LIST of FATAL and NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS, &c.-continued.

The DEATH-RATE from ACCIDENTS per 1,000 PERSONS EMPLOYED.

The following table shows the ratios of fatal accidents and deaths to the number of persons employed in and about the mines, and the tons of mineral worked under the Coal Mines Acts, in this district during the year under notice :—

EXPLOSIONS OF GAS OR DUST.

There were two fatal explosions this year, the first of which occurred on August 21st in the Lingdale Mine in the North Riding of Yorkshire, belonging to Messrs. Pease and Partners, Ltd., which proved fatal to one man and slightly injured another who was` working with him.

Gas has been found before in this mine, and in the particular district where the explosion took place, but not in dangerous quantities, and it is usually comparatively easily dealt with. On the day in question a shot had been fired about 7 o'clock in the morning near the top of the place which is about 9 feet high; later, about 8.30 another hole about 3' 6" long was bored near the bottom of the place and charged with eight or nine pellets of compressed powder and fired with a squib in the usual manner. This shot did not bring down any ironstone and did not blow out the stemming, but expended itself in a natural jack or fissure in the stone, at the back of the hole, which was not known to be there; the men not having noticed it when drilling the hole. The man who fired the shot, and two others who were close by, distinctly heard the shot go off, and about ten minutes later the two miners returned; they examined the place and found no gas except a small feeder which was given off after the first shot was fired and which was kept burning. They then proceeded to drill out the stemming in the last hole, and just as they had got it nearly out the remainder was forced out by the gas which was ignited at the naked lights the men were using. The man who was holding the drill in position was severely burned nearly all over his body and died in the Guisborough Hospital the same night. The other who was striking the drill, and was more to one side, escaped with burns to one hand and arm. It would probably have been safer to have drilled a fresh hole instead of boring out the stemming, and this will be done in future if a similar thing occurs, but doing as they did was easier and quicker, and the men did not anticipate any danger as they had never come across more than small quantities of gas before.

Owing to the great height of the seam it is difficult to keep brattice airtight, and it is found to be safer and better to allow the gas to burn as it comes off, as there is no danger of it setting fire to anything, than to allow it to come off in the usual way when an accumulation might be formed which would be a source of danger and difficult to remove. This practice is generally adopted in all the Cleveland Mines where explosive gas is met with and it is found to be the safest method of dealing with it. The blower continued to burn for some days after the first ignition.

The places where gas has been found are examined with a safety-lamp, but for ordinary working naked lights are used as, owing to the thickness of the seam and the nature of the roof, the light from the safety-lamp would be insufficient to enable a proper examination of the roof and would be very inconvenient when setting timber, and it is thought that more accidents from falls would result if safety-lamps were used than under the present system.

The second occurred on Sunday, 14th October, about 11.40 p.m., at the Wingate Grange Colliery in the County of Durham, the property of the owners of Wingate Grange Colliery, and caused the deaths of 25 persons, 24 of whom were killed on the spot, and one man subsequently died on November 24th from pneumonia brought on by the cold and exposure in the pit whilst waiting to be brought to the surface.

Special reports by Mr. A. H. Ruegg, K.C., who attended the adjourned inquest by your instructions, Mr. J. B. Atkinson, the Inspector in charge of the Newcastle District, and myself have already been presented to you, but notwithstanding this I wish to make a few remarks here, in the hope that they will get into the hands of the various subordinate officials of collieries who may not have the opportunity of seeing the special reports referred to.

The explosion occurred in the Low Main seam on a main engine plane about 680 yards from the up cast shaft, and the effects were traceable for about 1,140 yards north from the shaft, for about 490 yards up the stable way, and 50 yards up the 1st east.

The Low Main seam in which the explosion occurred gives off little or no firedamp, and none had been found on the engine plane for many years. There was no goaf near from which gas could have come off, and there were no cavities in the roof where gas could lodge, and a ventilating current of over 26,000 cubic feet per minute was passing along the engine plane. It therefore appears clear from the first that the explosion could not be traced to firedamp. It was found that some geloxite and a length of fuze were missing from the shot firer's box which was discovered intact in a refuge hole close to the scene of the explosion and to where his body was found, and it was eventually found that a shot

had been fired with a view to blowing down a small projecting piece of stone on the side of the road. The stone was in no way dangerous and had been in the same position for 25 years at least, and no orders had been given to have it removed. The man who fired. the shot, and who lost his life, was a licensed shot firer and was stated to be a very steady man. He had no drilling gear with him and had placed the explosive loose on a ledge of stone and fired it without drilling a hole and without using any stemming, in direct contravention of the Explosives Order and Mines Act, and without a special authorisation which he ought to have had if a shot had to be fired on a main engine plane. Although the road in question was not one which would be considered very dry and dusty, for the floor nearly all through was damp, some very fine coal dust was deposited on the rough surface of the stone, the pack wall, and timbers, the accumulation of many years, and this undoubtedly was ignited by the firing of the explosive and caused the catastrophe.

Had the regulations been observed the shot could have been fired with safety and the explosion would not have occurred.

The danger of coal dust alone without any admixture of firedamp has not been fully recognised until recent years, and even now is not admitted by some mining engineers, and by many officials and workmen.

There can be no doubt about it; this was clearly demonstrated at the Timsbury and Camerton Colliery explosions in Somersetshire some years ago, and now again at Wingate.

It has been argued that if this danger exists to the extent now claimed, that explosions would be of daily occurrence where gunpowder is used in the coal faces, but the argument is not sound. The dust in the faces in nearly all cases is coarse and heavy and would not readily lend itself to the propagation of an explosion.

The danger lies in the very fine particles of dust, often as fine as the finest flour, which are carried down the shafts from the screens or blown off the top of the tubs in their transit to the shaft and which settle almost unobserved, on the sides, roof, timbers, and floors of the engine planes, and it only requires a small initial explosion whether of gas or some explosive to cause an explosion which may extend throughout the mine.

A great deal has been done in this district and is still being done to remove this danger. Many miles of water pipes with suitable standards and hose pipes at fixed distances have been laid down, water tubs with sprays of various sorts are in use, and a system of spraying the tubs automatically with water before leaving the landings for their journey to the shaft has been found to act very beneficially. Methods of dealing with dust on the screens have also been successfully applied at some collieries. Brushing away and clearing the dust from the main roads has been done for a considerable time in places where watering seriously affects the roof and sides as it does with certain classes of stone.

Given an area free from dust or a zone of road perfectly wet, if an explosion should occur from any cause, the evil effects of it will be greatly reduced and the area much circumscribed, and I hope this is now being more fully realised by the persons responsible for the safety of the mines.

None but the most efficient men, and the fewer the better, should be appointed shot firers, and care should be taken to see that they thoroughly understand their duties and responsibilities before being authorised to act in such a position. I am glad to say that steps are being taken in this direction.

Something might also be done with a view to reducing the number of shots fired, and firing them between shifts or when the majority of the men are out of the mine.

At the same time I do not for a moment wish it to be inferred that there is not great danger from an ignition of firedamp alone. Many lives have been lost from this cause, and every precaution must be taken to keep the working places, returns and all parts of the mine free from an inflammable mixture of gas and air. This has been understood for many years, but what I want to point out is that an additional danger exists which has not been so well recognised, but which is a strong factor in the safe working of a colliery.

Of the four non-fatal explosions by which 4 persons were injured, three occurred in the coal mines of Durham and one in an ironstone mine in Cleveland.

The first of the four occurred on April 4th at the Liverton Ironstone Mine belonging to Messrs. The Cargo Fleet Iron Co., Limited, when a shifter was burnt by gas ignited by his candle. The place where the explosion occurred was a rising drift going through a hitch. The place had been examined at 2.30 p.m. by a deputy with a locked safety-lamp, and no gas was then detected. At 3 o'clock the explosion occurred. As is well known, gas is given off intermittently in the ironstone mines of Cleveland, especially near hitches.

I am therefore not prepared to say that because there was an explosion at 3 p.m. the gas was present at 2.30 p.m. and was undetected by the deputy.

A leader or trouble is a very likely place for gas to be found and special precautions should always be taken in these places and frequent examinations with a safety-lamp should be made, and special instructions given to the workmen.

The second occurred on September 29th at the St. Helen's Colliery belonging to Messrs. Pease and Partners, Limited, in the Brockwell seam. Two places were being driven to the dip and there was no apprehension of gas, nor had any ever been seen. The injured person was slightly burnt on his arms and body. Naked lights were in use, but they were at once withdrawn by the Manager and safety-lamps put in their place.

The third occurred on 2nd November at the William Pit belonging to Messrs. The South Moor Colliery Co., Limited, in the Hutton Seam, in an old working which was in course of being stowed up. Prior to the beginning of the stowing up of the place there had been a current of air passing, but when the place was stowed up for part of its length, there would be little, or no, current passing. Presumably the want of a current of air caused gas to accumulate in a crack in the roof. A stoneman was in the place at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., on another stoneman going to the place with a laden kibble, an explosion occurred and he was slightly burned on arms and neck.

The fourth occurred on December 5th at Binchester Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan & Co., Limited, in the Harvey Seam. A hewer in the course of making his place safe took down a loose piece of roof, and was proceeding to examine the area of roof then exposed when a small quantity of gas ignited at his candle. His eyebrows and shoulders were slightly burnt. Apparently, although there was a good current of air passing in the place, a small quantity of gas had accumulated in the cavity of the roof where the stone had come from.

On February 27th an ignition of gas took place at the Oakenshaw Colliery belonging to Messrs. Strakers and Love, when a deputy was examining a place where a small fall had occurred. He was not injured in any way, but safety lamps were introduced into that ventilating district the following day. This is a wise and proper precaution, and whereever gas has been found safety lamps should be used.

TABLE (8).

ACCIDENTS from EXPLOSIONS of FIRE-DAMP or COAL DUST, classified according to CAUSE.

ACCIDENTS from FALLS of ROOF and SIDE, classified according to the PLACE where

During the year there were 65 fatal accidents from falls of roof and side causing the deaths of 68 persons. Thirty-five were caused from falls of roof and two from falls of side in the working places; 17 on roads; seven whilst drawing timber, and three when otherwise working or passing, and one in a shaft. Fifty-five of these fatal accidents occurred in the coal mines of Durham, and 10 in the ironstone mines of Cleveland.

The number of fatal accidents from falls during the year is very excessive and I have difficulty in ascribing any cause. It is a fact, that now there are many more thin seams being worked than formerly, and it is very probable that other things being equala man has a very much lessened chance of escape from a falling roof in a thin seam than he has in a thick seam. In a thin seam he has to work in a very restricted area-often lying at full length on his side. In such cases any slight warning that may be given is of little avail, as the man, in so limited a space, is unable to move himself instantly from the threatened danger; whereas in a thick seam he can do so. The difference of the chances of escape may be readily conceived-in the one case a man on his feet nimble and alert, in the other a man cramped up lying on his side-alert enough, but anything other than nimble.

There is another factor having a bearing on the question of falls of sides and roof, which, I think, ought to be mentioned, and more especially does this factor apply to the western part of Durham. The thicker seams have almost all been worked out and owners are now having to turn their attention to thinner seams. These latter lie in close proximity to, in many cases-above or below-the thicker seams, which have been worked out and goafed.

The result is that the cracks and breaks made in the strata by the working of the thicker seams extend up, through, and beyond the thinner seams now being worked. Thus there is an artificial danger introduced into the working of the thinner seams, in addition to the natural dangers.

Taking the whole of the fatal accidents from falls during the year, I find that on the western side of the county the death-rate per 1,000 persons employed is 2-08, and per million tons of output 5'40. On the eastern side of the county, where the seams are thicker and the strata has been less subjected to the treatment I have described, the death-rate per 1,000 persons employed was 1.68, and per million tons won 4.60.

There were three accidents where more than one person was killed. Two of these occurred in the Durham Collieries and one in the Cleveland Ironstone Mines.

On January 22nd, two brothers were hewing in a loose-end place in the Main Coal seam at Elemore Colliery, belonging to Messrs. The Hetton Coal Co., Limited. The lift was 18 feet wide and well timbered with chocks and pairs of gears. The roof was post stone. The deputy had set a prop and plank and was just leaving the place when a very heavy fall of roof occurred, burying the two brothers and knocking him down. At the inquest the deputy gave evidence to the effect that the roof was perfectly quiet whilst he was in the place and so safe that he made the remark that he would have gone to sleep in it, so confident was he that there was no danger. The fall appeared to have come down in one mass, measuring 18-20 feet long x 12 feet wide x 14-15 feet thick. As it happened one of the men working in this place during the foreshift the fall took place about 13 hours after he had left-was a local inspector, i.e., one of the men appointed by his fellows to make inspections under General Rule 38, and he gave evidence at the inquest to the effect that, whilst he was at work in the place and when he left, it was very pleasant and there was nothing to suggest danger from a fall. He thought the place was sufficiently timbered-in fact, that more could not have been set. This is a case which, apparently, no human foresight could have prevented.

On August 2nd, a hewer and a pony-putter were killed by the same fall of stone in the Harvey Seam at Auckland Park Colliery, belonging to Messrs. Bolckow, Vaughan, & Co., Limited. Four hewers were working in a jud into which a double set of rails had been laid. The jud next adjoining had been finished and the timber drawn out the night before. At the time of the accident the four hewers were in the place and a pony-putter. The roof over the whole area of the jud, except close into the coal face, and of the adjoining jud collapsed. It was seen by the men to be collapsing. Two of the hewers stayed close into the face and were got out unhurt. A third was dragged out from the fall; he was slightly injured and recovered, but the fourth hewer and the putter were