COAL COMMITMENTS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1940, 24 December 1913, Page 6

COAL COMMITMENTS.

, HEAVY CARGOES NOW 'AT HAND. Speaking to a reporter yesterday concerning coal supplies, Mr. W. G. Foster, chairman ' of tho Employers', Farmers', and Citizens' Defence Committee, said that he did not think that •thc;committeo should make public tho 'price paid for coal which was coming from various places overseas. "So far as supplies aro concerned," Mr, Foster continued, "wo do not need to worry for some;, considerable timo •to come. Commitments liavo now been niado for 100,000 tons, and any amount more is available if required." Mr. Foster went on to say that ho thought bo right in..estimating tho amount of qdal -being delivered, on..the. way and ordered; as totalling' 150,000 tons. It is estimated that tho amount will provido for all possible industrial and public utility requirements, up to tho middle of March. • It is also held that, even; if; tho miners show no inclination to return to work during the next month, tlicre will bo ample timo to repeat orders and purchaso further quantities. At tho end'"of .'January there will bo six weeks left to order and liavo delivery made. Mr. Foster added that additional cargoes, "totalling another 150,000, have been offering freely, hut tho comm'ittco thought it desirable to await developments at tho Now Zea,land mines beforo placing further orders. Ho expressed the opinion that there scera'cd to bo no'doubt that somebody had been selling coal in Auckland_ at £4 per ton, and had mado a considerable profit out of tho transaction.,,.

Itjwag pointed out to Mr. Foster that; a 'local body in Wellington had etate'd that foreign coal would cost £1 I2s. 6d. per ton landed here. Mr. Foster replied that that wag quito likely. At tho same time what tho Coal Committee had bandit had been passed on to public _ bodies, or industries requiring it, without profit.