June 13, 1913. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 1287 Mr. F. E. Bucklev said that some few years ago he took four temperatures in a crut, which was being driven at 850 yards depth, and there was no apparent variation in temperature in the four boreholes, although three were in the crut and one in the coal. Dr. Cadman, replying to Mr. Stobbs, said the data he had put forward were records that had been taken, and from them he ventured to draw certain conclusions. Those conclusions were apparently borne out by physiologists who were working in different directions including Dr. Haldane and Prof. Langlois, the French physiologist. No doubt there were other factors, but here were the bald facts which pointed to the reasonable- ness of such conclusion. The President, referring to the statements as to the effect of air currents of high velocity in cooling the bodies of the workers, said he did not want anyone to go away with the idea that the thing to do was to reduce the size of the air-courses to get a higher velocity. On the proposition of the President, Dr. Cadman was thanked for his paper. Rearer] W orkings. Discussion was briefly resumed on Mr. W. Barber’s paper (Colliery Guardian, April 4, 1913) on the subject of “ Rearer Workings at Podmore Hall Collieries, with special reference to alluvium saturated with water.” The President referred to the question raised at the last meeting by Mr. E. B. Wain as to why the lower pillar was not taken out first. He said if the gob in rearer workings could be packed absolutely fully, there would be no difficulty in taking out the lower pillar first; but in North Staffordshire the gob was not quite fully packed, and if they began to work from the lower side of the panel and took out the lower pillar first, the inevitable result would be that the gob would run and involve the men. Replying to further questions, Mr. Barber said their difficulty did not arise from the slipping of the goaf; it arose through the alluvium, consisting of clay and sand, creating a cavity in which water accumulated, and this water unexpectedly rushed in. After this trouble they decided to leave a block of coal of about 20 yards. They had another accident, the 20 yards pillar not being large enough. Then it was decided to sectionalise the district, and increase the pillar to 40 yards. They increased the pillar running along the line of face to 40 yards, and formed a panel of running blocks through the bottom of the seam to the pillar in the top. They were now working the remainder of the seam without any difficulty. A vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Barber. COASTWISE SHIPMENTS DURING APRIL. According to the monthly coal tables, the following were the quantities of coal shipped coastwise during the month of April:— From i Total cargo.. Total 1 bunker. i 1912. 1913. 1912. 1913. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Bristol Channel ports .. i 158,356 346,102 13,031 21,244 North-western ports .. 155,486 295,818 41.176 65,095 North-eastern ports 436,693 685,306 18,316 33,154 Humber ports .. 1 74,332 231,628 9,172 14,029 Other ports on east coast 6,568 6,895 5,328 7,662 Other English ports 4,996 2,079 5,844 3,989 Total from England and Wales 836,431 1,567,828 92,867 145,173 Ports on east coast of Scotland .. : 97,944 124,866 15,897 20,611 Ports on west coast of Scotland 136,193 123,718 31,723 48,187 Total from Scotland 234,137 248,584 47,620 68,798 Irish ports — — 8,536 4,462 Total from United Kingdom 1,070,568 1,816,412 149,023 218,433 The destination of cargo shipments was as follows :— April 1912. April 1913. Tons. Tons. 716,627 ... 1,261,940 81,600 ... 123,010 272,341 ... 431,462 The shipments to London during April totalled 751,018 tons. To ports in England and Wales....... Scotland................ Ireland ................ At the Gleision Pit, Swansea Valley, last week, a collier was suffocated by coaldust. An interesting suggestion made in connection with the proposed retirement of Mr. Thomas Burt, M.P., from the general secretaryship of the Northumberland Miners’ Association, is that Mr. Burt should crown his life’s work for the association by writing its history from 1875, where the late Mr. Richard Fynes left it, up to the present time. LABOUR AND WAGES. North of England. The executive committee of the Northumberland Miners’ Association have invited representatives of the three-shift system pits in the county to a meeting to be held in the Burt Hall, Newcastle, to-morrow (Saturday), for the purpose of consulting them as to possible modifications of the present system. After the meeting on Saturday there will probably be a special council meeting at an early date, to consider the whole question. Oughterside Colliery, Maryport, employing over 250 men, was thrown idle on Tuesday by a sudden and unexpected strike of hewers, arising out of a claim under the Minimum Wage Act. As a result of an abortive conference between the special committee of the Northumberland Miners’ Association and the colliery doctors in regard to the sum that should be paid to the medical clubs per fort- night, it has been decided to ask the miners’ repre- sentatives who will attend a special council meeting to be held shortly on the three-shift question, to meet afterwards on the medical question. The suggestion of the joint committee of miners and doctors that the payment should be 6d. per fortnight for householders, and 3d. per fortnight for workers over 16 years of age, was rejected by both sides, the latest offei’ of the miners being 5d. and 2d. At present there is an absolute deadlock on the question. Federated* Area. The employment of non-union labour led to a strike at the collieries of the Worsley Mesnes Colliery Company Limited on Monday, in accordance with the decision arrived at by the Lancashire and Cheshire Miners’ Federation. A mass meeting of miners was held on Tuesday. The number of non-union men, it was stated, had been reduced from seven to three. It was decided not to re-start work until each of the non-union men employed at the collieries had paid the entrance fee to the Miners’ Federation. According to arrangements notices should have been handed in by the mine workers in Yorkshire on Mon- day, but as it is still possible that negotiations may open out the way towards a settlement, the miners’ officials decided to postpone further action for a week. The result of the ballot to enforce a minimum wage for surface workers in the western district was declared last Friday, as follows :—In favour of tendering notices, 90,038; against, 6,375; neutral, 4,225. As far as possible the two questions—non-union labour and the surface workers’ agitation—are being dealt with separately. Negotiations have been opened with the owners on the non-union problem, and the men’s representatives' met the West Yorkshire Coalowners Association in Leeds on Wednesday. A meeting with the South Yorkshire Coalowners’ Association has been arranged to take place at Sheffield on Monday next, and on the following day the outcome of these deliberations ! will be discussed by the council of the Yorkshire Miners’ Association at Barnsley. The meeting of the joint committee of the West Yorkshire Coalowners’ Association and the Yorkshire Miners’ Association for dealing with the question of non-union labour was held at Leeds on Wednesday. No disclosures of the nature of the discussion was made, but at the conclusion of the meeting it was officially reported that, after a free and amicable discussion of the subject, it was decided to adjourn the meeting to a date to be fixed later. A meeting of the council of the Leicestershire Miners’ Association was held last Friday at Coalville. The council again considered the method of applying the 5 per advance to the minimum wage, and the agent stated that no decision had yet been arrived at by the Conciliation Board, but it was expected shortly. A resolution was passed to the effect that the agent write to the coalowners’ secretary, asking him to bring the matter of non-union persons before the managers of the collieries in the district, and that unless these persons join the union by the end of June, the probability was that the union men would refuse to work at the same pits where they were employed, this applying both to day wage men and men working at the coal face. Scotland. A meeting of the Scottish Coal Trade Conciliation Board was held in Glasgow, on Tuesday, to discuss a claim by the miners for an advance of 25 per cent., and a counterclaim by the coalmasters for a reduction of 12| per cent. The parties failed to agree and decided to remit the applications to a neutral chairman. It was agreed to invite Lord Balfour of Burleigh, and failing him, Sheriff A. O. Mackenzie, to act as neutral chair- man, and to arrange the meeting with the neutral chairman for Friday the 20th or Monday, the 23rd inst. Iron, Steel, and Engineering Trades A settlement has been reached in the dispute at the Blochairn Works of the Steel Company of Scotland Limited. The dispute, which originated over the position of a smelter, threatened to involve fully 3,500 men in a strike. The National Amalgamated Union of Labour have applied to the Shipbuilding|Employers’ Federation for an advance of 2s. a week on time rates and 10 per cent, on piece rates for all their members working in federated yards. This application is quite apart from the negotia- tions now proceeding between the Federation and the shipyard trade unions which are signatories to the national agreement, and is said to affect 12,000 men on the north-east coast. A conference between the Shipbuilding Employers’ Federation and the standing committee of the shipyard trade unions, adjourned from last week, was resumed in Edinburgh on Wednesday. The result is that another ballot of the workmen is to be taken on the offer made by the employers last week and on the proposal that an independent chairman—the name of Sir George Askwith has been suggested—should be called in. The employers’ offer was Is. per week, or |d. per hour on time rates, dating from the first full pay in August, and a special advance of 2| per cent, for riveters, on condition that no further alteration in wages should take place for 12 months. The strikes and lock-outs in the Black Country district still continue, about 25,000 men being idle. Railway Facilities in the Lothians Coalfield.—On Monday a Select Committee of the House of Lords approved, with certain modifications, the Bill of the North British Railway Company to provide additional facilities for the conveyance of coal to the docks at Leith, and threw out an alternative Bill promoted by certain colliery owners in the coalfield. In the latter Bill an endeavour was made to introduce the South Wales system of rates. It was stated that the charge by the North British Company for conveyance to Leith and Granton was Is. 2d. if in com- pany’s wagons, and lid. if in owners’ wagons. This latter charge the Lothians Company proposed to reduce to 7|d. for 8 miles and lOd. for 12 miles. The five colliery com- panies promoting the Bill undertook to guarantee a minimum annual traffic of 1,150,000 tons. Evidence was given in support of the scheme by a number of well-known mining experts, who generally admitted that an improve- ment in the conditions had taken place, but urged the necessity of providing effective competition. Mr. D. M Mowat, of the Summerlee Iron Company, made the interesting statement that in 10 years’ time Lanarkshire would be crying out for Lothian coal. Before the North British Company’s Bill came on for hearing, the company made offers in regard to the expedition of work and the provision of wagons, to which the promoters of the rival Bill would not accede, but the Committee, as already stated, found in favour of the company. Counsel for the latter stated that it was impossible to give any conces- sion in regard to rates, and, in conjunction with other companies, the North British Company had given notice of a 2| per cent, increase. The Committee asked that a clause entitling colliery lessees to have and use for all traffic to and from the collieries of as many private wagons as they might think fit, provided that in the case of any colliery lessee availing himself of this right the North British Railway Company would not be bound to supply wagons for the said traffic. The Committee also took note of the formal undertaking given by the North British Railway Company that railways 2 to 14 and relative sidings would be completed and opened for traffic within two years of the date authorising their construction receiving the Royal assent, instead of five years. In the other House opposition is anticipated on the part of the Caledonian Company in regard to the wagon arrangement as affecting the contem- plated pool of wagons among the Scottish companies. The chairman of the North British admitted that a similar con- cession probably would now have to be made to the Fifaahira colliery owners.