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Memorandum

17th December 1907

Bona railway contract

Mr J. A. Jones was with us on the 9th inst. and we discussed together the question of prices to be quoted for this business.
Mr Jones was evidently bent upon having either the whole or some portion of the contract at any price, he would not provide for penalties as he said that those which he had incurred this year to the amount of already £ 400 on 5 cargoes out of 10 would probably not be enforced and after cutting down everything he put down the following, our quotations being given underneath:

After some consideration we told him that we did not see the fun of having bought our Newport coals from him at 18/- to go and sell it to the Bona Railway afterwards at 15/- or 16/- and we also referred to the manner in which we had been treated in connection with the National contract, though We of course recognised that he was within his legal rights in acting as he had done, but it was not the proper thing and, I supposed, he would not be sorry that he had done it. To make matters short we said we would not go in with them for the Bona Railway at which Mr Jones seemed greatly annoyed and he enquited whether we would change our view if he were to sell us an additional quantity of Risca in view of the execution of the contract to which we replied negatively and there the thing ended.
On the 11th inst. the Managing Director of the Company rang us up and said he and the Chairman were most anxious that we should have the contract and before all the tenders were placed before the Board on the following day he wished to know whether we should not be prepared to reduce our price, I enquired to what extent and he sail on the whole more than two francs to which I said that we could not do it. I understand that similar communications were addressed to the Société commerciale and to Mrs. Morgan & Cadogan and to both it was said that their prices were about 2 francs higher than they should have been.
The Société commerciale had seemed bent upon having the Tunis portion of the contract so as to give work to their people out there, but in spite of that they seemed to have been unwilling to risk the thing at such a low figure as they would have had to take as for Mrs Corys they did not even tender.
We now understand that Mrs Pyman, Watson & Co. have now obtained Tunis with the option to the Company we believe of taking one or two cargoes in the year at Bizerta and Mrs. Watts, Watts & Co. have secured Bona with the Soussa portion of the contract.
We have been unable to find out so far what the prices are but they must be frightfully low and irrespective of the altered conditions of the coal market this business further demonstrates what we told Mr Jones on the 9th inst. Viz.: that they will always be willing to take a direct c.i.f. business with a Railway Co. with whom they have nothing but risks or indeed certainties of troubles and penalties at considerably lower prices than they would do for pure and simple f.o.b. sales to us.