11.—14.

20

doubtless be thoroughly well worked. Mr. Binns had visited this mine a few days before I was over there. Kowai Pass Minn. —Only two men and one manager are employed in this mine, and the workings are but small. When I visited it, May 4th, the pumps were not working, and I could not get to the bottom of the shaft for water. The roof is good generally but at one place it is loose sand ; and one man is working here. Some falls have occurred, and I cautioned the manager to exercise the greatest care. lie promised to do this, and also informed me that in the course of a few days ho would have finished at that end. The air was not very good when I visited the mine, but it was a very still day, and Mr. Deans informs me that he sometimes has a difficulty in keeping the lights burning from the quantity of air passing. JSurelca Mine. —As I have before stated, this mine is worked by one man, when he is out of employment elsewhere. He did not appear to be at work when I visited the mine, nor could I find him. There are two shafts here, which arc neither fenced nor covered in. Ferndale Mine has been abandoned. Malvorn Sills Mines. —I have not considered it necessary to write to any of the managers of the Malvern Hills Mines, as Mr. Binns had visited them all just before me, and had expressed his intention of communicating with them. He had, moreover, called attention verbally to all the points which required attention, so that it was unnecessary to formally supplement his instructions. Brunner Mine. —l inspected this mine, which is now under the management of Mr. Lees, on the 10th May The work still progresses in the broken, the pillars being split at two or three different parts of the mine. It is not proposed to attempt to draw the whole of these pillars, but to rob them as much as possible, and then leave these parts of the mine to settle down as best they may ; and, as was to be expected, this proceeding has been followed by a heave of the pavement, and creep has set in thoroughly at places. Timber has been largely used, a perfect forest of sticks being seen at places, but these have proved utterly inadequate to withstand the pressure put upon them, and throughout the whole mine they may be seen broken in the centre and bent to an angle of about 120 degrees. The pressure which has been brought to bear on these props appears everywhere to have been exerted from the pavement, as, in each instance where they have given, the roof is standing firm. There is fortunately a good roof in most parts of the mine. As it is, however, there are at places very wide chambers in which the roof is practically unsupported, and, although it stands well, falls have occurred, a rather bad one having come down shortly before I visited the mine. It will, of course, be quite impossible to keep sufficient timbers in to support the mine properly if the floor continues to rise in the way I have mentioned, but something may be done by constant watchfulness and a prop here and there when necessary At one part of the mine great difficulty has been experienced in keeping the roads open on account of the creep, and for some time, while Mr. Harrison had charge, these had to be taken up every day At present this creep seems to have stopped, or, at any rate, to be going on more slowly than it was before. Works are now entirely suspended in the stone-drift, and beyond the fault where the explosion reported by Mr. Binns occurred, pending the erection of a fan for ventilating that part of the mine ; and this area is shut off, and the door communicating with it kept locked, no one but the manager and underviewer having access to the key The mine is examined daily for gas by the underviewer, and his report is entered in a book kept for the purpose; and Mr. Lees has made a report from time to time, but not so regular!}' as should be. No gas has been seen lately I have written to Mr. Lees, requesting him, if it is absolutely necessary to draw pillars for the supply of coal, to take these from the rise of the workings, and on no account to weaken the mine to the dip towards the river, as there being no lateral support on this side there is every probability of a serious slip occurring, which might be attended with disastrous circumstances ou the surface, which is thickly built over, and if of sufficient magnitude, might also dam the Grey Eiver, with extremely serious results. I have also cautioned him against leaving the wide chambers I have mentioned untimbered, as falls may occur at any time. If the greatest available quantity of coal is to be got from this mine, it will be necessary to open up the workings as far to the rise as it is intended to work, and then bring back the coal from the march ; and, unless the pillars are completely drawn when the work commences, there is little doubt that the inevitable creep v\ ill rum the mine. Coal Pit Heath Mine. —I visited this mine on the 11th May, and found that everything was in good working order, and the ventilation very good. The current, measured in the return air-course, was 13,650 cubic feet per minute, and we were unable to find any gas in the mine, although Mr. Alexander informs me that there is invariably a little in the ends in the morning. No blowers have lately been met with, and the mine is carefully inspected every morning before the men are allowed to go to their work. The second oullet which existed to this mine was by the air-shaft, and ladders were formerly placed down this. These have since been drawn, as they were damaged by the furnace, and thus rendered dangerous in themselves. A wire ladder has been made, but not erected, as it was feared that the fumes from the furnace would soon render this worse than useless, and so a windlass has been erected at the mouth of the shaft, and the ladders kept ready in case of any emergency I have countenanced this proceeding ; as, while not complying with the strict letter of the Act, it appears to meet the requirements of the case, and, in view of possible changes, it would be unnecessary to further insist upon the provision. Westport Company's Banhury Mine. —l visited this mine on the 16th May and found it in thoroughly good order. The roof is bad and treacherous, being traversed by numerous joints and faults, none of which, however, have much throw Reversed faults are not uncommon in the mine, and in some of the bords two of these intersect, thus leaving a wedge-shaped mass in the roof, which of course requires careful timbering to avoid falls; and the timber which is used most unsparingly throughout the mine, is amply strong, and well set. A. fatal accident occurred here shortly after Christmas, from a fall of .coal when it was being holed, and Mr. Biuns attended the inquest. As a sufficient number of sprags are constantly supplied to the miners, this accident could not reflect in any way on the management. The workings consist of two parallel headings, with bords opened out right and left, small at first, but widened out a few feet in, thus leaving a pillar to strengthen the main roadway The ventilation is natural, and was fairly good the day I was there, when it was very calm and still; and 1 understand that when there is any wind it is first-rate. The plan is kept up, us also the manager's and under.