The Dominion TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 1914. ANOTHER STATE PURCHASE

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 230, 27 June 1944, Page 4

The Dominion TUESDAY, JUNE 27, 1914. ANOTHER STATE PURCHASE

Following what is now the official technique the Minister of Mines has announced the purchase of more coal-mining properties on the West Coast, with much stress laid on the conservation of essential supplies and not a word about the price which the community will have to pay. It is nearly 18 months since the previous purchases were announced, and the accounts to be presented when Parliament reassembles will throw some light on what the Minister evidently regards as a minor matter, the financial results. Mr. Webbs acquisitions in this respect have not been at all profitable. There was the Blackball mine purchased in 1941, when he said he had made certain, before purchasing, that the State could operate the mine with advantage to the country and without risk of loss. He had made doubly sure of this, he added, by an arrangement with the miners to undertake piecework. A little later he expressed his confidence that the mine would soon be a payable proposition, but the profit and loss account for 1942 disclosed a net loss of £8729, and that of the following year one of £19,497. , On this occasion Mr. Webb has again emphasized the need for conserving resources of bituminous coal and the concern felt by the Government at the decline in production. It was only in March last that he announced the location, at Rewanui, of a large, new seam, up to 17 feet thick, that was to change the whole outlook, and he appears to have forgotten that the purchases of the Dobson and Wallsend mines were to do a great deal to meet the requirements of gasworks, railways and the cement industry. The next accounts will enable the community to ascertain what the results have been in their first year s operations. In the few days included in 1942-43 the loss on the Dobson colliery was put down at £456. The reports on the property now purchased indicate difficulties through wet workings. It apparently was found necessary to widen the south branch of the Ngakawau River for some chains in order to effect an improvement, and “the considerable difficulty experienced in dealing with inrushes of surface water during heavy rains may present problems if open-cast mining is being seriously considered. However, the Minister has expressed confidence that the output from the Stockton mine can be “increased substantially within about one month.” and the greater production may do something to place, the financial position on a satisfactory basis. But, though the Minister may have forgotten; the public may recall that he foretold that the adoption of piecework and development work at Blackball would assure the life and prosperity of that mine. The record of Mr. Webb $ prophecies and forecasts unfortunately cannot be expected to inspire any great degree of confidence. If this latest proposition has been placed before the Government and its approval of the terms of purchase obtained, then there is no obvious reason why the full facts should not be made public. It is the community’s money that is being used and the capital cost of this latest addition to State enterprises should be stated. The. Minister s assertion that the output can be substantially increased within about a month will suggest many questions. Industrial enterprises, as a rule, are not disposed of when a marked increase in output is only a matter of a few days, or weeks. But probably .public opinion will be influenced by two major considerations. One is that the Government is taking advantage of wartime conditions to implement its policv of State ownership, and the other is that the results of the purchases, which it has effected thus far, give no grounds for confidence with respect to further additions.