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THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. [No. 16

Special Rules under "The Regulation of Mines Act, 1874."

Mines Department,
Wellington, 29th January, 1883.

THE under-mentioned special rules are published in accord
ance with the provisions of section 31 of "The Regulation
of Mines Act, 1874," to be observed at the Koranui Coal Mine,
Waimangaroa.

THOMAS DICK,
(for the Minister of Mines.)

The penalties for the violation of any special rules established
under "The Regulation of Mines Act, 1874," and for offences
against the Act, are provided for in sections 22 to 28, in
Part VI.

SPECIAL RULES.

1. No officer in a place of trust shall depute another person
   to do his work without the sanction of his superior; and no
   person in a place of trust shall absent himself without having
   previously obtained the permission of his superior officer for his
   term of absence.

2. Intoxicating drinks shall not be allowed in or about the
   mine without the consent of the manager, and then only in
   cases of necessity; and no person in a state of intoxication shall
   be allowed to be in or about the mine.

Manager.

3. The manager shall take all reasonable means for carrying
   out the requirements of the Act and special rules, by publishing
   and, to the best of his power, enforcing them. He shall be
   responsible for the appointment of a sufficient number of com-
   petent persons to carry out the requirements of the Act and the
   special rules, and also to see that the working of the mine is
   carried on with all reasonable provisions for the safety of the
   persons employed.

4. The manager shall see that an adequate amount of ventila-
   tion is constantly produced in the mine, to dilute and render
   harmless noxious gases to such an extent that the working-
   places of the shafts, levels, stables, and workings of the mine,
   and the travelling roads to and from such working-places, shall,
   so far as is reasonably practicable, be in a fit state for working
   and passing therein. No person shall be allowed in or about
   the mine without the consent of the manager.

5. The manager shall see that an ample supply of timber,
   props, sprags, bricks, lime, sand, ropes, brattice-cloth, and other
   requisite materials are always on the premises, and the under-
   viewer shall see that the same are distributed, and also report
   any deficiency. The underviewer or his deputy shall see that
   the roof and the sides in all working-places are properly secured
   by the persons working in them, and that the roof and sides of
   every travelling road be made and kept secure. The under-
   viewer or his deputy shall visit every working-place as often as
   is practicable during each shift.

Underviewer.

6. The underviewer, whenever practicable, must personally
   attend to the matters and duties required by the following rules;
   and the performance and observance of such matters and duties
   shall not be intrusted to a deputy, except in cases in which the
   underviewer cannot reasonably perform them, or during his
   lawful absence. In these cases he may require his deputy or
   deputies to act for him, and they shall be bound to do and per-
   form all acts, matters, and duties deputed to him or them by
   the underviewer according to these rules.

7. The underviewer shall not make nor allow any change to
   be made in the direction of the ventilation of the mine, when
   any person is in the mine, beyond the place where such change
   is proposed; and he shall, where practicable, cause the stables
   to be ventilated into the return-air from the mine.

8. The underviewer or his deputy shall inspect daily the
   doors in the main air-ways, and see that they are checked or
   doubled. No door must be propped or fastened back whilst
   on its hinges. The underviewer must appoint doorkeepers
   whenever necessary. Doors only used occasionally by the under-
   viewer or his deputy must be kept securely locked, and only
   opened by properly-authorized persons. All doors must be kept
   in good repair, and hung so that they will fall-to of themselves.

9. When a place is likely to contain a dangerous accumulation
   of water the underviewer, acting under the manager's instruc-
   tions, shall see that the working approaching such places does
   not exceed eight feet in width, and that there is constantly kept
   at a sufficient distance, not being less than five yards in advance,
   at least one bore-hole near the centre of the working, and suffi-
   cient flank bore-holes on each side.

10. The underviewer or his deputy shall see that the air-ways
    and air-crossings are kept properly opened, and shall travel
    through the air-ways at least once a week; and shall see that
    the regulators, tight-stoppings, doors, sheets, brattices, and
    danger-signals are immediately put where required. He shall
    see that the ventilating furnaces and other ventilating apparatus
    are properly attended to. The underviewer or his deputy must

remain underground until the day's work is finished, and see
that the doors and sheets are closed, and all the men and boys
are out of the mine.

11. The underviewer shall see that all the provisions contained
    in this Act as to the employment of boys and male young persons
    are strictly enforced.

12. The underviewer, acting under the direction of the
    manager, shall see that all places not in actual use are properly
    fenced across the whole width, so as to prevent persons inad-
    vertently entering the same.

13. The underviewer shall see that all the provisions con-
    tained in the Act and in these Special Rules relating to the use
    of gunpowder and other explosive substances used in the mine
    are strictly enforced.

14. The underviewer or his deputy shall see that proper man-
    holes and signals which are made or provided are kept in good
    order, according to the provisions of the Act.

15. The underviewer shall see that the timber is properly
    distributed, that there is sufficient, and that it is used when
    necessary for security.

16. The underviewer shall withdraw men from working-
    places which are in any way unsafe, and shall report the same.

Colliers.

17. Every collier shall, under the direction of the under-
    viewer or his deputy, set a sufficient quantity of props and bars
    for safely supporting the roof and sides in his working-place.
    The timber shall be properly set, and be removed and renewed
    as often as is necessary.

18. No collier shall use or allow to be used any gunpowder,
    except in conformity with the general rules for its use.

19. In addition to the examination by the underviewer, or
    other officer, each work-person must examine his working-place
    before commencing work, and from time to time during his
    shift, and withdraw his men in case of danger.

20. Any person discovering any stoppage or derangement of
    the ventilation, injury to air-crossings, doors, stoppings, brattices,
    or air-pipes, or observing any obstruction in an air-course, a
    weakness in the roof, or deficiency of timber, weight on the
    stalls, or accumulation of gas or water, shall immediately give
    notice to the men and boys in that part of the mine, and to the
    underviewer or his deputy.

21. Any person passing through a door must instantly close
    it; and no person shall injure a door or leave it open, break
    down or interfere with a stopping or a brattice, obstruct or
    damage an air-course, air-crossing, or air-pipe, or remove a
    caution-board or danger-signal, or do anything to interfere with
    the proper working of the mine, without an order from the
    underviewer or his deputy.

22. No person shall leave any light or any gunpowder in any
    part of the mine when leaving his work.

23. Shots must be rammed with soft material not likely to
    strike fire.

24. No person shall fire shots without authority from the
    underviewer.

25. When a shot has missed fire it shall not be unrammed,
    but shall be reported to the underviewer or his deputy, and the
    place shall not be approached without the permission of the
    underviewer or his deputy.

26. The furnaceman shall constantly keep clean brisk fires;
    ashes shall not be allowed to accumulate upon or under the
    bars, but when cold they must be removed.

The following special rules shall be in force in any mine in
which explosive gas has been found:-

27. The manager shall appoint a competent person or
    persons who shall examine every safety-lamp immediately before
    it is taken into the workings for use, and ascertain it to be
    secure and securely locked; and in any part of the mine in
    which the safety-lamps are so required to be used, they shall
    not be used until they have been so examined and found secure,
    and securely locked, and shall not, without due authority, be
    unlocked; and in the said part of the mine a person shall not,
    unless he is appointed for the purpose, have in his possession
    any key or contrivance for opening the lock of any such safety-
    lamp, or any lucifer match or apparatus of any kind for striking
    a light. He shall not allow any unlocked lamp to be in any
    part of the mine excepting in a lamp-cabin or other station
    properly appointed for lighting lamps. He must also see that
    no safety-lamp gauze is used with less than twenty-eight
    parallel wires to the inch, or less than 784 apertures to the
    square inch, and that a sufficient number of safety-lamps are
    provided with shields, and locks and rings in the end of the
    gauze.

28. The manager shall appoint a station or stations at the
    entrance of the mine, or at different parts of the mine, as the
    case may require; and no person shall pass beyond any such
    station until the mine, or part of the mine beyond the same,
    has been duly inspected and stated to be safe.

29. No person shall pass the appointed station or enter his
    working-place in a morning until it has been examined by the
    underviewer or his deputy, and duly indicated to be safe; and