Captain Oliver Lyttleton, president of the Board of Trade, said in the House of Lords that coal was causing the government great anxiety, At the end of March the British Government asked coal mines to increase production in the Summer 12% per cent, or 25,000,000 tons, It aimed at prodüction of 4,500,000 tons weekly since the beginning of April, but thus far the weekly average has been only 4,000,000, Simultaneously low temperature kept consumption for above normal.
Only 14,000,000 tons of coal stocks have been accumulated in addition to the 20,000,000 required until Autumn io exclude a danger of shortage in the Winter. As production in June is expected to remain below 4,500,000 tons weekly, at least 1,000,000 tons weekly must be added to the stocks for the twenty weeks beginning in july to prevent shortage. in the Winter, In the last fortnight the British Government took measures to obtain maintenance of the present co&l-mining labour force by introducing an essential work order prohibiting miners to leave employment and mine managements to dismiss miners unless sanctioned by the Minister. of Lubéur, Simultaneously it guaranteed a weekly wage, and an attendance bonus for miners was introduced.
Following absorption of a considerable number of coal miners by the industries it is feared, however, that the present labour force is too small Star to achieve the production objective, Redrafting of miners into the coal industry thus far has not taken place, but seems inevitable, Anyhow, an adequate labour supply is the chief problem of the British coal industry,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.