878 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. October 29, 1915. COAL MINING IN INDIA IN 1914. The annual report of Mr. G. F. Adams, Chief Inspector of Mines in India, for 1914, has been issued. Some extracts are given below. Persons Employed. During 1914 the average number of persons working in and about the mines regulated by the Indian Mines Act was 185,211, of whom 120,071 worked under- ground, and 65,140 on the surface; 115,174 were adult males, 64,179 were adult females, and 5,858 were children under 12 years of age. This is an increase of 3,951 workers, or 2*18 per cent. Those employed in coal mines numbered 137,851, which is an increase of 4,809 only over those employed in 1913. Of this increase, 3,319 persons are accounted for in the coal fields of Bihar. The labour supply in Bengal was almost stationary, and managers, except at the very end of the year, were considerably embarrassed by shortage of labour, especially at outlying collieries. The shortage is generally attributed to the good harvest of 1913. The managers of most of the collieries in the Central Provinces also would have welcomed a larger labour supply. At the Assam collieries, where the labour question always has had to be carefully considered, out of a total labour force of 4,259 persons, 1,363 were Makranis, Chinese, and Nepalese. The company recently have done much to improve the condition of the labour, by building a commodious type of house, and by having a fixed shift of 10 hours from bank to bank, equal to nine, hours’ actual work. Output of Mineral. The total output of coal was 15,727,631 tons, an increase of 241,313 tons, or 1*56 per cent., over the output of 1913. This is the smallest annual increase since 1910. In the early part of the year the output was somewhat curtailed by the effects of the floods of the previous year, but the main cause of the smallness of the increase was undoubtedly the war. The market for the very best coals in Bihar and Bengal appears to have remained firm, as they were more or less in demand for war purposes, but the rest of the trade was more or less affected, and several of the smaller concerns were shut down. At the outset, as in every other trade, operations generally were checked, until other industrial concerns Table Showing Number of Coal Mines Regulated by the Indian Mines Act, 1901, Number of Workers and Output of Minerals, during the Year 1914. Province. District and mineral field. No. of mines under the scope of the Act. No. of mines worked by mechani- cal power. Total output. Average number of persons employed daily in and abc ut the mines Below ground. Above ground. Total below and above ground. r f Bokaro-Ramgarh 10 7,900 135 75 210 Hazaribagh ■< Giridih 9 5 825,026 5,221 3,358 8,579 (. Jharia 6 — 21,646 236 140 376 Bihar and Orissa ...^ Manbhum f J b aria • • •. 1 Raniganj 263 147 9,125,007 46,755 . 27,741 74,496 83 9 519,371 3,500 1,832 5,332 Sonthal (Raniganj 2 — 2,384 23 7 30 Parganas. ( Raj m ah al 2 — 7,150 74 61 135 Palamau, Daltonganj 1 1 81,680 510 298 808 Sambalpur, Hingir-Rampur ... 1 1 60,883 467 248 715 Total 377 163 10,651,047 56,921 33,760 90,681 Bengal Bankura, Raniganj 2 5,702 65 16 81 Birbhum ,3 1 — 2,023 21 12 33 Burdwan „ 175 ' 146 4,416,815 25,623 13,142 38,765 Total 178 146 4,424,540 25,709 13,170 38,879 Chhindwara, Pench Valley ... 7 5 95,679 889 351 1,240 Central Provinces ... Narsinghpur, Mohpani 1 1 59.774 802 462 1,264 Chanda, Ballarpur 2 2 89,292 530 178 708 Yeotmal 1 — — 8 34 42 Total 11 8 244,745 2,229 1,025 3,254 Jhelum 6 45,867 634 267 901 Punjab | Shahpur 2 — 6,879 46 55 101 Mianwali 2 — 1,557 93 66 159 Total 10 — 54,303 773 388 1,161 Assam | Lakhimpur 7 4 303,890 1,869 809 2,678 Naga Hills 1 — 778 37 153 190 Total 8 4 304,668 1,906 962 2,868 Kalat 4 3,161 49 13 62 Baluchistan Quetta-Pishin 9 — 5,206 78 39 117 Sibi-Khost 11 5 39,557 507 285 792 Loralai 1 — 310 20 10 30 Total 25 5 48,234 654 347 1,001 North-west Frontier Province Hazara 1 — 94 7 — 7 Grand total for 1914 610 326 15,727,631 88,199 49,652 137,851 „ „ „ 1913 602 314 15,486,318 84,828 48,214 133,042 were able to arrange finance, which had been thrown into such confusion all over the world. The first shortage of demand came from Indian consumers, directing small mills, brick kilns, and other industrial operations, in which work had been seriously curtailed. As time went on, the railways called for increased supplies for the carriage of troops and munitions of war, and considerable demand was also experienced for the bunkering of transports. Owing to the presence at that time of an enemy warship in Eastern waters, the greater portion of this coal was carried by rail. Later on, after the bulk of the troops had left the country, a serious curtailment of export traffic supervened. The fact, however, that no foreign coal could be imported into places like Bombay and Karachi, proved advan- tageous to the Indian coal trade, as mine owners were able to supply railborne coal. Towards the end of the year a large accession of labour accrued to the mines, with the result that large outputs were obtained, as soon as the harvesting season was over. Of the total output, 15,075,587 tons, or 95-85 per cent., were raised in Bihar and Bengal, the percentage of the four previous years being 95-44. The increase in these two provinces was 199,346 tons, which was, in the year under report, less than the increase for the whole of India, which points to the fact that the trade in the other provinces was unaffected by the war. As a matter of fact, except for a small decrease, amount- ing to 8’87 per cent, in Baluchistan, there were increases in all these other provinces, the percentages being: Central Provinces, 3-85 per cent.; Punjab, 6-39 per cent.; Assam, 12-68 per cent.; and North-West Frontier Province (output negligible), 4*44 per cent. The output per person employed during the year was : (a) below ground, 178 tons, and (b) above and below ground, 114 tons. The figures for the six years pre- ceding were : (a) 172 tons, and (b) 110 tons. Taking each group of coal fields separately, these figures were as follows :—Bengal and Bihar (a) 182 tons and 174 tons, (b) 116 and 111; the Central Provinces (a) 110 and 124, (b) 75 and 86; Assam (a) 160 and 228; (b) 106 and 146; Baluchistan (a) 74 and 70, (b) 48 and 47; and the Punjab and North-West (a) 70 and 49, (b) 47 and 30. Recently there has been a great advance in the use of electricity in the coal mines of Bengal and Bihar for haulage, pumping, ventilation, etc. Over 135 motors, generating over 4,500 horse-power, are now installed. The table appended shows the number of coal mines regulated by the Indian Mines Act, 1901, the number of workers, and the output of mineral during 1914 :— Accidents. During the year 1914, at mines regulated by the Indian Mines Act, 1901, there were 152 fatal accidents, being an increase of 16, as compared with the number in 1913, and an increase of 22 as compared with the average number of the last five years. These accidents involved the loss of 191 lives. This is a decrease of 20 upon the number of deaths in 1913. There was no single accident involving a large death roll, as was unfortunately the case in 1913. In one case, however, six lives were lost owing to a fall of roof in a coal mine, and in two cases five lives were lost, one by an explo- sion of gunpowder in a salt mine, and the other by an irruption of water in a mica mine. In five cases three persons, and in 15 cases two persons, were killed. Of these 152 accidents Mr. Adams regards (a) 77 as being due to misadventure, (b) 42 to the fault of the deceased, (c) five to the fault of fellow workmen, (d) 12 to the fault of subordinate officials, and (e) 16 to the fault of the management. There was a large increase in the total number of deaths from falls of roof and sides, the number being 95, as compared with 78. Next to falls of roof and side, by far the largest number of accidents which occurred were connected with haulage. They were 21 in number. Carelessness on the part of the hookmen, in failing to couple up all the tubs, or the failure of couplings, either by fracture or accidental detachment, are the most frequent causes of haulage accidents in Indian mines. The death-rate per 1,000 persons employed was 1-03, while that of the preceding five years was 1-17. At coal mines only these figures were 1-05 and 1’34, and at mines other than coal 0-97 and 0-69. The death-rate per million of tons raised at coal mines only was 9*22, while that of the preceding five years was 11*96. Of the 191 persons killed, 166 were males and 25 were females. One hundred and forty-five of the deaths occurred in coal mines, 12 in wolfram mines, 10 in mica mines, seven in manganese mines, six in copper mines, five in salt mines, four in gold mines, one in an iron mine, and one in a ruby mine. One person lost his life by explo- sion of firedamp, 48 by falls of roof, 47 by falls of side, 22 in shafts, one by suffocation by gases, 16 by explo- sives, eight by irruptions of water, 21 by haulage, 10 by other accidents underground, and 17 on the surface. In the Bengal and Bihar coal mines, where most of the statistical accidents occur, there were 119 deaths, com- pared with 162 in 1913. Health and Sanitation. The year passed without any very serious outbreak of cholera in the coal fields of Bihar and Orissa. The disease, however, was not entirely absent. From the Jharia coal field 167 cases and 64 deaths were reported, the deaths being spread over 23 collieries. From the Raniganj field 109 cases and 60 deaths were reported. Of these deaths 28 took place at one group of mines, the remaining deaths being spread over 10 other collieries. Small-pox was more than usually prevalent; 403 cases and 73 deaths being reported from Jharia collieries, and 102 cases and 17 deaths from Raniganj collieries. There was also an outbreak of small-pox in the Jharia bazar towards the end of the year. The Jharia Sanitation Committee held two meetings during the year, and dealt with various matters. In November this committee, which has done good work in the coal field for several years, was dissolved, and a Board of Health was formed under the Bengal Mining Settlements Act, 1912. The board is constituted as follows : — Official members (1) the Deputy Commis- sioner of Manbhum (chairman), the Chief Inspector of Mines in India, the Sub-Divisional Officer of Dhanbad, and the Civil Surgeon of Manbhum. Non-official members, three persons nominated by owners of mines, and one person nominated by rent, royalty, and fine receivers. The non-official members were Messrs. R. G. M. Bathgate, H. M. Bull, Dr. F. T. Simpson, and Mr. Monmatha Nath Ray. Three meetings were held. The total rainfall in the Jharia coal field was 44-33 in.; in the Giridih coal field it was 42-55 in.; and in the Raniganj coal field it was 46-06 in. These figures for 1913 were 71-51, 61-85, and 78-39 in., respectively. Sibpur College Mining Department. The principal has reported that at the commencement of the sessions there were 10 students, of whom three were studying in the fourth year. Of the third-year men, four passed and obtained promotion to the fourth- year class. One failed, and is repeating the third-year course. The three fourth-year candidates passed the diploma examination. Employment was secured for them, and they are now at work. Sanction has been sought and obtained to the opening of a special three-year course, leading direct to the mining diploma examination. Admissions to this are made in January (a time of year that is more convenient to those from European schools), and students are able to obtain the diploma -without going through the sub- overseer classes, though being taught with them, and reaching an identical standard in mathematics, science, drawing, and workshops, before taking up the special mining subjects in the last two years. Indian students can still join in June and pass through the sub-overseer classes, or take a transfer to the new three-year course in the following January. The first year of this new three-year course is common to students taking mining and electrical and mechanical engineering, in neither of which professions is a sub-overseer certificate of any special value. It is hoped that the admission of Europeans and Indians to the mining class from other parts of India may be considerably facilitated by this change. It should be recorded that, of seven passes in the second class mine manager’s certificates examination held in March 1915 at Dhanbad, the first four were students or ex-students of this college. Hem anta Kumar Nag, who stood first, was a student at the college at the time he appeared at the examination.