THE HUNTLY DISASTER.
THE INQUEST. PROFESSOR DIXON'S OPTMON. [Per Press Association.] HUNTLY. September 21. At the inquest on the victims,of the explosion, Daniel Wear, employed as permanent inspector cf the old workings, said it took six days to make a thorough inspection. On only ono occasion had he found gas in anything like a dangerous quantity. That was in March last. He reported it to the under-manager, and the. danger was removed that night by introducing air. He believed the accumulation on this occasion was caused by tho stoppage of the fau on Sunday night- Oil other occasions he had found gas in small quantities which he did not consider dancerous. He had been working at Huntly for twenty-eight years, during which' time no explosion had occurred except on the. occasion when Kelly was burned a few weeks ago. He considered the mine dry. but not dusty. There had been no signs of gas during the past three weeks. Professor Dixon, who was. unable to be present till Saturday, gave a written opinion, in which he stated that though it was not possible at present to locate the origin of the explosion, tho main loss of life was due to the inflammation of coal dust lying on the roads. Parts of the road were wet, ■ but a dyst cloud was carried by the blast ' over tho wot places, and the flamo of the burning dust cloud ignited the dust beyond until it reached the shaft. He was of opinion that it would be advisable in future work in this and similar seams to ikso safety lamps, prefer-, ably modern electric lamps. Until such ; lamps wore procurable he considered i that it would be Safe to work with naked lights, provided that strict tests were made for fire damn before the miners entered, and that dust in the main roads was rendered uninflammable either by systematic watering or by systematic admixture with finely divided inert dust, such as powdered shale, limestone or fuller's earth. It would not he possible to prevent some minor ignitions of fire damp occurring, but he believed it was possible and practicnble to prevent such small inflammations developing into destructive explosions, such as that which caused tho disastrous loss of life at Huntly. Professor Dixon further said: "The damping of coal dust by finely divided water sprays (an atomiser is most effective) is also a sure means of preventing coal dust being raised. A combination of inert dusting and spraying may be used, the inert' dust, being thrown on to the roof, where it is sometimes impossible for water to go. Safety depends .on either preventing a dust cloud being raised or in rendering such clouds as are raised uninflammable by diluting combustiblo with incombustible particles. The quantity of inert dust to be added depends, of course, on the amount of coal dust made in the mine. It is tine dust blown off and shaken out of tubs in haulage that is most dangerous, and to this must be added in many cases the fact that it is carried down the screens on the surface, down the downcast shaft. and deposited on the haulage roads. In the case of Ralph's mine, where the roofs are good throughout, most of the watering would be very easy to carry out. In a few places inert dust might be used where watering would be difficult."
John Macgill, deputy, who had had forty-five years' experience in twelve different mines, said that he had never been in one safer than Huntly, which was considerably safer than Brunner. Thomas Edward Webb, who had been thirty years a miliar, said there was only one mine safer to his knowledge; that was tho Elms Colliery, Wigan, where naked lights were used. Safety lamps were in general use throughout England, but the men were usually the first objectors to safeties, as by their use work was made slower and the freedom was less. He had examined every portion of Ralph's and never found any traco of gas in a working face.
Mr Fletcher, the mine manager, recalled at the- request of the jury, stated that the company had no life-saving appliances at the time of the explosion. They had an ambulance box on top and below. He knew no mines in the Dominion, except Wailii, where life-saving apparatus was kept. As far as he could learn, life-saving appliances were only in their infancy, and from what he had read, more lives had been lost by the users of such appliances than had been saved. At this stage Police-Inspector Wright asked for an adjournment till September 30, to enable a thorough inspection of the mine to be made by experts to try and locate the seat cf the explosion. _ Mr Macassey. representing the Mines Department, said there was no power in the present Act to compel the use of safety lamps in mines. Provision, however, would .be made in the new Act. Tho solicitors for the company said that there was not the slightest suggestion of incompetence or lapse or duty on the part of the Government inspector. ■ . ■ , - The inquiry was adjourned to (September 30. The official inquiry will be opened on October 1. RELIEF OF DISTRESS. [Pee Press Association.] HUNTLY", September 24. At a wel] attended meeting of miners a committee was set up to watch the interests of the widows of the victims in the recent disaster, and it was agreed to strike a levy of 5 per cent on the first fortnight's salary of each member of the Union for the relief of distress in the town. Members of the deputation appointed by the Huntly Miners' Union to wait upon the directors of the Taupin coal mines respecting the increases demanded by the miners— from 2s 5d to 3s per ton for working with safety lamps in lieu of naked lights, which they claim makes progress slower, and the increase of Is 2d and lOd a day by shift men and truckers respectively —held a meeting when they decided to recommend members of the Union to resume work, pending a satisfactory agreement with the directors, and in the event of such an agreement not being arrived at to refer the matter to the Conciliation Council or the Arbitration Court.
AN EXPLANATION BY MR SEMPLE. [Per Press Association.] WELLINGTON, September 24. Mr Robert Semple emphatically denies a telegraphed statement which he considers insinuates that he and Mr P C. Webb, MP., attended a. meeting at Huntly for the purpose of advising the miners what to do as regards conditions of work. The meeting, he said, was a public one, called to discuss what should be done to best assist tho sufferers through the disaster, and it passed the following resolution:—"That for tho purpose of securing unity of action in the organisation of a relief fund in connection with the mining disaster at Huntly, this meeting of Huntly citizens calls upon the present' Executive of the Huntly Miners' Union to resign, and to submit themselves to re-election by the Union." He was present at the meeting solely with the idea of doing what he could to help the wives and children of themen who had' lost their lives. He did
not know that the meeting was to be held until he arrived in Huntly that day.
HELP FROM fIUNEDIN. [FROM OUK COBBKSPONDENT.] DUNEDTN, September 24. A second £IOO contribution has been forwarded by tlio local Relief Committee to the Mayor of Buntly, and a concert by the Philharmonic Society, the proceeds of which will ho applied to the Himtly mining disaster fund, is to be given to-morrow night.
RELIEF FUND.
YESTERDAY'S DONATIONS. The following donations towards the Huntly Relief Fund have been received by the treasurer : £ s. d. Collected at Adclington Sale-
A meeting of ladies, at which the Mayoress will preside, will be held at the City Council Chambers to-morrow morning at 11 o'clock, to make arrangements to assist in promoting the objects of the fund.
yards by Messrs I' . Moody "and J. 'Thorn 9 13 G J. A. lledpath and Sons . ]() 0 0 Painters' Union . 10 0 0 Anonymous 10 0 0 J. T. Sutton .0 5 0 F. M. Drewett ] 0 0 Bakers' Union 3 0 0 ,1. A. Redpath 2 2 0 A German Girl 0 5 0 0. Lang;; 2 0 0 Dixon Bros. 1 1 0 J. Bereridgo • . '2 2 0 A. II. Cock 1 1 0 N. L. M'Beili J 1 0 E.rNordon • 2 2 0 W. D. Clarkson 1 1 0 James Cow 1 1 0 W. H. Macdougall 1 ] 0 .7. A. Paton 1 J. 0 P. Burke 2 2 0 Geo. T. Batley . i ]. 0 B. Falok 1 1 0 R, A. Joseph . 1 I. 0 T. J. M'Bride . 5 0 0
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Bibliographic details
Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16665, 25 September 1914, Page 5
Word Count
1,466THE HUNTLY DISASTER. Lyttelton Times, Volume CXV, Issue 16665, 25 September 1914, Page 5
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