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1889. There are loading-shoots besides what you call the gadget ? —Yes ; there would be about a dozen places where they could load coals off the wharf with shoots. Mr. John Gills sworn and examined. 1890. The Chairman.] What is your position, Mr. Gills ?—I am a coal-weigher. 1891. What is your business ?—I am a coal-miner. 1892. At what mine?—At the Brunner; but, of course, we weigh both for the Coal-pit Heath and the Brunner at the same place. 1893. For how long have you been weighing?— Nearly twelve months. 1894. Were you a weighman before what is known as the amalgamation ?—Yes. 1895. That is, before the twelve months ?—No ; I think it is in March. 1896. Were you at the Brunner before then ?—Yes. 1897. It is only since then you have had the Coal-pit Heath to weigh ?—Yes. 1898. Do you keep any record of the skips? Have you got books with you?— Yes. 1899. Your duty is to weigh certain of the skips ?—Yes. 1900. For each man ? —Each pair of men. 1901. Along with the men's check-weighman ? —Yes. 1902. Do you keep separate entries in the books?— Yes; the check-weighman keeps his own books, and we keep separate books. 1903. Do you compare entries ?—We compare each day, after the day's work is over, and also at the end of each fortnight, and when making up the pay-sheets. 1904. Have you ever any difference of opinion with the check-weighman ?—Sometimes a little. 1905. What points are they generally upon which a difference could occur?—We are supposed to weigh one tub for each pair of men each shift, and the remainder of their coal that they put out is calculated on that tub, so that the selection of the tub to be weighed is sometimes a matter of discussion. 1906. Do you select these tubs after they make their appearance out of the mine ?—No ; I will explain to you. Each pair of men is distinguished by a tally and a number, which was fixed to his skip, and we agree to take any number that may come first. It is an agreement, of course, that we extend the weighing of the coal as near as possible over the entire shift. So that w 7 e do not hurry the weighing. 1907. Mr. Moody.] So that the men will never know when their skips will be weighed ?—The men are not supposed to know. 1908. Mr. Broivn.] As a matter of fact, do they know ?—No; Ido not see how they could know. 1909. Will you explain that answer you gave first, that you agreed to take whatever number of tallies came first. If number one came first, would you take that? —Whatever number comes, we take it. If it is the first thing in the morning, we weigh that number, and say, for that day for that pair of men, that is to be the weight—whatever comes out first. The inside cannot know which is coming out first. 1910. You do not mean in the number of the whole race ?—No, the number of the tally on the top. 1911. Do the men know when the first numbers are taken in the first race?—No ; they might conjecture, but it would simply be conjecture. Of course, if the man filled two or three good tubs early 7 on in the first shift he might run the risk, and then one of those might possibly be one of them, but he could not possibly know. 1912. He does not know that the first numbers are taken by the weighmen?—Yes, they know the first numbers are taken out, but as to which of those numbers are taken they do not know 7 . 1913. How do they come in a race of eight, nine, or ten ? Do they take all the numbers in the race ?—No, just one of the numbers. 1914. It is optional on the part of the weighman ?—Yes ; w 7 e generally agree, and say we will start with this race when we start in the morning. Then we take the first number in the race and weigh it, and we do not take any more in that race. We weigh equally the next race. That is in the Coal-pit Heath Mine. In the Brunner we work with the endless chain. 1915. In the first race you take the first number that has not been previously weighed ?—Yes. 1916. That does not apply to the first race that comes out so much ?—No. 1917. You ouly take one skip out of the first race ?—Yes. 1918. And the one taken forms the skip in the first race ?—Yes. 1919. In the Brunner you have an endless chain ?—Yes. 1920. You take the foremost in the first train and the foremost of the next train if not previously weighed?— Yes. 1921. Suppose you generally took the first skip in the train, would not the miners in the mine not try to get their skip put first if it should be a good skip, so that it should be weighed ?—Very possibly; but, if I suspected that, I should deem it my duty to say 7, "We will commence on the second of the race this morning." I have that power as the company's weighman. If the miners suspected that the first skip of the first train was sure to be taken, they would be sure to fill that skip well, so that they would get that full weight for the day. 1922. Do the men inside the mines, then, have no knowledge what places their particular skip takes in the train? —Not to my knowledge. 1923. Mr. Moody.] The miners never attend at the places where the set of skips or train are made up?— No. 1924. It would be a good distance from their working place ?—Yes. 1925. The Chairman.] You never take a second number of the same train on the same day?— No. 17—C. 3.