TALISMAN FATALITY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 78, 2 April 1913, Page 5

TALISMAN FATALITY.

THE BROKEV iBOPE. **, ■ ■ • • ■-' ! -' , "-' ' :■ ■ ' ' I (By Telegraph.—Own Corresponeent.) V ' The inVjuirjr' touching 'the .deaths of Thomas; Alcßride and , TOHliam Hyde, victime "of the Talisman mining fatality, was continued'this, jifteiiioon at Karangahake. before the .district coroner. (Mr' J. I«ethan) and a jury ..of : " eis. . In answer to a question by the mining inspector. (Mr Paul), iHarry Beckett, enginel<lriver, who was in 1 dbacge :at the time of the accident, eaid he had'never noticed'any broken etrande on the rope between the aliacfde and the pulley. To Mr Morgan (preeideat of the Minere' Union):"■Hβ had seen ihe-ehdft bees give notice -warning" the men act to ride on the ekip, but bad ttoteeeneityeuch notice at No. I B level. Mine marnagere. and eMft bosses had been preeent when men rode on the ;

, To Mr Clendon (for the fTMTamaw Co.) : The ehaft and. all that was in it wa* under the daiiy obseiyatipn of.the.mine manager, theT shift bosses, the engineer and the engine-driver. It was. understood •that only thoee privileged lad pennisBion,to . ride on the' skip. ' There no risk attached to the rope round th& drum that was noticed to be defective. He had not noticed any other defects in the rope, and no one had made any ' complaints to him. He had every eon-fid-ence in.the eoundnese of the rope, and I had no reason to betieve it nneafe.

TO-DAY'S EVIDENCE,

WAIHI, this day.

The inquest was resumed this morning. Harry Beckett, enginedriver in charge of the shaft, said that the load at the time of the accident was a fair one, but not excessive.

Dr. Swanson said every bone in Hyde's body was broken, and the top of the skull' was torn off. Death was instantaneous, due to laceration of the brain. "■ ■ -■-■'

John Eickard (mine manager of■ the: Talisman), In his evidence, 1 .said'tHe engineer was responsible for the condition of the rope. Witness-had received no complaint re the condition of the rope. To Mr Morgan:' He (witness) was responsible for the . compliance with the provisions of the .Mining Act. In his opinion men could travel in the skip with their tools, and.he saw nothing in the regulations to prohibit it. The Mining Inspector (Mr Paul) had called his attention to men riding on the skip, and disapproved of it. Tliis' had been est : pressed in'writing about two months ago. i (A capy of a letter prohibiting any person riding in'a skip was here read.) "So. 8 winding gear had not been inspected by the Mining Inspector'for about 12.months. The breaking strain of the rope at No. 8 was. 35 tons, and the ordinary working strain was two tons: Witness said probably the cause of the* breaking-of the rope was a kink having got into it. .' - : • "V. H; Morgan, M.A. (director; of the Waihi School.of Mines)., giving technical evidence, in regard ,to the breaking strain of the rore, etc.', said he could not say offhand that the. rope in question was safe or: not, but was of opinion that the rope was hardly uTa'fit state'to carry men. Further questioned,. witness said he thought, the. rope unsafe. -—•-':-•- The inquest; was. adjojirned....till the 16th inst^as.the Coroner;beiifg'an.officer ■in the'{errito'nals,- hag.ttt: attend-J-.canip: at '. ..., '~ ■'. '. -."..'■ •