The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-12-29 00:00:00

THE COAL TRADE IN 1883.

The Times publishes the following review of the
Coal Trade during the past year :
Few recent years have shown the steady improve-
ment in the coal trade that has been experienced in
1883, alike it is believed in extent of production and
in the profit of working and the rate of wazea. There
will not be found to have been that upward bound in
the production that was experienced two years ago,
but there has been a more steady working, lees broken
by labour difficulties and less interfered with by many
great casualties. In the past year the production of
coal in the United Kingdom has amounted to
156,499,977 tons—an increase of 2,300,000 tons on its
predecersor. Lancashire, Staffordshire, and Durham
were the counties that contributed the most to that
increase, and the latter county is still by far the
largest of the coal producers of the kingdom, Prac-
tically the miners in the kingdom brought to the sure
face the same amount of coal in that year as in its pre-
decessor, the number employed in and about the mines
under the Coal Mines Act being raised to over halt a
million by the addition of 8,620 in the year. For the
present year the official statement of the results of the
working of the coal mines will not be made known
for some time to come, bat there are some aids ti
a.sist in the formation of an estimate of the extent
of that productien. More coal has been exported
from the United Kingdom, and snore has been shipped
for the use of steamers engaged in the foreign trade,
the increase in these two forms and the demand for
coal giving an enlargement for the yea- of about
2,400,000 tons over the quantity used similarly in the
past year. More ccal, has been sent to London, the
increase in the metropolitan receipts for the first 11
months of the present year being 648,000 tore. It is
known that there has been a larger production of iron
and steel, and consequently an increased use of the
tuel in the two largest of our metallurgical centres,
though some of the smeller centres will show a fall-
ing off. It is clear that with the increasing mileage
of railway and the etelargement of the train miles run
thereon the consumption of fuel has risen, and a
P itmlar remark holds good as to the use for gas manu-
facture and allied purposes—sothat it will he found that
the coal production of the country has substantially
increased, and that (even looking to the larger duty
that is exacted from a given quantity or coal now)
that increase will probably be more than that recorded
at the beginning of the year; aid, owing to the fact
that the production has been less disturbed by strikes
or many sedans accidents, it will be probably found
that the average yield of he mines has increased in
many of the larger districts. Wages have been compara-
tively s:eadv dersug the year, the increases that have
been given having been mostly under the system of
sliding scales that has increasingly been adopted. These
increases have necessarily In en concurrent with en-
largements of the prices realised for the whole of the
coal pioduced over large areas, so that it must be
assumed that the price of coal raised generally in
the kingdom has been slightly above that of the
past year. In Northumberland the price of the
best steam coal is now 9s. net, which shows an in-
crease over the price last year, and that increase
is one which is made fairly legitimate by the en-
largement of the demand as shown by the ship-
ments from nearly all the local ports. Alike
in Durham, in South Wates, in Yorkshire, and in
Lancashire, a similar advance has been shown for
the various classes of coal. Prices are not greatly
hot generally more, the one exception during the last
few months of the year being in the price of coking
coal, which has ruled lower owing to the falling in
price of crude iron, and especially of hematite iron.
With a fuller production from the mines, and with a
better demand at an advanced price—a price enlarged
over nearly the whole coal area— there has been in the
year an improvement of the position of the coal trade.
Profits have in some districts not been large, because
towards the end of the past year there was an advance
given to the miners which on much of the coal raised
that had been previously contracterl for was not re-
ceived by the mintnownere until this year had ad-
vanced.

-The recent agitation in the trade had its usual
effe.ct of forcing up the demand and temporarily ad.
vancing the price of coal, but only a portion of that
slight advance would be reaped by the coalowner, and
when the failure of the agitation was known there
was a fall in the price that was remarkable as show-
ing the extent to which some coal users had provided
themselves against a scarcity. That agitation i 2 likely
to be renewed, but its effect is lessened by the fact that
there will be a continuation of the sliding scale syttem
in several of t`te largest of the coal•yielding districts.
That system insures to the miner advances in the
rate of wages. as early as the generally realised price
of coal is tweed ; it insures to the mineowner con-
tinued full work at his mines to the extent of the de-
mand and an absence of sudden demands for increase
of wages; and it gives to the public the security that
there will not be that concurrent action that was
dreamt of at the Manchester Conference of last year.
which—if it were possible—would be disastrous to the
trade of the kingdom. The coal trade, after many
unprofitable years, has. now entered upon a period
when the demand, rising by natural increase of
the consumption in industry and home, is gradu-
ally drawing near to the available supply. For
four years the production has been increasing.
It was 146,969,000 tons in 1880, and for last
year it was approaching 10,000,000 tons more,
That rate of increase is faster than that of the
extension of the area of the mining operations; and
though the reserve power of the production five years
ago was very large it is now !being nearer utilized, both
in mines and mineyrs. As it is reached—if the progress
of the consumption continues—there will be a more
rapid rise in prices, checked, however, by the fact that
the more profitable state of the coal trade now will be
likely to lead to a greater development of mining
operations than has been known for some years.

How should a miller address his lady ?—ln the lan.
guage of flours, of course.
What would be about the most awkward sash a lady
could wear rouud her walet Z7-A whadow sash,