THE COAL SHORTAGE.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 155, 1 July 1919, Page 7

THE COAL SHORTAGE.

■ ■ ■ IT IS WORLD WIDE. ILLUMINATING FIGURES. Speaking to a "Dominion" reporter in Wellington, Mr. F. J. Gunn, chairman ot the Covernment Coal Committee, and one who knows the coal business thoroughly in all its rnmilicatious, stated \ that occasions arose at times during a < general shortage such as was being ex- j perienced, not only throughout New Zealand, but all over the world, when . the committee had to discriminate be- i twecn the merits of a demand for purely , domestic purposes, and one for an in- 1 dustry that was seriously threatened ] through a lack of coal to make the ( wheels go round. There was only one j thing to be done in such a position —the 1 j coal must be given to the industry. That i ' would be quite obvious on a little i | thought, for the sudden stoppage might lat once cause a big factory to close ] down, throwing out of work perhaps a i j hundred or so hands on whose wages'! ! some four or live hundred people might I i Ibe depending. Sensible people must Bee ] I Jjiat it was more essential that an i industry should be kept alive, at tho . expense perhaps of the fullest comfort < in the home. That did not often occur, ] he was glad to say, but it had occurred c I and might occur again, and tin; public c must learn to be more tolerant in such i I cases, believing that the committee was i 'doing its very utmost to meet the just demands of all sections of the com- < | munity according to the merit of their < cases. There had been a good deal ot i exaggeration as to the need during tho last few days, and he was sure that it i people had gone the right way about it ;

they would have obtained at least a measure of relief. "How could there be anything else but a sharp shortage,'' said iMr. Guun, "when the amount of coal produced iv New Zealand or imported during the year 1918 was three-quarters of a million tons short of what we produced and imported in tiie year 1914'; "To bring tiie figures more up to date," continued Mr. Guiin, "the amount of coal either produced or imported during the live months of this year ended May 31 is 70,000 tons short of what was at our disposal for the corresponding live months of last year. When sup--1 plies fall off so suddenly as that there I must necessarily be a shortage, and a good deal of inconvenience caused thereby. Then again, since the shipping trouble in Australia, we have had to depend on the cargoes of three vessels only which happened to be manned by New Zealand crews, which vessels bring only one-tenth ot" the normal supplies wo are accustomed to get from -Newcastle. "Here are a few figures which show at a glance the manner in which our coal supplies have fallen away since the year 1914: — 1914. Tons. _ roduccd In New Zealand... 2,_75.f»n3 Imported Into New Zealand.. -018,070 Total 2,7:13,603 19ir,. Produced ln New Zealand... 2.205.R24 Imported into New Zealand.. 3.13.471 Total 2„-i(_,093 191 G. Produced in New Zealand... 1>,2.">7.13-'>l > ,2.">7.13-'> Imported Into New Zealand.. 293,050 Total 2,-31,001 1917. Produced in New Zealand... 2,005.-n0 Imported into New Zealand.. 291,397 Total 2.3R0.01C mis. • rrodnecd in New Zealand... 1.520.414

Imported into New Zealand.. 2.""iK.212 Total 2.07..-26 "Nor do those figures tell the whole story." continued -Mr. Gunn, "for the greatest falling-off in our coal output has been that registered in connection with hard (bituminous) coal, the only coal suitable for gas-making and bunkering. The figures in connection with the output from this class of coal (the product of the West Coast mines for the most part), are as follow: — Tons. mil 1.404.313 I'll.-, 1.404,400 ltnil 1.423,047 1017 1,247.-80 UIIB 963,175 "The coal that is- being imported from Newport News by some of the transports." said .lr. Gunn, "is a bituminous coal of high calorific value, which is known in America as New River coal. There was only one thing against it, and that was that it was extremely friable, and liable to unload small. But several industrial firms to whom it had been supplied had testified that the Newport coal was as good as any they had used, and were prepared to take as much of it as they cotild get, which bears out its reputation as a coal of high calorific value. There is no doubt that it is a high-grade coal for steam-raising purposes." Mr. Gunn said that the Committee were about to establish a firewood yard on Government land fronting the Davis Street extension at Thorndon. Already a siding had 'been run into the new yard, and within a few days they hoped to be in a position to supply firewood, which would be brought by rail from all parts of the country, from the Upper Hutt district mostly, at first, for the sake of convenience and to save loss of time. RELIEF FOR Tl-LARU. (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) TIMARU, Monday. The arrival of the steamer Ganopus from Westport with coal has relieved the shortage of the Gas Company, which was just out of supplies.