C.—2.

The following is a table showing the number of quarries under the Stone-quarries Act, also the number of persons ordinarily employed thereat, and the annual output and value of crude stone during 1934 :—

There were 107 more men employed than during the previous year, with an increase in the value of the stone produced of £65,156. Quakry Accidents. The following is a summary of serious accidents during 1934 at quarries under the Stone-quarries Act: —

An account of the three fatal accidents at stone-quarries during 1934 follows On 16th February, at the Paekakariki Quarry, the foreman was barring down some loose material above the ledge on which he was standing, when he stumbled back, or was struck by some falling stone, and fell to the floor of the quarry, a distance of about 150 ft. He sustained such severe injuries that he died almost immediately. The fatality could have been avoided had he, instead of passing the rope between his legs, fastened it around his body. At Smeed's Quarry, Pukekawa, an employee was sufiocated by stone-dust which he was trying to unload from a storage bin. No one saw the accident, but it is thought that, as the material Was damp and did not flow from the bin, instead of using a steel bar to loosen it, he stepped into the bin and the material gave way under his feet and buried him. A premature explosion at the Halswell Quarry, Christchurch, fatally injured the foreman. A 10| ft. borehole, drilled at an angle, had been " bulled " with ten plugs of gelignite and then flushed out with water. Thirty plugs of lithyte had been loaded into the hole, by the deceased and another man, and another thirty plugs had been prepared. Twenty of them were tamped into the hole and then a piece of stone seemed to have blocked the hole about 6 ft. down. Failing to clear the obstruction with the wooden tamping rod, the foreman used a steel bar, resulting in the explosion of the charge. VII. STATE AID TO MINING. (1) Subsidized Pkospecting. Upon subsidized prospecting operations 129 persons were intermittently employed during the year. The following is a statement showing the results of prospecting operations as reported by the Inspectors of Mines : —

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i ftp s a Output of Stone. .25 o p * ĪL It ®a h s S Sg 8 os (S'a i>" 3 a. «5 si fe P" 1 a 03 N o s 6 s c . Name and Address of ā ® 51 h o £ m £ a § Provincial Government Inspector of £ M ° >? g gs go *g g * District. stone-quarries. a | g || j -| -| £| J 11« |i s a « §s sS S§g ®S I § |<S4j fjg |s s | it |« BSS i | |zi £; c/2 02 Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. £ Auckland .. James Newton, Mines 175 890 407,614 .. 3,604 78,599 103,854 .. .. 98,809 Dept., Auckland J. F. Downey, Mines 12 63 63,209 .. 158 .. .. .. .. 16,863 Dept., Waihi (Hauraki Mining District Hawke'sBay Jamaf Newton, Mines 21 105 41,997 .. ..27,793 13,590 Dept., Auckland Taranaki Ditto .. .. 18 97 17,560 .. .. 877 2,631 Wellington „ .. -.36 169 54,184 .. .. 8,603 .. .. 5,000 16,584 Nelson" .. 1 E. J. Scoble, Mines 21 107 15,420 11,747 .. 5,763 24,895 .. 10,014 14,046 Westland . . > j) e Reefton Marlborough J Canterbury.. j T McMillan, Mines 44 387 141,444 55,494 27,738 140,305 39,913 .. .. 99,114 2 ta ?ui " ! 'Dept., Dunedin Southland .. J Totals, 1934 327 1,818 741,428 67,241 31,500 261,940 168,662 .. 15,014 261,637 Totals, 1933 •• 319 1,711 621,923 58,743 1,994 191,888 137,039 .. 17,821 196,481

Number of Accidents. Number of Sufferers. Cause. : ~ „ . . Fatal. Serious. Killed. injured Haulage .. • • • • • • ■ • • • • ■ ■ • '' ' ' " ' Machinery . • • • • • • • • • ■ • • • '' Explosives •. • • • • • ■ • • • • * • • '' Falls of ground .. .. •• •• •• •• j = j Miscellaneous .. •• •• •• •• 1 1 Totals .. .. •• •• 3 6 3 6