I.—4a.

8

TENNENT.

154. So men are only seven hours and a half from bank to bank ?—No; seven hours and a half working. 155. How long does it take them from the time they enter the mine till they reach the face? —.\bout a quarter of an hour. 156. Take the Coalbrookdale Mine?—With some it would be a little longer, but twenty minutes would be the outside with any of them. 157. What is the distance from the mouth of the mine to the furthest face in the Coalbrookdale Mine ?—About a mile. 158. Then, it would take the men, say, twenty minutes going to their work and twenty coming back ?—lt would take about that. 159. Then, fifteen minutes for crib added to that forty would make fifty-five—practically an hour? —Yes. 160. How many hours do the men who are working on wages in the mine get paid for ?—Full time. 161. What do you call full time?—A day of eight hours. There is no deduction in the wages. 162. When the men work seven hours and a half do they get paid for crib-time ? —Yes. If they are to get 10s. or lis. a day they get paid that. 163. Are you sure of that ?—Yes. If they are in the mine at all they are paid whether they are working or not. 164. You mean the wages-men ?—Yes. If they are there they get paid. 165. How is the air in the coal-mines in your district ?—Very good, I think. 166. What sort of explosive do they use ?—Compressed powder. 167. Have you ever known of any case in your district where the men were not allowed to go into the mine because of foul air—on account of the mine being considered dangerous ? You have never heard of such a thing?—Not in my time as Inspector. • 168. Are such cases reported to you under the law ? —I do not know of any case in my district of a bad report. lam speaking as Inspector. 169. Take the Blackball Mine, for instance: was that never reported dangerous ?—No, not from gas. 170. From any cause —I did not say gas ? Was that mine never reported dangerous?—No ; I do not think it is dangerous so far. 171. Was it dangerous from any cause?—No. The Blackball is one of the best-ventilated mines that we have. 172. I want to know if that mine was ever considered dangerous? The air has not been considered bad enough to prevent the men entering the mine ? —No, I do not think so. 173. You have never known of such a case? —There are heatings in that mine. 174. Does the management ever prevent a man going into the mine?—No, they always go in regularly. 175. What effect do you think explosives and bad air would have on a man's health ?—Bad air and explosives, and so on, must affect a man's health. 176. You think it would be a serious loss to the management if eight hours from bank to bank were made law—that is, so as not to affect any award of the .Arbitration Court existing at present ? —I do not see that it would make any difference to us. It is practically that as things are. 177. Would it make any difference with the quartz-miners ?—lt could not make any difference in a quartz-mine, because they can only work three shifts of eight hours in twenty-four hours. 178. Mr. Colvin.] Is the air good in the quartz-mines—in the Consolidated and the Keep-it-Dark Mines ? —Very good, I think. According to the workmen's own statements they are thoroughly satisfied. 179. Have you heard a report that the air in the quartz-mines at Reefton is injurious to the men's health if working there for a long time ? They get a disease known as the miner's disease ? —Yes. 180. Working shorter hours ought to improve this state of things—it should be more beneficial to the health of the men than working long hours?—Of course, it gives them less time in the mine. 181. Do you know that the Westport Coal Company, by arrangement, allow the men half an hour from bank to bank—that is, they do not deduct the half-hour or the fifteeen minutes for crib from the men's wages ?—The crib-time is in the eight hours. 182. The men work about seven hours and a half?—Yes. 183. That is the arrangement with the Westport Coal Company '?—As I have stated, the simplest way to get at it with the big collieries is to take the actual working-time of the haulageropes. Then there is a complete stoppage and the whole colliery is shut down for half an hour, or whatever the period allowed for meal-time is. 184. Is it not a fact that the men employed by the Westport Coal Company at Denniston getting the coal at so-much per ton, previous to this coming in, used to work about seven hours a day, get a certain quantity of coal, and then knock off? —That was at a time when they put a restriction on themselves. They were making too good wages, and they restricted themselves to a wage of about 16s. a day. When they had made this they went away. 185. This will not affect the truckers—no extra price will be put on to the trucking ?—Not under the present system, if it does go any further. The only thing is that under the present system the management can keep a miner in the mine till the time is up. 186. Mr. J. Allen.] One statement of yours in answer to Mr. McKenzie was not quite clear to me—the passing of this Bill that we now have before us would not affect the condition of things in his district with regard to output and time : is that so ? If this Bill is passed, will it not make a difference ?—lf the Bill is passed as it stands it will shorten the time and affect the mine-owners materially.