1312 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. December 20, 1918. MEAN MAGNETIC DECLINATION at Kew Observatory; Richmond, in Degrees and Minutes, for each Two-hour Interval in the Week December 8 to 14, 1918. Magnetic character. - , ■ Intervals—Hours G.M.T. 0h.-2h. 14° + 2h.-4h. 14° + 4h.-6h. 14° + 6h.-8h. ; 14° + 8h.-10h 14° + 10h.-12h. 14° + 12h.-14h. 14° + 14h.-16h. 14° + ' 16h.-18h. 14° + 18h.-20h. ! 14° + 20h.-22h. 14° + 22h.-24h. . 14° + Mean for day. 14° + Sun., Dec. 8 2 Min. 36’5* Min. 38’0* Min. 45’0* Min. ! 50’5 Min. 51’0 Min. 54’5 Min. 58’0* Min. 53’0* Min. 47’5* Min. 44’5* Min. 39’5* Min. 36’5* Min. •16’0 Mon., ,, 9 2 45’0 48’0 47’0 48’0 48’0 51’5 51’5 47’5 44’5 39’0* 39’5* 43’0* 46’0 Tues., „ in 2 45 ’ 5 45’5 47’5 ’ 49’0 50’0 50’0 48’5* 46’0* 43’5* 44'5* 42’5 43’0 46’5 Wed., 11 9 45’5 45’0 46’5 47’5 46’5 47’0 48’5 45’0* 45’0* 39’5* j 40’5* 41’5* 45’0 Thurs., ,, 12 1 45'5 • 48’0 48’0 47’0 45’5 i 47’0 48’0 47’5 46’5 ! 43’5 1 43’5 { 44’0 46’0 Friday, „ 13 2 45’5 47’0 47’0 ; 46’5 46’0 ■ 48’0 50’0 47’5 42’5* ! 45’0* ; 39 0* 43’0 45’5 Sat., „ 14 1 45’0 46’0 1 46’5 I 46’5 I 48’0 48’0 49’0 49’0 48’0 ; 46’0 44’5 1 43’5 46’5 Diurnal ine- quality (i.e., Dec. 1917 Ih. 2h. -0’7 -0*8 3h. 4h. -0’6 -0’3 5h. 6h. -0’5 —0'7 7h. 8h. -1’1 -1’8 9h. lOh. -2’6 -1’3 llh. 12h. + 0’5 +2’2 > 13h. llh. ' + 3’6 +3’6 15h. 16h. + 3’0 +2’0 17h. 18h. + 0’8 +0’3 19h. 20h. 0’0 -0’5 21h. 22h. -1’3 -1’8 23h. 24h. -1’2 -0’8 Mean value for month. 14° 55'*5 Dec. T7 departure from Xo V.19P —0’9 -0’G -0’3 -0’2 -0’9 -1’3 — 1’4 -1’6 -1’6 -0’1 + 2’4 +4’3 + 4’4 +3’8 + 2’9 +2’1 + 1’0 -0’1 -0’9 - 1’6 —2’4 -2’6 -2’6 -T8 14° 46'’9 Nov/18 mean value for No v.1917 -0’9 -10 -0’6 -0’3 -0’7 -1’2 -1’9 -2’8 -2’9 -1’5 + 1’4 +3’1 + 3’3 +3’2 + 2’8 +2’0 + 0’8 +0’3 0’0 -0’1 -0’7 —0’9 -0’8 -0’9 4° 56'‘6 Nov.T7 day) The day is counted from Oh. (midnight) to 2 th. (mi inight) G.M.T. Character “ 0” means a day wholly free from any but small disturbanes. 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 nomad 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 V of the normal. On a day of character i( 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 “ 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 curves. * Large disturbances during this interval. Meteorological Office, Decem ber 18. COAL, IRON AND ENGINEERING COMPANIES. REPORTS AND DIVIDENDS. Atlas Steal Foundry and Engineering Company Limited. —Profit for year to September E0, after making provision for excess profits duty and income tax, amounts to £1 1,156 ; £9,342 was brought forward, less payments for munitions levy, excess profits duty, directors’ fees and management commission, making £12,100, which the direc- tors propose to apply as follows : For depreciation, £2,500 ; to general reserve account, £2,000 ; in payment of a dividend of 10 per cent., free of income tax, £2,489; balance carried forward, £5,111, subject to directors’ fees and management commissions. Capital outlay has been of a moderate character, and the works and plant have been maintained in efficient condition. Channel Steel Company Limited.—The report covering the period from the date of incorporation (September 26, 1917) to September 30 last states that the liquidation of the Channel Collieries Trust is practically concluded, and progress is being made in the liquidation of Kent Col- lieries Limited and its predecessor in title. Owing to abnormal conditions consequent upon the war, it has not been possible to arrange for the resumption of operations under the new circumstances. Cleveland Bridge and Engineering Company Limited.— The report for the year ended September 30 shows a gross profit, after providing for excess profits duty, of £43,492, and after payment of interest on debentures and pro- vision for depreciation there is a balance of £35,759, which, added to £5,637 brought forward, makes £41,396. Interim dividends were paid in June on preference and ordinary shares, amounting to £3,424, and there remains £37,972. The directors recommend a dividend of 7^ per cent., free of tax, on ordinary shares, making, with interim 10 per cent., tax free, for the year, £7,500; directors’ fees, £1,400, and to carry to reserve fund £25,000, leaving to carry forward £3,210. In view of the higher level of prices and the large amount of reconstruction work to be done during the next few years, the directors recommend the issue of the remainder of the ordinary share capital author- ised—namely, 5,000 shares of £10 each—and to offer it to the shareholders at par in the proportion of one new share for every two held. The works are likely to be as fully employed during the current financial year as the number of men available will permit. Deal and Walmer Coal Field Company Limited.—For the two years 1916 and 1917 expenses were £4,848, and receipts £143. Head, Wrightson and Company Limited.—Five per cent. (5s. per share), less tax, on ordinary shares (interim), payable January 8 (coupon 29). Last year, dividend same. Kayser, Ellison and Company Limited.—Interim divi- dend on the ordinary shares of 2s. 6d. per share, free of tax, for the six months ending December 31. Kent Coal Concessions Company Limited.—Expenses for 1916 and 1917 were £42,600. The surplus of £77,858 brought forward was reduced to £74,892. Redpath, Brown and Company Limited. — The total available balance is £86,643. The directors recommend £40,000 to the general reserve, and a dividend of 8 per cent, and 7 per cent, bonus on the ordinary, both free of tax, leaving £13,418 to be carried forward. South Eastern Coal Field Extension Company Limited. —The accounts for 1916 and 1917 show that the adverse balance of £9,594 brought forward was increased to £20,028. Tinsley Park Colliery Company Limited.—Dividend of 7^ per cent, net, making 12-^- per cent, for the year. The report mentions that an agreement has been made for the Sheffield Gas Company to take the surplus gas from the company’s coke ovens. Warwickshire Coal Company Limited.—Accounts for the year ended June 30 show that £20,520 was debited to revenue account during the year, increasing the debit balance to be carried forward to £35,777. Last year £1,709 was credited to revenue account, leaving a debit balance of £15,256, which was carried forward. Wigan Coal and Iron Company Limited.—The directors of the Wigan Coal and Iron Company Limited state that they had hoped, ere this, they would have been able to present balance sheets for 1916 and 1917, but they have not yet succeeded in determining the amount of excess profits duty and the munitions levy. An ordinary meet- ing will be held on December 23 for the purpose of sanctioning the dividend paid in February, and also the interim dividend, the two together making 10 per cent., free of tax, for 1917. Witbank Colliery Company Limited.—Profit for year to August 31, £99,371. Dividend 27^ per cent., against 25 per cent, for previous year; forward, £102,063. NEW COMPANIES. Balfour (Arthur) and Company (Africa) Limited.— Private company. Registered December 7, to act as agents for the sale in Africa of steel tools, and carry on the business in any part of the world of steel and iron manufacturers, etc. Nominal capital, £5,000 in 5,000 shares of £1 each. Directors : A. Balfour, H. E. Hollis, R. W. Marshall, S. Meggitt, and H. M. Fisher. Re- muneration of directors to be voted by company. British Spiro Turbine Limited. — Private company. Registered December 9, to acquire inventions and letters patent relating to rotary engines, etc. Nominal capital, £50,000 in 50,000 shares of £1 each. Directors: Sir W. E. Garforth, G. M. Bles, J. Lethgoe, and T. Bordall. Quali- fication of directors, 100 shares. Remuneration of direc- tors, £50; chairman, £100. Coates (E.) and Company Limited.—Private company. Registered December 7. Registered office: Craven House, Kingsway, London. To acquire the business of iron- founders and mechanical engineers. Nominal capital, £10,000 in 10,000 shares of £1 each. Directors : E. Coates and W. E. Preston. Qualification of directors, 100 shares. Remuneration of directors, £30 each; chairman, £100; managing director, £500. Coladid Limited.—Private company. Registered De- cember 5. Registered office : 10, Fenchurch Buildings, London. To acquire coal mines, iron mines and other mines, mining grounds and minerals, etc. Directors to be appointed by subscribers. Remuneration of directors to be voted by company. Subscribers : E. Ashburne and G. L. Lechien. English Electric Company Limited.—Registered office : 3, Abchurch-yard, London, E.C. A nominal capital of £5,000,000 in £1 shares (1,500,000 6 per cent. pref, and 3,500,000 ordinary). To carry on the business of elec- trical, mechanical, hydraulic and general engineers and contractors. The first directors are : C. T. Cayley (chair- man of Dick, Kerr and Company Limited), B. A. Firth (chairman of Thomas Firth and Sons Limited), W. Ruther- ford (managing director of Dick, Kerr and Company Limited), J. Sampson (director of John Brown and Com- pany Limited), P. J. Pybus (managing director of Phoenix Dynamo Company Limited), Col. J. H. Mansell (managing director of Coventry Ordnance Works Limited, A. Gracie, Fairfield Works, Glasgow, W. L. Hichens (chairman of Cammell, Laird and Company Limited), and C. E. Ellis, Rampton Manor, Notts. Qualification of directors, £1,000. Remuneration of direc- tors, £250 each per annum, with £100 extra for the chair- man and, if the directors so determine, for the deputy chairman. Mitchinson (T.) Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered December 9. Registered office : 1, St. Lawrence- road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. To acquire and carry on the business of engineer and general smith. Nominal capital, £4,000 in 4,000 shares of £1 each. Directors: E. R. New- bigin and H. A. Haslam. Qualification of directors, 100 shares. Remuneration of directors to be voted by Com- pany. Silica Properties Limited.—Private company. Regis- tered December 9. Registered office: Albion House, 59-61, New Oxford-street, London. To acquire mineral proper- ties and carry on the business of merchants, manufac- turers, exporters and importers, etc. Nominal capital, £10,000 in 8,000 ordinary shares of £1 each, and 40,000 deferred shares of Is. each. Directors to be appointed by subscribers. Qualification of directors, one share. Re- muneration of directors to be voted by company. Sub- scribers : M. Howard and L. W. Munday. 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. GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS. *** Any of the following publications may be obtained on application at this office at the price named post free. Colonial Reports, Annual. No. 972 : Hong Kong. Re- port for 1917. October 1918. (London : Published by H.M.S.O.) Price 2d. net. Colonial Reports, Annual. No. 976 : British Guiana. Report for 1917. November 1918. (London: Published by H.M.S.O.) Price 2d. net. Explosives in Coal Mines Order of November 28, 1918. St. R. and O., No. 1,487. (London : Published by H.M.S.O.) 2d. net. Ministry of Reconstruction : Juvenile Employment During the War and After. (London : Published by H.M.S.O.) Price 8d. net. Partnership Dissolved.—The London Gazette announces dissolution of the partnership of J. R. Gibbs and G. Lee, trading as Gibbs and Lee, steamship managers, pitwood and coal merchants, etc., Pier Head Chambers, Cardiff; also of G. W. Lester (who continues the business) and S. E. Herrtage, trading as Herrtage, Lester and Com- pany, electrical engineers, 4, Queen-street-place, London, E.C. THE FREIGHT MARKET. Business in the outward chartering market this week has been almost exclusively confined to Allied destina- tions at scheduled rates of freight. The coal ou.put of the country is still so far short of the full requirements on Government, Allied and inland accounts that Jiere is nothing to spare lor neutrals, and a very general embargo on exports to neutral destinations is being placed by the authorities. On the north-east coast, prior to the Coal Controller’s Order suspending shipments to Holland, Sweden and Denmark, a couple of fixtures for Swedish ports were arranged at 52£ kr. to Gothenburg and 70 kr. to Stockholm. The only other neutral arrangements that have been made are in the case of two fixtures for Christiania at the now accepted rate of 25 kr. The coast- ing market is very weak, with an abundance of tonnage on offer and rates down to 14s. to London. At South Wales the position is similar, and the only neutral fixture mentioned is one for the River Plate at 70s. Several fix- tures of small vessels for Irish ports have been arranged at about 17s. to Dublin, 18s. to Belfast, and 19s. to Passage West. The general outlook in the coal market is such as to preclude the probabiity of much neutral business being done for some time to come. Homewards, there is not much doing at the River Plate, and rates are mentioned at 62s. 6d. for steamers and 60s. for sailers from the lowrer ports to the United Kingdom. At the United States, Northern Range to the United Kingdom on net form of charter is steady at the figures not id last week. Gulf rates also are well maintained. Coal freights are unaltered. The demand for vessels at the Mediterranean and Bay ore ports is rather less, and rates are falling. For example, Bordeaux to Cardiff has been done at 15s. There is a fairly active request for tonnage on time charter, and about 20s. is the value men- tioned for long periods of general trading, although an 8,000-tonner is reported to have been taken at 18s. for a three years engagement. Tyne to Christiania, 2,600 and 3,100, 25 kr.; Gothen- burg, 1,800, 52^ kr.; and Stockholm, 2,100, 70 kr. Cardiff to Brest, 4,000, 35s., neutral; Lannion, 160 and 200, 41s., sail; Nantes, 2,000-2,200, 46s. 6d., neutral; River Plate, 4,500, 70s., neutral; Rouen, 1,200, 1,250 and 1,500, 38s. 9d., neutral; 1,150-1,200, 19s. 6d., Allied; 900, 23s., Allied; St. Nazaire, 2,500, 46s. 6d., neutral; St. Brieux, 160 and 220, 41s., sail; St. Malo, 500, 80s., neutral motor vessel; 980, 17s., British; 900, 17s., Allied; and Tonnay Charente, 500, 28s., Allied. Swansea to Belfast, 300, 18s.; Caen, 1,100 and 1,400, 36s. 6d., neutral; 700, 800 and 900, 38s., neutral; Dublin, 400, 17s.; Havre, 1,200 and 1,300, 35s. 9d., neutral; 670-700, 37s. 6d., neutral; Passage West, 400, 19s.; Rouen, 900-980 and 700, 40s. 3d., neutral; 1,250, 1,300, 1,050- 1,200 and 1,800-1,850, 38s. 9d., neutral; St. Brieux, 300- 310 and 400-430, 39s. 6d., neutral; St. Nazaire, 2,000, 46s. 6d., neutral; and Trouville, 730, 38s., neutral. Newport to Rouen, 1,400, 38s. 9d., neutral. Later.—The following additional fixtures have been reported :— Tyne to Lisbon, 800 and 3,600, 60s.; and London, 1,300, 12s. Cardiff to Brest, 1,200, 17s., Allied; Cherbourg, 1,200, 37s. 3d., neutral; Honfleur, 800, 38s., neutral; La Pallice, 1,900, 46s. 6d., neutral; Nantes, 1,700, 46s. 6d., neutral; River Plate, 980, 70s., British; Rouen, 900, 40s. 3d., neutral; and 1,200, 38s. 9d., neutral; and St. Malo, 700- 750, 35s., neutral. Swansea to Belfast, 320, 18s., British; and Dublin, 480, 17s., British. Fowey to New York, about 3,000, 24s., china clay, December. It will be observed that the Tyne-London rate is receding rapidly. PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED. The Journal of the Chemical, Metallurgical and Mining Society of South Africa, Vol. 19, No. 3, September 1918, price 3s. single copy; The South African Journal of Industries, Vol 1, No. 13, September 1918 (Pretoria: Government Printing and Stationery Office), price 6d.; Power : Its Significance and Needs, by C. G. Gilbert and J. E. Pogue, Smithsonian Institution, United States National Museum Bulletin 102, Part 5 (Washington : Government Printing Office, 1918); The Mining Maga- zine, Vol. 19, No. 6, London, December 1918, price Is.; The Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry, Vol. 10, No. 12, December 1, 1918, 6 dols. per year; Bearna Journal, Ano 11, No. 4 (December) (London : King’s House, Kingsway, W.C. 2). A statement has been published to the effect that arrangements are being made in Paris to hold there early in the new year a conference representative of the French iron, steel, metal and coal mining industries, to consider measures for combating enemy enterprise in foreign markets.