36 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. January 3, 1913. Black, Airdrie, read a paper on “ Some Notes on Winding Controllers, with a Description of the Rosehall Over- speeding and Overwinding Prevention Gear.” The author at the outset remarked that less than 12 months ago controllers for winding engines were, comparatively speaking, few in number and little understood, but since the passing of the Mines Act, 1911—which stipulated that if a shaft was more than 100 yards in depth the winding machinery should be provided with an effective automatic contrivance to prevent overwinding—numerous controllers had been placed in the market, and most of them exhibited in a high degree the inventive skill of the mechanical engineers associated with mining. In the course of the paper, which gave rise to a long discussion, Mr. Black gave it as his opinion that the speed of an engine should be controlled throughout the whole of a wind. A gathering of delegates from the various branches of the Northumberland and Durham Miners’ Permanent Relief Fund was held in Newcastle on Saturday to celebrate the jubilee of the fund, which was founded after the Hartley disaster in 1862, and has a membership of 206,000, exceeding the combined membership of all kindred funds. Lord Joieey, the president, was unable to be present, but sent .£100, and in the absence also of the vice-presidents, Mr. T. Neville, of Birtley, presided. Mr. William Barnes (secretary) gave some interesting figures relative to the fund, mentioning that it had paid out in benefits no less than £3,624,937, widows and orphans having received £799,588; for minor accidents £673,420 had been paid; for permanent disablement, £523,637; and in the old age department, £1,628,291. The delegates dined together after the business meeting. At the last monthly meeting of the West of Scotland Branch of the Association of Mining Electrical Engineers, Mr. Sidney A. Simon, B.A., Glasgow, read an interesting and informative paper on “The Speed Control of Three- phase Motors.” The author explained that while not holding a brief for the universal adoption of three-phase alternating current, knowing that there were many applications of electric power for which direct current was undeniably superior, he had endeavoured in the paper to describe the most important of the methods of three-phase speed control which had been successfully developed. The discussion on the paper, which was adjourned till next meeting, was taken part in by Messrs. R. H. Willis and R. J. Sellar, Glasgow. An interesting account of the evening school work carried on in the various towns and villages in the county was laid before the Notts Education Committee on Saturday. In regard to the preliminary mining courses, which have now been formed at 11 out of 14 mining centres, the report states “ it is pleasing to note that in several centres the mining classes are being largely recruited from the pre- liminary classes. These classes catch the pit lad just after he has left the day school, and give him a good grounding for the more advanced work of the mining class.” Mr. P. H. Bagenal, the Local Government Board’s inspector for Yorkshire, had some very interesting things to say to the Doncaster Board of Guardians, whose meeting he attended on Saturday last. After showing that pauperism had greatly decreased in the district, he spoke of the enormous development of the Doncaster coalfield, and said the union was one of the most remarkable under his super- vision. In 1901 it contained in its area a population of 83,000 persons, in 1911 there were 121,523, an increase of 38,000, or a tremendous jump. There was a splendid future for the coal trade in this portion of South Yorkshire, he remarked. Building and housing were proceeding with great rapidity, and most people were looking to Doncaster with hope and expectation that the authorities would meet their tremendous responsibilities satisfactorily. The Maryport Urban District Council have decided to substitute regenerator retorts for the direct-fired retorts at present in use. It was originally proposed by the Gas Committee to do this during the past summer, but the proposal was rejected in March, a majority of the councillors being then wishful to ascertain if the use of coke oven gas from the by-product ovens of the Flimby Colliery Company, a mile out of Maryport, was practicable and advisable. A deputation was appointed to visit several places using coke oven gas, but their report was unfavourable, and the project was dropped. The Royal Institution have as usual drawn up a pro- gramme full of interest for their winter session. This year the Christmas lecture epilogues for juveniles were delivered by Sir James Dewar, the course being arranged thus:—December 28 (Alchemy), December 31 (Atoms), January 2 (Light). The remaining lectures, also by Sir James Dewar, are as follow:—January 4 (Clouds), January 7 (Meteorites), and January 9 (Frozen Worlds)—the hour being 3 p.m. in each instance. At the Friday evening meetings, before Easter, lectures will be delivered, amongst others, by Prof. Sir J. J. Thomson on “ Further Applications of the Method of Positive Bays (January 17) ; by Prof. J. 0. Arnold on “ Recent Advances in Scientific Steel Metallurgy ” (January 24) ; by Prof. Andrew Gray on “ New Gyroscopes and their Applications ” (February 14); by Prof, the Hon. R. J. Strutt on “ Active Nitrogen ” (March 7), and by Mr. A. E. H. Tutton on “ Great Advances in Crystallography ” (March 14). Several courses of lectures have been arranged including one of two lectures by Prof. B. Hopkinson on “ Recent Research on the Gas Engine ” (January 30 and February 6, 1913) ; two lectures on “ Surface Energy ” will be delivered by Mr. W. B. Hardy on March 6 and 13; whilst six lectures will be given on Saturdays, beginning February 8, by Prof. Sir J. J. Thomson on “ The Properties and Con- stitution of the Atom.” At Todmorden County Court, on the 18th ult., Mr. John Arthur Ingham, solicitor, The Shaw, sued Messrs. Collins Brothers and Messrs. Cockcroft and Scholfield for the recovery of £92 15s. 4d. Both firms are tenants of one of Mr. Ingham’s cotton mills, renting room and power. For plaintiff, it was stated that the claim was for extra cost of coal purchased during the strike to keep the mill working, as the firms had important contracts which they desired to complete. Other mills in the district were at a standstill for weeks, but Mr. Ingham paid extortionate prices for coal and other kinds of fuel rather than stop the mills. Counsel for the defendants urged that there was no stipulation in the lease between the parties as to payment for extra fuel. Moreover, the claim was not an honest one, as several tons of the coal purchased at the time was not fit to burn, and was still on the premises. In addition, an item of £17 was down for creosote oil which was not used. The judge, observing that plaintiff had failed to prove the existence of any agreement re excessive cost of fuel, gave judgment for the defendants in both cases. NEW METAL WORKS AT GREENWICH. On the 27th ult. the important developments that have been in progress for more than a year- in connection with the business of Messrs. G-. A. Harvey and Co. are being consummated by the removal of the office staff from Loampit Vale, Lewisham, to the new buildings at Greenwich. From this week the business will be conducted solely from the new works, and the long connection with Lewisham, where the business was founded by the present head of the firm in 1874, will be broken. The removal results in the concentration of all the branches of this many-sided business in Greenwich, although some months may elapse before the last workman vacates the works at West Greenwich, where for the past 12 years tanks and other hollowware goods have been made andj galvanised. Thejjbusiness ’had grown both at the old works and at the Lewisham works until it was hardly possible to differentiate between the raw material, the work in hand and the workmen. Now, on a 20-acre freehold site, which the firm have acquired on the Woolwich-road, Greenwich—West- combe Park is the nearest station—they have erected the block of buildings, shops and stables depicted in the bird’s-eye view we reproduce on this page. The frontage is about 300 ft., and the depth covered by roofed-in premises 900 ft. The offices, 17 in number— for the business is departmentalised—occupy the left- hand end of first floor and will afford accommodation for the staff. The extension of this floor to the extreme right is given over to store, to which also the whole of the second-floor space has also been put. On the ground floor packing rooms, warehouses for bulky goods, and various 'open spaces, calculated to afford facilities for handling and despatching the output, have been arranged. This phase of the undertaking has been considered further in the provision of two tracks from back to front, which are provided by overhead electric travellers. That in the centre serves as a road and runs right through the shop bays, while the other will be the erecting floor, and through numerous doors opens on a road running down the side of the works. The shops proper are stated to be the biggest under a single series of continuous spans in London, probably in the south of England. It was only after a prolonged tussle with the London County Council that Mr. Harvey, sen., was able to convince the authorities that his scheme to put everything under one roof was reasonable, and that their views and by-laws regarding fire risks did not apply to the business he controls. In all there are | 18 bays, and in many of them work is proceeding with regularity and exactly as at the old place—with this difference, that practically every machine has been duplicated. That, indeed, has been the policy upon which the new works have been built. As an example, there is a battery of machines capable of producing perforated sheet metal with anything between 1,000 holes to the square inch up to apertures of 9 in. diameter for coal screening. The material worked upon includes iron and steel, black and galvanised after the process, tin-plates, copper, brass, aluminium, and, of course, zinc. The variety of purposes to which the material is put is bewildering. The tool room attached to this group is most completely equipped, while at the other side of the works a machine shop has been installed to deal with heavy repairs and renewals and also with new plant, for much that the firm require has to be built by themselves. Other bays, or groups of bays, are fenced off right and left of the main gangway for wire-weaving, light sheetmetal working, galvanising, pressing, spinning and stamping. Much space has been allocated to a plating shop, in which heavy work will be made up, assembled and erected, for it is the intention of the firm in the future greatly to extend the department which concerns itself with machinery in which perforated metal forms an important detail. The firm have perfected many improvements and been concerned with a variety of inventions, but now that they are no longer hampered for room, it is the intention not to perforate metals for industrial processes, but to send out an increasing class of plant in a finished state. To show how thoroughly they have faced the problem, mention may be made of the rolling mill that will take a 12 ft. plate up to any thickness likely to be required for coal-screening and other similarly heavy duties. In this department autogenous welding will be done by the oxy-acetylene process, which has been found to be entirely satisfactory for work formerly finished with butt-plated or riveted joints. We cannot spare space to describe the central power house, the system of warming, or the ingenious scheme which enables every departmental foreman to watch the work in his own sphere. Everything has been conceived, elaborated and worked out practically by Mr. G. A. Harvey, who has been his own architect and builder. Much of the work has been done by the firm’s own staff or by workmen employed by and directly responsible to the man who from tiny beginnings has built up the present concern. Finally, it is not to be supposed that, with a big works, Messrs. G. A. Harvey and Co. are going to forget the day of small things. Everything comprised in their big cata- logue they will continue to make: galvanised holloware, smoke cures and cowls (for which they are world famous), weather vanes, ventilators for all sorts of purposes, dustbins, zinc and galvanised gutters, tanks, cylinders and boilers as before, with this difference—-that in future they will have room to put a bigger quantity into stock, to the no small advantage of their 12,000 customers. We had almost forgotten to state that the works are on the banks of the River Thames and possess excellent wharf accommodation. Calendars.—Calendars, almanacks,