THE STATE AS COAL-MINER

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1746, 23 August 1905, Page 17

THE STATE AS COAL-MINER

MANAGEMENT OP THE GOVERNMENT MINES.

QUALITY OF THE COAL.

BOARD OP INQUIRY SITTING IN * WELLINGTON.

INTERESTING EVIDENCE.

The Board of Inquiry set up by the .Government to inquire into and report on matters connected with the Seddonyille State coal-mine —Messrs John Hayes (Inspecting to the Mines Department),’ Edwin R. Green (Inspector of Mines, Otago), James Coutts (Inspector of Mines, Auckland), and J. H. Fox (Locomot iye Engineer, New Zealand Railways)—•commenced its Wellington sittings in the Customs Buildings on the 15th instant. The chairman (Mr Hayes) announced, before proceedings commenced, that the scope of the inquiry had been enlarged to include the Point Elizabeth mine. A. L. Beattie, Chief Mechanical Engineer of Government Railways, said he had obtained reports from officers in practically all the districts using Point Elizabeth coal. With the reports he concurred. From careful observation, he was of opinion Point Elizabeth coal was lighter than other West Coast coals. The experience they had with Point Elizabeth coal showed that, the consumntion was one-fourth more than Bc.reened Brunner. He was speaking of unscreened Point Elizabeth. For railway purposes it was most desirable that the coal should be free from “ slack.” If they had screened Point Elizabeth and screened Brunner, the consumption of the former would be 10 to 12 per cent, higher than the latter. He would like it to be placed on record that the quality and size of the Point Elizabeth ooal now being sunulied was not nearly as good as it was six months ago. They were getting more “ slack,” and the consumption per mile was accordingly going, up. Seddonville coal mixed with Point Elizabeth coal would make a very satisfactory locomotive fuel if it could be procured. [Th© reports referred to were principally an amplification of these statements.! In answer to questions by Mr .Fox, witness said complaints had been made about the ooal. When exposed to the weather, Point Elizabeth coal crumbled. It was not suitable for smith-work in Ehe workshops. . Seddonville coal was. He spoke of the accumulation of waste in the ooal-boxes of locomotives on account of using unscreened coal. Point Elizabeth coal was not suitable for heavy work on the railways.

To Mr Green: The Point Elizabeth, coal had fallen off in quality very much quite recently. It contained as much as >6O to 75 per cent. “ slack.” He would like to emphatically state that from an efficiency and economical point of view it was a distinct mistake to bum as locomotive fuel for heavy work unscreened coal. Mi- Green: That, of course, brings us back to the question of price. Witness: Yes. Mr Green: If it was screened and Bent to you, could you then afford to pay an enhanced price? Witness: Yes, and save money at it, providing always that the enhanced price was a reasonable one. Mr Green:., How much more could _ you afford to pay? Witness: 1 am just having a series of experiments made in Canterbury and elsewhere, and I expect to be in possession of full information this week. The particulars will be available for tbe Commission. William Scott, railway running-shed foreman, Wellington, said he had found that good results had been obtained with the better class of Point Elizabeth coal. Used by itself 25 per cent, more Point Elizabeth coal than. Brunner was consumed per train milel The remainder of witness’s evidence was in the main confirmatory of that given by the Chief Mechanical Engineer. In reply to Mr Green, witness stated that his chief complaint against Point Elizabeth coal was the undue percentage of “ slack.” Alexander Macdougall, managing agent for the State mines in Wellington, was called to give information as to the distribution of the coal, particularly in regard to the Point Elizabeth mine. The total output from the Point Elizabeth mine from April Ist, 1904, to June 30th, 1905, was 113,614 tons The demand for Point Elizabeth coal had been greater than the supply ever since the mine was started. . The chairman: Well, if that is so, how is it that the mine is not working anything like full time? ' Witness: I cannot say; all I can. say is that the orders have been more than the supply. The chairman: Would it be attributable in any way to the shipping facilities offering? Witness: That might have something to do' 4 with it. East week we had orders in hand for 5000 tons, 2200 tons of this being orders which could not be supplied the previous week. The coal went principally to the Government railways. Speaking of household coal, he said

the people liked the new screened article very much. The market could he extended, but they had not coal to supply existing demands. It was absolutely necessary that ooal for household purposes should be screened. Mr Fox next asked if it was true the Union Company had gone back on its agreement to take bunker coal. Witness: No. For a time did it not refuse to take any?—No; on one occasion it threw some back on my hands because the coal was of an inferior quality. Witness went on to say that the arrangement for distributing the coal from the ship’s side was simply a makeshift. There was no difficulty in getting carts where a lot of coal was purchased—it was the small purchaser who had a difficulty in obtaining cartage. In places like Newtown it cost as much as 10s per ton to have coal delivered. Witness gave particulars of the quantity of slack’•'coal annually disposed of to the Electrical Syndicate, Wellington, the Gear* - and other companies. There was only a limited market in Wellington for slack coal. It would be impracticably to, have the coal screened and bagged at the mine. It v r ould mean increased cost for railway haulage and many other things. ,He had recommended officially the establishment of depots in the cities to place the coal within easier reach of householders.

Mr Green: Did that include delivery? > —No; but it might be considered. Were you adware the men were •working slack time at the mines?—No. Then you have not been pushing the sale of the coal ?—No ; we had not sufficient for existing demands. The output is short by 40,000 tons per annum. It was possible the failure to supply orders from the Grey mouth mine was in a measure due to the Greymouth harbour. Mr Green: You do not know how much you have lost in the sales you were unable to supply. Witness: No ; I have not been pushing the sale, because the orders could not he supplied. He had considered it part of his duty to inquire why the orders were not being supplied. TJhe management and mine arrangements 'would be better as time went on. He had complained to Mr Bishop (general mines manager) about the delays in supplying railway orders. Mr Green: How did you complain ? By telegram and letters ?—By telegram chiefly. Proceeding, witness said Point Elizabeth coal had been sold to dealers who were agents for other coal.

Mr Green said the point he wanted to' get at was this: Would dealers buy State coal and sell it as some other coal ? Witness said he knew of a dealer having purchased State coal and -subsequently informing customers that he did not sell State coal. This kind of thing might occur to a very serious extent.

Mr Green was proceeding with Ms examination' when witness objected to his interrogator’s “unpleasant” style. Mr Green said he was sorry if his questions were unpleasant; he had. no intention of being discourteous. “You have taken it upon yourself to say you will not sell State coal to certain dealers?” queried Mr Green.

“I have authority for so doing,” answered witness. He could not say whether ■ the Point Elizabeth mine was a financial success—it ought to be. Witness said Mr Bishop had complete control of matters at Greymouth —shipping, etc.—and he had nothing to do with it. Mr Green wanted to know where the line of demarcation was between th© Coast management and the management at Wellington for the sale and distribution of the coal.

Witness replied that he had sent orders, and they had not been fulfilled. That was all he could say on the question of production. Replying to Mr Coutts, he said no disagreement had taken place between himself and Mr Bishop. He explained at length how he despatched orders to Mr Bishop, who was responsible for their fulfilment.

Mr Green asked witness if he could say how many tons were in arrears on August 7th and Bth, and received a negative reply. i

Mr Coutts: That is after what Mr Bishop told us.

The chairman: Mr Bishop said the decreased demand for the coal was owing to the railways being overstocked.

Mr Green commented on the fact that while Mi* Macdougall said the delivery of about 2200 tons of coal was in arrears of orders last week, the Board of Inquiry at that moment was at the Point Elizabeth mine, and the men were practically idle. Witness / said he was not aware of any appreciable slackness of employment of miners. The chairman: We saw the pits idle, and the bins full of coal. Witness quoted from letters sent to Mr Bishop, advising him in detail of orders outstanding during July. His statements were borne out by letters from the Chief Mechanical Engineer for Railways. Witness had suggested to the Minister for Mines the advisableness of having the hulk Coromandel fitted up for the storage of household coal, so that it could be brought up to the wharf a couple of times oer week,

and the coal could be distributed in bags. Mr Bishop was called to Wellington specially to advise on the question, and stated that he could not see his way to meet the demands, consequent on such a suggestion being put into effect. Mr Green asked if he would call upon witness to produce the authority instructing him not to sell State coal to dealers acting as agents for other mines. Witness: I don’t wish this information to he made public, but I will show the authority to the chairman. (The chairman examined a document which was handed to him by witness.) Mr Green thought the Board should be given an opportunity of inquiring into this matter but witness said he diu not wish to go into the subject. The reason the authority was given was partly because it might arrest any corrupt practices being attempted, and partly because there was no coal to spare.

Mr Green: What is the date of the authority ?—Witness: August 4th. What did you do before that—what was your practice ? Did you supply these people with coal?—They did not ask for it.

_ Could the names of the people mentioned in th,e authority be given ? Witness, after some hesitation, said the Grey mouth . and Point Elizabeth ■Coal Company was one firm, and there were two or three sub-agents for New tSouth Wales mines.

Air Green then sought to show by a long series of questions that an agent for a particular colliery in Dunedin retailed State coal.

E. Pilcher, manager of the Greymouth and Point Elizabeth Coal Company, said he had previously wired to the Commission, saying he had been refused State coal. About three months ago his company opened a retail yard in the centre of the city. After the yard had been opened a month or so, some inquiries were made for State coal, which the company had not stocked. ' The manager of the Point Elizabeth mine (Mr Allison) happened to be in Wellington at the time, and he (witness) asked to have twenty tons of unscreened Point Elizabeth coal sent with his next weekly shipment. The coal “screened out” about 50 per cent, of “slack,” and the screened article was sold to those who asked for it. The company advertised that the coal was kept. Some customers had complained that the Point Elizabeth coal burned too quickly. It was a common practice in the trade to mix Newcastle and Coalbrookdale coal for this very reason. As he did not desire to deal in Newcastle, he offered to supply customers (who wanted it) with a mixture of Brunner and Point Elizabeth coal. The mixture had given satisfaction, and if continued, -would probably lead to a larger consumption of Point Elizabeth coal. Witness had about three shipments of Point Elizabeth coal, of twenty tons each, despatched from Greymouth under these conditions. He was not aware that any exception could be taken to such a practice.' Towards th© end of July witness’s outdoor manager ordered six tons of Seddonville Coal for the yard. They got two tons. The coal was of good quality, though it required a second screening. He thought he would get some Seddonville next week, and wired Mr Bishop, asking him to quote prices for screened coal at Greymouth, f.0.b., in 200-ton'slots. He received a reply:—“Screened Seddonville 15® f.0.b., Westport small 7s 6d.” He advised Mr Bishop to ship the order by the Kini. A reply was received, saying: “Sorry cannot execute order this week; trucks not available. —Bishop.” Later orders were ignored, and repeated inquiries at the office of the managing agent at the time failed to elicit any satisfaction. Afterwards, a letter was received from the managing agent, stating he could not see his way to deliver any ooal, as he had orders in excess of supply, and, moreover, he did not see why he should supply the agentp of other collieries with State coal, as it might inadvertently'get mixed. The chairman: “Inadvertently ?”

Witness: “That’s his word.” Having ascertained that there was coal on hand, witness replied to Mr Macdougall that this was an evasion, and that his suggestion, that the coal might “inadvertently get mixed,” was an impertinence - and an illustration of his business methods. Witness communicated with the Minister for Mines and the Premier, protesting, and asking for the fullest inquiry. Witness interviewed the Minister for Mines, and learnt that he had received a report about 400 tons having been supplied to witness, which was quite inaccurate. At no time had he had more than two tons of Seddonville coal. The Minister appeared to regard the mixing of coal as a criminal offence —something like mixing sand and sugar, or whisky and water. The coal, witness explained, was only mixed at the request of customers, lie (the Minister) said he was not going to let any competing company have State coal, but stated that nothing would be done until after tbe Commission had reported. He contended that if he, as a dealer, was going to be refused State coal,, other dealers should be similarly treated. It was evident tbe Minister had come to a decision upon incorrect information. He alleged that two of the principal agents in the city for New South Wales coal had been supplied with Seddonvilie.

The chairman: Could you give any reason why the exception has been made in your- case? —-Witness: I dare say I could, but it would probably have a personal bearing, and I don’t want to bring personalities into the discussion. He had ordered through the Greymouth offices, but this was not the outcome of a desire to evade Mr Macdougall. Brunner coal was just as good as the State article, though it was a little j heavier. It was absolutely untrue that Brunner coal had been sold as State coal. Robert A. Gillespie, outdoor manager for the Greymouth and Point Elizabeth Coal Company, substantiated the statements of the last witness. -- The, Commission adjourned at 5 p.m. until 10 a.m. next day. THE RETAIL TRADE. INTERESTING PARTICULARS. RECIPES FOR MIXING COAL. The Board of Inquiry set up to inquire into and report on matters connected with the State coalmines at Seddonville and Point Elizabeth resumed its Wellington sitting at the Customs Buildings last Wednesday. The Commissioners present were—Messrs John. Hayes (chairman), E. R. Green, J. H. Fox, and James Coutts. 1 { Mr E. G. Pilcher, manager of the Greymouth and Point Elizabeth Coal Company, handed in three certificates from customers to the effect that a mixture of State coal and Brunner coal was found by them to be very effectiveHenry Field, secretary of the Wellington Coal-dealers’ Association, stated that he had been engaged for five years as a coal-dealer. His firm had three branches in different parts of the city, so they were conversant with the eon-, ditions of the retail trade. He had therefore known the trade intimately for the last eight years. It had been the universal custom to sell mixed coal, because customers desired it. It was the custom of the trade to keep the coals separate in the yards,the reason being that the quality and characteristics of coals differed—some was swift-burning, some gave out greater and some lesser heat. The customers, on receiving the coal, had it mixed, or separate, in their coalsheds at their own option. The great bulk of people preferred it? , mixed, bag and bag. He never knew a yard that did not supply mixed coal at the wish of a customer. Nearly all the larger users—hotels, restaurants, etc., —used mixed coal, but the smaller users usually got the one kind, because they got it in smaller (1 cwt) lots. _ On one Saturday in the middle of winter he counted up the number of orders not exceeding 3s in value, and there were between forty and fifty. -> This showed the large number of small consumers. A very large proportion of half-ton orders and upwards would be for mixed coal. To Mir Fox: Mixed coal was not ordinarily supplied to customers without being ordered. To Mr Green: The trade advertised mixed coal in their list of prices. The price of mixed coal was rather less than that for : one kind.

Witness said that to meet the requirements of the retail trade it was necessary to have a depot from which customers could fee supplied. That brought into question, at what price could the coal be sold for the retail trade? All knew there was a big difference in the price of ooal at the ship’s side and as delivered to the consumer. The cost of trimming and carting alone was about 2s §d per ton, on a fair average. Then, when the coal reached the dealers’ yards it had to be re-screened, notwithsanding that it had been screened at the mine.

The cost of this was certainly not less than Is 6d per ton. The loss in slack and in weight had to be taken into consideration, and also in screening a portion of the coal became slack. The dealers reckoned the loss on slack and in weight altogether was 2s per ton. Slack had always to he sold at a loss, and fetched . anything from 16s to 19s, delivered in, to the larger dealers. To these charges had to be added the cost of delivery. In view of customers being spread all over the city, orders had to be supplied as received, and not aa by a tradesman who could fix his. rounds. Dealers reckoned a very small charge for delivery was 3s per ton. A man delivering coal in Wellington could not get through hi ore than an average of two and a half to three tons r a day. That was a high average. Then there was the rent of the yards to be reckoned with They reckoned a fair rate would be Is per ton. Then for general expenses they put down Is per ton. These amounts totalled 11s per ton. Provision had also to be made for bad debts, supervision, charity donations, depreciation, insurance (accident and fire), interest on investments, and something as - profit on the concern. In the coal trade the difference between the value of the coal underground and in the consumer’s possession all went into iabour. No coaldealer in Wellington, in witness’s time, had made money out of the trade. The great bulk did their own labour. A few added other businesses, and so made their profits. As to the prioea at which dealers sold, the price for Coalbrookdale now, and for a long time past, was 36s per ton. for half-ton lots

19&, and quarter ton 11s. \ price at which State coal was being sola by the dealers was 34s per ton, 18® per half ton, and 9s 6d per quarter tonMixed coal in this instance was exactly the same price. By mixed coal, he meant State and any other kind at the customer’s option. State coal had been sold mixed with Newcastle, Brunner, or Coalbrookdale, at customers’ request. ' . _ To the chairman: Dealers found a very great difficulty in getting rid of slack —greater in the case of State coal slack. He had been in the colony over a quarter of a century, and in no port were people so sensitive on the question of'slack —less willing to take a little of it, even though at a lesser cost. . To Mr Green: His experience of State coal was that it consumed away very rapidly, and was very costly. People were complaining now about the rapidity with which State coal disappeared, and were wondering if they had had the full quantity. The chairman of his association had estimated, on the previous day, that it consumed away more rapidly than any other coal by 20 to 25 per cent. It gave out greats heat alone. By mixing with other coal the general results were superior. To the chairman: State coal would, be thought, mix better either with Brunner or Newcastle coal. To* Mr Fox: The usage in the yards had been to sell unscreened coal as received. The State coal, sold as received (but bagged and delivered), had been sold at 29s per ton. Had heard no. complaints of damage to grates from the use of State coal alone. Very little of. it had been sold. People who bought it' did not, because of its small

size, often want more. - To the chairman-: Witness considered > that, the coal-storage space at private houses' in Wellington compared unfavourably with other centres. He knew of one place where there were 130 steps, and.it could easily he imagined what it meant to deliver, half a ton of coal to such a place. By the time the carter had carried ten sacks of coal up that distance his legs would “begin, to tremble,” to say the, least of it. It. often took half a day to deliver half a ton. The chairman and members expressed thanks to Mi’ Field, stating that he had given them the* fullest information they had had as to the working of the retail trade. Mr Pilcher 1 said he had no more evidence to offer. Has object in securing Mr Field’s evidence was to vindicate himself from the charge of “felony.” Alexander Macdongall, managing agent for the State mines, in Wellington (recalled), stated that he did not know that as a general rule customers wanted coal mixed. At any rate, he would say that the Government did not want State coal mixed with any other” kind. Brunner coal was riot a household coal, and was never used as such unless mixed with, a better class of coal. The only object he could see why State coal was infixed with Brunner coal was to enable the latter to* he burnt for household purposes. He would not advise the State to sell their coal for mixing purposes. To Mr Green: He had nothing to say if the chief mechanical engineer said that the best results were obtained by

State coal. However, lie had scarcely ever heard of a similar state c of affairs. He had no objection if customers did prefer a mixture. • r .Mr Green said they had plenty of evidence that they did. Witness thought such customers -were few. He objected to supplying State coal for mixing when he could not get enough- of it to supply thoje who wanted only State coals. The evidence submitted to the Commission as to the mixing of coal was not untruthful, but mixing was. not general. - To Mr Coutts: The stoppage of the Seddonville mine was simply duo tp the fact that they were not producing there coal suitable for consumers. There was a loss of from 5s to 7s per ton. This was very serious. Witness quoted figures showing that there were practically continuous arrears in orders for railway coal since last April. At present date, he said, there were 3285 tons in arrear. There were 2100 tons of fresh orders, in addition to 1000 tons on order for private people. It was no good witness pushing private orders whilst the mines were so much in arrear in supplying the . State railways. The present system of working the State mines was rotten, and until the Mines Department took them in hand there would be no improvement. By having the head office in Wellington matters would he greatly improved. Office expenses were very heavy under the present system, and co-uld be reduced. The cost of producing State coal was Is per ton more than the cost of producing other coals. Witness put in correspondence asked for by the Board. Duncan Campbell (chief clerk to the managing agent! stated that the system of book-keeping in connection with the State coal-mines frequently created great delay in the matter of adjustments as between Wellington and Greymonth. The -whole system now was cumbersome and unbusinesslike. It ■would be better if the Greymouth office, 'BO, far as •* the book-keeping was concerned. should be shifted to the Mines Department in Wellington,