926 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. November 1, 1918. LABOUR AND THE ELECTION. The miners are hoping to have a "quorum of members” sitting in the next Home of Commons. They have already 47 candidates accepted for con- stituencies and endorsed by the Labour Party execu- tive, and under their Parliamentary representation scheme a further eight candidates may be adopted. There are, in addition, Mr. G. J. Hancock, M.P., secre- tary of the Notts Miners’ Association, who is con- testing the Belper division of Nottingham; Mr. Barnet Kenyon, M.P., of the Derbyshire Miners’ Association, who is again fighting the Chesterfield division; and Mr. C. B. Stanton, M.P., the former miners’ agent for Aber dare, who is fighting for the Aberdare division of the Merthyr boroughs. There is one internecine conflict. The Durham Miners’ Association has nominated Mr. J. Batey, of the Spennymoor division, in opposition to Mr. S. Galbraith, M.P., who was the former treasurer of the association. Mr. Robert Smillie, president of the Miners’ Federation, has been nominated for the Hamilton division of Lanarkshiie, but is unlikely to go to the poll, as his election to the presidency of the Miners’ Federation is regarded as assured, and there is a clause debarring the president from being a candidate or a member of Parliament. The following is the complete list of the Fede* ation candidates:— Yorkshire.—Aid. W. Grundy, Bother Vale; Aid. J. Guest, Hemsworth; W. Lunn, Bothwell; Fred Hall. M.P., Normanton ; E. Hough, Don Valley ; G. H. Hurst-, Wentworth; Isaac Burns, Pontefract. Lancashire and Cheshire.— S. Walsh. M.P., Ince; J. E. Sutton, M.P., Clayton; T. Green all, J.P., Farn- worth; J. McGurk, J.P.. Darwen; H. Twist. J.P., Wigan. Midland Federation.—S. Finney, M.P., Burslem; T. Biley, Lichfield. Derbyshire.—Frank Lee, J.P., North-east Derbyshire; Frank Hall, J.P., Clay Cross. Nottinghamshire.—W. Carter, Mansfield; G. A. Spencer, Broxtowe. Group No. 1.—Harry Dack, Cleveland; T. Morris, Oswestry. Group No. 2.—Captain E. Gill, Frome. Scotland.—Bight Hon. W. Adamson, M.P., West Fife; B. Smillie, Hamilton; John Bobertson, Bothwell; James Brown, South Ayrshire; J. Gold. South Mid- Lothian; B. Smith, North Ayr and Bute; Duncan Graham, North Lanark. South Wales.—Vernon Haitshorn, Ogmore; Bight Hon. T. Bichards, Ebbw Vale; C. Edwards, Bedwellty; Bight Hon. W. Abraham, Bhondda West; Major Watts Morgan, D.S.O., Bhondda East; Bight Hon. W. Brace, Abertillery; A. Onions, Caerphilly; J. Winstone, Merthyr; J. Williams, Gower. Northumberland.—E. Edwards, Wansbeck ; J. Cairns, Morpeth; J. Chapman, Wal’send. Durham.—Aid. B. Bichardson, Houghton-le-Spring ; J. Herriotts, Sedgefield; W. Whiteley, Blaydon; J. Batey, Spennymoor; T. Neville, Durham ; J. Swan, Barnard Castle ; J. Lawson, Seaham. LETTERS TO THE EDITORS. The Editors are not responsible either for the statements made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents. All communications must be authenticated by the name and address of the sender, whether for publication or not. No notice can be taken of anonymous communications. As replies to questions are only given by way of published answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped addressed envelopes are not required to be sent. HUMIDITY FORMULAE. Sirs.—Re formulae on ] age 140 of the Colliery Managers' Pocket Book, 1918. in giving the values of n (formula 8) you give four conditions, viz.:—When F —f is not greater than 4°; when F — f is greater than 4°; when F — f is less than 8°; when F —/is more than 8°: but you only give three values of n, viz.:—1, 2, and 3. Could you give me the values for the four respective conditions ? I suppose I need not doubt the figure 6*2 in the same formula. It is not meant to be 62 as in the formula (5) ? Would you kindly confirm that in formula (5) the F2 + becomes F2—when F is less than 62°; thus, t ake F = 60°. ■ . __ F2 + a? (F —62)2 R __F2 + & (60 —62)2 A 30,000 ~ 30,000 F2+«(-2)2 F2-4a? B “ 30,000 B “ 30,0b0 In this formula I suppose I need not doubt the value 2 ” of x when F is greater than 62 ? It is not meant for i I suppose, to correspond with the Formula (6) shows that moisture, or water vapour, in air is 1'6 times as heavy as the moisture it disp’ace*. Would you tell me how it is that the barometer stands higher in dry air than in moist? One would think the reverse would be the case, seeing that the moisture is heavier than the air. Does not the moisture act upon the mercurial column nor upon the discs of an aneroid barometer? Would not a barometer register any pressure in an atmosphere of vapour only ? “ Inquirer.” The writer of the article referred to states that our correspondent’s difficulties appear to be principally of a mathematical kind. (1) [n the Pocket Book only three cases are named, not four as he supposes ; they are : (a) When F — /] < 4°, then n= 1. (b) When [F —/] lies between 4° and 8°, n = 2. (c) When [F — J J > 8°, then n = 3. (2) So far as any figures can be said to be “ correct ” in a professedly approximate formula, the figures 62, 6'2, J and 2 are correct, as printed. (3) Whether (F — 62) be plus or minus, its square is a plus quantity, as all familiar with algebra are aware. Thus, (60 — 62)2a? = (— 2)2 x = 4- 4x; to quote the same figuies as those used by “ Inquirer.” (4) The last difficulty of your correspondent is also mathematical. To use the same notation as that used in the Pocket Book :— The weight of a cubic foot of dry air is w grains. The weight of a cubic foot of saturated air is (w — A) grains. And it contains 1'6 A grains of moisture. Hem e, the weight of air still remaining is x, and x ~ (w — A) — 1'6 A = w — A — 1'6 A. .*. x — w — 2'6 A Hence, the air displaced = 2'6 A grains, And the moisture added = 16 A grains. Difference = A Thus, every 8 grains of moisture added, displaces 13 grains of air, approximately. Hence, moist air (cet. par.) is always lighter than dry air. This is why the drier air gives the higher barometer. To answer the last question in the letter, the barometer in an atmosphere of vapour only, having the same height as the normal atmosphere, would register about eight-thirteenths of the standard barometer, say about 18} J inches of mercury. LAW INTELLIGENCE. JUDICIAL COMMITTEE OF THE PRIVY COUNCIL. October 21-22. (Present—Lord Sumner, Lord Parmoor, and Lord Wrenbury.) German Coaling Vessels. Procurator-General in Egypt v. Deutsche Kohlen Depot Gesellschaft.—Cross-appeals were lodged relative to a judgment of the Supreme Court for Egypt in Prize, by which certain tugs, motor boats, lighters and other craft, the property of the Deutsche Kohlen Company, were declared to have belonged at the time of seizure to enemies of the Crown, and to have been properly seized as good and lawful prize. The Court had directed that the vessels should be detained until further orders. The Crown asked for condemnation and confiscation. The company sub- mitted that the craft should not be condemned or detained. It was stated that the Deutsche Kohlen Company (now in liquidation) was a German corporation at Hamburg, and it had a branch at Port Said which supplied coal to passing steamers. Part of the business was carried on under an agreement with the British Coaling Depots Limited at Port Said. The company had four tugs, seven motor boats, and 74 wood and steel lighters, which it used in its business. None was registered in the German mercantile marine, and the company argued that they were exempt under the Eleventh Hague Convention. Judgment reserved. SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE. COURT OF APPEAL.—October 23. (Before Lord Justice Bankes, Lord Justice Warrington, and Lord Justice Scrutton.) Insurance and Floating Mines. Stoomvaart M. Sophie II. v. Merchants' Marine Insu- rance Company Limited.—The Court dismissed this appeal from a decision of Mr. Justice Bailhache, who had decided in favour of defendants. The plaintiffs claimed £500 and £1,000 on two policies of insurance effected for one year from January 30, 1914, with the defendants on the hull and on the freight of a steamship called the “ Alice II.,” which was sunk by a drifting mine after taking a cargo of coal from Hull to Petrograd in July 1914. The vessel was sunk by drifting mines, supposedly Russian. The plaintiffs argued that such an accident was governed by the exceptions clause in the policies, which specially covered loss through explosions, riots, or other causes. The defendants relied upon a warranty clause which made a proviso regarding the “ consequences of hostilities.” Their lordships upheld the view of Justice Bailhache that the explosion was a consequence of hostilities indi- cated in the warranty cause, and dismissed the appeal. October 29. Question of Boys’ Wages. Edwards v. Ton Phillip Rhondda Colliery Company.— The matter came before the Court on the appeal of the plaintiff, Mr. Trevor Edwards, of Bridgend, from a judg- ment given in the Divisional Court affirming a decision of County Court Judge Lloyd Morgan, at Neath, and raised a question as to the construction of the coal field conciliation agreement. The plaintiff Edwards had been paid in accordance with a scale of wages for boys, and the secretary of the Miners’ Union in August 1917 wrote a letter claiming that Edwards, who was then 18 years of age, was entitled to be paid on the scale laid down by clause 2 of the agreement, 5s. a day as a workman, and other payments. The County Court judge came to the conclusion upon the construction of the agreement that the plaintiff was not a workmen even though he did work which had at different times been done by men, and that he was not entitled to be paid at. the same rate as workmen under the agreement. The Divisional Court affirmed the decision of the County Court judge. From this decision the plaintiff now appealed. Lord Justice Bankes said the plaintiff had not provided sufficient material to obtain a decision in his favour. He had not shown that he was entitled to be classed as a surface worker, or that there was. any standard of wage in the agreement that applied to him. The Court unanimously dismissed the appeal, with costs. HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE. KING'S BENCH DI VISION.—October 29. (Before Mr. Justice Roche.) A German Raider’s Victim—Roura and Forgas v. Townend and Others.—The plaintiffs in this case claimed against a number of underwriters for loss on a policy of marine insurance on the profit on the charter of the Spanish steamer “ Igotz Mendi,” which, while carrying coal from Delagoa Bay to Colombo, was captured by the German raider “ Wolf.” The plaintiffs were interested in a policy of marine insurance dated November 7, 1917, for £30,000. The policy was on profit on charter against total loss and/or constructive total loss of steamer only. The policy provided against the usual perils of the seas. The plaintiffs alleged that the profit on the charter became a total or constructive total loss by insured perils. Alternatively, they alleged that the commercial adven- ture contemplated by the charter became impossible, and was abandoned. By their defence the defendants alleged that in the events which happened the. vessel came bapk into the hands of the owners before this action was brought, and that therefore there had not been either actual or constructive total loss. They also alleged that no notice of abandonment had been given. The vessel stranded on the coast of Denmark, and the German prize crew left it. The vessel was got off, and after some repairs it returned to Spain. Mr. Justice Roche reserved his decision at the close of the case on Thursday. BOOK NOTICES. International Mercantile Diary and Year Book, 1919. By A. M. Pooley. 259 pp. Syren and Shipping Limited, 91-93, Leadenhall-street, London, E.C. Price 5s. net. The utility of this work of reference (“ the decimal book ”) is too obvious to need much comment. The infor- mation (except in- relation to those unfortunately circum- stanced countries, Russia and Roumania) has been revised and extended. The mercantile information has been mate- rially increased, and as all details have been corrected down to September 1918, the Diary may be regarded as a trustworthy guide. It deals with money, measures, freights, interest, and a great miscellany of other important matters. The Elements of Coal Mining. By Daniel Burns. 236 pp. 7^x4^ in. 113 illustrations. London : Edward Arnold. 1917. Price 3s. 6d. net. This handbook by the Professor of Mining in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow, is intended for the intelligent young miner who aspires to qualify for a Government certificate as a stepping stone to progressive advancement in his career. The subject is treated in a logical way, the first 50 pages being, in fact, a primer of geology into which a larger amount of information has been packed than, the ordinary student would be capable of digesting without the assistance of lectures and class demonstration. This portion, however, is very clearly explained, and will form an excellent text-book to supplement lecture notes. Pro- ceeding to the consideration of mining processes, the student is introduced in turn to the various processes of boring and shaft-sinking, which are illustrated by some excellent drawings and photographs. The chapter dealing with this subject is somewhat concise, but gives, never- theless, an admirable account of the main principles in- volved. The same may be said for the author’s treatment of methods of working, in which appropriate reference is made to the use of coal-cutting machinery and mechani- cal conveyors. Methods of supporting roof and sides are next described in a clear and concise way. There is some- thing here which every working miner should know, for inattention to these matters has caused more loss of life than the most impressive colliery explosions. An insight into the physics of mine gases and the principle of the safety lamp is followed by an important chapter on mine ventila- tion, containing clearly drawn diagrams of various types of fans and the laws governing the motion of air currents in the mine. Not much space has been taken up with mine explosions, but attention is directed to the pre- vention of dust explosions and spontaneous combustion. A brief but necessary reference is also made to the pre- cautions necessary to prevent irruptions of water. The following chapters are concerned chiefly with mining tools and appliances. This section is copiously illustrated, and a particularly striking photograph of a spiral winding drum by Messrs. Barclay, of Kilmarnock, is given. The last chapters deal with the preparation of coal for the market, including screening, picking belts, coal washers, coking and briquette making. A short discussion of prices and markets is not at all out of place here, for the young miner cannot be too well provided with a sound basis of economics as an antidote to the poisonous non- sense too often disseminated respecting the profits of coal mining. A brief reference to mining legislation and its objects, a useful glossary, and an index which is perhaps too short, complete a really excellent text-book which, both from the attractiveness with which it has been got up and the value of the information it affords, cannot fail to maintain a high position as a miner’s guide to knowledge. THE BY-PRODUCTS TRADE. Tar Products.—The export position regarding pitch has been made clearer by the announcement that the Inter-Allied Chartering Executive will authorise the continuing of the chartering of neutral motor vessels (for account of the French Government) for pitch on certain terms, namely, vessels may be fixed in the open market up to the end of February next at not exceeding 85s. to North France, but charterers and conditions to be subject to approval. Charterers are to have the benefit of any reduction in war risk premiums based on present value and rate to be pa^d, which are to be declared in the charter-party. Recent fixtures which have come under notice relate to three small vessels engaged to convey pitch to North France. Thus two sailing vessels of 130 tons each have been chartered at 57s. 6d., Southampton to St. Malo. A later fixture is reported—Tyne to North French port, 475 tons, 80s. The latter is one of the highest figures published regarding pitch charters for the North of France. Assume that the pitch price is over 40s. the ultimate cost to the consumer is uncommonly stiff. In the market generally there is very little change. Having regard to the home and foreign demand it is easy to see why pitch in London has been a strong proposition at 65s. ex works, even under export licensing restrictions Quota- tations are firm in other areas. A market for tar always exists, and if peace comes soon a move for contracts is probable, subject to an easing of the licensing restrictions. Solvent naphtha is in steadv demand, and crude naphthalene has been going well. The refined sort is rather dull. Crude carbolic is wanted, and not too much of it is available at present. Creosote is steady. The position regarding other by-products is unchanged. Sulphate of Ammonia.—Supplies are still in demand at'schedule prices. The Institution of Electrical Engineers will hold a meeting on November 7, commencing at 6 pm., at the Institution of Civil Engineers, Great George-street, West- minster. Mi. L. B. Atkinson will deliver the tenth Kelvin lecture on 11 The Dynamical Theory of Electric Engines.” On November 21 Mr. J. H. Shaw will deliver an address on “ The Use of High Pressure and High Temperature Steam in Large Power Stations.”