Tweet

Mr. Arnold Morley, M.P., attended on behalf of the Home Office.

Mr. Thomas Bell, Mr. James Willis, and Mr. William Atkinson, Her Majesty's Inspectors of Mines, also attended the inquest.

Mr. John Edge, barrister-at-law, appeared for the Company.

Mr. Bowey, appeared for the Miners' National Union.

Mr. Heaviside for the Durham Miners' Union.

I am the certificated manager of Tudhoe and Tudhoe Grange Collieries, and also agent for the Croxdale Colliery. I have been certificated manager for 10 years. I produce a report giving particulars of the colliery as follows :— Tudhoe Colliery is the property of the Weardale Iron and Coal Company, Limited, and it is situate on the western portion of the Durham Coal Field. The colliery is worked by three shafts, the East shaft, the West shaft, and Success shaft, which is used as a ventilation shaft only. The Brockwell seam is worked by two shafts, east and west, about 58 yards apart. The upcast, or ventilation shaft, is about 180 yards from the east and west shafts. The east and west are both downcast shafts, and they are not divided by brattice. The following seams are worked by the Weardale Company, namely, the Hutton seam at 45 fathoms from the surface, the Busty at 67 fathoms, and the Brockwell seam at 87 fathoms. The Hutton seam is not worked from the East Pit at all, only from the West Pit, the principal portion of the Busty seam is worked from the West Pit shaft.

Both the East and West Pits are ventilated by a fan 40 feet in diameter, placed at the Success or Ventilation shaft. The ventilation is also assisted by the exhaust steam from three engines in the East and West Pits, such exhaust steam all going into the upcast shaft. I produce a section showing the general arrangement of the shafts, furnaces and engines. There are no boilers down the pit. The steam is carried from bank. Gas for the purpose of lighting the steam cabin, the stables, the shaft, landing, and the overman's cabin is carried by pipes down the shaft from bank. By means of these furnaces and the fan a very large ventilation current is produced. The total air current going down the east and west shafts is 174,603 cubic feet per minute ; of this 89,000 all goes into Brockwell. This current is divided into a great number of splits, and these splits are from time to time duly measured and entered into a book kept at the office. I produce this book. Of the total quantity, 89,000 cubic feet of air, 23,898 feet goes into the Sunderland Bridge main way, and this was again subdivided by 13,275 feet going into the Shieldfield way, and 9,074 going into Sunderland Bridge, Croxdale, and Coldstream ways, while 1,549 feet were absorbed by stables and scales, &c. ; 32,928 going into the West Pit main intake, this is again split up into three portions, Alma Bank, otherwise No. 4 way, absorbing 9,875 feet ; No. 5 way, 5,852 feet ; No. 6 way, 13,473 feet ; and 3,928 feet are absorbed by stables and scales, &c. ; 28,177 feet goes into the south side, this is again divided into three portions, Ferry Hill and No. 5 ways taking 6,237 feet ; Team Valley way 19,404 feet, and 2,536 is absorbed by stables and scales &c. I produce a plan of the colliery showing the intakes coloured blue and the returns red. The East Pit is divided into four districts, namely, Shieldfield, Croxdale, Coldstream, and Sunderland Bridge districts. The West Pit, as at present worked, is divided into three districts, namely, No. 4, odd No. 5, and No. 6., No. 6 having and offshoot called new No. 5. The pit is worked by three shifts per day, in the West Pit by fore shift, back shift, and night shift. In the East Pit three shifts worked in the Sunderland way, and Shieldfield two shifts only in other districts. On an average in the Brockwell seam 220 hewers are employed, of whom 144 work in the East Pit. The staff of the East Pit consists of one fore overman, one back overman, and 13 deputies. The staff of the West Pit consists of one fore overman, one back overman, one night shift overman, the latter having also to devote part of his time to the East Pit, together with nine deputies. In addition to these a master shifter with a proper staff of stone men, shifters, and wastemen, consisting of 24 persons. It may be mentioned that the night shift overman, in addition to his duties as such overman, had to assist the wastemen, and was, in fact, a master wasteman. The average output at Tudhoe Colliery is 6,000 tons per week. The colliery is worked on the ordinary pillar and wall working. I do not consider the Brockwell as worked at Tudhoe a fiery seam. The strata of the pit immediately above the Brockwell consists of blue metal mixed with post girdles. Above that is a grey metal and post girdles. Above that we have the ordinary coal measure. There is a feeder 13 or 16 fathoms down the pit which is taken by water boxes and pipes to the Hutton seam. There are no ordinary feeders. There is an ordinary feeder in the Team Valley way, but there is no difficulty in dealing with it. There is a feeder at the extreme north hand of Sunderland Bridge, No. 6 way, but no difficulty in dealing with this is experienced. The height of the Brockwell is about 3 ft. 6 in. There is no band in the western portion of the coal, but at the east side there is a stone band from half an inch to and inch thick in the middle of the seam. The coal adheres to the roof in some places, but not seriously, and in the rest of the pit it comes away easily ; The floor consists of a sagar, very hard. There is very little heave. There is fairly good roof all over. It was the practice to water the rolley ways nearly every day ; the practice has been continued about 10 or 12 years. There is no occasion to pump much water. I do not think there will be more than 200 or 250 gallons a day pumped. There are no dumb places in any part of the Brockwell which could become reservoirs of gas, and there is no standage of water where gas could accumulate. There are no loftings in the East Pit and none in the West Pit of any importance ; those which existed could be carefully examined. There is no creep in the Brockwell. The air is measured in the intake. The lamps we use are principally Davy lamps, although we use a few Clanny's and Geordie's. We use naked lights as far as the caution boards on the engine planes to the deputy's chest, where he examines the lamps. All the drivers in bye have Davy lamps.

(The further examination of Mr. Johnson was deferred till after the other witnesses had been called.)