MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15783, 4 December 1914, Page 9

MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE

AGAINST MINE MANAGER. RECENT HUNTLY DISASTER. [BY TELEGRAPH— CORRESPONDENT] Huntly, Thursday. In the Magistrate's Court to-day, before Mr. E. Rawson, S.M., James Fletcher, manager of Ralph's Colliery, Huntly, was charged that " on or about September 13 last he did omit, without lawful excuse, to observe his legal duty in regard to the safety of the lives of the miners employed 0 there, and, in consequence of such omis- , sion, did cause the death of William Burton i and did thereby commit manslaughter." Mr. H. H. Ostler, of Wellington, appeared - for the Crown, and Mr. C. J. Tunks, ' Auckland, conducted the defence. > Boyd Bonnie, Government inspector of ! mines, stated that in Ralph's mine he found inflammable gas for the first time j there on July 2, 1914. He knew from an official letter received from Mr. Fletcher 'J in 1913 that ignitions had occurred. He j had inspected the mine six times this year, • j his examinations having been materially I increased in consequence of reports of frer I quent burning and the presence of fine ; coal dust in the haulage way and the travelling roads. On July 2he found 60 cubic } j feet of gas in an old bord in No. 7 secj ; tion. In another place on the same day j I he found an amount estimated at 575 cubic ! feet. On July 14, gas was found in varij ous places, and on August 21 a trace was j | again found. He read the reports of the 3 examining deputies on the occasion of each j I visit, but found in them no record of gas j j having boen found, though they had j; stated in previous reports that gas 5 j had been found in the places mentioned. _ The deputies, by law, should make their _ inspection not more than two hours before the men entered the mine, and immediately thereafter they should proceed to k ' make duplicate copies of their reports, 11 one being sent to the manager daily and 0 j the other remaining in the book which is a j kept in the deputies' cabin. Three depu--3 1 ties were sent down every morning to ! j examine the working places before the ! j morning shift proceeded to work. They ; j did not' examinenor was it their duty to 11 do —the old workings, of which there

were some 32 miles. This inspection would take six days. Inspection of Old Writings. When Mr. Fletcher took charge, pro ceeded witness, they discussed the propriety of examining the old workings, and j as a result inspectors were duly appointed I for that specific purpose. He had read I their reports, and saw that gas on several | occasions had been found in the old workI ings. Though witness could not cover the whole of the old workings in the course of an inspection visit, he made a point of : going to the places where gas had been j found. I Witness said that he knew all the deputies personally, and considered them competent men. He considered the inspecI tion and ventilation of the mine ade- ; quate. Mr. Ostler admitted that prior to the date of the explosion no one knew of the extraordinarily inflammable nature of the Taupiri coal dust. Continuing, witness stated that the places in the old workings where he had found gas were not in proximity to what was supposed to be the originating centre jof the explosion. During the two years j preceding the disaster no complaints from j any mine employee had been received by him. A "Certain Contingency." Counsel: In your letter of August 25 you state that in the event of a certain contingency happening in the future it might be necessary to insist on safety ! lamps. Had that contingency happened | prior to the accident '—No. | To Mr. Ostler: The contingency was i another ignition of gas. Had another taken place, whether accompanied by injury to anyone or not, safety lamps would have been insisted upon. i Inconsequence of the reported findings of gas, continued witness, he informed the manager that special care should be taken in examining both the old work- . ings and the working places. j To Mr. Tanks: He had no record of ( advising the mine manager to take special ! care with the examination of the mine. , He did not disapprove of the inspection I by the two deputies. Unsuspected Danger.

Frank Reed, inspecting engineer of mines, gave evidence similar to that already published in connection with the official inquiry. In New Zealand mines, he said, practically nothing had been done to obviate the danger from coal dust. The watering of a 3ft track in the centre had not obviated the danger. The bords were of a unique height, and this would make inspection more necessary. Two deputies without ladders could not properly inspect the roof for gas. Frederick Berry, stableman, John Banks, and Joseph Brownlie, horse driver, repeated the evidence given by them at the inquest. Most of the evidence, which was necessarily lengthy and involved, related to discoveries of gas and small explosions which had taken place at various timce.

The Court sat again in the evening, when further evidence was heard.