STATE COAL MINES. A SURVEY OF FACTS, FIGURES. AND PROSPECTS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 136, 5 December 1907, Page 4

STATE COAL MINES. A SURVEY OF FACTS, FIGURES. AND PROSPECTS.

I. The State Coal-mines Act is. an exiension of powers conferred in the CoaljnSnos Act, 1891, and was passed in 1901. fi was argued that the Government possessed, or might- bo /ound' to possess, land j that the Government, in the railways and elsewhere, was aiaTge consume! of coal ; and that obviously tho Government should supply Its own coal for its own consumption. ,Dr, since coal had to be bought and paid Jor, why pay a middleman's profit? If .government bought a mine, then Government, which worked tho railways, tould just well work a mine to supply Ihe railways. Besides, Government pwed something to the people. Why Should people pay extravagant prices to % colliery proprietor, or to a coal vend, ."when 1 Government, could supply coal at> ihe -cost of production ?-^at th-e same lime encouraging industry and employing labour. On such arguments the Act, >-«is passed. FEATURES OF THE ACT. The Act enables Government to sefc aside any 'unalienated Crown, lands that anay contain coal or be required. for coalmining. It subjects to its operations any ilands and mines resumed or acquired under the provisions of tha Coal-mines Act, aßftL It empowers Government to work coal-mines and sell the product. It auIhorises .Government to raise. £150,000 irom available public funds, or Irom persons, issuing debentures therefor. It provides for tho keeping ]of accounts and the application of profits- And it contains the familiar clause [empowering the Government to make regulations foT any pui'poso for which regulations in its opinion "are contemplated or required." The Act was included in the Coal-mines Acts Compilajfcion Act, 1905. ■ , .DEBENTURES ISSUED. 7;The Act limits debentures to £150,000, md prescribes that they shall have a currency of not more" than forty years, $n<jt pay not more than 4 per cent, annual interest. According to the State Coalmines reports, 1902-7, the Minister for Mines has issued debentures for £140,000 —£10,000 short of his limitr— and the earlier debentures -were- issued at 3j pei cent., redeemable Ist April, 1907. .Operations began in 1902. Two mines ,weTe purchased — the Point Elizabeth at Grey-mouth, and the Seddohvilie at West.port. With the former (was associated o fiTe-mile Tailwny. To 1903, debentures of £52,000 were issued; ,to 1904, £107^000— of -which £80,449 was allocated to the Point Elizabeth mine, and £26,550 to Seddonvillc. By 1905 ? the issue had reached £140,000. Point Elizabeth was paying ; Seddonville was losing. Tlie proportion, of debenture allotment was altered— £s9,2l4 to Point- Elizabeth; £80,785 to Seddonville. Apparently the mines bJave paid interest on debentures ; tut an item of "accrued interest, £2450" — concerning which information is wanting — stands among liabilities in the joint balance-she-sts for 1905, 1906, 1907. " The Act directs that "after full piovision has, in tho case of each mine, been made for all outgoings, losses, and liabilities for the year . . . Ihe net surplus profits then remaining shall be applied in establishing a sinking fund in respect of debentures issued or moneys to be recouped to the Consolidated Fund. . . ." • This has not been done. The 1905 joint" balance-sheet, covering the two mines that are being worked, claimed a oet profit of £10,360; but nothing was set* aside for sinking fund. The 1906 joint balance-shoat claimed a further net profit for that year of £14,647, excluding £2800 (only) set aside for sinking fund. The 1907 joint balance-shret claimed a further net profit for that year of £8460, excluding £2800 (only) act aside for sinking" fund. The- total debenture sinking fund at 31st- March, 1907, was £5600. The •total further net profits, claimed in the joint account were £33,468. No explanation is given why this amount was not applied to the debenture sinking fund as directed by_ the Act. According, however, to a report in our morning contemporary of 28th November, since 31st March the amount to credit of sinking fund and the amount claimed as profit liave been .devoted to redeeming debentures of £40,000 ; the balance of £100,000 being' renew -=d at the same rate of interest. , THE POINT ELIZABETH MINE. Thq .Point Elizabeth mine is situated five miles from Greymouth. A railway connects it with the port. The projpeffcies were formerly owned by tho Grey- ' mouth and Point Elizabeth Railway and Coal Co. The purchase cost of the mine is set down as £4024. Some work had been done when the State took over the mine, 'and further development has continued sine© the transfer in 1902 — including completion of the railway and tramway. Several seams of excellent co^l are worked from, tunn-sls driven into the hillside. The shipping of coal commenced in May, -1904. At 31sfc MarcE, 1905, 92,949 tons % 'h'acT "been raised and disposed of, and 'the, manager reported that he could turn out 3000 tons weekly. At 31st March, 1906, the manager reported that the main coal seam was thinning, and exploratory work was being undertaken. The coal raised for the year was 131,816 . tons. At 31st March, 1907, the manager Veported the coal^ much sought after. 1^3,478 tons wore raised. Complaint was made of the loss of 33 days in the working year through the deficiencies bf "the port and the lack of shipping facilities. The sale of the coal is in tho hands of a business manager, who in 1905 repoTted the quality excellent, with demand far- exceeding supply. "But,"' he .added, "the profitable' woiking of these coal-fields must depend largely upon the amount of skill and economy with which they are developed: Coal cannot be Eold cheaply if it is not won cheaply, and "in the present field of competition this can only be accomplished under tha highest conditions of practical knowledge- and economy.'* POINT ELIZABETH RAILWAY. "The purchase-cost is set down as £21,000. Further sums were expended on building and •equipment in 1903, 1904, and 1905, which brought the account to £64,405. The railway was then transferred to the Public WoTks Department, .which paid 1 £62,540, and omitted to pay £1684 churned by the Coal-mines account. The outstanding balance appeals conscientiously in the accounts for 1905, 1906, 1907, so it seems that the Coalmines branch hopes to get it some day. The Point Elizabeth mine now pays for its railway haulage, and is debited with £14,464 for that purpose * iv the 1907 account. ,'