April 28, 1916.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

815

LETTERS TO THE EDITORS.

The Editors are not responsible either for the statements
made, or the opinions expressed by correspondents.

All communications must be authenticated by the name and
address of the sender, whether for publication or not.
No notice can be taken of anonymous communications.

As replies to questions are only given by way of published
answers to correspondents, and not by letter, stamped
addressed envelopes are not required to be sent.

STONE DUSTING v. COAL DUST.

Sirs,—In the absence of any definite proof that stone
dusting mine roadways can be relied on to prevent or
mitigate explosions of coal dust, is it not a doubtful
policy to compel or induce colliery managers to add to
the existing nuisance of dusty roads by sending down the
mines large quantities of dust of such a character as can
hardly escape being harmful to the workmen’s health?

I have carefully studied the results of experiments
recently made in England, France, America, and New
South Wales, to test the efficacy of mixing stone or inert
dust, with the coal dust always present below ground,
and the impression left on my mind is that, at any rate,
so far as those experiments have gone, they show that
no reliance whatever can be placed on this suggested
treatment, and that its adoption will only hide the
danger, distract attention from its importance, and dis-
courage efforts in more promising directions.

The diagrams between pages 18 and 19 of the Eskmeals
Report prove that even a mixture of 3 stone dust to 1
coal dust is ineffective to stop a coal dust explosion, and
the general trend of those experiments is negative.

The report of the Lievin experiments by J. Taff an el
{see page 83.3, vol. xlix., part 6, Trans. Inst. M. E.)
concludes with the suggestion “ that additional experi-
ments should be conducted in still longer and more
complex galleries of an actual pit than those at
Co mm entry.

The American experiments described by Mr. Rice
(Trans. Inst. M. E., page 721, vol. xlix., part 5) contra-
dict the British experiments,, and are to be pursued for
further enlightenment of important points.

We have also to bear in mind the serious matter of
the men’s health, after the normal dusty atmosphere of
the mines has been aggravated by the introduction of
foreign dust. Dr. Haldane (page 14, Eskmeals Seventh
Report) states : “ One may conclude with considerable
probability from all the experiments that while inhala-
tion in sufficient amount of any kind of dust is preju-
dicial to the lungs, they are capable of getting rid .of
lesser amounts without real injury resulting.” Dr.
Haldane’s conclusion, stated later in his report, “that
shale dust is not specially harmful,” is founded on very
short period tests, and we are left in the dark as to what
the effect of this dust may prove to be on men who have
to breathe it day by day. Hitherto we have been taught
the importance of pure air.

Personally, I believe that the strict enforcement of the
new regulation as to dustproof boxes or trams, which
comes into operation very shortly, will improve matters
considerably, and a little more energy and inventiveness
to prevent dust being blown off the trams in transit
along the roads and up the shaft would so materially
reduce the deposits on the roads, that water could be
applied successfully.	Henry Hall.

BOOK NOTICES.

Butterworth’s Workmen’s Compensation Cases. Vol. viii.
pp. xxv. q- 656. 8^ in. x 5^ in. Price, 12s. 6d. net.
London : Butterworth and Company, Bell-yard, Temple
Bar, W.C.

In the case of a series of law reports so well
known and of such acknowledged utility and
soundness as Butterworth's Workmen's Compen-
sation Cases, it is superfluous, on the appear-
ance of a new volume, to do much more than
briefly chronicle the fact. The purpose of the series is
to give a report of every case heard in the House of
Lords and the Court of Appeal, supplemented by reports
of selected cases heard in the Irish Court of Appeal and
the Scottish Court of Session. In the new volume the
period covered is from October 1914 to October 1915, so
that for an annual publication the record comes as near
to the end of the year as could reasonably be expected.
In this connection, however, it should be remembered
that the reports are also issued in quarterly parts. There
is one point to which attention may be called. An
opinion has sometimes been expressed that it is unneces-
sary to report every appeal, and that all needs would be
met by reporting only those which are likely to rank as
ruling cases. A comprehensive record is desirable, but
for those who wish to refer only to the more important
cases, such a record might admittedly prove inconvenient
unless some means can be found to enable readers to
discriminate. It is therefore gratifying to observe that
the editors have provided such guidance in their outline
digest by printing in black type those cases which it is
essential to read in order to keep abreast of this branch
of the law, a device which should suffice to meet the
criticism to which we have referred. As our readers are
aware, current decisions of importance are referred to
in our columns as full as considerations of space will
permit, but such attention as can be given to the sub-
ject in the daily and weekly Press cannot obviate the
necessity for a permanent reference record to meet legal
requirements. The editorial responsibility for this series

continues with his Honour Judge Ruegg, K.C., and Mr.
Douglas Knocker, of the Middle Temple and South-
Eastern Circuit. Their wide professional experience of
workmen’s compensation law’ is well known. In Mr.
Knocker’s case, this is usefully supplemented by a
medical qualification. As that qualification led to his
taking a commission in the Royal Army Medical Corps,
grateful acknowledgment is expressed for the assistance
which has been rendered by Mr. E. T. Dale, also of the
Middle Temple and the South-Eastern Circuit. The
high standard which the reports reached from the first is
being steadily maintained, excellent arrangement and
concise headnotes contributing materially to their value.

The Tear Book of the Scientific and Learned Societies
of Great Britain and Ireland, published by Messis.
Charles Griffin and Company Limited (Exeter-street,
Strand, W.C.) is a record of the work done in science,
literature and art during 1914-15. In each case informa-
tion is given in regard to the place of meeting, member-
ship and publications, and we can heartily recommend
the year book as a work of reference without equal in
its particular sphere. The 32 volumes form an epitome
of scientific work in this country of exceptional value
to the student. The published price is 7s. 6d.

The-British Dominions Year Book for 1916, edited by
Edward Salmon, F.R.C.I., and James Worsfold,
F.C.I.S., contains many articles of more than current
interest, written by well-known experts, and illustrated
by many excellent maps and coloured plates. These
are happily distributed over the purely military aspects
of the war and the no less important commercial ques-
tions that are its offspring. We congratulate the British
Dominions General Insurance Company on their
enterprise.

PARLIAMENTARY INTELLIGENCE.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—April 25.
By-Products of Coking.

Mr. Runciman, replying to 'Commander Bellairs, who
asked whether he had consulted with the Minister of
Munitions in regard to the growing shortage of petrol, and
the proposal to establish plant at the pit mouth of each
colliery to distil benzol from coal and obtain the important
by-products ; and whether he was aware that this was done
in Germany in the majority of collieries, said he was glad
to state that considerable attention had been given, especially
during the past year, to the extension of by-product coking
plants in this country, both in connection with gas works
and in coke works at collieries.

Coal Shipments to Italy.

In reply to a question by Mr. Touche, Mr. Runciman
stated that the number and nationality of vessels which
loaded coal for Italy during January, February, and March
1916, from the Tyne ports, the Hartlepools, Hull, Blyth,
Glasgow, and Leith, were as follow :

Feb. Mar. Total.

N ationality.	Jan.

Greek ........... 6

Japanese ........ 1

Norwegian ...... 13

Spanish ......... . 3

Russian ......... —

Italian ......... 1

French .......... 1

Danish ......... 18

Swedish ........ —•

Belgian ......... 1

British ........ 28

Total ........ 72

. 6	...	5	... 17
—	... 1	...	2
’ 11	... 13	... 37
. 6	...	5	... 14
. 1	...	2	...	3
. 5	...	8	... 14
—	—	1
■ 11	17	... 46
. 3	... 1	...	4
. 4	... 1	...	6
. 21	... 19	... 68
—	—	—
. 68	... 72	... 212

The coal wealth of the Province of Alberta has been
described as being almost illimitable. The lignite coal
deposits of the province exist in practically every district.
The coal is found close to the surface, and therefore easily
obtained. The amount of bituminous coal in this province
is also very extensive, and is the principal exported variety.
The chief supplies are mined in the Livingstone range of
mountains, south-west of 'Calgary, and in the Brazeau district
in the same direction.

Export Restrictions.—The export prohibition of pig iron and
of various kinds of steel products is naturally affecting closely
merchants who have carried on a large export trade. On
receiving orders from, say, British Possessions, overseas mer-
chants have now to get a quotation from the manufacturer
chosen, then apply for a licence to have the goods manu-
factured, and finally for permission to ship the goods. It
seems as if, in the case of goods to British Possessions, only
licences for iron and steel products required for Government
or national work can be expected. Merchants realise that
the present loss of whole trades to manufacturers in neutral
countries opens up serious ouestions respecting trade when
British firms are once again free to compete in the world’s
markets.

New Shaft at Wortley. — The Wharncliffe Silkstone
Colliery Company Limited, Tankersley, in sinking a new
shaft at Hermit Hill, on the Wortley estate, has just
reached the Whinmoor seam of coal, at a depth of about
100 yds. The new colliery shaft is about 12 ft. diameter,
and lined with several courses of brickwork throughout. It
has been put down in connection with the collieries at
Wharncliffe Silkstone, Tankersley. For upwards of 60 years
these collieries have been at work, and the underground work-
ings are a very long way from the pit bottom. The Whin-
moor seam of coal is the lowest at present worked here, and
underlies the Earl of Wharncliffe’s Wortley estate. The new
pit will very much improve the ventilation of the other parts
of the workings when these are connected, and will prove a
great boon to miners residing in the Wortley, Crane Moor,
and Hermit Hill districts in getting to their work.

Notes from the Coal Fields.

["Local Correspondence.]

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

Miner's Bombing Exploits — Baths for Miners — Colliery
Rating — Trade at Newport — Deepening Llanelly
Harbour—Less Mining Timber.

One of the Ynyscorrwg miners, Sergt. J. T. Waldron, has
been awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal for con-
spicuous bravery. On one occasion he singlehanded bombed
Germans out of a listening post, and pursued them to their
trenches ; and another exploit of his was to bomb a trench
when strongly held by the enemy. In his regiment his repu-
tation for bravery stands very high.

Treharris leads the way in the provision of pit head baths
for miners in South Wales, the Ocean Company’s pits in
that centre being the first to have this equipment, which
will shortly be brought into use. The great structure has
come into existence as a result of the interest taken in the
matter by Mr. D. Davies, M.P.j and other of the directors,
Mr. W. Jenkins (who- is also general manager) having taken
a deputation of workmen to the Continent in order that they
might witness the operation of the system there—a visit
that won enthusiastic converts. Representatives from each
of the company’s eight collieries made up that deputation,
and they formed a very favourable opinion of what was
witnessed abroad. The company have not spared expense or
trouble to make the new provision in every way effective,
and the building constitutes the finest pit head baths in the
country. As many as 700 men and boys are provided for;
the building is well heated ; by pulleys the men can raise
their wet clothes into heated .air, so that they may be
thoroughly dried after they have changed into cleaner home
suits. They will bath in cubicles, and can regulate the
temperature of the water; and there is separate accommoda-
tion for men, boys, and officials. Added to the structure are
offices, and also an ambulance room, where cases of accident
can be immediately dealt with before removal to hospital,
and extreme cases can be operated upon without delay.

The ratable value of Merthyr Union has decreased to the
extent of .£19,000, chiefly in respect of collieries and mineral
properties; and at the annual meeting of the Board of
Guardians on Saturday, it was recommended that the
Assessment Committee should invite representatives of the
various collieries in the union area to a conference. The
question to be discussed at the conference would be that
colliery owners should make “ some allowance ” on account
of the reduced ratable value. It was remarked that the
colliery owners were making high profits, and that in other
unions of South Wales they liad made allowances.

Mr. W. J. Davies, manager of the Maritime Colliery,
has been elected chairman of Pontypridd Council.

One effect of the extraordinarily high price of coal is seen
in transactions in Newport. Admiralty qualities being
unobtainable, the Monmouthshire sorts have come to the
forefront; and whilst current quotations of 45s. and more
per ton would seem prohibitive, the fact remains that these
kinds of coal are finding markets which in pre-war days
they rarely, if ever, entered; and there is consequently
great expectation for future trade. The dock facilities of
the port, also, have been demonstrated most successfully
by reason of exceptional war demands having been so well
met.

Llanelly Harbour Trustees had before them a very satis-
factory report showing progress of the scheme for deepening
the approach to the town in the interest of the coal trade.
Much work has been done for a number of years in order
to attain an additional 3 ft. of water in the channel below
the lighthouse; and it is now shown that as much as 4ft.
has been attained, The report stated that the original
distance of half a mile from the South Wall, along which
the flood water used to run, had been reduced to 100 yds.
Immediately opposite the lighthouse .was the main gap in
the slag bank, through which water ran into the navigable
channel at low water. The channel was 160 ft. wide at
this point, and the soundings across it at low water on'
April 6, with a tide of 20 ft. 3 in. were :—In the gap, 19 ft. ;
half way across, 31ft. ; and off the lighthouse bank, 13 ft.;
below G.W.R., zero. These were, of course, merely the
depths in this particular line, in which the current had
gouged out the sand. Below this line—that was seaward—
the soundings were 9 ft., 8 ft., 7 ft., and 4 ft., below G.W.R.
zero. Above the line, as far as the dolphin, 4 ft. At the
dolphin there was a narrow bank, apparently of hard slag,
on which there is 1 ft. less. It would undoubtedly be a
gain if the Trust could get another break in the slag bank
between the present one and that presumed with good reason
to be at the entrance of the Machynys Channel. It was
recommended that the Trust should continue the present
policy of waiting for the effects of the tides.

It is significant of the general shortage of mining timber
and props that during the three months ended March 31 the
imports to Newport totalled only 58,294 loads, less than
half the total of a normal period—in the first quarter of
1913 the figures were nearly 117,000.

Northumberland and Durham.

Sulphate for Fertilising—Powder Fumes and Compensation
—Refuges against Zeppelins — By-Product Workers
Amalgamate—German Coke Ovens—Auckland Assess-
ment Figures—Coal Dust and Phthisis—Overcrowding
in Mining Districts—British Prisoners and German
Mines—Boy Labour.

At the Randolph Pit of the North Bitchburn Coal Company
Limited last week, a practical demonstration of the manufac-
ture and use of sulphate of ammonia for fertilising purposes
was given by Mr. Frank P. Walker, Adviser in Agriculture
at Armstrong College, Newcastle, to an audience largely com-
posed of farmers. Air. Walker stated that he had not the
slightest hesitation in saying that sulphate of ammonia, care-
fully used, was one of the best manures the farmer had at his
disposal, especially now that hay and straw were so dear.

The quarterly report of Mr. William Weir, compensation
agent to the Northumberland Miners’ Association, states that
the amounts paid to dependants in respect of fatal accidents
during the quarter has been £1,616. Eight cases have been
before the medical referee, and a very large number of dis-
puted cases have been dealt with. There have been, during
the period under review, many cases of men who are suffer-
ing from the effects of powder fumes, but the association has
not yet been able to establish a claim for compensation, the
owners contending that, as the powder is not an explosive