The Coal Crisis There is a ray of light in
the coal situation. The rest is darkness, or—shall we say ?—the Government has not yet hit upon any infallible means of dispelling the mists. A most encouraging sign of reorganization by colliery owners, on the right lines, is the merger in South Wales, as announced in the Press on Monday. The Associated Welsh Collieries, as the new concern is to be called, takes in the firms of Guest, Keen, and Nettlefold and (almost all) the Llewellyn group. Perhaps the most important feature is the decision to centralize distribution, which will effect considerable economies. This fillip to our export trade—for such it is—may have been im- parted by the Government's reported proposal to impose a levy on all coal raised in this country, as an indirect subsidy to exports. We very much hope that the Government will drop this proposal like a hot cinder, for the effect of dearer coal would be disastrous to our industries.
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