THE COAL SHORTAGE.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 126, 28 May 1919, Page 7

THE COAL SHORTAGE.

STATEMENT BY MINISTER. RAILWAYS AND INDUSTRIES. (Bj Telegraph.—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, Tuesday. The Minister in Charge of coal distribution, the Hon. A. M. Myers, referring today to a statement published recently that people were short of coal not so much because there was less hewed in the country, but because huge quantities were being taken by the railways, said this was not the position. In order to remove any misapprehension on the point, he quoted the combined outputs and importations during the last five years as follows: —■ Tear. Tons. I" 1 * 2,703,663 i-'l" 2,rsi-2,0!)o •pHS 2,56T,0i>l }%}Z 2.:itJo.oitJ 191S 2,OTS,6"a> Compared with 1914, the figures for IDIS disclosed a shortage of 715,037 tons, of which 520,13S tons was the shortage in hard coals produced in Xew Zealand. In order that the public might have some idea of the coal required to maintain the public' industries of the Dominion, the Minister supplied the following figures: Railways, 300,000 tons; bunkering requirements, -1-40,000; freezing works, 130.000: gasworks. 240,000; electric light and power, 70,000. These industries and services required almost exclusively hard coal. Therefore it would readily be understood what a difficulty there was in making full provision for domestic and other requirements of. the Dominion on the balance available, namely, S9S,(*>2G tons approximately. Regarding the statement that the railways had been building up stocks of coal, to the detriment of householders, the Minister stated that the present position in regard to the railways stocks was causing gravest anxiety, and if the position did not improve a further curtailment of the train services might be looked for.