May 21.| THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1535

218. No structure or part of a structure up to a height of 7 ft. 6 in. above the rail level shall hereafter be erected and allowed to remain within the distance of 5 ft. 6 in. from the centre-line of the nearest line of rails, unless with the special permission of the Inspector, and no structure erected prior to the coming into force of this regulation shall be allowed to remain if the clearance between it and the centre line of rails is not sufficient to provide a reasonable degree of safety to persons who may have to pass between the structure and the rails.

CHANGE-HOUSES AND BATH-HOUSES.

Where change and bath houses are provided as required by the said Act the following regulations shall apply :-

219. The accommodation and facilities for taking baths shall be provided in a building of sufficient dimensions, efficiently ventilated and lighted, kept in good repair, and while the accommodation is in use heated to a temperature of not less than 60 degrees Fahrenheit.

220. The accommodation shall consist of shower-baths, also hand-basins supplied with cold and hot water at a temperature as near as may be of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and the showers shall be contained in a cabinet constructed so as to secure privacy to those who desire it, such cabinets having suitable arrangements for partially dressing and undressing.

221. (1.) The number of shower-baths and hand-basins shall be in the proportion of one to every eight persons in the largest shift employed in the mine.

(2.) The building shall be constructed of material to be approved by the Inspector of Mines, and shall be so graded and drained as to allow the waters to run to and be carried away at the sides of the building.

(3.) The building shall also be constructed so as to permit of the interior being easily cleansed, and to prevent accumulations of dirt in any part, and for this purpose--

(a.) All inner surfaces of the building up to the part from which the roof springs shall be smooth.

(b.) A space of not less than 10 in. shall be left between the walls of each cabinet and the floor of the building, and, except in the case of buildings of brick, stone, or concrete, a space of not less than 1½ in. shall be left between the walls of each cabinet and the sides of the building.

(c.) The inside wall of the building shall be constructed to a height of not less than 7 ft. from the floor of material which is capable of being readily cleansed and is impervious to water.

(d.) Drawings and specifications of all bath and change houses shall be approved in writing by the Inspector before the commencement of erection.

222. No water shall be used for the baths which is liable to cause injury to health or to yield effluvia, and for the purpose of this regulation any water which absorbs from acid solution of permanganate of potash in four hours at 60 degrees Fahrenheit more than 0·5 grain of oxygen per gallon of water shall be deemed to be liable to cause injury to health.

223. The floor of the building, the cabinets, and the inside wall up to a height of not less than 7 ft. shall be thoroughly cleansed once every day, and the whole building shall be thoroughly cleansed at such fixed times as shall be decided by the Inspector, but at least once in every ten days. If the accommodation is used by more than one shift of persons during the day the cabinets shall be cleansed at such intervals during the day as shall be decided by the Inspector.

224. Arrangements shall be made for suspending in the roof of the building the clothes of each person using the accommodation, by means of a chain or cord so treated as to be impervious to moisture, which shall be so arranged and fitted as to be under the sole control of the person to whom it is allotted, by means of a padlock to be provided by himself, and to keep the clothes of such person when suspended entirely separate from the clothes of any other person, and efficient means shall be provided for drying clothes when so suspended.

225. In any case where the votes of the workmen, or any part of the workmen, in any mine are required for the purpose of section 9 of the Coal-mines Amendment Act, 1914, they shall be taken by the ballot at a meeting of the workmen entitled to vote of which not less than three days' notice shall be given by a notice posted at the pit-head specifying the time and place of the meeting. A certificate stating the result of the voting, and signed by the person presiding at such meeting, shall be forthwith delivered to the manager of the mine.

226. The floor-space in every dressing or change room at bathhouses shall not be less than 12 square feet for each person.

227. The following rules shall be observed in all bath-houses :-

(a.) No person shall expectorate on the floor or walls.

(b.) Clothes, towels, soap, or other articles shall be kept only in the place provided for them.

(c.) No clothes shall be beaten or shaken within the building.

(d.) No clothes shall be washed in bath or hand-basin.

(e.) No clothing or boots shall be kept in any change or bath house during Sunday. Such articles, if left therein for two successive Sundays, may be destroyed by order of the manager.

(f.) No smoking shall be permitted unless in a room provided for that purpose.

(g.) Games shall not be played within the building.

AMBULANCE.

228. (1.) In every mine there shall be provided and kept in good condition and ready for immediate use at a convenient spot in the district of each fireman-deputy, and also in the office at the mine or other convenient place on the surface-

(a.) A suitably constructed stretcher.

(b.) A box containing a sufficient supply of suitable splints and bandages, adhesive plaster, borie vaseline, cotton-wool, and tincture of iodine or other suitable antiseptic solution.

(2.) The foregoing requirements shall not apply to any mine, seam, or district the conditions of which are so damp as to make it impossible to keep the appliances aforesaid in a good state.

(3.) In case of dispute between the manager and the work-men as to the possibility of keeping ambulance appliances in a good state, the matter shall be referred to the Inspector, who shall have power to decide the dispute.

(4.) The manager or other qualified official appointed by him shall personally inspect the appliances so provided, at least once in every month, and satisfy himself that they are in conformity with the above requirements.

229. In every mine in which the total number of persons employed underground does not exceed thirty, the manager shall arrange, if possible, that there shall be at least one man trained in first aid and holding a certificate of the St. John Ambulance Association, the St. Andrew's Association, or other society or body approved by the Minister, in the district of each fireman-deputy, at any time when twenty persons or more are being employed in the district. If less than twenty persons are employed in each district the manager shall arrange, if possible, that there shall be below ground during each shift at least one man so trained and having a certificate as aforesaid.

EXPLOSIVES.

Part I.—General Provisions.

230. (1.) It shall be the duty of the manager and underviewer to carry out and to the best of their ability enforce the provisions of every regulation in force under the said Act regulating the supply, use, and storage of explosives, and it shall be the duty of all persons employed in or about the mine to comply with the provisions of the said regulations, and the Explosive and Dangerous Goods Act, 1908.

(2.) Nothing in these regulations shall relieve the owner or manager of a mine from complying with the provisions of the Explosive and Dangerous Goods Act, 1908, regarding the storage of explosives.

231. (1.) No explosive substance shall be stored underground in any mine. The owner, agent, or manager of the mine shall provide a suitable place or places of storage above ground for all explosives intended to be used in the mine, and shall make suitable provision conveniently near the entrance of the mine for the storage of surplus explosives brought out of the mine at the end of each shift. No place shall be used for the storage of explosives unless and until it has been approved in writing for the purpose by an Inspector of Mines.

(2.) Detonators for blasting shall be kept stored on the surface of the ground in a covered box placed in a magazine specially provided for that purpose in which no other explosives are kept.

(3.) No person shall enter with a naked light a magazine where powder or other explosive or inflammable substance is stored.

232. (1.) No explosive shall be taken or used underground except in cartridges, and such cartridges shall be taken into the mine and kept until about to be used for the charging of a shot-hole in a secure case or canister, and a person shall not have in use at one time in any one place more than one of such cases or canisters.

(2.) No explosive shall be taken for use into the workings of the mine, except in quantities actually required during the shift. Such quantities, per person using same, shall not exceed 16 lb. of gunpowder or 10 lb. of nitro-glycerine compounds in workings where power drilling-machines are used,