The Merthyr Telegraph and General Advertiser for the Iron Districts of South Wales

number et men in a given time; I can given no idea of it, nor can I give the rule by which it is ascertained; 1 cannot give the quantity of gas which the four-feet vein exudes naturally per minute scien- tific gentlemen differ in opinion as to the quantity of vital air required by a human being per minute some think that 100 feet are sufficient, whilst others deem 200 and even 300 necessary I think 200 feet sufficient; it is untrue that the heading fired in two-and-a-half minutes with the door open no such experiment was tried as stated by the witness John Rees.-The coroner said that he could not have the evidence of a man on oath impugned by Mr. Moody. Mr. Moody acknow- ledges that he was not present at the time, but that he has heard froni others that it is incorrect; until the incorrectness of John Rees's evidence is sworn to on oath it must be believed as truth.-By Mr. Evans In the carrying on of the collieries I have full liberty to carry out the air-ways and ventilate the mine as I think proper; we have found that it is tbe safest plan to allow the door-boys to accompany the hauliers generally, exceptpn pillar working stalls, the doors of which are kept by stationary boys or men; in examining the return air-way, I have never seen any gas there, nor any indications of it; in providing the air for the ventilation of th's colliery, I think there is sufficient if the quantity comes up to 200 feet per man per minute; I do not take into considera- tion the surface of coal exposed I have no barometer in the pit, nor do I keep a record of the barometer at all; since this )explosion has taken place I have intro- duced safety lamps into the upper colliery I think it would be safe to work the lower colliery with safety lamps in its present condition!; as a general rule in this pit, I don't think it is safe to work any part of it with safety lamps when it is unsafe to work with naked lights. — (Mr. Evans here remarked that the use of safety 10 lamps ought to be considered as an extra precaution against accumulation of gas, and not as a substitute for ventilation). I have not heard that it is an opinion amongst the men that when safety lamps are introduced it is at the expense of ventilation.— Mr. Evans I know that this is the opinion, and that in the Aber- dare valley they have now struck in consequence of the introduction of safety lamps I would wish to remove this impression from the minds of the men ,as it is quite erroneous.— Mr. Moody: Ilk-now as a fact, that since the accident, and the greater introduction of safety lamps, severalfof our colliers have left. —The coroner: In the Aberdare valley some time ago, it was the masters that objected to the introduction of lamps, and it was only after an explosion had taken place in almost every pit that they adopted them; what the men objected to wa§, that as they could not raise as much coal with the safety lamp as the naked light, they ought to receive a higher price per ton. SEVENTH DAY.- Wednesday. (Mr. Moody's evidence continued.) By Mr. C. H. James During the eight years that I have been a viewer at Cyfarthfa, there has been no death from fire in the Gethin pit; from the 1st of April 1856 to 31st of March 1861, (five years), the quantity of coal raised in all the collieries at Cyfarthfa has been 1,243,864 tons during the whole of that period there has been but one death from explosion, and that not in either of these pits, but in Roblin's pit; in the eight years I have been at Cyfarthfa, I have raised upwards of 2,000,000 tons of coal; on the 10th and 11th of Feb- ruary, I was in No. 1 pit about seven hours each day, and I then went through all the working places for the purpose of measuring up the work Samuel Jones, the overman, and John Eynon were with me; my duties as measurer of the work compelled me to go into the pit at least once a month, and to inspect every working «lace in the pit; this occupied me two days of seven ours each every month of four weeks besides the mea- suring days my duties would take rpe into No. 1 pit two days each week, occupying on each day six hours my duties,'would, on these visits, take me through the working places and return air-ways the overman would always aceompany me in these visits, sometimes the undcr-viewer and master wasteman in those in- spections I made myself acquainted with the colliery in all its parts besides these personal inspections I re- ceived reports four or five times a week from the over- man, and about four reports weekly from the under- viewer; when I say reports I mean verbal reports; suppo- sing the south air-way were carried on to the face of the level, and that were made an in-take as well as the level and an explosion were to take place at the face of the workings, I think its effect upon the two in-take* would be the same as upon the one, that the explosion would run back in the two as it would in the one the effect would then be the same in respect to the lives ot the men at the face of the workings as it was at the last ex- plosion assuming that a flue of its present area were there, I do not think that a greater quantity of air would be admitted by two air-ways than is now admitted by the one; in view of this sad calamity 1 do not think that a second air-way would be of any use supposing that this second air-level were made it would require two bridges over each deep heading, one over the horse-way, and one over the air-way, the height of which would be about seven feet to the crown; if this second level had been carried out as now proposed by the colliers, it would necessitate that no communications should be between the two in-takes-j such an air-level would be liable to falls, and supposing that falls were to take place oppos- ite Nos. 11 and 12 cross-headings, I do not think it would be practicable to clear them away there would be about ten or twelve bridges of this kind I do not think that such bridges could be maintained on account of the bad top and the pueking at the bottom. I have been in a great many pits in my life, and my education has been more in pits than in schools; I have never seen any such an air-way as that intended to be carried on by Mr. Thomas Kirkhouse in this district, and have also made inquiries, and I find there are none there was a leakage at all the doors on the rise side of the level-heading, but I do not consider thit leakage is an injury to the colliery the effect of that leagage is, that with the air passing down the ma.in return, it tends to keep the old workings clean referring to a fall in the heading, which Samuel Jones was repairing at the time of the accident, it was not of such magnitude as to require that the overman should ha\e told me of it the air-ways in the west part of the levtl are about the usual size that had been used in this collery in the other parts whilst driving on their suffi- ciency to have saved us from accident these last eight yeas is a presumption of their absolute sufficiency. (Tht examination of Mr. Moody by Mr. Jauies was contnued for a considerable time in reference to the manier in which the air returned to the furnaces through the various workings, but which would be unintelligible to th general reader without the aid of the working drawngs.) There was no stinting whatever in the gettiig of men to do any necessary work in the pit for the purpose of promoting the ventilation or the safety of tht work the master wasteman might employ a collier when required, without consulting any person; I nevr complained that too many persons were ever emplojjd in works of this nature; I have never seen any gf1 in this pit; twenty-eight yards of the brattice from te face of the level were blown down by the explosin, and have remained down to this day there- fore thi distance of twenty-eight yards is now without any vetilation whatever I have tried for gas at the face of ;his level a dozen times since the accident, and found b fire. If the theory that the pressure on the cal from the deep v. orkings would cause the gas to exud, were correct this is the place where it would b tested by the tests applied at the extreme would b tested by the tests applied at the extreme end of ou workings, and where there is no ventilation, I find tl, theory is incorrect; I know of no colliery in this distr:t so worked as to render the use of doors unnecessay I have also been in collieries in the No.'th of Englan, and never saw such a system adopted, nor have I eve spoken to any person who has inspected any collier without doors as to the quantity of air required bj each man, that would depend upon the the fiery r.ture of the mine; I do not consider this a fiery mil.-By Mr. Blackwell: Though there has been but o* death, there have been injuries from burning proceed by explosion, since 1 h t.ve been over- man, severa.iifferent times I do not think that any injuries havfctaken place in the pit since my manage- ment, that cannot recollect; there were some accidents in tlij pit from explosions before my manage- ment I am nt certain that there must be more gas" in the deep worklgS as those works progress, than if they were wr.d to the rise; there may be in some places, but I lye not found it here; 1 have never before had suclan explosion at a Cyfarthfa colliery as the present; thiSXplosion does not even now show me that there is me probability of gas in the deep work- ings than in tli^hallow I think the explosion would have occurred en if we had 21,000 feet of air at the face of the leve I think it would have made no difference whetheve had 3,000 or 20,000 passing at the end of the level }f the south level had been continued to the end I tid that the effect on the two in-takes would Ive been the same as on the one, in case of lTi explosion; the additional air would not have evented the explosion; I said that two air-ways "uld not take in more air than one it would be limited 1 the flue that the return air-ways would not take aw; more than a certain quantity of air was not my rean for saying that I thought two flues would not cony more air in than one nue the quantity of air receij into the pit is limited by the area of the flues; thyrea of both flues is 96 feet; my present consideration^ the question, and the know- ledge of the area of th^Ues do not make me believe that the impediment to ge'^g in the air in sufficient quan- tity was the deficient turn air-ways I do not know that it is the usual pi;tice in well-regulated collieries to make the sectionaret of the out-take air-ways larger than the intake; do know that a much greater velocity can be had in afts than in the windway pas- sages of the air-way, b I cannot say that this fact ought to induce me toiake the passages larger than the fill aft: if I had seethe necessity of ft second air course, I could not hav^yoi4e« th:o, necessity of the bridges I have before spoken of, in consequence of the way in which I have laid out the works if I had to carry on the south air-way now, I could not do so with- out bridges or doors; I believe it could be done if the workings in the yard coal were stopped; admitting that that measurement shows that three-fourths of the air leaks through the various doors before it arrives at the face of the level, I do not see that this would be objectionable. considering that, after the explosion, the ventilation of nearly a quarter of a mile of the pit was destroyed by the doors being broken I do not, nevertheless, con- sider the system of separation doors at all insecure: I am not aware that the great loss of life in explosions has been owing to the destruction of the separation doors.-(The attention of the witness was here directed to the evidence, before a Parliamentary Committee, of Mr. Nicholas Wood, respecting the danger of separation doors, and who recommended regulators.) The witness remarked upon this, that in collieries under Mr. Wood there were doors used, which the witness knew from his own observation. Thomas Evans, Esq., H.M. Inspector for South Wales, said I examined the Gethin pit the day after the explosion, and made a minute and careful examin- ation of the colliery twice, in company with my col- league, Mr. Brough, the Inspector for the South Western District, who assists me, and attends this inquiry Jat my suggestion, and by direction of the Secretary of State; the explosion and its effects are confined to the upper four-foot vein of coal, on the western side of the pit; I have examined the whole of the main in-take and the return air-courses from the downcast shaft to the flue or furnace at the bottom of the upcast the distribution of the air through the workings, the means used for producing the ventilation, and the minute details of the ventilation have already been described by previous wittnesses, I will, therefore, only remark that the air passes along the level from the downcast to the face of the works, and returns up some of the cross-headings through the old works to a main return air-way, very circuitous and of considerable length, to the upcast shaft; there are two very well constructed furnaces at the bottom of the upcast, and this shaft is used exclusively for ventilating purposes the same system of working the coal is here adopted as in most of the coal mines of South Wales, and is known as the pillar and stall; I have, with the assistance of Mr. Brough, measured the air passing along the level at or near No. 6 cross-heading; the first day I measured it was on the 25th February, and the five experiments satisfied me that a little more than 20,000 feet per min- ute was the quantity passing at that time; I again measured the air at this point on the 28th February, about the sametfirae of the day, (twelve o'clock) and the average of twelve experiments gave a total quantity of 20,540 cubic feet per minute; we again, on the 25th February, measured the air between Nos. 19 and 20 cross-headings, in the return air-way, and found about 2640 cubic feet per minute again, near the same place, on the 28th, it had increased to 4950 feet per minute; in the return air-way, between Nos. 15 and 16 cross-head- ings, on the 2hth February, the average was 4MO cubic feet per minute, and on the 28th February it had in- creased to 7000 cubic feet; the total quantity on both days was nearly the same, but great improvement had taken place in towards the face of the works, and in the return at Nos. 15 and 10 cross-headings; this is to be accounted for by the doors being made tight at the bot- toms of the headings, and less leakage would result; the in-take air-way, or main travelling road, in places pre- sents small sectional area, especially in the arches near the staple to the yard-coal, and at the back ot the brat- tice at the face of the level; this brattice is, however, not so tightly made as not to leak a very considerable quantity of air; the return is also very small in many places, not presenting a sectional area of more than sixteen feet; from personal observation and from the evidence I have heard, I believe the first explosion originated in No. 19 cross-heading, and then extended along the level out to about between Nos. 12 and 13 cross-headings I believe there must have been other explosions following in quick succession, pro- bably in No. 17 heading, and at the bottom of No. 15 heading I am perfectly satisfied it passed up the 18th heading, and blew the mortar from the lower side of the stall against the timber, up the heading, and into the stall, and blew the tram also in my opinion there can be no doubt that gas lodged in some of the holes in the roof which have been described, and most likely in the gobs, more particularly near the face from about No. 16 heading, consequent on its close proximity to the yard coal. whicbfdoes at the Gethin, and westward, give off considerable quantities of gas. I may observe that to the east of Merthyras far as JLihymney, gas is seldom seen in this vein of coal; the roof is also bad at Gethin, and the falls frequently extend to the yard coal I do not think the distribution of the air is well arranged, and I am of opinion the ventilation was too nearly balanced, and not sufficient for any extraordinary circumstance that might arise. (The condition of the atmospheric pressure at the time of the accident as taken by the barometer, as well as the possibility of obstructions in the windway were referred to.) I do not think the air used for the ventilation of any part of the colliery in which safety lamps are used ought to pass the naked light of any man; the shafts are well managed for a good distribution of air, I mean as regards position of rise and dip, and the off level ranges; but all the cross-headings should have a separate and distinct split of air, meeting in a proper size air-way of not less than 6 feet by 7 the road let down so that a horse could go in, and enable them to maintain a proper area this, then, would ventilate the old work- ings, and keep them clear of gas; the main in-take should, in places, be double, so as to insure sufficient air- passage, where horses are passing, &c.; the four-foot coal of this district to the east of Merthyr has a most excellent roof, and does not give off as much gas, but as you approach the westward, the two coals come together, have a bad roof, and appear to emit much more gas I would suggest that the two coals b'j work- ed together where practicable, and if that cannot be done, then, bore-holes to be made frequently up to the coal to release the pressure; the 'up-cast shaft is too shallow, and I can only recommend a chimney of consderable height or mechanical ventilation; of course it is out of the question sinking a shaft at the extreme end of the level, for it is under the mountain of Aberdare, and now that this vein is nearly exhausted the present shafts are sufficient; the exhausted stalls are now partially open, and the air leaks through in very small quantities, in my opinion worse than none at all; by giving the headings a dis- tinct current of air, and working the top st-ill, iirst, the gas would be taken away to the return without any danger of explosion I do not like the system of mixed lights, and in my opinion this colliery should, in future, be worked exclusively with locked safety lamps, and the use of powder discontinued it must be remembered, however, that nothing but adequate ventilation, a strict observance of the 1st General Rule of the Mines Inspection Act, will guarantee the absolute safety of the mine, the safety lamp to be depended on only as an extra precaution in case of any unforseen accident over which the manager has no control; to the west of the dip much more gas may be expected there may be a difficulty in introdu- cing lamps, as so many millions of tons have been worked without them; the gas was fired with a naked light, for they were in general use; the safety lamps used were also not in good condition the evidence given at this inquest has indicated that the 16th, 18th, 20th, 26th, 31th, 37th, and 63rd Special Rules were more or less violated the door-boys, to be of any use, should remain at the doors to see that they are properly shut; when I examined the pit, on the 28th February, I think the state of the ventilation was generally the same as previous tothe explosion, though there was not so much air at the face; the passage of a team of horses and trams along the level, of course, obstructs and heats the air, and a good deal of air is consumed by the horses the opening and shutting of the doors on the cross-headings ought not to affect the ventilation much, but I consider all these as points of danger; J. think it likely that when the pit is at work, there might be rather less air at the working places than when I examined it; I don't think that, under the present system of working, a second level air-course would be any protection I con- sider it unnecessary; it would, of course, introduce more air; if the return air-way to the rise were sufficiently large, I think there is ample room on the level to admit the air; had I the management of laying out of such a pit, I wouldj make the present north wind-way a separate in-take, and carry off the return air by the main return on the extreme rise -I don't think such an air-level as that commenced W the south of the main level, and separa- ted from it, and carried to the face, either practicable or necessary there are quite enough levels without any other being driven I believe it would be better to do away with the separation dcors at the bottom of the cross-headings and put up regulators, and I also think that if the workings were commenced at the extremity and carried back it would be better; I would divide the pit into districts, and let each district have its own current of air. EIGHTH DAY.— Thursday. Lionel Brough, Esq., H.M. Inspector for the Western Division, examined: I attend here by order of the Secretary of State, at the request of Mr. Evans I visited the pit on Tuesday, the 25th of February, and made an inspection there on Friday, the 28th of the same month, we again went down together, and instituted another inquiry into the state of the mine, and into the circumstances that might be supposed to have brought about this great calamity; on each of these-occasions we took pains to measure the air in dif- ferent ways, and by distinct and separate means and instruments 1 am of opinion that the explosion occur- red at the far end of the No. 19 cross-heaaing, and that it then rushed with lightning speed and force down that heading the gas must of course have come in contact with naked name in its flight the inflamed gas had, most likely, ignited other bags of fire damp hanging ahave the collars in headings or stall?, and gm thai was nestling in the old gobs the explosion was not of force sufficient to do extensive injury to the colliery, though gas enough was fired to burn some men and horses; above all things, enough carburetted hydrogen entered into combination with its sup- porter to withdraw from the air underground a considerable proportion of vital oxygen, and thereby destroy by suffocation many of the persons who had escaped the burning where coal gives out gas I object to the use of mixed lights if protected flame is required in the rippings, all the pit should be put on safety lamps I do not think enough air got into the far end of the western workings for the perfect safety of the people making use of naked lights; my reason for giving this opinion is, that after that limited supply of wind swept the face of the main level it had to course the workings of several cross-headings to the eastward there are portions of [the in-take too restricted, in my opinion, for the free entry of the fresh current; also there are places in the main returns of much too small a sectional area for the easy passage of dilated or rarefied air I think more wind should have been sent through this long and extended western district of work the upcast air-shaft is one of but limited ascensional columns and I would myselp put a much more lofty stack on it;, its present dimensions bear no comparison in this respect with the downcast; it is customary to allege, when inspectors encounter difficulty in discovering the cause of accumulation of gas, that they attribute it to a diminished column of mercury; I have only to state that much observation has been given to this subject, and the fact of reduced atmospheric pressure at the mo- ment of some of the great calamities of the United Kingdom has been fully established whenever the bar. ometer lis low I am myself always apprehensive of danger; the mercury is said to have been at 291 inches at Swansea on the day of the Cethin catastrophe, and this may be considered a point low enough to excite an- xiety, and induce extra care and caution in any pit where the coal is known to exude carburetted hydrogen gas I may say this with still greater reason, inasmuch as there will be nearly half an inch difference between Merthyr and the seaside this pit should have had more splits, in order to ensure a fresh supply at the ex- treme far end a long travel and contracted areas can only admit of languid currents, and it is proper to add that these distant points require the sharpest air, especi- ally in the present instance, where the workings are approaching the fiery Aberdare neighbourhood. I concur with all the measurements given in by Mr. Evans, and in all his statements I quite agree, for we worked together hand in hand in our entire investigations; if gas were constantly thrown off by the coal in this pit I would not agree with the system of ventilation, but I cannot think it could have given off much gas, or a greater destruction of doors and a greater degree of injury to the pit would have occurred; a very small quantity of gas exploded would be sufficient to destroy human life; with regard to the air at the_ face of the level, I am of opinion that it always was insufficient, and had I been the chief viewer it would not have satis- fied me; when the gas was discovered in No. 20 head- ing by the fireman, and a door put up to drive it away, the men working in the vicinity of it ought to have been withdrawn the use of the barometer has always been of great value, for the depth of the column of mercury always indicates a degree of danger in fiery pits in the district under my inspection, I have succeeded with all the viewers to nave in their pits, a barometer in the cabinet at the bottom of their pits, for the daily and even hourly inspection of the viewer and overmen, and it is found most valuable as a means of anticipating the exudition of gas from fiery coal. J. K. Blackwell, Esq., examined I have attended by the direction of the Secretary of State, on this occasion I have only made one visit to the pits, and that was after the accident, and, therefore, any observations which I may make must necessarily be confined to such as could He made under the circumstanc es. As a practical man, and from the evidence on record with regard to the origin of the accident, I think it may have been caused by an ex- plosion of gas in No. 19 heading; I think that is the probability, but the evidence does not appear absolutely conclusive on that point; f think there is also a proba- bility that gas swept out of No. 20 cross-heading into No. IJ cross-bea(iinz, maj have been-- the first cause of the explosion, but the evidence on this point is not conclu- sive I think that the gas which is stated to have been found in the hole in the roof of No. 20 cross-heading was probably an indication that gas was eoming- away con- tinually at that point, very likely from the yard coal; the low state of the barometer would, no doubt, by re- lieving the coal from pressure, tend to produce a continu- on; flow of gai, if that gas had any tendency to escape; the thermometer was comparatively high on that day, and this would have a tendency to cause the air to be slacker than usual at that time; the ventilation of this pit is maintained by a furnace connected with the up- cast shaft or flue the quantity of air which passes over the furnace in this position is determined in a great de- gree by the difference in temperature which exists be- tween tiiejcolumiih of air descending in the down-cast and ascending in the up-cast shaft or flue I think, therefore, that the probability is that the air was some- what slacker on the day when the explosion oc- curred than usual with regard to the sources of the gas which ignited in the subsequent ex- plosions or secondary explosions, which appear evi- dently to have occurred, any pockets of gas ex- isting would probably be swept out and picked up by the shock of the first explosion in its course the recorded low state of the barometer on the day of the explosion, renders it probable that such pockets existed more abundantly than usual; 1 think it is also probable that gas to a considerable extent is actually generated particularly in a dry and dusty coal pit, by the explo- sions which occurs; the blast of an explosion would gather up and envelope with name a large quantity of finely divided carbonaceous matter, or coal dust, and I think it is only by supposing that this does actually take place during an explosion, that we can fully account for the extent to which the fire and blast extend through the passages of the mine in the direction of the in-take air the loss of life which occurred on this occasion was, as usual, far larger from the destruc- tion of ventilation along the channel by which the intake air entered the pit, than from the injuries received from the mere explosion this resulted from a very defective arrangement in the works of the pit; the separation between the in-take current and the return was destroyed for nearly a quarter of a mile along the west level, and this along the only passage by which fresh air could reach the sufferers, or help be afforded them; in this pit the insecurity of the main intake current was greatly increased by there being numerous lateral openings to the return on the dip as well as on the rise of that level; the effect of such an arrangement as that which has been described, was not only to create great insecurity in the maintenance of ventilation but to cause the obstruction of by far the largest portion of the intake air, and its diversion into the return currents before tfrefc intake air could reach the working places at the west end of the level where nearly all the n en were suffocated; I think the inevitable co.ich t) m is, that the quantity of air c M-ried. into those workiugs hai been constantly diminishing in proportion to the lengthening of the west level, because the headings have been constantly augmenting in number as the level became longer. It appears to have been entirely over- looked that the quantity of air required in any pit should bear a relation, not only to the number of men employed, but to the extent of surface of coal exposed while the extent of surface of coal exposed has been con- tinually increasing, I believe the quantity of air reach- ing the workings has been diminishing. We have heard that the very careful measurements made by Messrs. Evans and Brough of the quantity of air in motion in this pit subsequently to the explosion, and when, except- ing so far as when the pit was not at work, things had been restored to their normal state, prove that the quantity of air, which reached the end of the west level, must have been, at the time of the explosion, quite in- adequate and greatly lower than the standard which ex- perience points out as necessary under similar circum- stances. I do not think that on working days, when the west level was comparatively full of men, horses, and trams loaded with coal. when the doors leading into the headings were being constantly opened and shut, that there could have reached a quantity of more than 3,500 cubic feet per minute at the extreme workings at the west end of the level; the point which the person to whom the management of the mine was entrusted, ought to direct his attention, in the first in- stance when determining his system of ventilation, to get the largest volume of in-take possible to the face of his workings; here it was nearly all allowed to leak away in its course; another axiom in ventilation also appears to have been entirely overlooked, that is, that it is impossible to get air into the workings of any pit if there h no sufficient road provided for it to go out again. I think that with so weak a ventilation at the face of the west level, as what appears to have been clearly proved to have existed at the time of the explosion, that it was extremely imprudent to work at all with naked lights; there was, moreover, as Mr Brough has pointed out, a distinct act of negligence committed on the day of the explosion, by the day fireman, in sweeping the gas which had accumulated in 20 cross-heading out into the working currents, where the men were using naked lights; the men certainly ought to have been withdrawn from this district, when this mode of dealing with gas which had accumulated there, was found to be neces- sary all naked lights should have been withdrawn I think the method by which the west level had been con- structed, for about 25 yards along its course by stone arching between 14 and 15 cross-headings, presented a great obstruction to the in-take air it is proved by the evidence of Messrs Brough and Evans that the sectional area of this arching was only 30 square feet; the west level beyond this point was also, on account of the badness of the roof through this district, considerably conlractel; it would require that an air-way should have a sectional area of 50 square feet to pass a quantity of 15,000 cubic feet of air per minute at a velocity of 5 feet per second, and this is the greatest convenient velocity which can be raaifttained throi^uouta working level of this description; a. somewhat lower velocity than even this, where men are working with naked lights, would be more convenient above 5 feet velocity per second renders it very difficult for the hauliers to manage their light; I think that 15,000 cubic feet per minute of air is the very smallest quantity which ought to have been relied upon for working this pit at the west level section, and that the quantity ought to have been conducted to the face of the workings, after all loss from leakage had been deducted; an additional air-way would have been needed to get this quantity of air to the face; when I speak of 15,000 cubic .feet per minute, I stated that as the minimum which ought to have been carried into the west workings, but I think a larger quantity would have been better, because this would have allowed the works to be arranged on a system by which all the sepa- ration doors could have been done away with, and nnder which the ventilation could have only been momentarily disturbed by the explosion, the air returning immediately afterwards to its normal state; but to effect this, other changes would have been necessary in addition to en- large in-take air-courses the return air-ways must have beenlproportionately enlarged; with air-ways of the sectional area of 16 square feet a velocity of five feet per second must be maintained to drag only 4800 cubic feet per minute through such passage, and that is a v^lonity which can scarcely be attained in a narrow winding air-course, at so great a distance from the flue as the return air-course is from the western extremity of the workings; this pit certainly occupies a very dangerous position'so far as regards the probability of fire-damp escaping into the workings from the ad- jacent deep unworked coal-field to the south; I think this consideration ought to have caused the pit to be worked with safety lamps alone, and not with naked lights; still this change, if it had been adopted, ought not to have superseded an improvement in the vent'la- tion, which I think, even combined with the use of safety lamps, was clearly very defective; nearly all the large explosions which have taken place in this country have been clearly proved to have originated from naked lights, and the presumption is, that even where safety lamps have been used in pits which had exploded, that these lamps were either defective in their construction, had been tampered with, or i-ome of the men had carried fusees or something of that nature into the pit; it is well known that unless a very rigid police is established in pits worked with safety lamps, mell will tamper with them; the careful experiments which have been made with regard to the security afforded by safety lamps under very unfavourable circumstances, tell that they are really and practically secure if properly used, and the objections with regard to the light afforded by the old Davy may be met by the use of some of the more mo- dern lamps, which afford more light; most of these mo- dern lamps, giving greater light than the old Davy, may be used with double gauzes, which give great ad- ditional security; it must, however, be admitted that inadequate ventilation has been usually found to be the original cause of all, or nearly all, the explosions which have occurred, notwithstanding the immediate cause may have been the use of naked lights; good and well arranged ventilation, that is, notonly an adequate volume of air, but such a system of arrangement as i s not liable to be destroyed throughout a great part of the pit by the shock of an explosion, and in which the eftects of an explosion are necessarily limited to a narrow district, is whftt ought to be sought for by every mining engineer in the pits under his charge; it did not exist in this pit. The evidence having now been concluded, the Coroner then addressed the jury. We give a summary of his address.—" We have now carried our inquiry as far as it is practicable, and I trust obtained sufficient evidence to enable you to decide upon your verdict. It now becomes my duty to offer you a few observa- tions. In the first place let us see, before we proceed, to examine the evidences more minutely, what are the general facts as proved before ua. It appears that about twelve o'clock at noon, on the 19th of February, an explosion took place in the No. 1 Gethin pit. One hundred and fifty-three living persons went down that pit Pu the morning, to follow their usual avocations, forty-two of whom were employed at the east side of the pit. and the remaining III were scattered about in different parts of the west level. Out of these 111 there were forty-nine who were employed near the end between No. J4 cross-heading and the face of the level. All these forty-nine, with the exception of two, Thomas Thomas, and his son, were found dead. Thomas has described to you how it happened. lie told us tint as he was walking along towards the pit and was between certain headings, he felt the effects of an explosion from behind, by which he was violently blown forvird aud stunned, and remained there until he was released by the persons who catne to his rescue. Hi» son, who was the only other surviver, had just come down from No. 16 with a tram of coal; he was found along this level, near his father, and from these and other data, it is manifest that the effects of the explosion were confined to the portion of the colliery tyir.g to the west of No. 14 heading, between th.it heading and the face of the level. The men on the other side of the pit do not appear to have been conscious that an explosion had taken place. The place whore the shock of the explo- sion appears to have been most severe, and where the evidence points out as most likely to be the origin of the misfortune, seems to be No. 19 heading, where the mason, Ebenezer Jonps, and his son were at work, or t te stall adjoining, with naked lights, and if there had been any gas existing in either the face of the heading or the stall, or brought there from any other part of the works, or a sudden blower had taken place it would necessarily take fire at those naked lights. These facts, corroborated as they have been by other evidence, will, I apprehend be sufficient to enable you to come to a conclusion on the first point that I propounded to you, viz. How and by what means did the explosion occur ? Having satisfied yourselves on the first point youwill then have the more important question to decide, whether it arose from accident or from culpable neglect. If the evidence lead you to believe that the catastrophe did not arise from any negligence or carelessness, but was one of those unforeseen casualties that ordinary fore- thought and caution could not foresee or prevent— casualties that must necessarily attend all mining operations, then, however serious it may be, and much to be regretted, it would only amount to accidental death. But if, on the other hand, you consider that it arose from the carelessness or negligence of any of the various agents, overmen, or others, who had duties to perform in reference to the pit or the men, then it would amount to culpable neglect, and it would be your duty to find a verdict of manslaughter against the delinquent. Before I proceed to refer to the evidence it may, perhaps, be some advantage to you if I endeavour to explain the law on this point. The Coroner then read the law enacting that a verdict of manslaughter be returned in such a case where death ensues from want of proper caution or neglect. The Coroner then went over the various points in detail, and concluded an able summary by thanking them for the patience ex- hibited throughout the long and tedious inquiry. The room was now cleared, and the jury left to consider their- verdict, and after about two hours' deliberation the public were admitted, when the foreman handed the Coroner the following as THE VERDICT. "That in the enquiry into the cause of the death of Samuel Jones and others, at the Gethin Colliery, we find,- lst.-That the Ventilation of No. 1 Gethin Pit was deficient in quantity, badly arranged, and liable to frequent interruptions 2ndly.—That the Viewer disregarded the 1st General Rule, and also permitted the Special Rules 16,18, 24, 26, 31,34, 37, and 63, to be gen- erally disregarded by his Officers." This verdict being practically one of MANSLAUGHTER against the viewer Mr. John Moody, he was then com- mitted on the Coroner's warrant, to take his trial at the next Assizes, on this charge. He was admitted to bail, himself in £100, and Mr. Laverick and Mr. Kelly, of Plymouth Works, as sureties in £;)0 each on his behalf. The public have naturally shown a great amount of feeling in the decision of the jury, and next week we hope to offer some remarks on the incidents of the investigation. » HARTLEY COI.LTBRV.—The fatal pit at Hartley is now as silent as the grave, all work in the shaft having been totally discontinued. The pumps have been brought out, and the water in the pit has risen above the yard seam, where, it will be recollected, the dead men were found after the late terrible accident. The mouth of the shaft is railed off, and scarlely anyone but occasionally a curious visitor is to be seen on the high platform. The engines are quiet, and the metal about them is being weighed, with a view to selling it. The portion of the beam that f,,Il into the pit has not been seen since the accident, and it appears that there is no probability of an attempt being made to resume the working of the colliery. It may be, therefore, that the ponderous beam will remain submerged for years or even for ages, before it shall be ag-ain brought piecemeal, if at all, to the surface of the earth, whence it descended with such fell results From the official returns, it appears that 202 rr.en and boys were killed in the mine, and five by the falling of the cage, making a total sac- rifice of 207 lives. The widowi and other relatives seem to be satisfied with the relief which they received fron the fund, and there is, so far as we can learn, only one instance of complaint. That is in the case of an orphan girl, named Ross, 14 years of age, who is only allowed 2s. OJ. per week, or one penny per meal, out of a fund of more than £ 70,000 subscribed for the widows and orphans—Newcastle Chronicle,