August 21, 1914. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 421 the price is on an average 10s. a ton more. But, as one man put it, they are afraid of a jump in the dark. The situation is too uncertain, and accordingly they are not prepared to unduly fill their books. Following the advance in branded bars, unmarked qualities have risen 5s. to 10s. on the week, being now quoted £715s. to £8, while common bars average about £7 5s. It is probable that the bar mills will soon resume full time. For galvanised sheets there were practically no quotations, and the mills are closing down. The supply of spelter has been commandeered by the Government for their own purposes. Black sheets are =£8 10s. to £9, tube strip £7 5s. to <£7 10s. There is a wonderful activity in all branches of steel, though so far as can be ascertained the bulk of the output is being utilised for Government purposes. It is not possible to buy more than three months. Since the declaration of war no material has come from Germany or Belgium. There are loads of bars and billets, it is understood, at Hamburg and Antwerp, and hopes are expressed that the supplies from the Belgian ports at least will arrive. Meantime English makers are doing their best to meet the increased demand. Prices have risen sharply. For soft steel billets the quotation is £5 15s. to £6, with 7s. 6d. to 10s. 6d. extra for the harder carbons. Material used in the manufacture of steel has also gone up. Ferro-manganese, for instance, has advanced £1, and now stands at £12, and spiegel has risen 15s. to £6 a ton. quotations for best Admiralties and superior seconds, but ordinary seconds are nominally 18s. to 19s., and other qualities about Is. less. Dry coals are again in request at 15s. 6d. to 16s. 6d., and best Black Veins are being done at 17s. to 17s. 6d. with other qualities in proportion. Very little business, however, has been done since the holidays, and thousands of workmen, especially in the Monmouthshire valleys, have been temporarily out of employment. Small coals have been very irregular, and as wagons have been short many collieries had recourse to banking. The result is that quotations have fluctuated considerably. Best bunkers have been done at 7s. 6d. to 8s. 6d., but transactions in ordinary qualities have been reported as low as 4s. 6d. In bituminous coals there has been practically nothing doing except for the home market. The quotations remain about the same. Up to the present there have been no dealings in coke or patent fuel. Prices f.o.b. Cardiff (except where otherwise stated). July 1914. Tons. July 1913. Tons. Uruguay .. 26,412 67,289 Argentine Republic .. 246,280 ... 306,655 Channel Islands . 7,215 ... 7,802 Gibraltar . 22,142 ... 15,677 Malta and Gozo . 30,767 45,551 Cape of Good Hope 353 5,664 Anglo-Egyptian Sudan .... . 5,906 ... — Aden and Dependencies . 11,156 14,229 British India 5,010 — Ceylon and Dependencies.. . 27,141 14,032 Hong Kong — 10,318 Canada 8,218 2,887 Falkland Islands — 5,026 West Africa (French) . 7,892 ... 17,691 „ (Portuguese).. . 1,828 ... 8,572 THE WELSH COAL AND IRON TRADES. Thursday, August 20. North Wales. Wrexham. COAL. There is nothing very cheerful to report from - this locality this week. The ready response to the call to the colours which has been made by the young men connected with our collieries, in conjunction with the short time worked through inability to get empty wagons, has caused a great reduction in the output. Sellers can obtain orders for coal for household trade, but the difficulty is in getting it to the station of destination; railway facilities have been restricted in some districts, and wagons have been detained en route, causing great inconvenience and loss. There is a great shortage of orders for steam coal, notwith- standing the fact that the railway companies who have contracts here are taking good supplies. The chief loss is in regard to coal for manufacturing purposes, the supplies of which in many cases have been entirely suspended and the works closed. There is little or no trade being done at the Mersey shipping ports with coal from this district, orders are very scarce indeed, and prices are low. Slack, of course, cannot be expected to have a large sale in view of existing circumstances, and prices vary but little just now, while gas coke remains unaltered. This week’s quotations are as below:— Current L’st quot’d Last year’s Steam coals:— prices. prices. prices. Best Admiralty steam coals — 21/ -22/ 21/ Superior seconds — 19/6-20/ 20/ -20/6 Ordinary do 17/ -18/ 17/ -18/ 18/6-19/ Best bunker smalls 7/6- 8/6 7/6- 8/6 11/6-11/9 Best ordinaries 6/6- 7/ 6/6- 7/ 11/3-11/6 Cargo qualities 4/6- 6/ 4/6- 6/ 8/9- 9/ Inferior smalls —- 7/ - 7/6 8/ -8/6 Best dry coals 15/6-16/6 15/6-16/6 18/ -19/ Ordinary drys — 16/6-17/ 15/9-16/6 Best washed nuts 15/6 16/ Seconds — 14/3-14/6 15/ Best washed peas — 14/6 14/3-14/6 Seconds — 13/3-13/6 13/ -13/6 Dock screenings — 10/6 11/3 Monmouthshire— Black Veins 17/ -17/6 17/ -17/6 17/6-17/9 Western-valleys 16/3-16/9 16/3—16/9 17/ -17/6 Eastern-valley s 15'1 -15/9 15/ —15/9 16/ -16/9 Inferior do — 15/3-15/6 15/ -15/3 Bituminous coals :— Best house coals (at pit) 20/ 20/ 20/ Second qualities (at pit) 17/6-19/6 17/6-19/6 18/ No. 3 Rhondda— Bituminous large — 17/6 17/6 Through-and-through — 15/ 15/ Small 12/3 12/6 No. 2 Rhondda— Large — 12/6-13/ 13/6 ' Through-and-through — 10/6 11/6 Small — 8/9 8/6- 8/9 Best patent fuel — 21/ 22/6 Seconds — 19/ -20/ •21/ Special foundry coke — 26/ -29/6 28/ Ordinary do. — 21/ -25/ 25/ -26/ Furnace coke 16/ -19/ 20/ -22/ Pitwood (ex-ship) 35/ 35/ 22/ -22/3 Prices at pit f.o.r.: — Best house coal ...... Secondary do.......... Steam coal............ Gas coal.............. Bunkers............... Nuts ................. Slack ................ Gas coke (at works)... Prices landsale:— Best house coal ...... Seconds .............. Slack ................ Current prices. 14/6-15/6 13/6-14/6 12/ -12/6 12/ -12/9 11/9-12/3 11/ —11/9 6/6- 7/6 11/8-13/4 18/4-20/ 16/8-17/6 10/ -12/6 L’st quot’d prices. 14/4-15/3 13/4-14/ 12/ -12/6 121 -12/6 11/6-12/3 11/ -11/9 6/9- 7/9 11/8-13/4 Last year’s prices. 15/ -15/6 14/ -14/6 12/3-12/6 13/ -13/6 12/ -12/3 11/ -11/3 6/ - 8/ 15/ -16/8 18/4-20/ 16/6—18/4 16/8-18/4 16/8-17/6 10/ -12/6 15/ -16/8 Monmouthshire, South Wales, &c. Cardiff. COAL. The welcome announcement was made on ’Change on Tuesday that the Government had decided to withdraw the triple bond which had been exacted on foreign coal ship- ments, and this, of course, only applies to the ports of neutral countries and to France. During the existence of the embargo, business was absolutely at a standstill, and even now some shippers are demanding spot cash at the time of loading. All the best Admiralty coal, as well as superior second qualities, had been taken by the Govern- ment for naval purposes, but the difficulty was to find an outlet for ordinary large steams, which producers were not allowed to export except to permitted countries, and then only on entering into the triple value bond to ensure the coal reaching its proper destination, and the result has been that many collieries have been stopped on account of shortage of wagons. It is believed that the unemployment caused by the imposition of the bond had a considerable influence on the decision of the authorities, and this phase of the question was also emphasised by the Miners’ Federation, who pointed out that unless facilities were offered for the shipment of coal the whole of the mines of the district, with the exception of those producing Admiralty qualities, would soon be on stop. It is known that urgent representations were also made by the French and Italian State railways, and in the case of the latter the position was becoming very serious, as it was believed that stocks abroad were at a low ebb owing to the prolonged continuance of the Italian shipping strike. Now, however, that the embargo has been removed, chartering is proceeding briskly, and freights to Genoa are 2s. higher than they were immediately before the outbreak of hostilities. For some days no details of business were allowed to leak out, but it has now been decided that particulars of chartering transactions can be given, without, however, disclosing the name of the boat or the charterers. The resumption of Italian trade will be very gratifying to Monmouthshire coalowners as large quantities of Monmouthshire coals are exported to this market. With regard to prices there are still no One of the difficulties colliery proprietors have to contend with is the shortage of pitwood. Almost immediately on the declaration of war prices jumped up to 30s. and 35s. per ton, and although the assistance of the French military authorities was invoked in order to obtain supplies, the price has remained at practically the same figure ever since. The difficulty at the moment is not so much one of obtaining supplies, but relates more particularly to the financial aspect of the question. Shippers abroad are demanding spot cash for their goods, and at the present moment there are no means of giving it to them. Exchanges are closed and foreign banks u ill not accept cheques or even bankers’ bills ; and this is a point which is now being considered both by shippers and consumers. English Treasury bills, although unimpeachable in this country, are not looked upon with the same degree of confidence abroad, and unless some means can be adopted for satisfying the requirements of foreign traders and bankers, the position which has arisen is likely to become even more serious. The Customs returns issued by the Statistical Office are just to hand, showing the shipments of coal from the principal Bristol Channel ports to the chief foreign countries of the world and British possessions during the month of July. From these it appears that the shipments from Cardiff amounted 1,785,787 tons, compared with 1,837,233 tons in the corresponding month of last year, or a decrease of 51,436 tons. There were also decreases from the other Bristol Channel ports. From Newport the exports were 376,542 tons, or a falling-off of 101,007 tons; from Swansea, 286,835 tons, or a decline of 31,864 tons ; and from Port Talbot, 138,844 tons, or a decrease of 53,881 tons. The following table shows in detail the totals shipped to the various countries during July, compared with the corresponding month of 1913 :— IRON. Now that there is a prospect of shipment being resumed to neutral countries, it is expected that many of the tin- plate works which had been closed down since the beginning of the month will be reopened. Last week less than 200 mills were working out of a total of 580, and over 200 more resumed operations this week, chiefly with the idea of keeping the men employed. Prices show a decided improve- ment, and makers are confidently looking forward to a revival in the trade. Up to the present, however, orders are not coming in freely, but when the excitement of the past few days has subsided a little more, it is anticipated that a more normal state of things will prevail. Bessemer standard cokes are offering at 13s. 6d., and oil sizes at 13s. 9d. and 18s. 9d. respectively. There has been a big jump in the price of galvanised sheets, chiefly owing to the extraordinary rise which has taken place in spelter. Before the war the quotation was about <£21 per ton, and on Monday it was commanding from £35 to £40, or an increase of 100 per cent. At the time of writing, however, it had fallen to £32, and the result has been that the 24-gauge corrugated s, which a week ago were offered at £11, are now quoted at £13 per ton. Busy times are looked forward to in the near future. Owing to the suspension of imports of foreign bars, billets, &c., there has been a better demand for local material, and in some instances as much as £5 is now being asked for Bessemer bars, compared with £4 Ils. 3d. a fortnight ago. There is also a better enquiry for pig iron, and the quotation has been advanced to 65s. f.o.t., although at this figure not much business has yet been done. Scrap metals are neglected at present, but with a general resumption of work in the tin-plate trade, better prices are anticipated. Several substantial orders for rails have been placed with local firms, and they were badly needed. There is practically no iron ore coming forward at present, but shipments are expetted in the near future at enhanced rates. Exports of tin-plates last week amounted to only 14,165 boxes, against 17,331 boxes received from works, and there now remain in stock 252,486 boxes, compared with 286,291 boxes at the corresponding date of last year. COAL. There is very little alteration to report in the local coal trade. Collieries are only working part time and stocks are still heavy. Shipping is practically at a standstill and the only business being done is for inland orders. Collieries are, however, hoping that shipping to the Continental market will shortly be partly resumed. Prices for most qualities have advanced. There is very little doing in steam and bituminous qualities. Most of the manufacturing works have restarted, but the market so far is very dull and prices are stationary. This week they are:— Prices f.o.b. Anthracite:— Best malting large .. Secondary do. ....... Big Vein large....... Red Vein do.......... Machine-made cobbles... German nuts.......... French do............ Paris do............. Machine-made beans ... Do. peas......... Culm ................ Duff ................ Other sorts:— Current prices. 21/ -23/ 19/ -21/ 16/ -18/ 13/6-14/6 20/ -22/ 21/ -23/ 21/ -23/ 21/ -23/ 20/ -22/ 13/6-14/6 6/ - 6/3 3/9- 5/6 L’st week’s prices. 21/ -23/ 18/6-20/ 16/6-18/ 13/ -14/ 20/ -22/ 21/ -23/ 21/ -23/ 21/ -23/ 20/ -22/ 13/ —13/6 6/ - 6/3 3/9- 5/6 Last year’s prices. 20/6-22/ 19/ -20/ 17/ -18/ 12/6-13/6 19/6-20/6 20/ -22/ 22/ -24/ 22/ -24/ 20/ -21/ 12/ -13/ 6/6— 7/ 4/6- 5/6 Large steam coal...... 16/ -18/ Through-and-through... 11/ -11/6 Small ............... 8/6- 9/6 Bituminous small coal... 11/ -11/6 16/ -18/ 11/ —11/6 9/ - 9/6 11/ -11/6 17/ -18/ 11/6-12/ 9/ -10/ 10/ -11/ Russia July 1914. Tons. 135,109 .. July 1913. Tons. .. 118,517 Sweden 19,426 .. 12,482 Norway Denmark (including Fareo 10,327 .. 15,445 Islands) 884 .. 6,032 Germany 34,939 .. .. 42,331 Netherlands .• 9,488 .. 12,665 Java Other Dutch Possessions in 7,361 5,351 the Indian Seas 7,007 .. — Belgium 25,053 .. 27,899 France 631,523 .. 707,342 Algeria . 59,649 62,325 Portugal 63,388 . .. 76,331 Madeira 7,901 4,372 Spain 138,625 .. 112,319 Canary Islands 30,495 .. 58,846 Italy 561,036 . .. 599,490 Austria-Hungary 13,881 .. 18,631 Greece 37,944 . .. 33,178 Bulgaria 12,070 — Roumania 40,653 20,335 Turkey (European) 6,115 18,142 „ (Asiatic) 46,123 14,247 Egypt 156,452 .. 185,755 Tunis 14,426 . .. 25,227 Chile 28,557 .. 18,470 Brazil 103,996 . .. 142,850 OBITUARY. Mr. James Richardson, of Palmyra House, Warrington, a partner in the well-known firm of W. and J. Richardson, coal merchants, Marson-street and Old-road, Warrington, died at Rhyl on August 12. The deceased was 64 years of age, and had not been in good health for some time. The death, at the age of 61, is reported from Torquay, of Mr. Alfred John Jukes-Brown, F.R.S., F.G.S. He was on the staff of the Geological Survey from 1874 to 1902, when he retired owing to ill-health, and was the author of “ The Cretaceous Rocks of the British Isles ” and of several students’ handbooks on geology. He spent the winter of 1888-9 in studying the geology of Barbados, and was awarded the Murchison medal in 1901. The value of the’coaTimported into Korea amounted to £184,910, the quantity being 375,077 tons. Imports from Japan were 145,888 tons, valued at £76.492, a decline of 60,980 tons in quantity and £32,677 in value compared with 1912, while there was more than double the importation of Manchurian coal—viz., 227,227 tons, valued at £105,239, the producing power of the Fushun mine becoming greater every year. The Korean railways used Fushun coal exclusively, and their consumption is about 150,000 tons annually. The output of coal in 1913 is estimated at £36,525. Most of it found its way to Japan from the Government mines at Pyongyang. The An-ju coal mine continued its work of development and produced 4,300 tons of coal during the year.