1076 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. May 23 1913. f being the direct distance of the bullet mark from the bull’s eye. This is the chance that the shot will strike the target at a distance/from the bull’s eye measured in some fixed direction. The chance, therefore, that it will strike the target at a distance from the bull’s eye measured in any direction, is this last multiplied by the area of a ring whose centre is at the bull’s eye, whose radius is / and width d/; that is to say: 2 irf d f x - e= 2fdf e 7T and therefore the average number of shots that will be between / and f 4- df from the bull’s eye is y df =2fe~f* df Whence then, the value of y may also be represented by a curve, but somewhat different from the last, as its form shows. (Fig. 9.) Fig. 9. 0 T It passes through the origin, as shown in the figure. Its area on one side of the axis of = 2fe~f*df= Te-/2 = 1. J 00 00 L By differentiating the equation to the curve and equating to zero, we have (i-/2) = o. Whence f = 1 = R T. At this point y is a maximum = 2 e -1 = 0 73576, and O T = 1. O T is the distance at which a ring, with the bull’s eye as centre and O T as radius, will contain a larger number of bullets than any other ring of equal area. The mean deviation (found as in the case of the simple deviation curve) = (To be continued}. THE CADE BY COLLIERY EXPLOSIOHS. Miners’ Federation Report. The meeting of the executive of the Miners’ Federation of Great Britain at the Westminster Palace Hotel, on Thursday, had presented to them the report of their repre- sentatives—Messrs. Robt. Smillie, president, and Mr. Vernon Hartshorn, South Wales—on the Home Office enquiry, conducted by Mr. Redmayne, Chief Inspector of Mines, on the explosions at the Cadeby Colliery on July 9 last year. After detailing the circumstances leading up to the explosion, Messrs. Smillie and Hartshorn say :— “ The question naturally arises, Could the lives of these 88 men have been saved ? We unhesitatingly assert that the conditions which preceded the explosion were such as called for action on the part of the management that would have made such an awful slaughter impossible, that ordinary precauticns were not taken, and that the lives of the victims of this disaster were sacrificed on the altar of ‘ output.’ ” It is added that Mr. Herbert Smith called four workmen . to give evidence as to the conditions prevailing during the i France. I four days preceding the accident. “The complete system The Societe des Acieries de France propose to acquire the of intimidation in operation at that colliery made it necessary . blastfurnaces at Calais owned by the Societe de Sambre-et- 1 for Mr. Smith to give the men an assurance that they Meuse. The works comprise two furnaces and a battery of would be protected against any unfair treatment on account coke ovens, and supply electric light to the town of Calais, of any evidence they might give.” I generated by coke-oven gas engines. Messrs. Smillie and Hartshorn comment on the fact that no notice of the conditions prevailing had been sent to the inspector, and “ the inspectors were allowed to go into the mine and to their death in absolute ignorance of the fact that a gob fire existed.” Mr. Chambers, the managing director, asked the manager to send a notice, but although he saw the manager later and discussed the condition of The italics are ours. the south district with him, he did not take the trouble to The works which the Societe des Hauts Fourneaux et ascertain whether a notice had been sent or not. Had the Acieries de Caen are erecting near Caen are designed for a inspector been informed of the condition of the mine, the authors of the report are convinced that he would have given instructions for the removal of all men from that portion of the mine which was in such a bad condition. He entirely agreed with Mr. Redmayne that the men should have been withdrawn. As to the second explosion, it is held that it was reason- ably to be expected, and yet the management allowed the men to go indiscriminately into the affected area. The report continues :—“ A fact of very great importance should be noted here. The south slope was a stone heading, and therefore practically free from coaldust. The force and violence of the explosion, which was considerable, spent itself as soon as it reached the mouth of the 14’s level. Had the south slope at this spot contained any considerable quantity of coaldust the explosion might, and probably would, have spread throughout the colliery, and the loss of life been much greater than was the case.” The systematic intimidation of the workmen is again referrred to, and Messrs. Smillie and Hartshorn say : “We have never before seen such evidence of so complete subjec- tion. A few instances will suffice. When the explosion occurred on January 20 (the occasion on which four men were slightly burnt), the affair was kept so secret that the afternoon shift went into the same places without any knowledge of the affair, no report of it ever reached the miners’ office, and the lodge secretary and check- weigher, as well as Mr. Herbert Smith, heard of it for the first time at this enquiry nine months afterwards. When the explosion occurred on July 9 the day shift presented themselves for work between 5 and 6 o’clock, the whole of the men were lowered into the mine, but in the downcast they werp kept on the pit bottom for some time, no one being informed of what had happened. After all the workmen employed in the upcast shaft had been lowered into the mine the men on bottom of the downcast were sent to the surface; but in the other pit the men continued working in ignorance of the disaster. Some hundreds of tons of coal were raised, winding being continued until between 9 and 10 o’clock, the time of the arrival of the inspectors.” The executive unanimously approved the report, and decided to forward a copy to the Home Secretary, with a request that it should be considered, and some action taken by the Department to ensure greater care of life and limb in the mines in future. GOHTIMCHTAL M1K1HG ROTES. Austria Wholesale Coal Prices on the Vienna Exchange.—Ostrau- Dombrau-Karwin coals : Large 28 10-29 10 kronen, cubes 27’60-28 60 kr., nuts 26’60-27’60 kr., small 23-23’20 kr., washed smithy coals 29-29 20 kr., coke 38-40 kr. per ton net cash, ex shutes Nordbahnhof. Rossitz-Zbescbau-Oslawan coals: Best washed smithy coals (coarse or fine) 30’50- 31 50 kr., coke 30-32 kr. per ton ex Nordbahnhof or Staats- bahnhof. Upper Silesian coals: Best large 32 30-33 10 kr, cubes 32’30-33 10 kr., intermediate large or cubes 31’50- 32 30 kr., seconds large or cubes 26 70-27 80 kr., best nuts I. 32-70-33 50 kr., II. 29’60-80’10 kr., best small 23 50-24 kr., seconds 22 50-23 kr. per ton net cash ex shutes Nord- bahnhof. In 10-ton loads: Best large or cubes 30’70- 3150 kr., nuts 31’10-31’70 kr., ex Nordbahnhof. Gas coke from the Vienna Gasworks, 32’40-34 kr. ex works. Lignite : Dux large 21’70-23’20 kr., Brux or Dux cubes 21’70-23’20 kr., nuts 21’20-22 70 kr., Mariaschein cubes 23 70-25’20 kr., nuts 23’20-24 70 kr. per ton ex Franz Josefs- or Nordwest- bahnhof. Belgium. The coal market is quiet. Considerable supplies of German coal, which were contracted for during the strike, are still being delivered. So far the consumption of small hard coals for brickmaking purposes has been on the light side. The wagon supply is short The following shows the exports and imports of fuel during the first four months of this year:— Imports. Exports. 7912. Tons. 1,641.155 319,314 229,330 1912. 1913. Tons. To s. Coal ......... 2,517,798 ... 3,143,858 Coke ........... 287,172 ... 442,862 i Briquettes ... 133,078 ... 166,136 1913. I Tons. 1 1,533,815 332,652 162,289 Our respected contemporary the Echo des Mines, in a paragraph relating to the Kent coalfield, makes a curious misprint, unintentional we take it. A sentence reads as follows : “ Depuis le bruit qui a ete fait autour des debuts de 1’exploitation des charbonnages de Snowdown, une grande fi^vre de peculation r&gne sur le Kent Oriental.” yearly output of 300,000 tons of pig iron. Fuel will be furnished by a large plant of coke ovens with by-product recovery plant, and the iron ore coming from the Soumont and La Perriere mines, about 35 kiloms. from Caen, will be conveyed to the works by a line to be constructed by the company. To begin with, two of the blast furnaces contem- plated will be erected, each beirg designed for a daily out- put from 375 to 400 tons. A gas-purifying plant will also be erected, and the gas from the blast furnaces and coke ovens will be used for the generation of the energy required by the Caen works. It is estimated that 21,000 kw. will be required, and the current will be three-phase at 5,000 volts and 50 periods. To accommodate the increased traffic that will result from these works, it is proposed to enlarge and deepen the maritime canal connecting Caen to the sea. Germany. i Ruhr Coal Market.—Business is taking its normal course. The influence of the strike in Upper Silesia has not yet made itself felt appreciably in this market, though, should it continue, Ruhr coals will probably be required for some of the districts hitherto served by Silesia. In the home market, delivery specifications are coming in satisfactorily, and although some branches of the iron industry are slacker, there is generally sufficient activity to ensure a good demand for coal for some time. Blastfurnace coke particularly is in great request, and the cokeries are finding difficulty in satisfying customers’ needs. In consequence, the demand for coking coals is very considerable. Gas coals find a good outlet abroad ; and the export trade in general is very good Belgium is a large buyer, in spite of the less favourable situation of her iron industry, and the same applies to Holland and France ; whilst in northern Germany the competition of English coals is only slight. In South Germany, on the other, hand, enquiries for both house and industrial coals are less pressing, and as consignments are large, stocks are being replenished. Coal Market in Upper Silesia—The strike has entirely upset the market, but seems to have passed the crisis and to have little prospect of success for the men. The traffic returns, however, do not afford a true picture of the actual state of affairs, since those pits which possess their own ironworks, cokeries, &c, are keeping their surplus produc- tion, if any, back in order to be prepared for allcontingencies. Consumers are naturally clamouring for delivery, though, on the whole, they are not running short, supplies being available from other districts. The cokeries are nearly all in difficulties, being accustomed to particular grades of coal. The Convention has decided not to advance prices any further during the current year. I The Waterway to Rotterdam —The Rotterdam corre- spondent of the Standard states that the German Minister at The Hague has for some time past been applying pressure on the Dutch Government to gain its consent to a scheme for the establishment by the Vulkan Company of a private harbour and works on the banks of the New Waterway, the deep, broad channel which gives access to Rotterdam from the North Sea. Russia. I The Donetz coal trade is as active as ever, and no change is to be anticipated, and a number of the collieries have now sold their entire output three years ahead, and the anthracite producers refuse to contract for delivery before the end of 1916. Coke is fetching 32 copecks per pood, and the price is still rising. The steps taken by the Govern- ment to relieve the situation include free admission of all foreign coal required by the State railways for a period of three years, and, if necessary, this facility will be extended to the leased railways. It is calculated that, by this means, the bulk of the native production will become available for industrial purposes. At the same time efforts are being continued to develop the virgin resources of the country. Prof. Loutouguine estimates the following as the reserves available:— < Coalfield. Millions of Tons. Russia in Europe: Donetz....................... 70,000 Caucasus................... 1,000 Moscow .................... 1,000 Ural....................... 2 000 Dombrova ................... 1,000 Russia in Asia: Kouznetzk ................. 15,000 Kirghiz Steppes........... 150,000 Oussouri ................... 2,000 Saghalien................... 3,000 The exploitation of these mineral riches are inseparable from an extension of the transport facilities. Perchlorate Explosives—An Order in Council (No. 1 B) has been istued under the Explosives Act, 1875 (38 and 39 Viet. c. 17), amending Order in Council of August 5, 1875 (No. 1), relating to the classification of explosives, to the following effect:—“Any explosive containing a perchlorate and not included in any of the Classes 3, 4, or 5, as d*fined in the said Order in Council dated 5th August, 1875, shall be deemed to belong to Class 2 (Nitrate-mixiure Class) and all orders, rules, or regulations applying to explosives of Class 2 shall be deemed to apply to the said explosive.” Partnerships Dissolved.—The London Gazette announces the dissolution of the following partnerships: — T. B. Butterworth and F. W. Taylor, coal factors and colliery agents, Wrexham, Denbigh, under the style of Barton and Co.; H. L. Crauford and P. F. Otto, under Yhe style of Lindsay and Co., Rose-place, Liverpool, electrical and mechanical engineers ; J. Earnshaw, engineer, and G. Lee, engineers, Busfeild-street, Bingley, Yorkshire, under the style of James Earnshaw and Co., so far as regards G. Lee ; J. Smith and T. Wilshaw, engineers’ tool makers, at Hop- wood-lane, West End, Halifax, under the style of Smith and Wibhaw ; D. I. Evans and M. L. Davies, civil and mining engineers and surveyors, Gloucester-place. Swansea, under the style of Morgan Davies and Partners ; J. Ackroyd and J. Barker, general smiths and mechanical engineers, Cliffe Mills, Great Horton, Bradford, under the style of Ackroyd and Shackleton.