200

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

July 24, 1914

MIDLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING, CIVIL, AND
MECHANICAL ENGINEERS.

Annual Meeting.

The annual general meeting of members of the
Midland Institute of Mining, Civil and Mechanical
Engineers was held at the Institute Rooms, St. James’s
Chambers, Sheffield, on Tuesday, July 21, Mr. Walter
Hargreaves (president), of Rothwell, Leeds, being in
the chair.

The annual report of the council stated that 36 new
members were elected during the year, the present total
being 396, an increase of 12 over last year. The balance
at the bank at the commencement of the financial year
was £313 Is. 8d., and for the year just end £399 17s. 6d.
The excess income over expenditure was £7 Os. lid.,
subscriptions totalling £839 10s. Seven meetings had
been held during the year. The council have appointed
a committee to study and report on the cost of producing
power at collieries, consisting of Messrs. Walter Har-
greaves, W. H. Chambers, W. D. Lloyd, H. F.
Smithson, J. W. Kershaw, and the secretary (Mr. Blake
Walker).

Mr. Eric Vaughan Burnett, of Chile, was elected a
member, and Mr. Wm. Arthur Machin, of Castleford,
an associate member.

The President, commenting on the annual report and
statement of accounts, said the progress of the Midland
Institute continued to be maintained, and the institute
seemed to be flourishing from all points of view. It was
only fitting that he should allude to the munificent con-
tribution of the South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and
Barnsley coal owners towards the fund which had been
raised by the institute to equip them for receiving the
charter that they were now striving for. The three
coal owners’ associations were approached by influential
members of the institute, and in their generosity they
had contributed a sum of no less than £1,920. He had
much pleasure in moving that a resolution be sent to
the three associations thanking them for their
generosity.

Mr. Sutcliffe, in seconding, said that he had very
great faith in the coal owners of the country, and
especially very great faith in the Midland coal owners.—
The resolution was unanimously carried, with acclama-
tion.

The Secretary (Mr. G. Blake Walker) said they would
notice from the statement of accounts that they had
spent the whole year’s revenue, within a small sum,
and the members might desire to know how that had
occurred. It had occurred partly in connection with
the cataloguing of their library. The members would
know that the institute were printing a volume of
sections of strata of South Yorkshire, proofs of which
were now available. He hoped that in the course of
a month or two every member would receive a copy
of the publication, which would have cost the institute
probably about £150.

The President said he was sure the members were
very much obliged to Mr. Walker for the explanation
he had given of their finances. Of course, the primary
object of the institute was not the accumulation of
funds, but to collect and impart, and also to publish
information such as would be of value to all members
of the profession. Since their last annual meeting the
coal trade had been signally honoured by his Majesty,
in conferring the honour of knighthood upon Dr. W. E.
Garforth, one of their most distinguished past-presi-
dents, and it was only fitting that they should put on
record the very high sense of appreciation which the
institute had of the honour conferred upon, perhaps
its most distinguished member. He would therefore
move that their hearty congratulations be sent to Sir
William Garforth congratulating him upon the honour
conferred upon him, and their hopes that he and Lady
Garforth might live long to enjoy such honour. If the
coal trade and the mining engineering part of the coal
trade had been consulted in reference to that matter he
was quite sure that the selection would have fallen
with unanimity upon the present recipient. At the
same time he might also draw attention to the fact that
one of their members, Mr. Chambers, had had con-
ferred upon him the Edward Medal of the Second Class,
for the work which he did in the Cadeby disaster. He
also moved that a letter be sent to Mr. Chambers con-
gratulating him upon the honour conferred.

Mr. J. R. Wilkinson seconded, and the motion was
carried.

Switchgear for Mines.

Mr. Ernest Kilburn Scott, A.M.I.C.E., M.I.E.E.,
then read a paper on “ Switchgear for Mines.” (See
page 195.)

In the discussion that followed, the President said
he was quite sure their very cordial thanks were due
to Mr. Scott for the practical and discursive manner
in which he had treated his subject.

Mr. W. F. Mylan (Sheffield) said that personally he
thought much of the control gear Mr. Scott had put
forward did not strictly comply with the regulations.
For instance, there was the star-delta starter of which
an illustration was given. There were no details put
before them regarding this, but he very much doubted
whether there was an isolating switch in conjunction
with it. The starter in itself, of course, cut off current
from the motor, but he thought they must have an
isolating switch which would cut off current, not
necessarily from the starter, but from the working parts

of the motor. In fig. 1 of the paper there was an
illustration of a porcelain insulator which was used in
conjunction with the moving contact of an oil switch.
He very much doubted whether that insulator was
going to be satisfactory. He much preferred the system
which utilised metal and mica. He was rather sur-
prised to hear Mr. Scott mention a case where that type
of switch was used in a mine. He could not conceive
that it should be installed in a mine without very com-
plete protection, which it was difficult to get. An
isolating switch, to his mind, should form part of the
circuit breaker which was used. There was one rather
important feature to consider, and that was the capacity
of an oil switch; the actual current that could be dealt
with by an oil switch and the voltage at which it had
to work were two important matters. The capacity of
their plant had to determine the size of the switch
besides taking into account the current, which was
normally on the switch and the voltage. There had
been some very nasty accidents caused by the oil switch
being far too small—not on account of the load it was
controlling, but because the generating plant behind it
was so far in excess of the capacity of the switch. He
would express his personal thanks to Mr. Scott for
having contributed this paper, because, to his mind,
so far as electricity in mines was concerned, it was
the most important subject with which mining engineers
had to deal. Motors were more or less standardised,
but the more information they could obtain on the sub-
ject of switchgears the better it would be for electricity
in mines, and the more opportunity there would be for
manufacturers to consult them.

Mr. A. Lucas (Sheffield) said the point that might be
more strongly emphasised was the “ rupture ” capacity
of the switch. That was really the point which deter-
mined the design of the switch; its oil capacity and the
amount of work it could do. A switch working under
normal conditions might act automatically quite well,
but whether it would do so under abnormal conditions
was another matter, and to secure that should be the
end and aim of the switch designer. In the event of
the loader, or whatever the switch was controlling,
going wrong, the switch wanted to be able to cope with
the excess of current. A switch must be able to cut
off the supply of current under the most abnormal con-
ditions.

Mr. E. K. Scott, replying to the discussion, said that
the star-delta starter would have to be used with an
isolating switch. He agreed with Mr. Mylan that poice-
lain in tension was not as satisfactory as metal and
mica. He thoroughly believed in draw-out gears, and
those who made that design had done a very great
service not only to mining, but to electrical engineering
generally, by developing that gear. With a draw-out
gear they did not need isolating switches. It was quite
the safest way to operate high-tension switch gear, but
it was, of course, very expensive. He did not quite
follow Mr. Lucas when he referred to the ‘‘rupture ”
capacity of the switches.

Mr. Lucas said he was alluding to direct current and
the rupture of the circuit under abnormal conditions.

Mr. Scott : That depends upon the speed at which
you draw the contacts apart.

Mr. Lucas : It would act automatically, so that the
speed at which it broke would depend on the spring.

Mr. Scott : The automatic motion controls the strip,
which makes it come into operation. I should imagine
you would use the same cubic capacity for direct current
as with alternate. You would have to make the
break very much quicker or probably use higher quality
insulators.

In conclusion, Mr. Scott said there was no doubt
that certain manufacturers would not undertake the
supply of direct current control gear working in oil, for
the reason that they had found considerable difficulty in
fulfilling the requirements.

Colliery Consumption in Upper Silesia.

A translation of a paper was placed before the meeting
dealing with “ Colliery Consumption and Machine
Economy at an Upper Silesian Colliery.” The author
of the paper was Dr. Karl Schultze, of Charlottenburg,
Berlin. (See p. 198.)

The President said that this second paper dealt with
a matter which, to him, was of engrossing interest, par-
ticularly in consideration of the fact that they appointed
a Fuel Committee some little time ago, which was now
pursuing its enquiries. It seemed to him that this
paper had a direct bearing on the work their committee
had undertaken. He therefore imagined it would be
much better to read and discuss the paper at the time
when the Fuel Committee gave their report.

Election of Officers.

Mr. Walter Hargreaves was re-elected president for
the ensuing year. The vice-presidents, Messrs. Beach,
J. E. Chambers, and T. Stubbs, were also re-elected;
and the following were elected members of the council :
Prof. F. E. Armstrong, John Gill, Thomas Gill, Roslyn
Holliday, W. D. Lloyd, James Mellors, T. H. Mottram
(Chief Inspector of Mines), Prof. L. T. O’Shea, Harry
Rhodes, H. F. Smithson, Charles Snow, and J. R.
Wilkinson.

The representatives elected to the Council of the
Institution of Mining Engineers were :—Sir W. E.
Garforth, Pro. Hardwick, Messrs. Beach, J. E.
Chambers, W. H. Chambers, W. D. Lloyd, T. W. H.
Mitchell, and Harry Rhodes.

LAW INTELLIGENCE.

HOUSE OF LORDS.—July 17.

Before Lords Loreburn, Dunedin, Atkinson, Shaw, and
Parmoor.

Workmen’s Compensation : Incapacity Through Obesity.

G. Taylor and Company v. H. Clark.—This was an
appeal from the decision of the First Division of the Court
of Session in the case of George Taylor and Company, coal
masters, Annbank, v. Hugh Clark, miner, Ayr. The point
at issue concerned the right of the employer to have weekly
payments reviewed in a case where an accident to an
employee enforced idleness and idleness happened to cause
obesity. From the case stated by Sheriff-Substitute G. D.
Valentine in the Ayr Sheriff Court, it appeared that Clark
had been incapacitated by an accident in October 1910. He
had received compensation payments till 1913. The ques-
tion was then raised as to how far the incapacity arising
from the accident then continued. The Sheriff-Substitute
found that in fact Clark on October 8, 1913, was still affected
with partial incapacity for work, and that this incapacity
was due to age and obesity. He also found that Clark had
been doing no hard work since he received his accident, that
he had a natural disposition to obesity, and his obesity had
increased owing to his having been doing no hard work. He
therefore came to the conclusion that the incapacity of Clark
resulting from the injuries sustained by him in 1910 had
ceased, and he accordingly ended the compensation pay-
ments. The First Division of the Court of Session by a
majority reversed the findings of the Sheriff-Substitute,
holding that the chain of causation between the accident,
the enforced idleness, the obesity, and the permanent incapa-
city for active work caused by such obesity was unbroken.

Lord Loreburn, in moving that the appeal should be
allowed, said they must confine themselves to this : Was
the conclusion of the learned arbiter one to which a reason-
able man could come? He thought that it was. The
learned arbiter said that the incapacity of October 1913 did
not result from the accident of October 1910. As he did
not find that the conclusion of the learned arbiter was
unreasonable, he thought that his award should be restored.

Lords Dunedin, Atkinson, Shaw, and Parmoor concurred.

The appeal accordingly was allowed, and the finding of
the arbiter restored.

SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE.
COURT OF APPEAL.—July 13.

Before the Master of the Rolls, Lord Justice Swinfen
Eady, and Lord Justice Pickford.

Workmen’s Compensation : Average Weekly Earnings.

Woodhouse v. Midland Railway Company.—This was an
appeal from an award of the deputy judge of the Lancashire
County Court, sitting at Lancaster, as an arbitrator under
the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1906. The appeal raised
a question of considerable importance, namely, whether a
workman who had been permanently incapacitated, but had
been given light work by his employers, was entitled to
compensation by reason of his being prevented from doing
the light work by some cause apart from his injuries. Appli-
cant was employed as a mess-room attendant, and owing to
the Dublin strike his services were not required for four
days. The applicant claimed compensation in respect of
these four days. The learned deputy county court judge
held that the applicant was not entitled to compensation on
the ground that his non-employment on those days had
nothing to do with his injuries. The applicant appealed.

The Master of the Rolls, in his judgment, said that the
appeal related only to a sum of 7s. 10d., but it was said
by the appellant to raise an important question of principle
—namely, the effect of a strike upon a workman to whom
his employers had given light work. The facts, in his
lordship’s opinion, did not enable the court to decide any
such general principle. The appellant, in his application,
alleged that the 23s. 6d. was as to Ils. 9d. compensation
and as to Ils. 9d. wages for doing light work as mess atten-
dant. This allegation had not been supported by counsel,
and it was plainly untenable. There was no evidence as to
the terms of his engagement, either as goods porter or as
mess attendant. But it had been assumed that, though
his wages were paid weekly, he could be told on any day
that he would not be wanted to-morrow. There was no
evidence as to his ability to do every kind of light work, or
whether he was what has been called an “ odd lot ” in the
labour market, and able only to do the special work of a
mess attendant. There was no evidence that he sought and
failed to obtain light work from any other employers on
any one of the four days. The claim was inconsistent with
the provisions of the First Schedule, sections 1 (b) and 3.
Assuming everything in favour of the man, the compensa-
tion could not exceed 11s. 9d. a week. But where the
incapacity was “ partial ”—which was the present case—
“ the weekly payment shall in no case exceed the difference
between the amount of the average weekly earnings of the
workman before the accident ” (that was 23s. 6d.) “ and
the average weekly amount which he is earning or is able
to earn in some suitable employment or business after the
accident ” (that was 23s. 6d.) “ but shall bear such rela-
tion to the amount of that difference as under the circum-
stances of the case may appear proper.” ‘‘ Average weekly
earnings ” did not mean a full week of six days as com-
pared with a week of five days. An average of 12 months,
if possible (in which 12 months there would probably be
some lost time), must be taken under section 1 (6), and the
same ought to be done under section 3. To be strictly
accurate, in the most favourable circumstances his average
earnings under section 1 (6) would be 23s. 6d., minus
15s. 8d., divided by 52, or 23s. 6d., minus 3|d., that was
23s. 2|d. That really showed the triviality of the present
application. In his lordship’s opinion, it was of no moment
that the light work was obtained from the employers, and
not from a stranger. The present case was not a case where
there had been a long continuance of lack of employment.
When such a case arose it would be considered.

Mr. B. L. Dulaney, of Bristol (Tennessee), giving
evidence before the sub-committee of the Washington
Senate Naval Affairs Committee which is investigating the
high price of coal in the south, including the supply for the
Government navy yards, has stated that a comparatively
small group of men residing in New York, and holding
together not more than 50,000 dols. worth of Southern
Railway stock, were able to control the coal freight rates
of that and allied roads through interlocking directorates.