1306 ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. December 20, 1918. showing little or no improvement. Coal for domestic use continues to be in great request, but considerable delay occurs in executing the orders. Fuel for manufacturing purposes is in strong demand, and the pressure for cobbles and nuts is as great as ever. It is expected that several of the large steel works of Sheffield will have an extended holiday this Christmas The railways are very short of locomotive coal, and reserve stocks are still being drawn upon. Gas coal is very urgently wanted, but supplies continue scarce. Slack for steam-raising purposes is in brisk demand. The coke market is steady. Coking fuel is difficult to find. IRON. There is no change in the position. All the works continue to be well employed. _________________ Nottingham. COAL. In all branches of the trade the demand continues to exceed the supply, but the position generally is slightly easier. With the approach of Christmas the demand is very keen in the domestic fuel branch, local merchants pressing for fuller deliveries. The return of a number of miners from the Army is assisting the output, and supplies are improving somewhat. Steams are in very active request, particularly best grades, and manufacturing fuel is eagerly sought after by home consumers. Slacks are in good request. There is not quite so much pressure for coking grades as recently. Coke is in rather sparse supply. Contracts practically absorb the gas coal output. Prices at pithead. Hand-picked bright? ..... Good house coals......... Secondary do............. Best hard coals...__...... Secondary do ............ Slacks (best hards) ..... Do. (second) ....__.... Do. (soft) __......... .. Current prices. 25/ -26/ 24/ -25/ 22/6-23/6 22/ -23/- 21/ -21/6 18/ -19/ 16/6-17/6 16/ -17/ L’st week’s prices. | 25/-26/ i 24/ -25/ ' 22/6-23/6 , 22/ -23 j 21/ -21'6 18/ -19/ ! 16/6-17/6 { 16/ -17/ | Last year’s prices. 21/ -22/ 20/ -21/ 18 '6 -19/6 18 3-19/ 17/ -18/ 14/6-15/ 13/ -13/6 <13/ ________ _______ Leicestershire. COAL. Difficulties multiply, and the conditions are more strenuous than at any time during the war. The aggregate output is far below what had been expected, and at the same time the urgency in the demand is much greater in every direction. Very large numbers of miners are absent through influenza. Thousands of medical calls for extra coal cannot be even considered, much less met. Very drastic rationing is being enforced in every direction. Urgent calls from the South and West of England cannot be met. There is a great influx of calls for industrial fuel of every kind, and the supplies are utterly inadequate to meet them. Preference has to be given, as far as possible, to public works of great importance. For London and district minimum deliveries are insisted upon for house- hold, cobbles, large and small nuts, bakers’ nuts and small fuel for mechanical stokers, but it is impossible to maintain them day by day. Country merchants are working under the most severe conditions, with more irregular deliveries There are no reserves. The miners have decided to take a four days holiday. Prices at pit:— Best household coal ____..... Second, hand picked .... Deep screened cobbles ... Deep large nuts __...... Bakers’ nuts........____ Small nuts.............. Deep breeze ............ .. Peas ................... Small dust ............. Mam nuts for London kitcheners......... .... Steams, best hand picked Steams, seconds ........ Main cobbles for kitcheners Mam breeze.............. Current prices. 24/ -25/6 23/ -24/ 22/6-23/6 22/6-23 /6 21/6-22/6 21/ -22/ 20/ -21/ 19/6-19/9 13/6-14/6 20/ -21/6 20/6-21/6 19/6-21/ 20/ -21/6 19/9-20'6 L’st week’s prices. 24/ -25/6 23/ -24/ 22/6-23/6 22/6-23/6 21/6-22/6 21/ -22/ 20/ -21/ 19/6-19'9 13/6 14 6 Last year’s prices. 20/ -21/6 19/ -20/ 18/6-19/6 18'6-19'6 17/6-18/6 17/ -18/ 15/3-16/ 14'6-14'9 8/6- 9/6 20/ -21/6 20/6-21/6 19/6-21/ 20/ -21/6 19/9-20'6 16/ -17/6 16/6-17/6 15/6-17/ 16/ -17/6 14 9-15/6 __________________ South Staffordshire, North Worcestershire and Warwickshire. Birmingham. COAL. The mild weather has reduced consumption of house coal, though by no means to the extent of the reduced output caused by the influenza epidemic. A large pro- portion of the coal now used for household purposes would in the ordinary course have gone for manufacturing needs, and where it is of a quality inferior to that with which they have been hitherto supplied householders are asked to suffer the inconvenience. In order to tide over the difficult period which is expected between now and the end of the year merchants in’ the city have been requested by the Lord Mayor not to supply larger customers for a short period, except where wants are urgent, but to concen- trate on meeting the requirements of small consumers who purchase their supplies from coal yards or bag wagons. A further reduction in output is expected during Christmas. Rough slacks are very difficult to obtain, and the situation all round is unsatisfactory. Prices at pit:— Current L’st week’s Last year’s Staffordshire (including Cannock Chase) :— prices. prices. prices. House coal, best deep ... 24 6 24 6 24 6 Do. seconds deep 22/6 22/6 22/6 Do. best shallow 21/6 21/6 21/6 Do. seconds do. 20/6 20/6 20,6 Best hard 21/ 21/ 21/ Forge coal 18/6 18/6 18 6 Slack W arwickshire:— 13/6 13/6 13/6 House coal, best Ryder.. Do. hand-picked 21/6 i 1 21/6 21/6 cobs 20/6 i 20,6 20/6 Best hard spires 22/6 i 22/6 226 Forge (steam) 18/6 ■ 18,6 18/6 D.S. nuts (steam) 17/ 1 17/ 17/ Small (do.) 17/ 17/ 17/ IRON. The iron and steel trades are in the throes of the transi- tion period. Business on any large scale is suspended, in some branches there is a good deal of confusion. There are plenty of enquiries for civil work, much of which it is yet impossible to undertake by reason of the large quantity of official contracts awaiting completion. The Services continue to make heavy demands, apart from those brought about by the shipbuilding programme. The tube mills are an exception. There, Government contracts have in the main ceased, and there is much leeway to be made up in ordinary work. But conditions are unsettled, men have not returned from the Colours, and until labour supply has improved the trade will not be able to get into anything like full vitality. Bar makers have heavy commitments to work off. The export price of £20 for bars is probably based on the price of marked bars, which is <£17. The assumption is that a £3 duty has been put on all round, as an equivalent to the subsidies. There are some enquiries for galvanished sheets, but few firms are in a position yet to quote. The figure usually mentioned is in the neigh- bourhood of <£30 a ton. Sheet bars are available in larger quantities, although big orders continue to go through on Government account. There is a corresponding drop in the demand for plate shearings, which the sheet mills were glad to get during the long period of scarcity of bars. The steel mills have recently been issuing rolling programmes in respect to angles and tees, and small rounds, squares and flats. It is in keeping with the trend of events that the Midland Iron and Steel Wages Board should be called upon to consider a request from the operatives’ representatives for a reduction of hours. A reduction of hours, it is argued, will lead to the employment of more men, and greatly assist in the work of demobilisation ________ ________ Forest of Dean. Lydnoy. COAL. The position of the house coal trade of this district indi- cates little change on recent reports, and with the approach of the Christmas holidays and the continued restriction of output, the immediate prospect is by no means reassuring It is impossible to satisfy the demand, and all buyers have to go short of their requirements. A similar condition of things exists in the steam coal branch —the market con- tinuing very firm for all qualities. Prices at pithead. House coals.-— Block Forest Rubble Nuts Rough slack . Steam coal — Large > Large ... ■ Current prices. ; 30/ 19 6 L’st week’s prices. ; 30/ 19 6 'Last years prices, f 26/6 \ 25/6 J 25/9 C 24/ 15 6 26/6-27/6 23/ 26 6-27/6 1 23/ 22/6-23,6 18/ -19/ Small ... Prices 2s. l|d. extra f.o.b. Lydney or Sharpness. _______ Devon, and Cornwall, South Coast. Plymouth. COAL. Messrs. W. Wade and Son report that the supplies of house coal are coming on very slowly in Devon and Cornwall. Owing to the remoteness of this district from all the colliery centres, apprehension exists as to the imme- diate supplies of fuel. The merchants have been cut off from all their previous supplying colliery districts excepting the Forest of Dean, and lately the latter has bean much limited in its supplies. At present there is insufficient coal coming forward to last over the Christmas holidays, so that the west country is unprovided for. A few shipments of coal have been recently made for outh-western ports from the Mersey and Severn. _________________________ THE TIN-PLATE TRADE. Liverpool. There has been a big enquiry for neutrals account, but not much actual business, makers being as fully booked as they cared about with home and Allied orders, and there is not likely to be any change until more men are released and outputs increased. The controlled price is firmly maintained, and stands at 32s. 6d. per basis box for coke finish, net cash, f.o.t. at works. Wasters of all kinds are in big demand, and the top figure (31s. 6d. basis) is willingly paid. ___________________________ Minerals in Spitsbergen.—In an address on “ The Politi- cal Status of Spitsbergen,” which he delivered in the Royal Geographical Society’s Theatre, London, last week, Sir Martin Conway said the name of the island should be spelt Spitsbergen. All the part of the main island south of the Seven Glaciers was recognised as belonging to England throughout the seventeenth century. That area included the whole of the coal and mineral district now attracting attention. The north-west of the island be- longed unquestionably to the Dutch. Mr. H. G. Ponting, who recently visited Spitsbergen on behalf of the Northern Exploration Company, said he had seen great tracts of land where the coal seams could easily be traced by the eye. At Recherche Bay he tramped along the side of a mountain several miles long and some 1,500 ft. high, which seemed to be a solid mass of iron ore, so rich that a magnet held to the ground would pick up frag- ments of it. No shafts would be necessary, and the ore could be carried from the mountain side to the ship. The ore had been found to average over 65 per cent, of magnetic iron, which was twice as rich as any workable deposits known in the British Isles. Seventeen different kinds of minerals had been discovered, including gold- bearing quartz. In a letter to the Press, Mr. Ponting re- marks that there is now a great opportunity before Great- Britain to regain her lost supremacy in iron and steel. The coal and iron deposits already discovered on British territories in Spitsbergen are so vast as to be practically inexhaustible. Moreover, they are situated close to deep' water, in excellent harbours. The output of Spitsbergen coal in 1917 was over 100,000 tons, and 120,000 tons of shipping was employed continuously from May to October in transporting the coal to Norway—the price of coal at Tromso being £13 to £16 10s. per ton. THE WELSH COAL AND IRON TRADES. Thursday, December 19. Monmouthshire, South Wales, Ac. Newport. COAL. There has been more pressure than ever for coal of almost all descriptions. The output has been considerably restricted by the miners making polling day a holiday, and a number of unfortunate labour disputes in the districts. These disputes, resulting in the stoppage of work at only nominal notice, or without any pretence at notice, are becoming the despair of a large number of persons who seek to keep faith with customers in the South Wales coal trade All the better classes of coal are still requisitioned for official purposes, and scarcely any of the output of whatever kind, has found its way on free markets. Not- withstanding the fact that many ships have gone away light to bring homeward cargoes in preference to waiting indefinitely for outward coal cargoes, there has still been delay of many vessels. Small coal, through coal and screenings have been selling freely. House and gas coals have been in great request. Patent fuel has been selling as fast as it has been made. Prices for home and Allied markets f.o.b. cash 30 days. Neutrals extra. Steam coals:— Current prices. L’st week’s Last year’s prices. ! prices. Best Black Vein large... 37/ ' 37/ i 32/6 31/6 31/6 Western-valleys, ordin’y 36/ 36/ Best Eastern-valleys ... 36/ 1 36/ Secondary do. 35/ 35/ ' 30/6 Best small coals ., 28/ 27/ 28/ 23,6 Secondary do. ‘ | 27/- , 22 6 Inferior do ■; 25/ i 25/ 20/6 Screenings ...• 30/ 30/ ! 25/6 Through coals 34/ 37/ 34/ 29/6 Best washed nuts i 37/ 32/6 Other sorts:— ! Best house coal, at pit... | 40/ 40/ 35/6 Secondary do. do ' 38/ 38/ 33/3 Patent fuel ■ 37/ 37/ 32/6 Furnace coke | 52/ 52/ ! 47/6 Foundry coke 1 52/ 52/ ’ 47/6 IRON. The works in this district will soon take on peace con- ditions again. A good deal of dismantlement is necessary in some cases where special plant had been put in for the purpose of making munitions. The tin-plate trade con- tinues very active, there being many pressing orders. St-el has been available in larger quantities than formerly. A good deal of business has been done in scrap. The supply of iron ore continues to be satisfactory. Cardiff. COAL. Although many vessels which had arrived in the port for coal cargoes have been diverted elsewhere, there is no diminution in the pressure, and it is now evident that a considerable number of ships will not be able to sail before the holidays. The cessation of work on election day, as well as the local disputes at Bed was, Ebbw Vale, Cambrian Collieries and elsewhere, materially affected production, and it is estimated that the loss of output last week exceeded 800,000 tons. There are plenty of enquiries on the market, which would produce satisfactory results if only the coal were obtainable. Miners from the Army are being released freely, and a great number have reached their homes in the mining valleys. After the discipline of military service, they have not yet shown much desire to return to their civilian occupation, and there is no prospect of much relief from this source until after the Christmas holidays. The general position is that there is an acute shortage of all descriptions of coal, and even the Admiralty have had a difficulty in satisfying their requirements. As a consequence, there has not been any coal released for private trading, and the market con- tinues in a dormant condition; There have been other matters of interest to the trade. Perhaps the chief of these has been the Decree of the Italian Government creating the coal trade a State monopoly. This is resented by Cardiff exporters, from whom Italy took the bulk of her supplies, and they formed the Coal Exporters’ Association for defensive purposes. At a meeting on Tuesday, it was announced that steps were being taken to counter the blow, and that the British Foreign Office may be invoked to obtain a repeal of the Decree. The importance of the question may be gauged from the fact that in pre-war days the Italian State Railways were the biggest contractors outside the British Admiralty for South Wales coal. Certain agreements entered into with the Italian Supplies Committee since the outbreak of war have not been enforced, because it was felt that a rigid insistence on their provisions would imperil the interests of Italy in the war. Now that hostilities have been suspended, the exporters maintain that they are entitled to have the terms of the agreement carried out in their entirety, and this con- tention, it is said, has the sympathetic support of the President of the Board of Trade. From an international standpoint, the point of monopoly or free contracts is an important one, and the attitude of the South Wales exporters is such that they are not likely to abandon their opposition to the scheme, although com- pensation has been suggested. Another matter of interest is the appointment of Mr. Evan Williams as chairman of the owners’ side of the Conciliation Board. The position was held by Mr. Fred L. Davis since the Board was con- stituted, but owing to the Government control of wages, he in October last placed his resignation in the hands of the Board. Mr. Evan Williams is a past-president of the association, a member of the Commission who sat with Sir R. Redmayne to enquire into the Senghenydd explosion, and took a prominent part as chairman of the Owners’ committee on the minimum wage question. His appoint- ment is welcomed by the miners’ representatives on the ground that he is “ level-headed, fair-minded, and moderate in his views.” Such a commendation ought to go far in smoothing the difficulties which many people foresee in the coal trade in the future. One other matter which is likely to have an important bearing on coal shipments, is the fact that the coal tippers and trimmers on Sunday last decided to revert to pre-war conditions by immediately re-estab- lishing the one o’clock stop on Saturdays, which has been suspended during the war. It is, perhaps, worthy of comment to observe that, although notice of their intention was given to the various authorities and bodies interested, not a single word of protest was received either from official or civil sources. In the matter of prices the market remains unchanged. The Coal