The Hokitika Guardian THURSDAY, JAN. 26th, 1922. BRITISH COAL TRADE.

Hokitika Guardian, 26 January 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian THURSDAY, JAN. 26th, 1922. BRITISH COAL TRADE.

Lately it was given out that British coal was being landed in Australia, cheaper than Newcastle coal could be Some light is thrown on the. British coal trade, by an English journal just to hand, which passes interesting comments on coal topics. These comments show that the cost of prodouction in Britain has fallen considerably by reason of the drop in wages, which drop appears to have followed automatically from the after-effects of tho coal strike which dislocated the British foreign coal trade, and lost markets. The comment proceeds: i “The effect which the stagnation in the coal trade is having upon wages becomes increasingly marked, and as these are now settled by districts, then. are some striking contracts. In Yorkshire, which gets much more than an average share of the home trade, .

the coal hewer’s wage for November is 15s 9di per day, and that- of the labourer 11b 2d. In Northumberland the coal hewer gets 11s 5d., and the underground labourer 7s 2d. In South Wales it is reported that the wage of the higher-paid men is 8s 7Jd and of the labourer 6s sd. All these wages are on the down grade, but whereas in Yorkshire the reduction m comparatively trifling in the other districts) they come to filom 50 to 60 per cent, below the March figures. On top of the- daily reductions come s the further adversity that many collieries are working no more than four days a week. The state of affairs in South Wales is so bad that thousands of men are said to bo averaging less than £1 a week. In that district all coal mines are now approximately on the minimum, and one of the coal owners. Mr lEvan Williams says there is little pre*nect of such improvement in trade as will justify a higher wage in the near future. Proposals wjtli a view to mitigating the hardship of the. operatives are under consideration, and if the workmen’s representatives and the owners fail to agree these will he referred to the independent chairman of the District Board. South Wales more than any other district is dependent upon export for a coa.l trade revival, and the sanity of the policy that resulted in the export ti;ade being frittered away can be guaged bly the present calamitous aftermath. But recrimina tion or remorse cannot help. Everything humanly possible must be done to retrace the wayward steps of the last year or two, for no true lover of h.is country can view with equanimity the state of these unfortunate men who have been caught in tho tentacles of a misguided policy.” It is remarked also that there has been an increase in the mechanical methods to procure coal. The journal says that it is evident, therefore, that a greater use of mechanical coal-getting is being resorted to. For the time being the introduction of labour-saving contrivances has the apparent effect that it displaces labour when already there is not enough work to go round. But in the end it is undoubtedly the flight policy, for cheaper 003-1 will increase the demand and so find employment which is sadly lacking today. The greatly increased number of men dependent upon the mines today for their livelihood as compared with 1914, even though the outpiit was. much greater than the rate of production now, has undoiuifcfitedly made the present crisis more acute from the employees’ point of view. Loss coal is required and there are many more to share in the winning of it. Only sympathetic 00-operation and self-denial will restore the shattered fabric concludes the comment. The state of the British coal trade is therefore a shocking example of the crass stupidity of the late strike. Fortunately the principal leaders at Home have realised the position, and are advocating a different policy for the future. The strike, like war, a played out weapon, for it can carry nothing but disaster in its train, and no side can “win”—the “victory” is an empty one. It would be well for the world at large to take the lesson to heart, though, really the lesson ;is not new, it is but a, repetition of former experience.

Tiie desire expressed at the Progress League meeting on Tuesday night to concentrate on a date for the opening of the Arthur’s Pass Tunnel for passenger traffic is a natural one, and it is well to move betimes. All sorts of reports are current as to when the line may be ready for through traffic that it is time the engineers came tf> isoine definite conclusion when they could bo ready It is highly important to the Government that the line should l>e revenue earning as soon, as possible while the effect on the trade of the country will be such thrift a great impetus will result and this desirable condition can happen hardly too soon. The Progress League has mentioned November Ist as n very desirable time for the opening. In the light of events this does not put an undue strain on the powers that be to get ready. The date selected would cope with the summer traffic beginning about that ,‘time—fofi carnival week in Christchurch is usu»»ly ushered in in November. It is known, of course that a great deal of outside work has to be done at both Arthur’s Pass and Otira, but much of thiSs need noj, affect the passenger traffic though if will hold up a large goods traffic. Where there’s a will,, there’s a way and we need only Recall again what was clone to push the North Island main trunk line through when tho Amorican fleet visited Auck- ’ land, to realise what can be done if j the authorities put their back into the j job, and make the traffic possible. It ■ ivjill be a,n immense boon to the Coast j to see the line in active operation, , and public opinion should concentrate' ; on the objective suggested as a way to impress the authorities with what is most desirable and urgently required. j

To Sir Ross Smith and Sir Keith Smith fell the palm of victory for the first flight from Britain to Australia, but they would bo the very last to gqudgp dredit to their competitors, who, many of them ill found in everything save skill and daring, made

such a splendid bid for suceas. The; aeroplane which came a good second j in the race was the one whose voyage j is described by Lieutenant Raymond J. P. Parer in “Flight and adventures of Parer and Mclntosh.” The chronicle is open to a very serious criticism, says a reviewer, Lieutenant Parer should never have been allowed to record an exploit with which he personally was associated. He was too modest. Everything is “all in the day’s work,” and it never occurs to him to get tho full dramatic value of many hair-raising experiences in which he shared—the glance into tho crater of Vesuvius, the forced descents into inhospitable regions, tho landing of the unwelcome dei ex machina who disturb the .sporting ritual of the East. The only time he really lets’ himself go is in his references to his friend and felliow-adventurer. The pair set out on rather a forlorn hope. Their engine was not of the best, they had scanty rtesoureep; their; programme was definite in one sense—they were bound for Australia—but indefinite in another—they would .get as far as they could, and build, their bridges as they came to the rivers. That they did so much is a testimony to their I Courage and endurdnee. M’lntosh, after survivng so many imminent perils 1 lost his life in a prosaic “local” flight. Parer carries on ithe torch, and his record is not only a blood-stir-ring story of adventure, but a fine memorial to his dead colleague.