A COAL AGREEMENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 323, 9 June 1911, Page 5

A COAL AGREEMENT.

', EXTRAORDINARY DISCLOSURES. A MINISTER INVOLVED. By cable—Press Association.—Copyright Received 8, 8.35 p.m. Sydney, June 8. In the coal vend case, Cant, managing director of the Kcthel Company, admitted that during the strike an agreement, was entered into between the Kcthel Company and Mr. Hughes, Attorney-Gen-eral, Senator Guthrie and Peter Bowling relating to the sale of coal from the Young Wallsend and Ebbw Main colleries. Hughes, Guthrie and Bowling, i in consideration of the payment of £l, j | were called purchasers, having an option to dispose of the coal from the said collieries, the company to manage the collieries, they being guaranteed during the agreement, unless an accident took place, an output of at least 1000 tons a day, all the money above 9s a ton received for the coal to be divided equally between tho company and purchasers. The purchasers had the power to terminate the agreement at any time after giving two days' notice, the company having, the power to terminate it when the selling price fell below lis a ton or it became impossible to sell at the price fixed in the manner provided. Attached ■to the agreement was'an endorsement by Hughes, Guthrie and Bowling assigning their interests in the agreement to Daniel Hutton, Albert Burns and Peter Bowling, the last three undertaking to acquit and release from the first three of all responsibility in relation to the agreement. Witness said ultimately the Railway Commissioners took possession of all the coal that had been raised and paid 7s 7d per ton for it

In his opening address in the Coal Vend <?ase, Mr, Wise, K.C., counsel for the prosecution, referred to the treatment which he alleged the Vend had meted out to the owners of he EbbW' main coHiery. He said: '■Kethel and Company owned the Young Wallsend and the Ebbwmain collieries, which were coming into development and beginning to put out coal towards the end of 1907, and at the beginning 01 1908. ' Kethel and Company had a yard in Sydney. In 1909 they began to reach further afield, and made a contract with Mount Lyell to supply one thousand tons of specimen coal. Larger orders were to follow if approved, and the coal was to be delivered in Tasmania. Kethel and Company found immediately, however, that freight was somewhat or other unavailable. Somehow or other the steamers were always full. It was the same with other contracts in Tasmania—the Devonport City Council and the Launccston Gas Company.

"Then Kethel and Company opened a yard in Melbourne, and again found that they could get no freight. They were forced to charter two steamers quite unsuitable for the trade, and for which they could get no return cargo. It was quite impossible for them to carry coal to Melbourne.'' -|J ,-« —