46 
precaution^ to secure the safety of the miners in case of floodings. In accordance 
with these instructions, Mr. Inspector Stewart, under date 28th April, 1884, reported 
a case where, in Ins' opinion, after making a thorough inspection of the mine, the 
necessary means and appliances to facilitate escape were not provided. Ilis letter is 
as follows : — 
I have the honour to direct your attention to the working of the New Golden Belt Company’s mine 
at Springdallah. On the 2Gtli of May, 1883, in my report for the week I called attention to the position of 
this shaft and the old Trunk Company’s shaft, and the liability of this company's (Golden Belt) shaft to 
lloodings. At that time the latter company had struck gold, but in consequence of the mine being several 
times flooded since, and the drives and jump-ups being lost, they have not yet been able to work in the 
golden ground; and in my opinion never will be with their present appliances. 
But what I wish to specially point out is that the men 'working in this mine are continually in 
danger of their lives, for there is no escape from below except by the cage, and, should the water come in 
suddenly and the cage be away from the bottom, or should the engine-driver not be at his post, the men 
must be drowned; and I am most certainly of opinion that this mine is liable to be flooded at any time* 
At present, with the ordinary water, the pumps only just manage it. When below with the manager on 
the evening of the 22nd inst., I called his attention to this matter, and suggested to him to at once take 
some action to enable the men to escape, and first to put ladders in the pump shaft. Ladders, I may 
mention, are at present fixed from the surface down to the plunger pump, and only want continuing on to 
the bottom. lie said there was not sufficient room to put ladders in, but I find the shaft is 4ft. x 5ft. 8iu., 
and the largest part of a pump (door piece) is only 8ft., consequently there is room for a straight ladder 
which would enable men to escape from the bottom of the shaft. The manager promised he would at once 
put the ladders in. I also desire to direct attention to the fact that in this mine they have a drive open 
90 feet from the bottom, and running almost directly over their bottom drive. If these two levels were 
connected by a jump-up, with ladders, there would always be an escape. This is acknowledged by the 
manager, but lie says the company has been long struggling on, paying calls, and the ground between the 
two levels is so hard that he is afraid to incur the expense. I should think the jump-up could be 
constructed for about £2 per foot ; or, ladders and all complete, for £200. At present only two men are 
employed below in each shift, so that the ladders in pump shaft may do, but if more men are put on, 
I should most certainly suggest that the company he compelled to connect the two levels, and I think the 
manager should be so informed. 
The manager was duly informed of the Inspector’s recommendations, and 
requested to give immediate effect to them. He disregarded the request, and 
proceedings were instituted against him, but the case was dismissed on a technical 
point. 
The Senior Inspector of Mines has brought another case under notice, that of 
the Grand Junction Company, Yandoit. Writing on the 18th October, he states:— 
I inspected the underground workings of this mine, and examined the plans, also the surface area. 
Having regard to the relative positions of the old and the new mines, I found that the nearest face south¬ 
wards, working towards the nearest northerly point of the old mine, was still 680 feet distant, or about 
twelve months blocking at a, monthly average of 60 feet. I arranged with the manager that in about a 
mouth, when the drives will be under the tunnel across the lead, between the Jim Crow and the Yandoit 
creeks, that a proper means of ascent into the tunnel should be made, so that it may become an escape 
drive. I also arranged for the manager to put permanent, ladders into the air shaft at the north part of the 
mine. These provisions for escape will prevent accidents in case of flooding of the mine. 
MINERS’ SAFETY LAMPS. 
Of the safety-lamps hitherto in general use, namely, Davy’s, Clanay’s, Stephen¬ 
son’s, Williamson’s, Mueseler’s, Purdy’s, and Marsaut’s, a writer in a recent number of 
Iron asserts that they are “ fairly safe so long as the explosive gas is at rest,” but that 
they become unsafe when exposed to a current of explosive atmosphere the velocity of 
which is over 14 feet per second. A new lamp to provide against the danger of such 
currents has been invented, and is known as Morgan’s Patent, the principle of which 
is stated to be that of “obstructing the inward passage of air or gas to the flame in such 
a manner that the force of a current, however powerful, becomes so entirely broken up 
that when within the lamp it is reduced to little more than the ordinary draught, while 
the outlets are constructed and proportioned to carry off the results of ordinary com¬ 
bustion only, so that should those results he materially increased by the presence of 
carburetted hydrogen in the lamp, extinction must follow.” 
On the subject of safety-lamps, the Mining Journal of 26th July, 1884, has the 
following remarks:—“ The adjudicators for the prize of £500 offered by Mr. Ellis Lever 
