334

THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN.

August 16, 1918.

by the law. One death, the same number as in
1916, was due to electric shock, through the trailing
cable of a coal-cutting machine being jammed, in
consequence of which the connection to earth through
the armouring was broken, and the machine became
live itself. By machinery underground five persons
were killed, the same number as in 1916. Each of
these accidents occurred in connection with coal-
cutting machines. Four fatal accidents were due to
sundry causes. In 1916, 32 persons were killed on the
surface at coal mines, and last year the number was
19, of which seven were by machinery, eight on rail-
ways, and four due to miscellaneous causes. Here
again a great proportion of the accidents were pre-
ventable.

Dangerous Occurrences.—There were 60 dangerous
occurrences reported during the year, 17 of which were
due to ignition of gas other than ignition of gas in
a safety lamp; 19 were causes of underground fire;
18, breakages of winding ropes or other gear by
which men were raised or lowered; three of overwind-
ing while men were being raised or lowered; and three
inrushes of water from old workings.

Prosecutions.

Convictions were recorded in respect of 48 of the
67 charges preferred against owners, agents, managers,
or other officials during the year; 17 charges were
found not proven, and in two cases the defenders were
found not guilty. The penalties inflicted amounted
to £140 10s. 6d.

Prosecutions were undertaken against 168 workmen,
resulting in convictions in 159 cases and the inflic-
tion of penalties amounting to £211; 22 persons were
admonished, one was imprisoned for fourteen days, and
another for seven days; one was given leave to join
H.M. Forces; two were found not guilty; three cases
not proven; one was dismissed under the Probation
of Offenders Act.

King Edward Medal.—In connection with an acci-
dent which occurred in the No. 7 shaft, Cowdenbeath
Colliery, on January 20, Andrew Scott, David Baird,
Edward McCafferty, George Shearer Christie, James
Erskine and John Boyle were awarded the Edward
Medal, in silver.

Colliery Recruiting Courts.—Sittings of the Nos. 1,
2, 3 and 4 Courts were held at frequent intervals
throughout the year;

The labours of the Pit Timber Committee have been
light; but now, when difficulty in obtaining supplies
is being felt, the work will become somewhat intri-
cate, and will necessitate the appointment of someone
to devote his or their whole time to the matter.

NORTHERN DIVISION.

Mr. J. R. R. Wilson reports that all the coal mines
have again been inspected underground at least once,
and many of them several times during the year.
Jointly the members of the staff in the division paid
3,250 visits to mines, of which 2,613 were under-
ground inspections, and 1,116 inspections were made
at quarries. The alterations in wages were not so
striking as in the previous year. At coal mines in
Northumberland there was a reduction'of 11 per cent.,
which took place on January 1; this brought the wages
to 120 per cent, above the standard of 1879. In
Durham and Cumberland there was no alteration, the
rate for Durham remaining at 107^ per cent, above
the standard. At the close of the year the wages in
the Cleveland ironstone district were 105 per cent,
above the standard of 1879, being an increase of 23
per cent. In addition to the percentages named, the
workmen were in receipt of a war wage of Is. 6d.
per day awarded by the Controller of Coal Mines. In
Cumberland the iron ore miners’ minimum wage was
increased by 2s. per day; other adult underground
and surface workmen received an advance of Is. per
day. In addition, war bonuses partly based on pro-
duction were paid, amounting in the aggregate to a
minimum of 15s. per week in the case of winding
enginemen, and 10s. per week for other workmen.
The biggest advance took place in the case of under-
ground labourers. Leading labourers were raised to
miners’ rate of wages, an increase of almost 100 per
cent.; ordinary labourers who were promoted to the
position of leading labourers received an advance of
over 90 per cent. Advances in Furness followed on the
same lines, except that the question of labourers did
not arise, as in Furness (and also at Hodbarrow,
Cumberland) underground labourers were previously
paid at the miners’ rate of wages.

Employment and Output.

At mines under the Coal Mines Act in the division
the number of persons employed at the end of the
year was 195,188, as compared with 191,338 at the end
of 1916. Whatever may be the case in other parts of
the country, this increase is not due to new labour
coming into the pits, but is accounted for almost
entirely by men returned from the Colours to resume
work in the mines and others who, while voluntarily
engaged upon munition work, had been released for
the same purpose. There is, however, still a shortage
of the class of labour upon which the maintenance of
the roadways depends.

The output of coal was only 43,228,230 tons, as com-
pared with 47,270,124 tons for the year 1916. This
is a very serious decrease of 4,041,894 tons, and is
due to the short time worked as a consequence of the
lack of shipping, and also to the fact that at several
mines so many hewers, instead of winning coal, had
to leave the face to do stonework.

Ventilation.

On the whole, there is an improvement and a some-
what higher standard than hitherto. Frequent sugges-
tions, coupled with a readiness to take air samples
for analysis, have their effect upon the most back-
ward official. Then the regulations as to air measure-
ments, particularly near the coal face, have shown
the necessity for providing a ventilating current which
can really be measured.

Coal Dust.

This subject continues to receive increased atten-
tion. More and more dust from the roadways is
being analysed; more stone crushers have been pro-
vided, and stone dust at many mines has taken the
place of flue dust.

Rescue Work.

Although such a large number of men trained in
rescue work have joined the Colours, brigade work is
still being maintained, and regular training is carried
on at the central rescue stations,, except Cumberland,
where, during the latter part of the year, the men
ceased to train owing to a dispute about payment,
though" they volunteered to present themselves if
needed in case of an accident. The Durham Ambu-
lance League continued to do good work, and the
entrances for the annual competition for the coveted
Donald Bain Shield and other trophies were very
satisfactory. Much of this is due to Mr. Bain himself.

Treatment of Animals.

The general condition of the horses and ponies is
good. Horses are employed at 376 mines, and of these
364 were visited at least once during the year, and
some of them oftener. The hortfe inspectors report
they made 516 inspections and inspected 17,452 horses
out of the 20,415 employed.

Edward Medal.

His Majesty was pleased to award the Edward
Medal to William Fish for gallantry in assisting to
release a fellow workman overwhelmed by a heavy
fall of roof in the Hartford Pit of the Cramlington
Collieries; and to Charles Slack, a deputy overman
of the Woodland Colliery, Co. Durham, who risked
his life in saving that of a hewer.

Accidents.

The total deaths from accidents at mines under the
Coal Mines Act was 218, being 12 more than in the
previous year. A large number of these accidents
should never have occurred, and out of the total of
218, 93 might reasonably have been avoided. About
62 per cent, of the underground fatalities are
attributable to falls of roof and side. This is rather
worse than the record for the previous year. It would
appear that workmen, otherwise trained and usually
careful, have allowed their thoughts to stray from
the immediate task with disastrous effects. Again,
the shortage of qualified stonemen has told also in
this respect. Less experienced men have been engaged
in repairing work, with the result that dangers
generally foreseen by the skilled men have not been
observed. There is a tendency to omit setting
temporary supports, particularly in the case of with-
drawal of timber, men seeming to prefer a pick or an
axe rather than a safety appliance for taking out
timber. Better discipline and supervision and a
keener appreciation of the value of safety appliances
by officials would certainly tend to reduce the number
of accidents.

Explosions of Firedamp.—There were no fatalities
from explosions of firedamp or coal dust during the
year, and only five cases in which persons were slightly
injured by ignitions of gas. In the Cleveland iron-
stone mines two miners were removing the last stock
of a pillar in the North Skelton mine, and they fired
a gunpowder shot in the top stone. There is no doubt
that the shot blew through into a partially fallen
headway and fired an accumulation of gas. There
must have been a considerable volume of gas in this
old place, for on ignition the flame extended quite
180 ft. Owing to the size of the roads no force was
developed, and the two men were only slightly burned.
The deputy in charge of the district, if he made an
examination at all, could have made only a very casual
inspection. Since this occurrence the deputies in the
mine have been confined to the statutory duties of
examining, etc., as laid down in the Coal Mines Act,
and the timbering is done by other workpeople.

Accidents Underground.—At the Ravensworth Shop
Pit, Co. Durham, a deputy lost his life as a result
of not using a safety appliance while withdrawing
timber. He used an ordinary axe, and was caught
by a heavy fall of roof. At Blackhall Colliery, Co.
Durham, a man was killed while getting out of a cage
at an intermediate level, owing to the omission to
give the proper signals and to put on a safety gate.
At Easington Colliery, Co. Durham, a lad was killed
by gas in taking a short cut (against instructions)
across some old workings.

Accidents on the Surface.—At the William Pit of
the South Moor Collieries, Co. Durham, one man lost
his life and seven others were injured while eight
workmen were being raised in a double-decked cage,
which cage was drawn into the detaching-hook bell, the
impact detaching all four gates, throwing three men,
who, fortunately, fell clear of the shaft. The others
remained in the cage, but one of them sustained a
dislocation of the neck and died the following day.
Examination showed that a piec of sandstone, some
2 in. square and nearly 1 in. thick, was lying upon
the seating of the steam valve and prevented it
closing, and at the same time allowed the full pres-
sure of steam to be on the engine.

Dangerous Occurrences.—There were two serious
fires upon the surface at coal mines. . The first one
occurred on the pit bank at No. 3 shaft of Seaham
Colliery, Co. Durham. Before it could be extinguished
both cages and the guide ropes and one of the winding
ropes fell to the bottom of the pit. The surface was
lighted by electricity, and the current had been left
on upon this particular circuit. There seems little
doubt that a short had developed upon part of a
somewhat imperfect installation, which ultimately set
fire to dry timber. The second fire occurred at the’
Wellington Pit of the Whitehaven Collieries, Cumber-
land. The whole of the heapstead was built of wood.
One of the cages fell down the shaft, and the other
was then lowered to the pit bottom. Pieces of burning
wood and the red-hot winding rope fell upon some
pit timber at the bottom of the shaft and started a
fire underground. On December 17 a heavy discharge

of lightning took place at East Hetton Colliery, ‘Co.
Durham, at the time that the men were descending
the pit. Some of the men in the cage felt a slight
shock, and one man jumped out of the cage. No one
was injured. Various men and boys working near the
shaft and on the main engine-planes up to a distance
of 1,800 yards from the shaft felt shocks, and in some
cases saw sparking from the haulage and rapper ropes.
Various parts of the electric system, both above and
below ground, at East Hetton were affected, as also
were some portions of the surface plant at Trimdon
Grance Colliery, belonging to the same owners. An
overhead line of bare conductors connects the stations
of the two collieries. The line was protected at both
ends by lightning arresters of the horn type set with
a gap of 5132. At East Hetton Colliery two chimneys
were struck, a 10 in. water pipe 7 ft. in the ground
was cracked, motors were tripped, ammeters damaged
or burnt out, and all the underground switches were
tripped. At Trimdon Grange Colliery the switches at
both ends of the overhead line were tripped, and two
switches on motors on the surface were tripped.
Apparently the earth plates at the two collieries were
defective; they were small in themselves, and not
placed in well-chosen situations.

Prosecutions.

There were no prosecutions of owners, agents or
managers, but there were 182 prosecutions of under-
officials and workmen. Convictions were obtained in
177 cases, the remaining five being dismissed. The
offences and number of charges were as follow : Con-
traventions of rules as to safety lamps, 9; matches
and smoking, 24; explosives, 12; timbering, 8; trams
and tubs, 30; travelling on haulage roads, 2; care and
treatment of animals, 27; disobeying orders, 12;
intoxication, 4; miscellaneous, 54, of which five were
dismissed.

YORK AND NORTH MIDLAND DIVISION.

Mr. Thomas H. Mottram reports that during the
year 1,689 underground visits were made by the in-
spectors of mines, and 353 by the horse inspector, who
visited 260 separate mines and inspected 12,909 horses.
The total number of underground inspections made in
the division was 2,068, and 357 quarries were in-
spected. Every mine was visited, some many times
during the year. All fatal and many non-fatal acci-
dents were investigated, and 365 inquests were
attended.

Effects of the War.

Employment.—Owing to the great demand for coal,
the pits were kept very busy the whole year. The
total number of persons employed in and about the
coal mines and stratified mines of ironstone at the
end of 1917 was 244,329, showing an increase of 4,998
in the persons employed as compared with the previous
year.

Output.—The output of coal and other mineral from
coal mines was 69,644,766 and 68,471,139 tons in 1916,
and the value approximately was £52,363,437, as com-
pared with £46,702,553 during the previous year.
The output of coal was 69,128,836 tons, as against
68,005,505 in 1916, showing an increase of 1,123,331
tons for the year, so that neither employment nor
output was adversely affected by the war when com-
pared with the previous year.

Accidents.—During the year 1,295 accidents were
reported under the Coal Mines Act, 1911. Of these,
326 proved fatal to 335 persons, and the death rates
per 1,000 persons employed were as under: Below
ground, 1’53; in preceding year, 1-36. Above ground
and below ground. 1-37; in preceding year, 1-23. The
335 fatalities arising out of 326 accidents are made
up of—two from explosions of firedamp, 176 from
falls of ground, 14 in shafts, 102 miscellaneous under-
ground, and 41 on the surface. The serious increase
in the number of accidents was not confined to any
particular class; for instance, of the 37 additional fatal
accidents one occurred from an explosion of firedamp,
15 by falls of ground, 14 from miscellaneous causes
underground, five in shafts, and two on the surface.
It is difficult to assign any particular cause for this
increase other than the constant changes among the
workers and the general speed-up to produce coal.
Though great numbers of men left the mines to join
the Forces during the year, there were 5,000 more
persons (of whom 785 were boys under 16) employed
at the mines than in the previous year. This clearly .
shows that many persons got employment at mines of
which they had previously little experience.

Ventilation.—Numerous samples of air have been
taken underground, particularly in fiery mines, and
the analyses have proved helpful both to the manage-
ment and the Government inspectors in bringing about
improvement where improvement was found to be
necessary.

Coal Dust.—The removal of coal dust continues to
have attention, but the clearing away is not so regular
and systematic as, in view of the continuous deposition
of coal dust, the inspector would like to see. The
construction of new tubs and the alteration of old ones
to prevent coal dust escaping has been somewhat
retarded by delay in the delivery of material and
through difficulty in obtaining requisite labour.

Support of Roofs and Sides.—Of the 172 fatal acci-
dents from falls, all were single fatalities except in
three instances, in one of which three were killed,
and in the others double fatalities occurred.

Rescue Work.—The training of teams continued
at all the stations. There has been dislocation in
the teams at many collieries by enlistments of trained
men, but these are being filled as quickly as circum-
stances will permit.

Treatment of Animals.—Horses are employed at 274
of the mines in this division. These mines were all
visited at least once during the year, and some of
the large mines were visited several times. The horse
inspector inspected 12,909 of the 16,293 horses and
ponies employed, this involving 353 inspections. The
horses inspected were mostly in good general con-
dition, though at several collieries they showed signs