708

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

April 4, 1913.

franchise question was discussed, and it was agreed to
assist the Belgian miners to make the strike successful
by an endeavour, through the co-operation of the
transport workers, to prevent export of coal from this
country to Belgium during the strike. There are many
difficulties in the way of effective action.

Mr. Stanley informed the Press that the position of I
the surface workers at the mines was discussed on the
decision of the annual ^conference at Swansea as to
wages and conditions. A good deal of information has
.been obtained, but is not yet sufficiently complete for the
conference to take action. The executive recommend
that Mr. Ashton be furnished at once with full
particulars, if not already sent, as to the conditions of j
labour and wages of surface workers at the various i
collieries in the Federation, so that steps may be taken ’
to obtain a minimum wage for those members at the
earliest opportunity.

Iron, Steel, and Engineering * Trades

The secretaries of the Board of Conciliation and Arbi- ’
tration for the Manufactured Iron and Steel Trade of the j
North of England announce that in accordance with the

report of the official auditors and the sliding scale
arrangement, there will be an advance of 3d. per ton on
puddling, and 2J per cent, on all other forge mill wages,
taking effect from Monday last. The sales for the two
months amounted to 13,503 tons, and the average net;
selling price was £7 7s. 3-89d., against 12,437 tons and I	______

£7 Is. 9-38d. in the previous two months.	I An important motion was that of Mr. Vemon

The quarterly ascertainment under the sliding scale Hartehorn) geconded by Mr. p

The balance sheet presented showed that whereas
at the beginning of 1912 there was in hand a sum of
£60,570, at the close of the year the balance was only
a little over £17,000. The financial position was,
j therefore, worse by about £50,000.

with 81s. 9d. per ton in the previous quarter. Blast-!
furnacemen’s wages, therefore, fall by 1J per cent., but
are, nevertheless, 50| per cent, above the standard. In
the corresponding quarter last year they were only
30 per cent, above the standard.

The following intimation has been made to Messrs
James C. Bishop and James Gavin, joint secretaries of
the Scottish Manufactured Iron Trade Conciliation and

Watts Morgan,
in Cumberland shows that the average selling price of j requesting the Miners’Federation of Great Britain to
^“a^Pl!iT.’T^?x^85L!^P!L^“!°m^Kr^ltakeaCtionfor securing an immediate amendment of
the Minimum Wage Act in the following respects:—

(а)	That the provisions of the Act shall apply to all
surface workers employed in the mining industry.

(б)	That the rules in the district awards shall not be
applicable to day-wage men.

(c) That the minimum for colliers and all other piece-
workers shall be ascertained with reference to one week’s
earnings, entirely disregarding the earnings of all

Arbitration Board, by Mr. John M. MacLeod, C.A.,
Glasgow:—“ In terms of the remit, I have examined the
employers’ books for January and February 1913, and
I certify the average net selling price at works brought
out is £7 13s. 2.54d. per ton.” This means an increase
of 5 per cent, in the wages of the workmen.

The latest return of the accountants to the Midland
Iron and Steel Wages Board, which regulates wages in
North and South Staffordshire, Lancashire, Yorkshire
and South Wales, shows the total output of all descrip-
tions of iron during January and February was 39,425
tons, and the average net price realised £8 4s. 7d. In
.accordance with scale, ironworkers’ wages are advanced
2| per cent., making the rate 10s. 6d., and puddlers
receive a bonus of 6d., bringing the rate up to Ils.
This is the highest rate of wages experienced for nearly
half a century.

The South Wales and Monmouthshire Iron and Steel
Sliding Scale Committee, at its quarterly meeting on
Saturday, resolved that the wages at associated works
be advanced 6J per cent, from April 1.

THE IRISH GOAL TRADE.

Thursday, April 3.

Dublin.

The demand for house coal continues to be remarkably
good for the time of year, and business is also active in
other branches of the trade, prices of all descriptions being
unchanged. Difficulty is still experienced in procuring
sufficient supplies of English house coal owing to the strike
at Garston, and in consequence of this the recent advance
of Is. per ton in kitchen coal is maintained, the retail prices
obtained by the dealers being Is. lOd. per sack. City prices
are as follow :—Best Orrell, 27s. per ton; best Arley, 26s.;
best Whitehaven, 25s.; best Wigan, 25s.; best kitchen, 24s.;
best Orrell slack, 21s.; coke, 23s. per ton ; steam coals from
22s. upwards. Irish coals at Arigna, County Leitrim:—
Best coal, 15s. lOd. per ton; nuts, 11s. 8d.; culm, 9s. 2d.
per ton at the pit mouth. The coaling vessels arriving
in the port during the past week amounted to 58, as com-
pared with 35 the week previously, chiefly from Ayr,
Newport, Campbeltown, Saundersfoot, Liverpool, Preston,
Point of Aire, Partington, Glasgow, Swansea, Runcorn,
Irvine, Troon, Cardiff, Widnes, and Girvan. The total
quantity of coal discharged upon the quays was 25,564 tons.

Belfast.

Demand for all classes keeps active, and prices,
particularly of Scotch coals, continue to be firm. Stocks
are considerably reduced owing to labour difficulties at the
other side and the detention of steamers at the shipping
ports. City prices remain as follow .•—Best Arley coal,
27s. 6d. per ton; Hartley, 26s. 6d.; Wigan, 25s. 6d.; Orrell
nuts, 26s. 6d.; Scotch house, 23s. 6d.; Orrell slack, 23s. 6d.
Current quotations ex-quay:—Arley house coal, 24s. per
ton; Scotch household, 20s. 6d.; Scotch steam coal, 17s.
to 18s. per ton ; navigation steam, 17s. to 18s.; Welsh steam
coal, 20s. per ton; English steam slack, 17s. per ton
delivered. Coaling vessels arriving during the week were
chiefly from Troon, Fleetwood, Girvan, Birkenhead, Ayr,
Maryport, Ellesmere Port, Bowling, West Bank, Partington,
Runcorn, Preston, Irvine, Glasgow, Ardrossan and Liver-
pool. There are extensive {labour disputes in the port of
Galway, which are considerably affecting the coal trade of
that and neighbouring districts.

HUTES FROM SOUTH WALES.

[from our own correspondent.]

Miners’ Annual Conference : Drastic Change
Proposed—Raising Wage Standard by 35 per
Cent, plus Extras—Heavy Decrease in Finances—
Over 50.000 Men Tender Notices on Non-unionist
Question—Coal-trimmers Threaten Stoppage—
The New French Tax on Coal—Admiralty Con-
tracts : “ Open ” or Invited Tenders—Important
Change Proposed in Colliery Assessments.

The annual conference of the South Wales Miners’
Federation took place in Cardiff on Monday and
Tuesday, there being 215 delegates present, representing
109,462 members. This total is considerably less than
half the number of colliery employees in the coalfield;
and it is noteworthy that the decline has been continuous
for some years. Hence the present strenuous efforts to
recruit non-unionists, against whom over 50,000 notices
to cease work were tendered on Tuesday. Present
figures show less than 48 per cent, in the Federation;
last year’s figure was 50; and five years ago it was 70.

previous and subsequent weeks.

(d)	That in all disputed cases the onus of proof shall
be on the employers.

(e)	That the minimum for each grade shall be raised
by 6d. per day.

From the Rhymney and Monmouthshire districts
came a resolution which the conference approved :—

To secure that the week of workmen employed by night
be considered a week of five shifts, and that the present
shifts be defined accordingly.

i It was resolved, also, that the Miners’ Federation of
Great Britain should press for the application of the
Eight Hours Act to all surface workers. Also that
; the executive council of the South Wales Federation
should draw up a schedule of rates to be applied gene-
rally throughout the South Wales coalfield in connec-
tion with all future colliery developments.

During Tuesday’s sittings it was decided that the

non-unionists must be brought into lino by the end of
April, and that if by that time all men eligible had not
been brought in, stoppages should take place at the
collieries where non-union men are working.

In order to further the more effective organisation
of the Union, it was resolved to engage Mr. Thomas
Richards, M.P. (who has been general secretary since
1898) as a full-time secretary, the reason being that there
is a vast amount of work now entailed for dealing with
matters under the Minimum Wage Act and under the
Conciliation Board procedure. This would involve ulti-
i mately the resignation of his seat in Parliament for
West Monmouth.

A very important resolution came from the Mon-
mouthshire Western Valleys. It proposed to create a
new standard of wages. The present minimum wage is
35 per cent, above the standard of 1879, and the idea
seems to be that this minimum shall be the new
standard, plus bonuses. The wording of the resolution
was—

That steps be taken to create a new standard rate of
wages in place of" the present obsolete standards of 1877,
1879, &c., by merging into the new standard all bonuses
and percentages, not less than the existing minimum
percentages recognised by the present boards.

Obviously this cannot be effected until the present
agreement has run its course, there being nearly two
years yet unexpired. But the proposal, although carried
by the conference, is one which brings out a highly
controversial and difficult question. It will be seen at
once that the change of the standard means a change in
all future percentages. The 1879 standard is the one
generally prevalent at the present time; but if the new

standard—more than one-third higher—were to be
adopted, all future percentages would be pro rata
increased.

The executive council were desired to negotiate
with the employers in order to establish a 14 days period
of notice. Considerably more than 50,000 notices were
tendered on Tuesday, upon the non-unionist difficulty;
but in view of the general movement to re-join the
Federation it is not anticipated that there will be any
widespread stoppage at the end of the month. The
Federation members in the Rhymney Valley have had
before them records which show that during the past
month several thousands have joined the Federation,
making the total at present 9,500 members. They
consider, however, that these returns, although very
encouraging, show that there are still a good number of
non-unionists in the district. They decided, therefore,
that notices should be tendered on April 1, and “ that
all non-unionists shall be compelled to join the
organisation, and bear a full share of the burden,
having regard to the benefits they receive.” A small
sectional union which has been established in the valley
was the subject of discussion at the meeting, and hopes
were expressed that its members would see their way to
amalgamate with the Federation, so as to avoid strikes
and strife.

The coaltrimmers of Cardiff, Penarth and Barry
held a meeting on Sunday, wherein they decided that
on Tuesday last (April 1) they would tender a month’s
notice to cease work unless the whole of the trimmers in
the three ports had by that date joined the union.

Swansea Chamber of Commerce are pursuing the
matter of the French “ patente ” tax which will be
imposed on coal ; and at the monthly meeting of the
Chamber of Commerce on Friday the president (Mr.
W. T. Farr) stated that representatives of the British
Chamber in Paris, as well as of the Swansea and Cardiff
Chambers, bad met in London and drafted a resolution
calling the attention of the Foreign Office to the
subject. It was desired to make the tax inopera-
tive at least with respect to such contracts as
had been entered into before the tax was put into
operation. The Associated Chambers approved the
resolution, and the president accompanied the proposer
and seconder to the Foreign Office, where they saw the
head of the Commercial Department. A promise was
secured that action should be taken through the British
Embassy in Paris.

A subject of very great interest to colliery pro-
prietors and merchants came before the Committee on
Contracts in London on Monday, when Dr. Macnamara
attended in order to explain the system of tendering
which is adopted by the Admiralty in respect to coal
supplies. Scarcely anything, it appeared, is done by the
Admiralty in the way of open tendering, the custom
being to call for tenders from contractors who are upon
an official list. Several members of the Committee were
of opinion that it would be to the public advantage if a
system of open tendering were adopted, and some
criticisms upon the existing practice were uttered.

Upon this point it is well to remember that this
Committee (a body established last Session) is covering
a very wide range of enquiry, and that as to altering the
present system in regard to coal contracts—although it
is said that the present practice is to be reconsidered by
the chiefs of the Admiralty—it is quite unlikely that
any alteration will be made. At least a million and
a-quarter tons of coal has to be taken annually from
South Wales; and towards the end of the year coal-
owners who are on the Admiralty list are invited to send
in quotation of prices and statement of the quantities
they are prepared to supply over the succeeding year.
The business is private, any firms with whom contracts
are made being bound to secrecy. Inevitably some
information does leak out, but the total arrangements
of the Admiralty as to supply, or the details of alloca-
tion, are never made known definitely to the public.
The coal comes from collieries in a particular area,
where it is considered that the best seams lie.

One of the questions discussed on Cardiff Exchange
was whether “ open ” tenders would mean that
merchants would be able to submit prices, the comment
being that if this were so, then the colliery firms would
not allow middlemen to take away their business, but
would refuse to supply merchants with the qualities of
coal enabling them to fulfil their contracts with the
Admiralty. Indeed, as to this particular class of coal,
colliery contract firms already stipulate that such coal,
when sold to merchants, shall not be resold in the
United Kingdom; and should the Admiralty decide