contribute to the rates, and therefore would rush into useless expenditure. Some of the miners asked where the rates came from if not from them. The fear has been falsified. There was great need in the home surroundings for rushing, but with all that, gradual reforms were the order of the day, and no one suffered. 1890 Another Advance sought--Death of Mr Crawford--The Ten Hours' Drawing and Hewers' Hours--The second Advance--International Miners' Conference This year opened with another claim for an advance. In the Federation Minutes for January 8th is the following:-- That the secretary write to the secretary of the Coal Owners' Association asking a meeting requesting an advance of 15 per cent. on all classes. That motion was the outcome of a resolution passed at the Miners' Council on the 4th. Not merely was the amount of advance named, but the 1st of February was to be the date of its commencement, with the alternative that the ballot be taken if it were refused. The Board met the owners on the 21st of January, when they were given the following resolution:-- The Durham Coal Owners' Association is unable to make any further advance in wages unless, or until, a much higher invoice price of coal is realised than has yet been attained. The owners' accountants have ascertained the selling price for the last three months (ending December 31st, 1889) and they certify the net average invoice price to be 5s. 9.88d. This, according to the recent sliding scale agreement, would make wages 13¾ per cent. above the standard of 1879. Wages are, as a matter of fact, now 25 per cent. in advance of that standard brought up to this point, by the special advance of 10 per cent. given only 5 or 6 weeks ago, in anticipation, as the owners then declared, of higher prices yet to be got. The owners invite the Federation Board to verify these figures, and to join in a further ascertainment for the first three months of this year, with a view to thus determining whether any advance in wages is justified, either now or in April next. The owners regard it as all-important that the men employed in the collieries in the county of Durham should be afforded, and should avail themselves of, an opportunity of correcting the serious misapprehension under which they labour from regarding the prices quoted in the newspapers for what is but a small proportion of the output as representing the entire volume of trade. LINDSAY WOOD, _Chairman_. Coal Trade Office, Newcastle, _January 21st, 1890._