C—4c

8

persons having been injured by this cause. In this case the two sufferers had lighted a shot, and retired to await the explosion. Prom some cause they were burned—not, in my opinion, by gas, because none has ever been seen in the Banbury Mine, but probably by a blown-out shot. 9. During the strike at Westport the mine was manned almost entirely by miners unused to coal-getting, or by men entirely unaccustomed to mining of any kind. Thus it could hardly be expected that accidents should be altogether avoided. On the 2nd July a man named Sutherland was very severely injured by a fall of coal. The manager's account is that Sutherland and his mate had fired a shot which left a piece of coal hanging. So far the accounts agree. The manager states that they then proceeded to pull it down, when it fell on Sutherland; whose tale differs, for he states that while the lump was hanging the deputy came in, and, upon being questioned, stated the place to be quite safe, after which they proceeded to work beneath it. The deputy denies all knowledge of this. Sutherland is unfortunately crippled for life. 10. This occurred very simply. Joseph Blenkinsop, employed on the Koranui surfaceworks, sat on the rail of a fence, which gave way, allowing him to fall more than 38ft. Miraculously, he escaped with his life. 12. The victim of this accident was himself to blame, as he was wrongfully riding on a truck in the engine-plane when it happened. 14. This accident is instructive as indicating by what unlikely means miners may become injured. On the 6th October, 1885, at the Kaitangata Mine, a boy named Daniel Wilson proceeded to warm what he thought was his father's tea in a tin flask. Unfortunately, he had taken the wrong flask, containing powder, which exploded. Mr. Shore has accepted my suggestion that all powder-flasks should be painted red. Classification of Accidents during 1885. Below— Trucks .' .. .. .. ..4 Falls of roof and sides . . .. .. . . 5 Powder .. .. . . .. .. 2 Sundries .. . . . . . . .. 1 — 12 Shafts . . . . . . . . . . 1 Above— Trucks .. .. .. .. ..1 Sundries .. .. . . .. .. 2 — 3 16 As usual, there has been during 1885 a fatal accident which, though it cannot be included among the mining statistics, was in some measure connected with mining operations. As is well known, there are in Otago and Southland numerous small abandoned open-work mines. In one of these, at Nightcaps, on the 26th August, 1885, a young man named John Alley was killed. He was almost blind, and, though previously accustomed to work in this place, had not been there for eighteen months. The jury added a rider to the verdict, recommending that " steps should be taken by the authorities to prevent the public from mining in deserted or abandoned workings " —a recommendation sufficiently unpractical; but, curiously enough, on the 20th June preceding the fatality I had turned out of the identical excavation where it occurred a boy named Thomas Carr, who was the first to find Alley's body. Number of Men employed. There has been a considerable accession to the number of men employed, which has increased from 1,017 in 1884 to 1,224 in 1885 —more than 20 per cent. As the output has not correspondingly increased, there is a diminution in the quantity per man, which sinks from 370-5 tons in 1884 to 326'2 tons in 1885. Output of Coal. The total tonnage for 1885 was 399,280 tons, an increase of only 22,452 tons over last year, or about half the average increase for the previous five years. The principal alterations are as follows :— Increase. —Brunner Mine, 25,633 tons; Koranui Mine, 24,550 tons; Coalpit Heath, 14,289 tons; Tyneside (new mine) 2,903 tons; Hartley Colliery, 2,483 tons; Kaitangata, 2,441 tons; and Orepuki (new mine) 2,091 tons. Decrease. —Banbury Mine, 26,717 tons; Nightcaps, 8,210 tons; Walton Park, 7,035 tons ; Fernhill Colliery, 3,381 tons; Homebush Colliery, 3,256 tons; Whitecliffs Colliery, 2,448 tons ; and Green Island Colliery, 1,399 tons. Death-rate in South Island. Dividing the number of men and the tonnage by the fatal accidents, which numbered three, we get a death-rate for this Island of 133,093 tons raised, and 408 men employed, per life lost, or 2-45 lives lost for every thousand men.