STATE MINE LEGACY

Grey River Argus, 29 June 1925, Page 3

STATE MINE LEGACY

(By • ‘ Rcwanui. ”) The usual Stale mine legacy, in the shape of a deficit of about £BOOO, has been handed over from the last finan eial year, for the present year to tackle cither to wipe out—which is unlikely—or to make bigger whch is more likely. As the books, and retupns, are not made up completely yet the de licit may be mure; but there is very little hope of it being less. As the.sc mines belong to the community, who are the shareholders the miners as part of the community, are entitl'd by the laws of precdence, to criticise the working of the mines. Before I commence the immagemcnt must bear in mind that they are not lhe owner*, The surface arrangements are a credit to the chief engineer, his officials and the men working -.iider him, but as regards the ii'iidergruiind working, I. as one of the community whose credentials were proved in open compc tition in IJO7 by the Alines Department, '•onsider 1 ’-.ivc the qualiiicutions and lhe right !o criticise. First, we must produce :i marketable coal a coal that still retains its calorific values, a coal that will sta'ii l ordinary tests for generating purposes, a coal that can be sold at a profit to cover working expenses, and not at a continual loss year aft*?’ - year. Secondly, it is the duty of the management, ’.:<d only to their employers—who are lhe conin'uniiy--but to .he miners and » ib er workers who are the chief sulfer ers through loss of working time- t > find by experiments an explosive, tea. will increase the market value of this valuable mineral that is here. ;.*.id m,. destroy its value, which incans makb.ig the track smooth for import .t i* n-. 1 know for a pc.-Ttive fact lha: th.)-, are permitted explosives of iu>s !ie • ■ ness on the market. There a:;- ollie: experiments that ran be made. ibie that I suggested the ma nngciiii Mi. I and which has prow I successful in Hii i feieiit parts of New Zealand, is to ; nt the fare oi' the coal about 6 ft. on on ‘ side, and about Git high instead ol holing it at the bottom. Of course the miner would require some extra remirncration but this would be more Ui.'. - ' gid bark by the high quality of tl’.u coni produced, and of course the extra market value. B v this system large: - an,| bigger slots can be made at tin* same time giving the coal an oppor tuniiy to expand, instead *.f being shattered into dust a'Utl slack. This system I explained lo two mine man agers in the North Island, who are two old mates of mine, and who were in the same predicament as lhe State mine is in at present, as regards a coal of a tough woody 'nature. 1 ha\ - c heard it is a success. Thirdly, “Patch work.” (I can call it by no other mime, ami which) from a practical mining point of view is most expensive). It certainly dot's not add to the dignity of the miner, as a workman, who does •not believe in patching up work—but is bound to obey orders—that presum ably should be mad" a pcrmamenl job at the beginning both to save expense a«ad safety. This patchwork system has been carried on for yea is at the State Alines and has been very expensive, in both appliances ami la born - , ami should be stopped. As there has not been a surplus in the accounts of 11m State Alines fu - some years, and as the total deficit amounts to a sum that no other mine could stand, means should bo taken to consider the above suggestions, 'i'he Department seem !'• forget that every 2-1 hours these mineare lying idle, the -ost to the country is approximately £llO, that is for sal aries for officials and staff, deprecia tion of machinery and other item-:. They also forget the hardships people with large families have 1 » contend with. The Department and staff scare"ly seem to trouble s.» li»ag as I hey draw their own salaries regularly. 'Fhe man that uses the pick, that has to fet'-n up all arrears afterwards for all eon cerned by his manual labour i.-- not even considered.