April 11, 1913.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

759

Two serious accidents have occurred, one on Monday-
night at Blaenavon, and the other at Tylorstown
(Rhondda) on Tuesday. A fire broke out in the Big
Pit, Blaenavon, and the whole of the men in the night
shift were promptly brought to the surface. Afterwards,
several officials descended, and, having located the fire,
Mr. Tucker (manager of the Kays, Slope, and Milfraen
Collieries), with Mr. J. Jenkins (under-manager of the
Big Pit) and W. Bond (fireman), went forward into the
workings. Within half an hour a following party found
Mr. Tucker lying unconscious, and they were almost
overcome themselves while endeavouring to carry him
out of danger. A second party, under Mr. G. P.
Williams (manager of the Big Pit), who had then
reached the colliery, made an attempt to get at the
three men; but nearly lost their lives in so doing, a
third party, which included medical men, having to give
them aid. After reversal of the ventilation, the bodies
of Messrs. Tucker, Jenkins, and Bond were reached.
—The second accident, at Tylorstown, was a heavy fall
of roof, whereby five men were entombed, and three lost
their lives.

LABOUR AND WADES.
North of England.

Representatives of the Northumberland Miners’
Association will interview the colliery owners at the
Coal Trade Offices, Newcastle, on Saturday, the 19th
inst., to discuss two requests remitted from the half-
yearly council meeting of the association. The first
is an application that men getting coal by machines
shall be paid a basis wage of 5s. 8d. per shift, and the
second is that the working hours of surface workers be
limited to eight hours per day, and that a minimum
wage for this class be recognised. At the conclusion of
this meeting there will be another conference between
the men’s representatives and the owners to further
consider a proposed sliding scale for regulating wages
in the county.

The executive committee of the Northumberland
Miners’ Association have resolved to write to the Coal-
owners’ Association urging them to let the union have
their replies to proposals respecting stonemen and
shifters’ questions which the men’s representatives
laid before them some time ago; and also a reply as to
whether the owners would agree to allow the workmen
at some of the branches, where they desired to do so, to
re-ballot the workmen on the question of weekly pays.

At the quarterly meeting of the council of the
Cleveland Miners and Quarrymen’s Association, held
at Middlesbrough, a resolution was carried asking the
Cleveland ironstone mine owners for a meeting to
consider the demand for an increase in the deputies’
wages.

A meeting between the Cleveland ironstone mine
owners and the Cleveland miners’ representatives was
held at Middlesbrough last week. The miners’ repre-
sentatives submitted the following claims : “ That eight
hours shall constitute a shift for all engine men, boiler-
minders, and firemen employed on the surface for 12
hours per day ; that a 12 o’clock Saturday be applicable
to surface workers at mines; and that all powder be
supplied to the miners at cost price.” After some dis-
cussion consideration of the first claim was deferred
until the 14th inst. The owners refused to consider
claim two, and with regard to the third, submitted
figures which showed that the men were already getting
the powder at cost price.

The Siddick winding enginemen having, on the advice
of the Cumberland Miners’ Association, decided to
rejoin the Winding Enginemen’s Association, the latter
body have, withdrawn their notices, which expired on
Saturday, and the dislocation of an industry employing
10,000 men is thus averted.

The dispute between the National Amalgamated
Union of Labour and the Cumberland Miners’ Associa-
tion has not been settled by a resolution which the
Federation passed on Saturday night at their meeting
at Workington. Most of the surfacemen have come out
on strike in accordance with the notices which expired
on Saturday, and the Miners’ Association have brought
their members out from underground to take their
places. At Buckhill the surfacemen are still working,
but at Great Clifton and St. Helens they have come out
on strike.

Federated Area.

As a result of the campaign which has been carried
out in the Cannock Chase district against non-unionism,
2,000 men on Monday refused to work with non-
unionists, and in some cases pits in the district were
rendered idle. These included the Coppice Colliery at
Heath Hayes, Nos. 3 and 5 pits of the Cannock Chase
Colliery Company, and Nos. 8 and 10 pits of Jerome’s
Colliery at Norton Canes. In addition, some 30 men, at
the Valley pit of the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery

Company, after descending, returned to the surface as
a protest against the employment of a non-unionist
whom a deputy-official declined to replace. There has
been a great influx of non-union men into the union,
and the miners’ officials incline to the opinion that the
percentage of those who have not joined is exceedingly
small. On Tuesday about 100 men on the day shift
refused to work at the West Cannock Colliery, and
about 5,000 men were idle, practically all the pits on
the Chase side being laid down.

On Wednesday, Mr. Albert Stanley, M.P., reported
that all the pits belonging to the Conduit Colliery Com-
pany, Norton Canes, employing about 1,500 men, and
the Coppice Colliery, Heath Hayes, employing about
600 men, had resumed work, no non-unionists having
descended the mines. With regard to the Cannock
Chase Colliery Company’s pits, the situation remained
unchanged, a large number of men being still idle. All
the three pits of the Cannock and Rugeley Colliery at
Wimblebury, Cannock Wood, and the Valley were,
however, off owing to non-unionists being allowed by the
colliery management to work. Fifteen hundred men
were affected at Littleton Collieries.

Trouble has arisen over the non-unionist question at
the Abram Collieries, and a ballot of the local branch of
the Miners’ Federation as to whether notices to strike,
unless the non-unionists join the Federation, has been
taken, and shows a majority in favour of giving notice.
All the Leigh miners’ branches, numbering 6,000
miners, have promised financial support to the Abram
miners if a strike’occurs.

A meeting of the executive council of the Yorkshire
Miners’ Association was held at the Miners’ Hall,
Barnsley, on Monday. Mr. Herbert Smith, who pre-
sided, reported that several cases of men stopped at
various collieries under the provisions of the Minimum
Wage Act had been considered, while at one colliery
stoppages had occurred - owing, the management con-
tended, to a reduction of the staff, although it was
alleged at the same time new men were being set on.
At the same colliery it was also alleged that the surface-
men were not being paid according to the minimum
wage agreement. Permission was given the men at
Garforth No. 1 to take a ballot to decide whether
notices should be tended or not, in order to bring about
the reinstatement of men who had been stopped. A
similar decision was arrived at in regard to Lofthouse
Colliery, where there were grievances. The boys
employed there had been working by contract for some
time and the conditions were fairly satisfactory. They
were paid on the scorage of the number of tubs they
trammed, and the company, it was stated, had now put
in use larger tubs carrying | cwt. of coal more, and the
boys asked for a revision of the price list. Another
grievance was on account of men being stopped because
they declined to “ sign out of the Minimum Wage Act ”
without any enquiry, and of men on applying for work
being compelled before they were taken on to give an
undertaking not to claim the minimum wage.

The South Staffordshire colliery engine-drivers and
stokers, at a meeting at Dudley on Saturday, determined
to hand in their notices unless their demands for an
eight hours day and an increase of wages of 6d. a day
are granted within the next day or two. Several
conferences have been held with the colliery proprietors,
but they have refused to grant the demands.

A conference between representatives of the Cannock
Chase coalowners and of the miners of the Cannock
Chase and Pelsall districts took place at the Imperial
Hotel, Birmingham, last week. Col. Williamson
presided in the absence of Col. Harrison. The
meeting had for its object the fixing of a price list for
dealing with difficulties arising in the stalls. The
matter was adjourned for further consideration. In the
meantime the men’s represesentatives are to prepare
and place before the owners a precise statement of the
difficulties which they consider the price list ought to be
arranged to cover. A further meeting will be held to
consider it.

At the last meeting of the Notts Miners’ Association
it was reported that employers were withholding
insurance cards of employees who had given 14 days’
notice and had obtained work elsewhere, but were not
allowed to start work until they produced their cards.

Scotland.

Qn Monday a strike occurred at Dechmont collieries,
Cambuslang, which belong to Messrs. Arch. Russell and
Co. Limited, and employ nearly 600 men. The grievances
are the unsatisfactory wages being paid to a section of
the men, and the large number of non-union men
employed in the pit.

Iron, Steel, and Engineering Trades.

The accountants to the Cleveland Ironmasters’ Asso-
ciation have just certified the average net selling price

of No. 3 g.m.b. Cleveland pig iron for the first quarter
of the year at 63s. 5'76d. per ton as compared with
60s. 117d. per ton for the previous three months, the
advance in price for the first quarter of 1913 thus being
3s. 4 59d. per ton, and in accordance with sliding-scale-
arrangements blastfurnacemen’s wages are advanced by
4 25 (4J) per cent., raising wages from 35 per cent, above
the standard, to 39'25 per cent, above the standard. The
advance takes effect from the 5th inst.

Letters to the Editor.

The Editor is not responsible either for the statements-
nndH.or rnu minions expressed by correspondents.

All communications must be authenticated by the name-
and address of the sender, whether for publication or
not. No notice can be taken of anonymous communi-
cations.

Asr eplies to questions are only given by way of published
answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped
addressed envelopes are not required to be sent.

USE OF ELECTRIC LAMPS.

Sib,—In your issue of March 7 last, page 499, I
notice that the writer of the article dealing with this
subject says:—

“ These regulations preclude the use of electric
lamps at the coal face (where safety lamps are
required to be used).”

This must have been written under a misapprehension,
as the writer of the article has apparently overlooked
sections 32 (1) (i) and 33 of the Coal Mines Act, 1911.
Draft Regulation 68 relates to the former. The use of
electric safety lamps is quite another matter, and is
dealt with under section 33 of the Act, so a type or
make of electric safety lamp which has passed the
official test and has been approved by the Secretary of
State can be used in precisely the same way as a flame
safety lamp which has also been approved. The words
“ safety lamp ” cover, of course, both types of lamps.

I have been in communication with the Home Office
upon the subject, as I thought it desirable to remove
any misunderstanding in connection with this matter,
and I may say that the view I have expressed is
approved by the Chief Inspector of Mines, Mr. R. A. 8.
Redmayne, C.B.	C. E. Rhodes.

Rotherham, April 8, 1913.

[This is to make a distinction between “electric
lamps” and “electric safety lamps” which is not
definitely provided by the Act. If the amendment
proposed by the Mining Association of Great Britain
is allowed, so as to alter the heading of Regulation 68
from “ Use of Electric Lamps ” to “ Use of Electric
Lamps other than Locked Safety Lamps,” the oppor-
tunity for misinterpretation (which undoubtedly
exists now), will be removed.—Ed.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE.

housiToFcc^

Shooting off the Solid.

Mr. Thomas Richardson asked the Home Secretary
whether, as alleged by the workmen at Felling Colliery, gas
was found in the Low Main seam in February this year, and
notwithstanding this and the protests of the workmen, the
management persisted in the practice of “ shooting off the
solid” in the said Low Main seam; and, if so, seeing that
such a practice under such conditions is a violation of the
Coal Mines Regulation Act and the Explosives Order, would
he cause an enquiry to be made into the above case ?

Mr. McKenna said the matter had already been brought
to his notice, and was receiving the immediate attention of
the Department.

Mr. Richardson also asked the Home Secretary whether,
when the workmen of a mine request the mines inspector
under the Ccal Mines Regulation Act to visit the mine, or
when the workmen appeal to the Home Office under the said
Act, the mines inspector and the Home Office respectively
ought to notify the workmen’s representative of the date
and time of their proposed visit to the mine, and whether
the workmen’s local mines inspectors are entitled to accom-
pany his Misty’s inspector on his visit down the mine ?

Mr. McKenna said the inspectors are instructed, when
visiting in consequence of a complaint, not to send notice
of the visit, if doing so would be likely to frustrate the object
of the visit, and as a general rule it is desirable that such
visits should be surprise visits. If, however, an inspector,
when visiting at the request of the workmen’s repre-
sentatives appointed under section 16, finds it necessary for
the purpose of the enquiry to give notice to the manage-
ment, it would be proper for him to let the workmen’s
representative know also. No authority is given to the
workmen’s inspector by the Act to accompany an inspector
in his inspection, but he was not aware that permission is
ever refused by the management when the inspector thinks
it desirable they should be present.

April 7.
First Aid Certificates.

In answer to Mr. Keir Hardie,

Mr. McKenna said he had received an application from
the Glamorgan County Council for the recognition of their
first-aid certificate for the purposes of the Coal Mines Act.
The whole question of the recognition of first-aid certificates
for the purposes of that Act was under consideration, and
he was not in a position to make any statement at present.
The recognition of the Glamorganshire County Council
certificate had been vigorously opposed in various quarters.
He was informed that the colliers in general would prefer
the existing system.