1200 THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN. June 23, 1916. Mining Instruction in County Areas. In many districts the custom of working three shifts a day interferes seriously with regular attendance at mining classes, and renders it necessary in certain schools to duplicate the classes by the provision of classes in the daytime. There is no county area in which mining is the sole industry, but certain portions of all important coal fields are wholly given up to mining, and there are a large number of villages and small towns which are engaged only in mining, and contain a population composed solely of miners and persons either dependent on them or engaged in supply- ing their needs. The existence in the same area of two kinds of community, one including only miners, causes difficulties in arranging courses of instruction for boys who have recently left elementary schools, since the curricula of continuation schools in small mixed indus- trial communities must provide for the needs of at least two different types of student. Courses of Instruction. These are divided into full-time and part-time courses, the latter being subdivided into evening and day courses. For many years it’ was customary to give instruction to students in the single subject of “ Mining.” The matter included under this heading was chiefly mining practice, that is, shaft sinking, ventilation, the working of coal, haulage, pumping, timbering and similar topics, the whole being treated mainly in a descriptive way. With the increasing com- plexity of modern mining and its greater dependence on science and engineering, together with the more compre- hensive qualifications required of colliery officials by the Act of 1911, it has become necessary to treat the subject more broadly, and to include not only mining practice, but also such subjects as mathematics, the physics and chemistry of gases, mechanics, machine construction and drawing, electricity, heat engines and geology. In order to deal effectively with these numerous subjects and to make the instruction progressive throughout all its stages, grouped courses of instruction have been introduced. The full curriculum of evening instruction may con- veniently be divided into three stages, termed :—(a) the junior course (including the junior course for adults); (5) the senior course; (c) the advanced course. It is very rarely that all these three stages are taken in the same school, since junior courses are naturally numer- ous and are taken in local schools as near as possible to the homes of the students, while senior and advanced courses, which demand for their effective working a certain amount of special accommodation and equip- ment, are taken in district schools drawing students from a. wider area. Sum wary of Junior and Senior Courses. Junior Course for Boys.—The six hours of instruc- tion each week may conveniently be distributed, for both first and second years, as follows : Practical mathematics and drawing, elementary science, and English, 2 hours each. Junior Course for Adults.—As in the corresponding course for boys, the work may be conveniently taken in three periods, each of two hours, viz. : Practical mathematics, mining drawing, and mining science. Senior Course. — Devised for three years, with six hours’ instruction per week, the course would normally be arranged somewhat as follows :—First year : Practi- cal mathematics, engineering drawing, and mining science (physics and chemistry), two hours each. Second year : Practical mathematics, engineering science and drawing, and mining science (ventilation and lighting), two hours each. Third year : Surveying, engineering science (mining machinery and electricity), and mining science (mine working), two hours each. Advanced Courses. The curriculum is based on the requirements of the - examinations for first class certificates, candidates for which must possess such a knowledge of arithmetic, mathematics, physics (including electricity), chemistry, geology, and engineering science as will enable them to answer questions on the prescribed syllabus. If a part-time course is selected, there is no doubt that the best arrangement is one in which the student attends for a whole day once a week for several years, as at the Treforest School of Mining, and at the Wigan Mining College. It is recommended that this plan should be adopted wherever conditions permit. By devoting a full day and one or two evenings a week to preparation for the examination, a student might be aide to cover tire syllabus in three or four years. Arrangement of Course.—For purposes of instruction the syllabuses may conveniently be arranged under the following heads :—(1) Engineering, including the mechanical and electrical engineering of collieries; (2) ventilation, lighting, and the prevention of explosions; (3) methods of working, timbering, etc.; (4) surveying; (5) geology. Arranged as evening courses, the work would probably demand attendance for about six sessions, and while the instruction included in sections (1) and (2), for example, would extend over more than one session, the others might be covered in shorter periods. In addition, attendance at special classes, each extending over about half a session, would be necessary for such subjects as mining legislation, shaft sinking, etc. ' Method of Treatment.—Throughout the whole of the course, greater attention should be devoted to accurate measurements and thorough investigation of principles than is necessary or convenient in the courses of senior standard. The treatment of engineering in an advanced course should give great attention to principles, includ- ing the consideration of force, work and power, the generation -and transmission of power, the efficiency of mechanical arrangements, and similar topics. Similarly, in chemistry and physics, the work of the advanced course will be of a higher order than that of the senior course, and will include a fuller consideration of the problems of the mine; it should aim at training students to investigate more completely the principles and practice of colliery ventilation, the chemistry of mine air, of explosions and of spontaneous combustion, the analysis of fuels, and the estimation of calorific values. Wherever possible, the instruction should avoid routine teaching and the mere imparting of information, and should consist of the setting of definite problems for solution in the chemical, physical, mechanical and mining laboratories. It is mainly in this way that the habit of initiative and the power of resource, so necessary to a man occupying .the responsible position of a colliery manager, can be cultivated to their fullest extent. The memorandum then proceeds to give, in complete detail, a syllabus of work in both the junior and senior courses in mining. Accommodation and Equipment. Junior Course.—Junior courses are necessarily con- ducted, as a rule, in the premises of elementary schools, or, more rarely, in those of secondary schools, and the special equipment provided for evening classes must therefore be such as not to interfere with the work for which the schools are primarily intended. There should be suitable tables for individual work in practical elementary science, with gas laid on, and a supply of water and sink. Centres for Higher Work.—The provision of higher instruction at suitable centres is comparatively a simple problem where the population is dense and means of communication are easy. In North Staffordshire, for example, the bulk of the higher instruction is carried on at the Central School of Science and Technology at Stoke-on-Trent; while in South Staffordshire, centres for higher instruction have been established at four con- venient towns—Walsall, Dudley, Hednesford, and Chasetown. It is in such small and scattered coal fields- as those of Warwickshire, Shropshire, and the Forest of-Dean, that the problem of providing adequate facilities for higher part-time instruction becomes diffi- cult. One of the most successful solutions has been- found in Warwickshire, where the education authority have erected a well-equipped mining school at Nuneaton. Senior Course.—Senior and advanced courses can only be carried on in schools provided with suitable and pro- perly equipped laboratories, including a special mining laboratory, and a dark room for safety lamp experiments. An experimental fan should be provided, driven by elec- tricity. The safety lamp laboratory, or dark room, should be equipped with two or three appliances for gas cap work, as well as a suitable chamber for testing safety lamps in explosive mixtures of air and gas. The equipment for mine surveying, for the senior course, need not include a theodolite, but a level and staff, one or two mining dials, measuring chains and tapes, etc., are essential. Advanced Course.—The advanced course can only be carried on efficiently in a specially equipped institution like the Treforest School of Mining, or in a technical institute possessing well equipped laboratories for mechanical and electrical engineering, in addition to the usual physical, chemical,, and mechanical laboratories. The advanced mining student does not require the same training as the engineering student, but he must have a •very intimate knowledge of certain branches of engi- neering practice and principles, to acquire which he must receive a good deal of instruction in engineering laboratories. Local Education Authorities and Employers. Joint Action by Adjacent Authorities.—The satisfac- tory provision and organisation of part time instruction in mining present peculiar difficulties, and each coal field has its own special problems to solve before its system of mining education can be put on a proper basis. In some of the smaller coal fields the difficulties can be more or less overcome if neighbouring education authorities take joint action in developing and main- taining an efficient organisation, as has been done by those of Derbyshire and Leicestershire, in instituting a scheme of mining instruction for the coal field lying in both their areas, and by those of Staffordshire county and Stoke-on-Trent county borough. Travelling Scholarships.—A number of local educa- tion authorities have established travelling scholarships, in order to give promising students opportunities of seeing coal fields other than their own. This policy has been carried out by the Glamorganshire authority, and also by the authorities of Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire (Forest of Dean). Co-operation of Employers.—The success of any scheme of mining instruction is influenced very largely by the interest and active co-operation of colliery owners and managers. The School of Mining at Treforest is provided and maintained by the colliery owners of South Wales and Monmouthshire. This is the only example of its kind in the British coal fields at the present time, though there are many cases where indi- vidual owners and firms assist and encourage their employees to- attend classes. Some firms give per- mission for students to visit their collieries, and others allow mine surveying classes to make use of their under- ground workings for surveying practice at certain times —a most valuable privilege. Some employers allow their employees to attend classes in. working hours, and others offer encouragement in the form of promotion to students whose progress in the classes and practical qualifications are particularly satisfactory. Practical tests of various kinds might very well be undertaken for the benefit of neighbouring collieries by those schools which are equipped for the advanced course. This would promote close relations between the school and the collieries, and would give the students excellent opportunities of carrying out special work connected with colliery management. In districts where mine rescue stations and training galleries have been or are to be established, steps should be taken to secure some kind of fairly close relationship between these institutions and the mining schools. In Derbyshire it is intended that accommodation shall be provided in the premises of the rescue stations for certain advanced mining classes. A close connection between schools and rescue stations is especially desirable in the case of schools providing senior and advanced courses. At Stoke-on- Trent the site, for the rescue station adjoins that of the new Central School of Mining and Pottery, and inti- mate relationship between the two institutions is contemplated. The laboratory in the school will be available for carrying out special investigations found necessary from time to time in connection with the work of the rescue station. The School of Mines at Treforest is intended to be “ a centre for research work into the causes of accidents of all descriptions and means of their prevention.” In a final section the memorandum deals at length with the supply and training of teachers and the pro- vision of organising instructors. Notes from the Coal Fields. [Local Correspondence.] South Wales and Monmouthshire. American Coal for Britain—First Pithead Baths in the District—Income-tax on Miners' Wages—The Position of Glamorgan Mining School—Regulating Goal Supplies —Presentation — Truck Dispute — Ambulance Com- petition—Dock Work Scheme—Land Offer for ex- Service Men—Miners and War. A subject of much speculation during the past few days has been the indication that American coal is to be brought to this country, enquiry for vessels having been made by a Cardiff firm. Delivery at Avonmouth (Bristol) or Liverpool from a Virginian port is specified, and vessels of 5,000 tons are preferred, which should be available for 14 voyages each, if required, and be free from Admiralty requisition. The latter condition would, of course, bar British craft, unless Admiralty consent was first obtained. The suggested rate of freight, however, casts doubt upon the matter; for at 15 dels, (over T3) per ton for carriage alone, the American coal could not compete with British, although local prices for second qualities range higher than 50s. Then, again, the brittle character of much of the American coal would, not permit of delivery in anything like equal condition with British. It has been arranged that the Coal Limitation Committee in Swansea to deal with the French trade shall meet daily, and a rota of the 24 members has been arranged. Mr. T. P. Cook has been appointed chairman, with Mr. C. Cleeves as vice-chairman; and for the coal exporters, Mr. A. Wyman; for the coal owners, Mr. B. Sailes; and for the shipping section, Mr. W. Turpin. Mr. H. Marshall will be the general secretary. The work of the committee will be the allocation of the tonnage and the coal from the collieries. At first, until definite information comes from France, the detailed work cannot properly be arranged. Mr. Farrell, of the Income-tax Department, Somerset House, had a long interview on Saturday at Cardiff with the executive council of the Miners’ Federation, and discussed the proposed methods of collecting income-tax from the workmen. Air. Farrell explained generally the procedure, both as to collection and as to securing allowances, and made a number of suggestions with the view of ensuring that the collection shall be as little irksome as possible. He was thanked by the members present, who decided to call a special meeting for discussion of the suggestions made. Mr. T. Bichards, M.P., the general secretary, has called attention of the men to the necessity of preserving their pay tickets, as these may be required should any question be raised as to the actual amount of earnings. Sir Clifford Cory presided at a meeting of the South Wales and Monmouthshire School of Alines, when a resolution was passed that, in view of the Boyal Commission to report upon university and post secondary education in Wales and Alon- mouthshire, “it is felt that to make any arrangement until that report is issued is premature, and that consideration of the formation of a joint working committee should be’ post- poned until the report has been received and considered. ” The late Air. Llewelyn Llewelyn (whose death is recorded in another column) was originally engaged by the Powell Duffryn Company. He was afterwards manager of the Bisca Collieries, and subsequently took charge of collieries and other properties in Chili. One of his sons is Mr. Leonard Llewelyn, formerly general manager of the Cambrian Com- bine, but now Director of Material in the Ministry of Muni- tions. Another son is general manager of collieries in the neighbourhood of Port Talbot. A third is general manager of the United National properties in the Sirhowy Valley. The cause of death was heart failure. Mr. F. A. Gibson, secretary of the special committee regu- lating the supply of coal and coke to consumers in the South Wales district, has issued a circular letter to the clerks of local authorities making suggestions for regulating the house coal supplies during next winter. The circular refers to the decreased output of the collieries, and the urgent demand of the Admiralty, munition works, etc. The suggestion is made that a committee should be appointed for each town in Monmouthshire and South Wales to obtain information from the coal merchants as to the monthly quantities they have previously purchased, the names of the collieries from which supnlies have come, and other necessary particulars. The committee would deal with questions of detail from time to time, and the Board of Trade would be able to make arrange- ments with the collieries for the necessary supplies. The suggestion will be brought before each of the local authorities in order that a committee may be appointed; and the circular emphasises the fact that only by co-operation between mer- chants and coal owners can means be devised for the supply of house coal to consumers. It is also considered important that householders should gradually obtain supplies during summer, and thus relieve the heavy pressure of orders at the commencement of winter. Mr. W. H. Bogers, who retired a short time ago from the position of staith-master at the Cardiff Docks, has been pre- sented with T250 and other gifts, the presentation-being'made by Mr. T. E. Watson, president of the Chamber of Com- merce, on behalf of commercial men and ship owners. Mr.