March 14, 1913.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

553

INDIAN AND COLONIAL NOTES.

India.

Geological Survey of India.—The Secretary of State for
India in Council notifies that one appointment to the Indian
Geological Survey Department will be made in July next.
A further vacancy is expected to occur in the year 1914.

Railway Owned Coal.—The Bengal Chamber of Commerce
has addressed a letter to the Government of India on the
above subject. In 1908 it became known that the East
Indian and Bengal-Nagpur Railways had acquired coal
lands in the Bokharo-Bamgarh field. The Bengal Chamber
of Commerce protested against this proceeding, but its
protest was rejected by the Indian Government and the
Secretary of State. Owing,'however, to a fall in prices,
the railways postponed the development of their coal
properties. The price of coal being again high, the
railways are reported to be about to begin operations.
Accordingly the Bengal Chamber has renewed its
protest. It is pointed out that the Indian railways
are the chief customers of Bengal coal. The acquisition
of collieries by railways would thus be an injurious
interference by the State with private enterprise.
The Government contend that, in view of the advance
in coal prices, the railways must work their own
mines or increase their freight charges. The reply of the
Chamber is that the high price of coal is largely due to the
inefficiency of 5the railways, which have ffailed to provide
adequate facilities for the transport of coal. This failure
in their proper business of carriers is held to be an
additional argument against the desire of the railways to
extend their activities and divert some of their energy and
attention to an industry which is being efficiently managed
by private enterprise. The most effective part of the
Government case is that the working of coalmines by rail-
ways is a long-established practice, and that the East Indian,
the Great Indian Peninsula, and the North-Western Rail-
ways already work collieries.

Africa.

Transvaal Coal Trade.—The general reduction in the
railway rates for the carriage of coal and other goods which
came into force on August 1 and October 1 respectively
seems destined, says our correspondent, to have far-reaching
effects on the coal trade of the Transvaal, more particularly
of the Middleburg district. The reduction of Is. 6d. per ton
for the carriage of coal from Witbank to the Rand, with
corresponding reductions from other collieries and coalfields,
ought, it is estimated, to reduce the cost of mining on the
Rand something like 2d. per ton. During the last
10 years a marked reduction in the rate for carrying
coal from Witbank to the Rand has been made, for
in 1902, when conveyed vid Pretoria, the charge was
10s. 2d. per ton, the construction of the shorter route
vid Brakpan bringing the rate down to 7s. Id. per ton, whilst
the August general reduction makes the rate only 5s. 7d. per
ton, or f d. per ton per mile. To what extent other reduc-
tions of railway rates for the carriage of coal for local
consumption are likely to be made remains to be seen, but
some are confidently looked for. Concurrently with the
reduction in the rate for carrying coal to the Rand, other
modifications in coal traffic charges were made, and a rebate
of Is. per ton allowed on all coal exported. The railage
from Witbank to Lourengo Marques for export coal,1 a
distance of 276 miles, is 6s. Id. per ton, or only 6d. per ton
higher than conveying coal under ordinary circum-
stances one-third the distance—from Wit bank to the
Rand. When coal is used for manufacturing purposes
in Delagoa Bay, the rate is 10s. 3d. per ton for 276
miles. Low as the rate is for the carriage of export coal
from Witbank to Lourenco Marques, it is still too high
to enable the Transvaal collieries to build up a large export
trade with the East, but since the rebate of Is. per ton for
export coal came into force there has been a marked increase
in export coal shipments from the Transvaal collieries to
India. The railway rate for export coal from the Transvaal
collieries now works out at 0’22 of a penny per ton per
mile—less than half that charged for export coal by
the Netherlands Railway during Republican times. It
is estimated that for the Transvaal collieries to be able
to compete successfully for the Indian trade, a further
reduction of Is. or Is. 6d. per ton is necessary, as under
existing conditions successful competition with Japanese
and Australian coal is out of the question. Another
advantage gained by the Transvaal collieries in the recent
reduction of the railway rates is the fact that it enables
them to supply coal over a considerably extended area—in
fact, Transvaal coal now finds a somewhat ready market,
not only in the Orange Free State, but likewise
in the Cape Province. Dp to 1,000 miles the rate
gradually increases to 14s. 7d. per ton, over a thousand
miles the charge is 0175d. per ton per mile, subject to a
maximum rate of 17s. 6d. per ton. This reduction
and re-arrangement of the railway rates for the
carriage of coal is proving of considerable service to the
collieries in the Middelburg and Breyten districts, but it
militates somewhat against the development of the Cape
coal trade, owing to the quality of coal produced being
unsuited for locomotive and manufacturing purposes gener-
ally. These reductions, it may be noted, have to some extent

prejudiced the coal trade of the Springs-Brakpan area, for
by reducing the rates on Middelburg coal of much better
quality than that produced at Springs has still further
extended the sphere of profitable dealing in Middelburg
coal—in fact, to a small extent, despite the distance it has
to be hauled, Middelburg coal finds a sale in the Springs
township. The Springs coal, moreover, owing to the
shorter distance hauled, has not yet reaped the same
advantage from the railway rate reductions as the Middel-
burg district, the rate from the Springs collieries to the
Rand varying from 2s. 4d. per ton to Germiston to 4s. 3d.
per ton to Randfontein.

Australia.

New South Wales Colliery Troubles.—The whole of the
coalmining industry in New South Wales is in a state of
unrest, says our Sydney correspondent, and the most serious
developments are anticipated. In the south the Mount
Kembla Company have refused to reinstate and compensate
an employee, a unionist secretary, who was dismissed for
alleged breach of the colliery regulations. He was given
the customary days* notice, but a Royal Commission found
that he was innocent of the particular charge preferred
against him, although he had been continually at vari-
ance with the mine authorities. The men demanded
that he be reinstated in his old position and com-
pensated for his loss of time. This was refused, as
the mine directors declined to allow any interference
with the management by outsiders. None of the industrial
and other courts have any power to interfere, as the men
will not recognise any authority other than that of their
lodges. They are strengthened in their resolve by the
sympathetic attitude of the State Government. In the
north, the colliery proprietors have withdrawn from the
Conciliation Board, consisting of representatives of both
sides, by reason of the men systematically ignoring its
decisions. Since February 28, 1912, when the first
meeting was held, there have been no fewer than
44 individual stoppages, in spite [of the proprietors’
representatives. At the time, according to our
correspondent, the position had become so serious that both
owners’ and miners’ representatives had to arrive at the
conclusion that some definite action should be taken to
prevent individual lodges holding up the work of the
committee and dislocating the trade. But in vain. The
miners’ lodges were appealed to, and asked to observe that
that portion of the constitution of the joint-committee which
provided for disputes being referred to it, instead of laying
the men idle. Every lodge in the district was appealed to in
this way, and the result in every case was a unanimous
decision not to interfere with the work of the committee by
cessation of work at the mines. Yet during the month follow-
ing there were nine stoppages, while the whole of the Mait-
land collieries were thrown idle on a working day to enable
the men to attend a mass meeting. During its existence the
Conciliation Board, which was a voluntary organisation,
settled a large number of minor disputes, and in no instance
was the soundness of their judgment questioned. The
proprietors are completely wearied out by the increasing
number of claims, and the unwillingness of the men to act
other than on their own initiative. What the outcome of
the trouble will be it is impossible to predict, but there can
be no question that the nationalisation of the coalmining
industry is the dominating idea of the men.

OBITUARY.

The death of Mr. Frederick Nettlefold took place at his
residence at Norwood on Saturday last, after a short illness.
Mr. Nettlefold, during the earlier part of his career, took
an active interest in the iron and screw industry as
chairman of Messrs. Nettlefold and Son, of London and
Birmingham.

The death took place on the 7th inst., at Bournemouth,
of Mr. Albert R. Brown, honorary Japanese consul in
Glasgow. Mr. Brown, who lived at Summerhill, Shandon,
was a partner of the firm of Messrs. A. R. Brown, McFarlane
and Co., iron and steel merchants. He leaves a widow and
one son.

Mr. Arnold James Henderson, a director of the firm of
Messrs. D. and W. Henderson and Co., shipbuilders and
engineers, Meadowside, Glasgow, died on the 6th inst., at
his residence at Newton Mearns, from pneumonia. He leaves
a widow and two young children.

Mr. Walter Henry Thacker Maddison, one of the under-
managers of the Tibshelf Collieries, died recently at the age
of 51 years. The deceased was born at Church Gresley, but
he came to Tibshelf along with his parents early in life, and
the whole of his working days has been associated with the
Tibshelf Collieries. He leaves a widow and 11 children.

We record with regret the death of Viscount Tredegar,
which occurred on Monday morning at his seat at Newport,
Mon. Lord Tredegar was the second son of Sir Charles
Morgan Robinson, first Baron Tredegar, and was born at
Ruperra Castle, Cardiff, on April 28,1831. At Balaclava he led
a squadron in the famous charge of the Light Brigade. In 1858
the Hon. Godfrey Charles Morgan, as he then was, entered
upon a political career, being elected Conservative member
for Brecon, which constituency he continued to represent
till he succeeded to the barony on the death of his father in

April 1875. He was raised to the viscounty in 1905. Lord
Tredegar was immensely wealthy, a large proportion
of his income being derived from mineral royalties.
He had over a million of capital in the Alexandra Docks
and Railway Company, and was the owner of the Park
Mile Railway (familiarly known as the “ Golden Mile ”)...
With his death the viscounty becomes extinct, but he is
succeeded in the barony and the baronetcy by his nephew,
Lieut.-Col. Courtenay Charles Evan, late Royal Monmouth
Engineer Militia, eldest son of the late Col. the Hon F. C.
Morgan, who was born in 1867 and married in 1890 Lady
Katherine Carnegie, youngest daughter of the ninth Earl of
Southesk.

The death has occurred of Mr. William Steart, of
99, Wellsway, Bath, a former manager of Braysdown
Colliery, near Peasedown, and member of the Bath Board of
Guardians. The deceased, who was 77 years of age, retired
from the position of colliery manager at Braysdown, which
he held for a very long period, some 10 years ago. The
deceased leaves a widow and eight children. One of the
sons, Mr, Frederick A, Steart, was in 1908 appointed Govern-
ment inspector of mines for Natal, which he still occupies.

The announcement of the death of Mr. W. T. Knaggs, for
14 years secretary of Messrs. B. Samuelson’s Newport Iron-
works, occurred at Eastbourne early on Tuesday morning.
Mr. Knaggs retired from business circles at the end of last
year, and thus severed a connection with Messrs. Samuel-
son’s which had lasted over a period of 47 years. The
deceased gentleman was about 62 years of age. He leaves
a widow and son and daughter to mourn his loss.

The death occurred last week, at Workington, of Mr.
Joseph Faulder, a well-known Cumberland colliery manager
at the advanced age of 82. Mr. Faulder was formerly
manager of the Ellenbro Colliery, near Maryport. On
leaving the latter he went to manage a colliery at Bolton,
Cumberland.

Mr. Daniel George Bingham, who died at Utrecht,
Holland, on the 1st inst., at the age of 82, was an English-
man, who played an important part in the development of
the Dutch railway system. In 1857 Mr. Forbes undertook
the reorganisation of the Dutch-Rhenish Railway, then in a
condition verging on bankruptcy, and in the following year
he appointed Mr. Bingham chief goods manager of the line.
The improved transport conditions which he brought about,
more especially in the development of the Westphalian
coalfields, did much to resuscitate the undertaking. By con-
veying coal in train-load lots from Westphalia to Holland
for rates equal to about one-fifth of a penny per ton per
kilometre, and by getting a back loading of Spanish ore from
Rotterdam to Westphalia at Is. 3d. per ton for the entire
journey of 150 miles, he soon re-established the fortunes of
the railway. When they bought it up, in 1890, to add to
the State system, the Dutch Government paid .£24 for each
of the £20 shares, besides giving generous compensation to
Mr. Bingham and other of the officers who then retired
from the service. Mr. Bingham continued to reside in
Holland, where he became a considerable landowner. He
leaves a widow, who was a Miss Brain and is a member of
an old Gloucestershire family.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—March 7.

Trade Unions (No. 2) Bill.

On the consideration of the Commons’ amendment to the <
Lords’ amendments to this Bill

The Marquess of Crewe said the House of Commons
had agreed to the Lords’ amendments with the exception
of that including the publication of a newspaper among
political purposes. He moved that their lordships did not
insist upon their amendment. The motion was agreed to.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

January 30.

Before Mr. Justice Rowlatt.

Working and Ownership.

Hughes y. Pilkington.—In this action the plaintiff was
Captain M. J. Hughes, of St. Helens, and the defendant was
Mr. William Lee Pilkington, lord of the manor of Sutton.
The case was opened at the last Autumn Assizes, at Liver-
pool, and was argued on legal points for two and a-half days
in London.

The learned judge said the action was brought to
establish the plaintiff’s title to the coal under some 30 pieces
of land at Sutton, 26 of which pieces were under roads
adjoining the plaintiff’s property and four within the
plaintiff’s property. The real point in the case was who had
done the workings which had taken place in the minerals,
which had always been held as acts of ownership. It was
clear that the defendant had proved very important acts of
ownership in regard to the working of the minerals, and
that plaintiff had acquiesced in that working. Therefore,.
with regard to the question of the coal under the roads
adjoining the plaintiff’s property, the plaintiff’s contention
failed. With regard to the plaintiff’s own lands, evidence
is all in favour of the defendant, except in regard to one
small piece where the plaintiff had worked the coal. On
the whole, he must draw the inference that the defendant