Supplement to the Colliery Guardian, July 24, 1914.

COAL MINES INSPECTION IN 1913.

INTRODUCTION.

As in former years, this supplement to the Colliery
Guardian gives abstracts from the annual reports of
H.M. divisional inspectors of mines. It is necessary to
repeat that the abridgments given deal purely with the
returns under the Coal Mines Act, 1911, which, to adopt
the official designation, comprises all mines of coal,
stratified ironstone, shale and fireclay, including works
above ground where minerals are prepared for use or
sale, by screening, washing, &c. The statistics relating
to workings under the Metalliferous Mines and Quarries
Acts are consequently not included.

On this occasion, returns of what were formerly the
Newcastle and Durham districts are for the first time
included in one return—for the newly constituted
Northern Division. Various salient features of the

reports are dealt with collectively in a leading article
which appears in the current issue of the Colliery
Guardian.

I.—Scotland.

Mr. W. Walker, in his report on the Scotland
Division, states that, jointly, the members of the
inspectorate staff in the division made 4,079 inspections
at mines and quarries, of which 2,574 were underground.

Persons Employed. — The total number of persons
employed in and about the coal mines under the Coal
Mines Acts, during the year was 147,549, being an
increase of 4,247 as compared with 1912. Below ground
there were increases in the following counties :—Clack-
mannan, 1; Dumbarton, 126; Edinburgh, 634; Fife,
497 ; Haddington, 175 ; Kinross, 10; Lanark, 1,636 ;
Linlithgow, 9 ; Renfrew, 53 ; and Stirling, 42 ; but
there were decreases in Argyll, 30; Ayr, 121; Dumfries,
8 ; Inverness, 4; and Sutherland, 2 ; thus the net
increase was 3,018. The following table shows the
number of persons employed :—

County.

Mines
at
work.

Argyll, Dumfries, In-
verness, Kinross,
Peebles and Suther-

land		8... 1,233... 312...	23... 1,568
Ayr 		....	95... 12,304... 2,895...	26... 15,225
Clackmannan 		5...	939... 324...	1... 1,264
Dumbarton 		. ..	13... 1,874... 531... . 28... 2,433
Edinburgh 		....	27... 9,405... 2,224...	84... 11,713
Fife		....	57... 24,176... 4,097... 1,049... 29,322
Haddington		....	13... 2,933... 683..	13... 3,629
Lanark 		.... 225... 48,297... 10,482... 1,305... 60,084
Linlithgow 		....	43... 8,299... 1,684... 222... 10,205
Renfrew		8... 1,107... 252... — ... 1,359
Stirling 		....	48... 8,409... 2,156... 182... 10,747
	
Totals in 1913 		.... 542... 118,976...25,640... 2,933 . 147,549
Totals in 1912		... 520...115,958...24,402... 2,942 ..143,302

Output of Minerals.—The total output for the year
was 47,434,287 tons, as compared with 44,247,230 tons
in 1912, or an increase of 3,187,057 tons. The output of
coal was 42,456,516 tons, or an increase of 2,937,887 tons.
The increases and decreases of the various minerals
raised, and also for counties, are given in the following
table:—

mineral cut by coal-cutters was 9,335,452 tons, and of
this 7,727,291 tons were obtained by 700 machines
driven by electricity, and 1,608,161 tons by 176 the
motive power of which was compressed air. Compared
with 1912, there is an increase in the number of
machines driven by electricity of 107 and in the
quantity of mineral cut by them of 1,370,188 tons.
The output from machines actuated by compressed air
was 222,794 tons more than in the previous year,
although the number of machines was two less. The
machines were distributed as follow:—Ayr, 50 ; Clack-
mannan, six ; Dumbarton, seven ; Dumfries, six; Edin-
burgh, 36 ; Fife, 174 ; Haddington, 17 ; Kinross, one ;
Lanark, 442 ; Linlithgow, 43 ; Renfrew, two ; Stirling,
92. The number of conveyors at work at the coal face
was 125, or 24 more than in 1912. (Table A next page.)

Accidents. — During the year 179 separate fatal
accidents occurred in and about the mines under the
Coal Mines Act, causing 207 deaths, an increase of 17
in the number of accidents and 36 in the number of
lives lost as compared with 1912. The fact that nearly
all the mines worked full time, whereas in the previous
year the majority of them were idle for six weeks, and
an accident caused by an underground fire at Cadder
No. 15 Colliery resulted in 22 deaths, more than
accounts for this increase. There were six accidents

which caused the loss of more than one life ; two were
caused by explosions of firedamp, two by falls of
ground, one in shafts, and one by a fire underground.
The loss of life compared with 1912 in explosions is
four less; falls of sides and roof, 11 less; deaths caused
by shaft accidents are 10 more ; miscellaneous under-
ground, 33 more, and on the surface, eight more. Four
persons were killed by electric shock and 11 persons
were injured by accident from the same cause.

The following is a summary of fatal and non-fatal
accidents, classified according to place and cause :—

Persons employed.
t---------A--------x Below

Above ground, and
Below t--------K-----above

ground. M Fe- ground

Males. iV±ales' males.

	Non-fatal  Fatal accidents acci- reported dents.	to  inspector.*  x		A					All non-fatal accidents disabling for more than 7 days.  	A	
Place and cause.  U nderground—  Explosions of fire- damp or coal dust Falls in mines	  Shaft accidents 	  Miscellaneous under- ground		<D fl ■ 45 ® CGTS O <D CC  4..	.  67..	.  24..	.  52..	.	ca  Q  7..  69..  26..  73..	co to Separate  S Swo accidents.	co to Persons •m to co co	mjured.-p	£ o Separate  o	accidents.  i-*  lo o Persons  to o77co	injured.^

Total underground 147... 175... 651... 695 . 16,320... 16,368
On surface......	32... 32... 105... 110... 1,531... 1,538

Gross total in 1913 179... 207... 756... 805... 17,851...17,096
Total in 1912...... 162...	171... 751... 800...14,944...14,990

* Includes (a) accidents causing fracture of head or limb,
or dislocation of limb, or any other serious personal injury ;

(5)	accidents caused by explosion of gas or dust, or any
explosive, or by electricity, or by overwinding, and causing
any personal injury whatever.

t Including those injured by accidents which proved
fatal to their companions.

The death-rates from accidents per 1,000 persons
employed during the year were (a) below ground 1*47,

(6)	above ground 1’12, and (c) below and above ground

Mr. Walker considers that the four fatal accidents
from explosions were all due to preventable causes, and
if the discipline had been satisfactory, and both officials
and workmen had been doing everything in their power
to prevent accidents, they would not have been to
record. Unfortunately, he adds, in a case tried at the
Sheriff Court, Haddington, early in the year, it was
decided that to bring an explosion within the meaning
of section 32 (1) (6) of the Coal Mines Act it must be
accompanied by noise and violence.

An explosion of gas caused by naked lights occurred
at Bardykes Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The
Summerlee Iron Company Limited, on' January 26, by
which one man was killed and three others more or less
severely burned. It is probable that as soon as the
chargeman left the men they hung their naked lights
up, and when the empty hutches ran down they caused
a current of air to precede them, and this, striking the
heap of debris, was deflected into the cavity above, with
the result that the gas which had collected at the top of
it was carried on to the naked lights and ignited. If
the men had obeyed the instructions of the .chargeman
not to take their naked lights near the place, the
accident would probably have been prevented. An
explosion of firedamp occurred on February 7 at
Swinhill Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Darngavil
Coal Company Limited, and caused the death of a fire-
man. The deceased entered an old road, which was
fenced off and had been standing for about three or
four months, with a naked light, without first examining
it with a safety lamp. An explosion of gas occurred in
Fergushill Colliery, No. 22 pit, belonging to Messrs.
A. Finnie and Son, on August 7, causing the death of
two roadsmen, one of whom also acted as spare fireman.
A single exploration road had been driven for a distance
of 250 ft. into a faulted area to prove the Lady ha’ seam,
and the ventilation was conducted by brattice cloth.
By simply opening one ventilation door and closing
another the ventilation could have been reversed, and
the rescuers would have been able to get into the drift
with intake air, but the officials in their excitement
apparently forgot that this could be done, and struggled
in the afterdamp for some hours. Fortunately the
place and its surroundings were wet, and the damage
caused by the explosion was confined to the drift. The
fireman who inspected the place in the morning before
the men went to work neglected his duty, and only
examined the drift a few yards beyond the place where
the men were to timber, and he had not placed a fence
to prevent anyone going beyond that point. It should,
however, be said that the man who was instantly killed
was a spare fireman, and had worked for years in this
pit and was thoroughly acquainted with it. He was
given a safety lamp every day for testing places which
he had to enter, and in which firedamp might accumulate,
but on the morning of the explosion his lamp was found
hanging at the shaft bottom. Safety lamps were put in
throughout the seam; the management was reorganised,
and the under officials changed.

An accident occurred at the Francis pit of the Dysart
Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Earl of Rosslyn’s
Collieries Limited, on October 5, which resulted in the
death of three miners. On a Sunday night the three
deceased men, before entering the safety lamp area,
voluntarily gave up matches and cigarettes to the
fireman of the section, and proceeded to their level
working place, but left it at once and went to work in

County.	Coal.		Fireclay.		Ironstone.		Oil shale.		Other minerals.		Total.		+ Increase or  — decrease in output as compared with 1912.
Argyll, Dumfries, Inverness, Kinross,  Peebles, and Sutherland 	  Ayr	  Clackmannan		Tons.  606,646 4,193,776  342,546  518,025 3,203,6-0 9,680,208 1,117,020 17,486,267 2,057,324  212,173 3,038,851	Value (Ji).  228,767*  1,908,181  166,808  296,188  1,441,354  4,715,827  468,345  8,748,272  914,562  97,852  1,528,717	Tons.  71,227  3,786  37,750  2,889  24,101  14,967  318,919  55,400  26,122  210,797	Value (Ji).  10,661  1,133  10,638  393  3,405  1,871  70,810  9,040  4,134  51,175	Tons.  217,423  17,289  22,903  2,128  87,060  41,669 150,757 52,332	Value (<£).  . 98,845  8,586  6,871  578  50,815  21,712  75,657  24,032	Tons.  723,766  t 2,556,066  71	Value (J>).  +  176,541  +  645,771  12	Tons.  2,750  1,360  6,271 74,0'25  7,595 39,455 51,575 114,520 42,808	Value (JO-  648  442  81  2,160  63  404 870 1,073 14,303	Tons.  606,646  4,485,176  346,332  574,424  3,959,509  9,780,462  1,139,582  17,931.691  4,762,034  503,572  3,344,859	Value (JO-  228,767 2,018,335 167,941 315,854 1,625,240 4,721,970  470,279  8,870,301 1,591,955 178,716  1,618,239	Tons.  +	82,039  +	258,765  -	455  +	34,915  +	139,412  +	1,258,698  +	73,012  +	815,972  +	221,045  +	49,948  t	253,706
Dumbarton	  Edinburgh 	.-	  Fife	  Haddington 	  Lanark 	  Linlithgow 	  Renfrew 	  Stirling	  Totals in 1913 	  Totals in 1912 														
	42,456,516  39,518,629	20,514,873  16,603,665	765,958  678,945	163,260  122,364	591,561  569,971	287,096  262,215	3,279,903  3,184,826	822,324  765,730	340,349  294,859	20,044  17,012	1 47,434,287  44,247,230	21,807,597  17,770,986	+ 3,187,057

* Value of coal from Kinross included in Fife. f The quantity and value of oil shale from Sutherland and Lanark is included in Linlithgow.

The quantity of mineral raised per person employed
below ground was 399 tons, and per person employed
below and above ground 321 tons.

There is an increase of 105 in the number of coal-
cutting machines at work, and of 1,592,982 tons in the
quantity of mineral obtained by them to record, com-
pared with the previous year. The total quantity of

1’40. The figures for the previous year were (a) 1’27,
(b) 0’87, and (c) 1’19. Per 1,000,000 tons of mineral
raised the death-rate was 4 36, as compared with 3 87 in
1912. In Ayr the death-rate per 1,000 persons employed
was 0'33, in Dumbarton 0'47, and in Linlithgow 0'68
lower than in the previous year, but all the other
counties showed an increased death-rate.

the rising place of a neighbour who was absent, and to
which they had no right to go, and in which the fireman
had told them gas had accumulated and was present.
The fireman had, however, failed to fence off the place
containing the gas—his excuse, was that he had no
material at hand to do this, but he intended to go back
to do it. He should have pulled the rails up and placed