[000] Vol. XXXV., Plate VI. Martin Walton Brown. [Photographic portrait] [i] THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. Transactions. Vol. LVIII. 1907-1908. Edited by the Secretary. Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Published by the Institute. Printed by Andrew Reid & Co., Ltd., Newcastle-upon-Tyne. 1911. [All rights of publication or translation are reserved.] [ii] ADVERTIZEMENT. The Institute is not, as a body, responsible for the statements and opinions advanced in the papers which may be read, nor in the discussions which may take place at the meetings of the Institute. [1] THE NORTH OF ENGLAND INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING, Held in the Wood Memorial Hall, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, August 3rd, 1907. Mr. J. H. MERIVALE, President, in the Chair. The Secretary read the minutes of the last General Meeting, and reported the proceedings of the Council at their meetings on July 20th and that day, and of the Council of The Institution of Mining Engineers. ELECTION OF OFFICERS, 1907-1908. The Chairman (Mr. J. H. Merivale) appointed Messrs. C. A. Crofton, A. M. Hedley, N. B. Ridley, John Simpson, J. Southern and W. B. Wilson, jun., as scrutineers of the balloting-papers for the election of officers for the year 1907-1908. The Scrutineers afterwards reported the result of the ballot, as follows: — President : Mr. J. H. Merivale. Vice-Presidents : Mr. R. D. Bain. | Mr. F. Coulson. | Mr. H. Palmer. Mr. W. C. Blackett. | Mr. T. E. Forster. | Mr. J. Simpson. [2] ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. Councillors : Mr. R. S. Anderson. Mr. T. E. Jobling. Mr. J. H. Nicholson. Mr. J. B. Atkinson. Mr. J. P. Kirkup. Hon. C. A. Parsons. Mr. C. S. Carnes. Mr. P. Kirkup. Mr. F. R. Simpson. Mr. B. Dodd. Mr. H. Lawrence. Mr. C. H. Steavenson. Mr. S. Hare. Mr. C. C. Leach. Mr. S. Tate. Mr. A. M. Hedley. Mr. A. D. Nicholson. Mr. R. L. Weeks. Mr. C. S. Carnes moved a vote of thanks to the Scrutineers for their services. Mr. J. G. Weeks seconded the resolution, which was cordially adopted. Mr. E. S. Wood moved a vote of thanks to the President. Vice-Presidents, Councillors and Officers for their services during the past year. Mr. W. B. Wilson seconded the motion, which was heartily adopted. Mr. C. H. Merivale moved a vote of thanks to the representatives of this Institute on the Council of The Institution of Mining Engineers for their services during the past year. Mr. N. B. Ridley seconded the proposal, which was cordially adopted. The Annual Report of the Council was read as follows : — ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL, 1906-1907. The Institute has sustained great losses through the death of Mr. John Daglish, a past-president of the Institute, and one of its original members; and through the death of Mr. William Fairbairn Hall, a member since 1858, and a vice-president, 1892-1896. The following table shows the variation of the membership during recent years : [3] ANNUAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. Year ending August 1st. 1901. 1904. 1907. Honorary members ...... ...... 28 26 21 Members ............... 880 955 903 Associate members ............ 122 115 108 Associates ............... 116 163 194 Students ............... 57 66 47 Subscribers ............... 23 25 34 Totals ............ 1,226 1,350 1,307 A Committee, consisting of Messrs. T. E. Forster, George May, J. H. Merivale, J. G. Weeks and the Secretary (Mr. M. Walton Brown), appointed to enquire into and report upon the decrease of the attendance at tlie Colliery Engineers' Classes, reported that the apparent decrease in the number of students in recent years arose from the poor quality of those attending in early years, and they were of opinion that the present students were fully capable of taking advantage of the lectures. Certain alterations in the syllabus of lectures, suggested by the Committee, were agreed to by the authorities of Armstrong College. Mr. J. Parke Channing was appointed to represent the Institute at the opening of the United Engineering Societies' Building, New York City, in April, 1907. Mr. R. H. Prior-Wandesforde represented the Institute at the Conference of the Royal Sanitary Institute, held at Dublin, in June, 1907. The Rev. G. M. Capell represented the Institute at the Conference of the Corresponding Societies of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Leicester, commencing on July 31st, 1907. The Geological Society of London will celebrate the centenary of their existence in September, 1907, and Prof. G. A. L. Lebour has been appointed to represent the Institute thereat, and will present an address. Mr. J. H. Merivale has given evidence, as the representative of the Institute, before the Departmental Committee on the Miners' Eight Hours' Day. G. C. Greenwell silver medals have been awarded to Mr. W. E. Garforth for his paper upon " A New Apparatus for Rescue-work in Mines,''* and to Mr. G. A. Meyer for his paper upon " Rescue-apparatus and the Experiences gained therewith at the Courrières Collieries by the German Rescue-party; "† and a bronze medal has been awarded to Mr. S. F. Walker for his * Trans. Inst. M. E., 1906, vol. xxxi., page 625. † Ibid., 1906, vol. xxxi., page 575. [4] papers upon “Earth in Collieries, with reference to the ' Special Rules for the Installation and Use of Electricity' “ * and " The Capacity-current and its Effect on Leakage-indications on Three-phase Electrical Power-service." † Prizes for books have been awarded to the writers of the following papers, communicated to the members during the year 1905-1906: — " Improved Dampers for Coke-oven Flues." By Mr. William Archer, M.I.M.E. " A Mechanical Coal-cutter in Queensland." By Mr. William Fryar. " The Great Planes of Strain in the Absolute Roof of Mines." By Mr. Henry Wallace Gregory Halbaum, M.I.M.E. "Corundum in Ontario, Canada: Its Occurrence, Working, Milling, Concentration and Preparation for the Market as an Abrasive." By Mr. David Gillespie Kerr, M.I.M.E. "The Alumino-thermic Welding Process, and its Application to General Engineering." By Mr. J. Stewart MacGregor. “ The Unwatering of the Achddu Colliery, with a Description of the Riedler Express Pump." By Mr. John Morris, M.I.M.E. "Undersea Extensions at the Whitehaven Collieries, and the Driving of the Ladysmith Drift." By Mr. John Shanks, M.I.M.E. "The Barton and Forcett Limestone-quarries." By Mr. Thomas Teasdale, M.I.M.E. "Determination of the Specific Electrical Resistance of Coal, Ores, etc." By Mr. G. C. Wood. At the recommendation of the Committee appointed to enquire into the treatment of coal-dust in collieries, the Council have made, a maintenance-grant of £50 towards the cost of conducting further experiments on the inflammability of mixtures of coal-dust and air, together with £25 for apparatus, to Mr. Henry Widdas of Armstrong College. Dr. P. P. Bedson and Mr. Henry Widdas have read a paper, illustrated with numerous " Experiments illustrative of the Inflammability of Mixtures of Coal-dust and Air." Members of the American Institute of Mining Engineers visited Newcastle-upon-Tyne on August 1st and 2nd, 1906, and visits to collieries, works, Bamburgh and Alnwick Castles and the Roman Wall were arranged for their entertainment. The thanks of the American Institute of Mining Engineers have been received for the courtesy shown to its members. Excursion meetings were held at Bowburn colliery on September 10th, 1906; at Axwell Park colliery on December 5th, 1906; and at Wearmouth colliery on June 6th, 1907. * Trans. Inst. M. E., 1905, vol. xxx., page 404. † Ibid., 1906, vol. xxxi., page 526. [5] The thanks of the Institute have been sent to the owners of collieries, works, etc., visited during the year. The papers printed in the Transactions during the year are as "Experiments illustrative of the Inflammability of Mixtures of Coal-dust and Air." By Prof. P. Phillips Bedson, Hon. M.I.M.E., and Mr. Henry Widdas, M.I.M.E. " Memoir of the late John Daglish." By Mr. M. Walton Brown, M.I.M.E. "An Appliance for Automatically Stopping and Restarting Mine-wagons." By Prof. William Galloway, M.I.M.E. " Ferro-concrete and its Applications." By Mr. T. J. Gueritte. "Treatment of Dust in Mines, Aboveground and Belowground." By Mr. Richard Harle, M.I.M.E. "Sliding-trough Conveyors." By Mr. M. Malplat. " The Valuation of Mineral Properties." By Mr. Thomas Aloysius O'Donahue, M.I.M.E. "Liquid Air and its Use in Rescue-apparatus." By Mr. Otto Simonis. "Deposits in a Pit-fall at Tanfield Lea, Tantobie, County Durham." By Dr. J. A. Smythe. "Bowburn Winning." By Mr. Addison Langhorne Steavenson, M.I.M.E. " Electro-barograph for Mines." By Mr. B. H. Thwaite. "Sinking through Magnesian Limestone and Yellow Sand by the Freezing-process at Dawdon Colliery, near Seaham Harbour, County Durham." By Mr. Ernest Seymour Wood, M.I.M.E. The Council are pleased to report that the North-eastern Rail-way Company have granted reduced railway- fares to members attending general or excursion meetings of the Institute; and they trust that this concession will lead to an increased attendance. The Institution of Mining Engineers has now entered upon its nineteenth year, and the members are to be congratulated upon its continued success, and the increasing membership of the associated institutions. Meetings were held in Hanley in September, 1906, and in London in June, 1907. Mr. Thomas Douglas, referring to the decrease in the attendance at the colliery-engineers' classes at Armstrong College, said that it was very desirable that a large attendance should be secured. Mr. M. Walton Brown said that it was important that colliery managers should see that those who attended these classes possessed such elementary knowledge, especially in mathematics, as would render the lectures advantageous to them.