Minutes of evidence taken before the Royal Commission on metalliferous mines and quarries : volume 1.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on Metalliferous Mines and Quarries.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Minutes of evidence taken before the Royal Commission on metalliferous mines and quarries : volume 1. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

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    24 June 1910.] Mr. G. J. Williams. [Continued. 1042. That is very useful, but you would like to add a little elementary instruction ?—We have a good deal of singing in Wales already, hut I think we could do with a little less and more education in mining. 1043. (Mr. Lovett.) What do you suggest in regard to the instruction in mining in quarries ?—There is the Board of Education examination in metal mining (producing document). 1044. (Chairman.) This illustrates the kind of instruction that might be given to the men ?—Yes. The late Sir Clement Foster and myself drew this out for the City and Guilds Institute. Very few have gone in for the examination, and not a single class has been formed for the pm-pose of instructing the men in the art of slate quarrying. 1045. If the teachers were paid to come, and came, do you think that the men would listen to them ?—■ Yes, if you make certificates for managers compulsory. Young men have gone to the Camborne School of Mines and have come back to Festiniog, hut they could not get anything to do, and they have gone away, one to America and one I know has gone to India. If there is some inducement for a man to improve his position by study, he would go in for it, but there is none. 1046. Is there any form of instruction that would be useful for the ordinary miner who does not aspire to become a foreman or leader P—No. I hope some of the educational authorities in Wales will draw out a scheme for it. 1047. They have received a grant ?—They receive a grant for singing, 1048. They have received a technical grant, but your complaint is that they have spent it on singing instead of mining ?—Yes. 1049. (Mr. Ainsworth.) One of the subjects you mentioned was citizenship ?—Yes. 1050. How do you teach that ?—I do not know. I have seen some text-books on it. 1051. (Chairman.) At all events, it comes to this : If we have a system of certificates for mining, it is desirable that the means of obtaining the certificate should be provided, and that a fair chance of education should be put within the reach of the men ?—Yes. 1052. And that assistance should be given by the local authority in the way the law has provided for it ? —Yes, by a technical instruction grant. 1053. (Mr. Thomas.) There is no difficulty in obtain- ing a technical instruction grant if the inhabitants of the district so desire ?—At present there is the difficulty of getting teachers in that subject. If it is made worth men’s while they will study it. 1054. Do you think they would ?—I think so. 1055. (Chairman.) What language is used in the schools, Welsh or English?—Up to Standard H. it is Welsh ; then they take English. 1056. It is good for their future prospects for the men to learn English ?—They should learn English at the expense of everything, I should say. 1057. The quarries are the largest in the world ?— Yes. 1058. What is the number of persons employed in quarrying ?—Last year the number employed in quarry- ing was 13,408, and out of those 10,169 were employed in Carnarvonshire. 1059. The numbers have rather fallen off the last few years ?—Yes, for the last four or five years, owing to depression in the slate trade. 1060. Is that due to the use of tiles and materials of that sort instead of slate for houses ?—Mostly, and very little building done in the country. 1061. Is there an export of slates ?—Yes. 1062. They are sent abroad ?—Yes. 1063. That trade has not fallen off so much ?—Yes, very considerably. 1064. (Mr. Greaves.) How does the export compare with the import ?—I cannot tell you. I have not the figures with me. 1065. (Mr. Redmayne.) The French export them p —They are not doing so much. Not so many French slates are coming in. 1066. (Mr. Greaves.) Have you the figures for the last quarter and the corresponding quarter of last year ?—I have not. 1067. The method of working quarries in North Wales is by means of galleries and pits?—Yes; you have the system [of galleries and pits. I have some photographs here to show you (producing same). 1068. (Chairman.) That must be rather a wasteful method. You leave a quantity of material behind in working with galleries. They leave columns ?—You work all the mountain side. 1069. You do not let the roof fall in P—We are talking of quarries. There is no roof. 1070. I was thinking of mines ?—Here is a photo- graph showing the ladder by which we go down the pit. 1071. That open method is less wasteful than the underground method ?—Where they work underground it is impracticable to work otherwise ; they would have to remove so much surface rock. 1072. I have heard it stated that there are many mines worked as underground mines which might have been worked more profitably open to the air ?—There is not one in Merionethshire. There is such an enormous thickness of worthless rock on top. 1073. Do you consider the present working of the quarries in your district entirely satisfactory, or can you suggest any improvements ?—Yes, I can suggest improvements. 1074. (Mr. Greaves.) Do you consider it satisfactory ? That is the question?—Not quite. 1075. (Chairman.) Do you consider it satisfactory, or are there any points to call attention to ?—There are. 1076. In quarries ?—Yes. The quarries producing igneous rocks are generally worked in galleries about 60 feet high, some with a sheer face. In Car- narvonshire the slate quarries are worked in three centres, around Llanberis, where the great Dinorwic quarries are, Penrhyn, quarry at Bethesda, and a group of quarries in the Yale of Nantlle. 1077. (Mr. Lewney.) What height are the separate galleries ?—I am coming to that. At Dinorwic these are worked in galleries on the mountain side; taken in a line, 23 galleries from top to bottom. The height is about 70 feet vertical. Now they aim at getting them 60 feet, but this was the old method of working, and for economical reasons they cannot reduce them to 60. The new galleries are all opened at a depth of 60 feet. 1078. (Mr. Jones.) Is that the average height P—70 feet was the average. Up to 26 years ago every gallery was 70 feet deep Since then they have been trying to open them of 60 feet. 1079. Then 70 feet is an average?—Yes. 1080. (Chairman.) Will you go on to point out some inconveniences ?—These are worked in bargains each 7 yards working face, so that there are 100,000 square yards being attacked. One difficulty is to get the floor wide enough. They aim at it, but there is a difficulty which I admit. 1081. That would mean you want greater height if you are to get the floor wide enough. The very short height would mean rather a narrow gallery ?—Yes. The difficulty is this. The mountain side is steep, and they begin quarrying at the bottom and work the galleries upwards. It is difficult to get the galleries to be wide enough. 1082. You could only do it by having an enormous height of the gallery. If you want a considerable width you must have the height ?—Yes; but if you increase the height you gain nothing, because a stone falling from such a height would go over. 1083. There comes a danger the other way ?—Yes. 1084. (Mr. Lewney.) What do you consider a sufficient width for the gallery ?—I should not like to say. They try to have them equal to the height, but it is difficult. 1085. 70 feet ?—Yes. 1086. (Chairman.) You were going to point out something that could be done; some alteration you thought would be for the better ?—They could build walls on the edges or leave big blocks where the galleries are narrow to prevent things falling over to the galleries below. 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