Epitome of evidence taken before the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. cap. 155 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines / presented to both houses of Paliament by command of Her Majesty.
- Great Britain. Royal Commission on Mines
- Date:
- 1864
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Epitome of evidence taken before the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. cap. 155 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines / presented to both houses of Paliament by command of Her Majesty. 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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![(C.;—VENTILATION. (C. h.) Modes machine ?—Yes, for long levels especially; it requires less labour to work it, I think. 8715. And it can be worked by any machinery you like to attach to it?—Yes. 8854. {Mr. St. Aubyn.) What, in a few words, should you say was the best means of improving the ventilation so as to make it as good as it possibly could be under present circumstances ?—Where they have got a suffi- cient number of shafts, the best thing I think is a fall of water, when you can have it, and the next best thmg is that instrument which I have partially described for forcing air in. 8855. To which there is a cistern ?—Yes, but it must be always fixed in good air; great care must be taken about that, or else bad air will be blown into the men after all. 8867.' Mr. Kendall.) And where it is not good, by various contrivances, such as waterfalls, and the par- ticular machine to which you have referred, and occasionally the fan machine, you are able, before you can have natural ventilation, to throw in a fair supply of air to the working miners ?—We have the means of doing it, but it is not carried out so perfectly on all occasions as it ought to be ; I acknowledge that fully ; we have not perfected the means that we have now within our reach. Capt. Thomas Eichaeds. 9010. (Mr. Bavey.) Which do you think is the best ? —I generally make it a rule to take up my air in a good place. Say, for instance, that I was going to drive a 100 fathom level, I should not go out the 100 for the air. I would go to the 70, or 80, or 90. I would take up my air where it is good, and send it on ; it is of no use to take the old air again. I have used lime (which I have found a very good thing) in the mouth of the pipe to improve the air. Me. John Eichakds. 9456. {Cliairmcvn.) In what manner is the air carried into those close ends ?—By what we call winzes ; we communicate there at every 12 fathoms; we put down a shaft and throw every particle of fresh air that we can down into the level, so that it may ascend up. 9512. [Mr. Kcndnll.) If you could introduce a stronger current of air would not that reduce the temperature ? —Yes ; I should think it would. 9513. Is it not the expense of bringing it down that stands in the way ?—Yes. Mr. JosEP]! Jewell. 9706. [Mr. St. Aubyn.) Can you suggest any means for improving the ventilation in the mines to a greater extent than it is already improved ?—I do not know that I can; it is generally owing to the shafts being sunk at the proper distances, and to winses being sunk in the intermediate ground. Capt. Joseph Cock. 10,000. (Chairman.) In cold damp, is it worse on a Monday morning when the men go to work, or after they have been working ?—In some places ; it just depends upon the air coming there. I have worked in places where we have been obliged to drive the air out before going to work. We go up with a jacket, and beat the air entirely out. Capt. John Hancock and Mr. Michael Mokcom. 11.205. (Chairman.) Is the air at all close at the end ? —No, it is very good indeed. We have pipes to carry in to blow away the smoke from the men. 11.206. By means of a boy at the end?—No, there is a trap door, and there are air pipes. 11.207. From another level ?—From a level above. 11.208. How long is the smoke getting away?— They can go into the end in five minutes after they have fired the hole. Ix 209. So that by trap doors you conduct a current from other levels down to the point where you are workitvg?—^Yes, by a trap door and pipes. 11.210. Do you use any other means for forcing in air?—Yes, we blow a machine occasionally, if we find it necessary, but that is very seldom; we have so many shafts that it is not required. 11.211. By a woper management of trap doors and pipes you can conduct the air to any part of lhe mine ? (C. h.) [odes —Yes, we have very good air indeed throughout ouv of proving mine. Ventila\n. Capt. James Phillips. 11.678. (Chairman.) In what condition is the air at the end of the 115-fathom level; do the candles burn freely?—They burn very well. We have put in, until we have ventilated another winze, air pipes to draw out the foul air from there, so that the end is ventilated very well. 11.679. Do the candles burn without being tilted on one side ?—Yes. 11.680. What machine is it that you use to draw out the foul air?—It is a duck machine, and it is worked by the same rods as the water wheel, and it draws out the foul air instead of forcing air in. 11.681. You produce circulation by drawing out the air ?—Yes. 11.682. Is that machine applied to any other level? —No, it is not in the mine. 11.683. In the 130-fathom level how far are you driving from any winze ?—I suppose we are about 20 fathoms from the shaft. 11.684. Is the air so good there that you have no need to use any artificial means ?—We do not want anything there ; the air is very good there. 11.685. Does the duck-engine answer for drawing out the bad air ?—Yes. 11.686. Do you approve of the plan of extracting the foul air in preference to forcing in fresh air ?—Yes ; I have proved it in our mine a great many times, because in forcing in air you have a little fresh air along the end ; and if the foul air is so heavy that the fresh air has not strength enough to drive it out, by taking out the heavy smoke and the foul air, the fresh air goes in. 11.687. Where does the fresh air that takes the place of the foul air come from ?—-AVe have ground stoped away about our shaft (the western shaft) in the mine, and there is a veiy great current of air from the surface down; there is a down draught of fresh air from the surface. 11.688. And that is the air that takes the place of the foul air?—Yes, it goes into the 115 fathom level as we take out the foul air. 11.689. According to your experience the powder smoke does not take so much time to clear away as if you forced in fresh air ?—No ; what we call the air pipes, Vv'hen we shoot into these ends, drive out the powder smoke directly. 11.690. How long after the blasting is the smoke cleared away .f*—I suppose in our 115 fathom level the men can go in and work comfortaHy in 10 minutes. 11.691. How long is it before the smoke is completely cleared away ?—It does not stay long, not when we have got the pipes all in good order. 11.692. How long do you think the smoke would remain without the use of those pipes ?—Sometimes it would stay a good while ; I dare say you could not calculate upon going into work again under half an hour, or three-quarters of an hour, and in some j)laces an hour. 11.693. In point of economy does it answer to extract the foul air and the powder smoke, so as to get the men in to their work again cjuickly ?—Yes ; but we do not only convey these pipes into the furthest ends, we cal- culate to ventilate by winzes if it is necessary to drive away; and, when there are several men in a level, to put in these pipes, and instead of sitting down for an hour, they sit down for only a quarter of an hour, and they are able to do more work. 11.757. (Mr. Holland.) Would the 115 fathom level be hot if there was no blowing engine used ?—No, not very hot; but our mine is not very hot at all, it is not the depth to be very hot. 11.758. How large is the duck-engine that you em- ploy ?—It is two feet square. 11.759. What length of stroke is it?—Seven feet. 11.760. How many strokes a minute P—Our wheel is going about four strokes a minute. 11.761. It has only one action, I suppose, and onlj' draws when it lifts ?—No. 11.762. What number of men are working at the end which it ventilates ?—There are two pairs, twelve men. There are two working together at the end. They are not working more than four men together. There are 12 men, but they do not work more than four together. They work four in the forenoon, four in the afternoon, and four in the night. There are 12 on, but only four](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2398482x_0074.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
