237 February 1, 1918. THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. —I—urn I imw—if in—~n-~nm~ THE WELSH COAL AND IRON TRADES. Thursday, January 31. North Wales. Wrexham. During the past week or two the collieries of this locality have worked at full pitch, and the output has been well maintained. Householders appear to be able to obtain their requirements without much difficulty, especially in the colliery area, but in other parts of North Wales, there has been a falling off in deliveries of Staffordshire, especially since the disaster in that coal field and as a consequence, there has been a slight increase in the demand for North Wales fuel. The Gas coal trade is steady and apparently the gas works that have contracts with local pits are able to obtain their allocated quota without difficulty. There is also a good demand for gas coke at local gasworks. At Liverpool and Birkenhead there is a keen demand for North Wales coal for shipment; and a goodly tonnage has been sent down to this market during the past week. Nuts and slack have found a good sale during the week, but the available tonnage of small coal is not very great. Prices remain steady, and the following are the average for the week. Best house coal 21s. to 23s ; seconds, 20s. to 22s.; gas and steam coal, 20s. to 22s.; nuts, 19s. to 21s.; slack, 12s. 6d. to 14s. per ton, all at pit. Monmouthshire, South Wales, &c. Newport. COAL. There was a slight improvement in the arrival of tonnage during the past week, which gave business a somewhat better outlook. But there were still very heavy stocks of the lower grades of coal, and short time at many of the collieries was still observed. In a considerable number of cases colliery proprietors complain that it scarcely pays to work the pits under present conditions. House and gas coals have been in strong request. Patent fuel and coke remain unchanged. Prices are still those fixed by the Controller, whose attention has been called to the increased cost of working nearly all classes of coal. Prices f.o.b. cash 30 days. Current L’st week’s’Last year’s Steam coals:— | prices. prices. / prices. Best Black Vein large... 32/6 32/6 26/ -27/ Western-valleys, ordin’y 31/6 , 31/6 25/ -26/ Best Eastern-valleys ... 31/6 1 31/6 24/ -25/ Secondary do. 30/6 30/6 23/ -24/ Best small coals ’ 23/6 23/6 16/ -18/ Secondary do 22/6 22/6 , 11/ -16/ Inferior do 20/6 20/6 5 6- 7/6 Screenings 25/6 25/6 17/6-19/ Through coals 29/6 29/6 20/ -22/ Best washed nuts ‘ 32/6 32/6 i. — Other sorts:— | 1 Best house coal, at pit 35/6 35/6 ’ 24/6-25/6 Secondary do. do. ...■ 33/3 33/3 1 22/ -23/ Patent fuel 32/6 32/6 35/ -36/ Furnace coke 47/6 47/6 ; 47/6-52/6 Foundry coke 47/6 47/6 57/6-60/ IRON. The iron and steel works of the district are still at highest pressure. There has been an improved supply of iron ore of late, which has relieved anxiety. Prices are purely nominal, as almost all the output of the works is on Government account. There is little change in the tin- plate trade, though conditions have become a little easier during the past few weeks. The arrival of pitwood has been scanty and the controlled price of 65s. is still maintained. Cardiff. COAL. Although a certain amount of improvement has taken place in the tonnage position since last week, the market continues very depressed, and there is practically no business outside Admiralty and Allied Government orders. The number of steamers coming forward is nothing like sufficient to meet the requirements of exporters, and not only are the collieries rendered idle through want of wagons, but the tips at the various docks are only partially employed. There was a slight improvement in chartering, the number of vessels fixed aggregating nearly 16,000 tons against 2,000 tons in the preceding week, and one of these was for one of the Plate ports, a rara avis in these days of tonnage famine. It is understood that the Coal Controller has expressed himself unfavourably to the adoption of a five days working week, and in this view he has endorsed the opinion of the coal owners that it is unwise to interfere with the productivity of the mines. At a miners’ confer- ence on Monday, however, this contention was ignored, and the delegates decided to adhere to their previous resolution in favour of the restriction of working days. What alternative proposal has been submitted by the commission is not known, but the Controller has convened a meeting of representatives to discuss the matter, and it is hoped that a satisfactory solution may be come to in order to avert the frequent stoppages which are now taking place. One definite complaint, particularly in the Mon- mouthshire district, which is doing a large inland trade with the south-western counties, is that the wagons are unnecessarily delayed, and they are frequently diverted to other destinations without the knowledge or consent of the owners. This is entirely contrary to the spirit of the pooling scheme, which it was hoped would remedy matters, and it is acting most detrimentally to those collieries which are dependent upon the return of their wagons in order to keep the pits working, The only other matter of interest relates to the Government’s combing out proposals, which are being opposed by the miners’ delegates, but on this question they have rathex’ given themselves away. They agree by their pro- posals to limit the working hours to five days per week, and on a rough calculation this means one-sixth of the output, or a reduction of the men employed by 30,000. This, of course, they are naturally opposed to, but there is no doubt, according to the present rates of shipment, that the whole of the coal required for urgent purposes can be produced in four and a-half days. It is a question of policy as to whether the pits should be closed for a day, or whether the number of men should be reduced to the limit of the demands on the means of tranportation. On this question the owners are unanimous in favour of the latter, and they have the support of the exporters and, incidentally, that of the Coal Controller. If the leaders took a strong attitude and adapted their own machinery to help the Government, the difficulty would be overcome. No news has yet been received of the proposed revision of the schedule of prices, but it is expected almost daily. In the meantime all trans- actions are on the old basis. There is a steady demand for house and gas coals, and a difficulty in maintaining supplies. Coke is also eagerly enquired for, both for inland consump- tion and export. Patent fuel manufacturers are busy, and the only drawback to a roaring trade is the lack of transport facilities. Pitwood is arriving in moderate quantities, and the maximum price of 65s. per ton is being obtained. Local supplies have been considerably interfered with by the weather conditions, and also by A local strike in the Llanidloes district. Cardiff Prices f.o.b. (except where otherwise stated), plus 2s. 6d. per ton, except for shipments to France and Italy. 1 Current Steam coals:— Best Admiralty steam prices. coals | 33/ Superior seconds 1 31/6 Seconds ; 30/9 Ordinary ' | 30/ Steam smalls No. 1 i 21/6 Do. 2 ; 21/ Do. 3 1 20/6 Do. 4 ! 20/ Do 5 i 19/6 Do. 6 ! 19/ Do. 7 18/6 Do. • . 8 18/ Best dry coals 30/ Ordinary drys 28/6 Best washed nut 30/ Seconds 28'6 Best washed peas 27/6 Seconds Monmouthshire— 26/6 Black Veins 30/ Western-valleys 29/ Eastern-valley s 29/ ' Inferior do Bituminous coals:— 28/ Best house coals (at pit) 33/ Second qualities (at pit) No. 3 Rhondda— 30,9 Bituminous large 30/9 Small ! No. 2 Rhondda— 26/ Large 27/ Thr ough-and-thr ough ■ 22/ -23/6 Small ; 17/ -19/ Best patent fuel 30' Seconds ( 30/ Special foundry coke | 47/6 Ordinary do. ; 47/6 Furnace coke 47/6 Pitwood (ex-ship) | 65/ I L’st week’s | Last year’s prices. ) prices. i 33/ ! —* 31/6 —* 30/9 26/ -27/ ‘ 30/ 1 24' -25/ ; 20/6 ] 16,1 -17/ ; w/6 5 12/ -16/ 18/6 } 18/ J 10/ -12/ 30/ 24/ -25/ 28/6 23/ -24/ 30/ 24/ -25/ 28/6 23/ -24/ 27/6 2: