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THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

October 27, .1916.

and at some places iron pipes, into which a short prop
is cushioned, are being used with advantage.

Rescue Work.—In spite of all the difficulties result-
ing from enlistment, men are still being trained, and,
generally speaking, the brigades are being kept up to
proper strength. A special feature in connection with
this work is the arrangements which have been made to
afford protection against air raids. At the central
stations in this Division fire brigades and trained ambu-
lance men are always on duty, and at many of the large
collieries similar organisations are called out ready for
an emergency as soon as notice has been received that
an air raid may take place.

Accidents.

Explosions of Firedamp.—Seven lives (the same
number as in 1914) were lost during the year 1915, but
as the result of one accident; and had the two officials
concerned, one a deputy and the other a shot-firer,
possessed abilities equal to their responsibilities, the
accident would not have happened.

Accidents Underground.—One man was killed and
one injured by a fall of roof; six persons lost their lives
and 57 received injuries in connection with the use of
explosives; there was one fatality owing to an inrush of
water; and one accident through riding out-bye on a set
at the end of the shift.

Accidents on the Surface.—One lampman was burnt
about the arms while attempting to extinguish the
flames from the burning celluloid cases of electric
safety lamp accumulators. Two persons lost their
lives and three others were seriously injured in thawing
out frozen gelignite cartridges over a fire bucket.

A serious fire from spontaneous combustion occurred
in Seaton Delaval Colliery, apparently owing to the top
coal gradually falling until it reached the lowest stop-
ping next to the intake air. The portion of strata imme-
diately over this stopping, therefore, became weakened,
and cracks developed which admitted air, probably just
sufficient to support combustion. The remedy in like
cases appears to be to adequately support the roof near
close stoppings or proper dams, so that the strata cannot
break down and allow air to get through the partings.

Prosecutions.—Legal proceedings were taken in five
cases for breaches of the Coal Mines Act.

YORK AND NORTH MIDLAND DIVISION.

Mr. Thomas H. Mottram reports that during the
year 1,807 underground visits were made by the
inspectors of mines, and 333 by the horse inspector, who
visited 215 separate mines and inspected 12,625 horses.
The total number of underground inspections made in
the Division was 2,140, and 491 quarries were visited
All fatal accidents and many non-fatal accidents were
investigated, and 277 inquests were attended. Every
mine was inspected, some many times during the year.
Numerous dangerous occurrences, including under-
ground fires, were also investigated.

Employment.

The total number of persons employed in and about
the coal mines and mines of stratified ironstone at the
end of 1915 was 229,072; at the end of 1914, 235,177;
on the outbreak of war, end of July, 1914, 260,870.
These figures show that the persons employed at the end
of the year were less by 31,789 than at the outbreak of
war, and fewer by 6,105 than at the end of 1914; but
they do not fully represent the number of colliery
workers who have left to join H.M. Forces, for many
persons, formerly engaged in other occupations, have
during the last 12 months found employment at
collieries, though at present no figures to show how
many have thus become colliery workers are obtainable.

Output.

The output of coal, etc., from coal mines during the
year was 67,983,983 tons, and 67,374,083 tons in 1914,
and the value approximately was .£37,519,849, as com-
pared with £30,358,466 during the previous year. The
output of coal was 67,504,130 tons, as compared with
66,807,623 tons in 1914. Though fewer persons by
6,105 were employed during the year, the output of
mineral showed an increase of 696,507 tons of coal,
indicating more regular working of the mines. The
proportion of coal produced by coal-cutting machines
was 7,299,833 tons, or about 10-8 per cent, of the whole
output of the Division.

Accidents.

During the year 1,486 accidents were reported under
the Coal Mines Act, 1911. Of these, 253 proved fatal
to 266 persons, and the death rates per 1,000 persons
employed were : Below ground ,1’33 (in preceding year—
to end of July—0-92); above ground, 0-59 (in preceding
year—to end of July—0-52); above and below ground,
1’16 (in preceding year—to end of July—0-84). The 266
fatalities arising out of 253 accidents are made up of :
One from explosions of firedamp, 141 falls of ground,
18 in shafts, 76 miscellaneous underground, and 30 on
the surface. These figures were principally due to a
40 per cent, increase in the deaths by falls of side and
roof. It is difficult to give a definite reason for the
increased number of such fatalities, seeing that there
has been practically no scarcity of timber or roof sup-
ports. There has, however, been a general “ speeding
up,” resulting in a larger output per man employed;
there must have been many changes in the distribution
of labour underground, and the employment of men and
boys in positions to which they were not previously
accustomed. How far such changes have affected the
death rate it is impossible to say, but it seems not
unreasonable to conclude that the busier a person
becomes in turning out mineral, the less time there is
in which to look after his own personal safety and the
safety of others depending upon him.

Coal Dust.—The removal of coal dust continues to
have more attention, but while at some collieries the
work is systematically performed and the work done

satisfactorily recorded, there are many others where the
methods of treatment and the records kept are by no
means commendable, and intervention by the inspectors
is necessary.

Support of Roof and Sides.—All the 140 fatal acci-
dents from falls consisted of single fatalities, with the
exception of one, which resulted in the deaths of two
stallmen. Of the 139 single fatalities, 85 occurred at
the working face, 32 on roads while repairing or
enlarging, and 22 on roads while otherwise working cr
passing. There were 40 more deaths from falls of
ground than in the preceding year, and 50 per cent, of
these occurred at the coal face. Of this increase, three
occurred in Derbyshire, 13 in Nottinghamshire, and 21
in Yorkshire.

Rescue Work.—Two additional central rescue stations
—one at Chesterfield, the other at Ilkeston, belonging
to the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire coal owners—
were erected during the year. The progress 'was slow
owing to scarcity of labour and material, but both
stations are nearing completion, and are to be equipped
and provided with permanent rescue teams. Progress
has been made with the equipment of the new stations
at Doncaster, Barnsley, and Wakefield. Instructors
have been appointed, and are at work training men for
rescue purposes. The war took a good many ambulance
men out of the Division, and also delayed the supply of
breathing apparatus. In this way the training of men
was postponed, but is now, on the whole, making pro-
gress. The work of the Yorkshire Collieries’ Ambulance
League has been much restricted during the year owing
to the difficulty of procuring additional men during the
war to train for the competitions.

Prosecutions.—In two instances legal proceedings
were taken against owners, agents, managers, and
others. These involved 13 charges; 12 resulted in
convictions, one being withdrawn on payment of costs.
The cases against workmen numbered 183. Convic-
tions were obtained in 168 cases, four were dismissed,
and 11 were dismissed or withdrawn on payment of
costs.

LANCASHIRE, NORTH WALES, AND IRELAND
DiVibiON.

Mr. A. D. Nicholson reports that there were 314 coal
mines, 106 metalliferous mines, and 1,333 quarries work-
ing during the year, the total output being 30,009,933J
tons, the value of which was estimated at £16,504,949.
The total output of coal from the coal mines was
25,008,533 tons, or a further reduction of over 1^
million tons on the previous year. This is accounted
for by the continued decrease in the number of persons
employed, owing to men leaving their civil employment
for military service. The total number of persons
employed in the mines and quarries and other works
connected with them during the year was 123,385; of
this number 106,409, or more than 86 per cent., were
employed in or about coal mines.

All the mines which were working have been inspected
one or more times during the year. The total number
of underground inspections of coal mines amounted to
2,047, in addition to 534 surface inspections also made;
and 267 underground inspections were made by the
inspector of horses. The total number of horses and
ponies inspected was 2,293, employed in 122 different
coal mines.

Effects of the War.

The war has resulted in a further reduction of 18,293
in the total number (106,409) of persons employed in
coal mines, or more than 14 per cent, as compared with
the year 1914. Very few mines have lost by enlistment
less than 15 per cent., and in some coal mines one-half
the persons employed have joined the Colours. This
deficiency has to a large extent been made up, but the
scarcity of labour at collieries, unskilled as well as
skilled, is a severe handicap to the industry, at a time
when every ton of coal is urgently needed. On the sur-
face, the number of female workers increased by 83.
Owing to the large number of females working on the
pit brows and picking belts in South-West Lancashire,
there is not the same scope for replacing male by female
labour as in other districts; but wherever it can be
done, advantage has been taken to liberate men of mili-
tary age by the substitution of women. The reduction
in the number of persons employed has resulted in a
corresponding diminution in the total output (25,194,857
tons), under the Coal Mines Act of 1,343,460 tons.
Denbighshire, however, shows an increase of 40,126
tons.

Accidents.

There were 135 fatal accidents, causing the death of
137 persons, as compared with 140 deaths in 1914. The
number of non-fatal accidents reported was 410, as
against 459 in the previous year. The death rate per
1,000 persons employed is 1-28, or slightly above that
of the previous year. There were no fatal accidents
causing the loss of more than two lives. In one case a
fall of roof was responsible for two deaths, and two
persons were killed by a shaft accident. Only one acci-
dent (fatal) was caused by an explosion of firedamp. Of
the deaths from falls of ground, 11 were due to falls of
side, and 64, as against 65 in 1914, were caused by
falls of roof. There were six shaft fatalities, resulting
in a total of seven deaths, a reduction of four in the
number of accidents, and six in the number of deaths.
Miscellaneous underground accidents show an increase
of two in fatal accidents and deaths. There was, how-
ever, only one death due to explosives, as against four
in the previous year. Surface fatal accidents account
for 11 deaths, or an increase of one. During the year
30 cases of dangerous occurrences were reported,
including 11 underground fires, most of which were not
of a serious character.

Speaking generally, the ventilation of the mines con-
tinues to be good. There continues to be a gradual
improvement in connection with the suppression of coal
dust, both by limiting the dispersal of the fine dust on

the surface, and thus preventing it passing with the
air into the mine, and also by adopting a better class of
tub which will contain the dust and small coal in its
passage from face to the shaft. Several firms have
replaced old wooden tubs of poor construction and
dilapidated condition by modern steel tubs, with bene-
ficial results. Cleaning up coal dust is methodically
carried out at most mines. The use of stone dust as a
diluting agent continues, but in several instances the
requisite machinery and motors for driving the same
have not been obtainable. The question of supporting
the roof and sides has become a rather more difficult
problem at some collieries, as a good deal of the timber
used has been undersized, not sufficiently seasoned,
and not so uniform in shape as heretofore.

Rescue work continues in a healthy condition, both
as regards the regular training of the teams and the
supply of apparatus and stores. The rescue station at
Skelmersdale, erected by the Lancashire and Cheshire
Coal Owners’ Association to provide for the needs of
the coal mines in that area, was opened on
November 29.

Prosecutions.

Three prosecutions were instituted against officials;
and 57 instituted by owners against workmen for con-
travention of the Coal Mines Act and Regulations.

SOUTH WALES DIVISION.

Dr. W. N. Atkinson’s report states that during the
year 2,578 official visits to mines were made by the
inspectors, 2,257 of which were underground inspec-
tions, including 327 by the inspectors of horses; 482
visits were made to quarries. The scenes of nearly all
the fatal accidents were examined, and of many non-
fatal accidents; and nearly all the inquests were
attended. A large number of complaints, or intima-
tions of alleged breaches of rules or of apprehended
danger were received; and these were all investigated
and dealt with as the circumstances required.

The demand for steam and bituminous coal was very
great throughout the year, and work at the pits was
constant, except for stoppages due to lack of shipping
and occasional disputes as to wages, etc. The anthra-
cite coal trade varied, and in the early part of the year
the demand was small, and the pits worked irregularly.
In the last half of the year the trade improved, and in
the last quarter the demand exceeded the supply. In
July there was a general strike throughout the coal field,
which lasted a week, in connection with the settlement
of the terms of a new wages agreement.

Persons Employed and Output.—Owing to the large
number of miners who enlisted, there was a consider-
able reduction in the number of persons employed in
the mines, with a corresponding reduction in the output
of coal. In 1913, the last complete year before the war,
the total number of persons employed at coal mines in
the Division was 233,134, and the total output of coal
was 56,830,072 tons, whereas in 1915 the total number
of persons employed was 202,655, and the output of
coal was 50,452,600 tons; a reduction of 30,479, or
13 per cent, in the number of persons employed, and a
reduction of 6,377,472 tons, or 11| per cent, in the
output of coal.

Accidents.—The total number of accidents reported
was 1,403, of which 320 fatal accidents caused the deaths
of 331 persons. The figures show a reduction from the
preceding year of 46 persons killed.

The standard of ventilation at the different collieries
has been well maintained, and a number of new fans
have been installed. During the year 279 samples of
air were taken for analysis. Increased attention is
being given to the question of coal dust, and at many
collieries the trams, which had previously only open bars
at the end, have been fitted- with doors. ' This is a
matter requiring careful attention, not only to have the
doors put on, but to see that they fit well, and that all
openings at joints, etc., in the bodies of the trams are
closed. The use of stone dust, for rendering the coal
dust un-inflammable, is extending, and there has been
some increase in the number of plants for grinding
stone dust.

For supporting the roof and sides of roads, the use of
steel girder arching is increasing, and also by girders
supported by side walls; both of which methods are pre-
ferable to the use of timber, and eliminate the risk of
fires. Owing to the high price of imported timber, and
the difficulty in obtaining supplies. the use of native
pit wood is being largely introduced in some of the mines.

Rescue woik was not very active during the year,
owing to the large number of trained men who have
joined the Colours. The rescue stations in operation
are the same as those given in the report for 1914.

MIDLAND AND SOUTHERN DIVISION.

Mr. Hugh Johnstone reports that the condition of
trade throughout the year has been exceptionallv good,
the demand for coal being such that considerable diffi-
culty was experienced at times in obtaining an output
sufficient to meet it. No serious disputes or cessations
of work took place. During the year 3,016 visits were
paid to mines, exclusive of those made by the horse
inspector, 2,238 of these being underground inspec-
tions: 3,359 quarry inspections were made, and 194
inquests attended. Of the visits paid to mines and
quarries, 549 were in connection with accidents, the
others being in the ordinary course of inspection, or for
the purpose of meeting owners and others in connection
with official matters. In addition to the above, the
horse inspector made 405 inspections in 313 mines, all
of these inspections being underground, and examined
6.571 horses. Dangerous occurrences to the number of
139 were reported.

Effects of the War.

Owing to the very large number of miners who have
joined H.M. Forces, it has been necessary to draft into
the mines a considerable number of men from other