C.—4

40

51. Do you think the men working in the headings for Is. a foot are equally satisfied with men working at the bord for Is. per skip, with no yardage ?—I think I would prefer the headings. 52. Supposing you were both in hard coal, would the man in the heading at Is. a foot be able to earn as much money as the man in the bord ?—I think so. 53. I suppose nearly all the headings are on the end of the coal? —Yes. 54. Mr. Proud.] Is any coal wasted in any way ? Is it all brought out ?—I think it is all brought out. In the demand we made to the Conciliation Board the company are to do all the trucking from the face. Derrick Ball, Working Miner, examined. 1. The Chairman.] Do you hold any particular office in the Miners' Union?— Secretary. 2. You have heard the statement made by Mr. Whiddon? —I have. 3. Do you agree with all that he has said?— Yes. 4. Do you feel able to give us any further information on the subject ? —No. 5. Mr. Lomas.] Is there ever much coal lost when taking out the pillars ?—No. I only worked in one part when they were taking out the pillars, and there was not much lost. 6. Is there any undue danger when taking out the pillars ?—No. 7. Did you find that you could make more money than when you were taking out the bords?—We were paid Bs. a day on day-work. 8. Were you supposed to fill so many trucks? —No. 9. You are of opinion that everything that can be done has been done in the way of ventilation, and so on ? —Yes, to the best of my knowledge. 10. Is there any need for brattice-cloth ? —No. 11. How far apart are the bords ?—6 yards. 12. Do the bords go to a fault or a boundary ?—To a fault generally. 13. What is the longest distance of the bord from the main heading?—l have no idea how far it is in yards. . 14. How far are-the men supposed to truck their coal?— They are supposed to bring their empty from the first flat-sheet. 15. No matter how far that is ? —No. 16. Have you always to help the trucker up with the empty as you do with the full one ?— There have been places. We have to haul our own trucks up from the first flat-sheet. In our rules it states 1 yard to 20, but that has not come into force yet. 17. Have you any custom here as to the distance you truck the coal?— No. 18. Do you drive the stentons so many yards?— They are supposed to go every 6 yards. Sometimes they are a bit short or longer. 19. Do you ever find those stentons unusually warm ?—No. 20. Mr. Proud.] Do you lose any time for want of ships?— Not much. 21. If the pillars were made larger so that you could drive the bords further, would that be any advantage ? —No. Joseph Strong, Working Miner, examined. 1. The Chairman.] Do you agree with the evidence given by the last two witnesses? —In the main I do. T ,,. , 2. You would like to add what ?—Mr. Lomas asked whether we got any yardage. 1 think a man is working under a great disadvantage when working bords driven on a heading the same length as a bord. The bord is 8 ft. wide, and the heading is 8 ft. if driven to full width—that is to say a man is dead on end, and never holes into any place to get any advantage. I might add that in our rules we have asked for 6d. per foot on a place of that description, and 4d. per foot has been granted by the Conciliation Board ; likewise 6d. for propping up to 8 ft., and afterwards Id. a foot upwards for setting a prop. We have made provision for fixing a set in our rules—somewhere about 3s. or 4s. , . 3. Do you agree with the previous witness that there is very little difference between working a heading or driving a bord ?—I know that I would sooner work in a bord 8 ft. wide than in a heading 8 ft. wide. , 4. Which is the best paid, the bord at Is. per tub or a heading at Is. per tub, with brt. per toot yardage? —There is not much difference where the two coals are equal. 5° How long have you been working in this particular mine?— Going on for four years. 6. Have you ever seen any gas, or heard of any being seen ?—No. 7. Has there ever been any serious accident in the mine during the four years you have been there ?—No. The most serious accident I have heard of was where a man got his collarbone broken through a piece of coal coming off the face. 8. Was the coal spragged? —I cannot say. Henry Holton, Working Miner, examined. 1. The Chairman.] Have you been long coal-mining ?—Yes; since I came to the colony, twenty-five years ago. 2. Where have you been engaged chiefly ?—My first place was at Kawakawa, ±Say ot Islands. I left there about fifteen years ago, and have since worked at Huntly, Kamo, and Hikurangi. I worked at Brunner for a few months. 3. Can you add anything to the information given to us by your comrades .<"— l do not think i can. 4. Have you had any work here?— Not much. 5 Were you troubled with water when driving the dip heading? —Yes, a little.