THE STATE COAL ENQUIRY.

Evening Post, Volume LXX, Issue 40, 16 August 1905, Page 6

THE STATE COAL ENQUIRY.

MORE ABOUT MIXING. COAL TRADE ECONOMICALLY ANALYSED. DETAILS OF COST. On the Commission resuming this morning E. 6. Pilcher, secretary of the Grey-mouth-l'oint Elizabeth Coal Company, handed in three certificates from customers to the effect that a mixture of State coal and Ikunner was found by them very effective. Henry Field, secretary of the- Wellington Coal Dealers' Association, and for years a dealer himself, Btated that his firm had three branches in different pa,rto .of the city. Knew it had been the universal usage to sell mixed coal. The Chairman: Do you mix one with another to get them off, or is it because if he customer wants it? Witness: It is at the customer's option. The custom of the frade is to keep the coals separate in the yard. The reason of the mixing, was that qualities and characteristics of different coaJs differed, especially in respect of rate of consumption and "heat. The customers receiving the coal liavo it mixed in their own coalshed, or have the two coals delivered separately. The majority preferred mixture of bag and bag. He never knew a coalyard that did not supply mixed coal to those who desired it. As a dealer he had received on one Saturday between forty and fifty orders of under 3s, and down to Is 6d. A large proportion of people who got Mlf-ton lots got mixed coal; the proportion among quarter-ton lots was not so large. He did not think mixed coal was supplied to any customer unless it was asked for; certainly that was not tho usage of the trade. Tho mixed coals were an article of supply just like particular coals, at fixed prices. A yard or depot, was necessary to 'the retail trade, and this affected the question j of tho difference between the price at tho ship's side and the price in the consumer's i home. Carting and trimming cost 2s 6d a ton ; a little more or less according to distance, but this was the average. Nearness of the yard to the wharf would reduce the price of carting, but rent would bs higher. Coal screened at tho mines had to be re-screened. The cost of rescreening and bagging would be not Jess than Is 6d a ton for labour only. The cosi had to be re-weighed, and in screening a. portion of the coal became slack. The loss on slack and on -weight of the coal was 2s a ton. The slack had always to be sold at a loss. They never got back cost price paid for the coal at tho ship's side, and there was in addition the cost of handling coal tha.t became slact. Slack fetched anything from 16s to 19s. To these charges must bo added cost of delivery of the household coal, 3s a ton. This was a- very small margin. A quantity of ( two and a half to threo tons of coal was a high average for a man to deliver in a day, largely owing to the configuration of tho city. A fair cs-ti-mato for y.ird rent'in Wellington was Is per ton. A coal-yard -needed space, and rating on the unimproved value wns a tax on space. Another shilling went down for telephone, stationery, and gene•ral office expenses, making a total of 11s. Then there had to be reckoned cost of supervision, bad debts, charitable donations, depreciation, insurance (accident and fire), interest on capital, as well as something for profit on the concern. He would not estimate what the latter meant. The whole difference between the value of the coal in the 'earth and in the consumer's bin went into the labour market. No coal dealers in Wellington, in his time had made money out of the coal trade. The great bulk did their own labour, and earned just a living. The larger dealers, to keep things going, had to add to their coal trade other businesses. Mr. Pitcher : Other businesses include importing co.il. Witness : The price for Coalbrookdale (double-screened) was 36s a. ton, .19s halfton, 10s quarter-ton. The price at which the State coal '(double-screened) was sold by the dealers 1 was 34s a ton, 18s halfton, 9s 6d quarter-ton. Mixed coal in this instance was exactly the same price, and people had their choice of the mixture. State coal had, at customers.' wish, been mixed Tvit'h Newcastle as well as ■nith Brunner or with Coalbrookdale. There was a,' great difficulty in getting rid of slack; and especially tho State coal slack. .Tnere were not sufficient consumers. Private people would hardly buy a ton of slack; they could not be induced to buy unscreened co.il, though efforts had jjeen made to get them to. State household coal was estimated to consume more lapidly than ether ccal by 20 to 25 per cent. It gave out immon.se heal while in use. Stale conl was improved by Admixture with another, class of coal. ' Mr. Green : Are both coals improved? AVitness : The nc-t results aro belter. Witness thought Slate vould mix better with Brunner or with Newcastle than with G'oalbroolcdals. Dsalern bought only screened coal for household aale. Tho Chairman said thio must be a mistake, us he had himself bought screened Point Elizabeth coal, and it must have been screened by the dealer, as the State had not yot begun screening ut Point Elizabeth. Witness repeated that 'it wns not tilts usage for dealsrs to buy ■unscreened' coal for household sale. State coal, unscreened^ but bagged and weighed, had been Hold from the yard at 295, including delivery. Cost at the ship's side was, of course, much less. (The State fells at ship's sido at 22s a ton.) This was de> livery to any part of the city. Delivery to Karon or Khandal'.ah would be 2s a ton extra. The maximum charge for delivery of any cor.l wan 2» a cwl. Coal storage facilities *t private houses in

Wellington compared unfavourably with other places, because space and rents were so dear. To deliver half a ton in many cases took a man between two and three hours. To send a. ton needed the sending of two men in eucfc. cases. In subsequent discussion it was made clear that Mr. Field's prices aro cash ones. For instance, the invoice price of, Coalbrookdalo is 38s, subject to a 2s discount, which gives the price stated by witness. So a'jso with State coal, stated by witness at 34s a ton. The Chairman of the Board stated that Mr. Field's evidence had given it a much clearer insight into the working of the coal trade. (Left sitting.)

£1150 tho lot

MARION-