September 11, 1914 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 577 _________________________________________________________________________ GERMANY’S MARKETS. II. — COAL {continued'). At this point we may examine the markets in greater detail. Taking first Austria-Hungary, this market, important as it is to the Silesian mining industry, has less significance to us. During the past few years consider- able quantities of British coal have been exported to Austria-Hungary, but in the total they are not to be compared with the 12 millions of German coal consumed in the dual monarchy, whilst they have almost entirely been confined to Trieste, Fiume, and other ports in the Adriatic. No doubt their purpose has been to replenish the bunkers of the Austrian navy, which has little use for the vastly inferior coal of Silesia. It is in France that Germany has made her greatest efforts to supplant British coal, and, although as a German market France is still inferior to Holland and Belgium, it must be remembered that our Gallic neigh- bours have always been our best customers. It was not a difficult matter to establish a market for German coal in the Centre and East of France, in which district are situated some of the most important French metal- lurgical works. By means of bounties and careful methods of cultivation Germany has consistently added to her trade in these districts. But it was not until the Welsh strike in 1898 that Germany began to make head- way in the West of France. In this work she was assisted by the British export duty on coal, which drove many large consumers, including the railway companies, into the arms of our German competitors. Some of that trade has since been recovered, but the general strike in Great Britain in 1912 gave another fillip to German coal. Germany has also been assisted by the constric- tion of the French output, due to legislative and other causes, and in the early months of the present year facilities in the shape of reduced railway rates were offered to encourage the entry of German coal into the South of France. In 1913 the production of coal in France amounted to just over 40,000,000 tons, or 223,000 tons less than in 1912. In the same period the consumption of fuel in France rose from 61,623,900 tons to 65,052,000 tons. The deficit was supplied by England (2,000,000 tons), Germany (800,000 tons), and Belgium (300,000 tons). The following table, showing the nature of the imports of fuel into France during the last 10 years, demon- strates the abnormal advance recently made by Germany. Whereas the imports of British coal were only some 700,000 tons higher in 1913 than they were in 1907, imports of German fuel have increased by nearly 3,000,000 tons, or over 90 per cent. The effect of the British strike in 1912 is clearly visible in these figures:— Imports of Fuel into France. Year. 1903 .... 1904 .... 1905 .... 1906 ... 1907 .... 1908 .... 1909 .... 1910 .... 1911 .... 1912 ... 1913 .... Britain. Bel™ countries. TotaL Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 7,375,000...5,016,000... 2,402,000... 9,000... 14,802,000 7,183,000...4,953,<00...2,420,000... 6,000... 15,562,000 7,190,000...4,415,000...2,382,000... 11,000 14,007,000 9,384,000.4,987,000...4,364,000... 7,000... 18,742,000 10,725,000.. .4,808,000... 3,892,000... 6,000... 19,431,000 10,451,000...5,521,000.3,472,000... 19,000...19,166,000 10,692,000...5,571,000...3,730,000... 27,000...20,023,000 9,919,000... 5,382,000...4,577,000... 14,000... 19,892,000 10,515,000... 5,345,000... 5,567,000... 18,000...2i ,445,000 10,074,0 0...4,793,000 6.500,000...368,000...21,735,000 11,432,000...5,031,000 6,8^9,000... 548,000... 23,870,000* * Over 1,543,000 tons of foreign coals were shipped in the bunkers of French steamers. The imports from Germany are shown over a long term of years in the following table :— Coal. Lignite. Year. Coal. Coke. Total. Briquettes. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. 1892 .. . 590,939 . .. 790,401 . — .. 1,381,340 1893 .. . 674,389 . .. 848,769 .. — .. 1,523,158 1894 .. . 636,368 . .. 980,291 . — .. 1,616,659 1895 .. . 577,419 907,926 .. — .. 1,485.315 1896 .. . 629,501 . .. 866,698 .. — .. 1,496,199 1897 .. . 650,671 . .. 948,115 .. — .. 1,598,786 1898 .. . 686,966 . .. 748,505 .. — .. 1,435,471 1899 .. . 731,402 . .. 738,769 .. — .. 1,470,171 1900 .. . 803,860 . .. 749,164 .. 9,043 .. 1,562,067 1901 .. . 796,987 . .. 753,647 .. 17,279 .. 1,567,913 1902 .. . 980,867 . .. 703,528 .. 17,373 .. 1,701,768 1903 .. . 1,073,043 . .. 917,131 .. 85,494 .. 2,075,668 1904 .. . 1,156,775 . . 1,106,183 .. 31,299 .. 2,294,257 1905 .. . 1,370,537 . .. 1,030,771 .. 29,367 .. 2,430,675 1906 .. . 1,933,373 . ..1,599,752 .. 42,334 .. 3,575,459 1907 .. . 1,324,903 . .. 1,710,106 .. . 34,176 ... 3?,511 . .. 3,101,696 1908 .. . 1,587,502 . .. 1,379,874 .. . 104,132 ... 37,026 .. .. 3,108,534 1909 .. . 1,953,194 . .. 1,387,370 .. . 72,418 ... 45,237 .. .. 3,458,219 1910 .. . 2,198,006 . .. 1,710,273 .. . 160,852 ... 42,391 . .. 4,111,525 loll .. . 2,842,736 . .. 1,792,117 .. .. 292,969 ... 58,647 . .. 4,986,469 1912 . . 3,057,502 .. .. 2,275,024 .. . 372,754 ... 50,847 .. .. 5,756,127 1913 .. . 3,242,175 .. .. 2,354,918 .. . 319,908 ... 64,075 . .. 6,081,076 The bulk of the German coal imported into France is delivered by rail,the quantities being shown below:— Coal. Coke. Briquettes. Total. rear. Tons. Tons. Tons. 'Ions. 1901 ... 405,788 .. 594,651 ... 5,t>03 ... 1,006,042 1902 ... 529,671 . 681,964 ... 1,702 ... 1,213,337 1903 ... 378,293 .. .. 1,014,060 ... 13,635 ... 1,405,988 1904 ... 354,872 .. .. 1,129,314 ... 10,713 ... 1,494,899 ' 1905 ... 279,533 .. .. 1,274,998 ... 1,725 ... 1,556,256 1906 ... 701,956 .. .. 2,088,682 ... 14,235 ... 2,8< <4,873 1907 ... 562,647 .. .. 1,994,150 ... 26,543 ... 2,583,340 1908 ... 460,473 . .. 1,691,320 ... 56,251 ... 2,20^044 1909 ... 363,059 .. .. 1,109,141 ... 5,189 ... 1,477,389 1910 ... 489,540 .. ,. 1,643,545 ... 6,308 ... 2,139,393 1911 ... 826,573 .. .. 1,951,657 ... 22,802 ... 2,801,032 1912 ...1,031,091 .. .. 3,342,246 ... 139,819 ... 4,513,156 In 1912, 1,626,441 tons were carried over Belgian canals and rivers into France, and 710,503 tons over the German waterways, notably the Rhine-Marne canal. France, indeed, has been attacked on all sides from Germany, which has assailed the ports on the west and north vid Rotterdam, the east by rail and water, whilst during the early part of the present year a new route was opened vid Ghent. The French railways have recently taken largely increased quantities of German coals, viz.:— British Coal. Company. 1898. 1900. 1905. 1910. 1911. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. State Western 159,600. 438,200. .. 216,400 .. .. 619,000... 210,700) 494,9(J0 ) 889,400. .1,005,900 Orleans 11M00. .. 370,500... 289,300... . 618,500. .. 601,000 Southern 24,000. .. 143,500... 180,400... , 276,900. .. 247,400 Paris - Lyons Mediterra- nean 5,700. .. 295,400... 72,900... 281,300 .. 181,300 Northern — .. 100,600... 3,400... . 41,900. .. 17,600 Other railwys. 7,600. .. 10,500... . 31,800... . 11,200. .. 30,300 Total 751,200. .1,756,900.. 1,283,400. .2,119,200. .2,083,500 German Coal. Company. 1?*98. Tons. 1900. Tons. 1905. Tons. 1910. Tons. 1911. Tons. Paris - Lyons Mediterra- nean — — 3,600.. . 109,300. .. 263,300 Eastern 54,400.' .' 40,100" . 47,4«0... . 95,000. .. 251,400 Orleans — — 7,900.. . 85,200. .. 104,300 Southern — — — . 40,500 .. 100,800 State Western — 7,600) 44,900) 76,500. .. 85,000 Northern — — — — 6,400 Other railwys. — — — — .. 2,300 Total 54,400.. . 40,100... . 111,4'0... . 406,500. .. 813,500 The British strike in 1912 greatly accentuated the import of German coal into' the est of France—at Caen, Havre, Rouen, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Bayonne, Nantes and Pauillac, and during the early part of the present year several large contracts were booked in Paris. In the development of this trade to Western France the key has undoubtedly been the port of Rotterdam, which is also the outlet for nearly the whole of the German coal exports to distant parts of the world. The admirable system of waterways that connects the Ruhr coalfields with the great Dutch port has not only enabled Germany to control the fuel supply of the Netherlands but has also provided her with a port of shipment, without which her facilities for export in coal and iron would be severely limited. At Hamburg and the Baltic ports British coal can compete on practically level terms with German coal, but the latter can be placed on board at Rotterdam at prices that Rre not approximately greater than those quoted for our own ports. The position of Holland is in many respects remark- able. The native collieries in 1912 produced 1,725,394 tons. In 1902 the consumption of coal in Holland itself amounted to 5,161,389 tons, but 10 years later this had risen to 9,426,743 tons. In the former year the native production was 390,778 tons; thus, in the same time that the output had advanced by 1,330,000 tons, the consumption had increased by no less than 4,260,000 tons Nevertheless, about two-thirds of the native coal, owing to the geographical situation of the collieries, is exported, the exports in 1912 amounting to 1,128,541 tons. In the same year Holland imported 13,322,727 tons of coal (including coal in transit), and exported—on the same basis—4,621,378 tons. As the figures vitally affect the German export trade, they may be given in more or less detail:— Exports of Coal from Holland (including Coal Re-exported). 1902. 1911. 1912. Tons. Tons. Tons. All exports .... 849,403 ... ... 4,742,889 ... 4,621,378 To Germany ... d71,l79 ... ... 1,239,132 ... ... 1,224,343 „ Belgium .... 87,170 ... 766,901 ... 937,628 ,, France ... 180,478 ... 1,378,720 ... ... 1,004,835 „ Italy ... 56,061 .. 398,845 ... * „ Russia ... 17,740 ... 171,468 ... * ,, Spain ... 22,632 ... 97,334 ... # „ Egypt — 167,778 ... # * Not available. Imports of Coal into Holland (including Coal in Transit). 1902. 1911. 1912. Tons. Tons. Tons. Total imports ........ 5,620,014 ... 11,356,202 ... 13,322,727 From Germany ______ 4,521,297 ... 8,881,463 ... 9,874,158 ,, Belgium ........ 344,541 ... .331,663 ... 300,574 „ United Kingdom 744,906 ... 2,136,701 .. 2,144,567 The enormous increase in the imports of German coal into Holland for re-export will be appreciated from the above tables It may be added that a large portion of the coal delivered in Holland is used for bunkering steamers at Rotterdam and Amsterdam. This influx of German coal has been attributable to the increased quantities sent by water from the Ruhr ports. In 1900,1,336,792 tons of coal and coke w ere sent in this wav to Holland ; in 1911,4,138,900 tons ; and in 1912, 4,821,361 tons. These figures do not include the ship- ments made by collieries themselves owning wharves, which amount*-d to 886,425 tons in 1911, and 903,664 toes in 1912 :— Coal and Coke Sent to Holland by Water from the Ruhr Ports. Years. Tons. Years. Tons. 1900 1,336,792 1907 1,791,477 1901 1,445,045 1908 2,344,476 1902 1,682,073 1909 3,054,150 1903 2,587,128 1910 3,786,864 1904 2,381,723 1911 4,138,900 1905 2,480,222 1912 4,821,361 1906 2,083,322 The next table shows the deliveries from the Ruhr by rail:— Years. Coal. Coke. Briquettes. Tons. Tons. Tons. 1902 . ... 2,968,448 ... ... 303,759 59,954 1903 ... ... 3,223,820 ... ... 283,267 33,340 1904 ... ... 3,314,613 ... ... 305,884 50,776 1905 ... ... 3,088,051 ... ... 283,889 55,017 1906 .. ... 3,304,364 .. ... 282,209 75,422 1907 ... ... 2,4-91,665 ... ... 266,021 86,555 1908 ... ... 2,911,555 ... ... 279,448 99,269 1909 .. ... 3,049,060 ... ... 244,679 101,200 1910 ... ... 3,154,668 ... 261,192 136,489 1911 .. ... 3,389,384 ... ... 318,686 188,526 1912 ... ... 3,536,723 ... ... 385 879 269,395 Earlier in the present y< ear it was stated that the Amsterdam and Rotterdam gas works had each pur- chased 200,000 tons of German coal, orders which formerly came to this country. The increase m Germany’s trade has been largely due to the contraction of the Belgian production. Of late years British merchants have sold fair quantities of su:all steam coals for the use of the Belgian State Railways, and considerable supp.ies of British coking coal—a quality in which Belgium herself is lacking- have gone to Belgium. It may be added that the municipal cokeries that have recently been estab- lished at Ostend and elsewhere on the coastline are largely dependent on British coal, and the briquette factory at Zeebrugge also uses our fuel. On the other hand, the imports of German coal into Belgium have steadily increased. In 1913 5,728,000 tons of coal, 937,000 tons of coke, and 547,000 tons of briquettes were despatched from Germany to Belgium, the trade having been more than doubled in less than 10 years. About half the traffic is by water and half by rail. In the development of the railborne traffic the operation of special tariffs has played a prominent part. These special tariffs are granted from Essen to such places as Antwerp (218 km.), Alost (256 km.), Brussels (245 km.), Ghent (275 km.), Liege (174 km.), and Louvain (224 km.). To Antwerp and certain transit depots the rate has been as low as 5 fr. per 1,000 kilogs., with further rebates, amounting to about J fr. per 1,000 kilogs., for large consignments. Nevertheless, the waterborne traffic has increased at an even greater rate, due largely to the greater economy in handling and transhipment. About 4s., indeed, will cover the cost of transport from the Rhine to Brussels, including the cost of delivery at the water from the colliery, and, in some cases where the collieries own wharves, this has been still further reduced. The Swiss market requires but little attention here, for the German collieries are situated in a most favour- able position geographically with regard to it. In 1913, 1,590,577 tons of German coal, 430,000 tons of German coke, and 968,000 tons of patent fuel were imported into Switzerland. Those districts in Russia also in which Silesian coal finds an extensive market are likewise beyond our reach, just as the Baltic ports are the domain of British coal. In 1913, 1,241.851 tons of coal and 517,797 tons of coke were imported from Silesia into the Warsaw district. The Russian coal mining industry, however, has shown phenomenal expansion during the last few years, and Silesian coal is there in active competition with the collieries in the Dombrowa and Donetz basins. The possibility of the Silesian and Galician coalfields being comprised in a new Polish kingdom is a factor not so remote as to be discarded in considering the possibilities of these markets when the world is again at peace. In the north of Europe German coal has hern able to make but little headway, but the coal syndicate booked handsome orders at the beginning of the present year with the State railways of Finland, Sweden and Denmark —all lost business to this country—and it is to be noted that Germany is credited with the intention of pushing her trade in Sweden during the closure of the Baltic. We may next turn to the Mediterranean. Germany has been at some pains here again to develop markets for her coal. In 1911, 442,935 tons of German coal were imported into Italy. In the following year this quantity was doubled, reaching the total of 889,801 tons.' In 1913 again there was a further increase, 949,113 tons being imported. A considerable portion of this coal is introduced vid the Alpine railways. On May 1 the railway rates to Italy were lowered on the average by 7d. per ton vid Chiasso and 6d. per ton vid Pino. On the other hand, the Minister of Public Works, in response to pressure from the coal owners, decided to re-establish from October 1, 1913, bounties on the export of coal, coke and briquettes, which were suppressed on October 1, 1908. This benefaction amounted to diminutions in the cost of transport as follow:—vid Chiasso, 350fr. per ton; vid Pino, 310fr.; vid Iselle, 4'90fr.; via Peri, 2fr. 40 c. The following table shows the exports of German coal to Italy by the St. Gothard:— From— 1912. Tons. 1913. Tons. Ruhr .... 183,296 .. .. 219,594 Saar .... 133,211 .. .. 180,800 Aachen 9,860 .. 6,768 Rhenish lignite 2,130 .. 2,489 Lorraine .... 18,928 .. 8,348 Rhine harbours .... 31,236 .. 23,121 Rhine Pfalz 151 .. 80 Oberpfalz 11 .. — Upper Silesia 40 .. 10 Total .... 378,863 .. . 441,210 A digression may here be permitted in order to consider the importation of British coals into Germany itself. This has always threatened a powerful influence upon German external commerce. The German export coal trade may indeed be likened to the outbursts of air from a rubber ball, for an impetus to increasing exports to such countries as France, Austria and Russia, may often be found in the heightened competion of British coal in Northern and Central Germany. Nevertheless, although the export trade has been primarily regarded