206 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. July 24, 1914. Table D.—Number of Machines, Motive Power Employed, and Quantity of Mineral Obtained by their Use in the Various Inspection Divisions in 1913. Division. Mines using machines. Mineral obtained m by O Com- * a tricity. ! Tons. I Tons. o £ Percentage of total output. 'g O ’ . a—• Mineral £ £ o obtained 1912. 1 19131912 1913 1912 1913)1912 Tons. Scotland Northern Yorks and North Midland Manchester and Ireland Liverpool and North Wales South Wales Midland and Southern * 207 89 89 * 135 41 i 42 66 56 41 45 48 ; 52 876 i 7,727,291 1 1,608.161 ! 665 j 1,300,478 2,244,771 673 I 3,922,682 3,685,848 209 i 108,343 535,986 i 181 : 285,597 1,237,365 ' 115 I 242,978 , 396,741 1751 722,943: 590,114 i i ’ 9,335,452 197 3,545,249 5’4 7,608,530 10-3 644,329 i 5-7 1,522,962 9-d 639,719 | 11 1,313,057 1 4‘4 17’5 4‘5 9-4 51 7*9 11 4’5 125 58 86 15 7 61 2 101 7,742,470 ! 57 2,675,311 : 51 6,213,241 6 542,377 5 ) 1,270,645 47 | 592,529 1 ; 1,237,565 Total in 1913 Total in 1912 — 626 2,894 14,310,312 10,298,986 2,444 11,871,625 1 8,402,513 1 1 24,609,298 i 7'9 20,274,138 i — 7*4 354 ) 1268 20,274,138 Table E.—Electricity in Use at Mines. Division. Scotland....... Northern ...... Yorks & N. Mid. Manchstr. & Ire. L’pl.&N. Wales South Wales.... Mid. & Southern No. of mines at which electricity was in use. Aggregate horse-power of electricity in use. Total underground and surface. On the surface. Underground. Winding. Ventila- tion. Haulage. Coal washin g or screening. 1 W 1 Miscel- laneous. Total. Haulage. Pumping. Portable machinery. Miscel- laneous. Total. ! 1913. 1912. 319 272 320 73 62 294 132 2,208 7,327 1,204 110 95 22,9511 150 4,607| 15,046 7,027 979 1,130 17,529i 777 3,042| 10,470 2,663 293 405| 13,340| l,213i 6,611^ ll,635i 19,704i 1,311 l,307i 8,390i 3,221 9,809 20,3581 25,356f 2,695| l,557f 28,3691 3,779 26,278|l 26,533s 64,837 34,510s 55,9541 27,055 5,3881 3,446 4,4951 6,486 90,581| 38,412 9,140i 15,4841 43,3935 37,5925 13,691f 3,7061 4.9971 50.9481 17,246 20,628 3,7641 8,1311 264 398 764 1,754 2,806 ) 3,554 2,367f 546 1,019 1,1115 8091 93,3615 79,422 51,2451 7,9621 12,9001 91,236^ 35,294 119,6391 144,259 107,200 13,3501 17,3961 181,8171 44,4341 1 98,357 110,9161 87,8721 10,830 15,0521 149,393“ ! 38,3241 1 1,470 1,425 34,045| 23,895| 47,096 30,893| 31,428 23,754? 52,1811 43,5691 91,925| 71,975^ 256,6751151,9271 194,0881130,025 i 1 171,576< 144,3181 35,704 31,0371 12,213i 11,2861 371,421f 316,6671 628,0971 i I — 510.756 i Table G-.—Quantity of Explosives Used in 1913. Total, 1913 Total, 1912 Division. Explosives used. Lb. 1 Estimated number of shots fired. Missed shots. By electricity. By fuse. By squibs. Total. Scotland Northern 7,262,970 9,756,808 1,994,651 628,929 1,260,709 2,428,076 3,003,052 1,664,405 ; 7,346,895 3,591,095 1,246,366 3,780,221 3,045,507 2,505,352 9,061,656 1,342,307 557,720 213,958 37,193 1,272,107 2,123,784 362,984 10,217,825 157,707 307,204 11,089,045 18,907,027 4,148,815 1,460,324 3,817,414 4,475,321 4,936,340 7,616 12,627 5,847 769 3,268 5,482 5,801 Yorks and N. Midland Manchester and Ireland Liverpool and N. Wales South Wales Midland and Southern Total 1913 Total 1912 26,335,195 23,423,138 23,179,841 19,509,657 14,608,725 12,441,102 11,045,720 10,579,665 48,834,286 42,530,424 41,410 44,391 Table H.—Number of Horses in Use in 1913 under the Coal Mines Act. Division. No. used. (1) Number died (exclu- sive of those required to be destroyed) ! Number required to be destroyed Number of cases of injury or ill- treatment reported to manager, exclu- sive of cases in- cluded in columns (2) and (5). From § injury by accident. (3) _ i Total. In conse- nt quenceof injury. ' In conse- ( quence of ] disease & old age. S Total. @ Injury. Ill-treat- 1 ment. (10) Scotland 5,744 56 56 112 158 76 234 402 ) 9 411 Northern 25,181 576 284 860 ! 386 382 768 3,192 304 3,496 Yorks and North Midland 17,352 602 205 807 i ; 581 353 934 4,097 , 131 4,228 Manchester and Ireland 272 5 3 8 7 — i 7 16 1 17 Liverpool and North Wales 1,563 21 27 1 48 ! 9 26 35 72 6 78 South Wales 17,744 646 347 993 i 337 320 ’ 657 3,449 ■ 9 3,458 Midland and Southern 6,168 101 70 1 171 152 125 j 277 1 1,174 i 27 1,201 Totals 1913 84,024 2,007 992* 2,999 1,630 l,282f ' 2,912 12,402 1 487 112,889 Totals 1912 71,526 1,533 940+ 2,473 1,317 1,617|| 2,934 7,873 237 : 8,110 1 * Of this number 19 died from old age. t Of this number 254 were destroyed on account of old age or blindness. X Of this number 5 died irom old age. || Of this number 252 were destroyed on account of old age or blindness. least no marked degradation in safety. Our legislators may be disappointed, but they should remember that commonly they undo with one hand what they do with the other; if the Coal Mines Act operates in the direction of increased safety, the Eight Hours Act exerts an influence in the opposite direction. Coal-cutting Machinery and Electricity. The particulars which follow may be offered without lengthy comment. Tables C and D show the extent to which coal-cutting machinery was employed in 1913. It cannot be said that the use of machinery expands very rapidly; and yet the prevailing conditions, the dearness and scarcity of manual labour, would seem to favour the increased use of coal-cutters. The increase, however, is steady and the use of face conveyors is also growing. On the other hand, Table E, which shows the aggregate horse-power of electricity in use at mines, denotes a considerable advance, and it is satisfactory to find that it is extended to almost every phase of utility and to every district. When we remember that compressed air has also made great strides within the past few years, we may rightly conclude that a distinct progress has been achieved in the mechanical equipment of British mines. At the same time, it is matter for congratulation that so few accidents have occurred that can be traced to the use of electricity at mines. The number of deaths below ground and on the surface increased last year from 11 to 16, but the total is still remarkably low, and, considering the nature of the majority of the accidents, it is not a mere dream to anticipate a clean bill of health some day. There is much to support the apparent paradox that the great security of electricity lies in its dangerous proclivities, for deaths most frequently arise from the simplest unforeseen causes. The remarkable immunity from accident enjoyed by explosive factories is a case in point. Safety Lamps and Explosives. The present returns cannot be taken to throw much light upon the working of the new tests for safety lamps and explosives, or the Explosives Order generally. The great increase in the number of electric safety lamps was not unexpected, but it is obvious that they still form but a small proportion of the whole, and the increased number of lamps burning volatile spirit is quite as noteworthy. Table F.—Particulars of Safety Lamps. 1913. 1912. 1911. Number of lamps in use . .. 777,824 ... 749,177 .. .. 723,934 Shielded .. 716,237 ... 707,607 . .. 684,102 Unshielded .. 22,640 ... 30,825 .. .. 35,047 Not stated .. 38,947 ... 10,745 . .. 4,785 Number of gauzes— One .. 354,544 ... 385,245 .. .. 384,294 Two .. 385,457 ... 353,150 . .. 335,332 Three — 44 .. 7 Not stated .. 37.823 10,738 .. . 4,301 Method of locking— Lead rivet .. 419,985 ... 416,715 .. . 405,483 Magnetic .. 282,857 ... 250,095 .. .. 237,374 Screw .. 60,997 ... 69,781 . .. 67,744 Other .. 14,003 ... 12,586 .. .. 13,333 Kind of illuminant— Colza or colza & petroleum 491,530 ... 545,198 .. .. 522,828 Petroleum .. 58,135 ... 59,062 .. .. 82,942 Volatile spirit .. 123,302 ... 93,404 .. . 96,861 Electricity .. 37,823 ... 10,727 ., 4,298 Other illuminant .. 67,034 ... 40,786 .. .. 17,005 More explosives have been used and more shots fired—proportionally the increase has been greatest in the latter direction. This may be a consequence of the charge limite, but we fear that the new test will benefit the manufacturers in one direction at least, and that greater quantities of explosives will have to be used than in the past. The decline in the number of missed shots is satisfactory, if any reliance can be placed on the figures. Pit Ponies. Some of our philanthropic members of Parliament seem to attach greater importance to the welfare of the dumb animals employed in mines than to that of their human partners. The friends of the pit pony will possibly be chagrined to find that the number of cases of injury and ill-treatment reported have risen by over 50 per cent. It should be remembered, however, that last year the ponies did not enjoy a long holiday such as that which was conferred upon them in the spring of 1912, and the increase may feasibly be due in the main to a welcome tendency on the part of workmen to report cases of injury or ill-treatment to the management, as well as to the new horse inspectors. The divisional inspectors almost as one concede that the life of the pony below ground leaves little to be desired. The Coal Mines Act. The inspectors again devote a considerable portion of their reports to observations on the working of the Coal Mines Act. It is clear that owners and managers throughout the country have made genuine efforts to conform with the onerous requirements. Delay has again been occasioned by the impossi- bility of obtaining delivery of material, and the general burden of work has weighed heavily upon managers and inspectors alike. Without entering too greatly into detail, it may be said that one outstanding result has been the increased number of prosecutions of workmen for breaches of the Act and Regulations. Many of these offences in the past, of course, were met by fines, but the large number of prosecutions in respect of matches is a direct consequence of the Act. It is somewhat disconcerting to find that over 800 men were convicted of contraventions of the provisions about matches and smoking, an increase of about 275 per cent. It is matter for but little surprise to find that the provisions regarding baths have proved practically a dead letter, and the increased facilities for inspection on the part of the workmen have not been taken advantage of to any great extent.