COAL SUPPLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 15 March 1917, Page 6

COAL SUPPLY

SERIOUS .SHORIAUj; FI:ARK3>, ANXIETY OF GOVERNMENT WELLINGTON, March !:'■ Theie is a shortage of coal -in the Dominion at present, which cannot be col.. sidercd as anything but grave. Supplies are sain to be very low-—so low that coal may soon not be obtainable for any but the' most urgent purposes, ami others besides big us.ers of coal may have; to reconstruct some of their ideas as to what is essential. It will not be surprising, for instance, if such transport services as street trams have to curtail their running in those towns where the current is steamgenerated, and the same may apply to electric lighting and gas plants. It is understood that the position is causing the Government serious anxiety. Coal is obtainable in plenty in Australia, and at juices which in tnese times must be. eonsidere dmoderate, hut the difficulty of the moment is to find the ships in which. to bring it to New Zealand. THE POSITION IN AUCKLAND. An Auckland coal merchant, in an interview last week, stated that as tilings were now shaping people would most probably be short of coal next winter. The fact might as well be faced, particularly as it Was impossible for anyone now to iav up stocks. No stocks were available." and manufacturers were at their wits' end to keep up a supply. It was to be. regretted that the output of coal per man employed was not what it should be, and the speaker greatly feared that working families in towns would have a cold winter. Usually at this season of the year the mines were not working t nil time", but such was not the case now They were working full time, and still not "getting the coal they ought to for the number of men employed. It was only fair to add that there were not as many men available in the coal mines as there were,, before- the war. Coal could be bo'.ight at Newcastle, but bottoms could not" be got to bring it across. The managing director ol the Northern Coal Company said :—"1 have nothing to complain of' regarding the miners in our employ. They are doing their level best to get' out as'much coal as possible, and are making excellent progress. I do not think there "is a 'slacker' amongst them—in fact, the men's spirit ever since the outbreak of the war is to be commended, and the directors are very grateful."