Lord Gainford on Coal Royalties It is interesting to find
Lord Gainford,. speaking as President of the Coal Industry Society, advocating the nationalization of the royalties, with a view to securing " the best underground working operations and the most economical production in the coalfields." The majority of mine-owners are well aware of the handicap on the industry arising from the fact that there are so many owners of the surface land imposing their various condi- tions on the working of the coal beneath it. The nation- alization of the mineral rights would be a comparatively simple measure. On its merits it would be welcomed by coal-owners, and the chief opposition it would meet with in that quarter would be from the fear that the State, as lessor, would be able to impose its own conditions on the lessees. It might, in fact, be used as an instrument for compelling the owners to co-operate. That, of course, in the eyes of many persons, is an added reason why the reform should be adopted with the least possible delay4
Previous page
