Tweet

John Atkinson, of Wallsend, in the county of Northumberland, being sworn, saith: That I am under-viewer at Wallsend. Have been three years and a half in that situation. My duty is to see the workings kept in proper order, and am down the pit nearly every day, sometimes twice a-day. Came up from the pit last Thursday morning (the day of the accident) about half-past seven o'clock. At that time, as far as I could discover, every thing was safe, and the currents of air in the pit free and good. The Bensham seam of Wallsend, particularly at the brokens, contains a great quantity of gas, but is safe to work at with Davy-lamps. On the Thursday morning the workings were in a particularly good state, and perfectly safe when I left it. Shortly before the blast took place, which was about half-past two p.m., all the hewers had come up except six; the number that had thus left the pit might be about 88. These six men had, shortly before the others ascended, gone in to their work. The six men were working at the whole coal, two of them at the north-west district of the mine, and the other four about 200 yards from them, but in the same district. These men were working with candles, the mine there being sufficiently well ventilated to admit of it with safety. The rolly-way they went up from the G pit, when they descended, proceeds in a direct line near to the quarter where they had to work. This rolly-way may always be travelled with candles. At the face of the boards where these men were working, the gas sometimes fires at the candle when they are drilling holes to blast the coal; but it fires in so small a quantity at these holes that it is easily dowsed out with their jackets; but if the gas was not soon extinguished it would not spread or communicate with any other place. As far as I have been able to explore, near the place where these men were working, there are no appearances to cause a belief that the pit had first fired there. The same morning I was at the place where the men were working the broken in the fourth south district of the C pit. I found all safe there; these men were working with Davy-lamps, and the pit in that part was considered quite safe. The thickness of the band-stone at the broken at this place is between eight and nine inches. The pitmen have to separate the stone from the coal, and are not permitted to allow any of the stone to mix with the coals that are sent to bank; if there is any quantity of stone found amongst the coal the pitman is fined from 6d. to 2s. 6d. ; but if an extra quantity, the corf of coals is forfeited altogether. The Davy-lamp shows sufficient light to enable the pitmen to select the stone from the coal, but of course they cannot do it very expeditiously. I never to my knowledge, since I came to Wallsend, knew the workmen take the top off the Davy-lamp to procure more light, but have known the Davy top taken off for that and other purposes, for instance to light their pipes, at other collieries. When such an occurrence as this has come to the knowledge of the viewer the men have been invariably discharged. On Thursday morning last I, in company with the wasteman, travelled the gas drift from near the broken at the north-east part of the mine, west of the G pit shaft; it was about three o'clock in the morning; we found the air in the drift in a good state, it would not fire at the lamps. Has known it frequently fire in the drift at the C pit. They left the drift at the doors near to the G shaft; they were closed and secured after they passed through, and locked. I have known the staples drawn and locks taken off the doors. This has occurred thrice since I came to Wallsend. Have known three taken off in one week; the last occurrence of the kind that came to my knowledge was six or seven months ago. From these doors being thrown open the pit in that part becomes dangerous, but no bad result fortunately has happened. I have frequently known the pitmen smoke in the whole boards, it is considered there is no danger by doing so in those parts; but it would be highly dangerous for them to smoke in the broken quarters, and no one is allowed to do so on pain of being discharged. I have not heard any of the men say that the mine was unsafe to work in ; the Davy-lamp fired at the broken the day before the accident, but there was nothing of consequence in this as it is of frequent occurrence. The depth of the pit from the surface to the Bensham seam is about 146 fathoms. The thickness of the Bensham seam varies from five feet to six feet. There is a band of stone of variable thickness in this coal, from four inches to twenty inches in parts. This band is included in the thickness of the seam. Cannot tell what quantity of gunpowder is used by the men in each blasting. They blast both below and above the band, but the shot is put in near the roof above and near the bottom below. The blast does not render the roof or pavement unsafe.

John Atkinson.

John Atkinson the younger, son to the last witness, sworn, says: I am overman at Wallsend colliery, and have been employed there upwards of three years; my duty in the colliery is to go down the pit daily and see that everything is right. If there should be any part in particular which I do not judge necessary to examine, I get the report from my deputies. There are deputies in the pit constantly during the time of its working. The deputies consist of seven, namely, five deputies, and first and second deputy overman. On the day the misfortune happened I went down the pit a little after two in the morning, and found everything right, and in some parts the air was better than usual; that is, there was a less discharge of gas this morning particularly than the morning before. I was not through all the workings, only through three districts out of the four. The reason of my not going through one of the districts was that my father and one of the wastemen were there before me. My first visit in the morning was to the second north-east district, where the men were to begin to work the broken. The hewers would commence about three o'clock, and the number to be employed there might be about 18. My object in being there before the workmen was to ascertain if there was any superabundant discharge of gas, as an extra discharge had taken place the previous day. I found the pillar where the men were to work entirely free from gas. The Davy-lamps are suspended or placed near to the face of the coal where the hewers are working, each man has a Davy. When the gas in the interior of the Davy-lamps becomes highly inflamed it is prudent to withdraw the men. When the Davy-lamp becomes in a red-hot state it is probable, if continued near the board, an explosion might be the consequence, but I never knew an instance of it. When the props are withdrawn at the broken to let down the stone (the coal having been taken away) a discharge of gas generally takes place; at this time the men retire with the lamp a considerable distance from the quarter, and do not return till the place is quite clear of gas; if the gas continues in any quantity they are withdrawn altogether. The broken quarter before alluded to contains an immense quantity of gas, and, as has been before described, is a complete gasometer, and if not for the judicious system that has been adopted in carrying a fresh current of air round the skirt of the goaf, it would be totally unapproachable. There are various main doors in the course of this current of fresh air, which, if negligently left open or accidentally injured, the current of fresh air would be prevented from going to the parts where it is required, and the consequence be the workings there filled with noxious gas, so as to render the place dangerous and unfit to work in. These main doors are substitutes for stoppings; stoppings being built up permanently with brick, but at these places two trap doors are hung, so that if one of them is injured or displaced the other would be a protection. I have known one of the doors accidentally injured, and sometimes negligently left open. The deputies and myself have an opportunity of seeing these doors frequently through the day, so that if anything is found wrong it can be replaced. The main doors above described are for the purpose of ventilating a large portion of the mine, and the trap doors are used for admitting fresh air to the boards, where two men are placed at work; each board has a trap door. The main doors have, on all occasions, either an old man or boy stationed at each for the purpose of opening and closing them. The trap doors are left open until the hewers in the board proceed to such a distance as to require a greater supply of fresh air; the trap doors are then closed, by which a circulation takes place to the face of the board, and then a boy is stationed at the door to keep it closed and open it when required. I have known instances of the trappers having left their station at the doors, but they have not been absent for any length of time, so that if any accident or inconvenience took place from it on those occasions the delinquents are punished, and if it was frequently to occur they would be discharged altogether. The men who are thus employed are old and infirm, being past doing any hard work, but are quite competent to that duty. The boys vary in age from seven to 14. From my experience, I can put more dependence upon the old men engaged in this employment. The younger boys are placed at the least dangerous places; the old men and elder boys are placed in situations where more care and attention are required. The old men have 1s. 4d. per day, and the boys from 10d. to 1s. 2d. ; at the present time, according to the best of my recollection, the men and elder boys average about ten days' work in the fortnight. If it was not for the greatest care and attention in obtaining a sufficient current of atmospheric or fresh air, and throwing it through the workings of the Bensham seam, the pit would be altogether unworkable. On the morning of the misfortune, a little before four o'clock, and after the men had commenced working at the broken, I looked into the dumb drift near to the broken; I did not find there such a quantity of gas as to render the air inflammable with the Davy-lamp. At the place where I entered the dumb drift it was with the return of the air where there are no doors, and where the state of the broken can be best discovered. I found the air so good where I entered as assured me all the doors were secure, I mean the doors entering into the dumb drift, which are kept locked. The old workings at the south-west of the G shaft are continually charged with vast quantities of gas, which is carried off by the dumb drift, and is discharged through the dumb furnace up the B pit shaft; therefore, as long as the dumb drift is kept in proper order, this gas cannot escape into the workings. After satisfying myself with the safety of the workings at the broken at the second north-east district, and waiting to see the boys set to work at their proper stations, I proceeded to the second north-west district, where the men were working the whole and broken coal; these men were divided into two districts, there were eight men at the whole coal, and from 14 to 16 men at the broken : the whole and broken quarters may be about 150 yards separate from each other. These two quarters are ventilated from the C pit. I found the air at the broken perfectly good; from this broken a great quantity of gas is discharged, but when the men were working the gas is driven away from them by a good current of air, and escapes into the C pit gas drift. The same observations apply to this quarter as to trap doors and air courses, as relates to the former broken described. Between this broken quarter and the whole quarter, where the eight men before mentioned were at work, there is no communication except by the way the coals are taken out, and if any communication took place between these two parties of men the nearest road they could go would be near 200 yards. The eight men described as working at the whole coal in this district were stationed two men in each board; the boards are 20 yards separate from each other. At these boards the men work with candles. The candles are lighted at the G shaft when they enter the pit, and carried to the place of employment. In proceeding to their work with their lighted candles they proceed so far up by the side of the gas drift, but not nearer than 20 yards of it; and if the men go the direct way from the G pit to their work at the whole coal above mentioned, they cannot possibly come in contact with any current of gas so as to render it dangerous with candles. At this whole coal quarter the coal is thrown down by blasting with gunpowder; the band in the coal is previously taken away to make room for blasting the coal. They drill holes into the coal from three to four feet to put the charge of powder in; from these holes gas occasionally escapes, but not in a sufficient quantity to render it dangerous from coming in contact with the candles. At the place where these eight men were employed there is no gas whatever. I have known, since I came to the colliery, explosions taking place in the Bensham seam occasioned by working with candles, through the negligence of the workmen or boys. Men have been burnt but no lives lost. I have occasionally known the gas explode at the gunpowder when it was discharged, but no accident from it. Smoking is not allowed in the broken quarter, and, to my knowledge, a lighted pipe is never taken there; but in the whole quarter there is no objection to it. I have heard of a pipe being lighted at the Davy-lamp, but not at this colliery. I have also heard of the top of the Davy-lamp being taken off to obtain more light in the broken, but not in this colliery. When I examine the workings I go with a candle in the whole quarter, and a Davy-lamp in the broken one. It is my daily business to examine the different currents of air, both at the commencement and leaving of the workings, and previous to this misfortune I found all the currents of air in a safe and workable state. There are open oil lamps placed at different stations; the nearest to the broken quarter where any of those are stationed may be about 140 yards. The state of the atmosphere above ground has a material effect on the gas and air in the pit. According to the density of the atmosphere above there is a greater or less quantity of gas emitted from the seam ; and for the like cause the current of air carried through the workings is also defective and not so good. On this state of the atmosphere I do not think, according to my experience and belief, there would such a quantity of gas escape from the broken as to reach the place where the oil lamp is stationed. On the morning of the 18th, the day the misfortune happened, there might be about 90 hewers (including four who went down about nine o'clock) in the pit between two and three o'clock; the deputies had been down previously to the men, and had visited each board to see that it was safe. Others had been at the broken for the same purpose. The whole of these 90 men (except six) had left the pit at about nine, as they had finished their work till the misfortune happened. The men and boys who were lost went down the pit about half-past four in the morning. None of the men made any complaints that the pit was in a bad state; not one. No part of the workings had holed into any old waste. As far as I have been yet able to explore, I have found no appearance to denote where the explosion originated.

John Atkinson, jun.

John Moor, Shiney Row, deputy overman at Wallsend colliery, being sworn, saith : I have been 27 years employed down the pit at Wallsend colliery. My duty is to go down the pit before the men descend to work, to examine and see that all is safe and right as far as my rounds extend. On the morning of the 18th, I went down as usual, and found the workings as free from gas as at any former period. There was nothing in the state of the weather that morning when I went down, to cause my particular attention. I first visited the first west crane in the whole quarter; I then went to all the boards in that quarter. I afterwards proceeded to the broken, at the east crane; having got to this point, my duty for this day ceased. I left the pit about half-past nine. Before I left the pit, and after I had completed my rounds, I reported to the man who next succeeded me, that I found nothing strange in the pit. Within a very short time after the alarm was given of the explosion, I was down the C pit to render what assistance was in my power, but I could not safely proceed more than 400 yards, on account of the after-damp. All the doors and stoppings in these 400 yards were blown down. I have not been in the workings since that day.

John Moor (his mark).

Edward Combie, Wallsend, sworn : I am deputy-overman at Wallsend colliery. I have been employed about 15 or 16 months in that capacity. My duty is to go down the pit in the mornings, before the men descend to their work, to examine and see all things are correct, and to prepare timber to secure the roof. I went down at half-past one o'clock, on the morning of the 18th, and found the pit in a regular, safe, workable state. I first proceeded to the far-west part of the workings, from thence to the far-east part of the workings, and at that point my work ceased. I returned to bank at eight o'clock in the morning. During my morning's work I found occasion to set timber to secure the roof at the broken, both at the east and west parts of the mine. Since the misfortune happened, I have not been further in the workings than 60 yards from the shaft. None of the men made any complaint that the pit was in a bad state. I and the last witness are the only deputies remaining; the three other deputies and one overman have been lost.

Edward Combie.