C.-14.'

J. M. BROWNLIE.]

75

68. Are you quite sure of the bord in which the fall was—that it was in the bord alongside the one that had the trap-door ?—I would not be quite sure, but 1 have not been in any other bord since the strike. 69. Was it there that you were going for the rails on this occasion ( —Not where the fall was. 70. Did you see the fall frequently before the strike ?—Ckice when I went up for a trucker. 7.1. Where was he working ?—Up close to the fall. 72. Through that door ?—ln the little dip, this was. 73. Was that door in when you were driving there ?—No. 74. So that that door has only recently been put in ? —I think so. 75. Was it not there before the strike ?—Not that I know of. 76. Do I understand that you are not able to say exactly where the rails were which you were going to lift that morning ?—I could not say the number of the bord. 77. Were they in the same bord from which you had taken them previously I —Yes. 78. Had Martin been with you previously ?—No. 79. Did you know that Martin was going up with you on the 12th ?- —No. 80. You say you did not expect to find him there ?—No ; I did not see him at all that morning. 81. Well then, you say the trap-door was not there when you were driving there. Was there any stopping there at all ?—1 do not think that bord was through when I went up there that day. 82. And you were only there the once ?—Yes. 83. Are you working in the mine now ?—No. 84. On the previous occasion did you take the tails through that trap-door ?—Yes. 85. But you did not see the fall ?—No. 86. You were working there the whole day on that previous occasion ?—Yes. 87. And the same deputy was there ?—Yes. 88. Deputy Darby was also in charge on the previous occasion ?—Yes. 89. Did Deputy Smith come anywhere near you on the previous occasion ?- -Yes ; he was in before us that morning. 90. Into this place where you were to draw the rails from ?—Yes. 91. So that before you went into it the deputy was before you on the previous occasion { —Yes. 92. And it was the same deputy who was in charge on the 12th ?-Yes. 93. Do you know which way the deputy went in on the previous occasion '(■-- He must have gone through the door. 94. With his safety-lamp ?-—Yes. 95. The Chairman.\ Were there any instructions given to you and the men as to entering these old workings ? Are there any general instructions given to workmen in regard to entering these old workings ?—I could not say whether there are or not. 96. Have you ever been told ?—-Yes ; 1 have been told often not to go into the old workings. 97. Do you know of any other men who have been told ?—I do not know. 98. Mr. Dowgray :] You say that on the fortnight previously the deputy had been in that part of the mine. What indications have you that he was there ?—He was there when I went in—l saw him. 99. He must have come round the other way. Did he give you your instructions at the shaftbottom in the same way as he djd on the 12th ? Was it Deputy Smith you saw before you went down the old dip ?—Yes. 100. And it was Deputy Smith on a former occasion, too ?—Yes. 101. He sent you down the same way T- —Yes. 102. But when you got down to that part of the mine he was there ?—Yes. 103. He visited it along with the other men ?—The other men were not with me that morning. 104. He had got in before the other men ?—Yes. 105. Were Deputy Darby and Deputy Smith together that morning ?—Yes. 106. On that occasion when you arrived at this door the deputy was in there making his inspection ?—Yes. 107. Had he a satefy-lamp with him I —Yes. 1.08. On the occasion a fortnight previous to the 12th, when you arrived at the cabin you went the same way you were told to go on the 12th. You met Deputy Smith when you reached the point to which you were going ?—Yes. 109. Then he must have made his inspection after he sent you down the little dip ?—He must have. 110. He was not amongst the men who were discovered on the No. 5 side of the door ?—I could not say. 111. Did the deputy give you just the same instructions on the 12th as he did on the previous occasion ?—Yes, he told me to go to the same place where I was a fortnight before. He told me that on the Friday morning going to work. He did not say whether there would be anybody coming down to see us. 112. What was the custom in this mine : does the deputy tell everybody that the place is safe ?— I do not know. 113. How do you know that the mine is safe ?—They ring up and the deputy tells us to go —that it is all safe. 114. He did not tell you that that particular place was safe that morning ?—No. 115. On the previous occasion had you to get your horse after . Deputy Smith had passed you down the little dip ?—-Yes. 116. And that would take some little time ?—About eight minutes from the shaft to the stable.