December 18, 1914.

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

1287

MINE MANAGERS’ EXAMINATIONS.

(Continued from page 1231.J

For Second-Class (Under-Managers’) Certificate of
Competency.

Subject No. 1.

Mine Working.

(Five questions only to be answered.)

1.	Give a section of a seam and make a plan showing a
method of working you have had experience of; show the
packs; how you would support the roof, and state how the
coal is got to the main roads. Show also the airways. (60)

2.	Draw a section of a detonator for electric firing, stating
what it is composed of. How would you insert the detonator
into the cartridge, and how would you place the cartridge
in the hole? (60).

3.	Describe with sketches how you would build a stopping
between the main intake and main return. What are the
advantages and disadvantages of such a stopping? (60)

4.	Describe with sketches how you would replace broken
timbers in a road which is heavily weighted. (60).

5.	Owing to the high cost of timber in consequence of the
war, what orders would you give to recover all timber
possible; how would you prevent its being broken, and what
substitutes could you use? Have these substitutes any
disadvantages ? (60)

6.	Draw sketches of the various ways of laying the rails
in a self-acting incline, showing the arrangements at top,
bottom, and the passing place with both fast and loose
points. (60)

Subject No. 2.

V entilation.

(Six questions only to be answered : No. 1 is compulsory.)

1.	Compulsory Question.—On the plan of a mine which
accompanies this paper, show how you would ventilate the
working faces by means of three separate air currents
(splits). Show the direction of each air current, and the
positions of air crossings, doors, stoppings, regulators, and
sheets. (50)

Fig. 5.

Plan referred to in question No. 1, subject No. 2,
second class (scale reduced).

(To be ventilated by three splits of air.)

2.	Describe the principal properties of the following gases :
Oxygen, nitrogen, methane (firedamp), and carbon dioxide
(carbonic acid), and state how you would test for the presence
of the two last-named in the air of a mine. (50).

3.	What explosive substance would you employ in blasting
in a fiery, or dry and dusty, mine? Why would you use
that particular explosive in preference to gunpowder? State
the precautions you would adopt before igniting it? (50)

4.	What is liable to happen with a safety lamp which is
not protected with a shield (bonnet)? Make a vertical
sketch in section through the centre of a lamp of this kind
provided with a shield, showing the top cover and handle,
the shield and gauze cylinder, the glass, the wick-holder
and wick, the oil vessel and the pricker for manipulating
the wick. (50)

5.	A ventilating fan is drawing 100,000 cu. ft. of air per
minute through a mine with a water gauge of 4 in. The
combined efficiency of the engine and ventilator is 70 per
cent. What is the indicated horse-power developed by the
engine ? (50)

6.	Having ascertained by analysis and calculation that a
certain range of longwall faces is giving off 300 cu. ft. of
firedamp per minute, what minimum quantity of air would
you employ in ventilating it so as to comply with the require-
ments of the Coal Mines Act? (50)

7.	Describe the various steps you would take to ascertain
the exact power of the engine required to ventilate any
given mine with a ventilator reputed to have an efficiency
of 60 per cent. (50)

Subject No. 3.

Explosions in Mines, Underground Fires, and Inundations.
(Five questions only to be answered : No. 1 is compulsory.)

1.	Compulsory Question.—What difference would you
expect to find in the character of the dust in :—(a) the down-
cast pit bottom; (5) the main haulage road; (c) the face;
(d) the main return airway; (e) the bottom of the upcast
pit ? (20)

2.	Describe generally the precautions you would take with
regard to coal dust :—(a) in a mine yielding firedamp; (b)
in a mine free from firedamp. (20)

3.	After an explosion, in what parts of the mine would
you expect to find active fires caused by the explosion? (20)

4.	Give a simple outline sketch of a type of rescue
apparatus with which you are familiar, and state some of
the precautions to be observed by a person using the
same. (20)

5.	Show by a simple sketch plan a method of working a
seam of coal liable to spontaneous combustion, and describe
the precautionary measures you would institute for the pur-
pose of anticipating and quickly dealing with an outbreak of
fire. (20)

6.	The men at the face of a pair of advance rise headings
have been overcome and rendered helpless by a blower, or
sudden accumulation of firedamp. What steps would you
take to effect their rescue, assuming that you were in the
immediate vicinity when the accident occurred? (20)

Subject No. 4.

Machinery.

(Five questions only to be answered.)

1.	How is electric power taken from the dynamo or
generator at surface to the motor underground, and how is
the electricity prevented from leaking away? What do
you understand by “ insulation ” in connection with elec-
tricity ? (20)

2.	Describe one form of visual signal indicator for use in
the winding engine house. (20)

3.	Describe the arrangements you would make and the
kind of pumping plant you would use to keep the bottom of a
20 ft. diameter pit dry for the sinkers, the feed of water
being 2,500 galls, per hour, and the depth of the pit
50 yds. (20)

4.	Carefully describe the plant and tackle used on self-
acting underground inclines with moderate gradients (say,
up to 1 in 3). Suppose the movement of the trams (hutches
or tubs) gets sluggish with increasing length of incline, what
steps can be taken to improve the running? Up to what
length are such self-acting inclines worked? (20)

5.	Describe the following items of colliery plant, and say
what they are used for :—Tippler, picking belt, screen,
creeper. (20)

6.	Sketch a tram suitable for carrying 10 cwt. (or 30 cwt.
if you are used to large trams). Give the main dimensions
of the body, the diameter of the wheels, the gauge, and the
chief materials used, and state the approximate weight of
the tram. (20)

Subject No. 5.

Arithmetic and Surveying.

(Five questions only to be answered.)

1.	How many gallons of water will be raised per minute bv
a three-throw ram pump of the under-noted dimensions?
How much work is done per minute in ft. lb., and what is
the horse-power of the pump if the lift be 500 ft. ? Dimen-
sions of pump : rams, 12 in. diameter; stroke, 18 in.; speed,
40 revolutions per minute. (18)

2.	What weight of coal can be carried by a mine tub, or
hutch, of the following dimensions, if loaded level with the
top, allowing 40 cu. ft. to 1 ton; and how many tubs would
be required for a colliery with an output of 825 tons per day
if each tub made three journeys per day? Inside dimen-
sions of tub: length, 5 ft.; width, 2 ft. 9 in. ; and depth,
2 ft. (18)

3.	If the output of a colliery for a year be 155,875 tons,
and 5,216 tons 6 cwt. be consumed at the colliery, what
percentage of the output is used at the colliery? (18)

4.	The levels shown on a mine plan along a certain road-
way at intervals of 50 ft. are as follow :—At A, 100 ft. above
datum; at 50ft., 105’5 ft. above datum; at 100ft., 108ft.
above datum; at 150ft., 110ft. above datum; at 200ft.,
110ft. above datum; at 250ft., 105ft. B. above datum. Plot
a section along the roadway on a scale of 1 in. to 100 ft.
for the horizontals, and 1 in. to 10 ft. for the verticals. What
would be the gradient from A to B if reduced to a uniform
gradient by cutting the floor? Calculate the quantity of
material to be removed to effect this if the roadway be 6 ft.
wide. (28)

5.	The seam worked in a mine dips due west at an
inclination of 1 in 6 (one vertical to six horizontal), the line
of level course being north and south. Find by calculation
or by drawing the inclination of slopes, or slants, driven in
the seam at bearings of N. 30 degs. E. and S. 45 degs. E.
respectively. (18)

6.	A level course road in a seam which dips at 1 in 7
strikes a fault throwing un the strata 25 ft. What would
be the length of a level cross measures drift, or cross cut
mine, driven direct to the dip to recover the seam? And
wh^t would be the length of a rosd, or mine, across the
fault to the se«m running in the line of level course and
rising at a gradient of 1 in 10? The answer may be found
by calculation or by drawing. (18)

»	Subject No. 6.

General Management and Mining Legislation.

(Five questions only to be answered : No. 1 is compulsory.)

1.	Compulsory Question.—What report books are to be
kept at a colliery to comply with the Coal Mines Act? (20)

2.	A main haulage road requires to be enlarged and explo-
sives are to be used. State fully the precautions required
to be taken. (20)

3.	What are the regulations which prohibit the taking of
matches or pipes underground? Describe the method
adopted of searching the workmen at your colliery. (20)

4.	What are the requirements of the Mines Act respecting.
the ventilation of a mine? What instruments are required
to comply with this section of the Act? (20)

5.	A deputy or fireman is examining a district of a mine
when the men are at work. What points and conditions
ought he especially to notice? (20)

6.	What are the restrictions as to the employment of boys
aboveground and underground? (20)

In consequence of friendly representations bv the Powers
of the Triple Entente, the Italian Ministry of the Interior
has sent an inspector to Genoa to make enquiry into the
export of prohibited goods by speculators who, by means of
false bills of lading, consign through Switzerland goods for
purchasers in Germany and Austria. Persons responsible
for export to a belligerent country will be prosecuted
criminally and will be liable to imprisonment for a period
of’one year to five years and to a fine of <£25 to <£200.

LABOUR AND WAGES.

South Wales and Monmouthshire.

The meeting of the South Wales Conciliation Board on
Tuesday was of unusual interest and importance, because
of the critical questions raised by the workmen’s side. They
desired that facilities shall be afforded at the collieries for
show cards; they wish to examine the Federation tickets on
the colliery premises, and submit that if these facilities were
granted, it would have the effect of preventing stoppages on
the non-unionist question. On the other hand, however,
owners contended that all Federation work should be done
outside the colliery, they not being willing that trade union
officials should interfere at the colliery with workmen who
are in arrears or are not members of the Federation.
Reference was made by the men to the numerous stoppages
which had taken place on this question in all parts of the
coalfield, and they appealed to the Board for the grant of
facilities in order to obviate any further difficulties of this
nature. The owners promised consideration, and a reply
at the next meeting.

In discussing the matter .of the substitution of safety
lamps for naked lights,' it was pointed out by the men that
an additional percentage of from 5 to 7J had hitherto been
paid to the workmen in naked light collieries when they
were called upon to use safety lamps; and in Monmouth-
shire, particularly the Ebbw Vale district, this custom has
been firmly established. The reason for the extra percentage
was that the lessened light reduces the earning power of
the miner. But, in answer to the claim now made, the
owners emphasised the contrary point that the electric lamp
was of illuminating power equal to that of the naked light.
The owners’ representatives heard the representations made
from the men’s side, promised to give earnest consideration,
and to submit a reply at the next meeting of the Board.

Among other matters raised by the workmen was the use
of a different explosive, which they stated had reduced their
earning power, no fewer than 7,000 of them being affected
by this; and it was stated that the situation was becoming
so serious that the men’s leaders felt compelled to inform
the Board that they could not much longer hold the miners
in hand, unless the question was promptly and satisfactorily
dealt with. This matter will also be considered by the
owners, and reply made at the next meeting.

During the course of the proceedings two questions
came forward from the Peace Committee. In regard to one,
the dispute at Owmvale, it was stated that this had been
satisfactorily settled; but as to the Gelli stoppage, which
has lasted for so very long, it was said that although the
Peace Committee had agreed as to terms, the workmen
refused to accept. The owners on the Conciliation Board
now urged the workmen’s representatives to exercise their
influence in bringing the men to work. Mr. Brace, M.P.,
promised that this request should be duly considered, but
pointed out that Mr. Watts Morgan (the Rhondda agent,
one of the chairmen of the Peace Committee) was now away
with the Colours, unable to be consulted, and it was
advisable to get into communication with him.

At the same meeting the workmen’s representatives made
a complaint that notices had been given by the Tredegar
Company to men employed in the Upper Rhos seam at
the Whitworth No. 1 pit. They contended that the notices
were a breach of the agreement, inasmuch as the matter
had not been befqre the Conciliation Board to be dealt with.
The owners’ representatives stated that they would advise
the company to withdraw the notices without prejudice, so
that the matter might be considered by the Board at a
future meeting.

The men of the Maesmarchog Pit in the Dulais Valley,
near Neath, tendered notice to terminate contracts on the
19th, owing to a dispute as to the price list for a new seam.
Three hundred are affected.

At Blaenavon, where the furnacemen have been on strike
for the past 18 weeks, a settlement has been arrived at,
and the eight-hour shift embodied in the new agreement.
It is hoped that in the new year the whole of the works will
be started.

The notices which had been tendered by the men at the
Kilian Colliery, Dunvant, took effect last week. The
dispute which has arisen is being considered by the agent,
Mr. J. Williams, M.P.

North of England.

According to the official returns prepared at the offices of
the Northumberland Miners’ Association, the collieries in
the county worked an-average of 3| daya per week during
the month of November, the figures bemg similar to those
for October. In the corresponding month of last year, an
average of 5J days per week were worked.

The working conditions at the Whitehaven pits are
evidently not to the liking of the Northumberland miners
who sought work there when some of the Northumberland
pits closed down. About 50 men left the Seaton Delava]
district, and, with a few exceptions, all have returned, some
working only a single half-day. In addition to hewing the
coal, the men have to provide and set their own timber,
a practice to which they have not been accustomed. The
wages, too, did nof satisfy the men.

The request of the Durham miners that, in view of the
national crisis and the amount of unemployment in the
county, the owners should forego their claim to a reduction
of wages of 3| per cent., was considered at the meeting of
the Durham Coal Trade Conciliation Board at Newcastle
on Tuesday, presided over bv Sir Lindsav Wood. Bart. The
owners decided, however, that they could not agree to the
request of the men. The meeting closed with a vote of
sympathy to Mr. John Wilson, M.P.

Federated Area.

The Pooley Hall Colliery Company, Poles worth, have
decided to take advantage of section 3 (1) of the Eight
Hours Act, 1908, which gives them the right to call upon
the workmen to work an extra hour a day, or not more than
60 days in one year. ‘ The company are taking this step
because, owing to the number of workmen who have joined
the Army (about 100), the output of the colliery has fallen off
very considerably, and the loss of tonnage is so serious that
the company was finding it very difficult to execute all
their orders for coal and to carry out their contract obliga-
tions. The shortage of output has had the effect of
increasing the cost of production. A meeting of stallmen
has been held, and have voted in favour of working the
extra hour.

At the annual meeting of the council of the Derbyshire
Miners’ Association at Chesterfield on Saturday last, Mr.
James Martin, Staveley, was re-elected president. Per-
mission was given to the employees at Swanwick Collieries
to take a ballot re the provision of more rails and timber
to miners.