PRICE OF COAL.

New Zealand Times, Volume LXXI, Issue 4305, 14 March 1901, Page 7

PRICE OF COAL.

j INTERVIEW WITH .MR J*. .j J O’REGAN.

j It will lie remembered that iu 1897, '.Air P. J. O’Rcgan, (hen member for j Bullcr, ’-’•ought tho question of tho price ol coal before the J louse of RcI prciontativc--:. In' answer to a. question 'put by Mr O’Regan, au undertaking wa.-. given by the Premier that a Select Committee would bo set up io consider jtho question.- Mr Seddon gave notice of motion to that effect, but nothing (further was done that session. In 120'S the Premier again cave notice of a simi. I hit- motion, but no action resulted. In the following session, however, a committee was; appointed, and Mr O’Regan was elected as its chairman. In conversation, with a ''Times’’ rciKirlor yesterday, Mr O’Rcgan gave some particulars of the result of the committee’s investigations, and also expressed his views in regard to the present position of affairs. Ho said; “While I found, a.s chairman of the I'onimittco. that.there was considerable S dissatisfaction in regard to tho prevailing high price of c0a1,.! also found that very few members of the commit ice or of tho House were in favour of u own-’fl coal-mine. In fact, 1 can safeusay that MfTa-nTior-imtl myself were the only members, of .the committee who were prepared to have go no so far-ax to recommend the carrying on of a uni' under the conditions of State ownership and (State operation. The committee /Rd not finisn .ifry deliberations until (ho hot 1 tours of the session, and '.hero ;iu‘, thus really nor.opportunity of having the question debated when I lie report , wa,s presented to the House. The com- : ruittcc made recommendations in the direction of a reduction in the baulagc rates for coal, and also of inquiries swing inado into tho cost of sea carnage with a view:to the undertaking of ’he latter work, also, by the Government. There wore also several minor recommendations, all of which, I fool confident, will bo supported by tho Cm! juntos Commission, which is now taking evidence.

“One thing that .surprised mo. at the lime the. committee made its inquiries was tho .email amount of interest which was taken in tho question by the labour bodies of Wellington. Certain members of tho committee made uso of ’ his circumstance.as an.argument against any interference with the .existing state or things. I must not forget to say, however, that tho Workers’ Union, which is now moving so actively iu the matter forwarded me a resolution of thanks for mv efforts.

“A result of the’committee's inquiries. so far as X personally was concerned, was the loss of a .let of political support at the election' which ensued. A jar:-a number of tho miners had been misl-'d and made to think that the effect of State ownership would be to reduce their wages.

"Of course, I am delighted at the Brcmior’si decision to establish a State coal mine. To my mind its practicability xr. beyond question. , A largo number ol member,'< of Parliament have declared in favour of it. During the last few weeks there has been a striking manifestation of unanimity in favour of the proposed step among the worn mg miners on ‘ the West Coast. The Westport Harbour Board recently passed a resolution in favour of a State-owned coal mine. 1 “There are immense coal measures on the West Coast, and I think there is absolutely no risk whatever in the Government’s going into the business, more especially as .it requires , such a large quantity of coal.fpr its own use. L “The usual objection of. u^dno (1 ijitor,ferenep. nritlj,priyapo o oiitbrpri“e .has. bijen raised, but in yiew-pf the success which has attended State undertakings in other directions, one may well be pardoned for viewing ’ the objection with scepticism, German steamers have outdone; British vessels in the competition for", tfaht-Atlantic trade. I could give oilier illustrations from a distance, but without going away from New Zealand, ample evidence is to he had as warrant for the further extension of State functions.

“So far as the rates for the haulage of coal on tho -West Coast are concerned., there is no reason why they should nol be reduced, when the' output has been sufficiently increased. The development of the splendid coal resources, at Westport by private enterprise has been, exceedingly slow. The present output of coal there is quite inadequate when compared with- the resources and with the demand which exists, for fuel for railway, steamer and household consumption. On this ground alone the Government is warranted in undertaking the business in accordance with, the PremieFs announcement.

| “Malting all allowances, the prioo of icoal to tl 10 Wellington householder is excessive. The hewers get from Is 10d to 2s pea*, ton.---They do not got 2s lid. as lias been, stated. The price of coal at Dennis ton, after it has been screened is 6s per ton. When haulage and wharfage have been mid. it is placed on board steamers for from 10s 3d to 11s per ton. Add 5s 3d for carriage to Wellington, and 16s 3d stands as tho cost at tho ship’s side in this city. These figures were substantiated before the t'arliarucntary Select Committee; they may , not exactly represent the cost now. “It is not necessary to follow the coal through all the processes that it undergoes after arrival here, but when it is remembered that it is sold for 38s per ton to'the Wellington householder. I must say that I consider there is just ground for dissatisfaction, and for tliink- : ing that the margin -of 20s or over per ton is altogether extravagant. The rc- ’ tail price is in my opinion far too high, : even making due allowance for depreciation of plant and contingencies, such ns possible, ’' There is no reason why coal should not be sold considerably cheaper, and yield a profit. In Auckland, I understand, Westport coal is retailed for £1 11s per ton. “Touching on a minor point, I may say that I think " the coal U screened too much altogether in Wellington. The amount of screening done is uuneces t ary. It is wasteful, and leads to a lot of needless expense. “Now that a Stale-owned mine is to he established, ;I.;may; be pardoned for pointing out that I can claim to have had some share Mu convincing the Premier on this question. 1 hope that, he having now definitely pledged himself to what he has on several occasions promised to do, the'Premier will not be turned aside by any hostile demonstration on the part of interested,persons.” • THE STATE MINE. FURTHER STATEMENT BY MR SAMUEL BROWN. Mr Samuel Brown insists, on the subject of the State coalmine, that the State cannot ' conduct large departments’' as cheaply as the private individual. He quoted yesterday, as a case in point, that an ironfeunder in Cnristchurch tendered for the work at tho Makohine viaduct at £48,000. The Government undertook th© work itself, and it had cost about £72,000, and was not yet finished. Mr Brown claimed that the Premier’s figures were incorrect, and asserted that tho price of coal to purchasers of small quantities had not bean raised more than Is per ton in about ten years, whereas the price of Newcastle coal bad, during

tho last twelve months, been raised by 5s a. ton, notwithstanding which the dealer:; had made .no alteration in the retail price. According to Mr Brown, a shortage of coal is again expected this year. Having been asked to suggest a remedy, he had recommended that the Point Elizabeth coal should he put on the market, and that arrangements might ho made for tho opening of tho "Westport-Cardiff mine. But no one, he went on. would put money into coalmines, and he believed large sums had been lost in every coalmine iu New Zealand. Probably 1150,000 had boon lost in Wellington in this way. The great trouble with the New Zealand coalmines, said Mr Brown, was I hat the country was of a broken character. The seams were often broken and faulty, and tho result was that enormous expenditure, of which the publit; had no idea, was continually being incurred. Another reason stated by Mr Brown as preventing th'- public from putting their money into coalmines is that they do not got from the Government that sympathy to which he'thought tho venture is entitled, though ho admitted that the Coalmines Inspection Act and tho Arbitration Act had proved a good thing for the industry. Mr Brown added that the Government had had the Mokihinui mine in its hands for about eight years, hut had done nothing during that period ; and he believed a. largo expenditure would be required in prospecting before a. good supply of household coal would be obtained. Tho Government, he continued, had had the Cardiff Company’s mine in its hands for a, long period, but, as far as ho knew, no attempt had been made either to work it or to make terms with the company to continue its working.

MORE ABOUT THE PRICES. Inquiries made by a representative of tho “New Zealand Times’’ yesterday elicited some further information as to tho cause of the difference between the price charged to the Railway Department and that which the ordinary consumer is required to pay. . Tho highest price for the coal supplied for tlid railways is 21s 6d per ton-—not an unreasonable price, cue merchant claimed, and one which he imagined the Premier regards as satisfactory. But on coal for the railways there is no charge for wharfage, so that each ton of coal for household purposds must hear an additional fee of Is per ton wharfage and 3d for weighing tho coal on the Harbour Board bridge, and for tho tallying; and a.s the actual price charged to tho retail merchant is only 24s less 24 per cent., or 23s sd, it will bo seen that tho profit to tho company supplying the coal is not extravagantly high. After the coal passes into the hands of the retail mer-chant—-as tho interviews published in the “Times'’ a day or two ago showed—there are various charges to bo met before it can bo scat out to tho consumer, .such as cartage te, the yard, 2s Gd; trimming, Gd; and the expenses of screening, bagging, loss from slack, and the delivery iu tho carts to tho houses.

“There may bo a wide disproportion,” said one merchant, “between the rate paid by the Railway Department and that paid by the householder ■ but when you como to examine the items in detail it is impossible to see how they can ho reduced. It is trim that the coal supplied for tho railways is screened, but Jhat sent out'for householders must bo , screened again, otherwise the public will not have it, and this, of course, moans fresh expense.”

As to the statement of Mr Seddon, that the hewers having been paid 2s Kiel per ton, and the railway freight from the mine having accounted for another 2s per ton, 5s 2d remained for tne coal company cut of tho 10s a ton winch represented thci price of the coal on board tho ship when she left Westport, it was explained that this calculation took no account of tho army of workers who have to handle tho coal after it leaves the hewer and before it is put on the railway trucks. The hewer merely puts the coal into a tub where he stands, and it has to be brought out to tho mouth of the mine by other workers, and by the aid of an elaborate system of haulage, which must be kept up at considex - - a-bie expense.

In his anxiety to defend a bad case, writes “Breadwinner,” Mr S. Brown has net been altogether logical in jus contentions. To tho bulk of consumers he has but revealed, the fact that the State could run tho coal business a long way cheaper than is the case at present. He also contends that coal costs him 24s per ton, freight included, while the Government can obtain, it for 18s. This is a potent reason why the latter should take this matter in hand. • “Coal heire,” says Mr Brown, “is dearer than in any otner city in New Zealand,” and yet-when the 'representatives of labour make a similar statement before the Conciliation Board in support of the contention that the cost of living is higher here than elsewhere, such an assertion is ridiculed by the employers’ representatives. At a meeting of the Wharf Labourers’ Union last night the following resolution was earned;—That in view of tho exorbitant prices paid by consumers for coals, and that the dealers of. Wellington nave announced their intention of not delivering coals to any person until paid lor, unless the quantity required is over live hundredweight, this union places on record its strong appreciation of the announcement made hy the Premier that it is tho intention of the Government to open up a State coal mine, with the object of reducing the price of coal to the consumer, and trusts that the Gov. eminent will at au early date put the announcement into effect.

Commenting on Mr Scddon’s scheme of a State-owned coal mine, the “VVairalapa Daily Times” says:—As a wage raiser, Air Seddou has increased tne market price of coal—and how the wageearner calls upon him to reduce it. The working man must have cheap fuel, and the taxpayer must pay for it. By poetical justice the working man is a taxpayer, and will contribute as such to the cost of working tho coal measures, which‘will be a feature in next session’s legislation. A statesman of Air Seddou's calibre can shift a burden from onb shoulder to another.or drive it, like rheumatism, from one part of tho body to another—but he cannot remove it As a wage-raisor, ho has also made bread dearer and meat more expensive; and, on the same principle, ho ought to start State butcheries and State bakeries. Air beddon seems hardly to have grasped the difficulties of Ins present project. He will have to establish about five hundred coat depots in different parts ct the colony, and employ a little army of coal agents.