The Merthyr Express

Rhymney Valley Echoes. [By 'RECO)MEP.j Some people in the Rhymney Valley ask me why this or that report is not in the "Merthyr Kxpress"—reports which have been inserted. The reason why they have not been able to find such reports has been because they have not asked their newsagent for the West Monmouth- shire Edition of the "Merthyr Express." That is the edition which contains the Rhymney Val- ley news. "West Monmouthshire Edition" ap- pears at the top of the firs page, and if that title is not there, readers have got another edi- ticn in which, il may be, the particular report they seek for is missing. The idea of a Wat-er Board for the Rhymney Valley is gaining ground, as will be seen by the approval given to the suggestion of the Caerphilly Council-for a conference on the subject by the Rhymney District Council. The Caerphilly Council suggest that such conference should be held at a central point- at Hengoed. The Rhymney councillors on Wednesday "eemed heartily to enjoy the game of lot- drawing for a caretaker, for which there were twenty-one candidates. First there was a win- nowing process that of eliminating those straightforward and plain-spoken candidates who ask?d for wages in addition to rent, light, and firing. Then came the process of eliminat- c in those indefinite or, it may be, modest can- didates who stated no terms a1' all. By this means, some eleven candidates were "hors de combat," or out of the running. -k• Then the remaining candidates were balloted for. "The lot were cast into the lap." and two out of the ten were selected, and finally one. It was very interesting te watch this drawing for a caretaker. Seeing that that lot has fallen upon the one, I hope he will be happy with his lot. and that the lot of ail the others may im- prove for as all the candidates were of the good town of Rhymney, I have no doubt they were a good lot. The inquest on the Darran disaster closed on Wednesday evening at Bargoed by a verdict which was certainly in accord with the facts- whether more ought to be said is another mat- ter. The evidence disclosed the fact that re- form in certain directions is called for. The pity is that it is so often left unseen until others have suffered. What are the possibilities of twenty keys in the hands of twenty different persons? This remains to b3 seen. The Rhymney Council are having an old lock on their fire station fitted with twenty naw keys. Like new wine in old bottles, they are going to put new steel keys into an old lock. Will the abundance of keys lead to abundant carelessness, so that all of them will be lost in almost less time than a careful person would retain one key? And will the fact of so many keys being lost put some dishonest finder in possession of the store? All this remains to be seen in future reports. But is it not rather hard on an old lock to worry it with twenty new kevs in its old age? I have not a great deal of hope for that easily removable fence proposed to be erected at Rhymney fire-wood being a much coveted article in the valley. t

f Bargoed Miners' Meeting. A meeting of the Bargoed miners was held on Wednesday evening at the New Hall, Bar- good, Mr. James Evans (president of the dis- trict) presiding. The object of the meeting was to consider the proposals of the Powell Duffryn Company in reference to the multiple and traffic ,,Ilifts. -Ir. Walter Lewis (agent) and Mr. Al- bert Thomas (sub agent) explained the propos- als, and on the proposition of one of the mem- bers of the Federation, it was decided not to accept either of the proposals.—It was explained that about thirty or forty men were now en- gaged on the traffic shift at Bargoed, and great objection to this was expressed by several mem- bers of the audience.—Coun. W Hammonds re- I marked that if they passed a resolution, they should see that its objects were carried out. They should have a definite line of policy, and decide what they should do when they had the reply from the agent of the company.—Mr. Albert Thomas advised th* men not to take I any ra-h action. They knew the effect and re- sult of strikes, and some of them still carried the burden of the last six months' strike.—Mr. Edmund Jones (the local secretary) also spoke, and it was decided that the Agent and Sub- agent and the two checkweighers on the plat- form should wait on Mr Phillips (the agent of the Powell Duffryn Company) with regard to the matter, and report thereon later.

I WHO TAKES ,4 Who lea. 4 ood êQrç tQ livø ays thQ ikes Seigel's Syrup is sure to t? well/' tens of thousands of cured ||j pspeptics would hd-ve egfooed Ms refrain. As a digestive tonic and ill remedy Mother Seigel's Syrup has no equal, || I MOTHER B £ E lOEL'fi I IP SYRUP W I wk Thirty drops in a little water, taken daily after me^ls, stimulate the || If stomach and liver to healthy activity, jind thus pleanse and keep the || H system free from impurities. It promotes the secretion of the digestive |j| H juices, assists digestion and makes food nourish you. Mr, Frank Rogers, || II of Parsonage Cottages, Catherington, near Horndean, Haptg,, says it || E§ cured him of severe Indigestion. He writes:—" I continued taking g|| E| Mother Seigel's Syrup till I had used three bottles. Then, being quite Hg «| free from pain and able tQ eat without fear, J no more of it. Ever j|P || | have been as well as a man could be." Why not let it cure yout 1| I IS SURE I I TO BE WELL. I ||! Tk« 2/6 of Syrap cogttiqs tfcreg times as much at the 1/!| 9in. ill Also ia Tablet Form at 2/9

The Darran Disaster. INQUEST AND VERDICT. The inquiry into the cause of the death of he 2QCtKmn ?Vhe Darran CoIliery disaster on le 2-tl^^Pctober, was resumed by the district Coroner TVlr. R. J. Rhys, at the Plasnewydd on Tuesday morning. Amontr \}?„« were H M- Inspectors of .lines (Mi V Atkinson and Mr F A r^yh with assistant inspectors. Messrs. Trump and ftaint, on behalf of the Home Office The Rhymney Iron Company and the owners were represented by the general manager (Mr II W Smith), the secretary (Mr F. B. Saunders), the Mechanic (Mr. J, W Price), and Mr. C. 13. Kenshole (solicitor). The Miners' Federation ot Great Britain were represented bv Mr Thos Rlchrds, M P Mr. J Butler (Manchester)'. »H^. \ann .Durham). The South Wales Miners rederation was '-epresented bv Mr Walter Lewis and Mi Albert Thomas (miners' agent and sub-agent, respectively), Mr W B. Nicholas (Messrs. Morgan, Bruce, Nicholas and James, Pontypridd), Mr. T J. Thomas', Bargoed, appeared for the relatives of the de- ceased. There were also present Aid. N, Phil- lips and Mr. Lewis Catkins, of the Powell Duffryn Collieries, Bargoed. who did so much to direct they heard of the disaster. I In opening tbe proceedings, the Coroner i stated th-il sine* tlio adjournment another of the injured nr-n who were rescued had sue- II cumbed to his injuries, at the Cottage HosprcnJ. Rhymney, so they had now to inenjire to the deaths of 25 men. The ether vvif.im vsw in Monmouthshire. After Mr. J. V Price had esp'&inerJ by s map the workings, Dr. Dsn Thonrss '¡, deuce as to the causo of <1Nl',h ¡é' C'8rjfj;n rjf j the victims, and Dr. Lleweliyp of the remain- ¡i ing ones. The latter stated that in most case3 death waw due to carbo-mon-oxide poisoning, and some of the victims were badly burnt about I the face and hands. The three men, Weeks, I J. Jones, and Bevan, the doctor stated, were, in his opinion, rendered unconscious by carbo- mon-oxide, and received external injuries after- wards, but death was (hc to the former. John Jones, the fireman.. was hrHIy burnt about the face.—Replying to Mr. Xi-bolas, Dr Llewellyn said carbo-mon-oxide was a. slow poison, and a man might live haIranhour while breathing it. 0 GENERAL MANAGER'S EVIDENCE. j Mr. Wm. Smith, general manager, said ho f had been connected with the pit over 30 years and Wm. Bevan had been manager since Apri:, 1908. Mr. Bowen hid a first-class certificate. and was a very capable man, who had spent the whole of his life underground. The Darran pit had been working 40 years, and had always ] boon a naked light pit. Gas had never been re- j ported. Speaking generally, the roof was good 5 —cliff and rock. He would call the seam a. wet one, and there was a good deal of water given j off at various places. This witness was closely j questioned on the subject of a part of the pit being marked "dry" on the plan, but could not be induced to say n-oro than that it was lew j damp than other places. Mr. Nicholas tried ■ hard to ascertain why and how the word "dry" • had got on the plan. Witness said he did not make the plan. The Coroner said he struck out the word "dry" on his plan. Mr. j Nicholas said that his question was a vital one. and he would leave it to tho jury to bear mind. In reply to Mr. Atkinson, witness said that explosives were found in the possession (of, John, the fireman, and said it was, he thought. the duty of the manager to supply him with a 5 special case to convoy ihem. John was the i only one authorised to carry explosives nno is detonators besides the clay and assistant fire- man. He wired Mr. Nehemiah Philiips to summon the brigade from Aberaman, and the brigade arrived between one and two o'clock. —Asked as to what the brigade did. wit«e«>$■ said they did practically nothing, and there ">C very little for them to do. They were not t.ti^rs early enough to be of much use. In reply re Mr. Nicholas, witness Mid :i1:1,t, in hill (:;i;i!)p, the explosion took place shout hundred down the pit, but he could not say what ti e V cause of it was. The wita^s;; was also question- { ed as to the efficiency of the French npnarai-.ir. for breathing pure air in the midst of Smpw j surroundings, which had been requisitioned { Mr. N. Phillips but nothing of a satisfactory t nature was /on Scorning concerning it bey on-j the fact that .-Ai'iiiUy used it might prove of much value. • cTrTOT FIRING. Evan Owen, :;er-manager, had had forty j years' experience underground, and was in the Darran 1);" the day prior to the explosion. { No shot tiring had been necessary in the m&i" drift since May. Such shots were fired by John • John. In reply to further questions, witness said that it was possible that some shots might have been fired without their being recorded j in the book—colliers' shots. He was called to j the colliery on the day of the disaster at 5.30, and was at the pit at 6.15. He found that the j shaft was smashed, and went wn by the 11;1- cast ladder. He found all the doors between j the intake blown in towards the up-cast shaft, and other damages to the workings. Questioned j as to the accumulation of dust, witness said 1 they cleared the workings every fortnight, but if the dust was thick it was cleared weekly, j The last time dusting took place was the week j before the explosion. Mr. Gray asked whether | the road from the top of the drift to the fail I was dry and dusty Witness would not say that | it was. The night shift, he said, commenced at j nine o'clock, and the men came up at 5 in the j morning, and at the time of the explosion the j men who lost their lives were coming out, and | a horse and empty tram were found near where John John and other men were lying. He be- lieved the tram was brought there by Barag- waneth with the intention of taking the injured men down to Gilfach, and all were killed, he thought, by the after-damp. Four lamps were found lit near the spot on Saturday. NO RECORD OF CHARGES GjVEN OUT. David Thomas, carpenter at Darran Colliery, I said he had to do with explosives, and got them from the store at the Groesfaen Colliery, two packets of 5 1b, each at a time. He kept ¡ these in a box in his shop.—The Coroner: Do I you keep detonators also?—Yes, sir.—Where do you get them?—From the same place.—Do you I send for them?—I fetch them.—Where do you keep them?—In the same box with the others. —Coroner: Dear me: You ought not to do that. This man mixes them up. You keep them in the same box with explosives?—Yes, sir.— Cororrer: You ought not to do that any more— if you don't mind me telling you. To whom do you give them out?—Witness: To the night fireman, sir.—Coroner: That is John Joh11" Yes, sir.—Coroner: Have you a book?—No, sir.—Coroner: You keep no record of what charges you give out :-?\o, sir,-Coroner; Do you sign for what you get at Groesfaen?—Yas, sir.—Coroner: Do you know what the explo- I sive is?—Rippite.—Coroner: Do you get two packets of rippite?—Yes.—Coroner: When did you get the last?—On the 22nd October.—Cor- 1 oner: How much did you give John John?— j One packet. I Later on, the witness explained that he meant I that he kept the detonators on the same shelf as the box of explosives, but not in the same box. Mr. Nicholas drew attention to a point in the evidence which suggested that instead of having only one packet of explosives in his shop at the present time there ought to have beep two. — The Coroner elicited that the fireman sometimes omitted to record the receipt of a charge, and would write up the book from memory. The Coroner pointed out that at pre- sent they had no idea as to what shots might have been fired two or three days before the explosion. and said it was very odd that this 5 Ibs. of explosive had disappeared without witness being able to account for it. After taking the evidence of Mr Lewis Wat- kins, the inquest was adjourned till Wednesday morning.

Second Day. CAUSE OF THE EXPLOSION. The inquest was resumed on Wednesday. when the first witness called was William Bull, who was with John Evans and William Cut- iiffe when they saw John Johns immediately after the explosIOn, He corroborated the cvi. dence of those two witnesses, and said he heard John Johns tell John Evans, in English, that he had put four pellets of powder on the stone, He could not see John Johns, but he knew his voice. Replying to Mr. Gray. witness said there was no flame and no heat. They were knocked down and then their lights were put out. Having re-lit the lamps they went down the pit and met three hauliers about 100 yards lower down. One of these was John Baragwanath, who asked them if they were all afraid. Witness said that they had better get away quickly. Witness told Mr Kenshole that he did not lose control of himself at the time. A HERO OF TH EMINE. George James, timberman, who was working in McCarthy's level, said he heard a report, and he and his companions were knocked down and their lamps blown out. Dust followed the report immediately. The report was like a strong shot. When they came up to the spot where John Johns was he heard a man moan- ing. and John Johns said, in Welsh, "Oh, dear! George, mae wedi tama" ("Oh, dear, George! it has fired"). Witness asked Johns who was there, and he replied in Welsh. Johns told him that poor old Prosser and Barker were there. Witness picked up Barker, who lay with his face in a pool of water, and then he told Jen- kins that he would go out to fetch the fireman. When he returned he told John Johns that they could not go up through the Darran, as the place was blocked up. He walked out through the Gilfach shaft and told Mr. Bowen. the manager, what had happened, and agreed to go back with him. He could not, however, keep up with Mr. Bowen. who was travelling very fast. After he passed Pencaedrain he met the" overman of the Gilfach Pit, and asked him I to take out two men with him. In reply to Dr. Atkinson, witness said that he saw smoke after leaving John Johns, and it got thicker as they got closer to the pit. The Coroner heartily complimented the wit- ness upon his courage. "Your conduct through- out thi, "ad business, Jones," he said, "was very creditable to you and to the r.uuoi! Mr. Thomas Richards, M.P., said that he showed exemplary courage and pluck in going l 4owa a tie 4e{ such eegdijiong, J,

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Funeral of the Victims. I The funerals of eight of the victims of the Darran Colliery disaster took place at Gellygaer on Thursday last week, amidst extraordinary manifestations of interest and sympathy, the line of route between Pengam and Gellygaer be'n being thronged with people. It is estimated that in the procession itself there wore 1,000 people. The procession was a mile in length, and the crowds of people coming from all dir- ections were estimated at 10,000. A special train, with seven of the coffins, left Deri for Pengam at 2.30. The coffin of Am- brose Jones was conveyed in a hearse bv road, j A vast crowd assembled outside the houses of the deceased men at Deri to watch the "rising" of the funeral. Another touching and unique j feature of the procession was the presence of about 200 colliers in their working clothes, who I acted bearers. They had had no lim4 to [ 'L go home and change their clothes, the manage- ment of the Groesfaen Colliery having refused permission for them to leave work an hour earlier. So it was that, just as they came out of the pit, they went and paid their last tribute of respect to their fallen comrades. On arriving at Gellygaer, the coffins were taken into the church four at a time, a. service being held over each four. The colliers who bore them into the church occupied the choir seats, and the Rector of Geltygaer (Rev. T. J. Jones) commenced the service by starting the singing of the hymn, "0 Fryniau Caerealem," in which 1 0 all joined with fervour The Rector, speaking in Welsh, said how it filled him with joy to see the "colliery boys" present in their working clothes, to pay their last tribute of respect to their departed brothers, and to do what they could. The officiating clergv were:—The Rec- tor of Gellyga<er; the Revs. R. David, Vicar of Treharris; T Richards, Vicar of Bargoed; II. James, curate of Gellygaer; B. Glover, curate of Pontlottyn; R. Morgan, curate of Aberbar- goed; and S. Williams, curate of Bargoed. The following ministers officiated at the houses of the deceased at Deri:—Revs. J. Harris Jones, D. Islwyn Richards, H. B. Thomas, T. Rich- ards, R. Jenkins. Jones, and D. Bowen. The coffins bore floral tributes from relatives and friends. In the procession were --Councillor Walter Lewis (njiners' agent), Councillor Alt-irt Tho- mas (sutsagent); Councillor John JonAA. Foch- riw: and Councillor J Edwards, Deri. T1« fol- lowing societies were represented: — Ancient. Order, of Foresters, Workmen's Ch'-) itable Insti- tution, Bristol and West of England, and the Rcchabites. There were also members of the Deri Football Club, of which one of the do- ceased, James Weeks, had been a member. Those wore a white band on the arm. Repre- sentatives of the Darran Lodge of the Miners' Federation, wearing white rosettes, were also present. The hymns, "Yo v dyfroedd mawr a'r tonnau" and "Lead, Kindly, Light," were rendered. A special staff of police were present to assist in the arrangements, and splendid order was maintained throughout. Mr. Albert Thomas stated that he had re- ceived £ 5 from Mr Frank T. James, solicitor, Merthyr, to start a distress fund, and as he understood that others had received donations, a committee would, as soon as possible, be formed to deal wit.b the matter. The names of those interred amidst such im- pressive manifestations of public sympathy were David Edwards. Daniel. McCarthy, Dl. Clearey, Charles Vaughan, John John. James Weeks, William Brown, and Ambrose Jonese.

While the Lord Mayor's procession was pass- ing the Strand, on Tuesday. Miss Vesta Victoria, was robbed of a pearl and diamond necklace, which she values at £ 10,000. She was hemmed in by the crowd at the tima. FEED WELSH (Light-weight Champion of England)^

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Bedlinog Confectioner and his Wife ORDERED TO PAY HER jB2 A WEEK. At Merthyr Police Court, on Friday, bolor. Mr. Jacob Ray and Mr. Dd. Prosser, Edwin Powell, a retired baker and confectioner, of Bedlinog, was sued for being guilty of persiEt- ent cruelty to his wife, Elizabeth* Powell, now living at Treharris, who sought a separation order. Mr. F. P. Charles. for the complainant, said that the parties had been married 17 years and there were two children living, aged 12 and 13 years respectively. The defendant was a man of considerable property, which brought him irf JS5 a week. This property he had acquired largely throt jh the industry and assistance 01 his wife. She was a very respectable and hard- working woman, whilst defendant was verj much addicted to drink and frequently gava way to bouts of drunkenness. His conduct to- wards his wife had been cruel in the extreme— in fact, it had been extremely brutal. She had, had to leave him on several occasions in ccnso" quence of his ill-treatment, and many timej he had locked her out of the house, and she had had to spend the night with her children in an outhouse to escape his violence and threats. Mr. Charles read a. letter written by Powell to his wife on the 18th October, in which t he said:- Mrs. Powell,-Don't you come near this house again. I have a woman coming iN and you will keep away. I have offered you all I can; and remember you don't get a rag of anything from me. You have tolen halt the household linen. You can take what course you like. I don't care a d-. Bring this to court. The next step I will sell up. You told Edgar I had a barrel of beer in tulpie. o house. That is a d- lie, but you can tell them splendid. You keep from this house. It, is your own doing. During the time Mr. Charles was address- ing the Bench, the defendant shook his fist at his wife, and he was told by Inspector Lamb to desist. Mrs. Powell said the defendant owned 14 houses and two shops, which produced a. rental of JS20 a month. The shop in which he lived could be let at 26s. a month. Defendant had ill-treated her for years. He had struck and thrown articles at her. Her neck was now marked as the result of an injury he inflicted upon her with a knife four years ago. During the last two years defendant had haVdly e-ver been sober, and as the result of his cruelty her health had been completely shattered. Defendant gave evidence. He admitted ha. had been somewhat cruel to his wife, but he said that she "nagged" him so much. lie pleaded provocation. They had not, he said, lived happily, "but there's fault on hoth sides, he added. The Bench granted a separation order, the cleo fendant to pay his wife £ 2 a week, and costs, for the maintenance of herself and the twel children.

Spurious Half-crown at Merthyr. BEDLINOG MAN'S JOKE At Merthyr Police Court, on Friday, beforft Mr. Jacob Ray (in the chair) and Mr. D. Pros4 ser, Arthur Richardson, steward of the Bedlinog Constitutional Club, was summoned for utter" ing a counterfeit coin at the Belle Vue Hotel. Merthyr, knowing it to be such, on the 27th October.—Mr. F. P. Charles defended.—Th4 evidence was that the defendant paid money in4 to Lloyd's Bank at Dowlais, and the half-crowil in question was refused by the cashier. Latei in the day defendant, with another man, went to the Bells V ne Hotel, and in payment fot two glasses of beer tendered the coin to Mra. Ballinger, the wife of the licensee. She show ed it to her husband, who found it to be spurij ous. Information was given to the police, ano defendant was arrested. He said, "I only did it as a joke. I knew it was bad because they r91 fused it at the bank." Later on, when charg' ed by Inspector Phillips, defendant said, "It was not done intentionally for fraud."—Mn Charles addressed the Bench for the defence. He urged that it was absolutely ridiculous to brin such a charge as this against a respecta able man like the defendant. He declared thai no jury would convict upon such flimsy evi dence.—The Bench, after consultation, dismiss ed the case.

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The Coroner: It is men like you who reflect ..redit upon their class. Mr. Kenshole joined in the complimentary remark?. Mr. David Hannah, general manager of the Ferndale Collieries Company, who reached Dar- ran about 12.30 on Friday, wis the next wit- ness. He stated what he saw on going down, and said the air was very feeble, but they man- aged to go on to within six yards of Shenkin's level. There they found it too difficult to breathe, and returned. They went down the pit the next day to examine for indications of force. In his opinion, the explosion was a coal-dust explosion; and after hearing the evidence relative to the pellets of powder on the stone, he had come to the conclusion that the explosion occurred at that epot which had fallen from the roof. There was no evidence of damage beyond. that. SEAT OF THE EXPLOSION. In reply to Mr. Kenshole witness said that in-bye of the stone he did not observe any in- dications of burning, and he did not think there was any flame, but there would be much heat. There was considerable dampness on the drift. Mr. Kenshole: It has been suggested that the seat of the explosion may be at the point where the stone had fallen, and that a shot might have been fired by pellets that had been placed on that stone?—Yes. Is everything consistent with that?—Appar- ently, it is so, but we made a car< ul examina- tion of the stone and could not find evidence on the stone. I should expect to find a mark, and the stone possibly broken if there were four pellets of carbonite or rippite, but there was none. Neither could I find any evidence of fuse. Mr.' Kenshole: How do you explain the big baulk of timber near the air-bridge being driven into the position it was found?—It is difficult to explain that, but we do get conflicting indications of force underground, and it is diffi- cult to reconcile them. In this case do you think it is a case of a back lash ?-It may be that a back lash was pro- duced by fall near the air-bridge. Witness thought that if the hole had been properly drilled and charged in the proper way this would not have happened, but he could not see any evidence of explosive haTing gone off. RESCUE APPARATUS v. MAD RUSHING ABOUT. Replying to Mr. Butler (Manchester), the wit- ness thought that if there had been a rescue apparatus on the spot some of the men would have been brought out alive. Mr Tom Richards, M.P.: Even without the apparatus proper organisation instead of this mad rushing about would have resulted in lives being saved. The Coroner: I quite sympathise with you, j but we can't have academic discussions. It is quite irregular. Mr. Butler: It is with a view to prevention in the future. Mr. Kenshole: It would be impossible to go down the Darran Pit because the shaft was blown to pieces. Replying to Dr. Atkinson, the witness said that he would call that part of the drift where he observed some coking as a damp road-not naturally wet throughout There was evidence of dust on the side, but not nearly so much as in a steam coal colliery Witness explained the great heat felt by some of the witnesses as the effect of the absence of air and the after- damp. Evidence of a corroborative nature was given by Mr. Howell Jones, the manager of Messrs. Guest, Keen and Nettlefolds' Collieries at Dow- lais, and Mr. Nehemiah Pbillips, agent for the Powell Duffryn Collieries, but the latter said that independent of the theory of a shot having been fired, every indication pointed to the ex- plosion having occurred somewhere between the air-bridge and the bottom of the pit. The stone- did not leavv any indication of an ex- plosion. and he could find no evidence as to where it started. He searched for a long time for evidence between the air-bridge and the top of the pit but could find none. He had also made experiments on a stone with carbonite and rip- pite and found that both powders when explod- ed on the surface of the stone bruised it, but there was no evidence even of this on the stone in question. MINES INSPECTOR'S VIEWS. Mr F. A. Grav. H.M. Inspector 01 Mines in charge of the district, gave evidence in detail as to what he found in the mine fe went down. Among other things he found in a r,an- hole a cannister containing &even pellets of car- bonite. one of rippite, 33 detonators, and r-on.e fuse. These articles were in two tin boxes placed inside another box. He went on to I'X plain the direction in which the force of the explosion had travelled, and said the explosion gathered strength as it went towards the shaft, and probably met with a check at the turning. Part of it would turn back and displace the baulk of timber which was so much talked about, and which pointed in another direction. The Coroner said he recollected many such instances at the inquiry into the cause of the A'bion Collierv explosion years ago. Mr. Grav then went on to say how he found jackets and food, boxes and tools about twenty or thirty yards from the spot where he discov- ered the detonators and powder. That would be seven or eight yards from the stone. About twelve yards below the stone they found sledges, a mandril, a waistcoat, a watch, and a pocket- book, and the watch he believed belonged to

'"7' John John. Lower down still there were four open lighted lumps, and still further a drill, quite clean, and that was the only drill found there. Above the fall it was dry, and in the road inside it was dusty. Mr. Griy then ex- plained in detail how he found the doors blown, and said that there was no indication of force below Shenkin' Level, where the blast seemed to have died down. He thought most^of the flame and heat ^rould be in the road for 75 to have died down. He thought most of the flame and heat -ould be in the road for 75 yards below the stone. I A DANGEROUS SHOT. Witness's opinion was that an explosive had been fired on the stone to clear the roadway, and not being in a hole and properly tamped, it would naturally produce a great amount of flame. Coal dust would be raised and ignited by it. That, in his opinion, was the cause of the explosion. Replying to the Coroner, Mr. Gray said it was very risky..for men to enter from the Gil- fach end under the circumstances and without a knowledge as to the ventilation in front of them. Mr. Kenshole: It would be rather an insane thing for an experienced shotman to h&ve fired the stone without tamping, would it not?- Very risky. Can you conceive of any responsible shotman doing it ?-Remember that there was a very short time in which to clear that stone away before the day-shift men came in. The man might have thought himself justified. And you describe it as a rave dereliction of duty ?—Yes. The Coroner: It was a breach of the rule, Mr. Kenshole. Mr. Gray. in reply to another question, said that in addition to properly boring a hole and tamping it, it would have been the duty of the shotman to water. Dr. W. N. Atkinson, superintendent inspec- tor of mines, next gave evidence, and he bore out practically what had been deposed to by Mr. Gray. He believed the explosion was pro- bably initiated in the manner described by John Evans. but it wa; difficult to reconcile the position of the baulk of timber with that theory. It was, however, known that a back lash had removed heavy things in different direction, but he did not remember having seen anything so strong as this L,? fore. -Quest ioned as to the condition of the mine, Dr. Atkinson gave it as' his opinion that the greater part of it was dry and dusty, and it would be contrary to orders to fire an explosive there except after the with- (Irawil. I of the men from the pit, and after watering. Further evidence of a similar character, and in support of the last two witnesses's theory was given by Mr. F. V. Trump and Mr. J. Saint, assistant inspector of mines. SUMMING UP The Coroner, in summing up. said: Before addressing himself to the evidence, he would like to make one or two general observations, one or two matters had occurred to which he ought to, refer. The first was with regard to those pedple who lost their lives in the attempt they made to get up to the Darran workings by way of Gilfach Goch, to do what they could. People, they knew, were in trouble in the Darran workings, who, unfortunately, never came back alive. They all admired their brav- ery they did a gallant action. But the doubt to his mind was whether if that bravery and that courage had been tempered with a little discretion, the loss of life would have been as serious as it was. With regard to the question raised as to the necessity or the value of rescue parties, ba.nds of men like fire brigades, with helmets and swords, etc.. and the rest of it. Now they had organised in some places bodies of men who were equipped with helmets which enabled them to breathe in foul air. Then there were other applianoes which undoubtedly might prove of great use at effective rescues in collieries. They valued all appliances of this sort and bands of men of this sort; but it de- pended on the speed with which they could reach the scene. It was not a bit of use hav- ing a well-equipped rescue brigade at Aber- amen when they were required elsewhere. He was glad to hear from Mr. Kenshole that it was intended to establish one in the Rhymney Val- ley also, which would be equipped in the same way; but he hoped the district would ba im- mune from catastrophes of the kind for many years to come, and if another did occur, he hoped there would be a well-equipped rescue brigade there. Let them be put to the test, and it would be seen whether they had any value or not. Until it was thoroughly tested. it was idle to express an opinion that it was ab- solutely good or not. THE VERDICT. The Coroner having then dealt with the evi- dence, the jury, after a short retirement, found that most of the victims met with their deaths as the result of an explosion of coal dust caused by shot-firing, and that William Bowen, Daniel Lewis, William Edwards, Gomer Griffiths, and Daniel Morgan lost their lives through after- damp in an attempt at rescue.