The Nightcaps Commission.

Southland Times, Issue 11027, 10 September 1907, Page 4

The Nightcaps Commission.

UJOTD STILL IN’ THE BOX. (From Our Special Reporter.) " RIVERTON, Sept. 9. The Commission resumed at. 11 a.mMr Mucalister said he would ask Mr Green to produce and supply the Lomvirtts to the Nightcaps mine during the mission with the list of the dates of his past five years. Mr Macdonald replied that he wound take Mr Mocalister’s as notice to produce the list mentioned. At the outset Mr MactUister questioned the witness (Lloyd) as ftp the letter s opinion of the direction by which the emofce and gas, which effected him when be was half-way up the dip. came. and what caused that smoke and gas. and witness gave his opinion. ruder further cross-examination the Witness said that he thought he had beard an explosion or noise to the morning after he was overpowered in the dip and was leaving the mind. Mr Mae alerter : After the disaster 1 understand that you left the <jmplo> of the company for some time MaaiagWg Director told me to take * month’s holiday. Why ?—Because I was not well. Mill you awear that was the on y reason ? —'Hat is the only reason I am

aware ofWere you absent for a; month ?—: I( was during that time in Dunedin, t>lw& JPoint, ABandale and KaitangJHa. How long were you absent from Nightcaps ?—.About three weeks. Were you on pay during that month? —Yes ; full pay. What wa* your pay during the disaster ?—Thirty pounds a month. What is your pay Now ?—Twenty five pounds a month. Why the reduction ?—The Company took displeasure at my being ut Carson’s house on tho night before the disaster. Who took your place during the month ?—Joseph Frame.

Tell us what date Mr Frame relieved yon as acting-mar.-agcf of tho mine T think St was from July Sth to August Bth. Mr Handysids sent the notification. When you returned did you receive inductions to re-open section number one of the mine ?—No. From anyone ?—No. Were you proceeding to rc-open that section of tho mine ?—Yea. When ? —I can’t remember the date—it was litli August. I think. Have you got your report boOk ? Yes (produced) but I have no account of it in the report book. No. T section of tho mine wn« not re-opened. Hqw much did you do towards reopening it ?—X opened two shafts arut wag testing them; _ X>kl you communicate with Mr H«mdy--ide before attempting to re-open the mine ?—Yes ; by telephone. Did Mr Hrundyakle authorise you to proceed with the re-opening, of the mine ?—I asked Mr Handyslde if lie had 4ny word from the Inspector. He replied "Yes.’’ I asked him what it was. Ho told me what was in the letter.- I can’t rememlb|rr exactly what it was now. Mr Hanlon said ha would show a copy cf the inspector’s letter now, and subsdjuently produce the original (copy of letter handed IN).

The Chairman: Did he tell you that the inspector said you might re-open the mine ?—I can't exactly rcenem&er ; the inspector said in the latter he could not attend on 'the morning- the mine was to bo re-opened.

Why did you not re-ogeu the mine ? I was persuaded not to do so by MiFrank Reed, inspecting engineer. Did yon tSnow then that It was an extremely dangerous operation to attempt to re-open the mine ? —I did not think it was dangerous. Am you of that opinion still ? —jYes. After the Coroner’s inquest I understand the Coal Company held a private inquiry at which you made statements ? —Yeli

Vou understood tfiat the object of the Cim-vany's investigations was to ascertain whether the actions brought for damagyes should be settled or note??—l don't know.

It was after that inquiry, X understand. that it was practically decided to settle the claims for damages.

Mr Hanlon objected to these The Chairman said be did not think the miae manager should be called upon to answer questions as to tho pcdlcy of iho directors of the Coal Company--Mr Hanlon said he could give Mr itacalister his asanraa.ee on that point- Ho advised the Company, after tho private njifuiry, that an action ior damages against the Company would not be brought. Nevertheless the claim* were settled. -Mr Macalister : 1 will recall itr Handyskie to give evidence on tho point. Mr Hanlon : I don’t care whether you do or ao& Mr Macalister : Did yoB read the reports in the newspapers of tho Coroner's enquiry ? —No. I never looted nt themDid you read the report of your own evidence as giden by the Southland Times ?■—No ; I never read my own evidence in any paper. Did you wrote letters to the Southland Times correcting their report of you r evidence f*-No ; my brother did ;■ he drew my attention to certain matters and asked me whether they were correctThe girl in the office, not my brother, wrote 'the letter. She read the letter out to me. I dictated the letters to her. The Chairman said that on this rare

occasion witness had “flatly contradicted himseh’." .He pointed out to witness that under the circumstances mentioned witness had practically written the letter himself. Witness said that the letters referred to the matter of the use of safety lamps and he apologised in one of h-‘a letters for saying that other mine managers besides himself drank. Mr Macaiister closc-iy questioned witness as to whether he did not have

1 rior information as to Mr Green's intended visits to the mine. Witness ivplie.l ; I had no intimation whatever. Is it the case that the miners knew ait-n the inspector was coming*, and that tk,-y had instructions not to fire any shots that day ?—Vot that I know of. Were instructions given to the miners net to fire shots on the day that the spec tor was expected ?—I never .gave any such instructions.

I'o you know whether such instructs. my were given 7—No. I tlo not. I 'id Inspector Green know that you were working men near the fire tor months before the disaster 7—YeS. To you know as a fact that on 7tb June Mr Green went through the mine? i do not. None of the under-viewers told me ilr Green had gone through the mine, and Hr Green did not tell me ho h..J done so.

Where did you see Mr Green on that occasion—l met him after dinner at o Government tease of land in Morley village. We both went back to the Company’s 'blacksmith's ah up. I lefc him there as I was wanted at the telephone

at hiio office. I saw Mr Green subsequently, after train time that right, at the Company’s office. We talked about the stopping. I thought by the way he spoke he had been In the mine ; he did not ,say positively ho had. He said! "itho shoppings seem to be all right." I do rot remember exactly what else he said. >;r Green also said : ‘‘They seem to have v outy 'of vtoter and plenty of pressure. ’’ If Mr Green said that you must have keen perfectly certain that Mr Green had bee* in 'the mine that day, 7th June? No. I was not perfectly certain. Arch. Dixon’s report book was produced. How does this report purporting toi be made on 7th July and signed by Jamas Sotneayille come to bo attached to Dixon’s book?—I asked Somerville to make a report on July 7th. In one w.iy Somerville was a deputy. He wad boss rf tlie night-shift. He had no report book. Mr MacaWster real! the report abating that the writer had examined stoppings near the fire on 20lh June at 1T.45 P-m----nnd considered the place In fi dangerous condition.

How did you come to ask Somerville to make a report on 7th, July ?— Because ho was leaving Nightcaps. Archibald Dixon also made a report on 7th July. Why did he not make a report at the time ?—I do not know. ■ls it, not your duty to eee .that these reports are entered at the time to which they refer ? —Yes. Cam you say why the inspector has ordered you since the disaster to use Sock lanqis ?—Because he thinks it necessary. Mr Green said why it was noceah sary lock lamps should be used, but did not put it in writing. Mr Green said he thought there were, gases in the mine. He did not say what sort ol gases. Why in the critical moments —when Carson and Welsh were up that beading—did you not start the fan 7—Because, in my opinion, there was plenty of ventilation without it.

The Chairman : Do you know whether the engine man was there at 6 o’clock on Friday mornihg ?—I do not. Assuming that ho was there at 0 a.m., could you have got any work from the fan between ID midnight and 6 a.m. ? No. Mr Mncalistcr ; Did you not at the inquest give as your reason for not starting tie* fun that you would have had the mine in blazes ?—Yes ; I said something like that.

Was that what you meant when you said to Mr Aamc that it was not safe | to put on the fan? 1 don’t think I 'mentioned the fan to Frame that mom,ing. | Do you agree with Frame .that it was the turning on of the fan that saved Juridine's life ?—No, not altogether. | Mas .Inrdino affected by the gas before or after the explosion was heard ?—BclaSb 5 i - : | How long was it between the time | you left tho engine station to follow Garisen and Welsh down the dip, till you re--1 turned and walked half-way up the dip, j tin your return to the engine station ? Seven or eight minutes ; I had about eighteen chains to walk there and back, j Did you not think then of the men, Duncan, Carson and Welsh, whom you had left in tho death trap from \vhich| youj had just escaped ?—No : I was partly unconscious for a time ; I could not say how long. As far as I can tell, while damp affects a man at intervals. A man may be all right one moment and then affiicted the next, and so on. That, was the way it affected me, anyhow.

i Have you a clear recollection of Frame ! arriving at the engine station at 7.19 ja.ui. on Friday, 21st June ?—No ; I havenot a very clear recollection, j Your recollection is sufficiently clear to deny Frame's statement that there was 'any conversation about the fan?— Yea. 'The next, questions were directed to the dates when the stoppings at the southern margin of the fire were put in. He could | not say exactly. There were no ro- ’ cords of it in the books; lie could not ; i‘mmL)ir the month- He thought that throe |of these four stoppings wpro there on the 25ih of April, the three western ones ; ' lie did not think the eastern- one was. | Which Mrs Tik.ey did you refer t,o in your evidence ?—Mrs Joseph Tikey. What wages did Deputy Somerville receive ? —Ten .millings a day uixi two shifts extra per mouth, i How long had you been at the engine 'station before Carson and Welsh left to i put up the brattice ?—Probably three , minutes.

I Between the time they left to put up ..the braqtice anti the time Mr Frame came, iwhat wore you doing?—l was sitting .dawn at the engine station.

j Was that where the barrel of beer was ! which was brought in '?— Yes ; part of the , contents of the barrel was consumed while I was there. j Don't you know, Mr Lloyd, the whole of it was consumed ?—I don t know : I don’t think so.

j Re-examined by Mr Hanlon ; It was the engine driver's usual practice to be at ids station at 6 o'clock in the morning ; and it was usual for the engineer ito l.v there at that time even on off ’ days. Witness had not ascertained whe- ' thor on that particular morning the engine driver was at his station at 6 o’clock, hut if the engine driver had boon : there, there would have been nc 1 difficulty in having plenty of steam to start the fan about 7 a.m. lie told the engine : driver before he followed the men down .the (lip not to start the fan until he got instructions from witness. Did not think ii the far. had been started it would have saved the men’s lives. The initial work for putting up the stoppings, which wit- ' ness ordered on Thursday morning, was commenced at once about 8.30 a.m. It was the underviower's duty to see that • necessary brattices, etc., for stoppings ; were in the mine. There were six men engaged in the work of throe stoppings. Witness ordered the erection of four stoppings, but they could not very well work at the fourth stopping because thired other men not included in the six mentioned were tilling out the loose coal at I a place close up -to the fire. He believed that they had all the coal filled out bejfore 11 a.m. on Thursday. There was 'no danger of dust from the fire affecting I those men, because 'the draught of air kept the gases back in the fire ares.

If these stoppings which you had ordered had been pushed on to completion, do you think this disaster would have happened at all ?—I am certain it would not.

Do you (know why they were not pushed on to completion ? —I do not. Have you not hoard from any of your subordinates'.’—Yes. Joseph Frame knocked the men off- He did not give any reason. When he gave up using safety lamps, Ifi- Dinns (then Inspector of Mines) • and he had a conversation about it. Witness did not remember> exactly what Mr Binns •said : hut recollected that Mr Bintis said “1 am certain that there is no fire-damp here. It is too near peat.” Was it a fact that, after conversation with Mr Binns, the then Inspector of Mines, knew you were not using safety lamps ?—I could not say whether he did ; [ doubt Unit he knew. Mr Gonion : What was the extent of mining operations then?— The workings I was in then are not Shown in the plan produced. I had a dip driven 257 yds eighteen months after that ; but in this .Vo. 1 mine I had not driven in move than four or five chains. The succeeding inspector, Mr Clow, never made any enquiries as to safety lamps. Jno. Hayes, the next inspector, never mentioned safety lamps. Mr Green followed Mr Hayes, and Mr Green never made any enquiries as to whether we used safety lamps. Witness was next asked as tc the liquor brought to the mine on the morning of the disaster. He roi>eated statements already published.

WiK'n you sent Carson >and Welsh tc* put up that brattice did you for one moment believe there was any risk to these men's lives ? —I could see no danger whatever. Are you sure that ii they reached that door at the lay-by leading into the rosin seam, there was sufficient air ’?—Yes. The air was as clear ns it is in this room. If Carson and Welsh had succeeded in putting up the brattice at the top of the heading they would not have cut off the air from themselves if they lifted a door marked A on Frame’s plan. Witness went to the mine that morning perfectly sober and he directed the men Carson, Welsh and Duncan to the best of his ability, and acted to the best of bis judgment afterwards with the view of saving their lives. Witness next explained that he did not tell the. men where the brattice cloth was to be placet!. The deputies knew as wiell as he did where air should be cut off- Dixon had put up the frame for the brattices.

Mr Macdonald re-examined)'witness as to) the system of entering reports from undorviewers and deputies. These reports were accessible to the Inspector oi Mines. Witness had not observed in any of the deputies’ reports any reference to safety lamps. He could not recollect that any of the mine inspectors had called attention to the fact that none of the reports mentioned that safety lamps were not used. He used safety lamps lor the first eighteen months of operations at the mine. Did not remember Mr Green instructing him four yews ago, after the first fire, to use safety lamps. The company procured twelve safety lamps after the first fire. In Juno last they had! eleven such lamps kept in a small office about a chain from the blacksmith's sho on the surface. The key of the place'

was kept in the blacksmith's and under Uie charge of Patrick Clifford, a striker in the blacksmith’s shop, bo that from 5 p.m-. to 8 a.m., il the lamps were wanted quickly, they could not he got except by some of the men, who knew of n •Up door near the bellows. After this disaster Mr Green gave instructions in writing and by telegram for the use of safety lamps. The Commission adjourned at T. 40 p m. This morning Lloyd’s re-examination will be concluded. Then either A. Dixon cr J. Somerville will be called.