HUNTLY DISASTER MINE MANAGER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 57, 9 March 1915, Page 4

HUNTLY DISASTER MINE MANAGER CHARGED WITH MANSLAUGHTER

EVIDENCE OF INSPECTORS. (BT TBLBOftAPH— PIWBB ASSOCIATION.) HAMILTON, Bth March". TJld trial of James Fletcher, late manager of Ralph's Colliery, Huntty, on a charge of manslaughter at the recent pit disaster, was commenced to-day before Mr. Justice Cooper and a special jury of twelve. Lloyd Bennie, Government Inspector of Mines, stated that it was the practice of deputies to inspect old workings weekly, and report daily should gas be discovered in thejold workings. Witness wrote to accused on 30th May drawing his attention to the coal dust in Ralph's mine, and asked that remedial measures be taken to combat the danger by spraying. Accused replied there was not a complaint. On llth July witness wrote regarding the presence of gas in the coal dust, and impressed on him the necessity of coping with the danger. Accused replied that the matters were receiving attention. On 25th August witness pointed out that if any further ignitions of fire damp occurred it would be necessary to insist oh. the use of saf ety> lamps. In reply to Mr. Skerrett, witness said the mine had been worked twenty-five years with naked lights up till 1914. It had been regarded by all experts as safe. Under the naked light system there had been no complaints by the men or their inspector. At timed the men complained , about the dust on the- travelling roads, but this had no relation to the inflammability of coal dust. Witness had inspected the mine for a period of nine i yeara prior to the explosion. The character of the coal from this mine Was hard lignite. The blasting methods by which it was obtained were often overcharged, and coal was thrown back on. the roads. The mine was more dusty than others in his district. It was a fact that, prior to the explosion, experts in New Zealand, so far as he knew, did not know of the extreme inflammability of the dust of this mine. Although witness had made six examinations from January to the time of the disaster, in none of the working parts did he find any accumulations of gas. But they were always found in old workings. The general rule 'was that accumulations of gas were not found in old workings Unless there had been a fall from the roof. His conclusion was that the condition of the mine generally was satisfactory from a gas point of view. He had no knowledge of any mine in New Zealand treating coal dust by water spraying, or the methods in use prior to the explosion. He was aware of the use of water on inert .dust in mines, but not in Australasia. Generally, the quantity of air in Ralph's mine was from 290 to 300 cubic feet per man, whereas the minimum allowed by law is 160 cubic feet. During the course of examination of the old workings there were one or two places where ladders should have been used, and the scene of the disaster was one of them. The object of the regulation to keep doors locked where they were only occasionally used was to prevent miners from straying into dangerous places. He was sure the door in question had been erected between his latest visit in August and the time of the disaster. It was possible that the explosion of gas had occurred from a fall m No. 6 bore, between knock-off time on Friday and 7 a.m. on Saturday. He was of opinipn that, if there had been a blower of gas freed by falling debris it would have been there in sufficient forcebetween 5.30 p.m. and 7 a.m. to cause the explosion. Under, re-examination by Mr. Ostler, witness said that on a visit to the mine after giving instructions he found it had not been watered adequately or regularly. Frank Reed, Inspecting Engineer of Mines, said he visited the mine five times after the explosion, and measured 350,000 ft of explosive gas mixture. It was well known that coal dust fiad been the cause of many .colliery disasters. Half an ounce of dust in a cubic foot was sufficient to cause an explosion. He thought two deputies could adequately inspect the old workings.