COAL FAMINE

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10279, 14 May 1919, Page 5

COAL FAMINE

CITY HOUSES SHORT

3800 TONS RELEASED FORHOUSEHOLDERS. It is feared that the ooal shortage which afflicted Wellington will be again unpleasantly ™«k»t lh» Tear. Not for a considerable time ha, fuel been plentiful here, and at present £ average citizen is but poorly supViicd Special inquiries made by J -rmeV reporter throw rather inter «tlug liaht on the Faia ine of Q »\to a «ug« dr peopto th« was intense. I know "t ™£"i or R reat suffering through , lack in the house." he said. * *" ow ver7 casos where'old people suffered J cry Sely, especially those in r«*lt pensions. Some of these old f° lk * ere _ «V. only short, of fuel, but were. entirelv without it. It was evident also that S,&P of coal was not confined to any particular class of people or to any particular clas* of .ndustry The corporation services were just cairymg on from dav to day. and both the trams a nd the electric light service were « constant peril. To-3ay the position » oaain such that it must bo viewed with the greatest concern, and the Govern-, tteni Aould exercise "all the Powers « possesses to overcome whatever diiliculties stand in the way of an imroetunte improvement. The Government should make a pronouncement on the tw»ition. ami let us soe whera we stand. and if the coal outlook is hopeless, perhaps something can.be done to- get supplies of wood, for wood in abundance lifis rotting alons* tha railway lines. Let the Government take the peoplo -ntotheir confidence by stating the esactt position." "YANKEE SLACK."

The other day the troopship Raranga arrived here with a large quantity of slack from Newport News, and it is said that the fuel was Drought out at the desire of the New Zealand Government tor the railways. This particular shipment m exceptionally fine, dusty stuff, and on the wharves and aboard the vessnl which carried it it goes hy the name of "Yankee slack.'V Among those who hare seen it the opinion is general that it can he ot little use for household purposes. It is,so fine that it would run through a grate, and in any case it could not be got to burn well without a considerable, draft. , While the-" coal -grab3 were drawing "Yankee slack'' from the Rarnnga. and

filling the air with black dust, tho Waihora, on the other side of ihe wharf, was discharging tho finest Newcastle coat—great, shiny lumps, which were in striking contrast to the small stuff from Newport News. There was an impression.on the wharves that the Railway Department was not keen about taking the American coal, out it was stated later in. the day that large quantitiesiof it.were--being sent to the railways.' To the iayman the American coal looked so unsuitable for household purposes, and tho Newcastle product looked so good, that one was not surprised to hear questions on ail sides as to why the Newcastle coil could not be given to the householders and the Raranga'* shipment used for

industrial purpose* tfireraeti »»n 4 tiu Raranga said that their "Yankee elack"' burned well enough on the voyage out, provided it was.,given ample draft, but they were certain it would be of little use as household coal. While the American ooal was being taken out of the Raranga, Newcastle coal was being put into the ship, and this, ot course, was a subject of comment. MINISTER, VISITS WHARVES. The Minister in charge of the distribution of coal, the Hon. Arthur Myers, visited the wharves yesterday morning while the coal was being unloaded, and the men stated afterwards that they had pointed out to him quite candidly the fact that although they handled good coal in the course of their day's work they could get nothing but the greatest rubbish to burn at their own homes. They never 6aw good coal once it left the ship. The strongest opinion prevailed op the waterfront that a considerable proportion of the Newcastle coal should be released for household purposes. The price- at -which the Raranga coal is being retailed is 3s lid per cwt., a high figure even in these times, and regarded as surprisingly high by some who say that the shipment wa3 brought across as ballast. One loading coal-dealer gave the prices as follows :- Ton. Cwt. £ a. d. Ex Raranga. 3 14 6 3/11 Newcastle 2 14 0 31Westport 2 12 0 3/Huntly 2 16 0 3/Puponga 3 7 0 8/4 A Wellington member of Parliament expressed the opinion that a change should be made in the personnel of the Coal Committee, so that the small . consumers—the people—would be directly represented. He added: "We have a new City Council, and under the . Municipal Corporations Act they have power to undertake. the sale and the distribution of coal, and as the State enterprise seems to stop at putting the coal into the yards, the municipality could enter into the business ;> 4 and undertake a fair distribution of coal to the citizens. The people have lost faith in. the Coal Committee after tho experiences during the epidemic last year." STATEMENT BY MR MYERS. Yesterday afternoon Mr Myers, commenting on the position of coal supplies for the city, stated that, in addition to the 1000 tons of American coal, ex s.s. Raranga, which had been allocated for domestic and other requirements through the usual trade channels, 1000 tons of Newcastle coal had also been released, and was being carted into dealers' yards; also 800 tons of West Coast coal had arrived, and was being distributed through the various retail yards. "The American coal," said Mr Myers, "although somewhat •mall, possesses excellent burning qualities, and, mixed with tho hard, lumpy coal, an excellent mixture is made available for supplying to householders. Retailers have been asked, therefore, to endeavour to supply their customers with a limited quantity oi each kind of coal with this end in view, but, of course, householders have the right to ordor small quantities of ' the different kinds separately should they desire to do so." The coal released during the past week should go a long way towards removing the existing shortage.