290 Wirnes8-3. Wynn, 27 January, 1903.
8573. Q. In what capacity ? A. From a boy of 10 years 8574. Q. Up to -? A. Up till getting coal. 8375. Q. After that, have you ever acted as deputy or check-inspector ? A. 1 have acted as cheek-knee since leaving the mine. 8570. Q. Did you ever hold any position beyond coal-getting, as deputy, or under-manager, or anythifigof that sort ? A. No ; I never sought one. 8577. Q. You have been asked, since your experience, to act as check-inspector on behalf of the miners in some mine. What mine is that ? A. For the whole of the district-Illawarra. 8578. Q. When was that ? A. It was about February, 1900. 8379. Q. Can you tell me what mines you inspected in that capacity ? A. I have inspected all mine@ connection with the Miners' Association. 8580. Q. Along this coast ? A. Along this coast : all of them once, and one twice. 8581. Q. Which one twice? A. Mount Keira. 8582. Q. Then, within what period was all that done ? A. That was done from March, 1900, till Deeerninni, 1901, twenty-one months. 8583. Q. Were you continually occupied on that work during that time? A. No; I resigned because I had not enough to do,-mainly that was the reason, at least. It was a tie upon mein my other bnaincol. 8584. Q. You did your other work in the meantime? A. That is it; and, not having much to (16, I resigned it. 8585. Q. Did you make reports of your inspections ? A. Yes ; every one. 8586. Q. Have you these reports? A. Not many. I have some with me. 8587. Q. Have you them here ? A. Yes; I have two or three here. I have with me all that I have. 8588. Q. Are there any facts in connection with those inspections that you wish to put before the CAA P A. Yes. 8589. Q. Perhaps you will tell me what they are generally; and then I may ask you to produce the reports. What are the principal facts that you wish to put before the Court ? A. The first thing that I would say Would be in connection with the first inspection of Mount Keira. I foundsin connection with that inspection, that there were some serious faults in the management of the mine. 8590. Q. Have you your report of that here ? A. No, I have not. 8591. Q. Did you commit these facts, which you are now about to give me, to paper ? Yes. 8392. Q. And who has that report? A. Well, I wrote three reports ; one was left at the mine immediately at the closo of the inspection. 8593. Q. You made three copies of the same report ? A. Three copies of the same report 8591. Q. One was left at the mini): go on ? A. Aud one was sent to the local Miners' Lodge at each colliery; and one was sent to the District Secretary of. the Association. 8595. Q. Did you ever send a copy of it to the Department? A. No. 8596. Q. Or to the Inspector ? A. No. 8597. Q. Did you ever send a copy of it to the Mine Manager ? A. At Keira ? 8598. Q. At Keira ? A. He read it before I left the colliery. 8599. Q. What was the name of the Manager at Mount Keira then ? A. I think the Colliery Manager's name is McGeckie, and the under-manager that accompanied me is named Phillips. 8600. Q. You give me more information than I want at once. Who was the Manager at the time ? A. I think Mr. MeGeckie. 8601. Q. Did you show it to him ? A. I never saw him at all. 8602. Q. Your answer is " No." Did you show it to the under-manager? A. I wrote it in a book. 8603. Q. Did you show it to the under-manager ? A. I did not show it. I left it there. 8201. Q. You left the book then with the under-manager of the Mount Keira Mine ? A. Yes. 8605. Q. And that would be in about the beginning of 1901 ? I think you said February ? A. No; that would be in about April, 1900. 8606. Q. Then your entry of the report was made in the regular book ? A. Yes; that is it. 8507. Q. There had been other reports in that book ? A. Yes. 8608. Q. That would be in what month of 1900? A. I am not sure-about April. 8609. Q. You told me you began in February ; and that Keira was the first you did ? A. I will have to explain still further to make it clear. In February I was asked by the Bulli miners if I would stand nomination for this office. I consented to do so. Then the nominations had to go down to the miners ; and the election took place as near as I know in March. I commenced my duties in April-somewhere about April. 8610. Q. Now, will you tell me what were those facts, which you discovered in connection with Mount Keira, which you entered in the book ? A. Well, in one district, where they were working pillars, we found some black-damp. 8611. Q. What light did you use in going round ? A. I always carried a safety-lamp ; but the others that accompanied me on that occasion carried flare lights. 86l2: Q. The other check-inspectors ? A. Yes; and the under-manager. 8613. Q. Did you object to that ? A.•No, sir. They told me there was no gas seen for a long time previously ; and no safety-lamps were used ; so I could not object to it. 8614. Q. And you did not think it dangerous ? A. I did not. 8615. Q. Did you try for gas with your lamp ? A. Only in old workings. In nearly every colliery I tried in several places --- [Interrupted.] 8616. Q. Just confine yourself to Keira at present ;-did you find gas in Keira? A. I did ; not explosive gas. 8617. Q. Black-damp I suppose ? A. Yes. 8618. Q. Did you find it iu any quantity ? A. Well, not a very large quantity. It was more particularly so in one working-place, one bord, one pillar. 8619. Q. You say waste workings-what sort of waste workings were they? A. Well, of course, in pillar work it means that they are taking out the supports of the roof-that is, the main body of the coal. 8620. Q. You reported that? A. Very briefly, because I requested that the men should be removed to another place immediately. 8621. Q. You did request ? A. I did ; and the under-manager complied with the request i and con4 sequently I did not make any great trouble about it. 8622.