May 21.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1533

TELEPHONES.

172. In any mine in which the total number of persons employed underground exceeds thirty, and the length of the main haulage-road exceeds 440 yards, efficient means of telephonic communication shall be provided and maintained between the end of the main haulage and the surface.

173. Efficient telephonic or other equivalent means of communication shall be provided for communicating between the place in which the switch gear provided under Regulation 263 (1) is erected and the shaft-bottom or main distributing centre in the pit.

HORSES AND STABLES UNDERGROUND.

174. Every person having charge of a horse, pony, mule, or donkey shall drive it carefully, and shall observe any directions that may be given to him by the horse-keeper or by the official under whose direction he works.

175. No person while below ground shall ride upon any animal.

176. All horses underground shall, when not at work, be housed in properly constructed stables, and in stalls of adequate size.

177. All stables in use underground shall be separated from any road used for travelling or haulage of minerals, and shall continuously and thoroughly be ventilated with intake air into the return airway, and cleaned daily, and kept in a sanitary condition, and all roofs, walls, and partitions of any stables shall, unless painted or made of slate, tiles, glazed brick, or iron, be lime-washed at least once in every three months.

178. A sufficient supply of wholesome food and pure water shall be provided daily for every horse while in the stable, and while at work.

TRAINS FOR CONVEYANCE OF WORKMEN.

179. Trains run for the conveyance of workmen, whether above or below ground, and whether on the premises of a mine or on a line or siding belonging to such mine, shall be under the entire control of a person appointed to accompany and have charge of the train; and no person shall attempt to get into or out of the train when in motion, nor ride upon the footboard (if any) or upon the buffers or couplings, nor refuse to comply with the directions of the person in charge, nor in any way obstruct or interfere with such person in the discharge of his duties; and any person failing to comply with this regulation shall be reported by the person in charge to the manager or underviewer.

INJURIES TO WORKMEN.

180. Every person receiving in or about the mine any personal injury caused by an explosion of gas or dust or any explosive, or by electricity, or overwinding, or any other special cause, or any personal injury causing him to absent himself from his work, shall as soon as possible report the same to one of the officials, and if required by the official shall forthwith proceed to the appointed place for first-aid treatment.

SAFETY-LAMPS.

181. Where safety-lamps are required to be used, a competent person shall externally examine the safety-lamp of every workman before passing the station and see that it is in safe working-order and securely locked before permitting him to go beyond such station.

182. Every person using a safety-lamp shall examine the same externally and assure himself that it is locked and in good order before entering the mine, and shall from time to time while in the mine examine the lamp to see that it is in safe working-order, and he shall when he has completed his shift return the lamp to the lamp-room. If the lamp is damaged while in his possession he shall at once carefully extinguish the light.

183. No person shall when testing or examining for the presence of fire-damp with a safety-lamp raise the lamp higher than may be necessary to allow the presence of fire-damp to be detected.

184. Should any person find himself in the presence of inflammable gas he shall not throw away his lamp or attempt to blow it out but shall shelter it, hold the lamp near the floor, avoid jerking it, and take it steadily into fresh air. If the gas fires in the lamp where he cannot take it into fresh air, he shall smother out the light or extinguish it in water.

185. Every person in charge of a safety-lamp who loses his light shall proceed to the appointed station to have his lamp relighted and examined before being again used.

186. Any person witnessing any improper treatment of a safety-lamp by any one shall immediately report the same to the manager or other official.

187. Wherever safety-lamps are required by the said Act or these regulations to be used, no safety-lamp or lamp-glass shall be used by any person employed in a mine unless it is of a type for the time being approved by the Minister, and as named and described in the current British Home Office Safety-lamp Orders and the schedules to such Orders.

188. The underground use of apparatus for the relighting electrically of safety-lamps is authorized, provided—

(a.) The apparatus complies in all respects with the requirements of any regulations in force for the time being with respect to the use of electricity underground, and is in accordance with the provisions of such regulations and of the said Act.

(b.) The station where the apparatus is used shall not be within a distance of 200 yards of any part of the working-face.

(c.) When not in use the apparatus shall be kept securely locked, and no person shall be given or have in his possession any key or contrivance for unlocking the apparatus, other than a person appointed in accordance with the provisions of the said Act.

(d.) The apparatus shall not be used in any part of a mine where inflammable gas, although not normally present, is likely to occur in quantity sufficient to be indicative of danger.

(e.) The apparatus shall be so constructed, worked, and maintained as to preclude the accumulation of explosive gas within it.

(f.) The lamp shall be examined by the appointed person after being relighted and before being reissued.

SEARCH OF PERSONS EMPLOYED BELOW GROUND FOR PROHIBITED ARTICLES BEFORE THE COMMENCEMENT OF WORK.

189. The manager of a mine in which, or in any part of which, safety-lamps are required by the said Act or the regulations to be used, shall, for the purpose of ascertaining, before the persons employed below ground in the mine, or in such part of the mine, as the case may be, commence work, whether they have in their possession any lucifer match or any apparatus of any kind for producing a light or spark (except so far as may be authorized for the purpose of shot-firing or relighting lamps), or any cigar, cigarette, or pipe, or contrivance for smoking, cause any or all those persons, or such of them as may be selected on a system approved by the Inspector, to be searched after or immediately before entering the mine or that part of the mine.

190. Any person who refuses to allow himself to be searched in accordance with the foregoing provision shall be guilty of an offence against the said Act, and shall not be allowed to enter the mine, or the part of a mine, as the case may be.

191. The manner of searching persons employed below ground for the purpose of ascertaining before they commence work whether they have in their possession any prohibited article shall be as follows:—

(1.) The search shall be made by a person or persons appointed for the purpose in writing by the manager.

(2.) No person shall search any workman unless he has previously given an opportunity to some two workmen employed in the mine to search himself, and no lucifer match or such apparatus as aforesaid, and no cigar, cigarette, pipe, or contrivance for smoking, has been found on him.

(3.) In the case of members of a shift the search shall be made in the presence of two or more members of the shift.

(4.) The search shall be made with due regard to propriety, and so as to occasion the person searched as little inconvenience as possible.

(5.) The person conducting the search shall—

(a.) Search or turn out all pockets;

(b.) Pass his hands over all clothing; and

(c.) Examine any article in the workman’s possession.

(6.) If the person conducting the search suspects that the person searched is concealing any prohibited article he shall detain him, and as soon as possible refer the matter to the manager, underviewer, or other official authorized by the manager for the purpose, who shall not allow the person to proceed to work until he has satisfied him that he has no prohibited article in his possession.

USE OF ELECTRIC LAMPS OTHER THAN ELECTRIC SAFETY-LAMPS.

192. In any mine or part of a mine in which safety-lamps are required to be used, electric lamps, if enclosed in airtight fittings and having the lamp-globes hermetically sealed, may, subject to the provisions of the said Act and the regulations as to the use of electricity in mines, be used within the following limits:—

(a.) On main intake airways and haulage-roads ventilated by intake air up to within 300 yards of the nearest working-face.

(b.) On main return airways within 300 yards of the bottom of the upcast shaft if that shaft is regularly used for the purpose of winding persons or minerals, but not within 300 yards of the nearest working-face.

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