July 24, 1914.

Supplement to THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

xv

One person was killed by coal-cutting machinery.
When the machine was cutting into the face, a prop
slipped and caused the machine to jump. This move-
ment displaced another prop which jammed in the
cutter disc and caused the machine to swing across the
stall. The revolving wheel caught the machine driver
and chargeman and killed him. He had not used
staking props as verbally ordered, but had employed a
prop flat on the ground strutted between a roof prop
and the machine. This prop unfortunately slipped out
and was the primary cause of the accident.

The fatal surface accidents numbered 36, involving
36 deaths, or an increase of two compared with the
previous year ; four were caused by machinery, 15 on
railways in connection with moving wagons, two by
electricity, and 15 by miscellaneous causes.

Ninety-six dangerous occurrences were reported under
Section 5 of the Notice of Accidents Act, 1906, which
requires the reporting of certain occurrences whether
injury to persons has resulted or not. Classified, these
occurrences were as under:—Ignitions of gas or coal-
dust, seven; underground fires, 28; breakage of winding
ropes, chains or other gear by which men are raised or
lowered, 23 ; overwinding while men are being raised or
lowered, 19; inrush of water from old workings, one ;
miscellaneous causes, 18. Six of the seven ignitions of
firedamp occurred in pits where naked lights were in
use. The seventh case was the ignition of a gas-feeder
by a shot of Bobbinite, No. 2.

The underground fires numbered 28, as compared
with 44 in the preceding year; 24 of the 28 were due to
spontaneous combustion and included cases of “ gob-
stink ” or “ fire-stink ” ; two were due to the use of
electricity (one through the fusing of a lamp fitting, the
other through the burning of the insulation caused by
short-circuiting of the current, followed by a fall of
roof). Of the remaining two, one was caused by a
paraffin lamp setting fire to brattice cloth and wood in
an underground cabin; the other to friction in the
the bearings of a haulage pulley, the lubrication of
which had been neglected. The question as to what
constitutes an underground fire and requires to be
reported as a dangerous occurrence under the Notice of
Accidents Act, 1906, and in Order No. 934, made by the
Secretary of State, dated December 22, 1906, under the
Notice of Accidents Act, was considered by the Depart-
mental Committee on Spontaneous Combustion of Coal
in Mines, and dealt with in their first report to the
Secretary of State, dated December 1, 1913. After
taking evidence from inspectors of mines, colliery
managers and workmen, the Committee point out the
conditions which they consider should be reported in
pursuance of the Secretary of State’s Order No. 934 of
1906.

Eight winding ropes broke during the year. Two of
these occurred inside the drum between clams, in one
case through slack rope and frequent movement of the
drum, the other at a part which at one time, before
being taken up, was bent and probably damaged by the
steel lagging of the drum. Of the other six breakages,
two occurred inside the capel, one through inefficient
lubrication of the rope causing internal corrosion, and
in the remaining three no particular reason for the
failure could be adduced, but in none of the eight
instances was it found that the rope had been in use
longer than 3| years, laid down by section 40 (5) of the
Coal Mines Act, 1911, as the maximum time during
which any rope may be used for raising or lowering
persons. The other failures of winding gear consisted
of broken conductors, broken engine bed, fractures of
pulleys, broken crank pin, and various other parts of
winding engines. Few of the overwinds call for special
remark beyond this, that in practically every instance
the detaching hooks proved effective, and in one case
prevented what might have been a most serious accident
by detaching the rope from a hoppit in which four men
were being wound to the surface. In three instances
the automatic overwinders now required by the Coal
Mines Act, 1911, to be used at pits over 100 yards deep
(where men are lowered and raised) were either in
course of construction or had not been perfected at the
time the overwind took place.

There weie three serious outbursts of gas during the
year. The first was reported from Strafford Colliery,
near Barnsley. The outburst really consisted of two
heavy blowers following violent “ bumps,” at the coal
face. The second outburst occurred at Elsecar Main
Colliery, owned by Earl Fitz william, where previous
outbursts have occurred. The third outburst occurred
in December in the South-west District at Bentley
Colliery, near Doncaster. In this case the firedamp
came from the floor of a gate during the night shift.
About 40 men were working at the face. The men
retired from the places by the aid of a few electric
lamps, all the oil lamps having been put out by the gas.
Where the outburst had occurred there was a break in
the floor running irregularly about 140 yds., but more
or less parallel to the face, varying from nil to 4 yds.
from the face, terminating at the face at both ends. In
places it was a well-defined open crack, the floor having
heaved 2 or 3 inches, and gas could be felt, heard, and
smelt issuing from it in places. Fortunately, in both
these instances there were no defective safety lamps,
otherwise the result would no doubt have been
lamentable.

Prosecutions.—In six instances legal proceedings
were taken against owners, agents and managers.
These involved 35 charges;, 18 resulted in convic-
tions, 12 were withdrawn, and five were dismissed.
The cases of prosecution of workmen by owners and
managers for violations of the regulations numbered no
less than 509. Convictions were obtained in 461
instances, and 48 were dismissed or withdrawn. As
compared with the previous year there is an increase of
146 in the number of convictions, and of £100 17s. 2d. in
the amount of fines. In the first place, those concerning
matches and smoking in the mine have more than

doubled, the increase being from 97 cases to 224. The
explanation seems to be that the abnormal increase of
cases has been brought to light by the systematic search
initiated at many collieries during the year, and now
carried on daily in accordance with the new Mines Act,
and therefore the increase is more apparent than real.
When it is remembered, however, that practically only
about 10 per cent, of the miners are searched, it is
disquieting to find that in one-tenth only of the men so
many cases were discovered, and it is to be hoped that
as time goes on the delinquents will reduce in numbers.

There was a reduction of six in the number of charges
for breaking the Timbering Rules. The cases numbered
33, and while 14 of these were for not securing the roof
and sides in accordance with the rules and regulations
of the mine, 17 others were for not withdrawing timber
from the waste. The latter cases all occurred in York-
shire, where, particularly in the Barnsley seam, the
leaving of timber in the waste has been found so grave
a danger, that no wonder the withdrawal of timber is so
rigidly insisted upon. As regards cruelty to and want
of care and proper treatment of animals, there were
32 convictions as against 18 in the previous year. This
increase indicates that the officials whose duty it is to
take steps in order to secure better treatment of horses,
have not been slow to do so.

Coat Mines Act, 1911.—It has been found necessary
at many collieries to reduce the size of a district to
enable firemen to carry out the increased number of
inspections now requiring to be made in a thorough
manner.

As regards the examinations for firemen’s, &c.,
certificates, the full certificate was obtained by 1,535,
partial certificates were granted to 277, and the
candidates who failed numbered 355. With regard to
the candidates who failed many of them were re-
examined, but information as to how many of the
candidates who were examined originally are still
unqualified is not available.

Considerable progress has been made with regard to
the sampling of air. No less than 2,648 samples were
taken and analysed during the year, and where the
analysis has shown a percentage approaching the limit
beyond which the average of six samples, taken at
periods of not Jess than a fortnight, would indicate
inadequate ventilation, the management have, as a rule,
effected improvements ; and again in mines where open
lights are in use and the sample taken indicates the
presence of more than half per cent, of inflammable gas
in the return airway, steps have been taken by so
improving the ventilation as to avoid the obligatory use
of safety lamps. In this way sampling and analysis of
air is keeping the ventilation up to a fairly good
standard.

Complaints were from time to time received from a
good number of the larger mines that Order No. 511
placed such restriction upon blasting in main haulage
roads and main intakes, by limiting the number of
persons allowed to be in the mine to 10 (in addition to
the men engaged in firing the shot), that they found
it impossible to carry it out, and at the same time

(1)	maintain the roadways, (2) provide additional man-
holes, and (3) widen passbyes to comply with the new
Act. The later Order, No. 953, dated September 1,
gave relief by allowing an increased number to remain
below ground where the total number of persons
employed in the mine exceeds 500.

No surveyors’ certificates of service were issued after
December 31,1912, though 58 first-class mine managers’
certificates were endorsed.

The regulations as to care and treatment of animals
are, generally speaking, being well observed. .The
horse inspector, Mr. Ross Baxter, has visited 269 mines
and inspected 10,542 horses and ponies during the year,
and during his visits and those of mines inspectors, it
has been found that while in the majority of pits the
horses and ponies are veil cared for, both as regards
wholesome feeding, housing, and general comfort, there
were several instances of—(1) Badly fitting harness and
consequent galls and abrasions from this cause, and
through the animals coming into contact with the roof
and sides of roadways of inadequate size. (2) Want
of food and water while at work. (3) Stables not
ventilated with intake air, not separated from haulage
roads, and failing in sanitary conditions. (4) Employ-
ment of practically blind ponies. (5) Reports not
signed by every horsekeeper. (6) No provision of
suitable appliances for the destruction of horses
requiring to be destroyed. In one case, where 100
horses were employed, the stables were ventilated with
return air—the reasons put forward for not complying
with the Act in the first instance were that the officials
considered it better to have the horses stabled in the
same air they were continually working in to avoid
catching cold. This is a pure fallacy, as horses as well
as human beings are the better for a change of air. As
a rule the officials are alive to their responsibilities with
regard to the proper treatment of pit ponies, and as
during the year no less than 37 charges were made, and
32 convictions obtained by them in respect of cruelty,
it cannot be said that they are indifferent to the treat-
ment which the animals receive underground.

The number of horses in the division was 17,352, and
the following are particulars :—Number died (exclusive
of those required to be destroyed) : From injury by
accident, 602 ; from disease, 205. Number required to
be destroyed : In consequence of injury, 581 ; in conse-
quence of disease, 353. Number of cases of injury or
ill-treatment reported to manager (exclusive of cases
already included): Injury, 4,097; ill-treatment, 131.
During the year there have been four serious outbreaks
of glanders among the underground horses in the
division, and 85 horses were destroyed in consequence.
None of the outbreaks could be traced to any particular
source.

The requirement as to the provision of adequate
means for reversing the air-current came into force on

January 1, 1913. At many collieries where there was
little difficulty and comparatively little cost entailed
in making the necessary arrangements, the means for
reversal were quickly provided; in other cases, how-
ever, where the formation of long drifts was necessary,
and where also larger and more powerful fans required
to be constructed to take the place of old ones or to act
separately in case of emergency, extension of time was
granted to enable the necessary work to be done.

It was found necessary to take legal proceedings in
two instances where detaching hooks had not been
provided. As regards automatic contrivances to
prevent overwinding, there was, and is now, difficulty in
several cases in getting these installed on account of
engineers booking orders and being unable to execute
them by July 1 last. On the other hand, owing to the
invention of several new types of apparatus during the
year, some owners delayed to order for the purpose of
securing what they considered to be the most reliable
apparatus that could be got.

The work of widening landings has made considerable
progress during the year. In two instances, however, it
was thought necessary to take legal proceedings against
owners and officials where the requisite clear space had
not been provided. With regard to passbyes next the
face, a very considerable number of owners have trans-
mitted for approval special regulations in substitution
for the requirements of widening passbyes, which fall
within the category of passbyes next the face, and this
matter is now engaging the attention of the Home Office.

The provisions of section 40 (2) are generally being
carried out, though cases have occurred where the
means of ingress and egress from the workings were
found to be unsatisfactory, and in such cases steps were
taken to get the matter remedied.

The difficulty of getting report books of prescribed
form experienced during 1912 has now evidently dis-
appeared, for no complaints are now heard of.

General Regulations.—Since the general regulations
came into force in September last they have, on the
whole, been carried out, though those in Part IV. with
regard to rescue work have not made the progress one
could wish for ; particularly is this the case in Notts and
Derbyshire, where at present there is no central rescue
station south of Mansfield, consequently the necessary
means have not been provided for training the requisite
number of brigades at mines, the majority of which are
outside a 10-mile radius of Mansfield.

With regard to General Regulation 30, a simple
arrangement would be:—(1) Every person to be supplied
with a numbered check to hand to the banksman before
entering the cage; (2) after the numbers have been
collected and entered in a register, the checks to be
redistributed at an appointed place before the men
ascend; (3) every person to return his check to the
banksman on stepping off the cage, the checks to be
then registered to see if all the men are out of the mine.
Another system which has much to be said in its favour
is that in vogue at Middleton Collieries, near Leeds,
where a time recorder is used. Instead of being
supplied with a metal check, the collier receives a metal
key along with his lamp, both bearing the same number.
He passes on to the clock, where he inserts the key and
records the time. Before entering the cage at the pit
top, the key is dropped into a box at the pit mouth.
The keys are then hung on a numbered board at the pit
mouth; on returning to the surface, the miner takes his
own key off the board, and after inserting it into the
clock as before, to register his number and the time,
hands it back to the lampman along with his lamp.

With regard to winding enginemen’s hours, a few
complaints were received soon after the general regula-
tions as to hours of employment were made. The
regulations, by reducing the hours of the men, meant
the employment of additional winders, but as the
difficulty was only a temporary one, it was soon over-
come, and latterly there have been no complaints.

As to the general regulations dated August 29, 1913,
made with regard to bathing accommodation and other
points in connection with baths, nothing has been done
in the division, and apparently, so far, the men have
taken no action in order to obtain the accommodation
and facilities which they are empowered to take by
section 77 (1) of the Coal Mines Act, 1911.

Fifty collieries were visited and reported upon by
practical working miners, as compared with 33 in 1912
and 38 in 1911.

There has been considerable activity in some collieries
in the removal of accumulations of dust, and some
improvement also in keeping the roads freer from coal,
which, after falling from tubs during transit, grinds up
and in time produces dust of the finest and most
dangerous description. There is considerable room for
improvement in reporting the steps taken to comply
with section 62. If the question of coal dust is to be
seriously dealt with, the daily records, now of a meagre
description at many collieries, require to state:—

(1)	The number of men engaged in cleaning and
stone dusting or watering.

(2)	The number of yards so treated.

(3)	The number of coal dust tubs filled and the
number of tubs of stone dust applied.

(4)	The exact locality of the work as fixed by the
number of manholes and the name of the roadway.

In Yorkshire the tubs are, on the whole, more dustproof
than in Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire, and three
years must yet elapse before the Act requires the present
tubs to be so constructed and maintained as to prevent,
as far as practicable, coal dust escaping through the
sides, ends and floor. When the old tubs disappear the
dust question on the main roads will be far more easily
dealt with than it is now. Meantime, quite a number of
owners have adopted the precaution of stone dusting in
their mines, but, with the exception of a few, the dusting
is not really being systematically done. The usual
practice, when done systematically, is to stone dust
from the pit bottom inbye; so long, however, as the