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I have come to the conclusion that fire-damp was ignited by the flame of one of the safety lamps of the Reids or J. Garroway at or near the place where the Reids were working on the highest up travelling road to the right of No. 1 brake, and that this developed into a considerable explosion of fire-damp and air, which raised coal dust from the floor at once developed into a much more considerable explosion of coal dust and air, which propagated itself in several directions, sweeping along the travelling roads near the faces, down both brakes and the old places between and on either side of them, and reaching the third North haulage road, passed outbye with great violence to the friction gear, and also a short distance inbye of the foot of No. 2 brake. All the persons in third North and on the roads extending to and including the friction gear would be killed at once, except the four drifters who had travelled out 216 yards after the explosion. The explosion when drying out left three fires, one at the friction gear, one in an old place to the north of No. 2 brake and east of the inner part of the third North haulage road, and one just below the extremity of the trailing road on which the Reids were working. All these fires — and there may have been others — were near where the requisite supply of coal dust for carrying on the explosion no longer existed and where fresh air was more or less available after the explosion had died out, leaving burning dust or other material.

The explosion would instantly kill all the persons near the friction gear, so that as some time necessarily lapsed before any person arrived there, that fire, fed by the whole current of fresh air, soon attained considerable proportions. We have heard from Wear and Kenmare what happened in No. 5 district, and how the lads from the sixth North junction came to that district. I think that the men in the more remote sixth North workings had not felt sufficient movement of the air to alarm them, and they continued working until smoke from the fire reached them, or possibly they may have become alarmed by the diminution of the air circulating, owing to the short circuiting due to the air crossings and stoppings on the third North haulage road being destroyed.

If the 6th North men had come out directly after the explosion, they would have arrived at the 5th North junction before Wear and Kenmare made their escape, and would have been seen by them. On finding smoke in the air current, most of the 6th North men, led by Isaac Wren, the deputy, had come out by the haulage road and would quickly succumb to carbonic oxide poisoning. I think all these men would be dead before midnight on May 11th.Seven men from the 6th North, some or all of whom may have travelled by the airway to the 5th North, had joined the men there. We know from Wear and Kenmare that all the persons in the 5th North were alive when they left, and we have further evidence in the shape of three messages in chalk that they were all alive at 7.30, which I think means 7.30 a.m. on the 12th May ; how much longer they survived is problematical ; from tests made as to the length of time the safety lamps will burn it is probable that some lamps would be burning for some time after 7.30 a.m. and it is a fair assumption that had they all been alive at 8.30 or 9.30 a.m. further messages would have been left. It is probable that all were dead by 10 a.m. on the 12th ; the air would be more and more vitiated as time went on, and they, the men in the 5th North, survived longer than the men from the 6th North, who came direct by the haulage road, because the air which had poisoned the 6th North men travelled a considerable distance and would be somewhat diluted before reaching the 5th North.

Returning to the point of origin of the explosion, I think that the roof stone in the goaf adjacent to the Robbery working on the left side of No. 1 brake had suddenly fallen and alarmed Johnson, Fisher and Mcquillam, who had come out to the brake with their lamps. The effect of a fall in the goaf as regards fouling the air current with fire damp is twofold. First, the fall displaces lying gas and forces it into the current, and second, new surfaces are exposed from which gas may issue freely.

The Reids were not working where they were expected to be, taking down top coal in a place above the brake wheel and adjacent to the Robbery working, and they may have been removed from here by the deputy Ritson owing to their proximity to an uneasy goal. They had evidently been working on the trailing road to the right of the brake, where two projecting masses of Benk coal would provide them with work during the shift. They had removed an 18-foot rail on the high side next one of the masses of Benk coal and probably slewed the sleepers in order to facilitate filling. Possibly one of them may have been engaged filling loose coal further in next the Narrow bord brake, where one of their tokens was found ; and a shovel lay against the inbye side of the inbye mass of Benk coal.

It is a circumstance worthy of note that for about 20 yards inbye of the displaced rail, the rails were clear and rubbish and loose material had not been swept on to them as was the case both inbye and outbye of this undisturbed length. The Reids had each a safety lamp, as well as J. Garroway, whose body was found near them, and who trailed for men further inbye, and these lamps were all found near where the bodies lay, in fact so near that I am inclined to think that they had been alarmed by noticing gas on the flame of their lamps and had seized them and were on their way to the brake. The indications of force showed that the Reids place of work was the point of origin, and there is no other probable means of ignition than the flame of one of their lamps there, as no shots were fired up the brakes, and there was no evidence of smoking or use of matches or open lights. The four lamps were as follows :— John Reid, No. 330 ; John Reid junior, No. 13 ; Joseph Reid, No. 325 ; J. Garroway, No. 103. All were locked. Nos. 325 and 103 were found intact, and were tested at Leeds University with an explosive current passing at 1,260 feet per minute, and in both lamps inflammable vapour burnt in the gauzes without passing flame, the test lasting two minutes. No. 330 was found in three parts. First, the shield, second, the oil vessel with one pole, and third, the gauze, the metal ring with air holes at the bottom of the shield and three of the poles have not yet been found. The glass was missing. There were large pieces of coal lying near this lamp, which from some of their clean and undusted surfaces as well as the clean and undusted surfaces from which they had fallen, proved that they had fallen since the explosion, and had probably damaged the lamp. No. 13 was not much damaged, except that the glass was gone, and the double copper ring at the bottom of the gauze which fits onto the glass shewed somewhat peculiar indentations, one in especial looks as though it had been caused by the blow of some pointed instrument, possible a pick ; this lamp had, I think been damaged before the explosion, and has passed flame. John Reid had lost one eye, and he may have inadvertently struck the lamp. It will be noticed that if gas came off from the goaf at the Robbery place and entered the air current, the Reids' place of work was the first point where it would pass over lighted lamps.

The reason why the explosion did not extend inbye and outbye on the main road on its arrival with great force and flame at the friction gear, appears to be due to the absence of coal dust on that road. This is partly accounted for by the fact that at the leaders of the two troubles, crossed by the main road outbye of the friction gear, small feeders of salt water issued and ran down that road, keeping it moist on the floor nearly to the friction gear: from the 6th North damp coal not producing much dust was led, and salt water collecting in the extremity of the main road was daily brought out in water barrels, some of which were emptied on the 3rd North haulage road to allay the dust there. The speed of the loaded tubs up to the friction gear was only half the speed outbye from that point, and this coupled with the lesser air currents prevented the accumulation of much dust on the upper parts of the road. Even on the 3rd North haulage road, which was the driest road, there was probably not much upper dust, and for considerable distances not much roof timber on which it could collect. The dust on the 3rd North haulage road appeared to be principally on the floor, and was derived from dry coal from the Robbery workings escaping from the tubs.

The main road outbye of the friction gear had recently been and was, in fact, at the time of the explosion, in the process of enlargement ; old timber was taken down, side and roof stone shot down at the week-ends after removing or watering the dust, and these operations helped materially to reduce the quantity of dust, and sufficient time had not elapsed for new deposits to form.

It is worthy of note that the explosion had not extended in the direction of the return airway, which carries off all the gas made in the workings, further than the coal dust extended. Beyond the dusty area the return was undamaged.