46S Witness-A, A. Atkinson, 11 February, 1903.
added, "And 200 cubic feet of air per minute for each man and boy ";-now, do you know that the Royal Commission on the Coal Mines Regulation Bill recommended 150 cubic feet ae a minimum for every man,. boy, and horse? A. Yes, I have heard so. 15237. Q. But that was reduced in Parliament ? A, Yes. 15238. Q. Now, all the collieries, as far as your reports have shown, bad a considerable margin above the minimum ? A. Generally speaking, yea. 15239. Q. So that, in practice, there would be no hardship imposed on any of the collieries that ever came under your notice by increasing the minimum ? A. In some cases it does not get up to 200 feet per minute all round. 15210. Q. Would it, in all eases, get up to 150 cubic feet per minute ? A. Well, for instance, in the case which Mr. Wynn reported at Corrimal it was under the 100 cubic feet. 15241. Q. Well, do not you think that it would be a very exceptional case that would not go up to 200 cubic feet per minute, in the way the collieries are now being managed? 15242. Mr. Bruce Smith.] Well, then, why require to increase the minimum, if it is always up to double ? 15243. A. No, I could not say that it would be a very exceptional case. 15244. Mr. Lysaght.] Q. Then do I understand that there are collieries, to your knowledge, that are sailing pretty close to the wind, so far as ventilation is concerned? A. Oh, there have been one or two eases. 15245. Q. And was the. air then circulating considered adequate ? A. Well, steps were taken in several cases. 15246. Q. To have it increased ? A. To have it increased. 15247. Q. Does not that clearly show that the minimum was too low, and should be increased? A. And was increased. 15248. Q. And that it should be increased by the Legislature? A. We have the power-the Inspectors have the power-to ask that more air be supplied ; and I think that that is sufficient. 15249. Q. Is it not much safer to start of with a minimum of at least 200 cubic feet per minute, instead of the Inspectors having to wait for complaints, investigate them, and then order it ? A. Well, there are cases of mines, in which no fire-damp is given off, where I think it would be quite unnecessary to ask for a minimum of 200 cubic feet ; whereas, in another mine with a quantity of gas, it may be advisable to have :00 or perhaps a good deal more. 15250. Q. But, Mr. Atkinson, as you say all the mines have considerably over the minimum, whether they have fire-damp or not, where can the objection bo to the Legislature fixing a minimum of 200 instead of 100 ? A. Well, I have not said it exactly as you have put it, Mr. Lysaght ; but I think that the existing state of the law is sufficient for dealing with that. 15251. Q. Well, that is a matter, then, for the Commission ? A. Except, of course, as I recommended, that in cases of defective ventilation it should be brought under the provisions of the arbitration clause. 15252. Mr. Ritchie.] Q. Have you any record of your Inspectors having directed that more air be supplied when they have found the minimum circulating? A.Yes; I think there are cases of that sort. 15253. Q. You have got them on record ? A. I think so. 15254. Q. Have you any record of cases where less than the minimum quitntity has been supplied ? A. Well, we have the account of that case at Corrimal. 15255. Q. Where less than the minimum was supplied ? A. Yes; we have the papers in connection with that. 15256. Q. Have you any other reports from the South Coast about collieries where less than the minimum quantity was supplied ? A. Well, there may be ; but I do not remember jnat at the moment. 15257. Q. What steps are taken when a report is brought under your notice that less than the minimum quantity has been supplied? A. Well, I either ask the Inspector of the district to go himself, again, to see how things are ; or I sometimes go myself, in company with the Inspector. 15258. Q. And, if you found the report to be verified by your subsequent inspection, what steps are then taken ;-if you find, upon the subsequent inspection you have spoken of, that the quantity circulating is less than the minimum stated by Act of Parliament, what do you do then ? A. I do not remember such a case.
15259. Q. Do I understand that you have had reports sent to your Department stating that less than the minimum quantity-was being supplied, and, upon making a subsequent visit, you found it not to be verified ? A. Yes. 15260, Q. Has that always been the ease ? A. I think so. I do not remember a case in which that was not so. • 15261. Mr. Bruce Smith.] Q. You have had a good many complaints from the miners that there was too much air ? A. In some cases, although not official reports, not sent to the Department, to that effect. 15262. Mr. Ritchie.] Q. Have you had check-inspectors' reports submitted to you from the South Coast distinctly stating that less than the minimum quantity was being supplied ? A. Yes; I think the Corrimal check-inspector's report was submitted to the Department. 15203. Q. Have you had any from the Bulli Colliery ? A. Well, I do not remember. I do not think so. 15264. Q. Do I understand you to answer, in answer to Mr. Bruce Smith, that the miners have sent reports to you stating that there was too much air ? A. No ; I have not received reports to that effect. 15265. Mr. Bruce Smith.] Q. You have had complaints ? A. In passing round the mine, they would sometimes say the brattice was too close up. 15266. Mr. Ritchie.] Q. A single individual here and there ? A. Yes. 15267. Q. Who would, perhaps, have the current beating on his bare skin ? A. Yes. 15268. Q. You do not take that as a defect in the ventilation of the mine ? A. No; I like to see it. 11269. Mr. Robertson.] Q. As a matter of good mining practice, do you consider it is a proper principle to govern the ventilation by the persons in the mine ? A. No; I think rather the governing principle should have regard to the gas which is given off by the coal, or rather that one of the governing principles- [interrupted]. • 15270. Q. In the case of a gassy mine, if there happens to be no one in the mine, according to the Act there is no necessity for ventilation ? A. No, I suppose not, when there is no one there. Of course, that is not a principle that I wish to go forth as having my approval, the ventilation being suspended when persens are not in the mine. I do not wish to convey that, 15271.