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New Zealand Mail, Issue 1610, 7 January 1903, Page 70 (Supplement)

New Zealand coal was last month brought before the notice of the House of Commons. Mr D. A. Thomas (Merthyr Tydvil) asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether the New Zealand coal supplied to the China squadron emitted such volumes of smoke as to make signalling difficult, and often, betrayed the position of a ship using it long before her masts appeared in sight. Mr Pretyman answered that it was known that New Zealand coals emitted more smoke o than Welsh coal of good quality. The Commander-in-Chief had recently reported that the steaming qualities of the coal were excellent, and since the stokers had" become accustomed to its use the quantity of smoke emitted was less than it was. Mr D. A. Thomas asked the Secretary to the Admiralty whether his attention had been drawn to a memorandum recently issued to -senior officers on the China Station in reference to the friable nature of "Westport coal and the largo proportion of small coal it contained, and desiring that its value should be made known generally in order to anticipate complaints which might be made by officers unacquainted with this coal; and would he say if it was the practice of the Admiralty to anticipate complaints of stores supplied ti the navy P Mr Pretyman: It was recently pointed out to the Commander-in-Chief on the China Station that cargoes of Westport coal were, for various reasons, likely to comprise a larger proportion of small coal than is the case with Welsh coal, though the steaming qualities of the former had been found from experience not to he affected seriously thereby, and he was directed to inform commanding officers of his Majesty’s ships to this effect. It is probably to some memorandum issued by the Commander-in-Chief in pursuance of these directions that the hon. member refers. The reply to the second part of the question is in ttfl negative.