The President of the Board of Trade announced on Monday
that the price of household coal would be raised by 14s. 2d. a ton, and that coal for household and industrial purposes would be sold at a uniform price. Coal for home consumption had been sold for less than the cost of production, and the loss—Us. 4d. a ton on domestic coal—had been met out of the profits on the export trade. As the output of coal was still inadequate, the export must be reduced, and the profits on it would therefore diminish. Further, the recent increase of miners' wages would add 2s. 10d. a ton to the cost of production. The Government, said Sir Robert Home, were convinced that coal must no longer be subsidized. The internal control of distribution was, he declared, "most inimical to the advancement of the coal trade." We feel sure that the coalowners and merchants, if they were left to themselves, would put an end to the maddening delays and uncertainties of the supply as directed by the Coal Controller and the Minister of Transport between them.
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