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Worms & Co

Newcastle on Tyne, July 2nd 1918
Messrs Worms & Co. - Paris

Dear Sirs,
We have carefully read over duplicate of your letter to Cardiff dated the 26th ult: We may say that we had the opportunity some weeks ago of reading over the document which you mention and of which you send us a copy. This through the favour of one of our Newcastle friends who had received a copy or that document from France. There is to be a meeting tomorrow of the Central Executive and as you will see by the enclosed agenda of the business, clause 6 is evidently the result of the attitude taken up by the Cardiff Committee. We may say that our own opinion has all along been that the Groupment system was bound to act detrimentally to the importers. On the other hand we rather doubt whether the Central Executive can bring much pressure to hear upon the BNC as it may be said that the Central Executive can look after this end of the business but that once the coal arrives in France the distribution of it or rather the means of distribution are in the hands of the BNC. The whole business is very unsatisfactory as after all no Committee can possibly tell if an exporter here is confining himself to his usual customers seeing that so many consumers have become absorbed in a Groupement end are beyond all trace. We cannot help feeling that all this is an argument in favour of pooling, which would certainly be the easiest way out of a difficulty, but that of course would not relieve the position of the importer in France. It is possible that the BNC might say that there are importers in France who still do a large business, possibly larger than before the War. We might instance the "Affréteurs réunis" and Messrs Mory & Co.
We are, Dear Sirs,
Yours truly.

W. Torry