July 9, 1915.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

73

The claim of the enginemen and. other surfacemen
in North Staffordshire to the war bonus of 15J per
cent, has been referred to the Government Com-
mittee on Production. An agreement has been come
to in South Staffordshire.

A peculiar situation has arisen in the Northum-
berland coal trade over the question of war bonus
and wages. It was officially announced this week
that the average net selling price of Northumberland
coal for the three months ended May last was
Ils. 7*72d. per ton. On these figures the miners’
wages committee claim that the 15 per cent, war
bonus should be added to the 65 per cent, maximum
under the scale in case the prices rise to that extent,
and that the percentage on wages commencing with
the first pays in July based on the prices just ascer-
tained should be 76 per cent. The owners, on the
other hand, hold that in no case can the maximum
under the scale be exceeded; therefore, 65 per cent,
is due. A meeting with the Coalowners’ Association
has been arranged to take place to-morrow to discuss
the question.

The South Wales miners’ representatives have
submitted counter proposals to the President of the
Board of Trade in connection with the renewal of
wages agreement which expired last week. Mr.
Kunciman has been in consultation with the owners,
but has not as yet communicated his decision.

It is stated that the great meeting of coalowners,
colliery officials, and miners, which has been called
for the purpose of deciding on the measures necessary
to secure the greatest possible output of coal for war
purposes, will be held in London on the 21st inst.
No decision has yet been come to as to the place of
meeting.

The average value of coal, coke and manufactured
fuel exported from the United Kingdom during
June was 17s. lOTd. per ton, as compared with
13s. 7-4d. in June 1914 and 14s. 3’05d. in June 1913.

The value during the first six completed months of
the present year is 16s. 0 4d. per ton, as compared
with 13s. 10 05d. and 13s. 11-3d. respectively in the
corresponding periods of 1914 and 1913.

Of the total exports of coal during June, the
mean value of the large coal exported was 19s. 1 l-9d.;
through-and-through (unscreened), 15s. T7d.; and
small coal, 16s. 4d. The average value of all
kinds of coal exported was 17s. 7*6d., a decrease of
2*Id. as compared with the previous month. Other-
wise divided, it fetched the following:—Steam coal,
18s. 7’3d. ; gas coal, 14s.	2d. ; anthracite,

18s. 7*7d. ; household, 18s. 3’4d. ; other sorts,
14s. 11 *8d. The average value of the coke exported
was 26s. l*4d. per ton, and of the manufactured fuel
20s. 5*4d. per ton.

The first half of 1915 has been a

The singularly trying period for buyers
Half-year’s and sellers of coal, and the anxiety
Coal Trade, aroused by a depleted supply of fuel
has been greatly augmented by
irritable experiments. When the time comes for
mature reflection it will probably be admitted by all
except the experimentalists that, however successful
the country has been in dealing with questions of
arms and finance, our politicians have shown no
intuitive capacity for dealing with the peculiar trade
problems that have arisen, and it remains to be seen
whether, with our usual luck, we shall succeed in
extricating ourselves from the muddle.

The chief mistake of the Government has been
that they have done the doubtful thing at the wrong
time. It was not until just before the year opened that
the possibility of a shortage of coal began to be
appreciated—actually not until some people were
left without coal at all and others had let their stocks
fall to the last dregs. In the meantime everything
was done to encourage the enlistment of miners, and
the natural steps that might have been taken to
restore the normal production were left untried;
transport was left to find its own accidental remedies ;
and all the time our legislators continued to live in
a fool’s paradise.

The consequence was that when the Government
became alive to the clamour of the poor consumer,
they started precipitately to investigate the problem

Prices.

Description of fuel.	Per ton. July 1, 1914.	Per ton. January 1, 1915.	Per ton. July 1, 1915.
Best Northumbrian steam coals f.o.b. Tyne...  „	„	steam smalls „  Best Durham gas coals	„  Durham coking coals	„  Best Durham blast-furnace coke del. Tees-side Durham bunkers f.o.b. Tyne 	  Foundry coke f.o.b. Tyne	  Best Lancashire house coals at pit 	  „	„	slacks	„		  Best Yorkshire Silkstone	„ 	  Barnsley thick-seam house	„		  Best Haigh Moor (London)	„		  Yorkshire steam coals	„		  Best Derbyshire house coals „			  Large „	nuts	„		  Best Staffordshire house coals 	  „ Welsh steam coals	f.o.b.	Cardiff...  „ Welsh small steam coals	„	„	...  „ Semi-bituminous	„	„	...  No. 3 Rhondda, large	„	„	...  No. 2	„	„	’	„	„ ...  Patent fuel	„	„	...  Best Welsh malting anthracite f.o.b. Swansea Special foundry coke, Cardiff	  Scotch ell coals f.o.b. Glasgow 	  „ steam ,,	„		  „ splint „	„		  Fife steam coals, f.o.b. Methil 	  Fife treble nuts „	„		  Hetton Wallsend, London 		13s. 6d. to 13s. 9d. 8s. 6d.  13s.  12s.  19s. 6d.  Ils. 4|d. to 12s. 6d. 19s. to 21s.  17s. 3d. to 18s.  9s. 6d. to 10s.  15s. 6d. to 16s.  15s. to 15s. 3d.  14s.  Us. 3d. to Ils. 6d.  13s. 6d.  9s. 6d.  17s. 6d.  21s. to 21s. 6d.  Ils.  |	17s. to 17s. 3d.  17s. 6d.  12s. 9d. to 13s. 3d.  21s.  20s. to 22s.  27s. to 29s.  Ils. 3d. to Ils. 6d.  10s. 6d. to 12s. 6d.  10s. 6d. to 14s.  12s. 6d. to 13s. Ils. to Ils. 6d. 21s. 6d.	12s. 3d. to 12s. 6d.  7s. to 7s. 3d.  12s. 6d.  10s. to 10s. 6d.  19s.  10s. 6d. to Ils. 6d.  19s. to 20s.  17s. 3d. to 18s.  9s. 6d. to 10s.  15s. 6d. to 16s.  15s.  15s. to 16s.  11s. 6d. to Us. 9d.  13s. 6d.  10s. 6d.  18s. 6d.  21s. to 22s.  12s. to 12s. 6d.  18s.  •	18s.  15s. to 15s. 6d.  18s.  22s. 6d. to 24s. 6d.  28s. to 32s.  13s. 9d. to 14s. 11s. 3d. to 13s. 3d. 13s. 3d. to 15s. 9d. 12s. 6d. to 12s. 9d.  12s. 6d. to 13s.	20s.  14s.  20s.  17s. 6d. to 18s. 6d.  30s.  16s. to 19s.  37s. 6d.  21s. to 22s.  14s.  21s. to 22s.  19s. to 20s.  19s. to 20s.  15s. to 16s.  17s.  15s. 6d.  23s.  27s*  19s. 6d. to 20s.  26s. to 27s.  28s.  20s. to 21s.  35s.  22s 6d. to 24s. 6d.  40s. to 42s. 6d.  15s.  13s. 6d. to 16s. 6d.  15s. to 18s.  18s. to 20s.  16s. 6d. to 17s. 6d.

* Nominal; best sorts off the market.

Freights.

—	July 1,1914.	January 1, 1915.	July 1, 1915.
Tyne to—			
Rouen 				4s. 6d.	17s.	16s.
Marseilles		7s. 9d.	21s.	28s.
Genoa 		7s. 9d.	21s. 6d.	27s.
Alexandria ....		8s.	22s. 6d.	27s. 6d.
London		3s.	11s. 6d.	7s. 6d.
Cardiff to—			
Genoa 		8s.	17s. 9d.	22s. 6d.
Bordeaux		5s. 3d.	Us.	16s. 6d.
Marseilles		7s. 6d.	15s. 6d.	20s.
Havre 		4s. l<jd.	11s. 6d.	12s.
Barcelona	 		8s. 6d. ■	16s.	20s.
Las Palmas ...	7s.	13s.	19s.
Alexandria ....			7s. 6d.	19s. 6d.	25s.
River Plate				14s. 6d.	16s. 3d.	27s. 6d.

Wages.

at the wrong end. Instead of examining at the outset
the condition of the collieries, they appointed an
academic committee to listen to the woes of factors,
gas managers, and trolleymen, and, what is more,
showed indecent haste to act upon their advice.
Steps were taken to manacle the export trade—for
what definite reason is not quite clear even to-day—
the word was passed round that the recruiting
sergeant must eschew the pit-head, and some very
windy talk took place about maximum prices. Actually
nothing has yet been done to give expression to the
last-named expedient, although the contract season
is well advanced, and nobody knows whether a con-
tract is worth anything more than a “ scrap of paper.”

The whole trouble has arisen from the fallacy of
regarding the current market price of coal as
representing the average value to the producer of the
whole tonnage, and ignoring the fact that the vast
proportion of the output had been sold under contract.
The tables given herewith to some extent show
this ; the first is a record of current quotations,' and
it will be noted that the advance has been very
considerable as compared with the ascertained values
of exports. The average value of exported fuel in
the first quarter of the year was only about 6d. per
ton higher than in the corresponding period of 1914 ;
it was not until the second quarter that there was any
appreciable rise in values, some of the new con-
tracts then coming into the accounts. The increase
did not actually come until long after the price of
i( free ” coal had bounded upwards. In the case of
household fuel, which has been the especial care of
the Government, we know that the rise in the price of
sales will not show itself markedly for some months
yet, but, asimight have been expected, the prices so
far fixed on next winter’s contracts are well below
the rates now ruling. The great bulk of these con-
tracts have now been ratified at an average advance
of 5s. per ton on last year, which, after all, nearly
coincides with the figure of 4s. 3d. which Mr.
Kunciman, it is said, is prepared to concede to the

Percentage of wages above
standards.

District.	July 1, 1914.	Jan. 1,  1915.	Julyl, 1915.
Northumberland 		... 52i ..	..	47	... 65*f
Durham 			..	53 J	... 68H
Federated area 		... 65	..	..	65	... 90it
South Wales and Mon....	... 60	.	..	60	... 77H
Scotland 		... 75	..	..	75	... 106Jt

* This raises the wages to the maximum; the miners,
however, contend that they should also receive the balance
of the war bonus of 15 per cent., making wages 78 above
standard rates.

t Including the war bonus; in Scotland this has been
merged in a subsequent advance.

collieries in respect of the advance in the cost of
production.

The case of gas and manufacturing coal has been
rather different. Gas coals have been in special
demand abroad, and there is no doubt that large
quantities of fuel of this character have been diverted
to other purposes. At the same time coal of high
volatile properties, as well as furnace and forge
coals, and slack, have been requisitioned to an
extraordinary extent in the production of munitions.
The situation here does, indeed, give some ground
for alarm, and it is a significant fact that the average
value of small coal exported has been greater than
that of through-and-through. This has been partly
due to the lessened requirements of shipping.

The tables which are given here show that there
has been a heavy falling off in the shipments of
steam coal, but this has been more apparent than
real, for the large quantities of first-class Welsh
smokeless steam coal consumed by the Navy are
not included, and it is fair to add that the
omission to a great extent invalidates any com-
parison of ascertained values on the basis of export
tonnage. The impediments which have been placed
by the Government in the way of steam coal exports
have severely affected the operations of many
collieries in the east of Scotland and the north of