A second crucial pat of the evidence was that shots were not fired on that particular face during the night of August 5-6 as was intended. Some 23 or 24 shot-holes had been drilled ready for charging, but for some reason the deputy in charge en the shift during the explosion had not started upon this part of the work before the explosion occured, It had been suggested that the delsy in firing the shots was because the deputy, who was described as very conscientious, may have been troubled with gas, but the matter could not be taken farther, adds Sir Henry Walker, with the comment, It peculiar circumstance."
The third crucial part of the evidence was that the commutator cover of the motor of the loader was found on the floor and the cover of the starting switch was found to be loose.
Dealing with the cause of ignition, Sir Henry Walker states:—"Appearances certainly point to the starting switch or the commutator of the loader motor having been the cause, and, although there is no absolute proof, I have no doubt that sparking at the one or the other was the cause."
After reviewing the evidence concerning dust on the roads he states that, in view of the precautions taken, it was very disturbing to find the explosion had spread over such an extent of workings. The fact that the explosion was confined to haulage roads was reason for believing that coal dust was responsible for the extension of the explosion, but the possibility of fire-damp being present in the intake air had to be considered The conditions of mining were changing, and in the colliery comparatively large tonnages of coal were filled into tubs by mechanical loaders and then hauled machinery. In this way much more coal dust was deposited. Horses or ponies tended to mix coal and stone dust, but in mechanical mining the traffic Was much less in proportion to the coal transported.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.