C.—B

160

3240. You are taking a skip of about llcwt. ?—Yes. 3241. About scwt. of sound coal out of llcwt. ?■ —Yes. 3242. How many of these pillars on the places, so to speak, are good pillars, and how many are crushed pillars ? —There are eight good pillars. 3243. You are now talking of the mine as it was wdien the strike set in ?—Yes. 3244. There were eight good pillars ?—Yes, and five fairish ones—you could not call them bad pillars, but the eight were the best. 3245. Were those all the places ? —They were all that were being worked when we stopped. 3246. Thirteen places ? —Yes. 3247. How many men did that employ?— Twenty-six. 3248. In each shift ?—Yes. 3249. You generally work two shifts ?—We have been working one shift of late, but as a rule we would work two shifts. 3250. Then, when that coal from the eight good pillars is screened it should turn out as much good coal as solid workings ? —Yes. 3251. Can you form any idea of what the men were earning a week in the three weeks before the strike ?—The last three weeks. 3252. Yes; what they were earning, putting it in weeks' wages ?—I could not tell exactly. That was the time they were working three in a shift. 3253. What was the shift earning? —Fifteen and sixteen shillings a day per man. 3254. That is, taking two men in a shift ?—Yes. The restriction was on, and they could not make more than 16s. a day each. 3255. Then, two men could each earn from 15s. to 17s. a day?— Yes, easily. 3256. But owing to the restriction ?—Owing to the restriction they could only make 16s. a day ; that was their limit. 3257. Mr. Moody.] Anything over that, of course, went to the union ?—On anything over that there was a fine. 3258. The Chairman.] Did they ever evade that ?—There have been cases in which they have evaded the scrutiny of the union. 3259. Then, the three men in a place reduced the wages ?—There being three men in a place reduced the actual earnings of each by one-third. 3260. But that was a matter of their own arrangement ? —Yes. 3261. Had those men gone to seek work elsewhere it w 7 ould not have been necessary?—l do not think they were allowed to go away by the union, as far as I can make out. 3262. What number of hands do you think you could take into the mine without this, and letting each man earn his fair wage ? —Do you mean tw 7 o shifts ? 3263. I mean double shifts, with only two men in a place ? —I believe fifty could be put in— that is, working two shifts. 3264. Mr. Moody.] That is in the Brunner Mine?—ln the Brunner Mine. 3265. The Chairman.] And these men could make, working on the gross coal, how much ?— There is nothing to prevent them, if they are working on the gross, at the prices the company offer, making 15s. and 16s. a day, at 2s. per ton on gross weight. 3266. And on gross coal at 2s. per ton they could make how much?— Say, from 14s. to 16s. 3267. Is that exclusive of drawbacks or deductions? —Yes; that is if there is no restriction on them, and the men are allowed to go into a place and work as men have done formerly. 3268. Let them have full swing?— Yes, let them have full swing. 3269. Mr. Brown.] You think they do not work full time, then ?—What, of late ? 3270. Yes?— No. 3271. Even when there were three in a shift?— You could hardly work full time if two could do as much as the three. 3272. Do the three men do more than the two? —Just about the same. 3273. Would it be possible to arrange the work in a place so that three men could really do much more work than two could do in a shift ? —I do not think it would be. 3274. The Chairman.] So that if the third man in a place were paid by day-wages it would be a piece of charity?— The third man would be a hindrance. 3275. Mr. Brown.] What about the hours ? How many hours are they supposed to work ?—■ They are supposed to w 7 ork eight hours, but of late they made eight hours from bank to bank. 3276. What is the meaning of that ?—From the time they start from the surface until they land at the surface again. 3277. So that they include in their eight hours the time occupied in going into their place?— And in coming back again, and the " tucker "- or meal-times. 3278. Does that come off the eight hours too? —Yes—that is, of late, 3279. What would that reduce the actual working-time to ? —I should say seven hours. 3280. How long did they take to get into their place? — They could get to their place in twenty minutes. 3281. And it would take them twenty minutes in coming out ? —They can come out in less time. 3282. Then, their " tucker "-time is a quarter of an hour ? —lt is supposed to be that, but it is a little more than that sometimes. 3283. Have they a smoke time ?—No, the pipe is frequently in their mouth. 3284. They do not wait for that ?—No. 3285. When was the system of restriction introduced by the union ? —I should say three or four months ago, or somewhere thereabouts. 3286. It was in operation before this last spell of work ? —lt was in operation before the strike commenced.