The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-21 00:00:00

The Barn

Ixplosion.

BARNSLEY, Thursday.
ADJOURNED INQUEST.

This morning, at 10 o'clock, Mr. T. Taylor, the
coroner, and the jury assembled at the Court-house,
Barnsley, after an adjournment from the previous
Friday. Mr. Vernon Blackburn, barrister, appeared
for the proprietors of the colliery. Mr. Morton, the
Government inspector, was in attendance. A plan
of the colliery workings on a scale of two chains to
an inch was exhibited on a table in front of the
coroner and jury.
Mr. John Edward Mammatt, of Birk-house, near
Barnsley, mining engineer, said—l am manager
at the Oaks Colliery, and look after the venti-
lation. I act under the authority and instruc-
tions of Mr. J. T. Woodhouse. I have been ac-
quainted with the colliery nearly nine years.
By Mr. Morton—l have held my situation at the
colliery since January, 1865, but before that I was
connected with it under Mr. John Brown, who then
held the post I now do. For two years I have
taken my orders from Mr. Woodhouse, the engineer,
entirely, and reported almost weekly to him the
operations going on. The late Mr. Parkin Jeff-
cock, Ido no think, had anything to do with the
colliery, although he was Mr.Woodhouse's partner.
The owners of the colliery are Mr. Thomas Dymond
and the representatives of the late Mr. Kennedy
Marshall—namely, Mr. Alderson and Mr. Simpson,
both of Barnsley. Mr. Dymond occasionally went
down into the underground works, and in a general
way made suggestions without consulting Mr.
Woodhouse, because he was the owner and a prac-
tical man. Mr. Woodhouse was responsible, as the
consulting viewer, and I was his deputy. Mr.
Dymond did not give me orders, but we used to
talk things over. Our suggestions were carried out
by David Tewart, the resident underground viewer,
now uo more. The deputies were William Wilson,
fireman, Sugden, alias Barker, Cadinan, another
lire-trier, Christopher Siddons, anc.: John Robson.
These men are all dead except Cadman. Ido not
know whether Cadman was burnt. I think he was
not in that shift. Thedeputies had districts assigned
to them. Siddons had the whole of the south level
(Nos. 1,2, and 3on the plan). lam not certain
whether he had No. 4or not. The dip side down
the main incline (No. 7) Camden and Sugden had
charge of. Nos. 8,9, 10, and 11 Wilson and Rob-
son had between them, but Robson was more a
shot-firer than a deputy. He used to try for gas,
and look after the men generally, as, indeed, all
the deputies did. Robson used to fire the shots in
the stone drift. The other deputies had power to
fire shots if Robson was not there, but the stone
drift was the only place where shots were fired.
There were no other shot lighters. The colliers
never fired their own shots; but waited for the
deputies. The ventilating furnace was attended by
three men. There was only one furnace, but it was
a double one, or two large grates side by side under
one cupola. The furnace was attended to constantly
day and night. This pit worked single shift, but
there were one or two places which worked double
shifts. Work began at 6 a.m., and finished at 2 p.m.
None remained in at 2 p.m. except a deputy, a fur-
nace-man, a horseman, and a few who were working
double shift in one of the levels, at the extreme end
of the siutli dip level, and at the bottom of the en-
gine plain. The other dip places are a continuation
of the engine plain iu the same direction. I have
not ascertained how many people were in the pit on
the day of the explosion ; but I believe more than
300. There were 131 colliers or sets of tools there,
I think, and each set of tools would have one, some
two, hurlers. In addition to that there would be
all the horse drivers, and all the daymen or road
repairers. There were also young boys as trap-door
keepers, and safety-lamp keepers, who were kept at
work all night. There were four or five of them,
and they cleaned the lamps in the night time, and
then came up. One called Billy Newell was at work
iu the day time; he went down at 6 in the morning
and came out after the men had left. There were
also hangers-oe, but he thought they got out safe.
Ile believed the total number killed was over 300,
but he could not say exactly. My statement is con-
fined to the underground people. The plan on the
table before us represents the bearings of the works.
That plan was drawn up in July last. Only from
conjecture can I supply on the plan the works since
pushed forward. The whole of the colliers and
harriers employed in No. 3 district were not more
than 15. In No. 2 district there was not one em-
ployed ; nor any in No. 1. These districts are to the
south-west of the shafts, and also on the rise of the
mine. In No. 4 district there were not above 40
men and boys employed. I surveyed it about three
weeks ago. In No 5 district 1 think there were
about eight workpeople. There were none em-
ployed• in No. 6 district, nor in No. 7. In No. 8
there would be two
.or three men making a return
air course, and a horse and a boy. In No.
9 no one
was employed, a 3 the coal had been got there. In
No. 10 not less than 50 men and boys were em-
ployed. In No. 11 about 15 were at work, includ-
ing two or three in the north level. The extreme
south and extreme dip I call No. 12, and there
i
le were employed ;n a place adjoin-
ingabout 30 people
there would be about 15 more persons at work.
At the extreme or dip slant I think there would be
about tweety at work. The daymen were
scattered all over the mine. The distribution of the
workpeople and their position in the mine is kept in
a book, I think, by David Tewart, but whetherany..
one else but himself can understand it I cannot say.
I have not seen that book. Books with the names
of all the men and boys employed arc kept at the
colliery-office. The coal worked at the Oaks is the
Barnsley thick coal, and it is eight feet thick. All
the districts I have mentioned, except Nos. 1,2,
and 3, are situated towards the dip of the colliery.
The rate of the dip is about one in 12. As to the
mode of working the coal it is worked chiefly on the
longwall system, but the old part of the mine was
formerly worked on the Barnsley system. The long-
wall system is taking all the coal before them and
leaving no pillars. The old method was to drive
levels at intervals of 50 or 60 yards ; other passages
were turned up to the rise. The pillars at first were
not more than 15 yards thick, and some only ten
yards. The banks never exceeded 30 yards thick I
think. There were following-up banks, which were
made on each side of every leading bank. The people
employed on the rise side (No. 3) were all taking away
pillars of coal. The goaves (or old workings)are on the
rise side of the colliery. The largest goaf is in No. 3.
They are spaces from which all the coal has been
removed. On the dip side a different system cf
working coal was pursued. It was the longwall
system, by which instead of driving levels or strips
the whole breadth at once was taken up, and there
was one face only. There would be five banks in
that face, at intervals of about 30 yards. The scale
of the plans before us is two chains to an inch (the
goaves on the dip side were here pointed out). There
were nine goaves, and the largest was in No. 8 dis-
trict. I have very roughly estimated the extent of
the colliery. The total acreage of the mine is about
450 acres, as near as I can tell at present. About
,300 acres of it has the coal taken away, and is hol-
low. The e•reatest quantity of coal I ever knew
taken out of this colliery was 850 tons in 10 hours,
but that was not the average. A good week was
4,000 tons in Six working days, or from 3,700 to
4,000. The mode •
of lighting the workings was by
Stapleman's safety-lanape, and there were more than
400, and were used by the collierss tiand hurriers, ex-
cept those who went to thebes, and they had
lanterns, as well as those at
the pit bottom. The
lanterns were naked lights. Along the south level
~ked lights
from the shaft. were
Down the carried not more than 150 yards
engine plain they were
carried 400
yards, at which point there were
stables
I am not aware that naked lights were carried in any
other direction, excel?: the furoace man took one in_
wards the north but I have no reason to believe
that naked lights were takel i 2 that direction. In
the extreme north dip about 8 years ago a small pit
was sunk underground in No. 10 district to prove
it. It was 12 yards deep, and to the north-east of
the shaft 1,000 yards. In making die pit a large
quantity of fire-damp made its appearance. It was
suffered to escape for two or three years without
being utilized. Then a small gas-holder, sft. in
diameter and Eft. or Bft. high, was erected over the
pit to collect the gas. From it common gas pipes,