THE COAL TROUBLE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 277, 12 August 1918, Page 7

THE COAL TROUBLE

BOARD OF TRADE REPORTS : LOWER PRICE FOR SLACK The Minister of Mines (the Hon. W. D. S. Mac Donald) lias received a Toport rrom tho Board of Trntlo with regard to tho coal shortiigo and the vexed question of dealers' charges. Mr. MaeDouald fa acting as president of the Board of Trade in the absence of the Prime Minister,'and he, explained in issuing tho report that tho problems of supply and distribution were in tho sphere of' tho Ministry for Munitions. Tho Board of Trade had been asked for a report owing to the raising of the question of retail price. The report of tho Board of Trade is S3 follows i— Tho General Shortage "About two years ago, to obvjato tho of increasing thu price of coal In Wellington, tho practice oi soreening coal in Wellington itself was discontinued, the public boing supplied with coal screened at the mines bcloro shipment. New Zealaud coals are of a friable nature, and consequently suffer in transit. "Very littlo small steam or unscreened coal from the AVcst Coast mines is being »esold iu Wellington for household purposes owing to tho fact that this class of coal finds a ready sale for industrial requirements. For iustauce; thousands of tons could bo placed in Wellington at the present time with the Wellington Gas Company, tho City Corporation Power Station, and tho Harbour Board. The wholesale merchants cannot get enough of it, and what is coming into fho city has only been released by tho Wellington Coal Trade Committee in order that tho work of distribution by dealers ow. ing to lack of other supplies should not ' w entirely stopped and the public have to go without coal altogether. The short(igo that has existed has been met to a Certain extent, by tho use of lignito slack that in former years was unsaleable. . liven lignite slack is now being used for Bteani-raising purposes by freezing companies, dairy companies, and other industrial users, and' when mixed with West Coast steam coal is giving good results. Costs to Dealers. "With regard to tho price charged for Jignito slacK, tho main source of supply of which is tho Waikato district, .'tho Board, of 'i'Tade finds' that the wholesale price of this coai in Wellington is 20s. fid. per ton, made up as follows:—ss.'per .ton on trucks, Waikato; 15s. 6~d. per ton railage; total, 20s. 6d. There is n serious loss in weight iu transit amounting on the average to the equivalent of Is. Cd. Jier ton. On arrival in Wellington this coal has to bo shovelled out of the railway tatcks and carted by the dealers to their own yards, involving considerable labour expense, amounting to os. per ton. Tho wholo of this expense is not incurred on coal received ex ship, because this is placed by the discharging vessel straight on to the carts of tho dealers. Additional expense incurred in the yards by the dealers amounts to -35.. per ton, and delivery charges to- tho householder amount to an average of 6s. 6d. per ton. It will foe seen from these figures that the cost to tho retail dealer amounts ■' approximately to M 16s. per ton. Lignite Slack 2s. Cwt. "The board finds that the Wellington dealers' in the majority oil cases have been charging the samo rate for lignite slack as they have been for West Coast small steam or unscreened coal, the deal- . ers classing as 'slack coal' all coal re- \ ceived by them other than mine screened. Tho board, however, has arranged •with tho Wellington Coal Dealers' Association to charge a separate rate for Waikato 6lack coal, and this will in future bo supplied at 2s. per cwt." The board has gone into the question of the profit tho coal dealer is making ' out of the coal, and is satisfied that undue profits have not been made in tho past. With regard to tho West Coast coal, the present prices also appear to • the hoard to be reasonable, and whilst present conditions remain .-will not be increased." " ,'■ •■*'' ' : ".' " '"' ' Advice to Householders. "To get the best results out of the coal that is available for household purposes in Wellington, the public should use a mixture of lignite coals and West Coast coal. If they desire screened West Coast coal, they should also ask to be supplied ,with an equal quantity of lignite slack, »s these two classes of coal mix well together tad givo satisfactory results. If, on the other hand, the public desire to ■use screened lignite coals, these/should bo mixed with West Coast slack. "Figures that havo been recently supplied by the Minister of Mines and Munitions 6how that there is a real shortage of coal in New Zealand, and it is only by the utmost care and undivided attention of tho local Coal Committee that the essential industries have been kept running, and the available supplies for household purposes beeu rationed out in such a manner as to prevent any undue Advantage being given to a particular class of consumer. An honest endeavour has been made in so rationing the public to prevent hardship on the poorer classes by restricting the wealthier classes from 6ccnring most of the supplies. "Another factor of importance that inust be remembered is that the whole of the screened AVest Coast-coal coming into

■Wellington is tho property of the New Zealand Kailways, but tlio railway authorities, on representations made to them by thu Minister of Munitions/ havo released a quantity of this coal for household purposes, and the quantity so released has been distributed tlirough the Coal Committee."