QUESTION OF CANDLE POWER

Taranaki Daily News, 4 December 1926, Page 15

QUESTION OF CANDLE POWER

MINERS AND THEIR LAMPS. By Telegraph.—Press Association. Auckland, Last Night. The question of the candle-power of electric safety lamps was involved in the text of a claim by miners for arrears of additional wages heard at the Supreme Court. John and Joseph Redfern sued the Taupiri Coal Mines, Ltd., for £9O 3s 9d, representing 3d per ton on coal hewn by them jointly in the Rotoware mine. Clause 33 of the award states: “There shall be an addition of 3d to the hewing rate if, in the event of changes in the working conditions in the mine, men are required to work with lamps of less than one candlepower.” Both the company and the men had assumed that the Oldham safety lamp was of one candle-power and accordingly, from its introduction, a lower hewing rate was paid. It was now alleged that tests made by Professor Rowell (Canterbury College) upon an Oldham lamp from Westport showed that the. lamp was of less than one candle-power. After including Professor Powell, had given evidence, Mr. West, for the company, moved for a non-suit and Mr. Justice Adams granted it, saying that the plaintiffs had failed to produce evidence that the lamps used in the mine were of less than one candlepower within the meaning of the award. The award did not specify any method of determining the candle-power, and the plaintiffs were not entitled to select a method which gave the result in their favour.