COAL.—RESOLUTION. (Hansard, 9 August 1872)

§ SIR WILLIAM GALLWEY

moved— That it is expedient that the President of the Board of Trade give to this House any information relative to the causes producing the present high prices and scarcity of Coal; with an Estimate of the approximate value of Coal when on board ship in any of the ports of Europe or America conveniently situated for its exportation to this country; and in case the information required be not already in the possession of the Board of Trade, such information be obtained and furnished to this House and to the Country at the earliest possible date. The hon. Baronet said, that everyone felt that if the present high price of coal were maintained, it must inflict great hardships upon all, and especially upon the poor, and upon the trade of the country. If the increase in the price of coal arose wholly from those who raised it refusing to work the same number of hours as previously, whilst he agreed that they had a right to deal with their labour as with any other kind of property, yet still such a determination would lead to great hardships; and it should be borne in mind that when any particular class who suffered from want of work came to the public for succour, such succour was not—and he trusted never would be—found wanting. If, on the other hand, the coal owners thought it for their interest to keep up a small supply so as to secure famine prices, then the question was one with which the Legislature ought to deal. Some time ago, when the coal owners, in league with the geologists, declared that within a certain long period of time it was very possible, if not probable, that the supply of coal would practically fail, or become too difficult in winning, a Royal Commission was appointed, and he believed that that Commission worked greatly to the advantage of the coal owners. What he wished to say to the Government was this—that if they could give a Royal Commission when it was simply feared that the coal supply would fail within some very distant time, surely now that the failure was upon us and the price was increasing every day, some course should in consequence be taken. They ought not to refuse to give all the aid that science or the Government could afford upon the subject.

§ MR. A. PEEL

said, that he was not aware that it was the departmental duty of the Board of Trade to collect the information which was asked for in this Motion, nor that the Board was in anyway officially cognizant of what the supply of coal was, or in any way specially qualified to give information. He believed that the hon. Baronet himself was far better qualified to give an opinion upon the general subject than he (Mr. Peel) was. When the hon. Baronet asked what were the reasons why coal was at famine prices, he must call his attention to what had already appeared in the public journals, especially in The Economist newspaper, and also in the daily journals, in reference to the causes which had led to the high price of coal. There was extraordinary prosperity in the country, a stimulus had been given to all trade, and there was also the fact that coal was the great producing element in trade, and that machine labour was being substituted for manual labour. There was also the fact that there was an enormous demand for iron and immense development of shipbuilding, and all these circumstances taken together would sufficiently account for the high price of this article of consumption. He believed, looking at the facts before him, that the deficiency in coals was rather relative than real. The causes to which he had alluded had tended to increase inordinately the demand for coals. It was very well known that when a demand for any particular article overtook, however slightly, the supply, the price of the said article rose to a far greater extent than could be accounted for by the actual deficiency between supply and demand. That was the case with coals at the present period. The price to which they had risen was out of all proportion to the actual deficiency. He believed that before long we should see a considerable reduction in the price of coals—indeed, possibly before the winter set fairly in. Although the wages of those employed in the coal 856 trade were increased, he believed that that would have the effect of attracting a larger supply of labour, and of thus stimulating the efforts which were being made to secure us a larger production than heretofore, and thereby ultimately rectifying the balance between supply and demand. This was not only his opinion, but the opinion of others much more experienced in the matter. It was impossible for the Board of Trade to obtain the information referred to in the Motion. Indeed, there were no means of obtaining information of the approximate value of coal on board ships in different ports conveniently situated for exportation to this country, for, of course, prices would vary in proportion to the demand from this country, and the cost of freight. Perhaps some information might be obtained through the medium of the foreign Consuls; but the Board of Trade only tabulated the information which was collected by the other Departments. The proportion of foreign coal imported into this country was at present exceedingly small. For the last month the quantity did not exceed 75 tons, and from the commencement of the year to the 3rd of August, the whole importation was between 270 and 300 tons. As to the price at which it was imported, Great Grimsby was the only place which had been accessible to him for information; and there the declared selling value of the coal imported was 18s. a ton. If, in the course of the Recess, the hon. Baronet would communicate with him, he would be happy to give him any further information which he might be able to procure on the subject.