With the exception of two accidents, one at Woolley Colliery and the other at South Kirkby Colliery, each of which was due to fall of roof and caused the death of two persons, there have been no accidents causing more than a single death.

This is a circumstance on which the owners, officials, and workmen in the district, are to be congratulated; but it also shows that care and forethought might avoid accidents, which, in themselves only cause the death of a single person, but in the aggregate amount to a large death roll.

The loss of life as compared with 1905, in explosions of firedamp, is two less; falls of roof and sides, three less; deaths from accidents in shafts, the same; miscellaneous underground, 13 more; and, on the surface, eight less. But for the large increase in the number of deaths from miscellaneous accidents underground, which is discussed in detail on page 19, a substantial decrease in the number of deaths would have been recorded.

During the year one person has been killed by electric shock, which is discussed under the heading of "Accidents from Electricity" on page 23. No other accidents from the use of electricity has been reported to me during the year, and, considering the extent to which it is used for lighting and power purposes in the district, this is a favourable record.

All the accidents are tabulated and analysed in the tables given below, and a complete list of all the fatal accidents, with a full description of each, is given in Appendix I., and such accidents both fatal and non-fatal, as appear to require it, either from their unusual character or from the fact that they suggest means which can be adopted to prevent a recurrence, are fully discussed under the various headings under which they are classed.

Notices have also been received of 42 deaths in and about the mines, which, on investigation, were found not to be comprised within the meaning of the Mines Acts. Of these 26 resulted from natural causes, 11 were caused by accidents which occurred more than a year and a day before the death, and four were persons not employed at the mines, and one a case of suicide.

TABLE No. 4.

SUMMARY of FATAL and NON-FATAL ACCIDENTS, classified according to PLACE

* This heading does not include accidents occurring in the shaft but not connected with its working, and therefore falling under one or other of the other headings. Thus accidents caused by explosions of fire damp or coal dust, or by falls of ground, though occurring in the shaft, are included under the first and second headings respectively.

* All accidents occurring from the breakage of chains (including lashing chains and bridle chains) are included under (a); accidents from the breakage of drawbars, hooks, or other couplings (in cases where men are run over or crushed) under (b).

† Including accidents in which persons were knocked down by trams or tubs in motion though the wheels may not actually pass over them; but not including accidents coming under (a).

The death-rates from accidents per 1,000 persons employed during the year were (a) below ground, 1.20; (b) above ground, 57; and (c) below and above ground, 1.07. The figures for the preceding year were 1·14, 93, and 1·17 respectively.

Per 1,000,000 tons raised, the death rate was 3.75, as against 4.07 in 1905. The following Table gives the number of persons killed, classified according to their ages, at mines under the Coal Mines Regulation Act, during the year 1906.

TABLE No. 6.

The following table shows the amount of mineral raised, the number of persons employed, and the death-rates from 1872 to 1906 :

The following table shows the number of deaths from various causes during the last in this district :

39

years

Deaths.

1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. 1872. 1873. 1874. 1875. 1876. 1877. 1878. 1879.

:

:

3 18 15

62

37

59

40

41

11

9

19

5

14

8 11

22

17

TABLE No. 7-continued.

Deaths.

Nature of Accident.

1880. 1881. 1882. 1883. 1884. 1885. 1886. 1887. 1888. 1889. 1890. 1891. 1892. 1893.

1894. 1895. 1896. 1897. 1898. 1899. 1900. 1901. 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905. 1906. Total.

...

11

5

351

26

20

29

24

21

21

29

29

36

820

18

20

20

25

21

511

Totals of lives lost

...

Totals of accidents

14

14 19 12 16

146 97 95 81

22

EXPLOSIONS OF GAS OR COAL DUST.

Fatal.

It is a source of great satisfaction to be able to report that there has been no death from this cause during the year.

Non-Fatal.

Six non-fatal accidents occurred by which nine persons were injured. This is a reduction of three in the number of accidents and of eight in the persons injured as compared with the accidents in 1905.

I give a short description of these six accidents below in order that officials and workmen may be able to see the cause of each ignition and also because in some the result might have been very much more serious both to life and property.

TABLE No. 8.

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

No. 160 on the list occurred at Elsecar Main Colliery, belonging to Earl Fitzwilliam, on April 19th, and caused slight injury to a sinking contractor and a sinker.

A shaft was being sunk from the surface, and at a depth of 180 yards, or 83 yards below the Barnsley Seam, a round of shots with Gelignite had been fired in faulty ground. On the two men returning to examine the shaft a small quantity of gas ignited at the

naked lights and slightly burnt them about their hands and arms. The injuries were not serious and they were soon able to return to work. Safety lamps and electric incandescent lights, were substituted for the naked lights, and the explosive and the mode of firing at once made to comply with the Explosives in Coal Mines Order. The ventilation of the shafts was by means of a Capel Fan 5 feet in diameter and satisfactory.

This accident shows the necessity of prohibiting the use of naked lights in sinkingshafts, as it is quite impossible to tell when gas may be given off by shots owing to the presence of faults, or other causes.

No. 168 on the list occurred at Helm Colliery, owned by Messrs. The Farnley Iron Company, Limited, on April 25th, and caused injury to a bye-workman. The injured man and his son were withdrawing timber from an old gate road 2 feet high where a small quantity of gas had accumulated in a cavity in the roof, about 12 inches above the timbers, and when the timber with covering wood fell, the gas escaped and was ignited at the man's candle, with the result that he was slightly burned about the face. The deputy had examined the place ten minutes before and found no gas, but on Mr. Wilson making an inspection two days afterwards he found a trace when he put the safety lamp over the fallen material into the cavity in the roof. The ventilation was satisfactory. The lighting, when timber is being drawn, should be always by means of safety lamps, as gas is liable, when the timbers and roof fall, to escape from cavities, goaves, or disused roads as in this case.

No. 199 on the list occurred at Crigglestone Main Colliery, owned by Messrs. The Haigh Moor Coal Company, Limited, on May 16th, and caused a deputy to be slightly burned about the face and hands.

The place where this accident occurred was in some disturbed ground and just on the top of an up throw fault of 7 feet. No one was working in it at the time, and the injured man first examined it, with a locked safety lamp and found no gas, but to be quite sure he took his naked light to examine it and ignited a very small quantity of firedamp. Safety lamps were at once adopted throughout the mine. This is another instance of the danger of using mixed lights. If it is necessary at all to have safety lamps no other lights should be allowed. Had this been so in this case this ignition would not have taken place.

No. 216 on the list occurred at Dennington Colliery, owned by Messrs. The Dennington Colliery Company, on the 25th of May, and caused slight injury to a deputy. He was, two hours after the end of the afternoon shift, setting timber in a place where the colliers had worked in the two previous shifts with naked lights, and when doing this work an accumulation of gas ignited at his candle and slightly burned his neck, arms, and hands. The workings at the mine are from a dayhole and have not much cover on, but they are close to a large fault aud the gas probably was given off from it. Since the occurrence safety lamps have been adopted.

No. 225 occurred at the Victoria (Bruntcliffe) Colliery, belonging to Mr. Joseph Haigh, on May 28th, causing injury to two colliers, and a hurrier.

At 12.15 p.m. on the day in question, a deputy charged a shot in a long wall face with 5.3 ozs. of Bobbinite and stemmed it with 15 inches of yellow clay. After carefully examining the place with a safety lamp he fired it by means of an electric fuse, and immediately some gas exploded and flashed along the face and burned a collier, 15 yards away, on the arms. The flame also travelled down a gate road and over a brattice hurdle sheet and slightly burned a collier and hurrier 16 yards away. The shot did its work well and blew all the coal down it was intended to. Two days before the explosion occurred gas was found in a small cavity in the gate road at right angles to the face where a hurdle sheet was placed, and it was removed, and at 9.30 a.m. on the day of the explosion gas was found in the roof in the same gateway but nearer to the face, and another hurdle sheet was placed in it. The injured deputy said there was no gas to be detected when he fired the shot. From the place where the gas was last found to a point over the pack opposite the shot hole, the roof had eased down leaving a two to three inch cavity along which the gas, in my opinion, travelled to near the coal face, and this was ignited by the shots.

Mr. Wilson inspected the place on the following day, and found gas in the gate road where it was found on the previous day, although a good current of air was passing over the hurdle sheet. Fortunately the whole district was wet. If it had been dry and dusty an explosion of greater dimensions and with disastrous results