted that view. The appeal was allowed, the conviction being quashed. No order was made as regards costs. Kent. At the East Kent Colliery Company’s annual meeting, to be held shortly, a full statement of the position, both financially and as regards the workings at Tilmanstone Colliery, will be placed before the shareholders. The output cannot probably be increased very much from its present average of 2,400 to 2,500 tons weekly whilst work is only going on in the Beresford seam, the workings now extending about half a mile from the pit bottom. As soon, however, as facilities are obtainable for sinking the second shaft into the Snowdown Hard seam (one shaft being already sunk into it), an improved output of coal of a harder quality can be obtained. It is anticipated that if the Creusot Armament people act on the option recently granted them for taking up £75,000 of stock in this colliery company steps will be promptly taken to sink the second shaft to the Snowdown Hard seam, as it will require very little labour to carry the pit down to it from the present workings. A further seam of coal, reported to be over six feet thick, has been passed through in the north pit at Chislet Colliery, and is stated to be harder and brighter than any coal yet found in the south-eastern area of the Kent coal- field. The pits will not be sunk any deeper than this seam for the present, and sufficient coal for the colliery’s own requirements can be raised whilst the second shaft is being completed down to this seam and the headings driven. The shareholders’ committee appointed at the recent extraordinary meeting of the Sondage Syndicate Limited, one of the Kent Coal Concessions Allied companies, have now made their report. The committee consisted of Mr. J, J. Clark (chairman of Snowdown Colliery Company),. Mr. W. Egerton Martin, Sir H. Woods, and Mr. H. Hay- ward, J.P. They were appointed to consider what reso- lutions and alterations were necessary to vary the consti- tution of the Syndicate so as to legalise the election of a board of directors to administer the business. Mr. Burr was life manager of the Syndicate, with power to- transfer that position to his son, Dr. Malcolm Burr, for his life, with 20 per cent, of the net profits. The commit- tee have taken counsel’s opinion, and are advised that the Syndicate have power to pass a special resolution alter- ing the articles of association and taking powers to appoint a board of directors, thus displacing Mr. Burr. But in view of the possibility of costly litigation, they have entered into negotiations with Mr. Burr with a view to an amicable arrangement, and are suggesting the approval by the shareholders of the following provisional arrange- ment, which they think fair and equitable : Mr. Burr to retire at once from the life management, the Syndicate to agree to pay Mr. Burr £300 a year during his life, and after his death an annuity to his widow for her life or until the expiration of seven years from the date of the accept- ance of this proposal, whichever shall be the shorter period. Scotland. At a meeting of the Committee of Edinburgh and Leith on the retail price of coal it was agreed to increase the price of coal by 7d. per ton to meet an increase of 6s. per week granted to carters. The difference between last year’s price and the present price is 4s. 7d. per ton, the 4s. being due to increases by the Coal Controller for advances in the price of coal at the collie*i«s.