THE KAITANGATA CATASTROPHE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 5347, 9 April 1879, Page 6

THE KAITANGATA CATASTROPHE.

Tl»3 following important correspondence has been handed to us for publication :—

Dunedin, 13th March, 1879.

Dr Hector, Dunedin. Re Accident at Kaitangata C.>al Mine,

Sir—As you are doubtless aware various opinions are held by experts and those who conrider themselves such, as to where the accumulation cf gas which exploded in the mine originated. Some think that the small quantities of gas occasionally met with in thg new workings, through defective ventilation, gradually accumulated in fie old and partly abandoned workings ; others again believe that the gas originated solely in the coal of these old workings ; aud noiv, after the accident, the holders of either opinion are r^ady enough to point out mistakes in tire management—carelessness in not cutting off all communication with the old workings and assumed defective ventilation ; neither of these thooiias appears to mo to be satisfactory. The lato manager, William Hodge, always stated, and having known him for eight years I believe he spoke the truth, I that the coal in the old working? had never given off «aa during the period it was wrought; and further, that after tho workings had been partly abandoned, he and his brother had been through them on several occasions, and had never fonnl the slightest trace of gaa. And in corroboration of this is the fact that on the 25th of December last, just two months before the exploiion, a party of gentlemen, including James Davidson, George Maitland, and George Rieliwdson, under tho guidance of Hodge, went through the whole of the old workings with nuked lights, and examined them from top to bottom, without the s'ightest trace of ga^ being discovered. I underttand, however, that you have suggested a third theory regarding the wh lice of thegaUn question, which has not been male public, and which, if correct, alters the aspect of matters very much, and had it been madeknown to tho jury would probably bavo led them to rnidify their verdict. Ido not believa thit William Hodge was a careless or incautious man in any respect • and he beli^vincr, and I think, orrectly, that no fire damp to occa-ion tha least apprehension existed, or was likely to originate in the mine undt-r his chirge. if it can now be shown that ttere is a strong probability that the Kas which exploded made its appearanae suddenly, and did not originate in his mine, the public and tb.9 jury that condemned him (unheard, for there was no one to put in a word for him) will, I think, lo k at the sad accident in a different light. Your theory I understind to be that the fira-damp came from the mine below us, and in which a good dccl of fire-damp has bern met with. The manager of this mine (Mr Shore), a careful and experienced ttiner, knowing fire-damp to exist, has, of course, takes the usual precautions fc) prevent accidents. Tbat the workings of this lower mino being now in close proximity to the boundary of the upper, and the water which wa? at one tim^ very plentiful in the latter having been recently drained off, the exit by which this water got away would open a new and unexpected me^ns by which gas in the lower mine would ascsnd into the old workings of the upper mine. Mr Binna ntated at the inquest that there was now nearly as much gaa in the old workings as at the time of the explosion. It appears to ma absurd to suppose that a cool which, whilst beitg wr •ug'it, g-ive off no gas in the old workings, and only a triflin? quantity in the new. should all at once generate gas so suddenly, and in such larg:) quantities, without some e-p^cial cause, and it would s-?e-n that if there is no-.v a second accumulation like that which explode 1, it can only be satisfactorily accounted for by your thfory. That a communication exists between the two mine* is c!ear]y proved by the disappearance'of the water in the upper m:ne._ If I have be*n correctly inf rmel of your ideas on the subject, I do trust that in justice to poor Hodge, a man of whose ability and character you have had Feveral epportuni ties of judging, that you will not hesitate to sta'e your opnion fully and unmht ikeably, with a V'ew to this letter and your reply beiog published.—-I am, &c., T. T. Kitohie.

City Hotel, I> ur ,edin, March 13th, 1879. T. T. Ritchie, Esq., Dunedin. Sir, —In reply to your letter of this date requesting- my opinion as to the source of the firedamp that caused the recent disastrous explosion in the Kaitangata mine, I may state thit I have not been in the mine since February, 1577, and that my evidence was therefore not considered necessary at the inquest. Any opinion T can offei- is therefore a surmiss, fouuded on the evidence taken nt the inquest, and my general knowledge of the subject.

11l the extension of the ol 1 workings to the dip of the uoal, and towar-Js the boundary of the land held by the K.iit.incrata Company and that hell by Mr Shoie, evidenca of the existence of an ext-naive downthrow fau't has beta met with, this fault throwing the coal in the opposite manner to the fanUs met with in following the coxl to the u'si or into the new walkings. I have not been don n Shore's abaft, but from the details state 1 t> me, the existence of this fault Reems to have bern proved ; and moreover, that the c >at in Shore's m'n% as this fault U approached, is erusl.ed and tilted at a st. ep anglo. Thin would, from my experi^nc* of oilier similar coal mil c-< in New Zealand, alts r the character of the coil ai-d cantie the evol.ition of gas. As l-.n-fasi the ground wag undisturbed ttiH gas might remaii neut up. Tiiat it did escate when it was tapped by the drivu fro:n tho bottom of Shore's shaft is proved l.y the evidei a, Shire having, among others, been himsslf birnt by it. The drainage of t! c fault U ground by Shore's fhift and drive woul 1 probably causa a frea -x>mmtii,ievi- n along the faulted ground between the cru'hsd coal and the ol 1 workings, aad any cessation of pumping from Shore's shaft that would allow tue wattr to li c in >t woiiH naturally force the fire-damp up into the ell workinirs. I fo raj on inquiry thai Shore had left off fummag for five riavs during the week before last Monday, when Mr Bums found that the old workings had re-fi<le 1 wish firedamp to su:h an extent thit tb.3 Mali goaves were again full to within tivo feet of ihe H or. As Mr Twinning snd others were ia the same part of the work n .is only a week previously, and at any rate nil the ga? mast huce been cleared out by t\e explosi n only a fortnight previ'iuslv, this shows the gas to have accumulate 1 with great rapidity and much fa-ter ttan I think it could have be-n formed by the il s'n e,':Mtion of the standing coal, or the further docomp sitioo of slack bea; siu tl.e old workings. Moreover, had it ever previous y formed with the same rapidity it could har-% have e-scapeJ detection. Mr Bimm was in the old workings with HoJge on 28th January, aud though he reported, aud for very sound reasons, the mine to he in a dangoioua condition ij yastKcn to accumulate, he yet found no (ran. This was after the workings had been standing fir mint's: six weeks later he finds that the gns has accumulated so as to be easily found and in abmt two weeks' timo only. Tuis therefore, to my mind, raisfs a strong presumption that the first appearance of gas in the old workings was sudden and in lar,,'e quantity, and that it came, and U stiil coming from a " blower " that has broken out in sone part of the ol I workings, and as an iadiro t consequince of Shore's workings. If this view is > orreot, neither pool- Hodere n.r anyone eVe couH have foreseen that it was necessary to take uninual precautions I did not form this opinion till aft-r the inquest bad closed ; but I expressed it freely on the ground to several p r<ons, aud have no heiitationin placing it at your service, if it will in any way cle ir Hodge's memory of culpable carelessuess of the lives of hose under him.—X am, &c, James Hector.

Thoa.s Claud Hamilton, which Bailed on th« m< ruing of the 6th for Melbourne, took r'm Greymouth 6614' >■/.% lid *U lOgrs of gol i shirped as follows:—Bank ..f Naw Zeala.id 370002H 19 Iwta; National Bank, 16720zj 4awts lOgrs; Uoim Bank, lUloza Bd«ts ;—total value, L2i,451.