ApftiL 13, 1917.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

729

NEW SPARKLESS BELL SYSTEM.

We have recently had an opportunity of inspecting
the Davis-Furnton electric bells, which are specially
designed for use with relays. The bell itself is abso-
lutely sparkless, being devoid of all contacts, and the
relay itself absorbs the current on the line wire. These
relays require about four volts on the line for bringing
them into action, depending on the line resistance.
The bell battery, which is operated by the relay, should
be about eight volts.

Since tremulous bells are preferred for underground
work, it is necessary to provide a special type of
relay in cases where direct current is used. In this
type, which the makers describe as type Z, a contact-
maker is fitted in the relay case. The spark at this
contact being absorbed by condensers with non-induc-
tive winding, the > platinum points are saved from
corrosion. This will be greatly appreciated by elec-
trical engineers. It is perhaps needless to say that,
when alternating current is used, a tremulous action is
obtained by an ordinary relay (type W) without the
contact-maker.

As will be seen from the accompanying illustration
of the relay, the case has wide machined faces, and
there is a good stuffing gland. The Davis-Furnton
system, in fact, meets all the requirements of the
Home Office, and may be described as a thoroughly safe
and efficient piece of apparatus.

We are indebted to the makers, Messrs. John Davis
and Son Limited, All Saints Works, Derby, for the
opportunity of inspecting this bell, which marks a
distinct advance in underground signalling methods.

Hull Coal Traffic.—The coal traffic through the port of
Hull during March amounted to 251,514 tons, a decline of
10,245 tons compared with March of last year. The
receipts for the three months ended March 31 last were
800,844 tons, a decline of 72,129 tons compared with the
corresponding period in 1916.

Gas from Wood. — The extreme scarcity of coal has
caused a fabulous rise of price in the brown coal fields of
Jutland, and people of all classes in the Jutland peninsula
are investing their money in the brown coal pits. Many
provincial gas works are experimenting with a view to the
production of gas from wood. It is said that the gas
works of Horsens (Jutland) may be able to supply the
whole town with gas thus made. In Copenhagen it is
almost impossible to procure coal.

Controller of Mines and Coke Consumption.—The Con-
troller of Mines has sent a letter to the borough councils
stating that he desires to encourage the consumption in
London of coke produced at London gas works in substi-
tution both for provincial coke, and also for coal, with a
view to economising railway transport as much as possible
and of conserving the national resources. Councils are
asked to state what facilities they have at riverside or
coal wharves for : (1) Unloading of coke from barges; (2)
storage of coke; (3) reloading into vans. Enquiry is also
made whether the councils would be prepared to co-operate
with the London gas companies for the entire handling of
the coke, and also in what other directions they may be
able to assist in its disposal.

MINING INSTITUTE OF SCOTLAND.

The 40th annual general meeting of the Mining
Institute of Scotland was held on Saturday, April 7,
in the Royal Technical College, Glasgow. Mr. D. M.
Mowat (Coatbridge) presided. At the outset the
following were admitted to the membership of the insti-
tute : Messrs. R. Allan (Coatbridge), C. Lilly (Mother-
well), C. Graham (British Columbia), G. Hutchison
(Markinch), G. Morrison (Wishaw), Wm. Morton
(Wishaw), Wm. Smith (Peru, South America), A.
Williamson (West Benhar), D. Baxter (Larkhall), and
John H. G. Johnstone (Lochgelly). Associates:
Messrs. D. Baird and D. G. McLea.

Council’s Annual Report.

The 39th annual report of the council showed that
the membership of the institute now stood at 642, an
increase of seven for the year. The number of papers
submitted had been less than usual, owing to the fact
that, in consequence of the war, the council had cur-
tailed the number of general meetings held during the
year. The new catalogue of the library had been
completed, and copies issued to the members. It was
hoped that the catalogue would be of service to the
members, and that greater advantage would be taken
than in past years of the large collection of valuable
books dealing with mining engineering and kindred
subjects in the library. Sixty members of the insti-
tute were serving in H.M. Forces, and of these
another had fallen in battle, viz., Sergt. Frank M.
Calder. Since last meeting, the following members
had gained distinction: Lieut. V. B. Gray (Military
Cross), Maj. H. J. Humphrys (Military Cross), Lieut.
A. C. Rankin (Military Cross), and the late Sergt.
F. M. Calder (Military Cross).

According to the abstract of accounts, the balance
at the credit of the institute had been increased by
£114 as a result of the session’s operations.

The President said that while the financial position
of the Mining Institute of Scotland was highly satis-
factory, there had been considerable monetary diffi-
culties in connection with the Institution of Mining
Engineers. The expenses of removing the head-
quarters of the institution to London had worked out
at rather more than anticipated, while other financial
difficulties had arisen. Various proposals had been
made from time to time to get over these, and at pre-
sent the whole subject was being fully considered. It
was to be hoped that some method of strengthening
the financial position would be devised, because if
money was a little more plentiful, the institution
might be able to embark on wider schemes for the
improvement of the mining industry as a whole.

The report of the council and the financial statement
were unanimously adopted.

Election of President.

Mr. J. Barrowman moved that Mr. David M.
Mowat (Coatbridge) be elected president for the ensu-
ing year. He felt that all those who had come into
contact with Mr. Mowat during his term of office must
recognise that in him they had a most efficient presi-
dent.

The motion was seconded, and agreed to unani-
mously.

Office-bearers were elected for next session as
follow:—Vice-presidents, Messrs. J. Nisbet and D. L.
Smith; councillors, Prof. Gregory, and Messrs. J.
Barrowman, C. A. Carlow, D. Ferguson, W. Thorney-
croft, and J. B. Thomson.

The President's Address.

The President thereafter delivered his address, in
the course of which he spoke appreciatively of the work
of “ Kitchener’s Army.” He said that by contrast
the behaviour of our industrial army came out badly.
Possibly, if the latter had seen and felt more of the
awful hardships of war, if the war had been brought
more home to them, it might have been otherwise.
When peace was declared, what would then be the
situation? Practically the whole industrial population
of the Empire was now engaged in the production and
transport of munitions of war. When peace was
declared, the whole of that manufacture would neces-
sarily cease. Could the people resume their pre-war
peaceful occupations without a period of interregnum
during which much hardship might prevail? Could
factories which produced ploughshares turn from
swords to ploughshares again ? That was a question
which it was not easy to answer. Many people
believed that as soon as peace was declared, there
would bo a great boom in trade for several years. They
said all the commodities of peace had been used up,
and would require to be replaced. The whole world
would require to be replenished. As to the necessity
for replenishment there could be no possible doubt.
But necessity alone could not produce a boom in trade.
A tramp might walk the soles off his boots and might
badly require a new pair; but he could not procure a
new pair unless he were able to pay the price. The
world would have great need for practically every
commodity, but, with the exception of the peoples of
several neutral countries, would not be in a position to
spend money freely. The cost of every manufactured
commodity was now very much higher than before the
war, and in many cases the cost would be doubled or
trebled. Who would purchase goods at such a price?.
Would capitalists be found to build ships at such a
price when they knew that the immediate effect of
building these ships would be to reduce freights? Costs
were extremely high, and until these costs could be
very considerably reduced, he feared that purchasers
would be few and stocks limited. How could these
costs be reduced? What was the cause of the present-
high cost of production? Very largely the high rate
of wages paid. What was the primary cause of the

high rate of wages? The high cost of living. If the
cost of living were no greater than before the war,
there would be no hardship in reducing the rate of
wages. If, on the other hand, the rate of wages were
reduced, while the cost of living remained high, great
hardship would ensue. It would appear, therefore,
that the initial step towards getting back to normal
conditions was to reduce the cost of living. How could
this be brought about? It was essentially a war pro-
blem, and one which must be dealt with by the State.
It would be an awful tragedy if our sailors and
soldiers were demobilised and brought home to share
in the unemployment and poverty which must surely
come unless proper provision were made. The solu-
tion of this problem would require outstanding states-
manship, courage, and foresight. It was the most
important matter now to be dealt with, but should not
be beyond the powers of an able statesman to solve.
If the Government purchased all essential foodstuffs
at the best prices possible and distributed them to the
nation through the ordinary mercantile channels at
prices approximating to those ruling before the war,
the problem of reducing costs of production was more
than half solved. The continuation of the excess
profits duty would prevent exploitation by capitalists,
and might provide funds to assist in subsidising the
food supply. If such a course were followed, we would
be placed in the most favourable position to supply the
wants of the world, and if all unreasonable restric-
tions on production were removed, the Empire would
rapidly recover from the devastating effects of war.
The nation must exercise self-restraint, and be pre-
pared for sacrifices, and, if this were freely given,
there was no reason to fear danger.

The Chalmers-Black Visual Indicator.

Discussion was resumed on the paper contributed by
Mr. J. B. Thomson on “ The Chalmers-Black Visual
Indicator,” and a further demonstration with the indi-
cator was given.

Questions bearing on the indicator and on the con-
struction to be placed on certain provisions in the
signalling code were asked.

The President, in closing the discussion, said they
were indebted to Mr. Thomson for the description he
had given of the indicator, and’ for the interesting
demonstrations he had made with it at their meetings
in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Personally, he did not
know when this vexed question of visual indicators
would be settled. It was difficult for a poor colliery
manager to know exactly if his methods of visual indi-
cation continued to enjoy the approval of the Home
Office. The trouble was that the officials at the Home
Office were not permanent. In course of time they
died, and were replaced by others, or, as in the case of
their friend, Mr. Robert McLaren, they might retire
from the inspectorate. The successors who came along
afterwards to the Home Office might have totally
different views from their immediate predecessors
there, and in such circumstances the only safe pre-
caution to take was to follow as literally as possible
the terms of the regulations. The interpretations put
upon Scripture by the different religious denomina-
tions were as many as the sands of the sea, and the
same thing could be said in relation to the interpreta-
tion of the regulations for visual indication. It had
to be borne in mind by the colliery manager that
because a particular inspector of mines differed from
him in regard to a certain point, it did not follow that
the indicator was wrong. On that point it might be
recalled that one of the first indicators to be brought
out was on the cumulative principle. It was one of
those machines which proceeded on the lines that three
plus one equalled four, and that three plus two equalled
five; therefore if 4 and 5 were exhibited on the dial
of the indicator that would be sufficient. The Home
Office approved of the indicator, forgetting to note the
fact at the time that 4 was a signal which was to.be
used otherwise than with men. That was to say that
three plus one, although equal to four, did not mean
exactly the same thing as 4 did in the code. Thus it
came about that an apparatus which appeared to have
been approved of was ultimately scrapped. There was
a responsibility on the management to properly inter-
pret the Act and the Regulations, and managers could
not be too careful in their compliance with the rules. If
managers selected an apparatus which was defective,
and accidents were to happen, then the managements
would be held responsible at common law for the con-
sequences. No matter who at the Home Office said a
piece of apparatus was all right, the management must
take care to see that what was installed complied fully
and in every way with the Regulations. The discus-
sion that had taken place led to useful and profitable
thought on a somewhat important subject, and perhaps
some time in the not too-distant future they would be
able to understand what the code meant, and how to
carry it out.

The Form and Structure of the Coal Fields of Scotland.

The meeting thereafter proceeded to the discussion
on the paper read by Mr. David Ferguson (Glasgow)
at the annual meeting of the Institution of Mining
Engineers held in Glasgow on September 14, 1916, on
“ The Form and Structure of the Coal Fields of
Scotland.”	.

Mr. R. W. Dron (Glasgow) said that, to hi& mind,
one of the most interesting and suggestive points
raised by Mr. Ferguson was the theory that rigidity
was given to certain ridges by deep-seated igneous
cores. The oscillations of level in these various basins
were such that the deposition of a coal seam in one
of the areas might be contemporaneous with the depo-
sition of beds of shale or sandstone in other areas. In
the whole district the general sequence of the strata
from the Hurlet limestone to the Calmy limestone was