1154

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

June 7, 1918.

executive council an opportunity to put the other side of
the case before them. Had the men been in full posses-
sion of facts, possibly the stoppages at Bedwas and Llan-
bradach would not have taken place.

Both at Llanhilleth and at Rhymney there are issues
affecting enginemen and stokers, and on Monday the joint
disputes committee agreed that a deputation representing
both sides should interview the Coal Controller on the
subject.

North of England.

The state of employment in the Northumberland coal-
field at present is illustrated by the figures with reference
to the activities of the collieries during May. Thus, 43
steam coal collieries worked an average of 5-46 days per
week and 20 household coal pits an average of 5'48 days
per week, a general average of 5-47 days. The average
for April was 5T9 days, in each case.

Transport workers at the Tyne, Wear, and Bly th have
been granted, where war advances, hitherto conceded are
less than 5d. per hour, a further increase of 2d. per
hour in the case of men, Id. per hour in the case of women,
and ^d. per hour in the case of boys, with overtime in
proportion. The case of piece workers is now under
negotiation.

The quarrymen employed at the Marsden quarries of
the Harton Coal Company Limited have applied for a
further advance'of Is. per day for piece workers and Is.
per day and 12^ per cent, for all datal workers.

Federated Area.

At meetings of Lord Ellesmere’s Clifton and Kersley
Coal Companies, Messrs. A. Knowles and Sons’ miners,
held last week and at the beginning of this week, resolu-
tions in favour of pressing forward with their applica-
tion for a further advance of 25 per cent, in wages were
passed. Similar resolutions are being adopted in other
parts of the Lancashire coalfields.

Scotland.

At Killochan Pit, Dailly, belonging to the South Ayr-
shire Coal Company, the miners complained that sufficient
time and facilities were not being provided for weighing.
The management have come under an obligation to remedy
these grievances where practicable.

At New Cumnock Collieries, Ayrshire, the tradesmen
have been pressing for extra payment for overtime. An
arrangement has been entered into whereby time and a
quarter will be allowed for ordinary overtime and for
holidays and time and a half for Sundays.

Many owners in Scotland fear that there will be a
'complete breakdown in the output of coal if more miners
are taken from the pits by the combing-out process.

A meeting of the Lanarkshire colliery tradesmen was
held in Hamilton on Friday evening, when it was reported
that the demand of the men for shorter hours of employ-
ment had been laid before the Scottish Coal Trade Con-
ciliation Board by Mr. Robert Smillie, miners’ agent.
It was agreed to await the decision of the board before
taking definite action.

A Scottish conference of colliery firemen is to be held
in Edinburgh on Saturday, August 31, to discuss the line
of action to be taken to enforce the demand for shorter
hours and increased wages.

At Ponfeigh Colliery, Lanarkshire, complications have
arisen owing to miners at the face being called upon to
do drawing work.

The women workers’ dispute at Polton Colliery, in the
Lothians, is still unsettled.

At Roslin Colliery, Midlothian, the miners complain
of being kept unduly long at the pit bottom after it has
been ascertained that the working places are unsuitable
for working in.

The miners at Thornlie Colliery, in the Wishaw district
of Lanarkshire, are on strike. Efforts to secure a settle-
ment of the points at issue are happily proceeding satis-
factorily.

. At a conference in Edinburgh on Saturday between Mr.
Adam Nimmo and Mr. Robert Baird, representing the
Scottish Coal Owners’ Association, and Mr. McBeth,
solicitor, Dunfermline, and Mr. John Strachan, organising
secretary, representing the Scottish Colliery Under-
Managers’ Association, the points of difference between
the parties were adjusted. The owners agreed to pay the
arrears due to the under-managers and oversmen within
14 days.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE,

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—May 30.

The Care of Animals in Mines.

Sir G. Cave, replying to Mr. Chancellor, stated that in
1917 there were 79 prosecutions for offences relating to the
care and treatment of animals employed in mines. A
complete record of such prosecutions was not kept.

June 3.

German Prisoners in English Mines.

Col. Sir F. Hall asked whether, in view of the short-
age of miners through enlistment the difficulties relating
to the employment of German prisoners in mines could
be overcome.

Sir A. Stanley said that the difficulties could not be
readily overcome, but the Controller of Coal Mines was
still considering to what extent German prisoners could
be employed upon work connected with coal mining.

June 4.

Output of Coal, 1917.

Mr. Brace (Under-Secretary of the Home Office), in
answer to Col. C. Seely, said that the output of coal in
the United Kingdom in 1917 was 248,499,240 tons, and
34,995,787 tons of coal and 1,278,646 tons of coke were
exported in that year.

German Baron’s Coal Store.

Mr. Turton asked whether a German baron, named
Schroeder, received at Englefield Green 520 tons of anthra-
cite and 105 tons of household coal between April 1917
and April 1918.

Mr. Wardle replied that the household coal was for
use in two large houses and eleven cottages. As Engle-
field Green was outside the coal rationing scheme, the
matter was not brought to the notice of the Coal Con-
troller until recently. All supplies were suspended some
weeks ago.

Sir I. Phillips asked whether the excess of coal had
been taken from the baron, and whether a prosecution
for hoarding would be ordered.

Mr. Wardle said he would enquire what steps could
be taken.

Notes from the Coal Fields.

[Local Correspondence.]

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

End of Strike—Loss of Output—Conditions of Settlement
—Question of Outdoor Relief—Colliery Assessments
at Merthyr—Swansea Harbour Charges—Important
Question of Compensation.

The great strike has ended. From the Tredegar men
the Miners’ Federation now face a claim for <£10,000 as
out-of-work allowance, and similar claims would come
from the other strikers if that were conceded ; but as the
strike was unauthorised and disapproved, persisted in,
directly contrary to the advice of the executive, a very
difficult question has arisen.

The dispute at Tredegar Company’s collieries, although
affecting originally only about 20 men at one pit, led
to stoppages at every colliery under that company, and
other stoppages elsewhere in sympathy, so that in all
nearly 50,000 men were idle for three or four days, and
there was a consequent loss in output estimated at 300,000
to 350,000 tons. This loss was peculiarly disadvantageous
because there was abundant shipping available and an
urgent demand for coal, and vessels had to leave the
South Wales ports in ballast, although coal cargoes were
in keen demand and there was equal need for return
cargoes of ore, wheat, etc.

The Controller was notified that if arrangements were
made for a meeting between the Tredegar management
and the combine committee of Tredegar during Friday
there would be a general resumption of work at all the
collieries on Saturday. Late in the evening a second
message notified that Mr. Tallis, upon the Controller’s
instructions, had in the national interest undertaken to
meet representatives of the men at Tredegar during
Friday—these representatives to be the miners’ agent and
employees of the company—at their different pits. This
agreement to meet the men was upon an understanding
that, whether the points in dispute were settled or not
at Friday’s meeting, there should be a complete resump-
tion of work throughout the coal field on Saturday
morning, any points remaining in dispute to be settled
by the Joint Disputes Committee.

The miners’ conference was resumed on Friday of
last week, when Mr. Winstone, the president, in-
formed them that the resolution of the preceding day
had been agreed to by the Controller and by Mr. Tallis,
arrangements having been made for the Tredegar men’s
deputation to be received at Tredegar that afternoon.
This arrangement was accepted by the conference as a
settlement, and the members accordingly adjourned after
unanimously agreeing that the night shift of all collieries
should resume work that evening.

During Friday the Tredegar men met, listened to
speeches which celebrated their “big victory,” attributing
the “ triumph ” to “ the rank and file and not to the
Federation executive or the Controller,” and it was decided
that work should be resumed although the negotiations
with Mr. Tallis had not concluded.

The Bedwellty Board of Guardians have again had
before them the question of relieving dependants of men
on strike, the members having at a previous meeting
decided that relief should be afforded in cases of neces-
sity. Upon a motion that the deputy clerk should make
arrangements for putting this resolution into operation,
he informed the Board that they could not legally give
relief to the strikers, although others who are out of
work in consequence of the strike could be relieved by
payments on labour tests. Wives and children could also
be relieved. There were 390 applications at Tredegar,
and 272 had been granted, the outlay having been £250,
whilst in the New Tredegar district relief had been
given in 74 cases out of 90. The resolution was carried,
it being left to the discretion of the local committees
whether the relief should be in money or in goods, and
whether it should be by loan.

In the course of a discussion by the Merthyr Assess-
ment Committee on the subject of rating collieries, one
speaker asserted that whereas colliery owners in the
Merthyr Union paid an increase of only 5 per cent., they
paid over 28 per cent, in the Pontypridd Union. He
knew of one case in which a company at Pontypridd
paid 9d. a ton on 28 per cent., whilst at Aberdare only
7d. a ton was paid on 5 per cent. The ratepayers in
Merthyr Union district were “losing pounds and pounds.”
Another speaker, on the contrary, asserted that if the 5 per
cent, agreement with colliery owners were altered, he was
afraid that some companies would appeal, and that even
the 5 per cent, would be reduced. The committee will
take steps towards re-valuation, seeking advice of valuers
as to the probability of a gain to the union if the collieries
be re-assessed.

The position of general manager at Hills Plymouth
Collieries, Merthyr, has been taken by Mr. D. L. Thomas,
who for the past ten years has been manager of the
Copper Pit, Morriston, near Swansea. Mr. J. Stand-
ridge, previously of Aberdare, succeeds him.

The decision now announced to allow Swansea Harbour
Trustees to increase general charges by 50 per cent,
carries with it the practical certainty that a similar
increase of charge will be made at other docks on the
Channel, because Swansea, which needs the increase
(owing to lessened income), could not run the risk of
diverting business by standing alone in the matter of
higher rates.

A case of importance, arising out of the War Addition
Act of 1917, in its relation to compensation payments,
came before the Merthyr County Court, last week.
Nixon’s Navigation Company submitted that they were
entitled to deduct from the balance of compensation pay-
able to a collier’s widow the 25 per cent, increase in
weekly payments granted by the Act. For the claimant,
it was contended that the new Act specifically mentioned
the purposes in respect of which the additional sum was
to be considered, and as the particular addition was not
mentioned, it had been improperly deducted. For the
employers, it was argued that the advance was part of
the weekly payments under the Act of 1906, and that
they were" justified in making the deduction. The judge
decided that the Act of 1917 excluded the additional
weekly payment, and he gave judgment for the claimant,
remarking that the question at issue was very important,
as obviously it would affect a vast number of casps.

Mr. W. Lewison, under-manager of the Forge Slope
Colliery of the Blaenavon Company Limited, has been
appointed manager of the Kay’s Slope and Milfraen
Colliery belonging to the same company.

Five' colliery ambulance teams took part in the com-
petitions at the Ambulance Hall, Pontypool, on Saturday,
for the Monmouthshire County Council Shield. Awards :
Abertillery (Capt. Rd. Evans), winners of the shield, 130
marks; Aberbargoed (Capt. A. B. Williams), winners of
the medals, 123 marks; Crumlin (Capt. D. Williams), 118;

Pontypool A (Capt. W. Meredith), 112; Pontypool X
(Capt. T. Miles), 79.

Joint action by colliery proprietors and their employees
has been advanced a further stage by the agreement made
on Monday, whereby the Coalowners’ Association a.nd
the Master Hauliers and Traffic Foremen’s Association
have established a committee to deal with any question
that may arise between the parties.

Lieut. Victor Evans, R.F.A., promoted captain on the
field, was partner in Gordon Evans and Company, coal
exporters, Cardiff, and was previously with Messrs.
Morgan, Wakley and Company. He is a son of.Mr. H. C.
Evans, the Cardiff and Newport representative of the
Blaenavon Company.

Mr. W. Jenkins, miners’ agent for the district, who
is the Parliamentary candidate for Neath . division,
addressed the delegates of the Avon Valley district, in
their meeting at Port Talbot on Saturday, and he very
strongly deprecated the unauthorised stoppages which had
taken place. He said that unless the men used their
organisation properly and to its best advantage, nothing
but chaos and immeasurable loss would ensue. Referring
to the comb-out, he stated that all men in the April and
May groups were now liable to be called up without further
delay, and that, as to further quotas, no particulars were
yet to hand.

The executive council of the South Wales Federation
will approach the Board of Trade concerning the advance
in cost of railway tickets, 10 per cent, having been added
to the cost of workmen’s season tickets, a matter of peculiar
importance, seeing that the lack of house accommodation
compels so many men to travel distances to and from
their work. Arising also out of the shortage of dwellings,
the executive is seeking an interview with the Local
Government Board concerning ejectment orders made by
Cowbridge magistrates against men who cannot get other
houses in the locality.

The Board of Trade have now signed the necessary
orders permitting 50 per cent, increase of dock and har-
bour dues beyond the maximum at the South Wales ports;
but this does not apply to the tipping and weighing of
coal. The charge in these latter cases may, however, be
as high as 6d. per ton.

A gratifying state of things was disclosed at the annual
meeting of the South Wales Electrical Power Company,
held in Cardiff. It was stated at the meeting on Tues-
day that the year’s output showed an increase of 23 per
cent., and that for the first time in the history of the
company the whole of the interest on the original debenture
stock had been earned in the twelvemonth during which
it accrued.

A colliery certificate put in during the hearing of a case
at Tredegar county court stated that the man who was
defendant in the case had been earning £12 a week.

The Markham Colliery Company were sued at Tredegar
by a collier, who claimed 9s. Id. to be due under the
Minimum Wage Act, his case being that, owing to a
crushed top, the place was a very difficult one to work,
extra timbering being necessary. The case for the com-
pany was that the place was normal, but that plaintiff had
not received his full share of deadwork money from the
alternative shift. The judge held that the place was
abnormal, both shifts obtaining considerably less than the
minimum in the price list for getting coal. His decision
was therefore in favour of the claimant.

Northumberland and Durham.

Compensation Cases—Effect of War on Colliery—Progress
of Mutual Aid Association—Relief Fund Meeting—
Presentation to Retiring Manager—Housing at Seaton
Delavdl.	t

The latest report of Mr. Jas. Robson, compensation
agent to the Durham Miners’ Association, deals with
24 claims in respect of fatalities and 21 non-fatal cases.
Of the former, the only case presenting any points of
exceptional interest was that of a Randolph labourer, who
had a fall in a truck and injured his side. He died
nearly two months later from haemorrhage of the lung
and thrombosis of the brain. The coroner’s* jury found
that death was accelerated by the accident, but Mr.
Robson candidly admits that they had no medical evidence
with which they could prove to the Court that this was
so, and that the farthest the doctor would go was to
say that the accident might have accelerated death or it
might not. Under the circumstances the claim was com-
promised, the widow receiving £130. Of the non-fatal
cases, several were disputed on the ground that no notice
of the accidents was given, and other on the plea that
the incapacity was not due to accident but to natural
causes. No case calls for detailed comment.

The Newcastle Corporation Estate and Property Com-
mittee has issued a report relative to the colliery owned
by the municipality at Walker, and hitherto leased to
the Walker Coal Company Limited. It is stated that the
company has discontinued working under the colliery,
that a receiver has been appointed by the debenture
holders of the company, and that the latter has gone
into voluntary liquidation. The present state of affairs
is mainly due to war conditions. The report continues :
“ The debenture holders have made every effort to dispose
of the colliery as a going concern, but the Coal Con-
troller has intimated that, even if a purchaser could be
found, he would not be prepared to sanction the transfer,
as he considers that the risk of serious loss, owing to
the difficulty of keeping the colliery employed, is too
great, and that in the national interests the workmen can
be more usefully employed either at adjacent collieries or
neighbouring shipyards, where there is need of additional
workmen.”

The 22nd quarterly meeting of the Northern Colliery
Officials’ Mutual Aid Association was held in Newcastle
on Saturday last. A report stated that special efforts are
being made towards recognition of this association. The
general secretary reported the opening of new branches
(total 46, membership 1,300). Messrs. Blenkin, Robin-
son, and Ramsey were elected on the executive, and
Messrs. Longstaff and Nuttall were selected to visit the
French war zone and to report thereon.

Mr. Fenwick Bell presided over the 56th annual repre-
sentative meeting, held in Newcastle last Saturday, of
the Northumberland and Durham Miners’ Permanent
Relief Fund, a summary of the annual report of which
appeared in our issue of May 24. Officers elected : Presi-
dent, Mr. Thomas Taylor; vice-presidents, Rt. Hon.
Thomas Burt, M.P., Mr. T. H. Cann, Aid. S. Galbraith,
M.P., Mr. J. W. Taylor, M.P., Mr. C. S. Carnes, Mr.
T. Y. Greener, Mr. Tom Wing, M.P., and Mr. Jas.
Robson; general secretary, Mr. G. Robson; general
treasurer, Mr. J. Errington; general agents, Mr. J.
Robson and Mr. J. Cooke.

Mr. Walter Raine, of the coal-exporting and shipowning
firm of Messrs. John Raine and Sons, Sunderland, has
been appointed Deputy Shipping Adviser to the Naval
Transport Officers for the Wear district. Mr. Raine’s
duties will include the rendering of assistance in the better