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LLANDILO PETTY SESSIONS.
At the petty sessions on Saturday last (before Capt Lewis,
Capel-issa; Mr Herbert Peel, Taliaris; and Mr Thursby Pelham,
Abermarlais), the case of manslaughter came on against Thomas
Michael for having, as it was alleged, caused the death of the
ten persons who were a short time ago killed at the Garnant
Colliery. Mr T. G. Williams, Llandilo, was for the prosecution,
Mr W. Howell, Llanelly, for the defence, and Mr W. Simons, Merthyr,
appeared for the company.
Mr T. G. Williams opened the case at some length, and explained
that the men usually began work about seven in the morning,
but on the 16th of January last they began at four in the morning
in order to get off to a funeral that was to take place about
midday. It was a distinct infraction of one of the rules under
the Coal Mines Regulation Act to let ten men go down in any
cage at one time, as was done on this occasion. The banksman
would be liable for permitting such an irregularity to take
place, but David Jenkins, the banksman in this case, shielded
himself by saying he was some distance off engaged in other
work. The prisoner, Thomas Michael, was a labourer, or, at all
events, he was not a properly qualified banksman, and had no
experience in such matters. He should not have touched the levers
at all. If it were contended that he was entitled to be there,
then he must take the full responsibility for what happened.
There were two classes of offence called manslaughter, distinguished
by the will and intention of the person by whom it was caused.
The prisoner in the present instance was charged with involuntary
manslaughter. Mr Williams then proceeded to speak of the soundness
and strength of the rope, and concluded by citing cases more
or less similar to this, in which the person who had caused
the death of others was held to be guilty of manslaughter. He
then called witnesses.
Geo. Bartlett, who was first examined, said: I am a labourer,
and live at Cwmamman, in the parish of Bettws. On the morning
of the 16th of January last I was at the Garnant Colliery. I
was employed there. I was there about 3.30 that morning. I went
there earlier so that I could leave off sooner. About a quarter
to four I went to the top of the pit. I saw John Evan Jones
and David Roberts, and several others, in the cage -in the east
cage. I also saw the prisoner, Thomas Michael there. The cage
was up then resting on the keeps, and above ground. I saw some
cages descend before that. When I saw these men in the cage
the prisoner Thomas Michael was standing by the lever which
worked cast fangs. I saw David Jenkins, the banksman, by the
lever on the west side of the pit at the time. He was quite
in sight of the east lever. I was about a yard and a half farther
east than the east lever, and about that distance from Michael.
David Jenkins was standing. I saw Thomas Michael giving a signal
to the engineer. That was shortly after I got there, and the
ten men were in the cage. Michael then opened the lever -drew
it back. I supposed the signal to the engineer was to raise
the cage up in order to let it down. I saw the cage raised,
and about the same time Michael pushed the lever. He pushed
it in the way it would have been pushed to open the keeps or
fangs. It was not done in the usual way as I have seen banksmen
do it. They stand on the other side and pull it towards them,
and do not push it. When he pushed the lever the cage began
to descend, and Michael continued to keep his hand on the lever
so long as I watched him. The cage descended until it was nearly
out of sight. The horse door was fixed to the cage that morning.
When the cage got nearly out of sight it stopped for about half
a minute. I cannot say if the rope was running out then. I thought
the cage had caught in the fangs. While it was stopping I heard
a grating sound. I do not think it was stopped by the engine.
Immediately the cage began again to descend, and then it did
not seem to be grating against anything. I heard the noise when
it got to the bottom as if something had fallen. I did not hear
the signal given. I did not notice the rope to which the cage
was attached. I saw the horse door on the cage when it began
to descend, and I thought it caught on the keep somewhere when
I saw it stopped.
Cross-examined by Mr Howell: I do think it was the horse door
that caught in the fangs. Others had been lowered that morning
before these men in that particular cage. I saw a man and a
horse go down. I never worked that lever myself, and I do not
know if it is easily worked. I have seen the banksman working
it with one hand, and I suppose it could be worked as easily
by pushing as by pulling it. For several days after the accident
David Jenkins said he was at the fangs and lowered the cage
on the 16th, and not Thomas Michael. I heard him say this. I
contradicted him. Several were present in the road when he and
I talked about this. I cannot say if the horse door being attached
to the cage made it more dangerous.
Re-examined: when using the lever as Michael used it, one could
not touch the signal wire and communicate with the engineman.
I think. The wire would be too far from him. The signal would
be used to have the cage stopped or started.
Thomas Bartlett, the next witness, said: I am a haulier, living
at Cwmamman. I saw the accident at the Garnant Colliery on the
16th January, about a quarter to four. I was present. Thomas
Michael gave the signal to let down the east cage. He pulled
down the wire. Thomas Michael then worked the lever and lifted
the cage up from the keeps to let it down. I was standing about
three yards off, holding a horse which I wanted to put into
the cage. It was a moonlight morning, and there was a lamp there.
I saw David Jenkins, the banksman, at the other shaft, at the
west lever. After the signal was given to the engineer, and
Thomas Michael was at the east lever, I saw David Jenkins coming
across towards the east lever. While Jenkins was coming Michael
had his hand on the lever. He was on the side of the lever opposite
to that on which the banksman usually stands. Standing there
he would not have so much strength to draw the keeps. Standing
there he would have difficulty in working the signal to the
engineman. Perhaps it was possible to do so. If he had stood
in the right place he could have better seen who were in the
cage, and if there were too many. When the cage was descending,
and got level with the collar board at the top of the pit, it
stopped. I could hear crushing and grating, and hard thumps.
David Jenkins then came to his usual place close to the lever
and signal (east). I saw him signal to the engineer to stop
the descent of the cage. [Mr Williams here put in a copy of
the Rules under the Coal Mines Regulation Act, signed by Mr
Wales, the inspector of the district, and called attention to
rule 77.] After the signal was given I saw the cage disappear
by the breaking of the rope. That was almost immediately after
the signal was given. I saw the cage rush down, but I did not
see the rope breaking. When I heard the smash at the bottom
of the pit I knew the rope was broken. I suppose the engine
was working when the cage rested on the keeps, but I was not
then looking towards the engine. No signal was given, and I
saw no reason to suppose the engine had stopped. David Jenkins
afterwards told some people -it was on the 17th -that he worked
the lever on the occasion of the accident. I contradicted him.
My brother and I were among the persons who were present. David
Jenkins wanted to take the full blame on himself, but it was
an untruth, and I contradicted him. I made a statement within
five minutes or so after the accident occurred.
Cross-examined by Mr Howell: I did not hear Jenkins say anything
to Michael at the time. I did not see Jenkins try to prevent
Michael from using the lever. I cannot say whether or not Jenkins
had lowered anyone in the other cage. I know the other cage
was prohibited from working at the time. There was no steam
worth speaking of about the pit's mouth, although the engine
was working. I could see the top of the cage very well. I have
not seen numbers of people working that lever who were not banksmen.
I never saw anyone work the lever except banksmen or other persons
who had been authorised by the manager as banksmen. I have been
up and down now for five years almost every day, and nobody
has worked the cage except the banksman. David Jenkins let a
horse and man down shortly before the accident.
Re-examined: I said Jenkins did not prevent Michael handling
the lever, but all was so soon over that he would have had no
time to do so. I never saw anyone except a properly constituted
banksman work the lever before. I never saw anyone work it in
the fashion that Michael did.
The court then adjourned. After lunch the medical evidence was
taken.
Dr Howell Rees said: I am a physician and surgeon, and live
at Tirbach, in the parish of Llanguicke. On the 16th I examined
the bodies of the ten persons who were killed by the accident
on that morning. They were dead when I saw them. I examined
them at 8.30 a.m. They were all severely injured. Most had bones
fractured, including the skull in several cases. The cause of
their deaths would be accounted for by the fall from the mouth
to the bottom of the Garnant Colliery. John Davies, the foreman
of the colliery, was at the colliery while I was examining them.
I saw him about there, and he was there when I arrived. Most
of the injured persons had been three hours or three hours and
a half dead when I saw them.
Thomas Thomas, Graigfach, parish of Bettws, labourer, said:
I was employed on the 16th of January last at the Garnant Colliery.
I was there at twenty minutes to four that morning. About that
time I got to the top of the pit. I saw a number of men going
down in the east cage, but I did not recognise the men in it.
I saw Thomas Michael, the prisoner, there. He was by the signal,
which is very near the lever. I saw David Jenkins coming from
the other side, where the other cage was. I was by the weighing-machine,
which was about three yards from Michael. He signalled the engineman,
and the cage rose a little, and then went down a little. Michael
was all the time keeping his hand on the lever. The cage went
down till its top was level with the pit's mouth, and then it
jerked back and stood still. I heard it scratching a little
as if it was catching in something. It only stopped a second
or two, and then it went down. I heard it jerk when it started
down. When the cage was stopping, Michael gave the lever a fresh
push as hard as he could. Then I heard the cage jerk as if it
bumped from one side of the shaft to the other, and down it
went. The next thing I heard was the smash at the bottom. The
horse door was attached to the cage.
Cross-examined: Michael pushed the lever twice. The second time
he pushed it in two directions, trying it backwards and forwards.
I have been on the bank since last June, and I know nothing
of collieries except what I observed during that time. There
was no steam that morning at the pit's mouth. I have not heard
Jenkins say it was he who was at the fangs. I could see the
cage through the railings at that time. There was a lamp there.
There was no engine working underground at the time. I never
worked, or tried to work the lever. I never saw any person except
the banksman working it.
To Mr Pelham: When I first saw Michael push the lever, he pushed
it as far as it could go, but I think it slacked backwards somewhat
before he pushed it a second time. Unless held, it would come
back to its place, and the fangs would catch. If the lever is
allowed to come backwards the fangs would catch the cage better
when the horse door is on, but I cannot say if it would catch
when the horse door is off.
Thomas Morgans, collier, said: On the morning of the 16th of
January I went to the Garnant Colliery between three and four.
I saw John Evan Jones get into the east cage. I cannot say that
I noticed what others went in. I did not see the prisoner, Thomas
Michael, there before the accident, but I saw him after that.
I was standing by the west lever, and there were some people
between me and the east lever. When the east cage descended
I heard a noise as of something scratching against it, and the
cage stopped with its top nearly level with the pit's mouth.
In another instant the cage moved again, and went down to the
bottom of the pit. For a second before it fell I could see the
cage shaking and struggling in the mouth of the pit. When it
got free it gave a jerk as it got to the guides lower down.
When it got as far as the guides I heard screams from the people,
and then I heard a thump above. When I heard that, I saw some
of the railings round the sheaves fall. I thought the end of
the rope caught in the railings, but I did not see the rope
break. There was nothing else but the rope that could have broken
the railings.
Cross-examined: I have worked five years at this colliery. I
used to see the lever worked every night and every morning.
Nearly everybody in the pit worked the lever at sometime or
other. We carry on our work without any row, and when we come
up, if the banksman is not at hand, the person nearest the lever
will signal to the engineman and let the rest down by working
the lever. We never thought there was any harm in that. In the
ordinary working of this shaft, when the banksman worked the
lever, the cage sometimes caught in the fangs. I cannot say
if the fangs have been altered since this accident occurred.
Before the accident I saw another cage full of men go down.
I do not know if people went down in the west cage. I know we
had notice not to use that. It is likely that the horse door
being attached would make the cage more likely to catch in the
fangs, but for my part I would rather go down with the door
on.
Re-examined: If the lever is properly worked there is no danger
of the cage catching in the fangs. If the lever is drawn back
to its furthest pitch there is no more danger of the cage catching
when the horse door is on any more than when it is not on. It
would not catch in either case. I have often known the cage
to catch before that morning when it had the horse door on.
It is seldom a morning passes, I think, without its catching.
I am not employed at the colliery now. I have been there since
1875, but was a year or more away. No accident has ever happened
to my knowledge from this catching. I am not acquainted with
the special rules affecting the colliery. They are posted up
there, but I cannot read. I cannot read English, and only very
little Welsh. I won't name anyone who worked the levers without
being authorised as banksmen.
Mr Williams then asked what others had acted as banksmen, and
the witness refused to say.
Mr Howell expressed his approval of the conduct of the witness,
and said he was right not to incriminate his fellow-workmen.
Mr Lewis Bishop (the clerk) said he thought Mr Williams was
quite justified in putting the question in view of what was
stated in the cross-examination.
The witness still persisted in refusing to answer, and Mr Williams
said the prosecution challenged the truth of this statement,
and utterly denied that others than banksmen worked the levers.
Mr Howell said it was one of the first principles of law that
you must not discredit your own witness. Mr Williams was driven
to this because his own witness revealed things that did not
tell in his favour.
Mr Bishop said Mr Williams would be in order if he asked whether
the people who used the lever were authorised to do so or not.
Witness (to Mr Williams) -I won't say who I have seen working
the levers besides David Jenkins and Thomas Michael, but I could
tell.
To Mr Pelham: I cannot say that ever I have seen others than
the banksmen work the levers in the presence of the manager
or overman. I have seen others besides Thomas Michael work the
levers in the presence of the banksman.
George James May, manager of Sir George Elliott's Wire Rope
Works, Cardiff, said: The rope now produced was used at the
Garnant Colliery and was made at Sir George Elliott's works.
It is of the best possible quality that can be made for winding.
When new, about thirty-one or thirty-two tons is the breakage
weight, giving a margin of ten or twelve tons. About twelve
tons is the general working power required. I visited the colliery
soon after the accident, and took these specimens of the rope
(produced) close to the fracture on each side. I tested a piece
of that taken on the pit side of the fracture in our own machine,
and the breaking strain was 22½ or 22¾ tons. I
saw other parts of the rope tested at the Government place in
London. The rope has six strands of seven wires each. Each of
the specimens were found equal to a breaking strain of 22½
tons. I produce a piece of the rope itself which I have had
tested. This is from the drum. One piece bore a strain of 24
tons 10cwt. In my opinion this rope was in fair condition up
to the time of the accident, and quite fit to be used for the
purpose required at the colliery. The rope broke off short,
and my opinion is that it was caused by a sudden jerk causing
a very great strain. I have not known a rope to break in ordinary
work without giving previous indication of it by several of
the wires giving way. The rope seemed to have been fairly used
and worn during the time it has been in use. It was supplied
sixteen months before. I should not care to use a winding rope
for more than two or two and a half years at a place like the
Garnant Colliery. I should not fear to go down into the deepest
pit in England with a rope such as that was, and as the unbroken
is now. A drop of one foot would cause a strain of twelve tons;
a drop of two feet seventeen tons; a drop of three feet twenty
tons; a drop of four feet twenty-four tons; and a drop of five
feet twenty-seven tons.
Cross-examined by Mr Howell: The portions I had tested were
taken about fifteen feet from the fracture. I know Mr Wales
said the breakage was probably due to the rope being too weak
at the point of the fracture to carry the weight it had to bear,
and not to a jerk or fall, because this part was exposed to
the steam from the upcast shaft during the whole of the sixteen
months the rope had been in use. I do not agree with that opinion.
Jenkins, the banksman, told me in a conversation that there
was no jerk, but he did not seem to know what he as talking
about at that time.
Mr T. H. Hosgood, Swansea, colliery and mechanical engineer,
said: I was directed by the coroner to examine the rope. I was
shown the rope that was used at the colliery. I carefully examined
it along its whole length. I found only one wire broken. I examined
the portion above ground. I afterwards examined the fractured
part. I believe the fracture was caused by excessive strain
caused by a jerk or drop.
I carefully examined the fractured ends, and found some of the
wires reduced in area by strain, and much corroded. The rope
was much worn. There were three or four wires of which I could
not well say whether they broke before or after the accident.
They were a little corroded. These had gone to the bottom but
there were two similar wires on the other side of the fracture.
The rope was a good serviceable rope, and ought to have borne
the ordinary strain of the colliery work. The fractured part,
I should say, ought to have stood a strain of twelve tons at
least. My table differs little from Mr May's as to the momentum
and strain caused by drops and jerks. It was a safe rope for
the work it had to do at the Garnant Colliery.
Cross-examined: In collieries like this, yielding less than
200 tons a day, I have seen men lower cages who were not banksmen
or authorised to take their place, but we do not sanction it.
I have not seen it often done. I had not machinery to test the
rope properly, but I gauged and measured the rope and wires.
I heard Mr Wales give his evidence. It was very much as stated
by you, and accepted by Mr May. Mr Wales is a man of great experience,
but is not a mechanical engineer. I suppose he would be a certificated
colliery manager.
Re-examined: I have never known a rope to break from its own
inherent defect or weakness before several wires had broken.
Sir George Elliott and Company are good makers. I have used
many of them.
To Mr Bishop: If the lever was properly held back there would
be no fangs to catch the cage. I tried the lever and working
of the cage a week after the accident, and the cage cleared
the keeps. In one case the clearance was but slight.
To Mr Howell: There was no horse door on.
To Mr Bishop: It is the sole duty of the banksman or those put
in his place to work these levers. Any other persons interfering
would be doing that which they ought not to do. I have had thirty-five
years' experience of collieries.
As it was now half-past five, a conversation arose as to the
possibility of the case being finished that night.
Mr Williams said he had four other witnesses, and it depended
on the course Mr Howell took whether he would have to call the
four or only two of them.
Mr Howell said he might have to call as many as fifty witnesses
in case he saw any probability of the prisoner being committed
for trial. Most of them would be only formally called in order
that they might get their expenses at the assizes, most of them
being poor men.
It was then agreed to adjourn the case till the next Saturday
(to-morrow).
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