STATE MINES

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1317, 21 December 1911, Page 6

STATE MINES

CHARGES OF DEPARTMENTAL FOLLY. A UNION CHITIC. FLOODED WOE KINGS AND WASTED COAL. Some serious allegations in regard to the methods followed in working tho Stato coal mines arc made by Jlr. J. Glover, secretary of the New Zealand Federation of Labour. Mr. Glover speaks about things of which he has a first-hand knowledge, for he has just resigned the position of. workmen's- inspector at Port Elizabeth, after hoiding it for the past three years. According to his.statement, thousands' of tons of coal have been wasted, manv workers have -been - displaced who might easily have been. employed to their own profit and that of the State if. better methods had been followed,. aim tho prospects of what used to bo the rising township of Hunanga have been gravely' injured." Mr. Glover states that the State Miners' Union approached lhe_ Minister for Mines (the Hon. R. M'Kenzie) about' eighteen months ago. and represented to' him that at the Point Elizabeth mines no-proper steps Were being taken to prevent tho invasion of the workings by water. The Minister replied that the pumping tiuu'hiiicry at tho mines, was considered sufficiently powerful to cope with' the water, but soon afterwards an additional pump was installed at the No. 2 mine., Events have shown, Mr. Glover continued, that the contentions' of the union were justified. Since June last the water has risen over twenty chains cf workings - in number 1 section of tho No. 1 mine at Point Elizabeth.. "Ilho position there now is, said Mr. Glover, "thftt where eighty miners were employed in the mine there are now only forty-four or forty-six.' Owing to the way in which the water has gained in the workings, thousands of tons of coal are under water and irrecoverable with the present plant." Touching upon tho methods followed at the Point Elizabeth mines, Mr, Glover stated tint tho coal should first have been taken out of the lower workings. Instead tho pillars were taken out in the upper workings, with the result that the water was enabled to enter morn frdclv than ever. Mr. Glover explained that'there is a large body, of subterranean water adjacent to the mines, and that it percolates freely into the workings at a depth' of .150 feet. Ho mentioned that avfore-.was put down five years ago to ascertain what water the ground near ■themines contained. AVater was struck (.fii depth of 200 feet, and, rising through the bore, it gushed to a height of 20 feet from tho surface. Yet in face of this, according to II r. Glover, no special precautious were taken to cope with the W '"At' tho, present time," he added, "the compressor pumps at . both mines ai c working over the limit, and there is talk of installing a. steam pump at No. 2 mine, so that the whole force ot the compressors may be utilised in clearing portion of the submerged coal, Mr. Glover stated, could be saved by pumping out the workings, l.iit tho heater.proportion would.be irretrievably lost. There is fireclay jii the roofs and walls of the workings, and tho action of water upon ground of this nature causes it to fall in. Last time the' union brought the matter under the notice of the Minister they told linn that 120,000' tons of coal were being sacrificed. What the ultimate loss will be Jlr Glover is unable- to say, hut he. asserts that thousands of tons of coal will undoubtedly be lost in each uiino as a result of the manner in which they have been- worked. He did not blame the managers for what had occurred. Ihe jreneral mannpOr of tho Stale Minos (Mr. Bishop) had recently assured tho" union that, when the mines wero being opened up> be recommended that a shaft should be sunk, solely for the accommodation of pumps to cope with the inflow of water. The Mines Department would not assent to this proposal. Ono direct outcome of the trend ot events at tho Point Elizabeth miiies, Jlr. Glover remarked, has been to seriouslv deprceiato the value of property in tlie State township of Euuanga. Railway extension works and the opening of a new mine at a point, seven miles awny have absorbed some, of the labour displaced at Point Elizabeth, but even with this mea-siiro of relief, Riinangai has suffered severely. Mr. Glover states ' that houses which cost .£2OO or .£3OO two or three years ago can now be bought for atotit '*.£l2O. Something like JiCO.OOO was spent in laying out the township and ho thinks that something like .£30,000 or .£40,000 must have been advanced to tho miners by tho Advances to Workers' Department. Now, he is informed, the Department declines to make ' any further advances.

It appears somewhat astonishing that full publicity has not ero this been given to the above allegations. In this connection Mr, Glovta' state.-; that, when tlio State Miners' Union some time issued a manifesto setting forth the position, the Greymouth papers refused to publish it. lie added that he was quite prepared to supply further facts in proof of his allegations.