568 



NA TURE 



[April 15, 1886 



Alice Springs, is 2000 feet above the level of the sea. The 

 Finke River is described as the largest and most important in 

 Central Australia ; its southern part is now being re-explored 

 by Mr. Lindsay. On the whole it appears that Mr. Winneclce's 

 map and the details accompanying it add considerably to our 

 knov\ ledge of the geography of Central Australia. 



The last census of the Hawaiian Archipelago, as compared 

 with that of 1S78, gives some curious results. In these six 

 years the pure natives have decreased from 44,088 to 40,014, 

 while the half-castes have increased from 3420 to 4218. The 

 Chinese immigrants in 1S7S numbered only 5916 ; in 1884 they 

 had increased threefold, their number being 17,931. In every 

 other respect the population increased. The Portujuese 

 labourers number 9377 against 436 ; immigrants from the United 

 States were 2066 against 1276; British subjects i?.S2 against 

 883 ; Germans 1600 against 272, and so on. The children born 

 in the archipelago of foreign parents increased from 947 in 187S 

 to 2040 in 1884. On the whole the population was 80,578 in 

 the latter year, against 57,985 in the former, although the natives 

 had diminished about 10 percent, in the six years. We thus havd 

 passing under our eyes the peaceful extinction of a race by the 

 operation apparently of natural laws. The Hawaiians govern 

 themselves under a sovereign of their own race, and under their 

 native conditions ; yet they are rapidly disappearing, simply 

 through the presence of other races, without war or any other of 

 the direct causes to which the decay of native races is generally 

 attributed. The social conditions of the archipelago are an 

 interesting study just now from many points of view. 



M. VAN GeOns, Chief Engineer and Inspector of Public 

 Works in Java, has lately been on a journey through that 

 and the neighbouring islands, of which he has published an 

 account. He speaks of the various Javan volcanoes, of which 

 much has been heard lately, and says that since the eruption of 

 Krakatab in 1883 the people live in comparative quiet. But 

 this calm is only apparent, for volcanic eruptions, always 

 numerous, are incessant. The volcanoes on the Island of Java 

 itself manifest everywhere great activity, but not so as to pro- 

 duce a serious cataclysm. Smeroc, which is the highest moun- 

 tain in the island, and its neighbours Bromo and Lamonyon, 

 are active from time to time. In 1885, for example, Smeroc 

 overwhelmad plantations and villages on its side with eruptive 

 matter. Merapi, in the centre of the island, shows constant 

 signs of life ; lava is constantly flowing from it, smoke and 

 steam are almost always visilMe at its summit, so that it is one 

 of the active volcanes of the world. M. van Geims reports 

 another curious phenomenon. After a period of extreme drought 

 continued rains have inundated one part of the country, while 

 there is an absolute want of water in other places which should 

 have it in abundance. This anomaly is attributed to the mon- 

 soons which blow irregularly, and which cause more anxiety to 

 the Javanese than their volcanoes. 



THE MINES COMMISSION REPORT 

 npHE final report of the Accidents in Mines Commission has 

 -*■ been issued as a Blue Book. The report, which occupies 

 120 pages, is accompanied by minutes of the evidence taken 

 and numerous appendixes and diagrams. The report conclude- 

 with the following paragraphs, in which the Commissioners give 

 a summary of the most important subjects dealt with and of the 

 chief conclusions and recommendations based upon them : — 



Volumes of air sufficient for the ventilation of even the most 

 extensive collieries are capable of being passed through the 

 workings by means of properly constructed furnaces, or by 

 mechanical contrivances, such as are already in action at most of 

 the collieries. At a large number of collieries the sectional area 

 of the intake and return-air courses may be increased with 

 advantage. Where furnaces are used they should by preference 

 be in connection with dry and deep shafts, and should be pro- 

 vided with dumb drifts. Where mechanical contrivances are 

 employed they should be in such positions and placed under such 

 conditions as will tend to insure their being uninjured by an 

 explosion, and, if they are not provided altogether in duplicate, 

 there should be at least an engine in reserve. The improved 

 system of ventilation by ".splits" and the shortening of the air- 

 courses, as practised in the larger collieries, is a subject of great 

 importance, and we recommend tliat more general attention 

 should he given to it. It would conduce greatly to safety if the 

 system of carrying the intake air through two parallel drifts, of 



which one may be used as the travelling road, were introduced 

 into workings likely to become extensive, and where mechanical 

 haulage is intended to be employed. 



That the casualties due to falls of the roof and sides are much 

 more numerous than those due to any other causes is demon- 

 strated by the tabular statement given at the commencement of 

 this report. It is essential that all the officials and workmen in 

 mines should pay special attention to the careful propping of the 

 working places and travelling roads. In the north of England 

 the system of trusting mainly to officials (deputies) for the tim- 

 bering is found to answer well ; in South Wales and other dis- 

 tricts, where the roof, face, and sides are more liable to falls, the 

 system of the men limbering their own working places has been 

 found to be best. 



We are of opinion, however, that in all cases the security of 

 the working places should be examined into by over-lookers once 

 at least in the course of each shift. Supervision has been greatly 

 enlarged in the last thirty-five years, and we find that there is 

 generally one official so employed to about twenty men, some- 

 times one even to eleven or twelve men. In order to reduce 

 the number of casualties from falls, we recommend the observance 

 of the following : — [a) The maintenance of ample supplies of 

 timber in localities convenient to the workmen ; (/') the proper 

 training of each miner to the be-t modes of timbering and of 

 otherwise protecting his working place ; (c) the exercise of in- 

 crea-ed care on the part of the workmen in watching the roof, 

 sides, and face, and protecting themselves in time ; {d) the 

 introduction, as far as possible, of arrangements with the work- 

 men which will make it their interest not to avoid the labour of 

 putting up the necessary timber, coj-walls, buildings, or nogs 

 for their proper protection ; {e) the employment of special tim- 

 bermen or deputies for the timbering of main ways and also for 

 the repairing as well as drawing of timber ; (/) preventing 

 timber being left in the goaf of long wall workings, which would 

 have the effect of breaking the roof ; {g ) driving the working 

 places as rapidly as possible by shifts of an ample number of 

 workmen in each face, and .«o reducing the risk of falls and 

 exposing the least number of men to danger at any one time. 



We are of opinion that by improved discipline and the exercise 

 of greater care by those employed in or travelling through engine 

 jilanes and other roadways the number of casualties comprised 

 under the head of "miscellaneous accidents" would be consider- 

 ably diminished. The practice in some collieries in South Wales 

 i^[ boys nmning in front of the horses and trams should be pro- 

 hiljited. The very numerous casualties under the heads of 

 " falls of roof and sides" and "miscellaneous accidents" are 

 due in great part either to carelessness or want of early training. 

 Looking to the importance of practical training, and of encourag- 

 ing boys to enter the mines at the ages specified by the Mines 

 Regulation Acts, we are of opinion that careful consideration 

 should be given to this point in connection with the administra- 

 tion of the Klementary Education Act. 



We think that the experiments we have made on the pressure 

 of fire-damp in plugged bore holes in coal, a pressure sometimes 

 amounting to upwards of 400 lbs. on the square-inch, have thrown 

 much light upon the occurrence of sudden outbursts of gas. The 

 boring of holes upward or downward has been successfully tried 

 as a means of avoiding such outbursts, and we have little doubt 

 that the closer attention which is now paid to thorough stowing 

 and packing or building in the workings will contribute greatly 

 to the same end. It is almost impossible to account for many of 

 the accidents which have occurred in well-managed mines, some 

 of which have originated in the main-intake airways, except upon 

 the supposition that gas has suddenly invaded the workings from 

 the adjacent strata. Sudden outbursts of large quantities of gas, 

 accompanied by violent disniption of the floor, roof, or coal, are 

 fortunately rare, but smaller incursions of gas, accompanied by 

 falls of roof, or even without any apparent displacement of 

 ground, are comparatively frequent. We are of opinion that in 

 working fiery seams at great depth such abnormal discharges of 

 gas must occasionally occur, yet that they may be successfully 

 met by ample ventilation, good discipline, and efficient lamps. 

 While we recognise that variations of atmospheric pressure exert 

 an infiuence on the escape of gases which have accumulated in 

 cavities, and possibly to a slight extent on that of gases emitted 

 directly from the coal, we entertain great doubt as to the wisdom 

 of placing reliance on the issue of meteorological warnings. 

 These can at best only convey very imperfect informa- 

 tion, which, moreover, may be sometimes dangerously mis- 

 leading. We are of opinion that safety would be much more 

 likely to be insured by imceasing vigilance on the part of the 



