G. WAB-NE.]

199

C.-4.

9. What is your opinion of ventilation by the bower as compared with the exhaust method ? You have heard the evidence about the air in that return airway ? —You would have to combine the whole. The Queen of Beauty shaft has If in. and in some places only 1 in. clearance from the side of the cage, and, therefore, when the cages are in the shaft there is practically a block. It would be impossible to make a c'ear passage for air. 10. Is it not a fact, Mr. Warne, that the effect of the blower is to send the vitiated air along the drive, so that the truckers have to work in vitiated air ? —That is so ; but in the event of the exhaust system being tried you would collect the vitiated air from all the workings, you would take it up one side where all the gas is filtering out of the rock, and you would make the conditions unbearable. It would gather carbonic-acid gas. 11. What is your opinion as to sanitary arrangements in these mines worked from shafts ? —I think that all mines should be compelled to have sanitary arrangements installed, and during the course of my experience I have always insisted upon the mine being kept in a sanitary state, but it is greatly abused by the men. A few are very cleanly, but some are very filthy. We have made it a matter of dismissal as a penalty for committing a nuisance in any part of the mine. 12. Are you in favour of the provision of reasonable sanitary arrangements, and that their use should be made compulsory ? —Yes. 13. What is your opinion as to baths and change-houses ?—My experience has been that men when coming off shift are in such a hurry to get away that they have not sufficient time to even lace their boots ; there would not be many out of five hundred who would take a bath. I notice it has been said that baths should be provided on the basis of one bath for every six men. Let us suppose, sir, that it took fifteen minutes for a man to undress, bath, and re-dress himself ; it would take an hour and a quarter before the last of six men could go in. My idea of baths at mines is that if they are provided for the men it should also be made compulsory for the miners to use them. It is unfair to compel a company to erect baths, and then for the men to be in a por.ition to snap their fingers and go away unwashed. lam quite in favour of it if the men are compelled to take a bath, otherwise lam not. 14. As to accidents, have you had much experience as to their cause ?—I have had a few accidents myself. 15. What would you define as the main causes, apart, of course, from the inevitable accidents which must occur ? —With regard to fa'ling ground, I think that constant care should be taken and a sharp lookout kept if accidents from faling stone are to be avoided. I have often gons through the mine and drawn the attention of the men to the necessity for timbering. They sometimes argue the point, but I insist upon the timber being put in. As a result I have not had any serious accidents with falling ground. There have, of course, been trifling accidents, such as would be caused by a lump of stone falling on a man's toe, but in a mine of any size such accidents are to be expected. I have had two men injured by explosions, but that was practically their own fault, because, instead of removing the loose gravel where they wsre drilling their shot, they had left an unexploded charge, and the first tap of the hammer set the charge off. One was blinded, and the other also injured. Apart from cut fingers, I have only bad one man injured. The unfortunate man became entangled in the belt and was killed ; but the fault, to a very great extent, lay with himself. &? 16. What is your opinion as to shot-firing : how many shots is it safe to fire by fuse, and do you consider it desirable to use a battery ? —I think it is advisable to use a battery where you are firing a round of holes. 17. Have you any opinion to ofler as to the danger where there is only one man in charge of an engine ? —I cannot say, sir, that lam in favour of appointing an assistant engine-driver. If there were two men appointed to look after a certain winding-engine, and one were occupied in driving the engine continually, there would be a certain amount of jealousy and squabbling as to who should dr : ve the engine. If the manager saw the spare man doing nothing he might consider he was not required. I have heard of one case where there were two engine-drivers, and when one came on to relieve the other they had an actual fight while the engine was in motion, and it resulted in the cage being pulled over the top of the poppet-heads. «'" 18. Would it be advisable, when men are being lowered and raised, for the incoming engineer to be at his post, say, a quarter of an hour earlier, so that there would be two men always present ? Could that bo arranged, so that when the main danger was on the two engine-drivers should be present ?— That is so in a great measure now, when we have three shifts going. It often happens that the man is there half an hour before taking charge. 19. Would it entail any inconvenience or conflict of any kind for the two men to be there ? —They would require an increase of pay, because they would have to put in extra time. 20. How long does it take to change the shift ?—lt all depends. Half an hour extra would cover the whole thing. 21. If the engineer were to have half an hour put on to his shift in the engine-room, would that be a workable scheme ? —lt might work where you are employing three shifts, but there is only the MayQueen and the Queen of Beauty doing that. The Waiotahi Company is only working one shift. Ido not see how it would work. You could not ask a man to come for half an hour. For that reason I think the idea would be unworkable. JH 22. Is there any other matter you wish to refer to ? —No, I do not think so. 23. Mr. Reed.] Are you aware, Mr. Warne, that colliery shafts are round ? —Yes, though I have never worked in a colliery. 24. In a round shaft, with cages working in it, there would be space for air to get in ? —Yes. 25. Are you aware that collieries are nearly always ventilated by exhaust ventilation ?—Yes.

27—C. 4.