STATE GOAL

New Zealand Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 5669, 17 August 1905, Page 3

STATE GOAL

INQUIRY CONTINUED. THR RRTAIL TRADK. LVrKUKSTING PARTICULARS. RKCIPRS FOR MIXING COAL. The Hoard of Inquiry set up to inquire into and report on matters connected with the State coalmines at Seddonville and Remit Klir.al.elh resumed its Wellington sitting at the Customs Buildings veMterday. Tlio Commissioners present Messrs John Hayes (chairman), R. 11. Green, ,T. H. Fox, and James Tontts. Mr R. G. Pilcher, manager of the Grevnmnth and Point RlizabeUi Coal 'Company, lianded in three certificates Irorn customers to tie- effect that a mixture of State coal and Rrunuer coalj ■was found by them to lie very effective. Henry Field, secretin',y of the Wellington Coal-dealers’ Association, stated that ho had been engaged for five years as a coal-dealer. His firm had three branches in different parts of the cit\, no they were conversant with the conditions 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, hucauso customers desired it. H Hio custom of the trade to keep the coals separate in Iho yards,! he reason being that the quality and characteristics of ooTds differed—some "'as swift-burning. Homo gave out greater and some lesser heat. The customers, on receiving the coal, had it mixed, or separate, in their coalshcds at their own option. the great hulk of people preferred it mixed, hag and hag. He never knew « yard Hint did not supply mixed con at’the wish of a customer. Nearly all the larger users—hotels, restaurants, ntc., —u.sed mixed coal, but the- smaller users usually got (he 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 3 s in value, and thoio were between forty and fifty. This i-ho wed the large number of small consumers. A very largo proportion oi half-ton orders and upwards would be {or mixed coal. To Mr 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 Iprico of mixed coal was rather less than that for one kind. Witness said that to meet the requirements of the retail trade it was necosmiry to have a depot from which customers could ho supplied, lluit brought Into question, at what price could the coal bo sold for the retail trade? All know there was a big difference in the prieo of coal at the ship’s side and as delivered to the consumer. The cost of trimming and carting alone was about ,'ls fid per ton, on a fair average. Then, when the coal reached the dealers’ yards it had to be rc-screoiiod, notwithsanding that it had been screened at the nfino. Tho cost of this was certainly not less than Is fid 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 be sold at a loss, nnd fetched anything from Ifis to 19s, delivered in, to the larger dealers. To these charges had to bo added the cost of delivery. In view of customers being spread all over the city, orders had to bo supplied as received, and not as by a tradesman who could fix his rounds. Dealers reckoned a very small •charge for delivery was 3s per ton. A limn delivering coal in Wellington •could not get through more than an average of two and a half to three tons (1 day.' That was a high average. Then there was tho rent of tho yards to he 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 bo made for bad debts, supervision, charity donations, depreciation, insurance (accident and fire), interest on investments, and something as profit on tho concern. In tho coal trade the difference between the. value of the coal underground and in the consumer’s possession all went into labour. No coalrloaler in "Wellington, in witness’s time, had made money out of tho trade. The great bulk did their-own labour. A few added other businesses, and so made their profits. As to the prices at which dealers sold, the price for Coalbrookdale now, and for a long time past, was 30s per ton, for. half-ton lots 19s, and quarter ton 11s. The price at which State coal was being sold by the dealers was 31s per ton, 18s per half ton, nnd 9s fid per quarter ton. Mixed coal in this instance was exactly the same price. By mixed coal, ho meant State and any other kind, at tho customer’s option. State coal had been sold mixed with Newcastle, Brunner, or Coalbrookdale, at customers’ request. To the chairman; Dealers found a *ery 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 n century, and in no part were people so sensitive on the question of slack —less willing to take 'a little of it, oven though at a lesser cost.

To Mr Green: His experience of State coal was that it consumed away rery rapidly, and was very costly. People were complaining now about tho 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 ‘2O to 25 per cent. It gave out great heat alone. By mixing with other coal &be general results were superior. To tho chairman: State coal would, ho thought, mix better either with Brunner or Newcastle coal.

To Mr Fox: Tho usage in the yards had been to sell unscreened coal as received. Tho State coal, sold ns received (but bagged and delivered), had been sold at 2i)s per ton. Had heard no complaints of damage to grates from ,th© use of State ooal alone. Very little of it had been sold. People who bought it did not, because of its small vize, often want more. To the chairman: Witness considered that tho coal-storage space at private houses in Wellington compared unfavourably with other centres. He knew of ono place whore there were 130 steps, and it could easily bo imagined *hat 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 tho least of it. Zb often took half a day to deliver half a ton.

Th© chairman and members expressed

liniks to Mr Field, stating that ho had Ivon them the fullest iniormation! hey had had as to the working of the I’ ■olail trade. . | Mr IMfher said he had no more ovi-1 lento io oll'or. Hi; object in securing tlr Field's evidence was to vindicate ■ un self from the charge, of "felony.’ ' Alexander Macdougalh managing igent. for tho Slate mines in Wellington (recalled), suited that: he did j ini. know that as a general l ine ens- 1 ton,nns wanted coal mixed. A' anyj rate, he would say that the Govern-j air ut, did not want State coal mixed | with any other kind. Brunner coal was I not a household coal, and was nevei . used as such unless mixed with a better class of coal. The only object he could sen why State coal was niiXfd. with Brunner coal was to enable tho 1 latter to he burnt tor household pur-; pose-. He would not advise the Slate | to sell their dial ior mixing purposes, j To Mr Green: He had nothing to say j if tho chief mechanical engineer said! that the he.-.t. results were obtained hv, mixing Stale coal. However, ho had: seal cvTv ever heard of a similar state: of affairs. He had no objection if customers difl prefer a mixture. 1 Ml- Green said they had plenty of j evidence that they did. I W'itim-s thought such customers were few. He objected to supplying Stale cod for mixing when he could not get eiiomdi of il to supply those who wauled only Slate coals. Tho evidence submitted to the Commission ns to tho mixing of coal was not uulrulhlul, but mixing was not general. To Mr Coutts: Tho stoppage of tho Seddonville mine was simply due to the fact that they were not producing there coal suitable for consumers. There was a loss of from os to 7s per ton. This inis very serious. Witness quoted figures showing that there were practically continuous arrears iu orders for railway coal since la-t April. At present date, he said, there were 3285 tons in arroar. Thero were 2101) tons of fresh orders, in addition to 1000 tons mi order for private people. It was no good witness pushing private orders whilst Hie mines were so much in arroar in supplying the State railways. The present system of working the' State miiuvs was rotten, and until tho Mines Department took them in hand thero would bo no improvement. By having the head office in "Wellington matters would be greatly improved.' Office expenses were very heavy under the present system, nnd could ho reduced. Tho cost of producing State coal was Is ncr 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 ngenh 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 Greymouth. Tho whole system now was cumbersome and unbusinesslike. It would bo better if the Grcymouth office, so far as tho book-keeping was concerned should ho shifted to the Alines Department in Wellington.