510

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

September 6, 1918.

CONTRACTS OPEN FOR COAL AND COKE.

For Contracts Advertised in this issue received too late
for inclusion in this column, see Leader and Last
White pages.

Abstracts of Contracts Open.

Andover, September 10. — Coal for the Guardians.
Forms from the clerk, 31, High-street, Andover.

Barming Heath, September 24.—Coke for Kent County
Lunatic Asylums at Barming Heath and Charlton. Forms
from the steward of either asylum.

Barrow-in-Furness, September 11.—Coal for the
Guardians. Forms from Roose Institution.

Beccles, September 9.—House coal and gas < coke (3
months) for local military use. Tenders to the O.C., Army
Service Corps, Beccles Station.

Belper, September 9.—Coal (3 months) for the Guar-
dians. Forms from the workhouse master, Belper.

Bicton Heath (near Shrewsbury), September 16.—Coke
(3 months) for the asylum, Bicton Heath. Forms from the
clerk.

Bristol, September 26.—Unwashed coal (6 months) for
Electrical Committee. Forms (£2 2s., returnable) from
the chief engineer, Exchange, Corn-street, Bristol.

Carmarthen, September 12.—Coal for the Guardians.
Forms from the clerk, 7, Hall-street, Carmarthen.

Cork, September 11.—1,000 tons of Lancashire or
Welsh large steam coal in two cargoes, and 50 tons of
smiths’ coal for Cork Harbour Commissioners. Forms from
the engineer, Harbour Office, Cork.

Edmonton, September 16.—Steam coal and slack, coke,
and oils (6 months) for Edmonton U.D. Council. Forms
from the engineer, Town Hall, Edmonton.

Gravesend, September 11.—Coal for the Guardians.
Forms from the clerk, 13, Victoria-place, Gravesend.

Greenwich, September 19.—Coal for the Guardians.
Forms from the clerk’s office, East Greenwich.

Hardingstone (Northants), September 9.—Coal* (6
months) for the Guardians. Forms from the clerk, 2, St.
Giles-square, Northampton.

Holborn, September 18.—Coal and coke for Guardians.
Forms from 53, Clerkenwell-road, E.C.

Macclesfield, September 16.—Fuel for the Cheshire
County Asylum, Parkside, Macclesfield. Forms from the
clerk.

Merthyr Tydfil, September 13.—Coal for the Guar-
dians. Forms from the workhouse master.

Northwich, September 12.—Coal for the Guardians.
Forms from the clerk, Northwich.

Weymouth, September 9.—Coal for the Guardians.
Forms from Bank-chambers, St. Thomas-street.

Windsor, September 9.—Coal and coke for the Guar-
dians. Forms from the clerk, 3, Sheet-street, Windsor.

Woolwich, September 19.—Coal and coke for the Wool-
wich Guardians. Forms from the clerk’s office, Plumstead.

Wrexham, September 13.—Coal for the Croesnewydd
Auxiliary Military Hospital. Forms from the matron.

The date given is the latest upon which tenders can
be received.

COAL, IRON AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES.
REPORTS AND DIVIDENDS.

Bolckow, Vaughan and Company Limited.—The directors
of Bolckow, Vaughan and Company Limited recommend
a final dividend of 8 per cent, on the ordinary shares,
naking 12 per cent, for the past year. The distribution
x<_' 1916-17 was similar to that proposed for the past year.

Browett, Lindley and Company Limited.—The directors
have decided to pay the following interim dividends to
June 30: Three per cent, full half-year’s dividend, on
preference shares, and a further 3 per cent, actual on
arrears of these shares; also an interim dividend of 4 per
cent, actual on ordinary shares.

Clyde Valley Electrical Power Company Limited.—
Interim dividend at the rate of 4 per cent, per annum on
the ordinary shares.

Ibbotson Bros, and Company.—The directors recommend
a final dividend of 6s. per share, making 10 per cent.,
tax free, for the year ended June 29, carrying forward
£42,405, including £38,264 brought in. With the single
exception of the year for 1914-15 (7^ per cent.) the divi-
dend has been 10 per cent, since 1908-9.

Lincoln Wagon and Engine Company Limited.—Interim
dividend of 7 per cent.

Metropolitan Coal Company of Sydney Limited.—The out-
put of coal was 180,504 tons (122,379 large and 58,125 small),
as against 192,442 tons the previous year. After payment
of debenture interest and other charges, and deducting
£3,000 for depreciation of buildings and plant, profit
amounted to £3,412; £17,087 was brought forward, making
£20,499. The directors propose to pay a dividend of 8 per
cent, on the first preference shares for the year to March
31, 1917, also a dividend of 8 per cent, for the past year,
and to carry forward £15,921. The directors regret that,
owing to the disastrous general strike in Australia in 1917,
the reasonable anticipations entertained of a prosperous
year have not been realised.

Muntz’s Metal Company Limited.—Interim dividend for
the half-year ended June 30 at the rate of 5 per cent,
per annum on the ordinary shares.

North British Locomotive Company Limited.—Dividend
on the preference shares of 2^ per cent, for the half-year
ended June 30.

Otis Steel Company Limited.—Interim dividend of 2£
per cent., less income tax, on the common stock.

Pearson and Knowles Coal and Iron Company Limited.—
The directors have decided to recommend the payment of
the usual half-year’s dividend at the rate of 6 per cent,
per annum on both the preference and second preference
shares, and a dividend of 6s. 6d. per share on the ordi-
nary shares, making 10 per cent, for the year, all less
tax. They also recommend a bonus on the ordinary shares
of 5s., free of tax.

Richardsons, Westgarth and Company Limited______The

report for 1917 states that the directors regret the scheme
of recapitalising recommended by the joint committee was
not adopted. The general position therefore remains un-
altered. The accounts show, after providing for estimated
liabilities, profit amounting to £141,403, to which must be
added £46,217 brought forward. The directors, after
writing off £145,000 for depreciation and £23,511 as esti-
mated excess capital expenditure in 1917 due to war con-

ditions, propose to pay two years’ arrears of preference
dividend in October.

United Steel Companies Limited.—The directors of the
United Steel Companies have declared a dividend at the
rate of 6 per cent, per annum on the cumulative preference
shares and at the rate of 10 per cent, on the ordinary
shares, less tax. They announce that the amalgamated
companies have not come to a settlement with the autho-
rities upon many arrangements existing between them, and
have found it impracticable to issue a balance sheet. They
have therefore decided to make the present distribution,
but do not propose to recommend any further dividend
for the period ended June last.

Windsor Steam Coal Company (1901) Limited.—Report
states that, after charging all expenses, including interest
on debentures, and bringing in amount reserved for excess
profits duty in previous accounts not now required, there
remains a balance for the year of £26,065, which with
the amount brought forward leaves a disposable balance of
£42,548. The directors propose to pay the dividend due
on the 10 per cent, first preference shares for the year
1916, leaving £35,055 to carry forward. As a substitute
for the profits standard which the company is applying
for has not yet been fixed, the amount receivable, if any,
under the provisions of the Coal Mines Control Agree-
ment (Confirmation) Act, 1918, cannot yet be ascertained,
and has not been taken into account.

NEW COMPANIES.

Frost (A.) and Company Limited.—Private company.
Registered August 30, to carry on the trade or business
of a colliery, iron works, railway, etc. Nominal capital,
£20,000 in 500 7| per cent, preference shares of £10 each
and 1,500 ordinary shares of £10 each. Directors:
A. Frost and W. Foxon.

Gawber Colliery Company Limited.—Private company.
Registered office, Eldon Buildings, Eldon-street, Barnsley.
Registered August 23. Objects indicated by title. Nominal
capital of £2,500 in 2,500 shares of £1 each. Director :
J. Smith. Qualification of director, £20.

Newcastle Graphite Company Limited.—Private com-
pany. Registered August 26. Objects indicated by title.
Nominal capital, £50,000 in 50,000 shares of £1 each.
Directors : F. Priestman, H. Peile, J. E. Davidson, H.
Harrison and S. Beeton.

North End Colliery (Cockfield) Limited.—Private1 com-
pany. Registered August 2, to acquire the colliery business
now carried on by W. Morrell at Cockfield, Durham, and
to open, win, work coal, coal mines and fireclay deposits,
etc. Nominal capital, £7,500 in 7,500 shares of £1 each.
Directors: W. Morrell and L. Dunn. Qualification of
directors, £200.

Redcliffe Foundry Limited.—Private company. Regis-
tered August 30, to carry on the business of founders of
copper, brass and other metals, etc. Nominal capital,
£1,000 in 1,000 shares of £1 each. Directors : W. H.
Welch and H. J. Rogers.

Turney (A. G.) Engineering Company Limited.—Private
company. Registered August 30. Objects indicated by
title. Nominal capital, £2,000 in 2,000 shares of £1 each.
Directors: J. Ismay and A. G. Turney. Qualification of
directors, £1. Remuneration of directors, £100.

This list of new companies is taken from the Daily
Register, specially compiled by Messrs. Jordan and Sons
Limited, company registration agents, Chancery-lane, E.C.

THE FREIGHT MARKET.

Although the continued shortage of official tonnage on
the north-east coast is still giving neutrals their chance
of fuel supplies, there is no improvement in the volume
of chartering for foreign destinations. Except for a
sailing vessel for Iceland at 175 kr., transactions this week
have been wholly restricted to Scandinavian destinations
at rates which have been well maintained. At South Wales
there is some scarcity of shipping, and chartering shows
no improvement in quantity. All the business done, ex-
cepting for a fixture to Dakar at 90s., has been for
scheduled destinations. At the €Jlyde a fixture for Para
at about 65s. is mentioned. There is no lack of orders
for the many unfixed-for ports, but neutral tonnage is
very scarce at all the loading centres of the kingdom.

Homewards, business at the River Plate is dull, with
neutral shipping still worth from 225s. from Buenos Ayres
to the United Kingdom and 250s. to France. At the
United States, coal freights from Virginia to South
America are quoted at from 80s. to, 82s. 6d., according
to destination. Tonnage is in good demand at the Pacific
ports for Japan, China and Australia. On the eastern
side there is an active demand for vessels. New York
is quoted at 230s. to Liverpool, 250s. to French Atlantic,
355s. to Marseilles, and 360s. to Western Italy. At the
Far East tonnage is very scarce. Kurrachee to the United
Kingdom is 250s., Bombay to Italy 400s., and Calcutta
to the United States 350s. The Mediterranean and Bay
ports are fairly active, with Bordeaux to Bristol Channel
at 18s., Bayonne to Bristol Channel 20s., Bilbao to
Boulogne 50s., and Huelva to Savannah with pyrites 40s.

Tyne to Christiania, 1,400, 184 kr.; Gefle, 2,600, 224 kr.;
and Gothenburg, 3,000, 195 kr; and 1,800, 200 kr.

Cardiff to Bordeaux, 1,200, 2,700 and 2,800, 69s., neutral;
1,300, 34s., Allied; Caen, 900, 48s., neutral; 1,200, 46s. 6d.,
neutral; Dakar, 3,500, 90s., Allied; Havre, 875, 47s. 3d.,
neutral; and Rouen, 700, 50s. 3d., neutral; and 1,100,
48s. 9d., neutral.

Swansea to Dublin, 300, 17s.; Havre, 700, 870 and 900,
47s. 3d., neutral; 1,100, 45s. 9d., neutral; Caen, 900, 700,
800, 48s., neutral; 1,150-1,200, 46s. 6d., neutral; St. Malo,
320, 420, 500 and 600, 45s., neutral; and Rouen, 1,500
and 1,800, 48s. 9d., neutral.

Glasgow to Para, about 65s.

Hartlepool to Reykjavik or Hannevik, 1,500, 175 kr.,
sail.

Later.—The following additional fixtures are reported to
have been arranged :—

Tyne to Gothenburg, 2,900, 1,955 kr.; London, 1,600,
17s.; and Port Said, 7,000, 200s.

Cardiff to Brest, 600, 46s. 6d., neutral; 1,800, 45s.,
neutral; ‘ Bordeaux, 2,850, 69s., neutral; Morlaix, 200,
80s., sail; and Rouen, 2,800, 47s. 9d., neutral.

Swansea to Caen, 600, 48s., neutral; Fecamp, 380-400,
48s. 9d., neutral; and Calais, 650-700, 53s. 3d., neutral.

Cardiff or Newport to Huelva, 2,600, 250s., neutral.

Conference of Local Authorities.—A conference of repre-
sentatives of local authorities in Cumberland was held
at Workington, last week, to consider the Household Fuel
and Lighting Order. It was decided that the President of
the Board of Trade and the Controller of Coal Mines be
requested to receive a deputation from that conference.

ABSTRACTS OF PATENT SPECIFICATIONS
RECENTLY ACCEPTED.

111674. Blast Furnace Skips. La Societe Jules Munier
et Cie., Frouard, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France.—Skips for
charging blast furnaces are often of cylindrical form with
a conical lower part closed at bottom by a cone carried
on the end of the rod that suspends the skip. When
the body of the skip comes to rest on the margin of the
throat of the furnace, which is normally closed by a
counter-weighted valve, the suspension rod continues to
descend with the conical bottom and, resting on the valve
that closes the throat, opens this valve so that the charge
falls into the furnace from the skip now open at bottom.
It is important that during this operation of discharging
the skip that the furnace gases should not be able to
escape through the skip. Thus the skip must be covered
before being opened at its bottom. When the skip returns
empty to the ground level it is necessary that it should
be separated from its cover, and that the suspension hook
should be disengaged to leave the empty skip and take
a charged one. This invention provides a single skip cover
and a suspension hook, the operation of which automatically
realises—(1) The covering and uncovering of all the skips,
each of the same form, necessary for the service of a
blast furnace; (2) the automatic hooking and unhooking
of the skips; (3) the foregoing operations being inde-
pendent of the operators of the trucks which bring up
the skips or of the operator of the elevator mechanism.
(Four claims.)

117659. Tipping Wagons, Trucks, Etc* H. A. Bartlett,
56, Victoria-street, Westminster, and London Improved
Motor Coach Builders Limited, 149, Lupus-street, West-
minster, S.W. 1.—This invention relates to improvements
in tipping wagons, trucks or the like for the transport
and tipping of sand, cement, breeze, coal, and any
materials, and is applicable to railway wagons and road
transport wagons, mechanically propelled or otherwise, it
being of the kind in which the body is arranged to tip
along its length, and which have two tipping centres to
facilitate the tipping to either side of the vehicle. The
body is provided with fixed ends front and rear, and the
sides are suitably hinged. To provide the tipping centres,
a sliding rod running along the length of either side of
the body framing is provided, which slides through guides
fixed to the vehicle framing. The tipping body framing
will carry at suitable intervals brackets with a slotted
eye or the like, which eye will allow the reduced section
of the rod to pass through and so release the body on
the side which is to be tipped. In the meantime the rod
on the opposite side serves as the hinge pin for the
body to tip upon. The main body frame may be pro-
vided with suitable metal chutes along either side to
prevent any fine material of the load from falling on to
the mechanism of the road vehicle with such type of body.
In the operation of the improved tipping body any suitable
gear is employed, arranged beneath the body and com-
prising a worm wheel and rack motion of similar arrange-
ment to operate the body, and no claim is made to this
feature per se. (Three claims.)

117637. Utilisation and Combustion of Fuel. G. Helps,
Manor Court, Nuneaton.—This invention relates to gas
or vapour-heated furnaces in which the heat is to be
applied to a tube or cylinder or oven, and has for its
object to burn the fuel in such a manner that its effi-
ciency is considerably improved. To obtain efficient heat-
ing—(1) The fuel should be completely utilised, and the
pipes for conveying the fuel should be arranged parallel
to the cylinder or oven, and all be in such proximity with
the cylinder that there is close flame contact, the flames
impinging directly on to the wall of the cylinder to be
heated at a right angle or near to it, thus covering the
wall with a thin film of flame. By close flame contact is
meant the close contact which can be obtained with a
coneless, or nearly coneless, flame. Coneless flames are
formed with the use of suitable burners when a dilute
hydrocarbon gas is burned as is described in Specification
No. 111495, or may be formed, or substantially so, when
burning ordinary coal gas or a vapour or other gas by a
suitable choice of burner. For this purpose the burner
head is so arranged that a single flame issues from a
number of orifices situated close together, as described
in Specification No. 111495, or proceeds from an annular
orifice. (2) The fuel should pass into each pipe through
nipples, and there should be the usual inlet for primary
air. (3) Means should be provided for preventing the
products of combustion from some of the burners inter-
fering with the combustion of the other burners. This
may be prevented in several ways or by a combination
of these ways—(a) By admitting primary air at a slight
pressure through a second minutely adjustable inlet;

(b)	by admitting secondary air to each burner head;

(c)	by admitting secondary air through tubes placed among
the burner heads, but it is not novel to supply secondary
air through tubes situated in the zone of combustion;

(d)	by providing a series of troughs in proximity to the
walls of the cylinder and arranging the fuel pipes in the
troughs. (4) The pipes or troughs should be mounted on
a carriage, or carriages, so as to be properly supported
and easily removed. (5) Utilising the products of com-
bustion which are still at a high temperature owing to
the comparatively small excess of cooling air it is neces-
sary to supply for combustion for heating water. When
the fuel employed is in the nature of producer gas which
is not usually burned in burners, or it is not desired to
so burn fuel, good results may be obtained by burning
the fuel in the troughs above mentioned without the
employment of a burner, or the burner may only extend
a short distance in the trough. (Ten claims.)

117690. Semi-rotary Pumps. J. Stone and Company
Limited, Deptford; A. Wells, 85, Baxter-avenue, South -
end-on-Sea; and A. Whitaker, 78, Vancouver-road, Forest
Hill.—The object of the present invention is to provide
against wear and consequently to increase the efficiency
of the pump by prolonging its working life, while also
decreasing the cost of manufacture. The working parts
are extremely simple, and they may be removed and re-
placed by unskilled labour. The type of semi-rotary pump
to which this invention refers comprises a cylindrically
bored casing or cylinder, oscillating wings furnished with
recesses extending from end to end, packing pieces or
strips fitting in the said recesses and means for forcing the
said packing pieces to engage with the walls of the casing.
When the piston wings are packed against the ends of the
casing by radial packing pieces in end recesses in the wings,
in addition to peripheral packing pieces pressed against the
cylindrical inner wall of the casing, these radial packing
pieces suitably break joint or intercalate with the peripheral
packing pieces in known manner. The wings are provided
with ports leading from the delivery side of the pump
chamber to the interiors of the packing-containing recesses
so that the pressure of the liquid may act on the packing
pieces to force them into intimate engagement with the