June 8, 1917.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1083

No material expansion of freight business has
been practicable owing to the difficult position of
tonnage. Bates are firm, but nominal. High
figures are still offered for open ports.

At a meeting of the Executive Committee of Great
Britain for the Supply of Coal to Erance and Italy,
approval was given to a recommendation in favour
of continuing the existing scheme.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Institution
of Gas Engineers, the Coal Controller gave an
account of the operations and plans of the Coal
Mines Department.

A meeting (for routine business only) of the North
of England Institute of. Mining and Mechanical
Engineers will be held to-morrow (Saturday) in the
Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle, commencing at
2 p.m.

At a meeting of the Mining Institute of Scotland,
in the H eriot-Watt College, Edinburgh, to-morrow
(Saturday), commencing at 3 p.m., a paper on “ The
Higher Training of Colliery Managers,” by Mr. G.
L. Kerr, will be read. Mr. A. Eerguson’s paper on
“ The Eorm and Structure of the Coalfields of
Scotland ” will be discussed.

Our Irish correspondent states that an inspector,
on behalf of the Mineral Development Department
of the Ministry of Munitions, is examining abandoned
coal workings in Ireland, with a view to re-opening.

The embargo on the importation of mining
timber has been modified by the granting of a
number of licences.

An ordinary meeting of the Manchester Geological
and Mining Society will be held on Tuesday, June 12,
at 5 p.m., when a paper on “Methods of Mining in
the Pennsylvania Anthracite Field ” will be read by
Mr. Hugh M. Crankshaw.

The report presented to a recent
The meeting of the “ Comite Centrale des
Coal Mining Houilleres de France ” is highly
Situation in satisfactory from the point of view
France. of the expansion in output which
has been attained in the last few
months. This increase in production has been the
effective response of the French coal miners to the
appeal of the Government during the recent coal
crisis. There has been a progressive increase in
output from 1,822,000 tons in November 1916 to
2,380,000 tons in March 1917. Adding the output
figures for the first three months of this year to the
imports of British coal during the same period, we
arrive at the following results :—

1917.	Output.	Imports.	Total (tons).

January........ 2,011,000	...	1,400,000	...	3,411,000

February ...... 1,900,000	...	1,100,000	...	3,000,000

March .........  2,380,000	...	1,400,000	...	3,780,000

The French Minister of Supplies has recently stated
in the Chamber that the fuel requirements of France
may be approximately reckoned at 60,000,000 tons
a year. It even reached 63,000,000 before the war,
and included 40,000,000 tons of output and 23,000,000
tons of import. This figure wras, it is true, challenged
as being too large by about 6,000,000 tons, or,
according to M. Dubois, by 10,000,000 tons; but it
is probably prudent to err on the side of over-estima-
tion in view of the present situation. Thus, we see
that there is still a deficit of at least 1,000,000 tons
a month, which will have to be made up in some
way before the fuel position becomes normal.
Obviously, there are but two courses open for the
attainment of this result. Either there must be an
increase in imports, or a further expansion in home
production. In view of the high cost of imported
coal, the French Government is naturally anxious to
raise the output from the French coal mines to ithe
highest possible amount, and an exhaustive debate
has recently taken place in the Chamber upon the
most effective means whereby this can be accom-
plished. M. Dubois, who spoke at length upon this
question, said that in 1915 the output from the
French coal mines was 19,900,000, and it rose in
1916 to 21,500,000. The figures for 1917, so far
as they can be maintained throughout the year,
promise at least 25,000,000 tons, and it is even
hoped that 30,000,000 tons may be reached if suitable
means are adopted to bring the output to the
maximum under existing war conditions. The
difficulties which confront the coal mining industry
in France are more serious than in Great Britain,
because a large proportion of the most productive
mines are in the occupation of the enemy. The

Germans hold all the mines of the Nord, and three-
fourths of those in the Pas-de-Calais. The coal
seams in this area are more favourable for exploita-
tion than those of Central France, especially in
regard to timber requirements. In the picturesque
language of M. Bouveri, the miners in the former
work always avec le pied et le mur, an expression
which, perhaps, conveys more to the French miner
than to the Deputies in the Chamber. The fact is,
in short, that the same timbering difficulties are
experienced in France as in Great Britain, not
perhaps owing so much to any scarcity of material
as to questions of labour and transport. Yet the
coal fields of the Loire have done good service during
the war, the output for 1916 having been 3,503,475
tons, a figure which exceeded that of 1914 by more
than 250,000 tons. In the first three months of this
year the Loire coal fields have raised 1,032,562 tons,
a figure which promises a further considerable
increase for the present year. It is even hoped that
by a supreme effort the Loire may contribute
5,000,000 tons to the total home production of
France. It is necessary to refer to these figures
on account of ’the light thus thrown upon the
relative position of this coal field with respect to the
Nord and the Pas-de-Calais, of which that part, still
remaining in French hands, in 1913 was producing
19,000,000 tons annually, and since the war has
increased its production to the neighbourhood of
26,000,000 tons.

In order to attain the desired increase in output
the question of man power is, perhaps, the most
pressing. Upon this subject the Minister of Public
Works threw much light in the course of the debate
to which we have referred above. The difficulty is
precisely the same as now confronts Great Britain—
i.e., the inevitable conflict between military and
industrial requirements. The man equivalent, in
coal production may be roughly estimated at a ton of
coal per day. It is estimated that the incorporation
of the 1918 class in the active Army has removed
4,000 miners, which on the above estimate would
represent a loss of over 1,000,000 tons of output per
year. All sorts of methods have been proposed to
minimise this effect. These include the possibility
of the transfer of English miners, the introduction of
the three-shift system, the employment of prisoners
of war, and other means. The complexity of the
problem has been increased by the disorganisation
resulting from the German invasion. The Bethune
mines, for example, before the war were producing
8,000 tons a day. At the present time, owing mainly
to the depletion of the miners, only about 500 or 600
tons are being raised. A large number of the miners
were transferred to Maries, and these cannot be
restored to Bethune without detriment to the
output at Maries. The employment of prisoners is
restricted by the proximity in this coal field of the
French and German lines, and the obligation that
has been undertaken not to employ prisoners of war
within 30 kilometres of the firing line.' It is also
not only in respect of manual labour that the French
mines are wanting. There is also a deficiency in the
higher grades, and a number of engineers have
lately been released from the Colours on this account.
In the course of the debate M. Bouveri made a
powerful appeal for an increase in the wages of the
lower grades of men as an inducement to still
greater exertion and, indirectly, as a means of
increasing output. The Minister of Public Works,
in a sympathetic reply, explained that the matter is
under discussion between the coal owners and the
miners’ organisations. The wages of these classes
are said to amount only to 3*50 fr. per diem, and the
increased cost of living is held to be a sufficient
justification for an improvement in their position.
While refraining from the expression of an opinion
upon this point, we wish to draw attention to the
excellent spirit in which the question was discussed,
and to the exemplary manner in which the French
miners have performed their part during the critical
times through which the nation has passed.

The Minister of Public Works further hinted at
possible economies in the use of fuel, the potential
value of peat and lignite, and the development
of hydro-electric power. All these questions are
receiving serious consideration by the French
Government, and at the same time every effort is
being made to facilitate the discharge of coaling
ships at the ports, and the speedy distribution of
coal to places where it is required for use.

The practical outcome of the debate was that by
one means or another it would be safe to reckon
upon an output from French mines for 1918 of not
less than 30,000,000 tons, which would possibly
enable the country to diminish imports below the
2,000,000 tons per month which have been accorded
by agreement with Great Britain. It is hoped in
some quarters that these imports can be kept down
to 1,700,000 tons per month without detriment to
the requirements of the country.

It is at least certain that normal conditions will
not be re-established in France for some years after
the end of the war. When the devastated area in
enemy occupation has been recovered, it will take a
long time to repair the damage done to the pits.
The pits recently wrested from ‘ enemy possession in
the Lens area have had their tubbing destroyed, and
vast quantities of water are flowing through the
workings. The work of restoration will be long and
arduous, and the demand for pumps and other
machinery will keep manufacturers busy, on both
sides of the Channel, long after the advent of peace.

The comprehensive statement made

An	in the House of Commons by the

Industrial Prime Minister, on the eve of the
Commission. Whitsuntide recess, has been wel-
comed on all sides; and not the
least in importance of the subjects reviewed on that
occasion was the question of industrial unrest. Mr.
Lloyd George announced the intention of the
Government to set up a Commission of Enquiry for
the purpose of investigating the root cause of the
troubles recently revealed in the labour situation.
This Commission is to be subdivided into a series of
seven or more provincial Commissions, each of which
will confine its attention to the particular area for
which it has been appointed. This departure from
the normal procedure of a Government Commission
has much in its favour. The conditions prevailing in
the different areas into which industrial Britain is
divided are diverse, and time will be saved by having
these separate problems investigated simultaneously
on the spot, instead of bringing each in turn before
a single Commission. Another advantage will be
derived from the resulting economy of energy. The
case of the shipbuilders, for example, need only be
brought before a small body of experts, all of whom
would presumably understand the technicalities of
the industry; whereas in a single Commission it
would be necessary to explain at length many details
with which some at least of the members would be
unfamiliar. Mr. Asquith, in giving his cordial
approval of the proposal, laid down three conditions
upon which its success must depend. The first
concerns the personnel of the Commissions. It is
essential that the members should understand the
problems involved, not only from the point of view
of the masters, but also from that of the men.
Secondly, it is necessary that the Commission should
set to work with promptitude, and should carry out
the enquiry with the least possible delay. Thirdly,
it is necessary that a genuine effort should be made
to get below the surface. Mr. Asquith insisted
upon the importance of taking a sympathetic and
penetrating view of the forces which are at work.
He believes that we are now witnessing an important
stage in the evolution of labour in its relation, not
only to the production of wealth, but to the whole
economy of the State. It is necessary, he says, to
bring the whole atmosphere of public opinion into
an enlightened and healthy relationship to the
future development of the labour question. This
is undoubtedly true. It is certain that public opinion
often finds it very hard to discover any justifica-
tion for the eternal conflict that seems to be going on
between well-paid labour and the management,
which alone makes good wages possible. Mr. Lloyd
George, in referring to the recent troubles, said the
Government had their views as to - how the agitation
had been fostered. At the same time, he believes
there are some genuine grievances, which have
assisted the designs of those who have ulterior
motives. By all means, therefore, let us set to work
to remove those greivances, so far as this is possible.
As to the ulterior motives, perhaps the least said
about these the better, especially as public attention
has recently been called to them in the remarkable
series of articles contributed by a trade unionist to
the columns of the Morning Post.

With regard to the question of grievances, how-