January 4, 1918. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. 25 to 33s. 6d. for export to neutrals. Lancashire and Yorkshire pits still experience pressure for house coal. For inland and export purposes South York- shire steam hards are quoted 30s. f.o.b. Hull or Immingham. West Yorkshire Hartleys are firm. Only a meagre enquiry is current in Cardiff, and work in the coal field shows signs of irregularity, due to heavy stocks. Bituminous coals for home requirements are in a strong position. A sort of stagnation still characterises the Scottish trade. Large anthracite has been offered freely in Swansea and Llanelly for immediate loading. No enquiry for rubbly culm and duff is made. Pitwood is quiet, but firm. Freights are scarce and strong. High figures are offered for unscheduled ports, and neutral steamers command profitable business in any direction. One feature includes a small cargo of pitch, Newcastle to Treport, 65s. Fancy prices are offered for Spanish ports without attracting tonnage. Schedule rates for limitation ports are firm. Scandinavian destinations show a slight decline. The New Year Honours include a Viscounty for Lord Furness, a Privy Councillorship for Mr. T. Richards, M.P., the general secretary of the South Wales Miners’ Federation, and a baronetcy for Mr. T. E. Watson, president of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce. The Association of Mining Electrical Engineers (West of Scotland Branch) will hold a meeting on January 12, commencing at 4 p.m., in the Hoy al Technical College, George-street, Glasgow. A paper on “ Cable Complaints,” by J. H. C. Brooking, will be read. The United States Government has assumed control of the coal output and the railway systems. The coal shortage and traffic congestion compelled drastic action. Part III,, dealing with output, of the Annual Report on Mines and Qaarries of the Chief Inspector of Mines for 1916 states that during the year the total value of the minerals raised amounted to £214,034,524, an increase of £43,576,266 as com- pared with 1915. The House of Lords, on Thursday, considered in Committee the Coal Mines Control (Agreement Con- firmation) Bill. The Earl of Plymouth withdrew an amendment and the proposed insertion of new clauses, and the Bill was then reported to the House. The further stages of the Bill will be taken on Thursday next. v In accordance with the usual custom, The Coal it is proposed to devote our attention, Trade in in this first week of the new year, to 1917. a review of the coal trade during the year that has passed. It is not an easy task, because events during the whole of that period have been governed by expediency rather than by the ordinary laws of supply and demand. Every- thing has been influenced by more or less artificial conditions arising out of the war. The whole history of the coal trade has been an experiment in the Government control of a great industry. Although it would not be a difficult task to point to many unsatisfactory features of the position that have thus arisen, we do not propose to adopt that course. On the contrary, it may, perhaps, be admitted that the Government has succeeded, in a very large measure, in accomplishing the objects it set out to achieve. In the main these objects were to maintain the output, and to prevent an abnormal rise in prices. When it was decided, early in the year, to take over the control of the whole of the coal fields of the country, and to .appoint Mr. Guy Calthrop Coal Controller, it was wisely decided to give him the assistance of Sir Richard Redmayne’s technical experience, and an Advisory Board was also at the same time appointed. These steps, however, had no immediate effect upon prices, which had already been fixed by the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act of the year 1915. There had, it is true, been some complaint that this Act was not being strictly observed in all cases. There may even have been some justification for this belief, for the Act was not any too clear in regard to the “corresponding price,” and there were probably some cases in which no one but an authority with absolute power could determine this somewhat obscure quantity. But although some consumers made an outcry against what they deemed Prices. Description of fuel. Per ton. January 1, 1917. Per ton. July 2, 1917. I Per ton. January 1, 1918. Best Northumbrian steam coals f.o.b. Tyne... „ „ steam smaUs „ 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 xi v. ,, ,, j, 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 29s. to 30s. 18s. to 19s. 25s. to 27s. 6d. 18s. to 20s. 28s. 17s. to 19s. 40s. to 45s. 22s. to 23s. 16s. upwards. 20s. to 22s. 18s. 6d. to 19s. . 20s. to 21s. 17s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. 18s. to 18s. 6d. 16s. to 17s. 22s. * 19s. to 20s. 28s. to 30s. . 28s. to 30s. 27s. to 28s. 36s. to 37s. 6d. 29s. 6d. to 32s. 62s 6d.to67s. 6d. 19s. 6d. to 24s. 19s. to 25s. 23s. to 32s. 29s. to 30s. 23s. to 25s. 6d. 29s. 6d. to 30s. 18s. 6d. to 20s. 6d. 25s. 24s. to 25s. 28s. 24s. to 25s. 42s. 6d. 21s. to 23s. 16s. upwds. 19s. to 22s. 18s. 6d. to 19s. 20s. to 21s. 17s. 6d. to 18s. 6d. 17s. 15s. 22s. 33s. 23s. 29s. to 30s. 30s. 9d. 27s. 30s. to 32s. 6d. 47s. 6d. 18s. 6d. to 20s. 17s. to 19s. 6d. 21s. to 26s. 23s. 24s. 19s. to 20s. 29s. 6d. to 32s. 6d. 18s. 6d. to 23s. 25s. to 27s. 6d. 24s. to 27s. 6d. 28s. to 35s. 6d. 26s. to 27s. 6d. 42s. 6d. to 45s. 23s. 6d. to 24s. 6d. 18s. 6d. upwds. 21s. 6d. to 24s. 6d. 21s. to 21s. 6d. 21s. 6d. to 22s. 6d. 20s. to 21s. 24s. 6d. 33s. 21s. 6d. 29s. 30s. 9d. 27s. 30s. 47s. 6d. 26s. 6d. to 28s. 27s. 6d. 28s. to 30s. 28s. 23s. 21s. to 21s. 6d. * Nominal; best sorts off the market. to be excessive charges, few took advantage of the provisions of the Act in order to obtain redress. Colliery owners have undoubtedly done their best to fulfil their legal obligations, and their efforts have been loyally directed throughout the year to coping with enormous difficulties in maintaining supplies in the face of unprecedented conditions. What has been accomplished in maintaining output with depleted man power in the pits is in the highest degree creditable to all concerned. With the one regrettable exception of time loss by avoidable absenteeism, the collieries have responded well to the urgency of the country’s needs, and when the year’s output figures are available, we may reasonably expect to see a satisfactory result. Perhaps the chief trouble in the coal industry of the past year has been the question of distribu- Wages. Percentage of wages above standards. District. f------------*------------s Jan. 1, Jan. 1, Jan. 1. 1916. 1917. 1918. Northumberland ... 78 f ... . 120 f ... 120 fa Durham ... 75 f .. . 107... 107|fa Federated area .. 95if ... . 23|* ... 23|*a South Wales and Mon. . ..25-83J ... . 55*83+§... 55*83f§ ' Scotland .. 118ft ... . 175 f ... 175fa * Above the new standard, which is 50 per cent, above the standard of 1879, with a minimum wage of 10 per cent, above the new standard or 60 per cent, above the standard of 1879. t Including war bonus. ± Above the 1915 standard, or 83*75 above the standard of 1879. § Above the 1915 standard, or 133*75 per cent, above the standard of 1879. B Not including the war-wage granted during the year 1917, when advances were made in the form of a flat rate of Is. 6d. per day for men and 9d. per day for boys. Freights. . Jan. 1,1918. Tyne to— s. d. Rouen ...................... 27 6 Marseilles.................. 63 6 Genoa ...................... 64 6 Alexandria*.................. — London...................... 18 9 Cardiff to— Genoa..................... 59 6 Bordeaux ................... 34 0 Marseilles.................. 58 6 Havre ...................... 22 6 Barcelona* .................. — Las Palmas*.................. — Alexandria*.................. — River Plate*................. — * Nominal. In November, freights to Barcelona reached the enormous figure of <£17 10s. per ton. The above are the “ Limitation ” rates which came into force for British ships in November 1916 for Mediterranean ports, and in May 1916 for French Bay ports. Neutral vessels have been chartered for Mediterranean ports at rates above “ Limitation ” figures, which for French Bay ports have been, since April, fixed at 50 per cent, plus 18s. over the rates paid to British ships. Freights for Neutral Vessels. Cardiff to— s. d. Rouen ....................... 48 9 Bordeaux .................... 69 0 Calais....................... 51 9 Havre....................... 45 9 tion. It was this difficulty that first engaged the attention of the Coal Controller, who appears to have determined that there should be no repetition of the situation which arose last winter, when both in in London and elsewhere there was something closely akin to a coal famine. The coal redistribu- tion scheme, produced last July, was a bold and elaborate endeavour to grapple with the difficulties arising from railway congestion and general trans- port problems. This scheme affected only the inland carriage of coal. Seaborne coal was not concerned, but all contracts for railborne coal came summarily to an end on September 8. Gas companies were particularly affected by this scheme, and there was at first a great deal of dissatisfaction, both in regard to quality and price, at the supplies available under this plan. It has been, however, one of the great virtues of the Controller that he has always been ready to listen to reasonable complaints, and by certain readjustments and modifications of his original scheme, he has removed a great deal of the complaint which arose from the attempt to settle all requirements upon a purely geographical basis. When this scheme was first promulgated we ventured to point out that the restrictions imposed by the Controller’in regard to the areas from which supplies might be drawn did not tend to economy of con- sumption, and this has been borne out by experience* Thus Durham gas coal has been used for household purposes. Gas engineers, also, have complained of a considerable deterioration in the quality of the coal supplied to them, especially in regard to the large increase in ash, and the poorer quality of the coke produced in the gas retorts. It is^ however, only fair to say that this result has not entirely been due to the transport Order, but is attributable in some degree to shortage of labour at the picking belts and to the more general use of un- screened coal. In any case, it is a matter which only indirectly concerns the collieries, and consumers have been reminded by Mr. Calthrop that in the present emergency any coal is preferable to none at all. It is too soon yet to pass judgment upon the practical value of the scheme. Amongst the complications resulting from the coal redistribution scheme arose the question of the basis price under the Price of Coal (Limitation) Act, and the Controller excited some astonishment by issuing an Order instructing all colliery owners to enter into contracts only at the maximum price provided by the Act—viz., 4s. per ton in excess of the pre-war basis, the object being to prevent competition amongst the collieries them- selves, some of which held considerable stocks in consequence of the shortage of tonnage. At the same time differential rates, in excess of the prices allowed by the Act, were fixed for coal factors and merchants, who were granted 3d. per ton for railway contracts, 6d. for munition works, and 9d. for gas and electricity supply companies. Furthermore, in consequence of the increase in miners’ wages allowed by the Controller in September, 2s. 6d. per ton was added in October to all contract prices, with effect