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1Fitness-P. Gleeson, 21 January, 1903. 8833. Q. If there were a hurricane of air that way it is still inevitable that you must have the full benefit of all the smoke produced by the shots in that district A. Yes. '6834. Q. What explosive is used in firing shots ? A. Powder. I always use blasting powder. 6835. Q. What tamping A. Clay, since the explosion. 6836. Q. Since what explosion ? A. Mount Kembla. 6837. Q. What before that ? A. Anything we could get hold of-the dust off the road, damped. Examination by Mr. Ritchie :6838. Q. In that rlace in No. 4 where you complained of smoke, how far was the last cut-through from the place where you were working I A. It was a 1 yards heading ; and I drove this place down some certain •distance, and then I had to come round and put a cut-through in. 6839. Q. You drove the heading a certain distance, and then came round to put in a cut-through? A. Yes. '6840. Q. How far was that from the face of the heading ? A. I suppose about 40 yards. 6841. Q. And how far was the brattice carried up from the cut-through towards the face of the heading? A. From the cut-through t 6842, Q. Yes, towards the face of the heading? A. I do not understand exactly what you mean. 6843. Q. You say now the cutthrough would be about 40 yards from the face of the heading which you drove up a certain distance after cavilling ? A. Yes. 6844. Q. You cavilled a 4-yard heading ? A. Yes. 6845. Q. You drove it up a certain distance; and then you came back into the cut-through 1 A. Into a bord to drive a cut-through into the heading. 6846. Q. How far was the cut-through which gave you your ventilation from the face of the working of the • heading? A. The heading was not quite down to where we drove the cnt•through. We had to drive back over to meet it. 6847. Q. How far was the other one that was driven previously ? A. About 40 yards. 6848. Q. That was the nearest opening to the face of your heading? A. Yes. 6849. Q. How far was the brattice ? A. The brattice was down to the bord. It was down the 40 yards where we broke away from. 6850. Q. Your ventilation would require to come through this cut-through in order to go up the beading or bard? A. Yes ; after we had finished the cut-through. 6851. Q. Can you make a sketch of it? I cannot get the meaning of this ? A. [Witness drew a sketch and explained it.] There was a gannon bard down this way ; and there was a cut through across here (at rightangles to gannon bard) and our heading went down there (beginning at end of, and at right angles to, the cut-through first mentioned, and parallel to the gannon bard). We went down that, way about 35 yards (meaning the heading was continued 55 yards from the end of the cut-through). Then, of course, this bord (the gannon bard) continued straight on. 6852. Q. The gannon bord A. Yes. The gannon bord continued straight on ; and we came into the gannon bord here (indicating a point in gannon bard about 40 yards from opening of cut-through first mentioned) to hole over into this heading. 6853. Q. What I want to know is what the distance was from that cut-through in the heading to the face of the heading ? A. The brattice was kept up fairly close in the heading. 6854. Q. The distance would be between 30 and 40 yards'1 A. Yes. 6855. Q. Your ventilation, of course, went through that cut-through A. When we worked in the heading the ventilation had to come up this (gannon) bord, and then come down (the cut-through) behind the brattice ' into our heading. 6856. Q. The current would not go through the second cut-through until after you holed? A. No. The durrent of air that was travelling had to go down this gannon bord first (to the end), and then came back behind the brattice, and down into our place (through the first mentioned cut-through into the heading); and then it went round the brattice and down to the other men. 6857. Q. The ventilating current came up this gannon bard, up to the face of the gannon bard, and down the side of the canvas, through this cut-through, and up this side into your heading? A. To the face of our heading.• 6858. Q. I take it you drove to the point where you thought you would hole, before you stopped A. No ; we did not. He marked us of too soon. We did not meet the heading when we drove the second cutthrough there. 6859. Q. They stopped the beading really before you were up to. the distance for the cut-through. A. Yes. 6860. Q. How far was the brattice carried from the end of the cut-through to your heading towards the face? A. It used to be kept op fairly. Of course, at one time the Inspector came in when we were in this beading; and he said it would be as well to put over a cut-through. 8861. Q. What would be the distance then? How far would the brattice be from the face of your heading when you were complaining about the smoky conditions ? A. I suppose it would he about 3 or 4 yards. .6862. Q. And was the smoke thicker at the face than on the outside of the canvas? [Witness did not answer.] 6863. Q. You see you have 3 or 4 yards where you have no canvas? A. Yes. 6864. Q. Was the volume of smoke thicker there A. Oh, yes. Sometimes we would go in to fill the skip, and we would have to grope to feel where the coal was. 6865. This is at the face of the workings? A. Yes. 6866. Q. Was it clearer some way back ? A. Some distance back ; a long way back. 6867. Q. When you complained of that smoke, did they make any attempt to increase the ventilation? A. Yes; put the brattice up. 6868. Q. Did that make any difference? 4. It did not make a great deal of difference ; but, once the Inspector came round, they turned us out and told us to put in this cut-through. 6869. Q. Could you feel the current ? A. No. 6870. Q. Did it cause any deflection of your light at all? A. Of course, your light would lie still; but if you put it at the brattice you might see it flutter a little bit. 6871. Q. Behind the brattice? A. Yes. 6872. Q. What would be the distance between the brattice and the side of the heading-about 18 inches A. Yes, about that. 6873, Q. And you could just see a little flicker then ? A. Yes,
6874.