The Sun.
London, England, 1853-11-28 00:00:00

THE GREAT COAL QUESTION:

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—l have waited some days in order to see whether
any of the London coal agents would challenge the ac-
curacy of the details so obligingly given by " Veritas"
in your paper of the 23d inst.
As none of them have done so, I will assume that
they admit them to be correct. Let us see what they
prove.

- Last year, it seems, the best Durham coal was deli-
vered on board ship at Bs. per ton.
This year the price of it on board is 9s. 6d. per ton ;
the miner and the coalowner dividing equally the in-
creased charge of ls. 6d. per ton.
Last year freights averaged 6s. 6d. ; this year they
average 10s. 6d.; showing an increase of 4s. per ton.
To these charges must be added ls. 10d. per ton, city
dues (the Bd. per ton, city metage, being included in the
freight), and 3s. sd. per ton, coal merchant's charges
for screening, filling, and cart hire ; in all, 55. 3d. The
remainder is the coal merchant's profit.
Last year, therefore, when best sea-borne coal cost
the consumer in London 225. per ton, the price appears
to have been apportioned thus :

Miner ... ...
...
Coalowner ... ...
Coalfitter, &c. ...
Freight ... ... ..
City dues
... ...
Coal merchant's charges
Coal merchant's profit

£ s. d.
O 5 6
O 1 0
O 1 6
O 6 6
0 1 10
O 3 5
O 2 3

£1 2 0
This year, when " the trade" wish us to believe that
the present exorbitant price is caused by the misconduct
of the pitmen, we find the charge of 325. per ton is to
be apportioned thus :

Increased Ch
2 e. d. g. d.
Miner ... 0 6 3 ... 0 9
Coalo wner 0 1 9 0 9
Coalfitter, drc. 0 1 6 ... 0 0
Freight 010 6 ... 4 0
City dues ... 0 110 ... 0 0
Coal merchant's charges 0 3 5 ... 0 0
Coal merchant's profits 0 6 9 ... 4 6

£1 12 0 10 0
Now, I do not think that, considering the present
price of provisions, any one can reasonably complain of
the increase of 9d. per ton conceded to the miners. The
coalowner might, perhaps, have been content with a less
increase of price than 75 per cent. on his charge of last
year. But I cannot, for the life of me, see why the
coal merchant in London should this year consider him-
self, after all his charges for screening, filling, and cart-
age have been paid, entitled to an increase of no less
than 200 per cent, on his very large net profits of last
year.

- Perhaps some of them will be good enough to explain
away this " difficulty." I suspect, however, they will
prefer saying that, as coals are scarce, they have a right
to get as high a price as they can for the commodity
which they sell ; to which I will answer, " So you have ;
but then we, the public, have an equal right to look in
future for our supply of fuel to persons who, possessing
larger capital than you have, dealing for ready money—
which you :do not— and combining the two trades
of coal-carrying and coal-selling, can afford to be satis-
fied with less exorbitant profits than those you are now
pocketing."
The Great Northern Railway, on the very day on
which I paid Messrs. Cockerell 323, per ton cash for
their best Durham coals, took my order for their best
Durham at 225. per ton.
Now, if according to " Teritas," they pay 9s. 6d. per
ton for it delivered into their cars, ls. 10d. city dues,
and 3s. sd. screening, filling, and carting charges—in all
14s. 9d.—it follows that for freight and coal merchants'
profits they only charge 7s. 3d., at the very time when
sea coal is burdened with a charge of 10s. 6d. freight,
and 6s. 9d. coal merchants's profit.
These figures show a difference in favour of rail-borne
coal of 10s. per ton.

But "Fairplay" and "Detector"— two of the cham-
pions of sea coal in your columns—declare that the best
Durham coal is charged for by the railway companies
245. to 265. 6d. per ton.
Even supposing their statements to he correct, it
would appear, by their own showing, that the rail-
ways can and do sell the very same article at 265. 6d.
for which the sea coal merchants are charging us 325.
—Q.E.D.- -I am, sir, your obedient servant,

PATERFAMILIAS,

STATE OF TRADE.

(From the Manchester Guardian of Saturday.)
MANCHESTER, Nov. 25.—The business of the present
week, in the medium and lower counts of water and
mule yarns, for home consumption and for shipment,
to the continent of Europe, has still consisted merely
of small individual purchases for the supply of imme-
diate wants. The moderate demand we have lately had
for 30's, 40's, and 50's mule twist on India account, has
not yet ceased ; but it is falling off. Altogether, there-
fore, the sales of the week have been very inconsiderable,
and the prices pf last week are barely sustained. Some
articles may be had on rather lower terms, but in gene-
ral there is no quotable change. In the department
of goods, there has continued to be a limited call for
certain light fabrics, chiefly jacconets and skirtings,
from the India houses. The general characteristics
of the cloth market, however, has been that of great
dullness, with a tendency in prices against producers ;
but here, as in yarns, there is little quotable alteration.
GLASGOW, Nov. 25.—The beginning of the week the
market opened very quietly with little bnsiness doing,
and that in favour of the buyer, but about, for the few
days, there was a slight change for the better, and
prices may be quoted the same.
LEICESTER, Nov. 24.—As a precautionary step, the
worsted spinners have further decreased production, the
wool staplers not being willing to recede in price beyond
a certain point, and are not pushing sales. There is,
however, a full average amount of business doing in the
warehouses for the present period of the year, though
many more frames have been laid down, and work is
getting scarce.

STATE OF THE WOOLLEN TRADE.

(From the Leeds Mercury of Saturday.)

LEEDS, Nov. 25.—We have no change to report in
the state of the woollen cloth trade. The markets have
been well supported this week. Both on Saturday and
on Tuesday there was a good business done in the cloth-
halls ; and considering that on the latter day the town
was enveloped in a dense fog, which rendered it almost
impossible to transact business, a much larger quantity
of cloth was sold than might have been expected. The
trade in the warehouses is rather still and quiet, but
we believe the business that is doing is a seasonable
one, and not less than is usual at this period of the year.
HUDDERSFIELD, Nov. 22.—There has been a better
demand for goods to-day than last week, although there
has not been any large quantity sold. Merchants have
generally offered prices that the manufacturers were un-
willing to take, as the reduction would have been more
than the recent fall in the price of wool would admit of.
A fair business has been done in some of the wool ware-
houses.

ROCHDALE.—We have had but a slack market, and
notwithstanding the firm price of wool, the merchants
were offering less for flannels, and in numerous instances
it was taken. Wool maintains its price, but there is
little doing.
BRADFORD.—WOOLS.--The sales effected are still
limited. The prices asked in the country prevent pur-
chases for this market. Noils and brokes are only
limited in quantity. Yarns—The dispute with the
weavers at Barnsley is settled, and they will
resume work on Monday for five days a week.
Pieces.—The seasonable month is favourable for stuffs,
and there is an improvement in the warehouses. There
is more doing in grey goods, and the opinion prevails
that goods have seen their lowest price.
HALIFAX.—We have no improvement to record in the
piece and worsted yarn trades. In the wool market,
notwithstanding the materially diminished consumption,
useful combing descriptions are in moderately good de-
mand, at somewhat improved prices. The short wool
trade is dull at inferior prices to what were ruling at the
olose of last month. The present value of middle wethers
is about 151 d. per lb. ; that of common noils and broke '
about 12d.

" SWEATING " SOVEREIGNS. Messrs. Savory and
Co., of Cornhill, state, that they have recently had
through their hands several sovereigns which have had
from ten to 16 grains of gold taken from the edges, and
been then remilled. These coins are, of course, genuine,
but reduced in value from ls. 7d. to 2s. 7d. each. The
only difference in appearance from when first issued
from the Mint is, that they are rather less in diameter.
—Skipping bazette.
IMPROVEMENTS IN KENSINGTON AND BROMPTON.—
" The Commissioners of the Exhibition of 18M" propose
to obtain powers to make several new roads in the locality
of Kensington and Brompton. The first from Kensing-
ton Gore to the Brompton Almshouses in Old Brompton;
a second from this new road to Gloucester-road ; and a
third from Gloucester-road, near to Cromwell-road, to
terminate near the Holy Trinity Church, Brompton-
road. The road trustees also propose to make a new
road from the north end of Brompton-square to the south
end of Prince's-terrace.
THE CONTEMPLATED NEW STREET FROM CAREY-
sTREET.--The improvements contemplated by her Ma-
jesty's Commissioners of Works and Buildings, in the
vicinity of the new Record Offices, will take much wider
scope than a single street from Carey street to Fetter-
lane, as it is intended to widen and improve the exist-
ing streets, and to make new and commodious ap-
proaches, from every point, to the above-mentioned
national building. The streets in contemplation are as
follows :—From Carey-street across Chancery-lane,
passing the northern facade of the Record Offices,
thence crossing Fetter-lane, and passing to the north of
Trinity Church, Gough-square, will terminate at the
corner of Stonecutter-street, at the south-west angle of
Farringdon-market. Another new street will com-
mence at Great Turnstile, Holborn, and
passing along
the west side of Lincoln's-inn, will terminate in the
Strand, near Pickett-place, by which means
the whole
.
of Clement's-lane will be removed. Fetter-lane will be
widened from Fleet street to the northern extremity of
the new building. These will be the principalimprove-
ments in that neighbourhood, but it is believed there
will be others, which will destroy nests of pestilential
courts and alleys in the vicinity of Fetter-lane.
NEWCASTLE CHOLERA FUND.—The
lia
.been choleraan-
fund now
amounts to upwards of 6,000/., and it
nouneed that the vicar of Newcastle, the incumbents,
and churchwardens hope to be able in a few days to open
a school for the education of the orphan children,