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Pryor’s lias four arms to catch on the slabs of the shaft, and is supposed to fall by its own weight, 
having no spring to assist it. 
William’s cages are of two kinds, one with serrated grippers to catch on the side of the skids, and 
brought into action by indiarubber springs. The other has simply two chisel-pointed arms coming out 
through the top of the cage, and supposed to enter the face of the skids, but has nothing to bring it into 
action. 
It must by this time be apparent to every one that no cage, however good its principle, can be of any 
use unless it is well looked after and kept in good order. This is clearly shown by the results of my tests, 
for even cages of the best makers have completely failed where they have been neglected. But I am pleased to 
observe that many managers arc taking more interest in safety appliances than formerly, although some 
are still opposed to them, and only take just sufficient trouble to comply with the law, and thus save 
themselves. 
I feel confident we have in use in the Ballarat district good safety cages, if properly looked after; 
and I am also confident there are many working that are utterly useless, and will never assist in saving 
either life or property. These latter have only been obtained on account of their cheapness, and to comply 
with the letter of the law. 
As showing the value of safety cages, if kept in good condition, Air. Stewart, in 
a report dated 10th December, mentions:— 
At about. 3 p.m. on the 8th December, at the No. 7 shaft of the Band of Hope and Albion Consols 
Company’s mine, while the engine was at full speed, the rope broke, and the cage (Allan’s patent) imme¬ 
diately caught, thus preventing any further damage. The cage contained a truck of mullock, about 6 cwt., 
and tho rope (au improved steel one, an inch in diameter) broke, leaving 95 feet of rope attached to the 
cage. JTo doubt the cause was the plat man not property putting the, catches on the truck . 
The great importance to he attached to this accident is tho fact that men were in the bottom of 
the shaft sinking, and although there are good pent-houses over their heads, the fact of the cage falling a 
distance of GOO feet (had not the grippers acted) would most likely have had a disastrous effect, at least 
destroying the bottom of the shaft, and smashing the cage to pieces, and (if a weak place happened to be in 
the pent-house) killing the men in the bottom of the shaft. 
The cage at the time was at an enlarged part of the shaft, allowing two wheels of the truck to get 
off the cage, thus causing a tremendous strain upon the rope, the wires of which were drawn out quite thin. 
This is not the first time that the cages at this mine have acted to the benefit of the company, and 
I am certain that both the legal and mining managers will acknowledge the value of a good safety cage, if 
kept in order. 
The distance the cage dropped in this instance was about 3 inches. 
Mr. Inspector Meekison reports:— 
The conditions under which tho tests were made by me were that the cages wore landed on a prop 
on the surface, and the chains connecting them with the ropes were slacked down until a fall of from 4 to 
(> feet was obtained, according to the length of the chains; then the shackles on the cage and the rope were 
connected together with a small rope, and the cage lifted off the bearing. The small rope was then 
cut, and if the cage fell until the chains took tho weight, 1 classed it as having failed. Those classed in 
the list hereunder as having acted fell from 1 inch, the smallest drop, to 14 inches, the longest one, before 
they caught. The cages most in use in this district are Allan’s and Macaw’s. 
Allan's Cage . — Tested eleven. Six acted, five failed. 
McKay's Cage, — Tested two. Both acted. 
Macaw's Cage .—Tested eleven. Six acted, five failed. 
McSporrvi s Cage. — Tested five. One acted, four failed. 
Williams' Cage. —Tested eight. Two acted, six failed, 
Pryor's Cage . — Tested four. None acted. 
In addition to (ho above, I tested one safety cage, not patented, which acted. The name of the 
inventor is unknown to me. 
1 consider Allan’s safely cage is the best of the different makers’ tested. The two handles fixed 
inside this cage, by which any one in them can apply the grippers and stop them in any part of the shaft, 
is, in my opinion, a necessary appliance to any safety cage. At the Llnnberries Co. 1 was informed that 
when an influx of water occurred in the mine on a Sunday lately, unknown to any one, the men, on being 
lowered down the shaft on Monday morning, would have been drowned if the Allan’s cago in use had not 
been provided with this appliance, by means of which they stopped the cage as soon as it struck the water. 
Only two of McKay’s cages were available for trial, and both acted. I would place these cages 
second. 
Macaw’s cages had the same number of trials as Allan’s, and the same number acted, but they fell 
further before they caught, and they have no appliances by which any one in them could stop them in any 
part of the shaft if required. I would place these cages third. 
These three makers’ cages will act satisfactorily if kept in good order, but if allowed to get out of 
repair, or if dirt and rust are allowed to accumulate around the working parts, neither of them can be 
expected to act as safety cages, and it greatly depends on the care bestowed on thorn when in use whether 
companies have really safety cages at all, or only shams. All the cages that acted were in better order and 
better attended to than those that failed. 
I consider the best kind of safety hook to be those that, if the cage go to the poppet-heads, and the 
rope is disconnected, bang the cage by (lie hook, as they give an extra chance and additional safety as com¬ 
pared with those that allow the cage to drop away and depend solely on the grippers. In my opinion the 
best safety hooks are Middleton’s, Humble and King’s, and Williams’, but to keep them efficient they 
require to be kept in order. A good plan to keep the parts from rusting together is to put a thin sheet of 
brass between the plates. 
