HUNTLY MINE DISASTER

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2256, 16 September 1914, Page 8

HUNTLY MINE DISASTER

r- : ELEVEN STILL MISSDIG . i/-;. -' ■ ; . I FIFTY-TWO ACCOUNTED FOR [,; ■'■■..'.■'■''•'' ': K'.".:-':-.'-.- Al ' BXPERT ON the' ! /... ■' (By Telegraph.—Press Association.) .'. t' : ~; , ,'. Auckland, September 15.' !-J Advices from Huntly to-day state J .that thoreseuo parties havo recovered a f'-'C number,of bodies. No further hopes are [now entertained for the recovery of moro j.';, v minors alive. • -. ' .;•• i ! . Up to the. present 32 .names appear (. nn the official death-roll at the King's !; Hall. With the addition.of the 20 who j..', • came out alive on the day of, the acci- • • dent, thoro is a total of 52 accounted ti-for. It is now believed that at least I- 1,-v 63 miners went below on Saturday morn|v- ;ing. Some who wore thought to be off | - .'duty at tho ;tinie have., since, proved to f, , : .ie missing. ; 'ln ons;pr.,tiro, such 'cases i-; .the bodies have actually been found. t'.l;- : ; There was a second funeral this.after;'■'V noon for eleVen more of the victims. !,;■■;The following was ;almost .as large as v},■'. yesterday, and the occasion was-just as f/'Yead., The incresing death-roll of each fi' -1: Bucceeding day is causing the conimunj;;...; ity to realise-more fully the overwhelm-- >'; ing nature of the calamity. 'There will (. ; ..be' little rest.in Huntly till the mine E_,'.'■;: .-gives up its dead. The touching scenes •: which occurred at twenty-bno graveside's ."'.-.. yesterday afternoon, when each Church :;. had its group.in a separate portion, of ',', -the cemetery, -were repeated this after- ,:'?;'■'■. noon;. . • '■...,,.,..,:.,C ',;- .. '.:, . • •'.. VISITS MINE. . - <■':: EXPLOSION OF FLOATING COAL 1 ■;v; , , ':.: dust? . ... ■';:' j -Auckland, September 15. - V ,; ' : . Trior to 'for -Wellington tojv night, the Hon. W. Fraser; Minister of |.; Mines, in referring to the Huntly disas- !-.." ;ter, said lie was satisfied that every- !'.;■ thing possible had been done, and was: •'.',Being/done,'to.cope with the position. t; .'Mr., Eraser ;said ho was '■. extremely j!;:.':",pleased, that.rth'e Prime Minister had JV'?; been able to'arrange for a visit to the r;. mine by Professor Harold Dixon, the f-'v.'eminent English scientist, who was an f-;-.-'■• authority on explosives. Upon his arrif!,. valfrom Ebtorua Professor Dixon had \.{ ■. conferred with the directors and him- ;'"' self before ; 'examining the" mine.' "I <: 7 shall bo ivery-glad to have'his opinion !,':'. when I return -to Wellington," Mr. \'■■-',' Fraser added: After expressing deep. [;. .'sympathy with the sufferers, the Minisi: '.ter said that the disaster had come as i. a greater shock because, the mino had f> ■'"always been regarded as being safely free ii? from gases. "From what I have learnk ,ed," he added, "I am inclined to think ;■ - -,' that the harm was done by an explosion v.. of floating "coal dust. Even a'tiny es- !■•■■•; Ycape of gas ; might have caused a minor j : -explosion large enough., to -set the coal !',.'. dust off. Authorities agree'that an outj -. ' burst of the kind would gather in.mo- ;'" : : mentum as it proceeded on its way, and; ' according to the statements of the sur't ;■.':,'vivors.'this seems to have occurred on I. Saturday morning. However, I shall f; form a more definite opinion after hear- ; ing the result of Professor Dixon's ob- '.: .'■ servations/' Tho Minister remarked ' that to his .knowledge the company had "done its best to keep down tho coal dust i. by watering'and other means./' ; ' Professor Dixon, of Manchester Uni;;i yersity, after a visit to the mine, said that in the time at his disposal he ;! had naturally not been able to form a ,--■-' definite opinion as to the seat of the '.' direct cause of the occurrence, but,' he ;■ added; "I.feel that I can safely say ' that it was mainly a coal dust explo-j-...'--.'_.sion. There are convincing evidences of j".- ..that in various parts of the mine. ; .The ? ■ problem which remains is to ascertain v . :how it was'started." 'Would even a small explosion of gas ;'.; be sufficient.to sot coal dust off? the I professor was-asked. ;; ■;'.'■ "Not altogether an insignificant one," [ ; ,'he replied. "My method of doing that !. ■ for purposes of experiment is to fire off p '.about' .24 ounces of gunpowder into an i, iron tube v containing about 201b.'of ['■■''. That causes a shooting flame. ;■. . The '■, expert: a3ded that from his illus- ('';--'■". tratidn it would be seen that the pri-i-i mary cause, of .iho explosion must be |; 'Ifairly, substantial. ; ~ ,In reply to .further question, 'the'visit-' I: ring scientist'said that after going to [.:■. .(Wellington;-where he was to lecture on | , 'explosions, he would probably return j-'..': and place his, services at the disposal of »'. 'the.authorities. He understood that.an j'-, official inquiry would .commence on Sep- \ teniber 23, and be would bo' remaining i,.-.; in :New.Zealand -until_ October, 3.'; If he' !;. could bo of'any assistance in solving :'.'. : the problem,;'which involved the'safety ; [;."' of the milie, he wo'uldbo glad.to : d6 .so. ■ ■ Meanwhile,-it remained for tho officials . to seek for-the causo of the explosion. ' INQUIRY.TO BE HELD./;' ' • GOVERNMENT WILL DO ITS DUTY. '. ;_.The Huntly 'disa-ster,sva's referred'to ',' . in tho House of. Representatives last •;; evening, when Sir Joseph Ward asked 1 the Minister of Mines whother he would \'y take immediate 6teps to sot up.an iu- ;• . quiry into *,J;ho causes of the, disaster .-' : and tho best means : of ■ avoiding such : accidents_ in future! "'Ho said that he |. had received! several telegrams asking i ..him to bring'tliis . matter before tho !.'■■.,' House. Strong representations had ako I .-'.been■ madeito'-liimi.'that it would be ad,y V'sable if possible''.for. the same'Com- '. mission that sab in 1911 to inquire into mining matters,-could be reappointed. 1. , The Hon;.W./ 1 Fraser said that '.the Goverament'did not'require any remin- , der in this matter to do its duty. It ;.'.. would do its duty. The law provided : a method of inquiry in such matters, and the Government would act according to the Statute. He had, he said, only just; returned from Huntly, whither he had gone on a painful errand—that, of ; representing the Government at the ■I. funeral of the "victims of the' disaster. ' Theiinqurry, he said, would go into the • ; question of future precautions, as well ! as the; causes of the disaster. He had already arranged to fortify himself with ,' the 'advice of a very high authority from : Europe on sucli explosions, who happened'to be in New Zealand, and who mot him at Huntly yesterday. In pur- "" Suunce of- an arrangement made by : • telegranh by tho Prime Minister, he i had asked tliw expert to report to him ■■'' on tho subject. j Sir Xfoseph Ward said that he was perfectly sure that the Government would do its duty. Ho asked whether the report of the expert would bo laid ; . before,' Parliament. :■■■■ Mr. Fraser: Certainly. The expert, he added, had gone into the mine last evening, and ho hoped to have his report before long. His Excellency the Governor forwarded to the Prime Minister yesterday a \ cheque for £20 towards any rolief fund that may be established in aid of tho sufferers by the disaster