o—2

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The deceased Antonio McCoy and his mate Robert Ross had been engaged on constructing a shaft in another part of the mine. McCoy seems to have been overwhelmed at once by the explosion. His body was found badly burned, lying in the manhole at D about the site of the explosion and near to the shaft C upon which he had been working. Ross was on the way up the main drive going out of the mine, and could already see daylight. Ross, describing the explosion, says that it came from behind him with a whizzing noise and knocked him down. He waited till the fire passed over him and then got up and walked out without assistance. He was severely burned. Rescue parties with connecting-links were organized by the manager with the assistance of the managers of adjacent mines, and appear to have entered the mine as soon as it was possible to do so without apparatus. They brought out those who had been overcome by gas and smoke, and the bodies of the three deceased. The attention, of the searchers was drawn to Johnston's body by the shining of his lamp, but there was nothing to guide them to that of Kitto, which, being in a dead end, was overlooked till about 3 p.m., and was the last to be recovered. There were no further explosions, and the air in the mine began to clear quickly after the explosion. We are satisfied that the persons who engaged in the rescue operations did so at the risk of their lives, and deserve the highest commendation. 6. Origin of the Explosion. The plan shows, coloured red, the part of the workings in which indications of the explosion were found upon an inspection on the following day. The nature of the indications is also shown on the plan, and the apparent lines of force are marked by arrows. From these it appears that the origin of the explosion was in the jig leading to the shaft C at or very near the place where the body of Antonio McCoy was found. McCoy had been engaged just before with his mate Ross in drilling a hole for a shot in the rise shaft; Ross, who was the older man, had left him in order to go to the surface to ascertain how much further the rise shaft had to be driven upwards. McCoy was for the time being alone ; he was a cigarette-smoker ; matches and cigarette-papers were found in a burnt cardigan jacket which was taken off his body and had lain for some hours outside the dressing-station ; there were indications that he was not at w T ork at the time when he fell. While the origin of the explosion cannot be stated with certainty, no likely explanation has been advanced save that McCoy was in some way responsible for igniting a body of gas which had collected in his vicinity. The extent of the affected area, and the way in which the explosion faded out on reaching wet parts of the workings, indicate that its source was a small body of gas in the jig leading to the shaft, and that it was propagated and extended into other workings by coal-dust raised by the violent disturbance of the air. Had no coal-dust been present, or had it been rendered harmless by a sufficient mixture of inert dust or by dampness, we think that the explosion would have been more restricted to the area where the gas had collected, and that the lives of Kitto and Johnston at least would, probably not have been lost. It will be seen from the above that there were three conditions prerequisite to the explosion, viz. : A collection of firedamp ; an igniting agency to explode the same ; insufficient precaution against propagation of the explosion by coal-dust. We proceed now to deal seriatim with the subjects referred to in paragraph 3 of the Commission. 7. Examination of the Mine. The daily examination of the mine by the fireman-deputy, under section 128 of the Act, appears by the reports to have been regularly carried out. On the day of the explosion this examination was made by a relieving deputy, Henwood, the regular deputy being on holiday. Henwood is a certificated deputy and an experienced miner. He states that he examined for gas at the dump, near the bottom of the jig, also at the bottom of the shaft leading from the head of the jig, and again 20 ft. or 30 ft. up the uncompleted shaft. This was about 6.10 a.m. His examination disclosed no gas. He was unable to ascend the whole 70 ft. of the rise shaft to make his examination at the top because of debris from a shot fired the previous evening. No chalked record of his examination of the rise shaft can be found for the 15th November. We think that it was Henwood's duty to report to the underviewer his inability to reach the top of the rise shaft. The rise shaft should have been cleared down and inspected, before any work was done in it that morning. Except as above, the examination of the mine by the company's officials appears to have been regularly carried out. 8. Ventilation. The fact of the explosion itself proves that the ventilation of the jig where it occurred on the day in. question was not adequate, or in accordance with section 91 of the Coal-mines Act. The jig was in the same condition as it had been for months : the party at work in the rise shaft had habitually had their crib very near the place where the explosion originated, and had never had any complaint to make of inadequate ventilation ; the brattice appears to have extended sufficiently far up the jig, and we have no reason to suppose that normally there was any dangerous collection of gas in that locality. The conditions in the jig on the day in question may have been affected by the blocking of a 4 in. pipe, which led from the top of the rise shaft to the surface, and which appears from recent anemometer tests materially to contribute to the ventilation of the shaft and the jig. The dangerous accumulations of gas found in the jig by the Inspector of Mines on the 21st November and subsequent days were, we think, due to the destruction of the brattice by the explosion, and the blocking of the pipe above mentioned. We think there should be more efficient ventilation in. places driven to the rise. The quantity of air in the main current at the time of the explosion was 16,000 cubic feet per minute, which is well above the statutory requirements, and in our opinion was ample for the whole mine if properly distributed and carried by bratticing well up to the working-faces. The bratticing seems in general to have been carried sufficiently forward in the ordinary working-places at the time of the explosion. The general system of ventilation, which was a temporary one at the time of the explosion, will be dealt with later.