fyxmll Winivmii^ §ilrwg 
 
 BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME 
 FROM THE 
 
 SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND 
 
 THE GIFT OF 
 
 1891 
 AMhA..focm.. , a/ija^... 
 
TN808.G7"'B7r'""""'""''^^ 
 Coal pits and pitmen, 
 
 olin 
 
 3 1924 030 691 459 
 
Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tliis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924030691459 
 
COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
GREAT INDUSTRIES LIBRARY. 
 
 By Sir George Findlay, Assoc. Inst. C.E., Vice-Chairmanof the London 
 and North- Western Railway. 
 
 AN ENGLISH RAILWAY, THE WORKING AND 
 
 MANAGEMENT OF. Fourth Edition, thoroughly Re- 
 vised and Enlarged, with new Appendix, and with 
 numerous Illustrations. Crown 8vO) cloth, S-f- 
 
 Contents : — Management — The Staff— The Permanent Way— Signals 
 and Interlocking— Telegraphs-Rolling Stock— Working of Trains — Shunting 
 and Marshalling of Goods Trains— Working of Goods Station — Rates and 
 Fares— Division of Traffic— The Railway Clearing House— The State and 
 Railways — On the State Purchase of Railways — Passenger Traffic — On the 
 Law as between English Railway Companies and the Public— On the Railway 
 as a means of Defence — Index. 
 
 'This i» a delightful Taook.^^SKginecr. 
 
 *Mr. Findlay's book displays so much knowledge and ability that it well 
 deserves to rank as a standard work on the sah^etX.'— Nature. 
 'A very interesting work throughout.'— ifajVo/aj' Engineer. 
 
 'Mr. Findlay's book will take a high positiou in the library of 
 practical sa.eiii.c6.'—Atht7UEum. 
 
 A New Work on 'Atlantic Liners.' 
 
 THE ATLANTIC FERRY: Its Ships, Men, and 
 
 Working. By Arthur J. MAGlNNls.Memberofthe Institute of Naval 
 Architects. With numerous Illustrations, Diagrams, and Plans. Crown 
 8vo, 7^. f>d. 
 
 'A useful, painstaking, and well-illustrated compilation.'— 7""«"- 
 
 ' The work is one of great merit.' —Engineering. 
 
 'The work, which is put forward as a handy and simple book of reference, con- 
 tains so much desirable information concerning all that relates to the Atlantic passenger 
 trade, as to ensure for it a hearty welcome, and a place in the library, bookcase, or 
 shelf of most men connected with the shipping industry.' — Shi^piitg World. 
 
 'Will be cordially welcomed, not only by the shipowner, shipbuilder, and marine 
 engineei:, but by the general ^\l\Xvi.'— Steamship. 
 
 ' Mr. Maginnis' book is certainly pleasant reading, and should find a place in the 
 library of every "Atlantic Liner.'" — Liverpool Daily Past. 
 
 * Of interest to a very numerous class of readers, and likely for a good period to be 
 a standard work on the great subject,' — Scotsman. 
 
 ' It is a pleasure to light on such an interesting record.' — Weekly Star. 
 
 'Well and brightly ^x\tt&n.'— Discovery. 
 
 LONDON: WHITTAKER & CO. 
 
COAL PITS AND PITMEN 
 
 A SHORT HISTORY OF THE COAL TRADE 
 AND THE LEGISLATION AFFECTING IT. 
 
 R. NELSON BOYD, M.Inst. C.E. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 WHITTAKER & CO., 
 
 2 White Hart Street, Paternoster Square. 
 
 NEW YORK AGENTS : MACMILLAN & CO. 
 
 1892. 
 
A.4-<+40 
 
 'Z- 
 
 /CORNEIL'^ 
 
 
 V 
 
 LI8;;Ar:V 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Great changes have taken place in the condition of the 
 workpeople in the United Kingdom, and in the relations 
 between employers and employed, since the commencement 
 of the century ; changes amounting to a gradual but bloodless 
 revolution, and in no avocation have these changes been more 
 marked than in that of coal mining. 
 
 Up to the end of the eighteenth century workpeople were 
 left entirely at the mercy of employers, who mostly looked 
 on them as beings born to labour, and from whom the greatest 
 amount of work was to be extracted without any obligation as 
 to their physical well-being or moral improvement, and a state 
 of things ensued which was recognised to be a scandal even in 
 those days of slow awakening on such matters. The public 
 was beginning to realise the danger of a continued low status 
 of the working population caused by neglect and oppressive 
 labour. 
 
 In 1802 the elder Sir Robert Peel introduced the first of a 
 series of Acts for the remedy of these evils, and since then 
 many measures have been passed by the legislature for the 
 benefit of the working population. These Acts are more 
 technical and social than legal, as they are framed to remedy 
 existing and prevent possible abuses, and had to be based on 
 a knowledge of the details of each trade affected. 
 
 In 1842 the late Lord Shaftesbury — then Lord Ashley — 
 introduced a Bill for prohibiting the employment of women and 
 young children underground in coal mines, the first of the series 
 of measures passed by Parliament for the better regulation of 
 mines and miners, culminating in the comprehensive Act of 
 1887. 
 
 In these Bills the cause of accidents had to be taken into 
 account, and the modes of working, lighting, and ventilating 
 
vi PREFACE. 
 
 the mines thoroughly considered as well as social questions, 
 such as the degradation of employing women and young 
 children underground, the unfairness of the truck system, and 
 the undue waste of life and health through excessive hours of 
 labour. 
 
 Few authors have written on the past "history or present 
 condition of the great mass of the employed, be they artisans, 
 operatives, labourers, or miners, and the story of the gradual 
 changes and amelioration which has taken place in the 
 condition of collieries and colliers from early days to the 
 present time might at first appear to be wanting in interest ; 
 but it must be remembered that it refers to an industry which 
 is absolutely the most important in Great Britain, and upon 
 which practically the whole of the manufacturing trade of the 
 country depends. 
 
 The output of coal in 1891 reached the enormous total of 
 185 millions of tons, valued at the mines at upwards of 74 
 millions sterling, and the collieries afforded employment to 
 about 600,000 persons engaged in or about them, and a very 
 much larger number indirectly. 
 
 The importance of the subject induced me some years ago 
 to trace the causes which led to these beneficial changes, and 
 I ventured in 1879 to publish my notes in the form of an 
 historical narrative under the title of Coal Mines Inspection : 
 its History and Results. 
 
 Since then no alteration has taken place either in the prin- 
 ciple or method of inspection, but many new and important 
 subjects have come to the front, and attempts have been made 
 by means of official commissions and committees, as well as 
 numerous conferences and discussions between employers and 
 employed, to elucidate them. 
 
 It has been suggested to me that my work in a revised form 
 would be of interest to those who wish to study the social and 
 labour questions of the day, and could not fail to be useful to 
 those directly connected with the coal industry, whether 
 employers or employed. 
 
 I therefore resolved to recast the book, and have added 
 events of later years and fresh matter concerning the history of 
 the coal-trade development, in the hope that the discussion of 
 the additional facts I have been able to collect may be of some 
 interest and utility to the reader. 
 
.CONTENTS, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 FAGB 
 
 Condition of the Colliery Population before the Nineteenth 
 Century — Paucity of Records — Acts of the English and 
 Scotch Parliaments — Bonding the Men — Early Strikes, . i 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Early Working of Coal in England and Scotland — Grants 
 AND Charters — London Supplied — Colliery Explosions — 
 The Fire-engine Introduced — The Steel-mill — Coal raised 
 
 AT the end of the EIGHTEENTH CENTURY, . 1 6 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Development of the Coal Trade — Formation of the Sunder- 
 land Association — Invention of the Safety-lamp— Con- 
 dition OF the Colliers in 1833 — The Select Committee of 
 183s — The Royal Commission on the Employment of 
 Women and Children, ... . . ■ 39 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Parliamentary Debates and Passing of Lord Ashley's Measure 
 — Appointment of Inspector — Disaffection among the 
 Colliers — ^The Midland Commission and Special Reports 
 from Royal Commissioners, 65 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Reports of Commissioners — Committee of the House of Lords 
 1849, and Passing of the Coal Mines Inspection Act of 
 1850 — Development of Coal Mining, ... 92 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 General Opinion on the Act of 1850 — 'Appointment of In- 
 spectors — Agitation among the Colliers for more Inspec- 
 tion — Condition of the Collieries — Accidents in various 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGK 
 
 Districts — Committee of the House of Commons of 1852 — 
 Founding of the Institute of Mining Engineers in the 
 North of England — Committee of the House of Commons 
 1853-54 — Reports OF the Inspectors — The Act of 1855, . 119 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Act of 1855 — Colliery Accidents and Explosions — 
 Petitions from the Men for More Inspection — Discussions 
 in Parliament — Act of i860 — Hartley Accident and Act 
 OF 1862, ... . 139 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Agitation among Colliers for more Legislation — Committee 
 OF House of Commons Appointed 1864 — Terrible Ex- 
 plosion at the Oaks Colliery — Report of Committee and 
 Discussions in the House of Commons — Royal Commission 
 ON the Duration of Coal, . . 155 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Government Measure of 1869 — Discussions in Parliament 
 DURING Sessions 1870-1871-1872 — Meetings of Mine Owners, 
 Managers, and Men in the Different Mining Districts 
 to Consider the Measure — Final Passing of the Act in 
 1872. ... .169 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Act of 1872 — Difficulty of Interpreting some of the 
 
 Clauses— Certificates of Competency— Special Rules 
 
 Colliery Accidents — Elementary Education Act — Debates 
 
 IN the House of Commons, . . 184 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Appointment of Royal Commission February 1879— Men Re- 
 pudiating THE Lowering of Wages— The Question of 
 Royalties — Seaham Colliery Accident — Employees' 
 Liability Act — The New Mines Regulaton Act, . igo 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 Retrospect and Observations, . . . 218 
 
 Appendices, 
 
 241 
 
COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Condition of the Colliery Population before the Nineteenth 
 Century — Paucity of Records — Acts of the English and 
 Scotch Parliaments — Bonding the Men — Early Strikes. 
 
 The history of the early development of the coal 
 industry in England is difficult to trace, owing to the 
 absence of records regarding the working of the mines 
 and of the men who wrought in them. The latter part 
 of the subject is more especially obscure, as we possess 
 but very scant information about the ancient miners, 
 their wages, their mode of life, or their social position. 
 This, indeed, may be said of the working or labouring 
 classes in general, as our chronicles and early histories 
 contain but few and imperfect notices of their manners, 
 customs, or means of existence. Writing on this subject, 
 Sir Frederick Morton Eden, in his History of the 
 Poor, 1797, says : — •" I was persuaded that the scanty 
 materials which were to be found in our old chroniclers 
 and annualists would necessarily confine that part of 
 my subject to a very narrow compass." To a certain 
 extent the same might be said concerning the records 
 relating to the social life of the working classes con- 
 
2 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 tained in the press of our time. Although the workmen 
 of to-day have attained a distinct social position, have 
 representatives in the House of Commons, and trade 
 unions, societies, and powerful combinations, very little 
 beyond their public or political actions is noted by the 
 press of the country. An author writing a century 
 hence on our social history would find but sparse notices 
 of the manner of living of the grimy toilers of the mine 
 or workshop. He will find social and family doings of 
 the distinguished and wealthy duly, and sometimes 
 unduly, recorded in the pages of the press, but he would 
 have to search in the remote corners of literature to 
 obtain even a glimpse at the inner life of a collier. 
 
 At times of strikes or grave accidents special corre- 
 spondents give graphic descriptions of such exceptional 
 events, with, perhaps, a passing paragraph on some family 
 scene ; but few writers have painted the daily existence 
 of the workers for wages. It is, however, certain that 
 with the greater spread of education, the picture of the 
 lives of the humble will be found recorded by themselves, 
 and that the future historian will find in letters, and even 
 printed matter, more details concerning the workmen of 
 our day than we can find of past generations. In order 
 to obtain some information, Sir Frederick Eden turns to 
 the tax-collector. He says : — " We are indebted to the 
 minute attention of the tax-gatherer, who seems to have 
 taken notice of everything that could be comprised 
 under the article of movables for the above curious 
 account." The account referred to is a detailed list 
 and values of artificers' tools published in 1301. From 
 the same source we find that in 1350 labourers earned 
 from id. to 3d. per day, and artificers or skilled work- 
 men from 2d. to 4d. per day. These wages were then 
 
EARLY COLLIERIES. 3 
 
 fixed by a statute which was confirmed by ParHament 
 in 1 360. This Act orders, among other regulations, "that 
 all alliances and unions of masons and carpenters, and 
 congregations, chapters, ordinances, and oathes betwixt 
 men made should be henceforth void and wholly 
 annulled," which distinctly shows that combinations 
 among working men must have existed in those remote 
 times. It is probable that these combinations arose out 
 of the feeling against villanage which was then growing 
 general, and eventually culminated in the insurrection of 
 Wat Tyler and his followers. But, in all these accounts, 
 we find no mention made of colliers. We may, however, 
 assume that they belonged to the lowest class of villains. 
 In Scotland they were treated as slaves, or nearly so, 
 being " adscripti glebce" or slaves of the soil, until the 
 end of the eighteenth century. That the colliers were 
 originally tied to the spot of their birth, and there 
 followed their avocation for succeeding generations, from 
 father to son, because they could not help it, is more 
 than probable, and to this day they preserve the 
 characteristics of exclusiveness and clanishness of a 
 fettered existence. The system of binding or bond- 
 ing the men, which, until recent years, obtained in the 
 northern coal field, also probably originates from the 
 " Statute of Labourers ' of 1 349, by which their wages 
 were fixed, and they were to be hired by the year. 
 
 The system of binding led to many disputes and 
 strikes ; the first on authentic record being in 1765, when 
 the men struck for several weeks because the binding was 
 for upwards of fourteen months instead of eleven months 
 and twenty-five days. Even at this date information 
 regarding the colliers and the collieries is very scant, 
 and apparently was precluded from reaching the public 
 
4 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 as much as possible, judging from a paragraph in the 
 Newcastle Journal, 1767, in which, after appealing for 
 funds in aid of the sufferers through an explosion at 
 Fatfield Colliery, it is stated that details of the occur- 
 rence are wanting, as " we have been requested to take 
 no particular notice of these things." 
 
 The government of the country seemed to entertain 
 the same view, for the Statute Book of England contains 
 ho enactment concerning collieries or their workpeople 
 until comparatively recent times. 
 
 There is no allusion to the subject in the Statute 
 Book until the year 1736, when, in "An Act relating to 
 persons doing injury and violence to His Majesty's 
 subjects," the following clause appears : — " And be it 
 further enacted, by the authority aforesaid, that from 
 and after the Twenty-fourth day of June, One thousand 
 seven hundred and thirty-seven, and during the con- 
 tinuance of the before-mentioned Act of the ninth year 
 of the reign of His late Majesty King George I., if any 
 person or persons shall wilfully and maliciously set on fire, 
 or cause to be set on fire, any mine, pit, or delph of coal, 
 or cannel coal, every person so offending, being thereby 
 lawfully convicted, shall be adjudged guilty of felony, 
 and shall suffer death, as in cases of felony, without 
 benefit of clergy." From this stringent clause it may 
 be inferred that such occurrences as the wilful setting 
 on fire of coal mines were sufficiently numerous to 
 warrant legislative enactment. There are on record 
 many cases of wilfully firing of collieries : a notable one 
 occurred in the latter part of the year 1765, namely, the 
 case already alluded to, when the men complained that 
 " honourable gentlemen in the coal trade will not let them 
 be free till the nth of November of the ensuing year, 
 
"MASTERS AND SERVANTS ACT," 1747. j 
 
 which, instead of eleven months and twenty-five days, is 
 upwards of fourteen months, so the said pitmen are 
 resolved not to work for or serve the said gentlemen in 
 any of the collieries till they be fully satisfied that the 
 said article is dissolved and new bonds and agreements 
 entered into for the year ensuing." This dissatisfaction 
 led to a strike of several weeks' duration, and it was during 
 this strike that, on the 1 8th September, early in the morn- 
 ing, one of the pits of Pelton Colliery, in the county of 
 Durham, belonging to Mr. Jamieson and partners, was 
 wilfully and maliciously set on fire. This was not an 
 isolated case, for the pitmen of the Tyne and Wear at " 
 that time burnt the fittings and tools of many coal pits, 
 and set fire to the coals both above and below ground. 
 The pitmen, however, of Hartley Colliery having been 
 "civilly" treated by the owner, Thomas Delaval, Esq., 
 continued peacefully at their work in the midst of the 
 general surrounding insurrection. These rough and 
 desperate colliers showed themselves amenable, if rtot to 
 reason, at least to civility — a commodity which at that 
 time they were not in a position to expect much of 
 
 The next legislative enactment at all concerning 
 colliers was the " Masters and Servants Act," passed in 
 1747, wherein, among other artificers and handicrafts- 
 men, " miners, colliers, keelmen, pitmen," are specially 
 and severally mentioned. In 1769 a new " Malicious 
 Injuries Act" was passed, and among other offences 
 included that of " destroying or damaging of engines 
 for draining collieries and mines, or bridges, waggon- 
 ways, or other things used in the conveyance of coals 
 and other minerals." It was especially set forth in the 
 clause that " any person or persons who shall wilfully 
 or maliciously set fire to, or burn, demolish, pull down. 
 
6 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 or otherwise destroy or damage any fire-engine erected, 
 or to be erected, for draining water from collieries or 
 coal mines, or for drawing coals out of the same, or any 
 bridge, waggon-way, or track erected, or to be erected, 
 for conveying coals from any colliery or coal mine or 
 staith for depositing the same ; every such person being 
 lawfully convicted of any or either of the said several 
 offences, or of causing or procuring the same to be done, 
 shall be adjudged guilty of felony, and shall be subject 
 to the like pains and penalties as in cases of felony; 
 and the court before whom such person shall be tried 
 shall have power and authority to transport such felon 
 for the term of seven years, in like manner as other 
 felons are directed to be transported by the law and 
 statutes of this realm." These several Acts show the 
 feeling of apprehension which then existed of the lawless 
 and dangerous character of the colliery population. 
 
 This feeling even pervaded the Act 39 & 40 George 
 II., cap. JJ, passed in July 1800, "For the security of 
 collieries and mines, and for the better regulation of 
 colliers and miners," which Act was especially intended 
 for the protection of the colliery proprietors. The first 
 clause provides that anyone filling up an airway, or 
 damaging any part of a mine or roadway leading to it, or 
 digging minerals from any waste, is guilty of felony, and 
 is to be transported for seven years. The third clause 
 determines that any person not working in accordance 
 with his agreement, or contrary to the directions of 
 the owners, shall forfeit forty shillings, and may be im- 
 prisoned for non-payment. The fourth clause relates that 
 " great frauds are practised in the working and stacking 
 of such coal, ironstone, and iron ore, by which colliers 
 and miners obtain money beyond what they earn or are 
 
SCO TCH LEGISLA TION. 7 
 
 able to repay ; " and provides that any person stacking 
 coal or minerals in a fraudulent manner may be im- 
 prisoned. The fifth clause relates to punishment for 
 theft ; the sixth to the division of sums forfeited betwixt 
 the informers and the parish ; and by the seventh the 
 evidence of the inhabitants of the locality is made 
 admissible at law. 
 
 This one-sided measure was the first legislative enact- 
 ment dealing with the labours of colliers in England, 
 and the only one bearing on the underground workings 
 until the year 1842, when Lord Shaftesbury, then Lord 
 Ashley, introduced his measure prohibiting the employ- 
 ment of women and young children underground. 
 
 If the Statute Book of England is a blank as regards 
 collieries and colliers up to the year 1736, the Scotch 
 Parliament is found to be passing measures with refer- 
 ence to them at a very early date. As far back as the 
 year 1592, an Act was passed by the Scotch Parliament 
 for the better punishment of the crime of wilfully setting 
 fire to "coil heuchis," by which this crime was made 
 treason and punished accordingly, and it is on record 
 that a short time after a collier was hanged at the 
 Market Cross, Edinburgh, and afterwards beheaded and 
 his head placed on a pole beside the coal heugh of 
 Fawside, to which he had set fire. In 1660 another 
 Act was passed by which all " coilzearis, salteris, and 
 coilberaris " were prohibited from leaving their employ- 
 ment without a written attestation from the masters 
 they served, under pain of punishment in their bodies, 
 and ordering that any person employing them, on being 
 challenged by their rightful masters, shall return them 
 within twenty-four hours, or pay a fine of one hundred 
 pounds Scots. This Act virtually made slaves of the 
 
8 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. . 
 
 colliers. Subsequently, in 1661, this Act was ratified 
 and fresh clauses inserted, extending its provisions to 
 the " lavers and drawers of water at the cast heugh head 
 and gatesmen who work the wayes and passages." So 
 that not only the coal hewers proper, but the entire 
 working staff of the collieries, came under the Act. 
 Some insight into the manners and customs of the 
 Scotch colliers at that time can be gleaned from the 
 concluding paragraph of the Act of 1661, which recites 
 that, " because the said coal hewers, and salters, and 
 other workmen in coal heughs within the kingdom do 
 ly from their work at Pasch, Yule, Whit Sunday, and 
 certane other times in the year, which times they 
 employ in drinking and debaushire, to the great offence 
 of God and prejudice of their master, it is therefore 
 statute and ordained that the said coal hewers, and 
 salters, and other workmen in coal heughs of this 
 kingdom, work all the sex dayes of the week, except 
 the time of Christmasse, under paine of twentie shillings 
 Scots, to be paid to their masters for ilk dayes failzie, 
 and other punishment of their bodies." This is a sad 
 picture of the habits of the " coilzier " of 166 1. 
 
 It was to this Act that Pennant alluded in his tour 
 through Scotland in 1775, when he says : — " In this very 
 island is to this day to be found a remnant of slavery 
 paralleled only in Poland and Russia. Thousands of 
 our fellow-subjects are at this time the property of their 
 landlords, appurtenances to their estates, and transferable 
 with them to any purchasers. Multitudes of colliers 
 and salters are in this situation who are bound to the 
 spot for their lives." 
 
 The colliers in Scotland were looked down on with 
 contempt, and Sir Walter Scott refers to them as 
 
BONDAGE OF SCOTCH COLLIERS. 9 
 
 ■' colliers, salters, and other adscripti gleba, or slaves of 
 the soil." When the Act of the Scottish Parliament 
 " for preventing wrong imprisonment, and against delays 
 in tryals," known as the " Scotch Habeas Corpus Act," 
 was passed in 1701, it was provided that the "Act is in 
 no wayes to be extended to colliers or salters." They 
 were debarred from the reasonable rights extended to 
 the rest of the population. 
 
 The Scotch colliers were allowed to remain in this 
 state of bondage until the year 1775, when the British 
 Parliament passed an Act by which all persons not then 
 in actual employment at collieries, but who should 
 thereafter become so, were to be treated as free 
 labourers. This Act was not, however, prompted by 
 humanitarian sentiments, but because, as the preamble 
 recites, " there are not a sufficient number of colliers, 
 coal bearers, and salters in Scotland for working the 
 quantity of coal and salt necessarily wanted, and many 
 new discovered coals remain unwrought ; nor are there 
 a sufficient number of salters for the salt works, to the 
 great loss of the owners and disadvantage to the public." 
 It was proposed in the Bill, as presented to Parliament, 
 to liberate all persons working as colliers, &c., but an 
 amendment was carried by which the clause provided 
 that " no person who shall begin to work " shall be 
 bound in any other way than by the law of Scotland as 
 regarding servants and labourers. This Act gave these 
 latter the benefit of the Scotch Habeas Corpus Act, 
 from which the others were debarred. The complete 
 emancipation of the Scotch colliers was not effected 
 until the year 1799, when the Act 39 George III., cap. 
 56, was passed. 
 
 This Act, like the one previously passed in 1775, was 
 
10 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 prompted, not by the advisability of freeing the bonds- 
 men, but simply because it was found impossible to 
 keep the colliers strictly in servitude, and difficult to 
 obtain labour for the pits. It was found that the colliers 
 worked only three or four days in the week instead of 
 six ; that they were induced to break the law and leave 
 their employers by the temptation of higher wages ; 
 and lastly, that they frequently enlisted in His Majesty's 
 army and navy. 
 
 The Act provided that all colliers bound at the date 
 of passing the Act should be free ; that the justices of 
 the peace for each county should fix the rate of wages 
 for each year ; that coal owners were to have the right 
 to reserve a part of the men's wages, not exceeding one- 
 twelfth, to cover advances ; and lastly, that combinations 
 among men were to be punished by fines. 
 
 The liberated colliers did not at first appreciate their 
 new rights, nor did they derive much benefit from the 
 change. Accustomed to look to their masters, or rather 
 owners, for maintenance when disabled by age or 
 accident, they dreaded to encounter the difficulties 
 incident to their new condition, nor had they acquired 
 those prudent habits necessary for their own protection. 
 Speaking of them after emancipation. Sir Walter Scott 
 remarks : — " They were so far from desiring or prizing 
 the blessing conferred on them, that they esteemed the 
 interest taken in their freedom to be a mere device on 
 the part of the proprietors to get rid of what they called 
 head and harigald money, payable to them when a 
 female of their number, by having a child, made addition 
 to the live stock of their masters' property." 
 
 These Acts give us really very little insight into the 
 manners and customs of the workmen. They are all 
 
WESLE V AND WHITFIELD AMONG COLLIERS. 1 1 
 
 one-sided in the interest of the employers, and if we can 
 learn anything from them, it is that the masters found 
 difficulty in obtaining labour, and that the men when 
 aggrieved were apt to burn and otherwise injure their 
 masters' property. 
 
 From the peculiarity of their occupation, and the 
 generally remote districts where collieries were situated, 
 the colliers led a life apart, until by degrees they 
 actually looked on themselves as forming a race apart 
 from their fellows. They were regarded by their neigh- 
 bours as outcasts, and almost at war with society. 
 Sir Thomas Smith, writing in 1589, and giving a long 
 list of artisans and labourers, completely ignores the 
 miners and colliers. In later days, when George Whit- 
 field spoke of converting the Indians, many of his 
 friends said to him : — " What need of going abroad for 
 this ? If you have a mind to convert Indians, there are 
 colliers enough in Kingswood." 
 
 This coal district, near Bristol, was then noted for the 
 brutality and fierceness of its inhabitants. They are 
 ■thus described in Southey's Life of Wesley : — " It 
 (Kingswood) was then (1739) inhabited by a race of 
 people as lawless as the foresters their forefathers, but 
 far more brutal, and differing as much from the people 
 of the surrounding country in dialect as in appearance." 
 Whitfield went among the savages of Kingswood, and 
 Southey remarks : — " In truth it was a matter of duty 
 and sound policy (which is always duty) that these 
 people should not be left in a state of bestial ignorance 
 — heathens, or worse than heathens— in the midst of a 
 Christian country, and brutal as savages, in the vicinity 
 of the second city of England." 
 
 About this time Wesley went among the colliers of 
 
12 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the north, preaching and converting. Many of them, 
 perhaps most of. them, had never heard the gospel 
 preached, and were really nothing but heathens. But 
 they eagerly listened to the eloquent preacher, and he 
 describes the " white gutters made by their tears, which 
 plentifully ran down their black cheeks." But his 
 estimate of their moral condition is sad enough. At 
 Newcastle he " was surprised at so much drunkenness, 
 cursing, and swearing, even from the mouths of little 
 children." Then, again, speaking of a colliery village 
 called Chawden, he says : — " I found we were got into the 
 very Kingswood of the north. Twenty or thirty wild 
 children ran round us as soon as we came, staring as in 
 amaze." 
 
 They could not properly be said to be either clothed 
 or naked. " One of the largest girls, about fifteen, had 
 a piece of a ragged dirty blanket some way hung about 
 her, and a kind of cap on her head of the same cloth 
 and colour." The colliers in the other districts were no 
 better, and those of Staffordshire were long noted for 
 bull-baiting and other kindred sports. 
 
 Such observation coming from keen and honest 
 observers like Whitfield and Wesley, show only too 
 clearly how neglected, wretched, and degraded our 
 mining population was during the last century. To use 
 the ever-true words of The Vindication of Natural 
 Society, published under the name of Lord Boling- 
 broke, in 1756 : — " These unhappy wretches scarce ever 
 see the light of the sun ; they are buried in the bowels 
 of the earth, where they work at a severe and dismal 
 task, without the least prospect of being delivered from 
 it. They subsist upon the coarsest and worst of fare. 
 They have their health miserably impaired, and their 
 
THE COAL TRADE IN 1760. 13 
 
 lives cut short by being perpetually confined in the close 
 vapours of these malignant minerals." 
 
 Yet at the accession of George II., a quarter of a 
 century earlier, the coal trade was so prosperous that 
 the House of Commons, in order to meet the expendi- 
 ture of the year, borrowed ;^ 1,750,000 from the Bank of 
 England, for which annuities to the extent of ;^70,000 
 were granted, to be raised on coal imported into the 
 City of London. The coal trade had from the earliest 
 times been a source whence extraordinary revenues 
 were raised — either for the personal use of the sovereign, 
 the benefit of the state, or the advantage of the metro- 
 polis. The busy swarm of subterranean workers did 
 not, however, for centuries attract one gleam of royal 
 favour, or receive the smallest consideration from the 
 legislature of the country. 
 
 At this time the coal trade was in a very prosperous 
 condition. Collieries were being opened out in every 
 direction, and the use of coal extending to manufactories 
 and trades hitherto unknown in the country. At the 
 end of the eighteenth century, the yearly output was 
 estimated at 10 millions of tons, and this would in all 
 probability give employment to 50,000 workpeople. 
 This rapid development of the industry was in a great 
 measure due to the peaceful administration of Walpole, 
 for during his term of power there was plenty of money, 
 and a rise had taken place in the price of land, for Burke 
 said in 1760, that "estates which were rented at two 
 thousand a year threescore years ago, are at three 
 thousand at present." Besides, great sums had been 
 expended on the reclaiming and improving of land and 
 working of mines, and our general exports had increased, 
 and among other items lead, tin, and coal are recorded. 
 
14 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 The material progress of the country was such as had 
 never been witnessed before, and, among others, the coal 
 industry was advancing by bounds. But we have very 
 little information as to the appliances used, and still less 
 about the men who worked in the mines. 
 
 The condition of the workpeople at that time (1750) 
 can only be surmised, owing to the absence of records, 
 and we possess very little evidence about their manners 
 and customs. But we know that in those days 
 mechanical appliances were few in the mines, and that 
 the entire work of the mine, from the hewing of coal to 
 its hitching at the pit bottom, was done by hand labour. 
 Boys and women were engaged in hurrying or convey- 
 ing the coal from the face to the shaft, who crowded 
 along the miry passages of the mine, breathing a 
 stagnant atmosphere laden with poisonous gases and 
 malodorous vapours. They crept on their feet and one 
 hand, dragging the corves or tubs along with the other 
 hand, and at some collieries had to carry the coal up to 
 the surface on ladders. Of the hours they were kept at 
 this work we have no exact information, but the day's 
 work must have been a long one, as we find the boys in 
 the north of England working fourteen hours a day in 
 the beginning of the century. That their life was one of 
 hard toil, with no other relaxation than the brutalities 
 of bull-baiting, cock-fighting, and general debauchery, 
 appears pretty certain. A visitor to the colliery district 
 in the north of England at the commencement of this 
 century describes the colliers as follows : — " A rude, bold, 
 savage set of beings, apparently cut off from their fellow- 
 men in their interests and feelings. From five to six 
 years their children are immersed in the dark abyss of 
 the lower world, and when they enjoy the ' light of the 
 
WA GES A T END OF EIGHTEENTH CENTUR Y. i S 
 
 beloved sun ' it is only in the company of their imme- 
 diate relations. All have the same vocation, and all 
 stand out a sturdy band separate and apart from the 
 motley mixture of general humanity." 
 
 The pitmen at the end of the eighteenth century 
 earned better wages than surface labourers. Their pay 
 amounted to is. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per day, giving an average 
 of 1 6s. per week, but they were seldom richer than their 
 neighbours, and used a great deal of butcher's meat. In 
 the north the hewers worked piece-work at an early date, 
 and were paid 2s. 8d. for twenty corves. In Stafford- 
 shire and other districts, a pernicious system obtained of 
 letting out small collieries to contractors called "Butties," 
 who exercised a tyranny over their men far surpassing 
 the oppression of the colliery proprietors. The dis- 
 closures which were made about the condition of the 
 colliery population in the early part of this century by 
 the inquiries of Royal Commissioners give us some 
 insight into the state of affairs previously ; but, as already 
 said, we possess few and uncertain records of the ways 
 and manner of life of the working population of past 
 days. This chapter may aptly be concluded with a 
 quotation from Hallam : — " We can trace the pedigree of 
 princes, fill up the catalogue of towns besieged and 
 provinces desolated, describe even the whole pageantry 
 of coronations and festivals, but we cannot recover the 
 genuine history of mankind. It has passed away with 
 slight and partial notice by contemporary writers, and 
 our most patient industry can hardly, at present, put 
 together enough of the fragments to suggest a tolerable 
 clear representation of ancient manners and social life." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Early Working of Coal in England and Scotland — Grants and 
 Charters — London Supplied — Colliery Explosions — The Fire- 
 engine Introduced — The Steel-mill — Coal raised at the End 
 of the Eighteenth Century. 
 
 The existence of coal appears to have been known in 
 England from remote times, and Pennant and other 
 writers consider it certain that the ancient Britons were 
 acquainted with the fuel, and gave it the name of Glo. 
 The Romans do not seem to have worked coal, as they 
 have left no record of any knowledge of it ; nevertheless, 
 Dr. Plott and other historians point to certain cinder 
 heaps apparently of Roman date, and even containing 
 Roman coins, as evidence of their having used it. 
 Coal seams at their outcrop have probably been burnt 
 as fuel from times unknown in the past before becom- 
 ing generally used and regularly worked. The first 
 authentic record of coal we have in England in a grant 
 of lands made by the Abbey of Peterborough, 852 A.D., 
 wherein among specifications of payments to the Abbey 
 is one of twelve cart-loads of fossil or pit coal. The 
 coal seams could, however, not have been wrought to 
 any extent at that period or at the time of the Norman 
 Conquest, otherwise it is more than probable that 
 William the First would have included coal among the 
 Crown properties. The oldest public reference to coal 
 in England is the charter of Henry III. of the year 
 
EARLIEST COAL PITS. 17 
 
 1239, to the citizens of Newcastle-on-Tyne, giving them 
 a right to dig coals in the Castle Field and Frith. This 
 charter was granted on the prayer of the burgesses of 
 Newcastle to enable them the better to pay the fee-farm 
 rent of the town which had been granted to the 
 "honest men of Newcastle, and to their heirs," in 12 13 
 by King John. Some years later the citizens of 
 Newcastle petitioned for the right to dig coals in the 
 neighbouring Frith, in order "the better to enable them 
 to pay their fee-farm rent." In 1245 we find King 
 Henry ordering a vigorous inquisition into the trespasses 
 committed on the King's forests, and among others 
 those concerning sea coal {carbone maris) found in the 
 forests. It is also mentioned in Matthew Paris' history, 
 dated 1245, where it is called sea coal, and the sinking 
 of pits is alluded to. About this time (1257) coals were 
 first imported into London from Newcastle and called 
 sea coals. But; coals were not popular in the capital at 
 first, and so general was the prejudice against them that 
 the nobles and commons assembled in Parliament com- 
 plained against their use as a public nuisance, corrupting 
 the air with stink and smoke, and the use of sea coal 
 was prohibited in London by Royal Proclamation in 
 1306. This proclamation was not observed, and during 
 the following year (1307) a commission of oyer and 
 terminer was issued with instructions to punish a first 
 offence by " pecuniary mulcts," and a second offence by 
 the demolition of the furnaces. Nevertheless, coal con- 
 tinued to be used, and a few years after the prohibition, 
 namely in 1 321, we find the treasurer paying a bill for 
 coals used in the Royal Palace, and the quantity burnt in 
 the town must have been considerable from the existence 
 at that time of a street called Sea Cole Lane. During 
 
 c 
 
i8 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the fourteenth century the coal trade showed rapid de- 
 velopment in all the coal districts. In 1338 the Abbot of 
 Tynemouth leased a staith or loading-stage for coals on 
 the river Tyne at a rent of £a,o per annum, and in 1379 
 a tax of 6d. a ton was levied on all vessels leaving New- 
 castle laden with coals. At this time a foreign trade in 
 coals must have existed at Newcastle, because we find 
 mention in 1325 of a vessel, the property of Thomas 
 Renton of Pontoise, trading from France to the Tyne 
 with grain and returning with coals. 
 
 Although the coal field of the north of England was 
 probably the earliest developed to any extent, we possess 
 records of other districts of great antiquity, and specially 
 of the Scotch fields. The early working of coal in Scot- 
 land was, no doubt, in connection with the ancient salt 
 factories. These works flourished as early as the reign 
 of King David in 1124-1153, and were at that time a 
 source of revenue to the king and the nobles, and a 
 profit to the monks who farmed them. We have a 
 record of grants of salt-works made at that time to 
 different monasteries, and among others one to the 
 monks of Kelso. The waste of forests in consequence 
 of this trade was felt in the early part of the thirteenth 
 century, and at that time the value of coal as a fuel was 
 already known in Scotland. The monks of Newbattle 
 and Holyrood were probably the earliest workers of 
 coal in Scotland, and a charter of Quinton, Earl of 
 Winton, was granted between 12 10- 12 19 to Newbattle, 
 giving them among other rights a coal heugh and a 
 stone quarry. From that remote period on, the coal in 
 Scotland has been continuously worked and developed. 
 
 In 1291 William de Oberwell granted a charter to the 
 Abbot and Convent of Dunfermline, bestowing the 
 
20 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 privilege of working a coal pit wherever they chose, 
 except on arable land ; and traces are said to be still 
 extant of these ancient workings. The grant was for 
 the use of the monks only, so that we may infer that at 
 that early period the fuel was considered a rarity. 
 Numerous remains of old workings are to be found in 
 Ayrshire, which show that the old pits were circular and 
 about 6 feet in diameter. The limit of depth of the 
 workings was always a free water-course, and the method 
 of working was by pillar and stall, the pillars being 5 
 feet by 6 feet, and the stalls from 7 feet to g feet. 
 
 The requirements of the salt trade caused a rapid 
 development of the Scotch coal fields, and the demand 
 for fuel became so great that in 1 5 1 3 an Act was passed 
 prohibiting its export. This was subsequently con- 
 firmed in 1579, and in 1597 it was ordained that no 
 large coal should be exported on any pretext. Licences 
 to export coal were, however, granted to a few colliery pro- 
 prietors, who made large fortunes out of the monopoly. 
 
 In the reign of King James VI., a colliery was worked 
 under the sea in the Firth of Forth, and one shaft was 
 sunk on an island where the coal was raised and shipped. 
 The king visited this colliery towards the end of the 
 sixteenth century and went underground, but, when he 
 was raised out of the mine at the pit on the island and 
 found himself surrounded by water, he became alarmed 
 and shouted " treason," until reassured by his followers 
 of his complete safety. 
 
 It is interesting to record that at a very early period, 
 namely in 1295, Marco Polo returned to Venice after a 
 long sojourn in Asia, and brought with him the story of 
 the " black stones " found in China, and which burnt like 
 charcoal. 
 
22 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 But to return to the English coal fields. We find the 
 bailiffs of the Forest of Dean claiming sea cole for their 
 use as early as 1282, and the terms "sea cole" and 
 " oare mine " are used in the Laws and Customs of the 
 Miners of the Forest of Dean, compiled in 1300. In 
 1322 the coals of Coalbrookdale were being worked, as 
 we find Walter de Caldebroke agreeing to pay six shil- 
 lings to have a man to dig carbone maris for a year m 
 the Brockholes. These, and other facts, show that at 
 this early period considerable quantities of coals were 
 raised, enough, in fact, to become an object of taxa- 
 tion. Thus, in 1422, King Henry levied a tax of 2d. 
 per chaldron on all coal loaded in the river Tyne by 
 enfranchised men, and all their keels or boats were 
 ordered to contain exactly 20 chaldrons. In order, 
 however, to evade the tax as much as possible, the 
 Newcastle men made their keels to hold 22 or 23 
 chaldrons. 
 
 Numerous charters were granted to the Newcastle 
 men from time to time, some indeed of an obstructive 
 character, such as those granted to hoastmen and fitters, 
 who thus became possessed of a vested interest in the 
 coal trade of the river. 
 
 In the early part of the sixteenth century, frequent 
 entries occur of leases of collieries from the monastery 
 of Tynemouth to gentlemen of Newcastle at sums varying 
 from £20 to ;^5o a year, and coal must at that period 
 have been extensively worked. Harrison, writing in 
 1577, speaks of coal mines in plenty, and the "multitude 
 of chimnies lately erected." In 1582 Queen Elizabeth 
 became a colliery owner, and obtained a lease of the 
 Manor of Gateshead and Wickham with the coal mines 
 for ninety-nine years, from the Bishop of Durham, at a 
 
EARLY LEASES OF COLLIERIES. 23 
 
 rental of £go a year. This was called the " grand lease," 
 and caused a rise in the price of coal. This lease subse- 
 quently passed into the hands of Sir William Riddell and 
 others, for the use of the mayor and burgesses of the town 
 of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and coals rose to 8s. per chaldron. 
 In 1599 Queen Elizabeth demanded the payment of the 
 arrears of the tax of 2d. per chaldron from the town of 
 Newcastle, and this led to the granting of a new charter 
 authorising the incorporation of a guild of hostmen or 
 fitters " for the better loading and disposing of pit coles," 
 and forty-eight persons were named as governors, 
 stewards, and brethren of the fraternity of hostmen, who 
 agreed to pay Her Majesty a duty or tax of is. per 
 chaldron, and the revenue of this tax was subsequently 
 settled by Charles II. on his son the Duke of Richmond. 
 
 The fitters in the time of Queen Elizabeth regulated 
 the vend of the coal, and restricted it to certain 
 quantities, and this must have hampered the develop- 
 ment of this coal field and heavily weighted the colliery 
 proprietors, for Gardner, writing in 1655, observes : — " If 
 the owner of every colliery had free liberty to sell his 
 coals to ships immediately, Tynemouth harbour would 
 afford two hundred thousand chaldrons of coal in the 
 year more than now vended, which vrould reduce the 
 late exorbitant excessive rate of coals in the City of 
 London." These restrictions did not, however, prevent 
 the rapid development of the northern coal trade, which 
 owed much to the increasing consumption of coal in 
 London. In 1744 the quantity of coal shipped from 
 the Tyne to the Thames is stated to have amounted to 
 467,625 chaldrons, and the quantity must have been 
 very considerable in the previous century. 
 
 The consumption of coal in London may be judged 
 
24 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 from the fact that the question of smoke and sulphurous 
 smells from the burning of coals appears to have 
 attracted the attention of men of note from time to time, 
 for we find Sir Hugh Piatt writing a curious book in 
 1603 on "a new, cheap, and delicate fire of cole balles, 
 wherein sea cole is by mixture of other combustible 
 bodies both sweetened and multiplied." He takes his 
 ideas from the Germans, and proposes mixing loam 
 with powdered sea coal and making balls, " which are 
 neither so oppressive in smel nor yet in soile as the 
 ordinary sea cole fires are." It may be noted here that 
 to this day this practice is common in Belgium, and that 
 the fuel is economical and smoulders away, producing 
 no flame and little smoke, but the " soile " or ash is con- 
 siderable. Sir Hugh further gives his opinion " that the 
 smoke which in our usuall fires doeth immediately ascend 
 from the sea coles unprepared must needs, according to 
 the foule and grosse matter of the cole, be also foule 
 and smooty itselfe. But when the smoke doth passe 
 and become scarsed through the lome (which is the band 
 that kniteth the coles together), it is then so refined and 
 subtilated that it either consumeth and swalloweth up, 
 or else leaveth behinde it the gross residence of its own 
 nature, whereby that black kind of peppering or sea cole 
 dust is either wholy or for the most part avoided." He 
 alludes to the stirring up of fires " dispersing subtle 
 fumes abroad in the aire," which the balls do not 
 require, but burn away without smoke. He suggests 
 various mixtures, such as sawdust or tanner's bark with 
 powdered sea coal, but not straw. This idea of mixing 
 coal with clay was never adopted in England, although 
 it has been in use for centuries on the Continent. 
 
 That the importance of the coal industry in the 
 
26 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 seventeenth century was considerable, may be inferred 
 from the following graphic description of the coal trade 
 in 1649 given by Grey. He says: — "Many thousands 
 of people are employed in the trade of coals. Many 
 live by working them in the pits, many live by carrying 
 them in waggons and wains to the river Tine." Coal 
 merchants are described as employing 500 and looo 
 people. But success does not appear to have always 
 followed, for he further observes "that many of them 
 (coal workers) hath consumed and spent great estates, 
 and dyed beggars," and refers to " Master Beaumont, a 
 gentleman of great ingenuity and rare parts," who 
 adventured ^30,000, and introduced the art of boring 
 with rods to try the thickness of the coal seams, and 
 engines to draw the water, and horse waggons, and 
 " within few years he consumed all his money and rode 
 home upon his light horse." The engines here referred 
 to must have been horse whims, for the pumping-engine 
 or "fire-engine " was not invented till 1705, when New- 
 comen took out his patents. 
 
 The existence of the fuel was well known all over 
 England during the seventeenth century, when the 
 Midland coal fields began to show great activity. In a 
 geographical description of England, published in 161 5, 
 the county of Durham is described as " bringing forth 
 coal, whereof the county is plentifully stored, and 
 groweth so near the upper surface of the earth that the 
 cart wheels do turn up the same." " Pit cole " is also 
 mentioned as occurring in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, 
 and Staffordshire. Early in the seventeenth century pit 
 or sea coal was applied to the smelting of iron, and during 
 the course of the century it came into general use in the 
 arts and manufactories. The quantity raised must have 
 
AN EARL Y EXPLOSION. 27 
 
 been considerable, and the pits numerous and opened 
 out to some extent. Although we have but little 
 information about the men who worked in them, it may 
 be inferred that they had already learned to face the 
 dangers of working coal underground from the dreaded 
 explosions or irruptions of water. These records also 
 furnish data regarding the importance of the coal trade 
 in former times. Almost the earliest, and certainly the 
 first lucid account of a colliery explosion, was that given 
 by Mr. Roger Mostyn, in the year 1677, and published 
 in the Philosophical Transactions of that year. Mr. 
 Mostyn obtained the description from his father's 
 steward and overseer, at his coal works at Mostyn, 
 North Wales. He tells us that the above-mentioned 
 work is " upon a cole five yards in thickness, and hath 
 been begun upon about six or eight and thirty years 
 ago. When it was first formed it was extreme full of 
 water, so that it could not be wrought down to the 
 bottom of the cole ; but a witchet or cave was driven 
 out in the middle of it, upon a level, for gaining room to 
 work and drawing down the spring of water that lies in 
 the coal to the eye of the pit; in driving of which 
 witchet, after they had given a considerable way under- 
 ground and were scanted of wind, the fire-damp did by 
 little and little begin to breed, and to appear in crevices 
 and slits of the coal where water had lain before the 
 opening of the coal, with a small bluish flame working 
 and moving continually, but not out of its first fial, 
 unless the workman came and held their candles to it, 
 and then, being weak, the blaze of the candle would 
 drive it, with a sudden fiz, away to another crevice, 
 where it would soon appear blazing and moving as 
 formerly. This was the first knowledge of it in this 
 
28 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 work, which the workmen made sport of, and so partly 
 neglected it till it had gotten some strength ; and then, 
 upon a morning the first collier that went down, going 
 forward in the witchet with his candle in his hand, the 
 damp presently darted out violently at his candle that it 
 struck the man clean down, singed all his hair and 
 clothes, and disabled him from working hereafter. 
 Some other small warnings it gave them, insomuch that 
 they resolved to employ a man of purpose, that was 
 more resolute than the rest, to go down a while before 
 them every morning to chase it from place to place, and 
 so weaken it. His usual manner was to put on the 
 worst rags he had, and to wet them well with water, and 
 so soon as he came in danger of it then he fell grovelling 
 down on his belly, and went so forward, holding in one 
 hand a long wind, or pole, at the end whereof he tied 
 candles burning, and reached by degrees towards it ; 
 then the damp would fly at them, and if it missed 
 putting them out it would quench itself with a blast 
 and leave an ill-scented smoke behind it." 
 
 In this description, the "man of purpose" presents 
 the prototype of the present fireman, who, however, 
 instead of a pole with a candle at the end of it, uses a 
 safety-lamp to discover the presence of fire-damp. 
 
 The same author gives a quaint description of a 
 subsequent explosion at the same colliery, which 
 occurred on the 3rd of February 1675, after a cessation 
 of work for a few days. The damp on this occasion 
 " flew to and fro over all the hollows of the work with a 
 great wind and a continued fire, and, as it went, keeping 
 a mighty great roaring noise on all sides." The men 
 who happened to be underground at the time were 
 singed " as if they had been whipped with rods ; 
 
STAFFORDSHIRE PITS. 29 
 
 some, that had least shelter, were carried 15 or 16 
 yards from their first stations and beaten against the 
 roof of the coal." Mr. Roger Mostyn further describes 
 how the blast came up the pit with a noise that was 
 heard 15 miles off, so that trees that were growing 
 on the surface were felled, and the winding machinery 
 blown to pieces. From this description of an accident 
 it seems that this colliery, though not an extensive one 
 according to modern ideas, must have been of some 
 importance, and capable of raising a considerable 
 quantity of coal. As a matter of fact, the Mostyn coal 
 district was one of the earliest developed in Great 
 Britain. Andrew Yarranton, writing about the needful 
 improvements for the navigation of the river Dee, in 
 1677, refers to the then important colliery of Aston, in 
 Flintshire ; and it seems that at that time Ireland was 
 almost entirely supplied with coal from the river Dee. 
 
 Among the other coal fields which were worked at an 
 early date, we find also that of Staffordshire. This was 
 due to the comparative shallow depth of the coal beds, 
 the most important of which — namely, the ten-yard 
 seam — was worked over a considerable area, so close to 
 the surface that it could be cut and removed like stone 
 from a quarry. The abundance and cheapness of coal 
 in Staffordshire first directed the mind of Lord Dudley 
 to apply it to the smelting of iron in blast furnaces, and 
 after its application to this purpose the development of 
 the coal field increased with rapidity. The growth of 
 the coal trade in the Midland counties is obscure, but 
 Dr. Plot, in his Natural History of the County of 
 Stafford, published in 1686, gives many interesting 
 details concerning the workings underground, and the 
 dangers to be met with. He enters minutely into the 
 
30 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 various kinds of " damps " to be met with underground, 
 which he subdivides into "simple air alone corrupted, 
 smoak damp, peas- blossom damp, globe damp, and 
 fulminating damp." The globe damp he ascribes to the 
 exhalations of the men and the smoke of their candles, 
 becoming " visible in the form and bigness of a foot- 
 ball," which, when broken, disperses in fatal vapour, 
 being " altogether mortal, though not so violent as the 
 fulminating damps." He then refers to the great 
 dangers of these fulminating damps, as shown by- 
 explosions which are recorded " to have happened not 
 long since at Ash-berg-hills and at Wingersworth within 
 lO miles of Chesterfield, 1675 A.D., where the vapours 
 taking fire at the candles of the workmen, they found 
 themselves presently environed with flames ; their faces, 
 hands, hair, and clothes in great part being very much 
 burnt, and one of them having his armes and legges 
 broken, and the rest of his body strangely distorted ; the 
 now inflamed damp of one of them gowing forth of the 
 mouth of the pit like a clap of thunder, shooting off the 
 turn or windless, and shaking the very earth so much 
 that a workman in another Bink hard by feared the roof 
 would have fallen in upon him and buried him." Con- 
 tinuing this subject. Dr. Plot goes on to say how " the 
 ingenious Mr. Beaumont tells us they have this sort of 
 damp, too, in some coal works bordering upon the 
 Mendip Hills, and that in the most easterly one of them 
 they are so very frequent, that scarce a pit fails of them, 
 many men of late years having been killed, many others 
 lamed, and a multitude burnt. Many have been blown 
 up at the works' mouth, and the turn beam, which hangs 
 over the shaft, thrown off the frame by the force of it." 
 In concluding the subject of fulminating damps, he 
 
AN EXPLOSION IN 1677. 31 
 
 makes the following observation, one which holds good 
 to the present day : — " And, therefore, the prudent collier 
 that knows his work liable to these inconveniencies 
 always minds the wind, which is the only way they 
 have to avoid this sort of damp!' 
 
 It is curious to note that whereas Mr. Mostyn 
 describes a colliery explosion in Flintshire in 1677, and 
 Dr. Plot one in the Midland counties in 1675, there 
 exists no record of such an event in the north of 
 England until the year 1705, in which year the author 
 of a pamphlet, entitled the Complete Collier, mentions 
 a "blast" which occurred in October 1705, killing 
 above thirty persons ; and the Philosophical Transac- 
 tions, for the year 1709, contains a description of an 
 accident which occurred at Fat Field, near Chester-le- 
 Street, by which sixty- nine persons were killed. The 
 account of this accident is worth quoting, as the first ex- 
 plosion in the north of England authentically described. 
 The accident was a very serious one, the number of 
 deaths considerable, and the details more than usually 
 horrifying. " Two men and a woman were blown 
 quite up from the bottom of the shaft, 57 fathoms 
 deep, into the air a considerable distance from the 
 mouth of the pit, one of the men with his head almost 
 off, and the woman with her bowels hanging about her 
 heels." 
 
 The blast in this fearful explosion is compared to the 
 " loudest claps of thunder ; '' and the fish in a stream 
 some distance off "were in great numbers taken up 
 dead, floating in the water," and the engine used for 
 raising coal blown to some distance. 
 
 The viewer of the colliery is described as one who 
 " takes the best care to preserve a free communication 
 
32 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 of air through all the works, but in a remote corner of 
 the pit an accumulation of gas had existed during the 
 hot and sultry season." After a change of weather, an 
 overman "being induced, as is supposed, by a fresh, 
 cool, frosty breeze of wind, which blew that unlucky 
 morning, and which always clears the works of all 
 sulphur, had gone too near the part, and had met the 
 sulphur just as it was purging and dispersing itself, 
 upon which the sulphur immediately took fire by his 
 candle, and so he proved the occasion of the loss of 
 himself and so many men, and of the greatest fire that 
 ever was known in these parts." These explosions are 
 the earliest on record, and seem to mark the extension 
 then taking place in the coal industry, and the con- 
 sequent development of the underground workings. At 
 the commencement of the eighteenth century mechanical 
 appliances began to be adopted at collieries. Hitherto 
 the coal was raised out of the pits by hand or horse 
 gin, and in the shallow pits in Scotland carried up the 
 ladders. Water had to be drawn up in buckets like the 
 coal, and a comparatively small quantity was sufficient 
 to stop the workings altogether. But this great 
 difficulty was overcome by Newcomen's fire-engine, as it 
 was called, which he patented in 1705, and which a few 
 years later was applied to pumping water out of mines. 
 Probably the first fire-engine erected in the north was 
 at Byker Colliery in 17 14. Certainly in 1721 New- 
 comen's engine was in general use for pumping, and in 
 1744 Hutchinson tells us that "the fire-engine is now 
 greatly improved, and not only employed to draw water 
 from the mines but also to work ventilators and draw 
 coals." The power of these engines was also increasing, 
 for in 1763 a cylinder, 74 inches in diameter and io| feet 
 
34 
 
 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 long, was in use at Walker Colliery. The fire-engine 
 seems not to have escaped the mania for bubble com- 
 
 WATER-WHEEL AND BUCKET-PUMP. 
 
 panies created by the South Sea Company in 17 19, for 
 in pamphlets published at the time the following lines 
 
 occur :- 
 
FIRE-ENGINE. 
 
 [p. 35. 
 
SPECULA TION IN MINES. 35 
 
 Epilogue by a Loser (1720). 
 
 " Why must my stupid fancy e'er admire 
 The way of raising water up by fire, 
 That cursed engine pumped my pockets dry 
 And left no fire to warm my fingers by." 
 
 The Bubble Mirror Water-Engine (1721). 
 
 " Come all ye culls my water-engine buy, 
 To pump your flooded mines and coal pits dry ; 
 Some projects are all wind but ours is water, 
 And though at present low may rise hereafter.'' 
 
 Whether these hnes refer to Newcomen's engine or 
 some other invention or imitation is not clear, but the 
 fire-engine of Newcomen was a great practical success, 
 and most materially aided the development of mining. 
 The fire-engine held its own for about a century, when 
 James Watt's improved steam-engine took its place, but 
 only by degrees, for the old machines were in use long 
 after the introduction of the steam-engine, and even in 
 recent years a few of them were still at work. The 
 possibility of pumping up considerable quantities of water 
 gave rise to the invention of the water-balance for draw- 
 ing coals, which consisted in sending down a bucket full 
 of water attached to one end of a rope, at the other end of 
 which would be fixed a corf of coal. The water-bucket 
 was emptied at the bottom of the pit and pumped up. 
 A water-balance was at work at Chestershaugh Colliery 
 in the north in 1753, raising 600 lbs. of coal from a depth 
 of 50 fathoms in two minutes, and as late as i860 this 
 mode of raising coal was still in use in South Wales. 
 Another great improvement in the working of collieries 
 was introduced or extended about this time, namely, the 
 
35 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 tram-plate. Planks had been in use for a long time, for 
 they are described by Sir Francis North (Lord Guild- 
 ford) in 1676, and on these bulky cirts on rollers, con- 
 taining 4 to 5 chaldrons, or 
 about 12 tons, were drawn 
 along to the staiths by one 
 horse. These waggon-ways 
 were greatly improved in 
 1765 by the introduction 
 COAL WAGGON. gf cross slccpers to tie the 
 
 planks ; and about the same time (1767) the Coalbrook- 
 dale Company, having an abundant stock of iron on hand 
 during a period of trade depression, laid down cast-iron 
 slabs on a tramway as a temporary experiment, but found 
 so great an improvement in the transport, that the slabs 
 were never taken up, and this is the prototype of the rail- 
 ways of our time. The iron tram was soon in general use 
 at collieries above and below ground, and remained so 
 until the introduction of the rail. Many improvements in 
 the working of collieries were introduced during the latter 
 half of the eighteenth century, and the production enor- 
 mously increased. The pits were sunk to greater depths, 
 as, for instance, the Wallsend Colliery, which was 105 
 fathoms deep in 1785, and the workings greatly extended, 
 hence a number of serious explosions occurred about that 
 time. An explosion is redorded at Lampton Colliery, 
 Durham, in 1766, which occurred after the workmen, to 
 the number of one hundred, had left off work. This 
 gives a measure of the size of the collieries at that time, 
 and, no doubt, in many of them several hundred men were 
 employed. The explosion at Lampton was caused by 
 some masons left to repair the shaft, who fired the gas, 
 and " were drove by the force up through the shaft or 
 
THE STEEL-MILL. 37 
 
 great tube like balls out of a cannon, and everything 
 that resisted shared the same fate." 
 
 In order to enable the miner to work in an explosive 
 atmosphere, the steel-mill had been invented by Mr. 
 Spedding in 1760. This consisted of a small steel-mill 
 made to revolve in contact with flints in such a manner 
 as to cause a rapid succession of sparks. It was by no 
 means a perfect instrument, and required always one 
 person, and sometimes two, to keep the wheel revolving 
 so as to produce a constant though feeble light. It was 
 not absolutely safe, for an explosion is recorded at 
 Wallsend Colliery through the steel-mill. However, 
 this was the only means of obtaining light in an 
 explosive atmosphere until the invention of the safety- 
 lamp. The quantities raised out of collieries at the 
 time though small in comparison with the outputs of 
 the present day, were nevertheless very considerable. 
 The coal imported into London from the Tyne averaged 
 922,394 tons per annum for the ten years ending 1779, 
 and at that time the London coal heavers, who formed a 
 society or species of guild, numbered over 7000 persons 
 with their families. 
 
 The total quantity raised in the United Kingdom at 
 the time is estimated at 6 millions of tons, so that the 
 metropolis consumed about one-sixth of the entire 
 production. The industry prospered and developed 
 gradually through the latter part of the century, when 
 the production reached over 10 millions of tons a 
 year. The introduction of Watt's improved steam- 
 engine, which came into general use in the beginning 
 of the present century, had a most potent influence 
 on coal development, not only by enabling coal seams 
 to be worked which had previously not been possible 
 
38 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 owing to their depth and the presence of water, 
 but also by creating increased demand for fuel to 
 supply the numerous manufactories which sprung into 
 existence as a consequence on the improved mechanical 
 power. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Development of the Coal Trade — Formation of the Sunderland 
 Association — Invention of the Safety-Lamp — Condition of 
 the Colliers in 1833 — The Select Committee of 1835 — The 
 Royal Commission on the Employment of Women and Children. 
 
 The development of the coal trade was somewhat 
 impeded in the commencement of this century by the 
 stagnation of all commerce, caused by the great war 
 and the European blockade. The peace of 181 5 was 
 followed by a period of great distress, and in many of 
 the manufacturing districts the reduction of wages 
 resulted in strikes and riots ; among others the colliers 
 were discontented with their small earnings and short 
 work. In Newcastle riots of some importance occurred 
 in 1 8 16. In the same year the colliers from the 
 neighbourhood of Bilston, in South Staffordshire, 
 wandered about the country, dragging cart-loads of 
 coal, with the object of soliciting the assistance of the 
 benevolent ia the villages and towns they passed 
 through. Several parties directed their steps towards 
 the metropolis, with the vain idea that if they laid their 
 case before the Prince Regent he would order them 
 employment. One party, consisting of forty-one men, 
 dragging a waggon loaded with upwards of two tons of 
 coal, were stopped, on approaching Maidenhead, by the 
 magistrates of the town, who explained the illegality of 
 the step they had taken. The men behaved with great 
 
40 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 propriety, gave up their coals at once, and were quite 
 satisfied with the present which they received. They, 
 however, refused to return to their homes unless the 
 mayor signed a statement to the effect that they had 
 behaved themselves properly. Another similar proces- 
 sion was stopped near St. Albans, by Sir N. Conant, 
 who had been despatched to intercept them, and they 
 also readily gave up their coals and returned home. A 
 similar band of colliers was stopped at Chester, on their 
 way to Liverpool, by the magistrates of that city, to 
 whom they showed every respect and deference, and on 
 receiving i!^20 gave up their coals, and returned peace- 
 ably to their parishes. The incidents thus recorded are 
 memorable, for they show how real the distress was 
 among the colliery operatives, and how anxious some of 
 them, at least, were to work for their bread. This state 
 of depression did not last long ; and when the trade of 
 the country revived the colliers had their full share of 
 the general prosperity. Circumstances assisted the rise 
 of the coal trade at this time. The system of canals, 
 already largely introduced at the end of the eighteenth 
 century, was greatly extended during the commence- 
 ment of the present, and the numerous water-ways 
 which had been, and were in progress of being, con- 
 structed, had a most beneficial effect on the develop- 
 ment of the coal fields. 
 
 Coal now found its way into districts where previously 
 it had been almost unknown, and could be delivered to 
 the manufacturer at prices hitherto impossible. 
 
 It is doubtful whether the construction of the water- 
 ways, which brought the fuel to the manufacturer's door, 
 had so much influence on the development of the coal 
 industry as the general adoption of Watt's engine, which 
 
APPLICATION OF STEAM. 41 
 
 provided the manufacturer with power. The fire-engine 
 had done good service, but it was clumsy and consumed 
 a large quantity of coal. The new steam-engine was 
 admirably adapted for factory purposes, and as a con- 
 sequence we find the cotton and similar trades expand- 
 ing enormously. The import of. cotton, which in 1800 
 was 56,000,000 lbs., had risen to 100,000,000 lbs. in 
 181 5, and at that time the quantity of coal consumed 
 by the cotton factories was estimated at about 500,000 
 tons. The iron trade also made gigantic strides in the 
 beginning of the century. In 1800 the production was 
 about 170,000 tons, and in 181 5 rose to double that 
 quantity, or nearly 400,000 tons, consuming probably 
 1,200,000 tons of coal. The illuminating power of the 
 gas produced by distillation of coal was also at this time 
 applied to practical purposes, and in 1804 the factory of 
 Bolton & Watts, Birmingham, was lit with gas, the 
 first London chartered gas company founded in 18 10, 
 and gas applied to public lighting in the metropolis in 
 181 3. This was also the period during which the 
 chemical industry, more especially the manufacture of 
 soda, came into prominence, and this, again, constituted 
 a new demand for coal. 
 
 In addition to these inventions or discoveries the 
 steam-engine was applied to ships at an early period. 
 The first steamboat plied on the river Clyde in 181 1, 
 and a few years later a packet was put on the Thames, 
 when steam communication was established in 181 5 
 between London and Gravesend. In the year 1839 there 
 existed 770 steamships with a tonnage of 86,731 tons. 
 The next great invention was the introduction of rail- 
 ways, which commenced with the improved locomotive 
 of George Stephenson in 181 5. 
 
43 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 At first the locomotive was used at collieries to 
 replace horses on the tramways ; but when railways 
 became general some years later, they not only afforded 
 an easy mode of transport for coals, but became an 
 immense source of consumption. Many mechanical im- 
 provements were introduced into collieries at this time. 
 The corves were replaced by cages carrying tubs or small 
 waggons of coal, and enabling a very large output to be 
 obtained from one shaft. The loose skip with iron rings 
 to hold the coal remained, however, in use in. the small 
 shallow pits of South Staffordshire for many years after- 
 wards. Mechanical ventilation was universally adopted 
 by means of a furnace constructed at the bottom of a 
 pit, or more frequently of a compartment of a shaft, 
 which was divided by a wooden partition termed a 
 brattice. Underground haulage by means of the steam- 
 engine was also adopted in the north, where women were 
 not employed underground. Altogether the collieries, 
 at anyrate in the north of England, became very 
 important undertakings, requiring a large investment of 
 capital. The coal fields had become so considerably 
 opened out in 1816, that the output for the United 
 Kingdom was computed at 15 millions of tons. This 
 development took place without any legislative enact- 
 ments, except an Act of Justice, which was rendered to the 
 colliers in 18 17, — -an Act which ordered that labourers 
 working in collieries should receive " every part of 
 their wages in good and lawful money," a provision 
 which other labourers had already enjoyed for nearly a 
 century. This Act was subsequently amended by what 
 is commonly known as the Truck Act passed in 183 1. 
 
 With the extension of colliery operations the dangers 
 and risks of mining were multiplied, and accidents of a 
 
HEPBURN AND FELLING EXPLOSIONS. 43 
 
 very serious character became more frequent, so that the 
 country was startled from time to time with the news of 
 some tremendous explosion by which a number of lives 
 were lost. Only the more disastrous catastrophes found 
 their way to public notice, and men were crushed, or 
 suffocated, or drowned, or otherwise killed in pits, and 
 buried without inquiry or record, as it was not customary 
 at that time to hold inquests on the victims of colliery 
 accidents. But the accidents entailing large loss of life 
 forced themselves on publicity. Among others in 1805, 
 two serious explosions occurred, one at Hepburn Colliery 
 by which thirty-five lives were lost, another at Oxclose 
 Colliery, where thirty-eight men were killed. A terrible 
 explosion occurred at the Felling Colliery in 1812, by 
 which ninety-two lives were sacrificed. This accident 
 made such an impression in the district that a society, 
 was formed at Sunderland, in the following year, under 
 influential patronage, with the purpose of inquiring into 
 the causes of such calamities and devising means for 
 preventing them. This association, though short-lived, 
 was instrumental in bringing about very important 
 events in the history of coal mining. A public meeting, 
 inaugurating the association, was held on the 1st 
 October 181 3, under the Presidency of Sir Ralph 
 Millbanke, and a committee appointed to carry out the 
 objects of the society. One of the first acts of this 
 committee was to represent to the magistrates the 
 neglect of townships and parishes in not calling on 
 coroners to hold inquests on the bodies of those killed 
 through accidents in coal mines. In consequence of 
 these representations the matter received attention at 
 Quarter Sessions, and Sir John Bayley at the Newcastle 
 Assizes, in 18 14, in his charge referred to the subject. 
 
44 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 The system of stifling all inquiry into the subject of 
 accidents in coal pits had been always pursued by 
 colliery owners, who either disliked or dreaded inquiry 
 into the details of their management ; but from this 
 time on we find inquests held, if not in all cases, at least 
 very frequently, on the victims of colliery accidents. In 
 November 1813, the Sunderland Association published 
 its first report. It contained a letter from Mr. Buddie, 
 then the leading viewer in the north of England, giving 
 a succinct description of the modes of ventilating and 
 working collieries adopted by him. The letter is 
 interesting as showing the condition of collieries before 
 the introduction of the safety-lamp. Mr. Buddie states 
 that " the only method we are at present acquainted 
 with for the prevention of accidents by fire is through 
 ventilation of the several passages and workings of the 
 mine." He then proceeds to describe the mechanical 
 means employed to produce the necessary current, from 
 which it appears that since that date (18 13), however 
 much we may have improved on the apparatus he 
 used, we have not discovered one new in principle. He 
 describes the furnace, the waterfall, the steam-ventilator, 
 the air-pump, and the heated air-pipe or cylinder. His 
 air-pump, or mechanical ventilator, was of rather 
 primitive construction, and capable of drawing up about 
 8000 cubic feet of air per minute. Referring to this 
 apparatus, he makes the following observations, con- 
 firmed by the experience of years since then :: — " It is 
 worthy of remark that, in the event of the air-pump 
 being accidentally stopped, the current of air will con- 
 tinue a considerable time from the momentum acquired 
 by the action of the pump." He then minutely describes 
 his methods of dealing with currents of air underground, 
 
LIGHTING OF MINES. 45 
 
 SO as to bring fresh air always to the face of work. The 
 blowers of gas were in his time, as they are now, one of 
 the greatest sources of danger. Mr. Buddie describes 
 his method of sweeping away the gas by means of doors 
 and brattices, " by which the current of atmospheric air 
 plays upon the mouth of the blower, and continually 
 dilutes and sweeps away its foul eructations." 
 
 Referring to the lives lost in explosions, he records his 
 opinion, after witnessing many explosions, that only 
 one-fourth of the deaths are caused by the fire, the 
 remainder being attributable to the after-damp. In 
 order to save as many lives as possible in case of 
 explosion, he dwells on the importance of constructing 
 all the main stoppings of stone walling, sufficiently 
 strong to resist the shock of an explosion, and cites an 
 accident at Percy Main Colliery, where twenty- three 
 men were burnt, but not one life lost through after- 
 damp, owing to the adoption of this plan, by which the 
 main current of air is preserved through the mine. The 
 importance of preserving a ventilating current after an 
 explosion led him to invent the swing-door, a contriv- 
 ance which may have served its purpose in cases of 
 slight explosion, but which cannot withstand the effects 
 of a powerful blast. He next gives a graphic descrip- 
 tion of trying the " low " or lighted candle in a 
 dangerous atmosphere. At that time the only apparatus 
 by which light could be produced with comparative 
 safety in a dangerous atmosphere was the steel-mill. 
 
 The mill, in practical hands, was sufficiently safe, as 
 the sparks changed in appearance and colour according 
 to the percentage of inflammable gas present in the air. 
 In describing the instrument, Mr. Buddie says : — " In 
 approaching the firing point with steel-mills they grow 
 
STEEL-MILL. 
 
 46 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 Still more luminous, and assume a kind of liquid appear- 
 ance, nearly resembling the spark arising under the 
 hammer from iron at welding heat." And referring to 
 
 the change of colour, he 
 further states that " when 
 the inflammable air pre- 
 dominates in the circulat- 
 ing current the sparks 
 from the steel-mill are 
 of a blood-red colour, and 
 as the mixture increases the mill totally ceases to elicit 
 sparks." Since the days of Buddie the system of work- 
 ing coal has been greatly changed, chiefly as a conse- 
 quence of the greater extent of underground workings 
 and larger output of collieries. Not only have mechanical 
 appliances become more general and machinery more 
 powerful, but ventilating currents have been increased 
 to an extent not dreamed of in former days. Buddie 
 tells us that " the standard air course, or current of 
 atmospheric air, which I employ in the ventilation of 
 the collieries under my care abounding in inflammable 
 gas, moves through an aperture from 30 to 40 feet 
 in area, with a velocity of 3 feet per second, which 
 equals 5400 to 7200 cubic feet, or from 525 to 700 
 hogsheads per minute." This he considered sufficient for 
 all practical purposes ; and, moreover, gives it as his 
 deliberate opinion that any "further application of 
 mechanical agency towards preventing explosions in 
 coal mines would be ineffectual." He depended more 
 on the discovery of some method by which explosive 
 carburetted hydrogen would be chemically changed and 
 rendered harmless. In order to obtain an effectual 
 remedy he thought that men of science ought to be 
 
THE DA VY LAMP. 47 
 
 resorted to. In concluding his letter, Mr. Buddie 
 remarks that "on an average through this district I 
 believe that the ordinary and unavoidable casualties in 
 collieries occasion more calamity than explosions of 
 inflammable air." This observation, true in the days of 
 Buddie, remains so at the present time, and more lives 
 are sacrificed per annum by the sundry casualties of 
 underground working than by the more startling explo- 
 sions. The Sunderland Society continued to agitate 
 and collect information. They determined to apply to 
 Sir Humphrey Davy, in order to obtain his opinion as 
 to the best means of preventing colliery explosions, and 
 Dr. Gray, a member of the committee, was commissioned 
 to communicate with him. The result of this corre- 
 spondence was a visit of Sir Humphrey Davy to the 
 north of England in the autumn of the year 181 5. 
 
 The direct result of this visit was the invention of the 
 safety-lamp, known as the " Davy," and since its intro- 
 duction in constant and very general use in fiery 
 collieries. The idea of applying light underground in 
 such a manner as not to cause inflammable air to 
 explode was not new. In 1796 a safety-lamp is 
 recorded as having been invented at Humbolt. The 
 first lamp applied underground was that invented by 
 Dr. Clanny, in 18 13, and described in the Philosophical 
 Transactions of that year. This instrument was too 
 complicated and cumbrous for practical use, and it 
 remained for Sir Humphrey Davy to invent a lamp 
 which would be a safeguard against damp, and at the 
 same time simple in construction. Before Sir Humphrey 
 brought his invention to maturity, a lamp on somewhat 
 similar principles had been constructed and tried by 
 George Stephenson, then colliery engineer at Killing- 
 
48 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 worth. The lamps differed in so far that whereas Sir 
 Humphrey based the security of his lamp on the theory 
 that flame would not pass through small apertures, 
 such as the meshes of wire gauze, Stephenson thought 
 that, by encircling the flame with a glass tube the rush 
 of the burnt air upwards would prevent the fire-damp 
 from igniting. When this lamp was tried at Killing- 
 worth Colliery, in October 1815, in an explosive atmos- 
 phere, no explosion occurred, but the light was put out. 
 Repeated experiments gave the same results ;' and it 
 appeared as if the burning of the carburetted hydrogen 
 in the lamp produced so much carbonic acid and oxide 
 of carbon, or after-damp, that the light would no longer 
 burn. This lamp was subsequently improved in con- 
 struction, and it is now one of the best and safest in use. 
 Very shortly after the invention of safety-lamps they 
 came into general use in the fiery collieries in the north 
 of England, and it was thought that explosions might 
 be considered as things of the past. The conclusion, 
 however, proved to be hasty and erroneous. Accident 
 followed accident ; and thirteen years after the introduc- 
 tion of safety-lamps, Mr. Buddie, in giving evidence 
 before a committee of the House of Lords in 1829, said 
 that a greater loss of life had taken place since the 
 introduction of lamps than during a corresponding 
 period previously. This he attributed to the greater 
 depth of the mines, their larger extent, and to the fact 
 of pillars being worked, which could not have been done 
 without the safety-lamp. To this committee Mr. Buddie 
 also stated that, in one of the collieries of which he was the 
 viewer, the quantity of air he considered needful was no 
 less than 18,000 cubic feet per minute. Yet only about 
 fifteen years previously he had given it as his opinion 
 
CONDITION OF COLLIERS, 1833. 49 
 
 that the utmost limit of mechanical ventilation had been 
 obtained with a ventilating current of only 7000 cubic 
 feet per minute. While Mr. Buddie was giving evidence 
 before committees of both Houses in 1829 and 1830, on 
 the risk of collieries as an investment and their danger 
 to life, the condition of the mining population was being 
 brought to light through the report of the commis- 
 sioners entrusted with carrying out the provisions of 
 the "Factory Act," passed in 1833. Mr. Carleton 
 Tufnell, when visiting Lancashire in the course of his 
 inquiries, incidentally turned his attention to the colliery 
 population of the district, and in his report for the year 
 1833 recorded the results of his inquiries. The evidence 
 of the witnesses he examined showed that persons work- 
 ing in coal mines were exposed to extreme hardships. 
 The number of hours during which these people were 
 confined in narrow spaces, and the vitiated air they 
 had to breathe, produced deformity, and disease, and 
 premature death. The picture, as drawn by the 
 witnesses, was painful and revolting. Children were 
 sent down with no more provision than a bit of bread 
 and cheese, and this they sometimes could not eat, 
 owing to the dust and badness of the air. The heat 
 was at times so great as to melt candles, and many of 
 the roads were covered with water. 
 
 The children were frequently beaten by the men for 
 whom they worked ; so much so, that " they seldom 
 slept with a whole skin." Besides this, their backs were 
 cut with knocking against the roof and sides of the 
 roadways, and their feet and legs covered with sores and 
 gatherings owing to the water. The children, boys and 
 girls, earned their wages by drawing the coals in tubs 
 along the galleries by means of a belt and a chain pass- 
 
50 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 ing between the legs. Many girls were thus employed, 
 and after a time they became crooked and deformed. 
 From the nature of the occupation, they soon became as 
 rough and uncouth as the men and boys, fighting and 
 swearing like them, and many bastards were born in 
 the colliery villages. Explosions, of more or less con- 
 sequence, occurred frequently, and many of the men 
 were maimed. At the age of fifty they were unfit for 
 work, and after that they had to live in misery or go to 
 the parish. Mr. Tufnell visited the underground work- 
 ings of one colliery, and expresses his opinion of them in 
 the following words : — " I cannot much err in coming to 
 the conclusion, both from what I saw and the evidence 
 of the witnesses given on oath, that it must appear to 
 every impartial judge of the occupation, that the hardest 
 labour in the worst room in the worst conducted factory 
 is less hard, less cruel, and less demoralising than the 
 best of coal mines." This was written in 1833 ; and 
 allowing for some exaggeration on the part of the 
 commissioner, unaccustomed to mining operations, and 
 perhaps reporting on some exceptional case, there is 
 every reason for accepting the description of the state 
 of the collieries as, unfortunately, only too near the 
 truth. Although in this, and some other reports made 
 at that time, the condition of the mining population was 
 alluded to, nearly ten years elapsed before any move 
 was made to alter so grievous a state of things. The 
 dangers, however, of colliery workings were kept before 
 the public mind by the fearful explosions which occurred 
 from time to time ; and the subject at last came before 
 the attention of the House of Commons in 1835, when 
 a Select Committee was appointed, on the motion of 
 Mr. Pease, member for South Durham, on the 2nd of 
 
MR. PEASES COMMITTEE. 51 
 
 June, and which reported to the House at the end of 
 the Session. The committee, after hearing a great deal 
 of evidence from competent witnesses, did not make any 
 recommendations as to legislation ; but the report is 
 worthy of attention, and the minutes of evidence are 
 valuable and interesting. Almost the first sentence of 
 the report admits that the committee " failed in obtain- 
 ing accurate information as to the number of lives lost." 
 Returns had been asked for from the different coal 
 districts ; but they proved defective, and many counties 
 did not furnish any. 
 
 The number of deaths thus approximately estimated 
 for the twenty-five years preceding 1835 amounted to 
 954, and to 1600 since the year 17 10, figures palpably 
 below the real numbers. The committee point out that 
 the deaths recorded during eighteen years previous to 
 the introduction of safety-lamps number 447 ; whereas, 
 during the same period subsequent to that event, 538 
 persons perished. This increase is accounted for by the 
 larger output of coal, the consequent greater extent of 
 the underground workings, and also to the opening of 
 fresh and more fiery seams. During the sitting of the 
 committee a terrible explosion occurred at the Wallsend 
 Colliery, by which 102 men and boys were lost, and they 
 called for a copy of the evidence taken by the coroner 
 to assist them in their inquiries as to the cause of the 
 accidents. After enumerating the more palpable causes 
 of accidents, such as explosions of inflammable air, choke- 
 damp, and other noxious gases, or inundations of water, 
 they remark that "there still remains a long list of 
 casualties, some of which are wholly beyond human 
 control, inseparable from mining pursuits, and their 
 fatal results are often justly attributed to the ignorance 
 
52 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 or wanton neglect of ordinary caution, and a reckless- 
 ness of danger in defiance of common discretion." They 
 divided their subjects for inquiries under the following 
 heads : — Ventilation, Safety-lamps, and Maps and Plans. 
 Referring to ventilation, they considered that "the 
 practice of placing wooden partitions, or brattices, in 
 the ventilating shafts is deservedly reprobated," and 
 remark on the importance of a sufficient number of 
 downcast and upcast shafts. They acknowledge the 
 great service rendered by the safety-lamp invented by 
 Sir Humphrey Davy, at the same time admitting that 
 its principles had been previously known to Dr. Clanny 
 and Mr. George Stephenson. They investigated the 
 contingencies under which the lamp is not safe, and, as 
 to this subject, " they regret that the cautions he gave 
 to some of his immediate friends were not made more 
 public." They then point out that the prejudices 
 entertained against the lamp in some districts were not 
 occasioned by doubts as to its safety, but by the 
 diminished light it gave. They conclude by saying that 
 " in some mines, now lighted by the ordinary means, 
 the use of the lamp ought, in the judgment of your 
 committee, to be compelled by the owners." For the 
 purpose of investigating the subject of safety-lamps, the 
 committee adjourned to the laboratory of the London 
 University, where they had every known lamp tested. 
 They found that explosions of gas took place within 
 every lamp, except that of Messrs. Upton and Roberts. 
 In concluding the report, the committee come to con- 
 sider " how far legislative enactments might come fairly 
 in aid of the miners," and on this important point they 
 say : — " The great dissimilarity of the mineral stratifica- 
 tion of the kingdom, the constantly varying circum- 
 
THE SOUTH SHIELDS COMMITTEE. 53 
 
 stances of particular mines, render it, in their opinion, 
 impossible at present to lay down' any precise direction, 
 or to form any rule of Universal application. Your 
 committee agree with many intelligent witnesses that 
 great benefit might be fairly and sanguinely anticipated 
 from men of known ability being encouraged to visit 
 the mines, whether in the character of distinguished 
 chemists, mechanists, or philanthropists." They re- 
 gretted, in conclusion, that they were not able to lay 
 before the House any special plan or offer any decisive 
 recommendations ; but " they anticipate great advan- 
 tages to the public and to humanity from the circulation 
 of the mass of valuable evidence they have collected." 
 In this, however, the committee were disappointed, 
 inasmuch as the circulation of their report was a very 
 limited one indeed, and the Blue Book which contained 
 it with the evidence, numbering 140 pages, was soon con- 
 signed to the shelves of the various libraries, where it 
 remained, rarely consulted and almost unnoticed. 
 
 Colliery explosions continued to occur at frequent 
 intervals. During the year 1837, among other minor 
 accidents, one occurred at Springwell Colliery, by which 
 thirty men were killed ; another at Wallsend, killing 
 eleven men ; and in the following year a still more 
 serious explosion occurred at the St. Hilda Colliery, 
 near South Shields, by which fifty-one lives were lost. 
 Soon after this calamitous occurrence, and in conse- 
 quence thereof, in August 1839, a number of South 
 Shields gentlemen formed themselves into a committee 
 to investigate the cause of accidents in coal mines. 
 This committee continued its labours for three years, 
 and eventually published a report in the year 1842. 
 The inquiry was specially directed to the study of the 
 
54 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 different safety-lamps in use ; the various systems of 
 ventilation ; the employment of boys underground ; 
 plans and sections ; scientific education of officers of 
 mines ; Government inspection ; and medical treatment 
 after explosion. 
 
 A more exhaustive and complete investigation could 
 scarcely have been made, and to the report of the South 
 Shields committee is due the merit of first exposing, in 
 a clear and comprehensive manner, some of the causes 
 of the accidents in coal mines, and also of making many 
 valuable suggestions for their prevention. 
 
 Referring to the employment of women and children 
 underground, they " hope that the Legislature will at an 
 early day be induced to pass an Act to remedy the 
 state of things, by restricting the employment of boys 
 till a more advanced age, and for a more limited time 
 each day, and preventing women and girls altogether 
 from descending mines." This suggestion was carried 
 out, very soon after the publication of the report, by the 
 Act passed in 1842. The official registration of plans is 
 also strongly recommended ; and referring to Govern- 
 ment inspection of mines, which at that time was only 
 beginning to be mooted, they remark that " it is surpris- 
 ing that the coal mines of Great Britain, so vital to her 
 strength and prosperity, should be left entirely to the 
 unassisted efforts of individuals, without organisation, or 
 even supervision of the State." They then strongly 
 recommended a proper Government inspection, pointing 
 out that the principle had already been applied to " rail- 
 ways, the professions, the manufactories, and some of 
 the trades ; " and further, that this practice had been 
 adopted on the Continent for a long time, and had been 
 " productive of great advantage." 
 
GO VERNMENT INSPECTION PROPOSED. 5 5 
 
 The opinion that some sort of Government super- 
 vision was necessary, or at least advisable, in order to 
 reduce the loss of life in collieries, was daily gaining 
 ground. Those conversant with colliery workings 
 argued that periodical inspection of coal mines by 
 competent persons would lead to emulation among 
 managers, and thus to improved management ; and the 
 general public, believing that all these terrible accidents 
 occurred through neglect on the part of the owners, 
 considered that they ought to be placed under official 
 supervision. In fact, the condition of the people em- 
 ployed in the collieries, as well as the dangerous state of 
 the mines themselves, which was being gradually but 
 forcibly brought to light, quite warranted the opinion 
 that some manner of inspection ought to be organised. 
 The report of the Inspector of Schools, under the Com- 
 mittee of the Council of Education for 1840, gave a very 
 sad picture of the state of things in the coal districts of 
 South Wales. Referring to children, more especially, 
 he found that boys were sent underground at the early 
 age of eight or nine, and never learned anything beyond 
 their trade. A mother told him, in speaking of her 
 young boys who worked in the mine, that " after they 
 once went there they turned stupid and behind-like, and 
 would not learn anything, and did not know what was 
 right ; and now, like the rest, they went to the public- 
 houses like men." 
 
 The inspector (Mr. Tremenheere) gave much attention 
 to the manner of life these colliers led. He found that 
 they commenced a career of independence as boys, 
 prematurely becoming men— and dissolute men ; and 
 he attributed much of the profligacy and recklessness 
 which characterised their after-life to their too early 
 
56 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 emancipation from parental control. Not only boys, 
 but girls, were thus left to their own devices at tender 
 ages, without any chance even of acquiring the rudi- 
 ments of knowledge, or the first lessons of virtue and 
 modesty. This unthinking and ignorant population 
 became frequently the victim of avaricious coal owners, 
 who evaded the Truck Acts directly or indirectly, often 
 paying the men at or near special public-houses, where 
 a large portion of their wages was certain to remain. 
 But this was a time when the working population was 
 receiving a large share of legislation and public atten- 
 tion. A Factory Act had been introduced into the 
 House of Commons in 1839 by the then Government, 
 but withdrawn at the instance of Lord Ashley, who was 
 then the champion of the working man in the House of 
 Commons. In the following year he moved for a Royal 
 Commission in the following terms : — " That an humble 
 address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that Her 
 Majesty will be graciously pleased to direct an inquiry 
 to be made into the employment of the children of the 
 poorer classes in mines and collieries, and in the various 
 branches of trade and manufacture in which numbers of 
 children work together, not being included in the 
 provisions of the Act for regulating the employment of 
 children and young persons in mills and factories ; and 
 to collect information as to the age at which they are 
 employed, the number of hours they are engaged in 
 work, the time allowed each day for meals, and as to the 
 effects of such employment, both with regard to their 
 morals and their bodily health." 
 
 This commission was at once agreed to and the 
 commissioners appointed. After a most painstaking 
 enquiry, which lasted two years, they presented a report, 
 
CHILDREN IN MINES. 57 
 
 which was published, and at once obtained a widespread 
 notoriety, and has been, perhaps, more extensively read 
 and quoted than any other parliamentary document on 
 the subject of mines and collieries. 
 
 The reports of the commissioners for the various 
 districts revealed the deplorable condition of the mining 
 population. It was almost incredible that such suffer- 
 ings could possibly be allowed in a civilised country. 
 The reports on the factory population had already pre- 
 pared the public mind for further revelations, but those 
 now presented surpassed the most dismal surmises. 
 
 In reviewing the results of this enquiry, that which 
 perhaps shocks the reader most is the treatment of 
 young children. 
 
 Even infants of three or four years of age were 
 frequently taken down the pits, the colliers themselves 
 admitting that such was the case. One collier stated 
 that he took his child, only three years of age, under- 
 ground with him, and " it was made to follow him 
 into the workings, there hold a candle, and when 
 exhausted with fatigue, was cradled upon the coals until 
 his return home at night." These cases were indeed 
 exceptional, but a general rule prevailed of sending 
 children down at the age of seven or eight years. 
 
 This system of infantile labour, though general, did 
 not meet with the approval of the colliers themselves, 
 who, in giving evidence before the commissioners, com- 
 plained of it, saying that "the sooner they go (down) 
 the sooner their constitutions are smashed up." The 
 effect of such work on children of tender age is self- 
 evident. It was ruinous alike to health and morality. 
 Their constitutions were " smashed up," as the colliers 
 said, at an early age, their backs bent, their muscles 
 
58 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 irregularly and abnormally developed, and their tempers 
 warped. So rapid was the demoralisation, that a 
 Sunday-school teacher lamented that children of amiable 
 temper and good conduct, at the age of seven, returned 
 from working a few months at the collieries "with 
 hellish dispositions." 
 
 The evidence respecting children was mostly collected 
 from the parents and the children themselves. The 
 owners, or their representatives, rarely admitted that 
 children under eight or nine years of age were employed 
 underground. The owners, in general, were ignorant 
 of the facts ; and the overseers, men usually selected 
 from among the working colliers, were too hardened 
 and too much used to the prevailing system to appreciate 
 the extent of the evil it produced. The employment 
 of women and girls underground was no less disgraceful. 
 This abominable custom was, however, not general in 
 all the coal districts. In the north of England the 
 practice had ceased since the year 1780, and in the thick 
 coal seams of South Staffordshire it had never existed. 
 
 But in Scotland, in some parts of Yorkshire, and in 
 South Wales, women were habitually employed under- 
 ground. In Yorkshire they worked like men, perform- 
 ing every description of labour, from hewing the coal to 
 dragging the tubs along the ways. In most districts 
 women only performed the latter labour, that is, they 
 " hurried " the empty tubs from the pit bottom to the 
 face of coal and returned with them loaded. This 
 labour was extremely arduous, and had to be performed 
 under circumstances especially unfitted for females. To 
 quote the words of the report : — " They were dressed as 
 boys, in trousers, crawling on all fours, with belts round 
 their waists and chains passing between their legs." 
 
WOMEN IN MINES. 59 
 
 Referring to this labour, one of the commissioners 
 says : — " When the nature of the horrible labour is taken 
 into consideration, its extreme severity, its regular dura- 
 tion of from twelve to fourteen hours daily, the damp- 
 heated and unwholesome atmosphere of a coal mine, 
 and the tender age and sex of the workers, a picture is 
 presented of deadly physical oppression and systematic 
 slavery, of which I conscientiously believe no one 
 unacquainted with such facts would credit the existence 
 in the British dominions." In Scotland, women were 
 perhaps even more exposed to the hardships of under- 
 ground work than in England. Not only had the 
 women in Scotland to drag the tubs along the passages 
 of the mine, but in many instances they had actually 
 to carry the coal to the surface up ladders. The load 
 in this case was borne by means of tugs passing over 
 the forehead of the women, and when these happened to 
 break the coals fell down the pit, to the great danger of 
 those who were below. In the words of one of the 
 witnesses, it "was not uncommon for women to loose 
 their burden and drop off the ladder down the dyke 
 below." 
 
 It is not surprising that one witness, a girl seventeen 
 years of age, who had worked at harvesting for three 
 seasons, said " that the hardest daylight work is infinitely 
 superior to the best coal work." In fact, the evidence 
 given by the women to the commissioners — in some 
 cases revolting, in general painful — showed that the 
 conditions of life of these poor creatures were productive 
 of the most shocking results, subversive of all morality, 
 and almost unsexing the wretched victims of the 
 system. The following extracts are culled from the 
 voluminous evidence collected by the commissioners : — 
 
6o COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 One witness says ; " I think it scarcely possible for girls 
 to remain modest who are in the pits regularly, mixing 
 with such company as they do. Many of the wives 
 who come from the pits know nothing of sewing or any 
 household duty such as women ought to know." The 
 colliers themselves mostly disapproved of the employ- 
 ment of women underground, and in their evidence they 
 consider it " a shameful practice. They are exposed to 
 bad things when they are in the pits. They can see 
 nought but blackguardism and debauchery," and so on. 
 In fact, about that time, at a meeting of over 300 
 colliers, at Barnsley, a resolution was passed to the 
 effect " that the employment of girls is highly injurious 
 to their morals ; that it is not proper work for females ; 
 and that it is a scandalous practice." The evil results 
 of the system were most severely felt by the colliers, 
 whose wives and daughters worked at the pits. Their 
 homes were squalid through the neglect of all household 
 duties ; their expenses increased through the absence 
 of thrifty housekeepers ; and their young children 
 abandoned to the mercenary care of some aged crone or 
 disabled neighbour. The early training of the pit girls 
 was such that in most districts they were looked on 
 with contempt, and found it impossible to intermarry 
 with other operative classes. It is but just to recall here 
 the fact, that among the colliery proprietors some were 
 to be found, even in those days, who would not permit 
 women to be employed in their pits. The detail of 
 female and infantile labour, although the most startling, 
 was not the only abuse brought to light by the report of 
 the commissioners. They exposed the vile system of 
 early apprenticeship, then so much practised in these 
 districts. In Staffordshire, it was usual at one time to 
 
THE "BUTTIES." 6i 
 
 apprentice the pauper children, or orphans, to working 
 colliers, or " butties," at the early age of nine, for 
 a period of twelve years, during which time the 
 unfortunate wretch had to labour daily in a mine for 
 the sole benefit of his master. This practice was so 
 common in South Staffordshire, that, at the time the 
 commissioners made their report, there were scarcely 
 any boys in the workhouses of Walsall, Wolverhamp- 
 ton, Dudley, or . Stourbridge. As might be expected, 
 these boys were sometimes exposed to much ill-treat- 
 ment at the hands of their masters. They were often 
 forced, by blows, to work in dangerous places which the 
 men would not enter, and, if not obedient to the orders 
 of their owners, were taken before a magistrate, who 
 invariably committed them to prison. Not only were 
 these unhappy youths apprenticed at the early age of 
 nine, but often they were handed over to the colliers at 
 the tender age of seven, on trial for two years, and, at 
 the end of that time, if found sufficiently strong, were 
 duly bound for the term of twelve years. A great deal 
 of evidence was collected regarding the hardship and 
 ill-treatment which these boys had to endure. The 
 following episode is the story of one of them, related 
 by himself to one of the commissioners : — " I ran away 
 from my master because he lost my indentures and 
 served me very bad. He stuck a pick in me. He used 
 to hit me with the belt and maul, or sledge, and fling 
 coals at me. He served me so bad that I left him, and 
 went about to see if I could get a job. I used to sleep 
 in the cabins upon the pit banks, and get what I could 
 to eat. I ate for a long time the candles that I found 
 in the pits that the colliers left overnight. I had 
 nothing else to eat." This is, indeed, a sad picture of 
 
62 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the youthful mining population of that time. It must 
 not, however, be assumed that the system of apprenti- 
 cing young boys, and pauper children especially, was at 
 that time confined to coUieries. 
 
 The practice was general among cotton-mills and 
 other factories. The pauper boys were regularly sent 
 down to the mills in Lancashire from the Metropolitan 
 workhouses in batches of twenty at a time, and 
 frequently a stipulation was made that one idiot in the 
 score was to be accepted by the millowner. Another 
 abuse recorded by the commissioners was the employ- 
 ment of young lads, almost children, at the steam- 
 engines used for lowering and raising the workpeople. 
 Numerous cases are cited of boys not more than ten 
 years of age being employed in that capacity ; and, 
 consequently, men were constantly being drawn over 
 the pulley wheels, or let down so rapidly, that they 
 were maimed or killed. 
 
 Lastly, the wages were not always paid in money ; 
 the spirit of the Truck Act was disregarded, and its 
 clauses either openly violated or evaded by some sub- 
 terfuge. When butties, or men who entered into con- 
 tracts with the owners to win the coal, were employed, 
 the men were usually paid at some public-house belong- 
 ing to the said butty, where a portion — and a large 
 portion — of their earnings was certain to remain. 
 
 Altogether, the condition of the mining population, 
 as described by themselves in their evidence before the 
 commissioners, must have been one of cruel hardship, 
 coupled with degradation and misery. 
 
 Little or no care, with some exceptions, was bestowed 
 on them by their employers. They had to work for 
 twelve, and sometimes fourteen, hours a day, in low, 
 
STATE OF COLLIERIES BEFORE 1842. 63 
 
 narrow galleries, breathing a foetid and almost poisonous 
 air, with water at times pouring down on them and ris- 
 ing up to their knees, contracting muscular and organic 
 diseases which brought them to an early grave. Some 
 roadways underground were only 22 to 24 inches 
 high, and along these tiny children had to drag 
 the coal tubs. Some mines were so ill-ventilated that 
 the workpeople dropped down suffocated. As one 
 witness describes : — " We have often bad air. Some time 
 since I lost a brother by it. He sank down ; I tried to 
 draw him out, but I was forced to gang." But still they 
 were compelled to earn their scanty living — as one girl 
 said, " to keep their turn, or clam," that is, starve. 
 From time to time an explosion of gas would startle 
 the neighbourhood, perhaps the whole country, and, as 
 it were, galvanise into momentary existence a general 
 sympathy and fellow-feeling ; but this died out with the 
 burial of the last victim, and all subsided into the 
 monotonous routine of the daily slave-like labour. 
 
 This was the condition of the colliers and their 
 families in 1842 ; but even this was an improvement on 
 what had previously been their fate. A witness 
 explained that "thirty-eight years ago they had no 
 belts or chains, but used to run along on one hand and 
 feet and pull the corves with the other hand, and that 
 was much worse for them." The conditions of labour, 
 as described by the commissioners in their report, were 
 quite bad enough to create a most painful impression. 
 The existence of such a state of things had not been 
 suspected, and the revelation led directly to legislative 
 interference. It formed the basis of Lord Ashley's Bill 
 to ameliorate the condition of underground labour. 
 The passing of this measure was an epoch in the history 
 
64 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 of collieries and colliers. It was the first measure which 
 inaugurated the series of legislative aids, resorted to by 
 those who, from motives of philanthropy or from sound 
 judgment of social needs, desired to ameliorate the con- 
 dition of so large and so deserving a section of the 
 community, and which have latterly been adopted by 
 the workpeople themselves, who now look to acts of 
 the legislature as their greatest protection. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Parliamentary Debates and Passing of Lord Ashley's Measure — 
 Appointment of Inspector — Disaffection among the Colliers — 
 The Midland Commission and Special Reports from Royal 
 Commissioners. 
 
 Not long after the publication of the report of the 
 JRoyal Commissioners on the employment of women 
 and children in mines, namely, on the 7th June 1842, 
 Lord Ashley introduced his measure prohibiting the 
 employment of women underground, and restricting the 
 labour of boys. He described, in dispassionate language, 
 the horrifying condition of the women and children in 
 the mines as gleaned from the report of the commis- 
 sioners. He considered that the revelation presented a 
 " state of things not only disgraceful, but perilous to the 
 country." In the course of his speech he explained the 
 object of his measure. By the first clause he proposed 
 to exclude altogether the employment of women under- 
 ground. By the next, boys under the age of thirteen 
 would not be permitted to work in the mines ; and 
 another clause provided that no persons under the age 
 of twenty-one years were to be placed in charge of 
 steam-engines used for lowering or raising the colliers. 
 The prevailing system of apprenticing young boys for a 
 long term of years to working colliers was to be com- 
 pletely abolished ; and another clause made provision 
 for the appointment of inspectors to visit and inspect 
 
66 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the mines and collieries, and report from time to time 
 to one of Her Majesty's Chief Secretaries of State. In 
 explaining this provision, Lord Ashley observed that — 
 "As for subterranean inspection, it is altogether impos- 
 sible, and, indeed, if it were possible it would not be safe. 
 I do not know what the case may be twenty-five years 
 hence, but certainly, at the present time, I, for one, 
 should be very loth to go down the shaft for the purpose 
 of doing some act that was likely to be distasteful to 
 the colliers below." The possibility of underground 
 inspection thus foreshadowed, was realised much sooner 
 than the speaker expected ; and eight years after his 
 speech inspectors descended the mines, not against the 
 wish of the colliers, but in accordance with their desire. 
 Lord Ashley's speech produced a profound impression 
 on the House, most members being taken by surprise 
 by the facts laid before them, and scarcely realising the 
 possibility of such a state of things as existing in the 
 country. Nearly every member who addressed the 
 House took the opportunity of thanking Lord Ashley 
 for his humane and benevolent work in bringing the 
 matter before Parliament. 
 
 The Bill was read a first time on the 15th June, 
 without any dissent, and taken in committee on the 
 22nd, when Lord Ashley presented several petitions 
 from working colliers, thanking the House of Commons 
 for the prompt alction it had taken in their interests. 
 The unanimity with which the measure had been 
 received did not prevail at the discussion on it when 
 before committee. The colliery proprietors, surprised 
 and silenced for a time by Lord Ashley's eloquent 
 speech and the disclosures of the commissioners, had 
 now had leisure to consult together and agree on a line 
 
LORD ASHLEY'S BILL, 1842. 67 
 
 of defence. Other members not conversant with the 
 subject, who had been startled by the fearful disclosures, 
 had heard rumours of exaggeration, and possibly were 
 rejoiced to think that matters were not so bad as they 
 had been described. In the House the members 
 representing colliery districts made a gallant defence, 
 but in some instances marred the effect they desired to 
 produce by endeavouring to prove more than was 
 necessary or even possible. The member for Walsall, 
 Mr. Scott, in defending the South Staffordshire Unions 
 from the charge of binding their pauper boys as 
 apprentices, pleaded, as an extenuation, that in South 
 Staffordshire the occupation of collier "was generally 
 considered a remarkably pleasant and cheerful employ- 
 ment." The hon. gentleman proposed to deal only with 
 that portion of the measure referring to the employment 
 of women, and postpone the other clauses ; but this was 
 not accepted by the committee. The only clause which 
 was amended was that referring to the age of boys ; 
 and this, on the suggestion of Lord Ashley, who had 
 accepted the views of a deputation from the mining 
 districts on the subject, and proposed to limit the age at 
 which boys should descend the pits to ten instead of 
 thirteen years, and restrict the duration of labour for 
 boys between the two latter ages to three days a week 
 and twelve hours a day. 
 
 The opposition to the measure was much more 
 decided in the House of Lords, where the Marquis of 
 Londonderry came forward as the champion of the 
 colliery proprietors. He commenced his attack on the 
 measure on the occasion of presenting a petition from 
 the colliery proprietors against the Bill, when he accused 
 the commissioners of great exaggeration ; he objected 
 
68 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 to the manner in which the evidence had been collected, 
 declared that far too much had been said about vice and 
 immorality, and seemed to think that education among 
 colliers was a superfluity or luxury. He concluded by 
 hoping " that Parliament would not legislate on the 
 subject until some further inquiries had been made." 
 Soon after this tirade, on the occasion of a discussion 
 on the distress then prevailing in the manufacturing 
 districts, the marquis reverted to the Mines Bill as a 
 measure which " must add to the distress already exist- 
 ing ; " adding, that, " if passed in its present form, it 
 would entirely prevent the working of many of the 
 most important coal mines in the country." He 
 then announced his intention, should the measure 
 alluded to come before the House of Lords, of taking 
 the sense of the House on every clause, excepting that 
 one relating to the employment of females ; more 
 especially, he intended to oppose "that clause which 
 empowered the Secretary of State to appoint inspectors 
 of mines.'' Several petitions against the measure were 
 presented by other peers ; among others, one from a 
 very influential meeting of colliery proprietors in South 
 Staffordshire, complaining of the hasty manner in which 
 the House of Commons had dealt with the Bill in its 
 early stages. It became evident, from the tone of some 
 of the petitions, and the utterances at meetings held in 
 the colliery districts to consider the measure, that a 
 strong effort would be made by colliery proprietors to 
 prevent the Bill becoming law. 
 
 The effect of the pressure brought to bear on the 
 members of the House of Commons was evident when 
 Lord Ashley moved the third reading of the Bill on the 
 1st July. He was so pressed to adjourn the reading 
 
OPPOSITION OF THE LORDS. 69 
 
 that he had to divide the House ; and even then, Mr. 
 Ainsworth endeavoured to oust the measure by forcing 
 a second division. It was, however, supported by Lord 
 Palmerston, and read a third time, but the consideration 
 was adjourned to the 5th, when Mr. Ainsworth took the 
 opportunity of presenting fifteen petitions from colliers 
 against the measure, and in a speech of some length 
 explained his grounds for opposing it. He did not 
 object to the prohibition to the employment of women 
 underground, although he feared their exclusion from 
 labour would cause great distress ; but the interdiction 
 of child labour he considered unadvised, as hundreds 
 of children would be thrown out of employment and 
 driven to the workhouses. The plan, to him, appeared 
 unpractical, as it would be impossible to obtain the 
 needful relays of boys. The report of the commissioners 
 he characterised as too highly coloured, and declared 
 his belief that the condition of the pit children was in 
 reality better than that of those employed in factories. 
 He urged Lord Ashley to be content for that session 
 with the removal of women from underground labour, and 
 thus enable a re-consideration of the measure, pointing 
 out at the same time that no provisions were made for 
 the prevention of accidents. Mr. Ainsworth expressed 
 the views of the opponents to the measure, and other 
 members followed him in the same strain, one member, 
 Mr. Stansfield, even going so far as to object to boys 
 being made idle by Act of Parliament. Lord Palmer- 
 ston, in closing the debate, pointed out that the measure 
 had the united support of the Government, and it was 
 passed, despite the opposition, on the 6th July, and read 
 the next day for the first time in the House of Lords. 
 Great opposition had been expected in the Upper 
 
7o COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 House, and hints to this effect had even been thrown 
 out by members of the Commons in the course of debate. 
 The first allusion to it was made by the Bishop of 
 Norwich, and was in its favour. He presented eight 
 petitions praying that the measure be made law, as 
 calculated to put an end to " shameful, disgusting, and 
 disgraceful scenes" — a prayer in which the Bishop 
 cordially concurred. 
 
 By way of antidote to these petitions, the Marquis of 
 Londonderry presented others against the Bill, and 
 seized on the occasion to attack it, fortifying his argu- 
 ments by reading extracts from letters written by coal- 
 owners and viewers ; among others, he quoted a letter 
 from Mr. Buddie, who expressed his opinion that the 
 minimum age for boys to be employed underground 
 ought to be fixed at ten years, and that the appointment 
 of inspectors would be very objectionable. Allusion 
 was made in this letter to a meeting of colliery owners 
 in the north of England, at which Lord Ashley's 
 proposals to restrict the labour of boys up to the age 
 of thirteen, and limit that of persons in charge of 
 steam-engines to twenty-one, had been accepted. But 
 Lord Londonderry denounced these negotiations as a 
 manoeuvre to induce people to believe that the generality 
 of colliery proprietors had given up their opposition 
 to the measure. He also asked if the Government 
 supported the measure, to which Lord Wharncliffe, then 
 President of the Council, replied that they intended to 
 remain perfectly passive. Lord Londonderry renewed 
 his opposition almost daily, pleading the lateness of the 
 session, the want of information, the futility of the Bill, 
 and, among other observations, said that " the measure 
 might be regarded as the commencement of a series of 
 
THE DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS. 71 
 
 grievances which would be got up for the purpose of 
 working on that hypocritical humanity which reigned so 
 much." However, notwithstanding the bitter opposition 
 of Lord Londonderry, the measure was proceeded with 
 in the Upper House. The carriage of the Bill had been 
 entrusted to the Earl of Devon, who had received 
 various communications and deputations from colliery 
 proprietors on the subject, and had, with the consent of 
 Lord Ashley, altered several of the clauses. The second 
 reading was moved on the 14th July by Lord Devon. 
 
 In the course of his speech, while dilating on the 
 unfitness of underground labour for women, he was 
 interrupted by the noble marquis, who informed him 
 and the House that '' some seams of coal required the 
 employment of women.'' Irrational opposition could 
 not be carried further. But this extreme and unreason- 
 able statement was not supported. The measure, as 
 finally presented to the House of Lords, differed 
 materially from that originally brought into the House 
 of Commons. The system of apprenticeship, instead of 
 being abolished, was modified, and restricted to boys not 
 under ten years of age, and limited to eight years. The 
 age of persons in charge of steam-engines was fixed at 
 fifteen instead of twenty-one years. The Bill thus 
 altered met with a fair reception, although, as a 
 matter of course, the uncompromising opponents of 
 the measure made every effort to get it rejected. 
 Lord Londonderry moved its rejection. Lord Radnor 
 and Lord Wharncliffe argued that the information 
 on the subject was insufficient, and that a select com- 
 mittee ought to be appointed to inquire into the 
 matter. The strong language which had been used by 
 the opposition was not allowed to pass without some 
 
72 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 comment ; and the Bishop of Gloucester complained of 
 the "monstrous proposition" laid down by Lord Radnor, 
 that it is not a duty of the legislature to enforce moral 
 obligations, and asked Lord Londonderry to withdraw 
 the expression " hypocritical humanity." Although the 
 House was cleared for a division, Lord Londonderry 
 found no one to second his motion, and the Bill was 
 read a second time. Not only was the measure opposed 
 in the House of Lords by coal owners, like Lord 
 Londonderry, as useless and even mischievous, but the 
 general principle of such legislation was opposed by 
 distinguished and eminent members of the Upper 
 House. On the committal of the Bill, Lord Brougham 
 took occasion to warn the House of the tendency of 
 such legislation, and the kindred measures which would 
 spring from it. He concluded his speech by " entreat- 
 ing their Lordships to bear in mind the cautions he had 
 ventured to suggest when they were again called upon 
 to deal with such subjects." Lord Londonderry seized 
 on this opportunity to continue his attacks on the 
 measure. This time he objected to the appointment of 
 Government inspectors, and prayed for delay and further 
 consideration, believing " practical benevolence more 
 praiseworthy than mistaken humanity," and that the 
 result of the measure would be an increase of the poor- 
 rates. 
 
 Lord Radnor made a statement to the effect that 
 "women and children might be improperly or inde- 
 corously employed in the mines, but the condemna- 
 tion of the system, or even the desire to put an end to 
 it, was not altogether a sufficient ground for passing an 
 Act of Parliament to carry out such a desire." How- 
 ever, in spite of this uncompromising and ungenerous 
 
PROVISIONS OF THE ACT. 73 
 
 opposition, the recommittal of the Bill was agreed to by 
 forty-nine against three votes. Notwithstanding the 
 opinion thus expressed by the House, Lord Londonderry 
 continued his unrelenting opposition to the third read- 
 ing, and attacked the inspection clause, exclaiming, that 
 as a colliery proprietor, he would say to such an 
 inspector : — " You may go down the pit how you can, 
 and when you are down you may remain there." 
 
 This injudicious observation had the effect of causing 
 the clause to be so amended that colliery proprietors 
 would be required to furnish the necessary means to 
 enable the inspectors appointed under the Act to visit 
 and inspect the collieries, and with this alteration the 
 measure was read a third time. When the Bill came 
 again before the Commons, Lord Ashley complained 
 of alterations made by the Lords. He described it as 
 amended to be "invalidated in principle, and made 
 inoperative," but nevertheless he wished the House to 
 accede to the measure, as " it went to establish a great 
 and valuable principle." The measure passed the third 
 reading, and received the Royal assent on the loth 
 August 1842. 
 
 This Act provided that after ist March 1843, no 
 women and girls were to be employed underground, nor 
 boys under the age of ten years, except those who were 
 already in the pits at the time ; that no boy was to be 
 apprenticed under the age of ten years, nor for a period 
 exceeding eight years ; that the wages were not to be 
 paid at or near a public-house ; and that the Secretary of 
 State should be empowered to appoint proper persons 
 to visit and inspect the mines and collieries. The 
 clauses of the Act were enforced by imposing a penalty 
 of not more than £10, or less than £tj, on any person 
 
74 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 offending against them. Nothing but the most glaring 
 abuses which clearly required reform were suppressed ; 
 but even this fragment of legislation met with the 
 disapprobation of colliery owners. Few objected to the 
 non-employment of women, but the prohibition of infan- 
 tile labour met with much condemnation, especially 
 on the part of the thin coal proprietors ; and the pro- 
 posed inspection was characterised as a useless and 
 mischievous prying into the affairs of private individuals. 
 On the other hand, the measure was received almost 
 with indifference by the colliers. The main clause of 
 the Act, namely, that relating to the non-employment 
 of women, did not affect some of the districts at all. In 
 the north of England coal field the practice had ceased 
 for a long period, and in Staffordshire it had never 
 existed at all. The miners of Lancashire, and some 
 parts of Yorkshire, had expressed themselves favourably 
 regarding the innovation. Only in Scotland, and perhaps 
 South Wales, was there any feeling expressed in favour 
 of the employment of women underground, and that 
 was dictated by a fear lest the women, who were more 
 or less the breadwinners of the families, would not 
 readily find any other source of labour. The measure, 
 in fact, did not touch many of the grievances under 
 which the colliery population had been suffering for a 
 long period, and which were brought out prominently 
 about this time in some, if not all, the mining districts. 
 It is remarkable, that while Parliament was discussing 
 a measure framed for the purpose of benefiting the 
 colliers, they were agitating among themselves for the 
 redress of grievances not considered by, and perhaps 
 not known to, the legislators. The demonstration of 
 the colliers in 1842 culminated in riots which broke out 
 
GRIEVANCES OF THE COLLIERS. 75 
 
 soon after the measure became law. But to arrive at 
 the immediate cause of these unfortunate occurrences it 
 is necessary to cast a retrospective glance at the condi- 
 tion of the colliery districts during the year. For some 
 time trade had been in a very bad state, so much so 
 that wages had to be lowered, and many of the 
 operatives discharged from the works. The distress and 
 misery which ensued led to discontent, and eventually 
 to rioting. The origin of the stagnation of trade had 
 been the subject of Parliamentary discussions, and it 
 had been variously attributed to the Corn Laws, to 
 over-production, to deficient harvests, and other causes. 
 The distress had also been discussed with a view of 
 relieving the numerous unemployed workmen, who were 
 in a starving condition, but no plan had been devised. 
 Meantime the opportunity was seized by the Chartists 
 to spread their doctrines, while fomenting a spirit of 
 discontent among the unsettled working population. 
 
 The movement commenced among the mill-workers 
 of Ashton-under-Lyne, and very soon spread over nearly 
 the whole, country. The colliers were not exempt from 
 the excitement, and strikes and riots took place in many 
 of the districts, but notably in the Midland counties, 
 where the hungry and unoccupied colliers became 
 easy converts to the new principles at the bidding 
 of the ranting demagogues who came among them in 
 search of proselytes. Not that the colliers were ever 
 enthusiastic Chartists, in a political sense, for they were 
 too ignorant to understand the meaning of the doctrines 
 preached to them. The Chartism of the colliers con- 
 sisted in a desire to have their grievances remedied ; and 
 the Chartist leaders had adopted the device of dilating 
 on these topics, and promising them a speedy remedy 
 
76 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 as soon as the new political faith should have been 
 adopted by the country. Some of the complaints were 
 reasonable and just. For instance, in Scotland the pays 
 were made at long intervals, and masters actually 
 charged the men interest, at the rate of one shilling in 
 the pound, for advances made to them. Then, again, 
 came complaints of arbitrary fines, oppressive deduc- 
 tions, and one-sided systems of measuring or valuing 
 the coal wrought, which was usually done by counting 
 the corves or tubs sent out of the pit, and not by weight. 
 In Staffordshire, the men complained especially of the 
 conduct of the butties, or middlemen, who were 
 unscrupulous and despotic in their treatment of them. 
 The hatred to the butties was so decided that, at Stoke- 
 on-Trent, one large firm, whose men were on strike, 
 induced them to return to work simply by discharging 
 the butties and altering the system of working. The 
 great majority of the men in Staffordshire, however, 
 remained on strike for several weeks, and the results of 
 their riotous proceedings were disastrous alike to them 
 and their employers. Houses were wrecked or burnt to 
 the ground ; whole villages kept in a state of lawless 
 uproar ; and even large towns invaded and their peace- 
 able citizens attacked. Force had to be used to gain 
 and hold the upper hand over the excited rabble, and 
 peace had to be restored by the aid of military power. 
 Many of the ringleaders were taken prisoners and tried 
 by a special commission, held in the disaffected districts, 
 when they were severely punished. The evidence given 
 at the several trials was such as to show that other and 
 deeper causes than a desire for political reformation had 
 actuated these misguided men. This induced the 
 Government to cause a special inquiry to be made into 
 
THE "MIDLAND COMMISSION." 77 
 
 the condition of the mining population, so as to ascertain 
 what their grievances really were, and what remedies 
 could be adopted to remove them. This inquiry, 
 commonly known as the " Midland Commission," was 
 held in the autumn of 1842, and professed to be — "A 
 special inquiry into the condition of the persons 
 employed in mines in the counties of Worcester, 
 Warwick, Stafford, and Salop ; into their opportunities 
 for obtaining religious instruction and school education ; 
 into the work which they perform and the wages they 
 receive ; and generally into the circumstances which 
 affect their social position." The voluminous report 
 which was published contains a large amount of 
 information as to the condition of the colliers, giving an 
 account of their grievances, and throwing much light on 
 the probable cause of the disturbances. The " butties," 
 or small contractors of South Staffordshire, were charged 
 with much of the ill-feeling existing among the colliers. 
 They were described as tyrants, who ill-used and over- 
 worked the men. One of them admitted that in a few 
 years he could " get all the marrow " out of a collier. 
 These middlemen not only overworked the men, but 
 levied a sort of time-tax on them, by making them 
 work overtime without pay — a system known in the 
 district by the term " buildass." Then, again, the 
 butties were invariably the landlords of the nearest 
 public-houses, where they paid their men, and extorted 
 a kind of blackmail by compelling them to consume an 
 excessive amount of ale. For this matter, the men 
 when in the direct employ of the colliery proprietors 
 were little better off, for then they were compelled to 
 take all advances on their wages in kind at the master's 
 store, commonly known as the " Tommy-shop." The 
 
78 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 public-house system was at that time rampant in the 
 Midland counties. Not only were the men paid at 
 taverns, but all their benefit societies, sick clubs, and 
 kindred associations were held at a " public," and the 
 landlord fixed a minimum consumption of drink for 
 every meeting. This arrangement was pernicious to the 
 funds of the society, because the members had to limit 
 their subscriptions in order to enable them to pay for 
 the unavoidable regulation drink. The butties were, of 
 course, the gainers, as they were in general the owners 
 of the publics. They were, in fact, all-powerful in some 
 districts, and governed not only the men but the 
 masters as well. For instance, a colliery proprietor, in 
 his evidence, stated that " some butties in this parish, I 
 am sure, have as much as ;£'iooo in a pit, and it would 
 be very difficult for their masters to pay that to get rid 
 of them.'' The butties were not, however, the only 
 cause of the rioting. A general feeling of dissatisfac- 
 tion prevailed among the men, and for a long time 
 previous there had been a total absence of cordiality 
 between the employers and employed. 
 
 This state of affairs was, in a great measure, attribut- 
 able to the truck system of paying the men. Although 
 the payment of wages in any other form than the coin 
 of the realm was against the Act (102 Wm. IV. c. 37), 
 the law was openly violated by the employers in the 
 Midland counties, who nearly all kept stores or shops, 
 and supplied their men with goods in lieu of money as 
 advances on the pays, which were held at long intervals. 
 The advantages accruing to the employers were twofold. 
 In the first place, they were able to carry on their 
 business with much less capital than would otherwise 
 have been required, as they obtained on credit the goods 
 
''TRUCK" AND THE TRUCK ACT. 79 
 
 which they supplied to the men in lieu of wages paid in 
 coin of the realm ; and, secondly, they realised a profit 
 on these goods. The men were compelled to take only 
 those goods which the masters thought fit to provide, 
 and these at very high prices. The system left the door 
 open for extortion, and, unfortunately, the evidence as 
 to the unfair treatment of the men is only too convin- 
 cing. In general the Truck Act was openly violated, 
 but in some instances ingenious devices were adopted 
 to evade it. In one notable case advantage was taken 
 of the eighth clause of the Truck Act, which gives the 
 option to artificers to accept payment of their wages in 
 drafts on a banker within 1 5 miles of the place of em- 
 ployment. This clause was made use of by the Messrs. 
 Lloyd, colliery proprietors and ironmasters in South 
 Staffordshire, and they issued drafts for advances of 
 men's pay on a Birmingham banker of the same name, 
 which were, however, accepted at the firm's store ; and 
 very few of the men went to the inconvenience of going 
 to Birmingham for the cash, but simply exchanged their 
 drafts for goods at what was designated as the "Quaker's 
 Tommy-shop." It is noteworthy that the remedy 
 placed in the hands of the men by the Truck Act, 
 namely, the right of enforcing payment of the wages in 
 coin of the realm, regardless of any advances paid in 
 goods, was rarely if ever resorted to. It may be asserted 
 with truth, that the butties, and public-house system, 
 and the tommy-shops, had more to do with the outbreak 
 in 1842 than the lowering of the wages or the Chartist 
 movement. The latter was, in fact, not even mentioned 
 when the men first began to hold meetings in Stafford- 
 shire. On the 1st August 15,000 of them met at West 
 Bromwich, and formed resolutions agreeing to go on 
 
8o COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 strike and remain out of work until their terms were 
 agreed to by the employers. They demanded four 
 shillings a day for house coals, and eight hours' work 
 per day. They formed resolutions to the effect that 
 buildasses were oppressive ; that their wages should 
 be paid in current coin of the realm; and, finally, that 
 they would no longer suffer themselves to be treated 
 as slaves. 
 
 This was the first occasion on record on which the 
 colliers had rebelled against their treatment, and raised 
 a cry of general grievances. There had been disagree- 
 ments between masters and men, strikes or sticks, and 
 lock-outs, but these had all been founded on a question 
 of the more or less wages. It was the plain, unalloyed 
 labour question — the operative demanding, and the 
 employer refusing to grant, more. But in these 
 rebellious meetings of 1842 we find new motives urging 
 the men. They now complain not so much of the scale 
 of their wages as the manner of paying them, and the 
 unjust deductions made from them for the benefit of the 
 masters. During the unsettled period in 1842 they were 
 led more to commune with each other, and discuss their 
 grievances as a body or class ; and the direct result of 
 the great strike and Chartist meetings of 1842 was the 
 formation of associations, co-operative societies, and 
 trades-unions. The popular ebullition did not, however, 
 last long ; and what with the energetic measures taken 
 to quell the rioting and punish the offenders, and the 
 revival of trade, the country resumed its ordinary aspect, 
 and the year 1843 passed in happy contrast to the 
 tumult and turbulent scenes of the previous one. 
 Though not remarkable through any social movement 
 among the colliers, the year witnessed an attempt made 
 
THE WOMEN QUESTION IN SCOTLAND. 8i 
 
 in the House of Commons to reintroduce the employ- 
 ment of women in coal mines. Since the passing of 
 Lord Ashley's Act his opponents had been conspiring 
 to get it repealed. The plot originated in Scotland ; 
 and Mr. Gumming Bruce, the member for Elginshire, 
 was entrusted with its carriage through Parliament. 
 He gave notice of his intention to draw attention to the 
 subject on the 20th February 1843, and elicited the 
 most unfavourable criticisms in England. The Times 
 newspaper pledged itself, in case any attempt were 
 made to revive the old system, " to expose such designs 
 to the hatred and hostility which they deserve." Mr. 
 Gumming Bruce, however, persevered in his attempt, 
 and on the 22nd of February drew attention to a petition 
 of Scotch miners signed by about a thousand females, 
 praying that the statute might be so modified as to 
 enable them to return to their old labour. Mr. Bruce, 
 while admitting the humanitarian principle of the Act, 
 wished to see it carried out in such a way as not to cause 
 distress or misery ; to that end he proposed to allow 
 women of eighteen years and upwards to be employed 
 underground. He dwelt on the evidence embodied in 
 the reports of the sub-commissioners, and characterised 
 it as untrustworthy, asserting that the Scotch pitwomen 
 were quite as moral as the English factory girls, and 
 descanted on the great misery occasioned among the 
 pitwomen by their discharge from employment. It 
 was an easy task for Lord Ashley to prove that, whereas 
 in England the women had been gradually removed 
 from the collieries and absorbed in other branches of 
 female labour, in Scotland the masters had turned them 
 all out at once, " for the sake," as the noble lord said, 
 " of creating confusion." The Scotch phalanx drove 
 
 G 
 
82 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 their point to a division, when they found themselves in 
 a minority of 1 14 ; and thus ended the attempt of the 
 Caledonian colliery proprietors to renew the condemned 
 and odious system. No attempt was ever again made 
 to reintroduce female labour in the coal pits, and the 
 matter was never afterwards alluded to in Parliament. 
 Another branch of the subject now began to attract 
 serious attention, namely, the constant recurrence of 
 fatal accidents at collieries. Several frightful calamities 
 occurred about this time in the north of England, where 
 the collieries were more developed and more dangerous 
 than in other districts. On the rst April 1843, one 
 explosion occurred at the Stormount Main Colliery, 
 causing the deaths of twenty-seven persons. In the 
 following year forty men and boys perished through 
 an irruption of water at Haverfordwest Colliery ; and 
 ninety-five persons lost their lives at Haswell Colliery 
 through an explosion of fire-damp. This accident 
 occurred shortly after the termination of a general 
 strike, which had occurred during the year 1844. 
 
 The feeling of dissatisfaction which had prevailed 
 during the previous years in the Midland counties, had 
 in time spread to the colliers of the north, and they 
 became unsettled and clamorous for reforms. An 
 association of miners was formed in Manchester in the 
 course of the year to obtain improved conditions of 
 labour. It soon numbered over 60,000 members, and 
 the majority of the colliers of the north of England 
 joined it. When the so-called " binding " ended in 
 March 1844, they refused to renew the bonds unless 
 certain conditions were granted by the masters. These 
 were : — Payment of all coals wrought by weight instead 
 of measure ; half-yearly instead of yearly bindings ; the 
 
REPORT ON SCOTCH MINES. 83 
 
 abolition of arbitrary fines ; and a guarantee of four 
 days' work per week. These conditions were unhesitat- 
 ingly refused by the masters, and consequently the men, 
 to the number of some 40,000, turned out on strike. The 
 feud continued over no less than five months, during 
 which period both sides displayed an unyielding 
 obstinacy. The men suffered intense hardship and 
 misery ; the masters sacrificed their interests and 
 jeopardised their property. In July, there being no 
 signs of surrender on the part of the men, they were 
 ejected from the cottages which they inhabited at the 
 different collieries, and had to camp out on the moors, 
 or on the road-side, like gipsies. As a last resource, the 
 masters brought over a number of Irishmen to work in 
 the pits. This expedient was more specially adopted 
 by the Marquis of Londonderry, who had, throughout 
 the dispute, taken a prominent part as a colliery pro- 
 prietor, and whose many rash and ill-considered speeches 
 led a German author to describe him as the " harlequin 
 of the turn-out." However, the introduction of strange 
 labour had the desired effect on the colliers. Seeing all 
 chance of success lost by this move, and their means of 
 livelihood taken from them by strangers, they succumbed 
 to the necessities of their situation, and surrendered at 
 discretion. 
 
 About this time, namely, in July 1844, the inspector 
 appointed under Lord Ashley's Act, Mr. Tremenheere, 
 published his first report after examining the Scotch 
 coal districts. He reported that the Act had been 
 tolerably well observed, and had been attended with 
 beneficial results. At the conclusion of his report he 
 observed: — "The general result, according to the evidence, 
 appears to be that the displacement of female labour 
 
84 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 from the mines in Scotland has been effected, not indeed 
 without temporary suffering, but with less than was 
 anticipated, and that the ultimate consequence of the 
 change will be eminently beneficial to all engaged in 
 mining labour." Thus, after nearly two years' working, 
 the Act had not produced the terrible effects which had 
 been prognosticated by its opponents. Even in Scot- 
 land, where the opposition to the measure had been so 
 very strong, the change was effected without causing 
 the ruin of colliery proprietors or filling the workhouses 
 with starving women and children. In fact, the colliery 
 proprietors soon found that the alterations necessitated 
 by the Act were to their advantage. They were com- 
 pelled to use ponies, in the place of the wretched women 
 and children, to drag the coal tubs along the galleries 
 of the mine, and the change proved to be economical. ' 
 On the other hand, the colliers, finding that their condi- 
 tion was being inquired into by a Government official, 
 independent of the masters, began to lay before him their 
 grievances. They complained of the bad ventilation 
 and general mismanagement of the mines underground, 
 and, above all, the unjust plan usually adopted of 
 gauging the quantities of coal wrought under contract. 
 They had a fixed conviction that they were not fairly 
 dealt with in this matter ; that the masters took 
 advantage of them in measuring the coal on the surface, 
 and made unjust deductions from their pay. The men, 
 on their side, as the inspector pointed out, had adopted 
 a most baneful practice of limiting the amount of work 
 per man to restricted quantities, denominated the "darg ' 
 in Scotland and the "stint" in the north t)f England. 
 This may be considered as almost the first combination 
 among the men, and the origin of the many subsequent 
 
THE ED UCA TION Q UESTION. 85 
 
 difficulties which arose between the masters and men 
 in regulating the value of labour. Many of these 
 difficulties between masters and men arose out of the 
 utter ignorance of the latter. The early reports of the 
 inspector dwell strongly on this point, as well as on 
 their drunken habits, profligacy, immorality, and super- 
 stition — evils only to be removed by education. The 
 necessity of improving on this state of things became 
 more evident from day to day, not only among the more 
 enlightened and liberal colliery proprietors, but also 
 among those who held, with Lord Londonderry, that 
 " too ■ much fuss was made about education." The 
 working of the Act, and a more general consideration of 
 the subject, pointed to the necessity of a more com- 
 prehensive measure, and a move was made in this 
 direction at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1844, where, in July, 
 a meeting was held to consider the draft of a Bill for 
 " establishing district registers of all mines and mining 
 operations in England and Wales." The draft was sent 
 to the members of the borough with a view to its being 
 read in the House of Commons and printed, so as to be 
 distributed in the mining districts. The Bill was duly 
 read and ordered to be printed on ist August 1844. 
 According to this measure, it was proposed to divide 
 the country into four districts, each being placed under 
 the charge of a registrar, acting under a committee of the 
 Privy Council for Trade. Minute returns were to be 
 obtained from the mines, comprising correct plans and 
 descriptions of the workings, names of the owners and 
 lessees, sections of the strata, number of the coal seams, 
 with their inclination, direction of the dislocations, or 
 faults, and the system of working the coal adopted. 
 The registrar was to have the power of inspecting the 
 
86 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 mines, or appointing some one to do so on his behalf. 
 A Hst of mines was to be kept in each district for the 
 inspection of the public on payment of 2s. 6d., and correct 
 copies of the plans of each mine were to be furnished on 
 payment of certain fees. This proposed measure was 
 too crude to become the basis of any enactment, but it 
 had some importance, as it served to spread the idea of 
 further legislation. This idea was, however, brought 
 forward in a much more forcible manner by the colliery- 
 accidents already alluded to, and more especially the 
 explosion at the Haswell Colliery, by which ninety-five 
 men and boys perished. This accident produced a pro- 
 found sensation, more especially among the men. They 
 formed the resolution to have their interests represented 
 at the inquiry, and Mr. Roberts, the legal adviser of the 
 Miners' Association, attended the. inquest on their 
 behalf He suggested that an inspection of mines 
 ought to be made by impartial men on the part of the 
 Government, and drew up a petition to the Home 
 Secretary, praying for the appointment of a special 
 commission to inquire into the circumstances. In view 
 of the great loss of life, and the urgent appeal on behalf 
 of the men, the Government sent down Messrs. Lyell 
 and Faraday to inquire into the cause of the accident 
 and report. The appointment of the two professors 
 produced almost as great a sensation among colliery 
 owners and viewers as the accident itself 
 
 Before and during the inquest, this step of the 
 Government was much commented on, and after the 
 publication of the report it was freely attacked by 
 sundry associations. As soon as the opinions of the 
 professors became known they were criticised in 
 pamphlets and newspaper articles in a tone more or less 
 
THE HAS WELL EXPLOSION. 87 
 
 adverse to scientific suggestions in a matter so practical 
 as coal mining. The report itself was almost confined 
 to suggestions for ventilating the goaves of colliery- 
 workings, by means of pipes or tubes leading direct to 
 the upcast shaft The commissioners also observed at 
 the inquest that more than half of the pitmen who gave 
 evidence, some of them persons of intelligence, and 
 among them a master wasteman, were unable to write ; 
 and they remarked, with reference to this exhibition of 
 ignorance: — "We believe that if the education of the 
 miners generally, and especially of those set over them, 
 can be materially raised, it will conduce to the security 
 of the lives of the men and the perfecting of the art of 
 mining more effectually than any system of parlia- 
 mentary inspection which could be devised." The coal 
 trade committee appointed a sub-committee to answer 
 the statements of the professors, and the report which 
 they drew up set forth objections to the plan of ventilat- 
 ing the goaves proposed by Messrs. Lyell and Faraday. 
 Statistics were relied on to prove that out of eleven 
 great explosions which had occurred in Northumberland 
 and Durham during fourteen years, and exclusive of the 
 Haswell accident, ten had occurred in collieries where 
 the pillar workings had not been commenced, and where 
 consequently there were no goaves. The opinion of 
 this committee on education as a means of preventing 
 accidents was vague and unsatisfactory, for, " while duly 
 impressed with the value of education to every class of 
 the community," they were satisfied to note that at 
 " almost all collieries schools are patronised by the 
 owners, and that increasing care is bestowed on the 
 education of the workmen." The controversy resulted 
 in showing the necessity of acquiring more knowledge 
 
88 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 on the subject ; in fact, to use the words of the commis- 
 sioners in a letter subsequently addressed to Sir George 
 Grey :—" The consideration of all the circumstances 
 suggests the expediency of a body of evidence being 
 collected together and put on record respecting the 
 casualties in mines." The colliers were not satisfied with 
 these negative results, and commenced to hold meet- 
 ings, at which they discussed the dangers of their 
 occupation and other grievances. The meetings resulted 
 in formulating a petition to the House of Commons, 
 which was entrusted to Mr. Thomas Buncombe, who 
 presented it on the nth March 1845. Copies of the 
 report of Messrs. Lyell and Faraday had been sent to , 
 the Lords-Lieutenant of the coal -producing counties for 
 distribution among the proprietors, in the hope of obtain- 
 ing information, but the result was not considerable ; 
 and the Government, in August 1845, appointed another 
 commission, consisting of Sir Henry de la Beche and 
 Dr. Lyon Playfair, to make inquiries into the condition 
 under which explosive and other noxious gases in mines 
 are generated, and to ascertain, as far as possible, the 
 nature and condition of these gases, and to " advise as 
 to the measures, if any, which can be applied in mitiga- 
 tion, if not prevention, of the evils inflicted through their 
 agency." 
 
 These gentlemen were requested to hand in their 
 report at an early period, so that the question might be 
 brought under the consideration of the Government 
 before the end of the year. The subject required a 
 more lengthened inquiry than had been officially 
 assumed needful, and the report was not completed 
 until June 1846. Meantime, the dangers of coal min- 
 ing were being discussed at public gatherings, before 
 
THE JARRO W EXPLOSION. 89 
 
 scientific associations, and in the press. Among the 
 many essays on the subject. Professor Ansted read a 
 paper at the meeting of the British Association for the 
 Advancement of Science, in the year 1845, on "The 
 Methods of Working and Ventilating Coal Mines in the 
 North of England." In this communication the professor 
 made many suggestions, which were subsequently either 
 proposed to be, or actually embodied in, legislative 
 enactments. He pointed out the danger of having only 
 one shaft, and depending for the security of the mine 
 on a partition of boards, termed a "brattice;" suggested 
 the advisability of working coal mines in panels of mode- 
 rate dimensions ; and considered that no great improve- 
 ments in the working of collieries would ever be effected 
 without some kind of Government interference. This 
 last opinion of Professor Ansted was, at that time, shared 
 by many persons connected with mining operations. 
 
 It was felt that some control ought to be exercised to 
 prevent, if possible, the recurrence of these accidents, and 
 the great loss of life which ensued. During the year 
 1845 ^ series of explosions had taken place, and among 
 them one at the Jarrow Colliery, by which twenty-nine 
 lives were lost. The Government sent down Dr. Lyon 
 Playfair to examine the mine, and report as to the cause 
 of the accident. The result of his investigation was to 
 condemn the practice of having only one pit at a large 
 colliery, and to expose the blamable want of education 
 prevailing among overmen in charge of the underground 
 workings. At the Jarrow Colliery neither of the deputy 
 overmen could write or read fluently, and Dr. Lyon 
 Playfair remarked that "the men under the viewer 
 entrusted with the care and ventilation of the mine are 
 ignorant and uneducated." 
 
90 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 It was found also that the Act had been evaded by 
 the proprietors, and in Scotland legal proceedings had 
 to be instituted against several colliery proprietors for 
 employing women underground. These women were 
 mostly such as had long been accustomed to the work, 
 and who found great difficulty in finding or fulfilling 
 any other employment. The distress among them was 
 so great that they enlisted the sympathy and assistance 
 of charitable ladies in England, who made up a purse 
 for their benefit. Scotland was, however, not alone in 
 reverting to the old system. It was computed that in 
 1845 about 200 women were still employed in the coal 
 mines of Lancashire. The men persisted in upholding 
 the darg and the unions, and were only too eager to listen 
 to the voice of the demagogue when advocating a line of 
 conduct conducive to indolence and suggestive of gain. 
 In Yorkshire, greater readiness was evinced to remedy 
 the deficiencies of the past ; but here, as everywhere, 
 much depravity existed among the young. The "hush- 
 shops," or unlicensed public-houses, where gaming was 
 allowed, were mostly supported by pit lads in their teens. 
 Some improvement became perceptible in the following 
 year, although in some districts policemen had to be 
 placed on the watch to prevent women descending the 
 pits. Many colliery proprietors considered that they 
 complied with the Act by giving general orders to their 
 men not to employ women, or boys under ten years of 
 age, and endeavoured to throw the responsibility on the 
 men. At this period the condition of colliers in general 
 was a deplorable one, owing to the prolonged strikes. 
 In the north of England, where the strike in 1844 had 
 lasted six months, the men continued for a long time to 
 struggle with the incubus of debt they had contracted 
 
THE DE LA BECHE AND PLAYFAIR REPORTS. 91 
 
 during that period, living in squalor from the want of 
 household effects, and having to contend with the opposi- 
 tion of the fresh hands introduced into the pits. A 
 great deal of the debauchery existing among the colliers 
 at the time, and some of the memorable strikes, must be 
 attributed to their utter ignorance. The inspector, in 
 his early reports, dwells pointedly on this subject. Not 
 only was some education needful for their moral and 
 social improvement, but even for their safety under- 
 ground, as pointed out by the reports on the causes of 
 explosions made by Sir Henry de la Beche and Dr. 
 Lyon Playfair. The importance of education, now first 
 touched on, forms one of the most important elements 
 in the consideration of the subject under review, both as 
 regards the welfare and the safety of the men. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 Reports of Commissioners — Committee of the House of Lords, 1849, 
 and passing of the coal mines inspection act of 1850— 
 Development of Coal Mining. 
 
 The report of the two commissioners, Sir Henry de la 
 Beche and Dr. Lyon Playfair, on the condition of the 
 collieries of the kingdom was completed in June 1846: 
 It contained much information and many suggestions. 
 The condition of the collieries in different parts of the 
 country was found to vary considerably. In some 
 districts little was left to improve ; but in others, to use 
 the words of the commissioners, it was " a matter of 
 surprise how the works could be permitted to remain in 
 so defective a state." To amend this condition of 
 things, a " careful and judicious inspection of convenient 
 districts by competent persons " was recommended. 
 They also pointed out in their report the great import- 
 ance of correct plans of the underground workings, 
 showing the system of ventilation and the mode of 
 getting the coal. But they concluded their report with 
 the curious proposition to raise the necessary funds for 
 carrying out a system of inspection by imposing a tax 
 of one farthing on each ton of coal raised. It was not 
 likely that the colliery proprietors, who, as a class, 
 objected to any system of legislative inspection, would 
 ever agree to a tax, however small, in order to provide 
 
INSPECTION CALLED FOR BY THE COLLIERS. 93 
 
 funds for carrying out a plan they considered inimical 
 to their interests. These views of the Government 
 commissioners were repeated again and again in the 
 course of further investigations as to the cause of 
 colliery explosions. During the year 1846 several 
 serious accidents took place, into which the Government 
 instituted inquiries. At the Risca Colliery, S. Wales, in 
 January, and a few months later at Coppull, in Lanca- 
 shire, and Oldbury, in Warwickshire, explosions occurred 
 by which sixty-one lives were lost Sir Henry de la 
 Beche was instructed to examine and report on these 
 collieries. The result of his examination showed much 
 laxity of discipline in the management, great ignorance 
 aniong the men, and very defective ventilation. At 
 Oldbury, no system of ventilation appeared to have 
 existed. The reports were written by Mr. Warrington 
 Smyth ; and Sir H. de la Beche and Dr. Lyon Playfair, 
 in commenting on them in a letter addressed to the 
 Home Secretary, thus expressed their opinions : — " We 
 consider these reports as bearing out the view of the 
 expediency of the effective inspection of collieries, 
 whereby proper ventilation and the careful use of lights 
 may be obtained on the one hand, and the owners 
 and workers of collieries be secured in some degree 
 from the carelessness and foolhardiness of the colliers 
 on the other — a measure indicated by all the evidence 
 attainable respecting colliery explosions, both of those 
 of sufficient magnitude to arrest the attention of the 
 public, and of the minor though far more numerous 
 accidents to the working collier." The idea of inspec- 
 tion about this time was also taken up by the men 
 themselves in earnest. The views which they may have 
 previously entertained had not been pressed on public 
 
94 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 notice ; but soon after an explosion at the Round Green 
 Colliery, namely, on the 23rd November 1846, a 
 numerously-attended meeting of colliers took place at 
 Dudley, at which a memorial to the Secretary of State 
 was agreed on, praying the Government to introduce a 
 measure relating to coal mines, and appoint undergrouiid 
 inspectors. This step was followed by a petition sent 
 up in May 1847, and emanating from the Miners' 
 Association of Great Britain — a powerful combination 
 of workmen, including members from all the mining 
 districts. This petition was entrusted to delegates, who 
 had an interview with Mr. Thomas Buncombe, and the 
 document was duly presented to the House of Commons, 
 and ordered to be printed, on the 20th May 1847. This 
 petition had been carefully drawn up, showing that the 
 men had the good sense to secure the assistance of able 
 secretaries. It was remarkable also as embodying nearly 
 all the innovations or improvements desiderated by the 
 men, and most resolutely advocated by them during 
 following years. The document began by referring to 
 the legislative measures passed for the benefit of other 
 trades ; the petitioners had " seen and heard, with great 
 satisfaction, that several laws have been passed of late 
 years to better the condition of working men in different 
 trades, and for their and their children's protection and 
 safety from injury and accident, and to assist in the 
 improvement of their minds and habits;" and, passing 
 on to the subject of education of children, they "observed 
 with much satisfaction the laws compelling the masters 
 in factories to provide some amount of education for 
 the children who work in them ; and your petitioners 
 submit to your Honourable House that a similar plan 
 would be of great use to the children of colliers." 
 
PE TITION FOR ED UCA TION, ETC. 95 
 
 Thus they prayed for the education clauses so much 
 opposed by the masters, and by some in the supposed 
 interest of the men. The most important paragraph of 
 the petition related to the safety of the mines, and 
 inspection. It ran as follows : — " Your petitioners 
 submit to your Honourable House that inspectors 
 should be appointed to visit all the mines, and that 
 some of these inspectors should be men acquainted with 
 colliery work ; that such inspectors should see that 
 accurate maps are made of all the workings of the 
 mines ; that these inspectors should grant licences to 
 mines when they consider that due provision and care 
 has been used to prevent accidents and ensure good 
 ventilation ; and that without such licence no mine 
 should be permitted to work. That penalties of ;^ioo, 
 at the least, should be inflicted in case of any deviation 
 from the order of such inspector ; and that such 
 penalties should be paid half by the landlord and half 
 by the tenant of the mine, and should form a fund for 
 the support of the families of those who die from 
 explosions or other accidents in the mines." They also 
 prayed for a public registration of all mines ; that the 
 Truck Act should be revised ; and that all coals raised 
 should be paid for by weight. Although by far the most 
 important, this was only one out of numerous petitions 
 having a similar object presented to Parliament at the 
 time, and which eventually were brought under the 
 notice of both Houses — in the Upper House by Earl 
 Fitzwilliam, and in the Lower by Mr. Thomas Dun- 
 combe, the member for Finsbury. In the Upper House, 
 Lords Wharncliffe and Campbell, while admitting the 
 importance of the subject and the discredit attached to 
 the great loss of life, denied that a system of inspection 
 
96 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 would tend to diminish the number of accidents. 
 Colliery inspection had never been popular in the 
 House of Lords, where it had been strenuously opposed 
 from its inception. In the House of Commons, the 
 subject was discussed on the introduction of a Bill by 
 Mr. Buncombe on i6th June 1847. Although this 
 measure was not acceptable, the principle of inspection 
 received the favourable consideration of the House of 
 Commons. Mr. Buncombe was pressed to leave the 
 subject in the hands of the Government, and he 
 ultimately withdrew his measure, not, however, without 
 complaining of the course pursued by colliery pro- 
 prietors, whom he described as " coal kings." 
 
 A few weeks after this discussion in the House of 
 Commons an explosion took place at the Kirkless Hall 
 Colliery, near Wigan ; and Mr. Buncombe, on the 1st 
 July, called attention to this accident, stating that the 
 pit had been unsafe for some time, and that even on the 
 day of the accident the men had remonstrated with the 
 manager ; moreover, that six men had been left in the 
 pit, and the owners refused to allow anyone to descend 
 in order to ascertain if they were dead or alive. He 
 trusted that the Home Secretary "would send down 
 commissioners to make instant inquiries." But Sir 
 George Grey repudiated the principle that Government 
 ought to be saddled with these investigations, and con- 
 sidered that "the magistrates and local authorities ought 
 not to be exempted from the duty." The Kirkless Hall 
 accident was referred to a few days later by the Home 
 Secretary, who had received a communication from the 
 local magistrates, giving their opinion that the men left 
 in the pit after the explosion could not have been saved. 
 Mr. Buncombe, however, reiterated the information he 
 
MR. T. BUNCOMBES ACTION. 97 
 
 had received, on good authority, to the effect that the 
 men were " bricked up, and could not escape." Imbued 
 with the feeling of the just necessity for some measure 
 for the better regulation of collieries, and disappointed 
 at the inaction of the Government in the face of succes- 
 sive accidents, Mr. Buncombe introduced a second Bill, 
 which was read on the 14th July 1847. This measure 
 was confined to prohibiting the use of naked lights 
 and gunpowder in fiery mines. It met with strenuous 
 opposition, although many members spoke in favour of 
 the principle of colliery inspection, and was rejected by 
 thirty-three to twenty-three votes. With this discussion 
 the subject dropped in Parliament for the remainder of 
 the session. Although no measure had been passed, 
 the principle of further legislation in reference to mines 
 had made great progress, and it was evident that the 
 time was drawing near when a Bill would have to be 
 introduced, or at least supported, by Government. 
 Meantime the mining districts showed some improve- 
 ment, although women were still to be found in the pits, 
 And boys were employed under the specified age. There 
 was great difficulty in enforcing the provisions of the 
 Act in the absence of such powers as had been provided 
 for in the Factory Acts, and also because no certificate 
 of age was required from the boys before employment. 
 No provision had been made for the attendance of 
 children at school, and it was a matter for regret that 
 the legislature had not compelled parents to send their 
 children to school. It appeared that, although through 
 the munificence of large colliery proprietors, as well as 
 the charitable generosity of the public, many schools had 
 been established, the attendance was very unsatisfactory. 
 Yet the importance of education among the mining 
 
 H 
 
98 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 population was very generally recognised, not only for 
 their moral and social improvement, but also for the 
 safety of the collieries. The consequences of ignorance 
 were more disastrous in the case of overmen, who had 
 heavy responsibilities and duties, which in reality 
 required some rudiments of knowledge. It was a 
 lamentable fact, that at very nearly all the inquiries 
 into the causes of severe explosions the ignorance of 
 these men came to light, and was commented on by the 
 commissioners, so much so that they attributed in a 
 great measure the number of accidents to this source. 
 This, indeed, gave rise to the suggestion, which began 
 to find many supporters, that colliery managers ought to 
 be subject to some examination, and obtain certificates 
 of competency before entering on their responsible and 
 dangerous avocation. Such a system was strongly 
 advocated by the men at the meetings of the associa- 
 tions and unions, or their delegates. 
 
 These combinations had now become very general 
 among colliers, and exerted a considerable influence on 
 the course of legislature. Originally organised for the 
 purpose of endeavouring to redress certain grievances — 
 some real, some imaginary — they frequently went beside 
 this object, and became simply combinations for the 
 purpose of enforcing an increase of wages, regardless of 
 all consequences. There is nothing unreasonable in the 
 union of any class, be it masters or men, in order to 
 defend their interests by legitimate means ; but when 
 the limits of fairness are exceeded, they become simply 
 combinations for evil. Thus, when men unite to force 
 a rate of wages so high that the produce becomes too 
 dear for the market, they arrive at what may be termed 
 the wages paradox, for the rise ends in a total absence 
 
COMBINATIONS AMONG THE COLLIERS. 99 
 
 of wages through the stoppage of the works. The good 
 results of these unions were also often marred by incon- 
 siderate or bad management. The interests of many 
 thousand men were not unfrequently entrusted to 
 shallow demagogues, who laboured more for their own 
 selfish ends than the weal of the associations. It must, 
 however, be observed here, that during the great strikes 
 which of late years have clouded our commercial 
 prosperity, only legal and equitable means have been 
 resorted to by the unions to attain their objects, and 
 that these mass movements have not been characterised 
 by scenes of violence, as was too frequently the case in 
 former days. In fact, in order to attain solid results by 
 such combinations, the object must be a reasonable one, 
 and the means employed fair and honest. During the 
 year 1848 a series of strikes occurred in Scotland, result- 
 ing in great misery and suffering, and opening the way 
 for a considerable immigration of Irishmen. This led 
 to disturbances, which caused serious anxiety to the 
 authorities, who thought it necessary to quarter a troop 
 of yeomanry and a detachment of military in the colliery 
 districts. 
 
 Although many unions had for their sole object the 
 raising of the price of labour, and the men were all 
 vitally interested in the question, yet many associations 
 were either entirely or partly formed for the purpose of 
 obtaining increased legislation to improve the condition 
 and the safety of the mines. It was patent to all that 
 some step would have to be taken in that direction by 
 Parliament at an early period. The results of Lord 
 Ashley's Act had not been very great beyond rectifying 
 the abuse of female labour underground. Accidents 
 continued to occur, and no very tangible improvement 
 
loo COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 was to be noticed in the condition of the workpeople. 
 Something had been gained, however, in removing the 
 women from the underground workings, restricting 
 infantine labour, and obtaining most valuable reports 
 from the inspector on the general condition of the 
 workpeople ; neither had there been any great progress 
 noted in the management of the collieries. The 
 generality of owners resisted innovations. Some feared 
 the expense, others the inefficacy of proposed improve- 
 ments, and most took but little interest in the matter. 
 In some districts the working of the coal pits was left in 
 the hands of butties, or charter-masters, who, in reality 
 contractors, engaged to deliver the coal at the pit bank 
 at an agreed price per ton, and took on themselves all 
 the responsibilities of working. These men dreaded an 
 inspection on the part of the owner quite as much as the 
 latter on the part of the Government. Thus the under- 
 ground management was in many instances defective or 
 inadequate, and the stimulus of Government inspection 
 was needed to bring about an improvement. The 
 most important amelioration required was better venti- 
 lation. This was necessary for the health of the men, 
 who worked in a vitiated atmosphere, and the safety 
 of the mines producing explosive gas. The many 
 explosions were eloquent, though sorrowful, arguments 
 of the necessity of better ventilation, and to obtain 
 this it was generally admitted that some kind of 
 inspection was needful. The enforcement of any par- 
 ticular mode of ventilation, considering the divers con- 
 dition of collieries situated in different districts, was 
 deprecated, as well as any transfer of responsibility 
 from the colliery proprietors to the inspectors. The 
 duties of the inspectors were foreshadowed in diffusing 
 
THE DARLE Y MAIN EXPLOSION. loi 
 
 knowledge, suggesting improvements, and pointing out 
 dangers. 
 
 A terrible illustration of the importance of the sub- 
 ject was given on the 24th of January 1849, when an 
 explosion occurred at the Darley Main Colliery, near 
 Barnsley, by which seventy-five lives were sacrificed. 
 In compliance with a request from the magistrates of 
 the county, the Government at once sent down two 
 commissioners, namely, Messrs. Tremenheere and War- 
 rington Smyth, to examine the mine, attend the inquest, 
 and report on the occurrence. The inquiry into the 
 cause of this accident disclosed a very defective manage- 
 ment. The ventilation, as well as the whole discipline 
 of the mine, were entrusted to an underviewer who 
 could hardly read, and not write at all. The quantity 
 of air passing round the workings was inadequate, and 
 the system of coursing it defective. Mr. Nicholas 
 Wood, in giving evidence, also pointed out that large 
 areas of goaves were filled with fire-damp, which a change 
 of atmospheric pressure or falls of the superincumbent 
 strata might force, without a moment's notice, into the 
 working roadways, where naked lights were used. The 
 power of the ventilating furnace was impaired by drawing 
 water up, and thus cooling the upcast shaft. Mr. War- 
 rington Smyth, in his official report, pointed out the 
 defective management of the colliery, the insufficiency 
 of ventilation, the imperfect mode of working the coal, 
 and the fact that the underground agent was illiterate. 
 The coroner's jury, after a lengthened inquiry, returned 
 a verdict of accidental death, coupled, however, with the 
 following rider : — " We most strongly recommend to the 
 proprietors that a better mode of ventilation be adopted 
 before they recommence working the mine, as a preven- 
 
I02 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 tive against any similar occurrence ; and we think, from 
 the evidence given before us, that the removing of the 
 machinery used for drawing water out of the upcast shaft 
 is essentially necessary, so as to allow the air passing out 
 of the mine to have a better and freer outlet ; and we 
 also desire that Mr. Badger, the coroner, report to Sir 
 George Grey, and that he make known to Her Majesty's 
 Government, that we think it advisable that they should 
 appoint a scientific and practical person to occasionally 
 inspect the collieries in the district and see that there is 
 proper ventilation, and hear any complaints by the work- 
 people employed therein." Shortly after the verdict, 
 on 1 6th February 1849, Mr. Cayley, referring to the 
 accident, asked if the Government were prepared to 
 adopt the principle of inspection, and whether they 
 would institute a system of examination for colliery 
 viewers. In reply to which, the Home Secretary stated 
 that the subject was under the consideration of the 
 Government, without pledging it to any decided course. 
 Meantime petitions were being sent up from the coal 
 districts in great numbers, and numerously signed, 
 praying that steps be taken by Parliament to improve 
 the condition of the colliers and reduce the annual loss 
 of life. The subject was now fairly ripe for legislation. 
 The inquiries instituted by Government had disclosed 
 a blamable state of affairs ; the collieries were in many 
 cases ill-managed, the overmen illiterate, the ventilation 
 defective, the discipline lax, and human life disregarded. 
 The recommendation pressed on Government was a 
 judicious system of inspection. The colliers were com- 
 bining to obtain safeguards against the insufficient 
 management which shortened their lives and rendered 
 their work so perilous. 
 
INSPECTION URGED. 103 
 
 From time to time, when a terrible accident occurred, 
 a thrill of horror spread over the country, and people 
 inquired if nothing could be done to prevent such 
 catastrophes. Suggestions, inventions, and information 
 of all sorts were then oifered, and, above all, petitions 
 poured in on Parliament in great numbers. Such was 
 the case after the fatal explosion at the Ardsley Main 
 Colliery. Among the petitions was one from Dr. Golds- 
 worthy Gurney to the House of Lords, which became the 
 subject of a conversation in the Upper House in June 
 1 849, when Lord Wharncliffe " thought it was well worth 
 while of Her Majesty's Government to consider whether 
 some inspection ought not to be established into the 
 state and condition of coal miners," and moved for the 
 appointment of a select committee to inquire into the 
 subject, which was agreed to on the i8th June 1849. 
 
 In the House of Commons, Mr. Buncombe again 
 introduced a Bill on the 4th July, based mainly on the 
 petition presented under the auspices of bhe Miners' 
 Association in the beginning of the year. He admitted, 
 in fact, that it " emanated from the working colliers." 
 This measure provided for the appointment of inspectors, 
 who were to visit each colliery at least four times a year, 
 and to have power to order any alterations they might 
 consider advisable for the safety of the men. The 
 principle of inspection, as thus proposed, was opposed 
 by Government, the Home Secretary observing that 
 "it was extremely desirable that no portion of the 
 responsibility which justly attached to the owners should 
 be transferred to Government or Parliament." The 
 measure was discussed ; but it was so impracticable and 
 so inquisitorial that it met with little support. It was 
 also known that the Government had the matter under 
 
I04 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 consideration, and that a select committee of the House 
 of Lords was making an inquiry into the subject. Mr. 
 Buncombe was pressed on all sides to withdraw his 
 measure. Although the select committee was at this 
 time inquiring into the subject of coal mines, the 
 Government considered it advisable to appoint two 
 commissioners, namely, Professor Philips and Mr. S. K. 
 Blackwell, to examine the collieries in different districj;s, 
 and report to Government on their condition, with a 
 view of obtaining additional information. The instruc- 
 tions given to these gentlemen were extremely complete 
 and minute, directing them to prosecute inquiries into 
 every important point connected with the working of 
 collieries. Before these reports were handed in to 
 Government, the Lords' committee had completed its 
 labours, having collected a great mass of valuable 
 evidence, which, accompanied by a report, was laid 
 before the House on ist August 1849. This report had 
 been looked forward to with great interest, as it was 
 fully expected it would contain recommendations on 
 which any new measure would be based. The colliery 
 proprietors felt some anxiety lest the report might 
 contain recommendations either impracticable or in- 
 jurious to their interests. The inquiry was as complete 
 as the limited time admitted. The committee had 
 examined thirty-nine witnesses, from every district and 
 of every class, on nearly every subject connected with 
 collieries. 
 
 The mass of evidence thus collected enabled the 
 committee to arrive at definite conclusions, and to 
 embody suggestions as to future legislation in their 
 report. They found that the condition of the collieries 
 varied greatly in the different districts, but that collec- 
 
VARIETIES OF VENTILATION. 105 
 
 tively they were not in as good a condition as they 
 ought to be. In the report, they observe that "the 
 actual condition of the coal mines of the country, as 
 respects ventilation, appears to be widely different, and 
 it is to be feared for the most part seriously defective." 
 This statement was amply justified by the evidence of 
 all the eminent viewers who were of opinion that the 
 collieries ought to be better ventilated, and that such 
 improved ventilation would tend not only to the 
 reduction of fatal accidents, but actually to economy 
 in getting coal. Thus, Mr. George Elliot (Sir George 
 Elliot, Bart.) says : — " I am a great advocate for plenty 
 of air in a pit. I believe it is the cheapest way to work 
 mines safely." 
 
 Mr. John Thomas Woodhouse, in answering a ques- 
 tion as to the economy of efficient ventilation, recom^ 
 mends it " not only as a measure of safety, but also of 
 economy in the preservation of timber, and in the health 
 of the men generally." Again, Mr. Dunn thought " the 
 better a colliery is ventilated the more economically it 
 can be worked." The various causes of accident, such 
 as falls of roof, inundations, and others, were also 
 examined into ; and although many of these are inevit- 
 able in so dangerous an occupation, and some of them 
 caused by the neglect and foolhardiness of the men 
 themselves, the opinion elicited from the majority of 
 witnesses was in favour of Government inspection in 
 some form or other. Some of the witnesses gave a 
 more or less qualified approval to the proposal, though 
 approving of the principle. Mr. George Elliot, for 
 instance, said : — " I should not object to its being done, 
 since I believe that it would have a good effect upon 
 other counties than ours (that is, Durham). If it would 
 
io6 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 have the effect of bringing other places, where we hear 
 of so many frightful accidents, up to the level of our 
 condition, it would tend very much indeed to lessen the 
 loss of human hfe which we are daily hearing of" But 
 he considered that it would not do to give the inspectors 
 any power in the management of mines ; and, above all, 
 that they ought to be competent miners. " They ought 
 to go down the pits, and they ought to be men that 
 understand the pit when they are down it ; in fact, they 
 ought to be pitmen." Mr. Nicholas Wood gave a more 
 qualified assent to Government inspection ; for, on being 
 asked if the inspection of mines would materially 
 diminish the number of accidents, he said : — " I have 
 great doubts of that. I think the public are rather 
 placing more dependence upon the inspection than will 
 be realised by its adoption ; but still, looking at the 
 number of accidents which are continually happening — 
 seeing, also, that several of those accidents have happened 
 where the system of ventilation was very imperfect, and 
 which might not, probably, have happened had a better 
 system been in operation — I think that the time has 
 arrived when something ought to be done." 
 
 Mr. Woodhouse did not object to inspection, but he 
 referred to the opinions held by the colliery proprietors, 
 some of whom were indifferent and others averse to the 
 system, objecting to the interference, and uncertain as 
 to what it might ultimately lead to. One great objec- 
 tion was on the score of cost. It had been suggested 
 that the expenses of Government inspection should be 
 defrayed by the colliery proprietors, which seemed to 
 them very unfair, as the collieries free from danger would 
 have to be taxed in order to meet necessities which did 
 not apply to them. In the Wigan district, at a meeting 
 
INSPECTION PROPOSED. 107 
 
 of coal owners, a resolution in favour of Government 
 inspection was adopted, with only one dissentient voice 
 out of fifteen. But the inspection then approved of was 
 to be of a limited character, and the power of the 
 inspectors restricted to examining the mines and mak- 
 ing suggestions. While the colliery proprietors and 
 viewers thus gave a qualified assent to inspection, the 
 working colliers, as represented by those who gave 
 evidence, supported it as the best means of saving life. 
 Some of the evidence given by working colliers 
 abundantly showed that the details of management 
 were frequently defective, and the plans of the viewer 
 were often not carried out at all. 
 
 Some of the underviewers and men appeared to have a 
 practical knowledge of ventilation, and gave good evi- 
 dence. One of them summed up his ideas on the subject 
 as follows : — " Different men have different notions of 
 taking their air at starting, and in case they start badly, 
 they never get into a right train ; because, if they start 
 badly, their judgment is bad to begin with; and if a 
 man has bad judgment when he begins he cannot be 
 expected to go on well." 
 
 The committee, in their report, concurred with the 
 majority of witnesses in recommending — ■" That Govern- 
 ment inspectors should be invested with no direct 
 powers beyond those of entering and examining mines, 
 and of investigating the plans, so far as may be necessary 
 for judging of their internal condition and arrange- 
 ments ; and their duties should be limited to recording 
 and reporting, making suggestions, and communicating 
 information to the managers and owners." Before leav- 
 ing this subject, they recommend Government inspection 
 as a protection of life and limb ; for " it cannot be 
 
io8 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 doubted that it is the imperative duty of Parliament 
 and the Executive to adopt, for the purpose of attaining 
 such security as is undoubtedly within the reach of 
 precaution, any steps, whether of the nature of inspec- 
 tion or of direct enactment, consistent with the free 
 pursuits of industry and commerce." In the course of 
 investigating this question, evidence was taken on the 
 system of continental inspection. The practice adopted 
 abroad is not applicable to the conditions under which 
 mineral property is held in Great Britain. On the 
 Continent the State owns the subsoil, and, therefore, all 
 the minerals. The leases, or " concessions," are granted 
 under certain conditions by the Government, and sub- 
 ject to the laws concerning mines and the rules laid 
 down for working them. From the evidence given 
 before the committee, as well as from the official reports 
 made by commissioners for the Government, it appeared 
 that the general condition of the foreign mines was 
 better, and the overmen and miners were superior in 
 education, to those of Great Britain. In reference to 
 this, it may be observed that whereas our mining 
 population had been neglected and treated as outcasts, 
 until they had become almost a caste of low degree 
 among their compeers, in other countries, where the 
 State had for centuries derived large revenues from 
 mining operations, the workers were encouraged, privi- 
 leged, and distinguished above their fellows. But the 
 principle of inspection, as applied in England, was to be 
 that of saving life, and not of management ; and this 
 principle had now been accepted and recommended to 
 Government by a select committee of the House of 
 Lords. Further information on the condition of the 
 collieries was furnished by the reports of the com- 
 
BLACKWELL AND PHILLIPS' REPORTS. 109 
 
 missioners, Messrs. Blackwell and Phillips, recently 
 appointed to examine them in different districts. Mr. 
 Blackwell had the opportunity of examining into the 
 cause of a serious explosion at the Letty Shenkin 
 Colliery on the loth August 1849. After an inquiry 
 which lasted four days, it appeared that this mine, 
 though very inefficiently managed, was not below the 
 average collieries of the district in that respect, and 
 accordingly a verdict of accidental death was returned. 
 
 These reports were laid before Parliament at the 
 instance of Lord Wharncliffe, chairman of the select 
 committee of the previous year, on the 6th May 1850, 
 when he referred to the increase of deaths through 
 colliery accidents, and the advisability of appointing 
 competent colliery inspectors. Mr. Blackwell, in his 
 report, pointed out that the mines in the Newcastle 
 district were at that time much deeper, and worked at a 
 greater distance from the shaft, than those in other 
 districts ; and that whereas the colliery leases in the 
 north averaged from 500 to 2000 acres, in Lancashire 
 and Wales they were 25 to 250 acres, and in Stafford- 
 shire often not more than 10 or 20 acres. On this fact 
 he commented, and said what has since proved to be 
 true : — " It will probably be found that the coals of 
 South Wales and Lancashire, and perhaps those of 
 Eastern Yorkshire and Derbyshire, when they are 
 worked to equal depths at a distance from the line of 
 outcrop, and in such larger tracts as the increasing 
 depth will require to be annexed to each, winning 
 will be equally fiery and dangerous unless the best 
 systems of management and ventilation are adopted." 
 He found the collieries of Yorkshire, Lancashire, and 
 South Wales defective in management, and opened 
 
no COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 out " without due consideration of future require- 
 ments." 
 
 Referring to explosions and the use of the safety- 
 lamps, he noticed a want of care, in many instances 
 leading to danger ; and observed truly, that the Davy, 
 unless used " under strict regulations, becomes a source 
 of danger, from the mistaken confidence it produces.'' 
 After describing the effect of an explosion, when all the 
 stoppings and brattices are blown down or torn to 
 shreds, he remarked that these facts " point out the 
 strong necessity for two independent shafts in all coal 
 mines." He also reverts to one great evil of defective 
 ventilation, namely, the diseases which injure and 
 destroy more lives than the explosions. The report 
 concludes with the following observations : — " In review- 
 ing the causes of the explosions in mines, of which the 
 attendant circumstances can be ascertained, it must be 
 admitted that the greater part have been the result of a 
 clearly defective system of working and ventilation," 
 and that " a well-considered system of rules and general 
 directions for the guidance of the workmen is highly 
 important to the security of a colliery." 
 
 Professor Phillips, in his report, gave a minute 
 description of the underground workings and different 
 modes of cutting and raising coal, and then dwelt on 
 ventilation and the modes of producing currents of air 
 underground. At that time the motive power generally 
 adopted was the furnace, placed at the bottom of the 
 upcast shaft. In the north of England a different 
 system, namely, the steam-jet, had been introduced at 
 only one colliery, the Seaton Delaval. 
 
 The largest quantity of air then passing through any 
 coUiery in the United Kingdom was 190,000 cubic feet 
 
SAFETY-LAMPS AND EXPLOSIONS. in 
 
 per minute, at the Hetton Colliery, and the swiftest 
 current was 1740 feet per minute at the Haswell Colliery. 
 The ventilating power of the furnaces was much greater 
 than the result obtained, owing to the length, small- 
 ness, and irregularity of the underground air-ways. The 
 ventilation of the northern collieries was found to be 
 satisfactory ; so much so, that the professor reported 
 that " the great majority of the collieries in the districts 
 of the Tyne, Wear, and Tees may be confidently pro- 
 nounced to be now safe for men to work in, with candles 
 in the whole mine, with lamps in the broken, under 
 ordinary circumstances" However, the list of accidents 
 showed results not in accordance with the professor's 
 views. Referring to the increase of explosions since the 
 introduction of safety-lamps, he gives a list of fourteen 
 explosions, and remarks that " thirteen out of the fourteen 
 explosions have occurred in the whole mine, where 
 candles are used ; that is, where pillar working had not 
 commenced, and consequently no lamps were used." 
 The increase in the number of accidents is ascribed to 
 the augmented depth, increased area, and larger output 
 of modern collieries. The ventilation of the Midland 
 collieries was not found to be so good, and in the York- 
 shire collieries it would be difficult " to obtain above 
 5000 cubic feet of air in a minute." Summing up the 
 great necessity for improvement, and the best means of 
 obtaining it. Professor Phillips remarked : — " It is not 
 so much by other modes of working, new systems of 
 ventilation, or more ingenious safety-lamps that danger 
 is to be warded from a mine, as by superior skill and 
 unsleeping vigilance in administering the best methods 
 already known, so as to prevent the concurrence of the 
 physical and artificial elements of danger;" and in order 
 
'm 
 
 112 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 to obtain the necessary skill and vigilance he considered 
 that " a systematic inspection under the authority of 
 Government appears desirable." In fact, all the official 
 reports to Government and the recommendations of 
 select committees, as well as a flood of pamphlets and 
 other documents, supported the establishment of a 
 Government mine inspection in some form or other. 
 Thus pressed on all sides, and armed with ample 
 information, the Government determined on framing a 
 measure to carry out the principle of inspection, which 
 was introduced in the House of Lords on the nth 
 July 1850 by Lord Carlisle. The new measure was 
 principally directed to two points, namely, the inspec- 
 tion of the collieries and the requirement of correct 
 plans, the expense of carrying out the provisions to be 
 charged to the Consolidated Fund, but the responsibility 
 of management to rest entirely with the owners. The 
 opposition to this moderate Bill was not great, although 
 the Marquis of Londonderry, always a determined foe 
 to mine inspection, protested "against the Bill as the 
 most mischievous and unjust measure that could possibly 
 be imagined." 
 
 It is strange to have to record that Lord Brougham 
 considered this measure as an " unjustifiable interference 
 with the rights of labour," although avowedly framed for 
 the protection of labour, and not only with the approba- 
 tion of the colliers, but almost at their instance, and in 
 consequence of their prayers. It soon passed through all 
 the forms of Parliament, eliciting but little comment. 
 The Act provided for the appointment of inspectors 
 with authority to enter into and examine any colliery 
 underground, as well as all the works, machinery, and 
 buildings on the surface, at any time, and inquire into 
 
THE ACT APPOINTING INSPECTORS. 113 
 
 all matters relating to the safety of the men employed. 
 In the case of danger existing, the inspector was to 
 point out such danger to the manager, and if the defect 
 was not remedied within a reasonable time to report the 
 case to the Secretary of State. Colliery proprietors 
 were required to give notice of the occurrence of fatal 
 accidents to the Secretary of State within twelve hours 
 of the event, and coroners to give two days' notice before 
 holding inquests. A penalty of not less than ;^io, or 
 more than £20, was imposed on colliery proprietors for 
 neglecting to give due notice of such accidents. They 
 were also to cause correct plans of their works to be 
 made and maintained, and to produce them to the 
 inspectors when required ; and for obstructing the latter 
 in the execution of their duties, a penalty of not more 
 than £10, or less than £<,, was provided. The Act was 
 to remain in force for five years from the date of pass- 
 ing, and then to the end of the then next session. The 
 Act of 1842 was not repealed, and all its provisions 
 remained in force. Thus the collieries of the country 
 were placed under two parallel species of inspection — 
 one having for its object the condition of the population 
 in the mining districts ; the other, the workings and 
 safety of the mines. The inspector or commissioner 
 appointed in 1842 continued his labours, and presented 
 annual reports dealing exclusively with social questions 
 affecting the workpeople. In fact, his instructions on 
 appointment had been to inquire into, and report on, 
 the general condition of the persons employed, and on 
 the manner in which the Act was observed, but not to 
 descend into the mines or enter into questions regarding 
 their safety. The period of preliminary inquiry had 
 now passed by. The condition of the collieries was 
 
 I 
 
114 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 thoroughly recorded in numerous reports and official 
 documents, and it was anticipated that by the introduc- 
 tion of a system of organised inspection many existing 
 evils would be removed and a saving of life effected. 
 
 The condition of the collieries and the colliers as 
 disclosed by the reports of royal commissioners and 
 select committees of the House of Commons was not a 
 favourable one, and these disclosures led to the interfer- 
 ence of the legislature and the passing of this Act. 
 Yet, the coal industry during the past fifty years had 
 continuously and enormously developed, so that the out- 
 put of coal had risen from lo millions of tons in 1800 to 
 over 50 millions in 1850, giving employment to about 
 200,000 workpeople. This period had been one of 
 brilliant invention and great improvement in under- 
 ground workings. A coal pit in the early years of the 
 century must have been a nauseous hole where men and 
 women worked in a foul atmosphere, dragging the corves 
 of coal through the mire of the galleries, and sending it 
 up the shaft by means at most of a horse-gin or water- 
 wheel. But great changes followed on the introduction 
 of the steam-engine, and the growing demand for coal. 
 The system of supporting the roof of the seams by 
 means of wooden props enabled the miner to extract 
 from 80 to 90 per cent, of the coal instead of leaving 
 half the seam and more in pillars. The old system of 
 conveyance underground had been replaced by trams 
 and rails. It is curious to trace the successive improve- 
 ments in the haulage of coal from the face. It com- 
 menced with the barrow, for which planks were laid in 
 soft ground ; this was followed by sledges carrying the 
 wicker corves full of coal ; then came the wooden trams, 
 on which the tubs ran on wheels, to be followed by the 
 
SHAFT-FURNACES. 115 
 
 iron tram and edge rail. The improvement in under- 
 ground haulage had a marked influence on the economy 
 of a colliery, and as one consequence fewer shafts were 
 needed. In olden times the pits were placed 200 or 300 
 yards apart, but at the time under consideration they 
 were sunk at a distance of 2 or 3 miles from each other. 
 The shafts were also generally fitted with cages and 
 guides, by which means the tubs could be sent up to the 
 surface without unloading, and a greatly increased out- 
 put secured. Indeed, at one colliery in the north of 
 England, 700 tons per day was raised at this time, a 
 quantity never before attained out of one shaft. The 
 power used for conveyance underground was still 
 manual labour or horses, but about this time mechanical 
 haulage by engine power was introduced, and this still 
 further aided in the extension of the output. It is quite 
 certain that many seams of coal were already being 
 opened out and worked at the time, which a few years 
 previously could not have been approached owing to 
 the absence of mechanical appliances. Improvements 
 in ventilation had necessarily to keep pace with the 
 extended underground workings ; and whereas Mr. 
 Buddie spoke of 8000 cubic feet of fresh air per minute 
 as sufficient to ventilate a colliery in his day, we find 
 ventilating currents of 200,000 cubic feet per minute 
 referred to in the north of England in 1850. A furnace, 
 placed at the bottom of the upcast shaft, was still the 
 universal means adopted to produce a ventilating 
 current ; but experiments were already being made with 
 air-pumps, or fans driven by engine power, and the steam- 
 jet. The latter never came into use, but a few years 
 later the ventilating fan was adopted at many large 
 collieries. By the aid of the steam-engine and other 
 
ii6 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 mechanical improvements the pits had already attained 
 a considerable depth. Many of them in the north were 
 over 300 yards deep, and the Monkwearmouth shaft was 
 575 yards to the coal. The old days of horse-gins and 
 water-wheels had passed away. A colliery was no longer 
 a hole producing a few tons of coal anyhow, but a 
 complete organisation of men and machinery under the 
 control of able and experienced engineers, directing a 
 force of thousands of steam horse-power, and many 
 miles of underground railways, for the production of 
 several hundred thousand tons of coal a year. 
 
 This description, however, applies more specially to the 
 north of England, and the most modern collieries in other 
 districts. In South Wales and South Staffordshire the 
 advance had not been so great. The former was com- 
 paratively a new coal field, and most of the seams at that 
 time were either by level headings, driven in from the hill- 
 side, or by shallow shafts from which the coal was raised 
 by water-balance, or even more crude appliances. In 
 South Staffordshire the coal had been won for centuries ; 
 but the pits were shallow, and in some instances the cele- 
 brated lO-yard coal seam was so near the surface that 
 it was worked in open daylight like a stone quarry. 
 The collieries were all small, and generally one or several 
 pits were handed over to a contractor to raise the coal 
 how he pleased at a certain price per ton. In this dis- 
 trict the loose skip was in use for raising coal out of the 
 shafts, the mechanical appliances insufficient and the out- 
 put small. Nevertheless, the total quantity raised in the 
 country was becoming very considerable, and the output 
 and capital embarked at individual collieries increasing 
 day by day. Not only were the collieries increasing in 
 extent, but the economic result of working coal was 
 
TAXATION OF COAL. 117 
 
 improving. For many years the small coal at collieries 
 had little value, and many thousand tons of smalls or 
 slack were stowed away in the goaves of the mine, or left 
 to wither or burn in the waste heaps. But the rise of the 
 iron trade produced a demand for coke, and at all the 
 collieries raising coking coal this was taken advantage 
 of, and the small turned into coke and sold at a large 
 profit. Then, again, the increasing knowledge of the 
 properties of coal and its application to varied industries, 
 led to the working of seams hitherto considered value- 
 less. It is even recorded that in the past century hard 
 coal in the north of England had been actually used for 
 building purposes. The effect of legislation was not 
 detrimental to the prosperity of the coal industry. The 
 result of removing the labour of women from the under- 
 ground workings in the districts where they were 
 employed was probably beneficial, by compelling the 
 owners to improve their underground roads and adopt 
 horses or ponies ; and the further legislation introducing 
 inspection did not, as the sequel proved, retard the 
 development of the industry or the profitable working 
 of coal. 
 
 This great development of the coal trade had taken 
 place in the face of heavy taxation. From the earliest 
 days of coal working it had been used as a source of 
 revenue by the Crown. King Henry III. imposed a 
 tax of 2d. per chaldron on Newcastle coals, and from 
 that time onwards successive sovereigns increased the 
 amount, and levied large revenues for divers purposes, 
 so that the trade was seriously hampered. The amounts 
 varied from time to time; but during the great war with 
 France, the dues on coals carried coastwise amounted to 
 9s. 4d. per chaldron, which was reduced to 6s. in 1824. 
 
ii8 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 A heavy export duty was also levied, which amounted at 
 one time to 17s. per chaldron, and in 1831 to 3s. 4d. on 
 large and 2s. on small coal. This duty was repealed in 
 183 1, and the other dues in 1845, except the City of 
 London tax, amounting to 13d. per ton. Adam Smith 
 refers to these taxes in the following words : — " If a 
 bounty could in any case be reasonable, it might perhaps 
 be so on the transportation of coals ; but the legislature, 
 instead of a bounty, has imposed a tax on coal which 
 upon most sorts of coal is more than 60 per cent, of the 
 original price at the coal pits. Where they are naturally 
 cheap, they are consumed free ; where they are naturally 
 dear, they are loaded with a heavy duty." 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 General Opinion on the Act of 1850 — Appointment of Inspectors — 
 Agitation among the Colliers for more Inspection — Condition 
 OF the Collieries — Accidents in various Districts — Committee 
 OF the House of Commons of 1852 — Founding of the Institute 
 of Mining Engineers in the North of England — Committee of 
 the House of Commons 1853-54 — Reports of the Inspectors — 
 The Act of 1855. 
 
 The Act of 1850 did little else than establish the 
 principle of underground inspection. The innovation 
 was received with more or less dissatisfaction by the 
 colliery proprietors. They objected to a system which 
 authorised a Government official to pry into the 
 management of their works, and dreaded the possibility 
 of an interference in their trade. Some opposed inspec- 
 tion on those grounds ; others feared that the Govern- 
 ment inspectors would be scientific men, who might 
 recommend alterations impossible to carry out or 
 ruinously expensive. They feared the possibility of 
 being advised to place miles of cast-iron tubes in their 
 pits to draw off the inflammable gas, or to put down 
 innumerable boreholes from the surface to drain it 
 away from the goaves. Many of the colliery managers 
 opposed inspection as a useless institution, especially if 
 it was to be carried out by scientific men. Among these 
 persons a belief prevailed very generally that only those 
 who had from early days been accustomed to pit work 
 could ever thoroughly master the intricacies of under- 
 
I20 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 ground workings — a mistaken opinion arising out of the 
 exclusive life of all engaged in colliery working, from 
 the viewer or manager down to the trapper. However, 
 if the colliery owners and managers were averse to the 
 new Act and to inspection, the colliers, on their side, 
 were satisfied with the change, and anticipated good 
 results. The pitmen in the north of England testified 
 their thankfulness for the measure by presenting Mr. 
 James Mather, the honoured secretary of the South 
 Shields Committee, with a silver cup, in recognition of 
 his exertions in promoting legislation to diminish the 
 dangers of mining. It is pleasing to record this tribute 
 of appreciation to one whose labours in the cause of 
 humanity in reference to colliery accidents are second to 
 none other. 
 
 It so happened that during the year following the 
 introduction of the Inspection Act, a great many serious 
 accidents occurred. An explosion happened at Nitshill 
 Colliery, near Paisley, by which sixty-one men and 
 boys were killed ; another at Workington, where thirty- 
 five lives were lost; and one at Rawmarsh, causing 
 fifty-two deaths besides a number of lesser accidents. 
 Instead of diminishing, these occurrences seemed to be 
 on the increase since the Act had been introduced. In 
 1 85 1, the number of recorded deaths through accidents 
 at the collieries amounted to 1062, this being the first 
 truthful record of lives lost in collieries for any definite 
 period. Many of these accidents occurred through 
 neglect : thus at Bignall Hill there was no artificial 
 ventilation at all, and three men were blown up. At 
 Heys six men perished through defective ventilation, 
 the air-ways being quite impassable. The Bent Grange 
 Colliery, near Oldham, had to be stopped altogether. 
 
PROGRESS OF VENTILATION. 121 
 
 The practice of " burning out " the gas was then com- 
 mon in Lancashire. This consisted in setting fire to the 
 accumulated gas in the drifts every morning before 
 beginning work. The fact of this burning evidently 
 showed a very insufficient ventilation. The means 
 employed in the Midland districts to produce the 
 ventilating currents were insufficient. In the Stafford- 
 shire shallow mines it was usual to place a small grate 
 in the side of the upcast shaft, in which a fire was 
 irregularly kept up by throwing a few lumps of coal 
 occasionally into it from the skip. In some mines not 
 even this primitive attempt was made ; and in nearly 
 all the collieries the air-ways were too small, often quite 
 neglected, and sometimes allowed to collapse entirely. 
 Many other evils existed which led to danger and actual 
 loss of life. In Staffordshire, where the coal was worked 
 at shallow depth, numberless disused pits were left 
 unfenced, to the imminent danger of the passer-by ; so 
 much so, that " no person was safe in traversing the 
 neighbourhood after nightfall." In the Yorkshire 
 district matters were no better. Collieries were worked 
 without any artificial ventilation ; safety-lamps in use 
 with gauges having only 550 to 600 apertures to the 
 square inch instead of 780 ; bratticed shafts, at most 
 collieries ; and the whole under loose and unsatisfactory 
 management. The condition of the collieries in 1851 
 was not satisfactory. But a sincere desire to improve 
 matters was springing into existence. Both practical 
 and scientific men were turning their attention to the 
 subject of ventilation of mines and of preventing explo- 
 sions. The relative value of the furnace and the steam- 
 jet, as the motive power for ventilating currents, was 
 especially much discussed about that time. The merits 
 
122 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 of mechanical appliances were advanced by Mr. James 
 Nasmyth, who constructed an improved ventilating fan. 
 A great step towards better distribution of knowledge 
 among mining viewers was made by the inauguration 
 of the School of Mines, at the Museum of Economic 
 Geology, on the 6th of November 185 1, by Sir Henry 
 de la Beche. A general and deeper interest began to 
 be taken in this hitherto discarded or unnoticed branch 
 of industrial labour. The outcry for more inspectors 
 induced the Government to appoint two additional, one 
 for Scotland and one for England ; but this was not 
 sufficient to satisfy the working men. Early in the year 
 1852, namely, in February, the miners of Durham and 
 Northumberland presented a memorial to the Home 
 Secretary, expressing their gratitude for the attention 
 already given to the subject by Her Majesty's ministers, 
 but humbly praying that a measure be introduced pro- 
 viding for more inspection, better ventilation, and an 
 increase in the number of shafts. This memorial was 
 justified, as it were, by the succession of explosions 
 which occurred at the time. Early in May, ten men 
 were killed at Morely Hall ; on the 6th, twenty-two at 
 Hebburn ; on the loth, sixty-five at Middle Duffryn ; on 
 the 20th, thirty-six at Coppul ; and on the Sth of June, 
 five men at Bunker's Hill Collieries ; so that in little 
 more than three weeks 138 lives were lost in colliery 
 explosions. After the explosion at the Coppul Colliery, 
 Mr. Cayley, the member for the North Riding of York- 
 shire, referring to this and other accidents, moved for 
 a select committee of the House to inquire into the 
 cause of these occurrences, with a view to their preven- 
 tion or reduction. The committee was appointed, and 
 met for the first time on the 27th March. They pre- 
 
MR. CAYLEY'S COMMITTEE. 123 
 
 sented their report in the following June. In the course 
 of this investigation they directed their attention more 
 especially to the subject of ventilation, and endeavoured 
 to ascertain which system of artificial ventilation was 
 the best and most generally applicable. The report 
 commences by asserting that the prevention of explo- 
 sions must be obtained by better ventilation ; and the 
 committee were " of opinion that any system of ventila- 
 tion depending on complicated machinery is unadvisable, 
 since under any derangement or fracture of its parts the 
 ventilation is stopped, or becomes less efficient." They 
 considered " that the two systems which alone can be 
 considered as rival powers are the furnace and steam- 
 jet." The latter system was strenuously advocated 
 before the committee by Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney, and 
 supported by Mr. T. E. Foster, who had obtained good 
 results with it at the Seaton Delaval Colliery. The 
 evidence in favour of the steam-jet was so convincing 
 to the minds of the select committee that they recom- 
 mended it above all other modes of ventilation in the 
 following words : — "Your committee are unanimously of 
 opinion that the steam-jet is the most powerful, and at 
 the same time the least expensive, method for the ven- 
 tilation of mines." Neither the evidence nor the results 
 obtained were sufficient to carry the same conviction to 
 the minds of colliery owners or managers. The com- 
 mittee also gave an explanation of the cause of the 
 frequent recent explosions, which was based on slender 
 facts. They attributed these accidents to the increase 
 of ventilation in collieries. Assuming that carburetted 
 hydrogen requires seven to eight times its volume of 
 common air to bring it to the explosive point, the com- 
 mittee observe that " the introduction of an insufficient 
 
124 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 quantity of air into a fiery mine may cause the very 
 mischief against which it is intended to guard." 
 
 In order to ascertain the relative value of safety- 
 lamps, and more especially the Davy lamp, they 
 adjourned to the Polytechnic Institution, where a series 
 of experiments was made with different lamps under 
 varied circumstances. These trials led them to doubt 
 the perfect safety of the Davy, and they remarked that 
 " where a proper degree of ventilation does not exist in 
 a mine, the Davy lamp, or any modification of it, must 
 be considered rather as a lure to danger than as a 
 perfect security." The committee considered it better 
 to remove the danger of explosion by efficient ventila- 
 tion than endeavour to evade it by the use of a 
 mechanical invention, such as a lamp liable to dis- 
 arrangement in the course of practical use underground. 
 " Nevertheless," says the report, " in a mine that is at all 
 fiery it will be a prudent precaution to work with a 
 lamp until it can be proved that, by means of ventila- 
 tion, a mine can be so far cleared of all explosive gases 
 as to prevent any accumulation of them in the workings, 
 goaves, or elsewhere." Leaving the subject of ventila- 
 tion, the committee refer to the objectionable practice of 
 employing boys in responsible positions underground. 
 They also point out the short notices generally given by 
 coroners of the inquests held after fatal accidents, and 
 suggest the expediency of having a special coroner. 
 They refer to 'a letter from Sir Henry de la Beche on 
 the necessity of better education, more particularly 
 among managers and overmen ; and they " not only 
 trust to see education more rapidly spreading than 
 heretofore among working colliers, but schools of 
 mines established, without certificates from which no 
 
MORE INSPECTORS RECOMMENDED. 125 
 
 overman, underlooker, or manager shall be legally- 
 appointed to his office." The inspection, such as it 
 then existed, was considered wholly inadequate. The 
 " numbers were too small, its powers too limited." The 
 number of inspectors at the time was six, and the com- 
 mittee recommend twice that number, with two sub- 
 inspectors added to each chief inspector. They also 
 recommended a central board, composed of scientific 
 and practical men, to whom the inspectors might report, 
 and from whom they would receive instructions from 
 time to time. Without advocating a great increase in 
 the powers of the inspectors, they recommended that 
 they should be empowered to stop the workings of any 
 colliery where great danger evidently existed, if the 
 owner refused to adopt some approved mode to attain 
 security. In conclusion, they felt " disposed to trust to 
 the appointment of an efficient and vigilant board ; to 
 an increased number of well-qualified inspectors and 
 sub-inspectors, who should practically have the power 
 of enforcing such a rate of current of air through the 
 various parts of the mine, as in their judgment the 
 safety of the miners required ; together with the adop- 
 tion in each mine of such scientific instruments as both 
 preserved a register of ventilation and gave warning of 
 danger ; that such powers should extend to inflicting 
 penalties for the non-possession of such instruments and 
 non-attention to the precautions recommended, and to 
 stoppage of the mine until the right measures were 
 taken." Some of the suggestions contained in this 
 report were received with extreme surprise. The strong 
 recommendation of the steam-jet as a ventilating power 
 led to a series of experiments in different parts of the 
 country, but more especially in the north of England. 
 
126 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 The suggestions of boreholes for ventilating goaves did 
 not meet with approval from any one conversant with 
 collieries. The necessity of more education among the 
 overmen and the colliers, and the desirability of increas- 
 ing the number of inspectors, were more readily admitted. 
 But the proposed additional powers with which the 
 inspectors were to be invested, and the establishment of 
 a central board, were not favourably received. The 
 impression which the report of the select committee 
 produced may be gathered from the observations made 
 by Mr. Nicholas Wood, in his address inaugurating the 
 Institute of Mining Engineers of the north of England, 
 on the 3rd September 1852. He said: — "This com- 
 mittee has made various suggestions, some of them of a 
 startling nature, both as regards the practicability of 
 their adoption and their utility in accomplishing the 
 objects for which they are recommended ; and certainly 
 great doubts exist as to the propriety, as well as the 
 efficiency, of several of their suggestions as regards 
 the ventilation of mines." These observations may be 
 accepted as expressing the opinions of the majority of 
 the viewers in the north of England. Although the 
 recommendations of the committee of 1852 were not 
 such as to meet with much favour, the report was useful 
 in drawing attention to many subjects on which evidence 
 had been given, and stimulating inquiry. The surprise 
 felt at the prominence given to the steam-jet as a 
 ventilating power, and the anxiety thus created among 
 colliery proprietors, led the Government inspectors to 
 investigate the ventilation of the Seaton Delaval 
 Colliery, where the steam-jet had been adopted, and 
 where it had been reported to be so successful. They 
 made a report containing the details of numerous 
 
THE INSTITUTE OF MINING ENGINEERS. 127 
 
 experiments, which were not, however, in favour of the 
 steam-jet, but went to prove that the ventilation of the 
 colliery was mainly due to the elevation of temperature 
 of the upcast shaft caused by the boiler fires and 
 gas apparatus placed underground. About this time 
 mechanical ventilation was beginning to be introduced. 
 At the Westminster Colliery, in North Wales, and at 
 Middle Duffryn, in South Wales, air-pumps on Mr. 
 Struv^'s plan were in operation in 1851 ; and in the 
 following year a ventilating fan was erected at the South 
 Mostyn Colliery. It would, indeed, have been highly 
 impolitic to hamper the colliery proprietors by imposing 
 on them any particular ventilating system at a time 
 when they were endeavouring to improve the ventilation 
 of their collieries by trials of different systems, and 
 adopting those best suited to the special circumstances 
 of their pits. Among other efforts to improve the 
 collieries must be classed the formation of a society for 
 the prevention of accidents in coal mines at Newcastle- 
 upon-Tyne. A meeting of colliery owners and viewers 
 was held for this purpose in July, and a committee 
 nominated to draw up a set of rules. This movement 
 led to the founding of the " Institute of Mining 
 Engineers of the North of England," which was 
 inaugurated on the 3rd September 1852, for the 
 purpose of promoting the theory, art, and practice of 
 mining, and which has proved itself a most useful 
 institution by the value of the contributions and the 
 discussions held on them. 
 
 In the inaugural address already alluded to, Mr. 
 Wood referred to the colliery explosions, and said : — 
 " The number of accidents or deaths from explosions in 
 the counties of Northumberland and Durham, we find 
 
128 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 for sixty-five years previous to 1815, or when candles 
 were used, was 774, while in thirty-five years afterwards 
 the number was 968, with the use of the safety-lamp ; 
 and we have the more appalling fact that since 
 November 1850 (the commencement of the Act for the 
 appointment of Government inspectors), the number of 
 deaths by explosions has been at the rate of 250 per 
 annum." The conclusion which might be inferred from 
 this statement would be erroneous, as the statistics of 
 the number of deaths through colliery accidents previous 
 to the appointment of inspectors are incomplete. It was 
 a matter of notoriety that previous to 18 15 inquests 
 were seldom held on the bodies of those who lost their 
 lives in collieries ; and that in subsequent years the 
 registers of parishes were defective, seldom recording 
 the cause of death, so that it was impossible to compile 
 a trustworthy record of deaths. Nevertheless, it was 
 evident that the number of fatal colliery accidents 
 seemed to show no diminution, and by some persons no 
 improvement was anticipated from the system of inspec- 
 tion recently instituted. On the other hand, more 
 hopeful opinions were entertained by many competent 
 engineers and colliery owners. In a paper read before 
 the Society of Arts in 1853, Mr. Blackwell attributes 
 " the real, the primary cause of accidents to the bad 
 condition of the mines which admitted of a casual act 
 of carelessness leading to an explosion." The working 
 colliers continued the agitation commenced a few years 
 previously for more inspection, with the conviction that 
 thereby fewer lives would be sacrificed through bad 
 management or carelessness. But their idea of inspec- 
 tion did not coincide with that of the colliery owners 
 and managers. They desired to see sub-inspectors 
 
MR. HUTCHINS COMMITTEE. 129 
 
 selected from their own class, with whom they could be 
 on terms of sufficient intimacy to confide their fears and 
 apprehensions of danger. They also wanted to invest 
 the inspectors with full authority to order any altera- 
 tions which they might consider needful for the greater 
 security of the mines ; in fact, to invest them with the 
 responsibility of management. It is remarkable that 
 from the time that the colliers adopted the principle of 
 inspection, which was, in fact, from the date of its 
 introduction, they desired to see the inspectors invested 
 with the powers of management. It showed the wide- 
 spread want of confidence which these men had in the 
 officers of the collieries. 
 
 This feeling was only too frequently justified by the 
 disclosures made at the inquests or by the inquiries 
 following serious accidents. An amount of ignorance 
 or incapacity was then often brought to light such as 
 would not have been tolerated in any other pursuit. 
 But the idea of having sub-inspectors appointed from 
 the overmen class was not an advisable one, on the 
 ground of the difficulty of finding suitable men, if for no 
 other reason. The recommendation of the select com- 
 mittee of 1852 did not come up to the expectations of 
 the workmen ; in fact, the report was unsatisfactory to 
 all parties, and the subject was brought again before 
 the House of Commons at an early date. On the isth 
 February 1853, a return of the number of accidents in 
 coal mines during the years 1850-51 and 1852 was 
 moved for. The inspectors compiled a list of accidents 
 from November 1850 up to December 1852, showing 
 that during that time 2040 lives had been lost in 
 colliery accidents. This return gave Mr. Hutchins the 
 opportunity of moving for leave to nominate a select 
 
 K 
 
130 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 committee on accidents in coal mines, which was agreed 
 to by Lord Palmerston, then Home Secretary, who con- 
 sidered the question one of great interest and worthy of 
 being inquired into. A long list of subjects for inquiry 
 was prepared, including effective ventilation, comparative 
 efficiency of the steam-jet and furnace, distribution of 
 air-ways, construction of upcast shafts, improvement of 
 safety-lamps, inspection of mines, and education of the 
 mining population. The inquiry into these different 
 matters occupied the committee during two sessions. 
 They commenced their labours in June 1853, and 
 completed the report in the same month in the follow- 
 ing year. They reported progress from time to time, 
 and the greater part of the evidence was printed before 
 the report was laid on the table of the House of 
 Commons. The report caused considerable excite- 
 ment among all classes connected with the colliery 
 interest. The questions to be inquired into were of 
 paramount importance, and it was essential to have 
 them deliberately and completely discussed. The 
 owners and viewers were desirous of refuting the start- 
 ling suggestions of the last committee, the workmen 
 were clamorous for extended inspection, and the legis- 
 lature, as well as the public, alive to the fact that colliery 
 accidents were still both too frequent and too fatal, 
 hoped that some means for diminishing them might be 
 arrived at. The select committee of 1852 had hazarded 
 an explanation as to explosions, attributing them in 
 many instances to an increase of air in the pits; yet 
 every petition from colliers, and every allusion to the sub- 
 ject by competent men, suggested improved ventilation. 
 Although inspection existed, it was more in form than 
 in fact, and the mines were seldom visited by the 
 
THE RISCA EXPLOSION. 131 
 
 inspectors ; convictions under the Act were very rare ; 
 and the only tangible result which had been thus far 
 obtained was a record of the number of deaths annually, 
 which amounted to a thousand on the average. During 
 the sitting of the committee delegations and deputa- 
 tions arrived from all parts of the country, representing 
 different interests. Colliery owners and their representa- 
 tives, viewers and engineers, and workmen's delegates 
 formed committees to deliberate and discuss the evidence 
 to be given, or press their views on the Government. A 
 deputation consisting of workmen's delegates waited 
 on the Home Secretary on the 26th July to urge the 
 framing of a measure of relief during the session ; to 
 advocate the appointment of sub-inspectors ; compensa- 
 tion to the widows of those who perished by accidents ; 
 a special coroner ; and some minor points. Lord 
 Palmerston promised to give his best attention to the 
 subject during the following session, when the report of 
 the select committee would be completed and the matter 
 fully considered. Demonstrations of colliers were also 
 held in the different districts, and numerous petitions 
 sent up to the Houses of Parliament or the Home 
 Secretary. The burden of all these documents was 
 similar. The prayers always included greater protec- 
 tion of life by improved ventilation ; more shafts on 
 large winnings ; a system of education such as had been 
 provided for factory children ; and increased inspection. 
 An explosion occurred at the Risca Colliery during the 
 year, and the inspector on examining the workings 
 found them to present the same dangers and defects 
 which had been pointed out some years previously by 
 Sir Henry de la Beche, who reported on the condition of 
 the colliery after the great explosion in 1846. Many 
 
132 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 collieries were without plans, the discipline lax, and the 
 management insufficient. In discussing the manage- 
 ment of collieries, the inspectors had drawn attention to 
 certain codes of rules adopted at many large collieries 
 and recommended the practice. The select committee, 
 adopting the suggestion, requested the colliery owners 
 to frame a set of rules for the guidance of all employed 
 at collieries, which might be incorporated in any Act 
 which the legislature might pass on the subject. In 
 consequence of this the committee of the Coal Trade 
 Association of Northumberland and Durham held some 
 meetings, and eventually issued a circular on the 25 th 
 of March 1854 to the principal coal owners in the 
 country, convening a meeting of coal owners and 
 engineers to consider some resolutions approved by the 
 association. In this circular they intimated that it was 
 desirable to bring under the consideration of the com- 
 mittee of the House of Commons, now sitting, a code of 
 regulations for the inspection of mines so constructed as 
 to be applicable to the mining districts of the country 
 generally. In order to carry out this object deputations 
 from each district were solicited to assemble in London 
 on the 25th April, and the four following days, for the 
 purpose of endeavouring to construct a general and 
 comprehensive code of inspection. A very large and 
 influential deputation from the different coal districts' 
 attended in answer to this summons. The meetings 
 were held under the presidency of Mr. Nicholas Wood, 
 and the inspectors were requested to attend, as well as a 
 deputation of working men then in London. After a 
 series of meetings and a great deal of discussion, a list 
 of rules was agreed on, and handed in to the com- 
 mittee by the chairman. The committee also obtained 
 
COAL TRADE COMMITTEE. 133 
 
 evidence from the workmen, delegates, and from other 
 witnesses on this subject. During these meetings of 
 deputations the views of the working coUiers had been 
 ascertained through their delegates. They were sub- 
 stantially as follows : — 
 
 Firstly : The appointment of sub-inspectors, to be 
 practical men of the class of underviewers. Secondly : 
 A board of control, to judge between inspectors and 
 colliery managers ; to act as court of appeal and appoint 
 inspectors and sub-inspectors ; to examine colliery 
 viewers and grant them certificates of competency 
 before allowing them to practise, and generally to 
 control the working of the Act of Parliament. Thirdly: 
 Provisions to be adopted for the education of boys. 
 And lastly : Better ventilation. 
 
 In order to ascertain the views of colliery owners, 
 circulars were issued containing certain points for con- 
 sideration, to which answers were requested, and in most 
 cases received. The inspectors embodied their views in 
 a report. The suggestions thus made by the deputa- 
 tions formed an important part of the evidence collected 
 by the select committee. The evidence, generally, as 
 to the best means of diminishing the loss of life in 
 collieries showed great diversity of opinion. Some 
 depended on the application of scientific and mechanical 
 appliances, improved ventilation, compulsory use of 
 safety-lamps in fiery mines, and improved machinery ; 
 others, attributing the generality of accidents to bad 
 management, desired to see improvement in the systems 
 of working, strict discipline underground, more careful 
 supervision, and better educated managers and overmen. 
 A great amount of evidence was also given regarding 
 the rival claims of the steam-jet and furnace as motive 
 
134 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 powers for ventilation, and the subject of education was 
 also minutely examined into. The report was presented 
 in June 1854, and contained an epitome of the evidence 
 collected. Almost the first paragraph attributed the 
 occurrence of explosions to defective ventilation. " The 
 committee are of opinion that imperfect ventilation is 
 the cause of the numerous accidents from fire-damp in 
 the country, and that an abundant supply of pure air 
 properly distributed must be considered as the great 
 and effectual means of preventing explosions and the 
 consequent sacrifice of human life." After enumerating 
 the various means of producing the necessary currents 
 of air, they " have to report that the preponderance of 
 evidence is decidedly in favour of the furnace." ' It was, 
 indeed, impossible, with the important, weighty evidence 
 before them, to arrive at any other conclusion. The 
 short-lived triumph of the steam-jet had come to an 
 end, though not without effecting some good ; and the 
 committee did not " fail to observe that the controversy 
 which had been going on respecting the merits of the 
 furnace and steam-jet systems has had very beneficial 
 results, and has produced an emulation which has been 
 the means of improving ventilation in many districts, 
 and of developing the merits and the powers of each 
 system to an extent not before known." The com- 
 mittee came also to a clear and decided opinion as to 
 the advisability of splitting the currents of air under- 
 ground when a mine is extensively opened out, and the 
 necessity of maintaining the air- ways so as to "allow 
 the person in charge of them to pass through without 
 difficulty." But referring to the ventilation of the 
 goaves, they found the opinions so contradictory that 
 " they are unable to discover any preponderance of 
 
INCREASED INSPECTION. 135 
 
 evidence on the subject ; but they are of opinion that to 
 make boreholes from the surface would in many cases 
 be impracticable, and, even when practicable, would not 
 be attended with satisfactory results.'' Then, as to 
 safety-lamps, they consider " they should not be relied 
 upon for the prevention of explosions," although useful 
 in mines liable to sudden outbursts of gas, basing this 
 opinion on the experiments made by Messrs. Wood and 
 Elliot with all the lamps then known, and with gas 
 taken from a coal mine. The use of gunpowder they 
 admit, after weighing the evidence: — "Although the 
 utmost care is necessary, it would not be advisable to 
 pass any law prohibiting its use." Then coming to the 
 subject of inspection, the committee recommended^ 
 " That the number of inspectors be increased ; that their 
 salaries be augmented ; that, under no circumstances, 
 should they be allowed to attend to any business but 
 that connected with their duties as inspectors of mines ; 
 that no new inspector be appointed who has not had at 
 least seven years' experience as the practical manager 
 of a mine ; that, as soon as practicable, every person 
 before his appointment as an inspector be subjected to 
 an examination in all branches of science connected 
 with mining ; that the reports of the inspectors be 
 laid periodically before Parliament." The desire of the 
 working colliers for sub-inspectors was not recognised ; 
 but the language of the report was unequivocal and 
 strong in condemning the system of the butties, or 
 petty contractors, of the Midland counties. After noti- 
 cing the desirability of securing a requisite amount of 
 knowledge in coroners' juries, and a point of law as to 
 the recovery of compensation by the representatives of 
 persons killed by accident, the committee gave a list of 
 
136 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 twelve rules which they recommended to be enforced by 
 the legislature, founded on the evidence and the report 
 of the proceedings of the conference of owners and 
 viewers of collieries. 
 
 The last subject touched on in the report was that of 
 education ; no particular plan was recommended ; but 
 the words of Dr. Horner, inspector of factories, were 
 quoted, who, in one of his reports, remarked : — " If ever 
 the boys between ten and twelve years of age who work 
 in coal mines should be required to attend school, as the 
 people in Durham and Northumberland seem to desire, 
 I hope the half-time system, and not the print-works 
 system, will be applied to them ; " and the committee 
 then dismissed the subject with the remark that " many 
 objections, however, were made with regard to the 
 practicability of carrying either of these plans into 
 effect." 
 
 Such was the substance of the report of the 
 select committee of the House of Commons of 1853. 
 Although tolerably exhaustive and more comprehen- 
 sive than the previous one, there were some important 
 points not alluded to at all which had been the sub- 
 ject of great discussion out of doors, and on which 
 evidence had been given. No mention was made 
 of the advisability of two independent shafts to each 
 colliery winning, nor as to giving certificates of com- 
 petency to managers and overmen, nor the appointment 
 of a central board of control. Still the report, with the 
 evidence and appendices, contained in two large Blue 
 Books, formed a valuable collection of information for 
 the use of the Government in framing any contemplated 
 measure. It had been recommended that a code of 
 special rules should be enforced at every colliery, framed 
 
THE ACT OF 1855. 137 
 
 so as to meet the requirements of their particular 
 
 circumstances. This recommendation was adopted by 
 
 Government, and formed a clause in the Bill which they 
 
 proposed, and brought before the House in May 1855. 
 
 It is curious that the measure was not discussed in 
 
 either House from the date of its introduction until it 
 
 received the Royal assent, on the 14th of August 1855, 
 
 except in committee, when it was but slightly altered. 
 
 The most important feature of the new measure was a 
 
 clause specifying seven general rules to be observed at all 
 
 collieries. These rules were founded on those suggested 
 
 by the conference of coal owners and mining engineers, 
 
 and embodied in the report of the select committee. 
 
 Another clause provided for special rules to be framed 
 
 and put in force at every colliery, subject to the 
 
 approval of a principal Secretary of State. The duties 
 
 of the inspectors were more clearly defined, special rules 
 
 were to be established, and for enforcing the observance 
 
 of those rules, clause eleven provided that the owner or 
 
 responsible agent shall be liable to a penalty " not 
 
 exceeding ;^S, and a further penalty, not exceeding £\, 
 
 for every day during which the offence continues after 
 
 such notice." Power was also given the inspectors to 
 
 compel colliery owners to have correct plans of their 
 
 workings, on a scale of not less than two chains to the 
 
 inch. The notices of accidents were now to be given 
 
 not only to the Secretary of State, but also to the 
 
 inspectors, within twenty-four hours of the occurrence ; 
 
 and the coroners were to adjourn the inquests to enable 
 
 the Secretary of State to be represented at the inquiry 
 
 if considered advisable. The penalties for breach of the 
 
 Act were not severe. The owners were liable to fines 
 
 not exceeding ^^5, and ;^i a day until the law had been 
 
138 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 complied with, after notice from the inspector. The 
 workmen, however, were not only liable to a penalty of 
 £2, but " to be imprisoned, with or without hard labour, 
 in the jail or house of correction for any period not 
 exceeding three calendar months," for neglecting or 
 wilfully violating any of the special rules established at 
 any colliery. This clause was added by the House of 
 Lords in committee, and was received with great dis- 
 satisfaction by the working men. The inconsistency of 
 making them liable to imprisonment for an offence 
 under the Act, while the masters could only be 
 fined, was not unnaturally the subject of much bitter 
 animadversion. 
 
 The object of this stringent penalty was to enforce as 
 much as possible the observance of the special rules, on 
 which so much of the safety of the collieries under- 
 ground depend. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Act of 1855 — Collieey Accidents and Explosions— Petitions 
 FROM THE Men for More Inspection — Discussions in Parlia- 
 ment — Act of i860 — Hartley Accident and Act of 1862. 
 
 The Act of 1855 may not improperly be denominated 
 a master's measure. It was mainly founded on the 
 resolutions adopted at the meetings held in London, 
 under the presidency of Mr. Nicholas Wood, and con- 
 sisting of forty-nine owners' representatives, six mining 
 inspectors, and fourVorkmen's delegates. These resolu- 
 tions represented the views of the party preponderating 
 at the deliberations. The men felt specially aggrieved 
 by the clause inflicting on them the penalty of imprison- 
 ment for a breach of the Act, whereas the employers 
 were only liable to a fine. The Act, however, though 
 not so comprehensive as it might have been, was a great 
 step in advance of the previous one. By the introduc- 
 tion of general, and the enforcement of special rules, the 
 responsibility of management became more defined, and 
 the owners became accountable in the eye of the law for 
 keeping their pits in a safe condition. The powers of 
 the inspectors were enlarged, but without curtailing the 
 responsibility of the owners. Shortly after the passing 
 of the Act six additional inspectors were appointed, and 
 the coal fields divided into twelve districts. 
 
 The first effect of the measure was to cause meetings 
 
140 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 of owners in the different districts, in order to consider 
 and frame codes of special rules suitable to the require- 
 ments of the collieries. In general, one set of rules was 
 adopted by groups of collieries, working under similar 
 conditions, within a given radius ; but some proprietors 
 preferred having sets of rules drawn up solely for their 
 works, and then often sought to introduce irrelevant 
 matter in them. They endeavoured to include rules 
 regarding the price of labour, the payment of wages, 
 or other contracts relating to the working of the pits. 
 They even went further, for in the Manchester district 
 they found that some of these codes, besides commercial 
 rules, proposed to bring the force of the Act to bear on 
 colliers who did not " attend Divine service at least once 
 on the Lord's Day ; " or even on the careless workman 
 coming to his work " on a Monday morning dirty, or 
 with an old beard." These were, however, exceptional 
 cases ; and in general, all the inspectors, and a majority 
 of the viewers, agreed in considering a properly framed 
 set of rules, strictly observed, one of the greatest safe- 
 guards against accidents ; and so general did the opinion 
 prevail that the owners complied with this clause of the 
 Act in a very short time. In other respects the Act 
 was not so well observed, and the reports of the 
 inspectors for the year 1856 show that it was frequently 
 evaded or ignored. The necessity for better-informed 
 managers was urged by all the inspectors and admitted 
 by many colliery proprietors. In order to supply this 
 deficiency, numerous proposals for the establishment of 
 local mining schools were put forward. But few of 
 these schemes, however praiseworthy, were destined to 
 become permanently successful, and to this day most of 
 our great mining centres are unprovided with the means 
 
THE CYMMER AND LUNDHILL EXPLOSIONS. 141 
 
 of giving a sound and efficient education to young men 
 who desire to enter upon the dangerous and responsible 
 avocation of colliery manager. The prevailing ignor- 
 ance of those in charge of collieries at that time was 
 strongly brought to light by an inquiry which took 
 place into the causes of an explosion at the Cymmer 
 Colliery, in South Wales, which occurred on the iSth of 
 July 1856, and by which 114 lives were lost. This 
 accident formed the subject of a question in the House 
 of Commons, in answer to which the Home Secretary 
 promised that a " thorough and searching investiga- 
 tion would take place." The inquiry which was held 
 revealed a very bad state of affairs. The colliery 
 appeared to have been grossly mismanaged, and the 
 most ordinary precautions neglected. In fact, it came 
 out at the inquiry that the manager seldom descended 
 the pit, leaving the entire practical direction of so large 
 and dangerous a colliery in the hands of an illiterate 
 overman. The evidence of the neglect and of incom- 
 petency were so strong that the coroner's jury returned 
 a verdict of manslaughter against the manager, the 
 overman, and the firemen of the colliery. They were 
 subsequently acquitted at assizes on technical grounds. 
 This accident contributed largely to the total of 1027 
 deaths through colliery accidents during the year. Not 
 many months after this calamity a still more disastrous 
 explosion occurred at Lundhill Colliery, in Yorkshire, 
 where, on the 19th of February 1857, no less than 189 
 persons perished. The Lundhill Colliery was neither a 
 small or neglected one. Every necessary precaution 
 against explosion appeared to have been taken ; the 
 current of air in the mine was ample; safety-lamps 
 were provided for the colliers ; a complete code of rules 
 
142 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 established. But such was the want of skill and the 
 laxity of the management that the ventilating current 
 was not brought to bear on the face of the coal ; that 
 the use of safety-lamps was left optional by the colliers ; 
 and that the rules were so disregarded as to be merely 
 nominal. Several mining engineers of standing, who 
 had been consulted as to the best steps to be taken to 
 save life and property, gave evidence at the inquest ; 
 and Messrs. Wood, Elliot, and Woodhouse concurred in 
 the opinion that the management underground was, in 
 general, too lax ; that the use of safety-lamps in such a 
 seam ought to be universally enforced, and not left at 
 the option of the wastemen, or road-packers, and that 
 the mode of working the coal was defective and 
 dangerous. The origin of the accident could not be 
 clearly ascertained, despite the most careful and search- 
 ing investigation. Perhaps the evidence of the under- 
 viewer, who had previously acted as chief-viewer for a 
 time, may give a clue to the cause of the explosion. 
 He said : — " As regards the system of working coal 
 generally in this neighbourhood, I will venture to say, 
 from my own experience in the north of England, in 
 Staffordshire, and in Yorkshire, that the Barnsley mode 
 of getting coal is the most wretched and the most 
 dangerous that I know." But it required an explosion, 
 killing 189 men, to bring this fact clearly before the 
 minds of practical men. 
 
 Thus the jury, while condemning the lax discipline 
 and faulty management of the colliery, relieved the 
 owners of blame, and returned virtually a verdict of 
 accidental death. This, though the most disastrous, 
 was not the only serious explosion which occurred dur- 
 ing 1857 — a year conspicuous in the annals of colliery 
 
THE BILL OF i860. 143 
 
 accidents through the number and fatality of explosions. 
 The loss of life through explosions alone amounted to 
 377, out of a total of 11 19 lives lost during the year. 
 Some improvement took place in the following year, 
 during which 215 lives were lost by explosions out of 
 a total of 931 deaths; and in 1859 the numbers were 
 still further reduced to 95 out of an aggregate of 90S 
 deaths, and this during a period of great activity in the 
 coal trade. During this year the possibility of amend- 
 ing the Act on its renewal in i860 was much discussed. 
 It was generally supposed that some alterations would 
 be made, and probably a great many proposed. In the 
 House of Commons, Mr. Ayrton, on the 12th August, 
 asked " whether it was the intention of the Government 
 to inquire into the effect of prolonged labour of children 
 in mines of coal and ironstone, as the Act for inspec- 
 tion of mines expired next year." He received a reply 
 to the effect that an inquiry would take place, although 
 it had not been determined whether or not by a commis- 
 sion. No royal commission, however, was appointed, 
 and no parliamentary inquiry took place ; but on the 
 14th February i860, the "Mines Regulation and 
 Inspection Bill " was brought in and read for a first 
 time. During the previous year numerous suggestions 
 had been made — in the press, at public meetings or 
 scientific societies, and through other channels — as to 
 alterations which might be made in the existing Act, or 
 new clauses which might be introduced into the Bill. 
 
 The workman, who had developed an increasing 
 interest in the legislation affecting them, continued to 
 press for an increase in the number and powers of 
 the inspectors. Besides the increase of inspection, the 
 men also demanded that the coals wrought should be 
 
144 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 paid for by weight, and not by measure. Among the 
 numerous suggestions pressed at the time was one pro- 
 posing the creation of a minister of mines, either as a 
 separate office or head of a department under the Board 
 of Works, and this idea met with the support of the 
 working colliers, The framers of the Bill seem to have 
 considered all the suggestions made, and endeavoured 
 to include within its scope enough to please the one 
 side and not too much displease the other. It met with 
 a fair, but by no means a cordial, reception on the part of 
 the association of colliery proprietors. Some of these 
 objected altogether to further legislation, and several 
 clauses, especially those relating to the employment of 
 boys, were generally disapproved. The colliers, on 
 their side, testified their approval by sending up to 
 Parliament twenty-five petitions, signed by over 30,000 
 colliers, in favour of the Bill, supported by a deputation 
 representing most, if not all, the colliery districts of the 
 country. Several new principles had been introduced 
 into the measure. The clauses regarding the labour of 
 boys were extended, and an education clause intro- 
 duced. It was provided that boys under twelve years 
 of age were not to be employed underground, except 
 those employed at the time of the passing of the Act, 
 and such as were able to obtain a certificate from a 
 competent master to the effect that they could read and 
 write. Boys were, further, to furnish their employers 
 with certificates, showing that they had attended school 
 for twenty hours during each preceding month. The 
 age of those entrusted with the care of steam-engines 
 was fixed at eighteen instead of fifteen years. The 
 general rules to be observed at all collieries was 
 increased by one. The number of these rules first pro- 
 
THE EDUCATION CLAUSES. 145 
 
 posed was sixteen, but they were reduced to eight in 
 committee. The special colliery rules already estab- 
 lished were to remain in force, and provision was made 
 for framing new ones. The powers of the inspectors were 
 enlarged,and notices of death through accidents were to be 
 sent direct to them within twenty-four hours of the occur- 
 rence, and not to the Secretary of State as previously. 
 
 The Act of 1842 was repealed, except in so far as it 
 related to the employment of women underground ; 
 and, as the office of inspector under that Act was 
 abolished, the duty of reporting on the condition of the 
 mines rested solely with the inspectors appointed under 
 the new measure. It was fully expected that the 
 measure would be opposed on the second reading. 
 However, it was not until the Bill came before com- 
 mittee that the education clauses were attacked. Before 
 this occurred, numerous petitions had been sent up to 
 Parliament from colliers working in almost every dis- 
 trict of the country expressing their views. They urged, 
 among other points, the insertion of a clause providing 
 for strict weighing of coal on the pit bank, and that 
 notices should be given to the inspectors not only of the 
 fatal accidents but also of those resulting in serious 
 injury. The coal owners, on the other hand, were not 
 remiss in waiting by deputation on the Home Secretary, 
 and supporting their views by influentially signed 
 petitions. In committee they made a determined attack 
 on the education clauses, which they affirmed would 
 injuriously affect their interests. The discussion which 
 ensued was based more on the principle of compulsory 
 education than on the special clause of the Bill before 
 committee. The clause was, however, eventually re- 
 tained by a majority of 107 in a committee of 249. 
 
 L 
 
146 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 Thus one great principle of the Bill was accepted — 
 namely, that the uncontrolled employment of boys 
 should be prevented, and that not before the age of ten, 
 and then under certain restrictions, they ought to be 
 permitted to work underground. 
 
 The first rule, relating to ventilation as it originally 
 stood in the Bill, was as follows : — " An adequate 
 amount of artificial ventilation shall be constantly 
 produced in all coal mines, collieries, and iron mines, to 
 dilute and render harmless noxious gases, to such an 
 extent that the working places, and all accessible places 
 of the pits, levels, and workings of every such colliery 
 and mine shall, under ordinary circumstances, be in a 
 fit state for working therein." The words artificial and 
 all accessible places had been expunged on the first 
 reading in committee, and at the suggestion of Mr. 
 Ayrton they were again reintroduced. The same 
 members proposed an additional rule, providing for 
 refuge stalls in the tramways and inclines underground ; 
 and a most important new clause, providing for the 
 proper weighing of the coals wrought — a concession 
 strongly desired by the colliers. On this subject Mr. 
 Cayley, who had been chairman of one of the select 
 committees on colliery matters, remarked that — " In the 
 committees which had sat upon the subject, no point 
 was more insisted upon than the necessity of having 
 weighing-machines as between the workmen and the 
 employers." The amendment was not discussed at that 
 sitting, but subsequently the proposed clause was 
 accepted. A clause was added, prohibiting the pay- 
 ment of wages in premises contiguous to public-houses. 
 The Act was made perpetual, and read a third time on 
 the 9th July i860. 
 
AMENDMENTS IN THE LORDS. 147 
 
 The progress of the Bill through the House of 
 Commons had been watched with great interest, even 
 anxiety, both by the owners and the men. Every 
 clause, as it was considered ia the House, was discussed 
 by the associations representing the proprietary interest 
 and the miners' delegates, established in London to 
 watch the progress of the Bill. The amendments had 
 been assented to by both parties as a compromise, 
 and the Bill was considered fairly acceptable all round. 
 No alterations of any importance were expected to be 
 made in the House of Lords ; so much so, that the 
 men's delegates returned to their districts. However, 
 at the second reading in the Upper House, symptoms 
 of renewed opposition became apparent when Lord 
 Ravensworth gave notice of his intention to propose 
 some amendments in committee. Accordingly, when 
 the Bill came to be considered in committee on the 23rd 
 July i860, Lord Ravensworth proposed and carried an 
 amendment to the education clause. By this alteration 
 it was made optional for a boy either to obtain a 
 certificate of being able to write and read, or to attend 
 school for twenty hours during each lunar month sub- 
 sequent to his employment, so that boys under twelve 
 years who were able to read and write would be able to 
 obtain employment without the necessity of continuing 
 to attend school up to that age. He also restricted the 
 effect of the ventilation rule by eliminating the words 
 " where possible all other accessible places." The rule 
 providing for the weighing of coal was expunged ; but 
 at the third reading, owing to the clamour of the 
 delegates, a separate clause to the same effect was 
 added at the end of the Bill. Thus mutilated, the Bill 
 was recommitted to the House of Commons. The 
 
148 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 unexpected result of the Lords' consideration of the 
 measure quite startled its adherents, and more especially 
 the workmen's delegates, who had been led to suppose 
 that no change beyond verbal alterations would be 
 made by the Upper House. It was now hoped that in 
 the House of Commons the unpopular amendments of 
 the Lords might be rejected, or at any rate modified. 
 Mr. Clive remarked that " the House of Commons had 
 carefully considered the clauses of the Bill for sixteen 
 hours, and the whole of their work was undone by the 
 House of Lords in sixteen minutes." Sir George Lewis 
 also regretted the alterations made, and promised, on 
 the part of the Government, that " the subject would 
 receive the consideration of the Government during 
 the recess." No amendment was pressed, and thus the 
 measure received the Royal sanction on the 28th 
 August i860. 
 
 The Act, though falling short of the expectations of 
 the workmen, was accepted as an instalment of future 
 legislation. Hitherto, the legislative enactments relat- 
 ing to mining had been of an experimental kind, and 
 the last two Acts had been passed for the limited period 
 of five years ; but the result of mining inspection had 
 been sufficiently satisfactory to decide Parliament on 
 legislating in a permanent form, and the Act of i860 
 was made perpetual. The measure had received great 
 care and consideration from Government, who had the 
 experience of past legislation, the mass of information 
 collected by royal commissions, and the assistance of 
 inspectors at their command to guide them in framing 
 a comprehensive and useful measure. The Act, though 
 imperfect, enforced some regulations essential to the 
 better management of collieries, and more clearly defined 
 
THE RISCA EXPLOSION, i860. 149 
 
 the respective duties of masters and men. It promised 
 to be attended with good results both as regards a 
 diminution of accidents and a removal of usages which 
 had led to misunderstanding between the employers 
 and the employed. The subject of accidents caused 
 constant anxiety, and it was absolutely needful for the 
 pacification of the men to make some provision for their 
 prevention, if possible. Not a year passed without the 
 occurrence of some disastrous accident ; and during the 
 year which had witnessed the passing of the Act two 
 very serious explosions were recorded. The first of 
 these took place at Burradon Colliery, in the north of 
 England, on the 2nd March, causing the deaths of 
 seventy-six persons. The investigation into the cause 
 of this calamity — which, indeed, assumed rather an 
 acrimonious tone — revealed imperfections in the manage- 
 ment which had not been suspected in a colliery of such 
 magnitude in the north of England. The other great 
 explosion took place at the Risca Colliery, in Monmouth 
 on the 1st December, entailing the loss of 142 lives. 
 These were, however, by no means the only explo- 
 sions which occurred during i860. The year had been 
 remarkable for the number of such catastrophes ; the 
 deaths recorded amounting to 363, as compared with 95 
 in the previous year, out of a total of 1109. The cause 
 of the abnormal increase of accidents was perhaps 
 rightly attributed, at least in part, to the great pressure 
 put on the staff of the collieries by the demand for coal. 
 The precautions needful for safety may at such a time 
 be neglected when the attention of all concerned is 
 directed towards the effort of increasing the output. 
 Still, this explanation is barely sufficient to account for 
 the numerous fatalities which occurred at that time. Ere 
 
ISO COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the year closed an accident, almost unique in its kind, 
 occurred at the Hetton Colliery, where an explosion 
 of gas took place in the flues of a boiler underground. 
 The gas had been allowed to accumulate during two 
 and a half hours, and was in sufficient quantity to cause 
 a very serious explosion, by which twenty-two men lost 
 their lives. Only one other instance of such an accident 
 appears to be on record, and that occurred at the Felling 
 Colliery in 1847. The rapid succession of startling and 
 fatal accidents at collieries during the year drew special 
 attention to the subject, and in consequence a number 
 of suggestions and proposals were put forward by 
 philanthropic, scientific, and practical men, with a view 
 to reducing the loss of life caused by such catastrophes. 
 Some proposed collecting the gas in chambers under- 
 ground, like gasometers, and leading it thence to the 
 surface in tubes ; others suggested sending fresh air 
 down into the mines in pipes, which were to branch off 
 into all the ramifications of the underground workings. 
 Many schemes for increasing the ventilation were pro- 
 posed, and some new safety-lamps invented. But all 
 these proposals were more or less impossible to carry 
 out in practice, and the experience of the past pointed 
 to careful and intelligent management as the best 
 security against accidents. To secure this, it was 
 evident that a better class of managers and overmen 
 would be required. This led to the suggestion that 
 candidates for employment as colliery viewers ought to 
 undergo an examination before a competent tribunal, 
 and obtain certificates of competency, somewhat similar 
 to those granted to the merchant navy. Although this 
 idea was so strongly advocated in 1 861, it was not until 
 the year 1873 that it was carried out in practice. While 
 
MANAGERS OF COLLIERIES. 151 
 
 these numerous and varied suggestions were being made 
 for improved and safer mining, some of the journals of 
 the day filled their columns with clamorous denuncia- 
 tions of colliery owners, who were blamed for all the 
 calamities which occurred at collieries, and accused of 
 heartless neglect of the lives of the men employed 
 underground. 
 
 These general statements were, however, as unde- 
 served as they were offensive. The great majority of the 
 colliery proprietors had accepted the Act of Parliament, 
 with its regulations for the safety of the men, with a 
 good grace, and were ready to observe its provisions 
 The inspectors, it is true, found some trouble in framing 
 new codes of special rules for the different districts. 
 The other clauses of the Act did not cause so much 
 trouble, and the difficulties of carrying them out 
 prognosticated by the opponents of the measure were 
 not realised. The education clauses did not stop the 
 collieries, and the general rules had a beneficial effect. 
 The greatest difficulty experienced by the colliery 
 owners was to secure managers competent to carry out 
 the provisions of the Act. In many districts this 
 want was greatly felt, and in many cases incompetent 
 managers were employed owing to the difficulty of find- 
 ing better men. As a matter of fact, many collieries, 
 even large works, were entrusted to ignorant managers. 
 In South Wales, for instance, at an inquest held on the 
 bodies of thirteen men killed by an explosion in March 
 1 86 1 at the Blaengwar Colliery, the overman in his 
 evidence stated : — " I am the overman of Blaengwar 
 Colliery. I have been so for seven or eight years. I 
 cannot read, write, or speak English." This is but one 
 out of many instances of the ignorance prevailing among 
 
152 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 overmen of collieries which have been brought to notice 
 at inquiries held into the causes of colliery accidents. 
 
 At the commencement of the year 1862 the whole 
 country was startled by an accident unprecedented in 
 the annals of colliery catastrophes, and memorable 
 through the great loss of life which it caused. The 
 beam of the pumping-engine at the Hartley Colliery 
 suddenly broke on the i6th of January, and falling 
 down the shaft practically closed the pit on 204 
 men, who were suffocated underground. This extensive 
 colliery had only one shaft, which was divided by a 
 wooden partition, or brattice. One division of the shaft 
 was used for pumping, and formed the upcast for the 
 ventilating current ; the other division was used for 
 drawing up coals, and as the downcast for air. The 
 workings contained much water, and the pumping-engine 
 was a very powerful one. The weight of the water 
 raised at each stroke of the pumping-engine amounted 
 to fifty-five tons, which had to be borne by the engine- 
 beam, constructed of cast iron, and placed directly over 
 the shaft, and connected with the pump-rods. On the 
 day of the accident one set of pump-rods broke, and the 
 engine suddenly lost its load, whereby the beam came 
 down with great velocity on the catch-pin and broke. 
 The part over the pumps, weighing about twenty tons, 
 fell down the shaft, tearing with it all the fittings, 
 shattering the brattice, and loosening the walling, 
 besides disturbing some of the strata. The shaft was 
 thus suddenly choked with debris, and no exit remained 
 for the unhappy men, who were buried alive in the 
 underground workings. On this occasion, valiant — 
 nay, heroic— efforts were made by colliers and shaft 
 sinkers to rescue their entombed brethren. The sinkers 
 
THE HARTLE Y A CCIDENT. 1 53 
 
 prosecuted their work unremittingly in the face of the 
 greatest dangers, and under the most trying circum- 
 stances. Water poured down upon them in torrents ; 
 stythe, or choke-damp, rose up in volumes through the 
 debris, affecting them almost to suffocation ; and the 
 walling of the shaft was constantly falling from the 
 sides during the work. These efforts were all, however, 
 in vain. When, at last, a communication was effected, 
 it was too late to recover the 204 men, who were all 
 dead. The extraordinary circumstances of the accident, 
 and the number of lives lost by it, created intense 
 excitement among all classes, and in all parts of the 
 country. Her Majesty telegraphed to the colliery while 
 the work of clearing the shaft was proceeding, to inquire 
 as to the fate of the men underground, and when the 
 dismal fact of their death was ascertained she headed 
 the subscription made in aid of their sorrowing relatives. 
 At a meeting held at Newcastle for the purpose of 
 organising a fund for the benefit of the widows and 
 orphans of the dead colliers, the Bishop of Durham paid 
 a well-deserved tribute to the courage and devotion of 
 the sinkers and others, who, at the peril of their lives, 
 volunteered to work for the rescue of their buried 
 comrades. 
 
 The Bishop, in addressing the meeting, said : — " I call 
 these men the real heroes of the people, and I feel 
 Northumberland may well be proud of possessing them. 
 I feel the whole country must be proud of them." 
 Shortly after the accident the Home Secretary issued a 
 circular to the colliery inspectors, requesting a return of 
 the number of collieries working in each district with 
 only one shaft, specifying the plan, depth, and fittings 
 of such shaft. The inspectors, in their replies, were 
 
154 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 unanimous in recommending the Government to enforce 
 two means of exit at every colliery, for the safety of the 
 men underground. This view was also supported by a 
 numerously-signed petition to the House of Commons 
 from the county of Durham, expressing the feeling of 
 the majority of the colliery owners and viewers. In 
 consequence, Sir George Grey brought in a short Bill 
 on the i6th June 1862, with the object of prohibiting 
 collieries being worked without at least two means of 
 exit for the men, but giving existing collieries ample 
 time to comply with this regulation, either by sinking 
 new shafts or effecting a communication with others 
 existing in the vicinity. 
 
 The advocates of mechanical ventilation took the 
 opportunity of pointing out that had that system been 
 in use at the Hartley Colliery the men would not have 
 been suffocated ; and by some, it was argued, on the 
 strength of past statistics, that there was no necessity 
 for an Act of Parliament to meet the danger of an 
 accident not likely to occur again. No opposition, 
 however, was offered to the Bill during its passage 
 through Parliament, and the colliery proprietors admit- 
 ting the justice of the regulation, submitted without 
 much cavil to the expenses thus entailed on them. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Agitation among Colliers for more Legislation — Committee of 
 House of Commons Appointed, 1864 — Terrible Explosion at the 
 Oaks Colliery — Report of Committee and Discussions in the 
 House of Commons — Royal Commission on the Duration of 
 Coal. 
 
 The Act of i860 was the result of a compromise 
 between the masters, the workmen, and the mine 
 inspectors. The clauses objectionable to the owners 
 had been worded so as to cause them as little incon- 
 venience as possible. The men had been met in many 
 ways, but more specially by the introduction of the 
 weighing clause ; and the inspectors had carried their 
 points as to securing the direct notice of accidents, and 
 extending the Act to some mines of ironstone. The 
 men had been clamorous for the appointment of sub- 
 inspectors, but the dread of introducing anything like 
 Government management had prevented the adoption 
 of the proposal. The number of the inspectors had, 
 however, been doubled, and their powers greatly in- 
 creased. 
 
 Distinct rules were laid down for the guidance of 
 managers, the powers of the inspectors amplified and 
 extended to iron mines worked in connection with 
 coal, and the responsibility of owners was more clearly 
 defined. Accidents, however, continued to occur ; and 
 these were, rightly or wrongly, attributed by the men, 
 
IS6 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 or rather by their leaders, to the inefficiency of the Act 
 of Parliament. 
 
 Agitation was noticeable in the various colliery 
 districts among the men shortly after the passing of the 
 Act, and expressions of dissatisfaction found vent at 
 public meetings and holiday gatherings. Certain griev- 
 ances were put forth, such as long pays ; the evasion of 
 the Truck Act by many owners ; the number of work- 
 ing hours underground ; and, above all, the system 
 adopted for gauging the coal wrought. The men com- 
 plained, generally, of the overweight they were obliged 
 to make, and the large percentage of deductions to 
 which they had to submit. 
 
 To provide against any unfairness in the measuring of 
 the coal, a clause had been inserted in the Act enabling 
 men to appoint a check-weigher at their own expense. 
 But the clause had not effected the result intended. 
 The almost universal dissatisfaction eventually led to a 
 determination to hold a great representative meeting in 
 the autumn of 1863, to which every district should send 
 a certain number of delegates. The mining districts 
 were suddenly flooded with circulars explaining the 
 object of the proposed meeting, and urging on the 
 colliers to hold district meetings to discuss their griev- 
 ances, and to suggest such remedies as they considered 
 sufficient. The subject of accidents was prominently 
 treated in this document ; and one object of the great 
 meeting, as described in the circulars, was to "endeavour 
 to prevent those fearful atrocities that decimate their 
 ranks as pitmen, and startle momentarily the public 
 mind, and then pass away like the shadow of a cloud 
 over a field in summer ; the only effects of which are 
 hid from the public eye in the agonised bosom of the 
 
AGITATION AMONG THE COLLIERS. 157 
 
 relict of the slaughtered, or buried beneath the cold 
 shelter of the workhouse." 
 
 Language such as this, frequently repeated and 
 sedulously distributed among the colliers, did not fail to 
 produce its effect. They were roused by the recital of 
 their wrongs, and followed the voices of their teachers 
 and leaders. General open-air meetings and private 
 conferences of delegates followed in rapid succession 
 in different parts of the country. Regularly organised 
 associations were formed, comprising presidents, secre- 
 taries, and treasurers, and these issued manifestoes, 
 lists of grievances, and inflammatory circulars. At 
 some of these meetings the question of wages was 
 discussed, but as a matter of secondary importance, as 
 they were high at the time. The absorbing questions 
 of the day were those relating to improved education 
 for boys ; restriction of age for their employment to 
 twelve years ; reduction of working hours for youths 
 up to fourteen years of age ; more stringent general 
 rules to ensure greater safety ; payment of coal by 
 weight only ; complete abolition of the truck system ; 
 and, lastly, increased and improved inspection. 
 
 As might be surmised, there was a large amount of 
 speaking, and a great deal of irrelevant matter intro- 
 duced in the speeches delivered at the workmen's meet- 
 ings. But although they exaggerated the grounds of 
 their dissatisfaction, there were grievances of which the 
 colliers had a reasonable right to complain. It was 
 true, that in too many cases the lives of the colliers were 
 left at the mercy of ignorant or incompetent managers, 
 little above the social grade of those working under them. 
 It was also true that the Truck Act was frequently 
 evaded ; and that the weighing or measuring of coal 
 
158 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 sent up from the mine was in many cases performed in 
 an arbitrary and unsatisfactory manner. It might also 
 be said that the inspection of the collieries was insuffi- 
 cient, if not unsatisfactory. 
 
 At some of the meetings great stress was laid on the 
 allegation that the inspectors were appointed by the 
 owners, or at least through their influence, and therefore, 
 it was argued, such inspectors ought to be selected from 
 the class of overmen, in order to protect the men. The 
 colliers, in general, were alive to the importance of 
 education for those entrusted with the management of 
 collieries; and they frequently, at their meetings, alluded 
 to the desirability of compelling all colliery officials to 
 pass some examination of proficiency in their profession 
 before being entrusted with any responsible post at a 
 colliery. 
 
 All these points were fully discussed at the great con- 
 ference of miners' delegates, held at Leeds, in November 
 1 863, which concluded by the organisation of " The 
 Miners' National Association," having for its object the 
 consideration of " the interests of operative miners, as 
 regards legislation, the inspection of mines, and com- 
 pensation for accidents." 
 
 This association formed a powerful combination, and 
 was mainly instrumental in preserving that unity among 
 the men which proved so strong and enabled them to 
 obtain so many concessions in the sequence. 
 
 At the instigation of this association a petition was 
 sent up to Parliament, in the spring of 1864, which 
 undoubtedly had weight in stimulating and directing 
 legislative inquiry. 
 
 The year 1865 opened ominously for the colliers. The 
 coal trade was not prosperous, and notices of reduction 
 
MR. A YRTON'S COMMITTEE. 159 
 
 of wages had been issued by the masters in various 
 districts ; while the workmen held meetings to discuss 
 the vital question of wages more than the necessity 
 of further legislation. This subject was not, however, 
 entirely neglected, and petitions continued to be sent 
 up to Parliament. When Mr. Ayrton, on the 9th May, 
 moved in the House of Commons for " A select com- 
 mittee to inquire into the operation of the Act for the 
 regulation and inspection of mines, and the allegations 
 of the petitions presented to the House upon the sub- 
 ject from the miners of Great Britain," he was able to 
 illustrate his arguments by presenting petitions from 
 10,000 miners. The motion was agreed to, and a 
 select committee duly appointed " To inquire into the 
 operation of the Acts for the regulation and inspection 
 of mines, and into the complaints contained in petitions 
 from miners of Great Britain with reference thereto, 
 which were presented to the House during the session 
 1865." The committee extended their inquiry over 
 three sessions, and their report was not published till 
 1867. It had been quite. understood that the labours of 
 this committee would lead to some alteration of the law, 
 and that the recommendations made by them would in 
 all probability be used as the basis of any new measure. 
 Both employers and employed made every exertion to 
 influence the decision of the committee by their evidence. 
 In addition, meetings of colliery owners and men's 
 delegates were frequently held, as well as conferences 
 between masters' associations and deputations from the 
 men. The coal trade seemed divided into two opposing 
 armies, each preparing for the coming struggle. The 
 colliers, on this occasion, had acquired considerable 
 accession of power by enlisting the co-operation and 
 
i6o COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 assistance of men of high standing and influence ; 
 while, by means of the miners' associations, which 
 flourished in every colliery district, the men preserved 
 unity in their action, and collected the necessary funds. 
 
 The year 1866 was the most disastrous hitherto 
 recorded in the annals of colliery accidents. In this 
 year the catastrophes were not limited to any one 
 district, but nearly all the colliery centres contributed 
 their ghastly quota to make up the unprecedented total 
 of 1484 lives lost. 
 
 The Yorkshire district witnessed the terrible explosion 
 at the Oaks Colliery, the most terrific which had ever 
 been recorded in this or any other county. In North 
 Stafford an explosion occurred at Talk-o'-th'-Hill, result- 
 ing in 91 deaths. In South Durham the number of 
 deaths was unusually large ; and in West Lancashire 
 a greater number of lives were lost in and about the 
 mines in the year than for some time previous ; and 
 in South Staffordshire an increase of 18 deaths is 
 recorded. The dreadful accident at the Oaks Colliery, 
 by which 334 colliers working in the pit lost their 
 lives, and 27 volunteers, who descended the pit imme- 
 diately after the occurrence, were killed by succes- 
 sive explosions which took place on the day following 
 the first catastrophe, created an unusually painful sensa- 
 tion throughout the country generally, and among the 
 mining world more particularly. It seemed as if all the 
 efforts which had hitherto been made to prevent, or at 
 least reduce, the fatality of colliery accidents, had been 
 completely abortive ; and people reflected with almost 
 despairing sadness on this calamity, which had occurred 
 in a reputedly well-ventilated pit, under the manage- 
 ment of one of the first mining engineers of the day, 
 
THE OAKS EXPLOSION. i6i 
 
 and worked under approved rules of organisation and 
 discipline. 
 
 A searching inquiry took place at the inquest, which 
 lasted thirteen days, and detailed reports were made on 
 the explosion by Mr. S. K. Blackwell and Mr. Dickin- 
 son, inspector of mines, specially instructed by the 
 Government. At the termination of the inquiry, the 
 jury, in their verdict, found that the deaths had been 
 caused by an explosion of fire-damp, but that there was 
 " no evidence to prove when or how ignited." From the 
 evidence, and the opinions recorded in the two reports 
 on the occurrence, the cause of the explosion may be 
 attributed to the working of the seam of coal towards 
 the rise, thus leaving goaves at a lower level than the 
 working face, which became reservoirs of carburetted 
 hydrogfen. Any abnormal occurrence, such as a diminu- 
 tion of atmospheric pressure, or falls of rock, caused 
 by dislocations of the superincumbent strata over the 
 goaves, would then force the gas upwards on to the 
 working face ; and, if the quantity were sufficient to 
 vitiate the ventilating current up to the explosive point, 
 the danger of a catastrophe such as occurred would 
 become imminent. This terrible explosion produced a 
 deep impression, as might readily be supposed, on the 
 working colliers. They at once organised a deputation 
 to wait on the Home Secretary, and urge the necessity 
 of appointing a commission to inquire into the causes 
 of the recent accidents at the Oaks and Talk-o'-th'-Hill 
 Collieries. The deputation was introduced by Lord 
 Elcho, and accompanied by several members of Parlia- 
 ment. But beyond a general promise that the interests 
 of miners would be attended to by the Government, the 
 Home Secretary made no statement. On the day of 
 
 M 
 
i62 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the opening of Parliament, however, the Under-Secretary 
 of State (Lord Belmore) moved for copies of the official 
 reports on the recent accidents, as it was the intention 
 of the Home Secretary to refer them to the committee 
 of the House of Commons which sat during the previous 
 session, and which it was intended to reappoint. On 
 this occasion, Lord Wharncliffe made some observa- 
 tions on the subject, giving it, as his opinion, that the 
 inspectors of mines ought to have additional powers, 
 and their number be increased. The subject was 
 referred to on several occasions during the session. 
 
 The agitation for further legislation out of doors con- 
 tinued with unabated energy, and no opportunities were 
 lost by the leaders of the various miners' associations to 
 expose any shortcomings in the working of the Act. 
 That a very complete organisation existed among the 
 men became apparent from the evidence they gave 
 before the select committee. On the subject of their 
 grievances as set forth in the petitions, the evidence 
 given by the delegates from every district was singularly 
 uniform, and, in many cases, very clear and compre- 
 hensive. One witness, in referring to the desirability of 
 paying the men on the weight of coal wrought instead 
 of the number of tubs filled, explained that the latter 
 gradually grew in size, and that though holding only 
 five hundredweight when new, they contained six and 
 seven hundredweight after having been repaired. The 
 evidence on the subject of weighing was very consistent 
 So was that on the non-employment of boys under- 
 ground under the age of twelve years, and the advisa- 
 bility of limiting their hours of work to eight per day. 
 It was elicited, however, that the men themselves were 
 in general to be blamed for any breach of the education 
 
SUB-INSPECTORS PROPOSED. 163 
 
 clauses, and that most of them considered the almost 
 prohibitory restriction on the labour of boys as a great 
 hardship. The move to reduce their hours of work was 
 intended as the commencement of a general eight hours' 
 system for all employed underground. It was well known 
 that when the boys left the pit the whole work had to 
 stop, as their duties, such as keeping the ventilating doors, 
 driving the ponies, or hauling the tubs, were absolutely 
 necessary to enable the colliers to proceed with the more 
 important branch of hewing the coal and sending it 
 away from the face. 
 
 In the evidence the men gave regarding inspection 
 they strongly urged the appointment of sub-inspectors, 
 who would examine the mines frequently and thoroughly. 
 The colliery proprietors, mining engineers, and inspectors 
 considered the existing inspection quite sufficient. Mr. 
 Woodhouse, certainly, in the weighty evidence he gave, 
 recommended the appointment of assistant-inspectors, to 
 act under the inspectors, but more in the way of articled 
 pupils than as inferior officers, enabling them thus to 
 gain the experience necessary to qualify in time for the 
 post of inspector. He hoped, by this method, to do 
 away with what he called "the patronage system of 
 appointing inspectors." He referred here, most prob- 
 ably, to appointments which had been made through 
 the recommendation of influential colliery proprietors, 
 who supported the claims of candidates known to them 
 in their districts. The views entertained by the different 
 witnesses, as to the duties of the inspectors, were so 
 varied, that the committee, before closing the inquiry, 
 examined Sir George Grey on the subject. He had 
 been in office during the passing of the Act in 1850, 
 under which the inspectors were first appointed. Sir 
 
i64 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 George Grey very clearly stated that the Government 
 never had intended to saddle the inspectors with any 
 share in the responsibility of management, which was 
 to rest entirely with the owners. This limit of the 
 duties of the inspectors had been thoroughly approved 
 by the owners of collieries. Sir George Grey was the 
 last witness examined by the committee, who presented 
 their report in July 1867. In the report the committee 
 commenced by referring to and quoting the miners' 
 petition which had been referred to them, and which 
 contained a recital of their grievances ; then, after deal- 
 ing seriatim with the different subjects, namely, the 
 employment of boys, improved ventilation, increased 
 inspection, careful weighing, the truck system, and 
 coroners' juries, they submitted at the end of the report 
 a series of resolutions and recommendations. In these 
 they suggested some alterations in the existing law. 
 They fixed the limit of age for boys to be employed 
 underground at twelve instead of ten years ; recom- 
 mended that the weights and measures should be tested 
 by the inspector of weights from time to time, and that 
 the law regarding truck should be modified in order to 
 be more effectual. With regard to safety, they proposed 
 a new rule, prohibiting the use of gunpowder in mines 
 where safety-lamps were enforced by the special rules, 
 unless authorised to be used by the special rules, and 
 some less important alterations in some of the general 
 rules. They then made a bold suggestion with refer- 
 ence to underground workings, namely, " That it is 
 expedient to provide that it shall not be lawful to 
 employ more than 100 persons in any mine, unless 
 such mine be divided into separate districts or panels, 
 in such manner as that each such separate district 
 
DECREASE OF DEATHS. 165 
 
 or panel shall have one or more independent intake 
 and return air-way from the main air-way to the 
 main return or upcast. That in mines so divided 
 not more than 100 persons shall be employed in any 
 separate district or panel ; but that power to dispense 
 with the strict and immediate application of this recom- 
 mendation should be vested in the Secretary of State." 
 After this sweeping recommendation, they found it 
 "expedient to prohibit, in all cases, the deduction of 
 the price of timber used in propping" from the wages 
 of the men, and recommended that a barometer and 
 thermometer be placed in a " conspicuous position in 
 each colliery." With reference to inspection, one of the 
 principal subjects of their inquiry, they stated, " That 
 the present staff of inspectors should be increased, with 
 a view to more frequent inspection ; but it is not desir- 
 able that men of a lower standard than those at present 
 selected should be employed in the discharge of this 
 important duty." 
 
 The report was presented too late in the session 
 to attract any parliamentary attention ; the more so, 
 perhaps, as the year 1867 had not been noteworthy for 
 startling accidents, and the death-rate had receded from 
 the abnormal figure of 1484 in 1866 to 1290. 
 
 The subject of legislation for mines was thus shelved, 
 to be taken up again by a new House of Commons, 
 and another Government. Indeed, the new House was 
 appealed to before it came into existence by speakers at 
 a meeting held at Mr. S. Plimsoll's house, near Sheffield, 
 on the sth September 1868. In addition to the usual 
 delegates, this meeting was attended and addressed by 
 Mr. C. Neate, M.P., Mr. Mundella, and others, and the 
 following resolution put and carried : — " That this meet- 
 
i66 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 ing having learnt from practical experience, which is 
 verified by Government returns, that no less than looo 
 persons are killed every year in the various mines of the 
 United Kingdom, and believing that sufficient experi- 
 ence has been gained to show the absolute necessity of 
 a more extended and rigorous inspection of mines, and 
 a greater number of inspectors, would urge upon the 
 new Parliament to take up the question as one of the 
 most pressing and important that can possibly occupy 
 its attention." The mining population was, at the time, 
 so excited with reference to the expected legislation on 
 mines inspection, that they took a much greater interest 
 in the elections than usual. 
 
 While thus an agitation was kept up in all the mining 
 districts of the country for more legislation, the develop- 
 ment of the coal fields proceeded with steady yet rapid 
 strides. During recent years great improvements had 
 been introduced in the working of collieries. The 
 extension of the coal trade had been so great as to 
 necessitate the opening out, and it might almost be said 
 the discovery, of new fields, while the known seams were 
 being worked at depths hitherto unknown, to meet the 
 growing demand. As a matter of necessity, new or 
 improved mechanical appliances had to be introduced 
 to overcome the increasing difficulties. 
 
 The first patent for coal-cutting machinery dates from 
 1862, and the invention was tried first at the Ardsley 
 Colliery. Many other similar inventions followed, and 
 were tried with more or less success at different collieries. 
 It was at that time confidently expected that these 
 machines would soon come into general use at collieries. 
 
 The workmen also at one time shared this opinion, as 
 may be inferred from a resolution passed at a meeting 
 
THE DURATION OF COAL. 167 
 
 of one of the miners' associations, to the effect that 
 they were well satisfied to witness the introduction of 
 machinery for cutting coal underground, as it might 
 tend to diminish the loss of life. But these appliances 
 did not fulfil the hopes of their inventors, and to this 
 day an efficient coal-cutting machine remains to be 
 invented. During this period round steel or wire ropes 
 came into general use. Nitroglycerine was invented, or 
 rather applied, as an explosive, and. ventilating fans were 
 largely introduced. Ventilation by mechanical means, 
 though not unknown in England, had been hitherto but 
 rarely practised. About this time a new question began 
 to attract attention, namely, the probable duration of 
 the coal supply. The discussion of this question almost 
 led to some legislation to control the waste of coal both 
 in working and consuming. Public attention was first 
 drawn to the subject by the publication of Mr. Hull's 
 book on the Coal Fields of Great Britain in 186 1. At 
 the meeting of the British Association for the Advance- 
 ment of Science at Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1863, Sir 
 William Armstrong, the president, referred to the sub- 
 ject, and startled not only his audience, but the whole 
 country, by alluding to the possibility of the coal supply 
 being exhausted in a couple of centuries. In 1865 Mr. 
 Jevons, basing his calculation on the data of Mr. Hull, 
 and taking the ratio of increase in production as equal 
 to that of the previous years, predicted the exhaustion 
 of the coal in Great Britain in 1 10 years. This subject 
 was of such grave importance that it became a topic of 
 discussion in the House of Commons. Mr. John Stuart 
 Mill was the first to allude to it in Parliament. Mr. 
 Gladstone mentioned it in his budget speech of 1865, 
 and a long debate took place in the House of Commons 
 
i68 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 on the 1 2th June 1866, when, at the instance of Mr. 
 Hussey Vivian, a royal commission was appointed to 
 investigate the probable quantity of coal existing ; to 
 inquire as to the quantity of coal consumed in the 
 various branches of manufacture ; whether any waste 
 takes place in the working, and other matters con- 
 nected with the subject. The commission, appointed 
 28th June 1866, reported in July 1871, having during 
 this time made a most searching and complete investi- 
 gation of the subject. They estimated the total quan- 
 tity of coal available at 146,480 millions of tons, repre- 
 senting the consumption for 360 years on the basis of 
 diminishing ratios of population, or a consumption for 
 276 years at a yearly increase of 3 millions of tons, 
 or finally, on a duration of 1273 years, supposing the 
 population and consumption of coal to remain constant. 
 The results thus arrived at served in some degree to 
 allay the fears of a proximate exhaustion of the coal 
 fields, but they also showed clearly that the supply was 
 limited, and warned the nation to husband its resources. 
 No legislative action was recommended by the commis- 
 sion or proposed, although to many persons it seemed 
 judicious to endeavour by Act of Parliament to put 
 some check on the great waste of coal caused by faulty 
 methods of working and extravagant modes of con- 
 sumption. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Government Measure of 1869 — Discussions in Parliament during 
 Sessions 1870-1871-1872 — Meetings of Mine Owners, Managers, 
 AND Men in the Different Mining Districts to Consider the 
 Measure — Final Passing of the Act in 1872. 
 
 It was fully anticipated that during the session of 
 1869 a Bill would be brought forward by the Govern- 
 ment, who were in fact almost pledged to do so. The 
 subject had been very fully examined into by the 
 select committee, which had sat for three consecutive 
 sessions, and the opinions held by masters and men 
 were thoroughly known, not only through the evidence 
 given before the committee, but also from the speeches 
 made at the numerous meetings which, during six years, 
 had been held in different parts of the country. In all 
 the discussions which had taken place the education 
 clauses had held a prominent place. Those who desired 
 to make some provision for the education of the mining 
 population, and guard against the evils of juvenile 
 labour, urged that the limit of age for the employment 
 of boys should be fixed at twelve, or even thirteen 
 years ; whereas the coal owners desired to fix an 
 earlier age, more especially for those districts where 
 thin coal seams were worked. The colliers coupled 
 the limit of age for the employment of boys with a 
 limitation of the number of working hours. 
 
 The general and special rules had also been the 
 
I/O COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 subjects of much consideration. The coal owners 
 desired to see such general rules adopted as would 
 not interfere with the economical working of collieries. 
 They also sought, in the special rules, to throw the 
 responsibility as much as possible on the working 
 colliers, and hence much wrangling ensued between 
 the proprietors and the Government inspectors with 
 regard to the framing of these rules. 
 
 With regard to inspection, the masters opposed 
 anything like interference with the management of 
 their works, and especially objected to sub-inspectors 
 prying into the underground workings. The men, on 
 the other hand, asked for stringent general rules, bind- 
 ing the owners to adopt measures for the safety of 
 their mines, regardless of the cost of carrying them 
 into practice. They also pressed for a more complete 
 and inquisitorial system of inspection, basing their 
 demands on the incompetency of many of the colliery 
 managers. The manner of paying for the coals wrought 
 had long been a cause of disagreement between masters 
 and men. The system of paying by the number of 
 waggons sent out of the mine was objected to by the 
 colliers, on the ground that it was unfair to estimate 
 their labour by a measure the contents of which was 
 variable at best, and was never accurately ascertained. 
 Moreover, the system was open to abuse on the part 
 of unscrupulous owners or their agents. It was, there- 
 fore, urged that the coals ought to be weighed at the 
 pit bank. The masters objected to this, partly on 
 account of the inconvenience and expense caused by 
 the alterations needful at the collieries, and partly as 
 an unreasonable and useless change. They also ob- 
 jected to check-weighers being appointed by the men, 
 
MR. BRUGES MEASURE, 1869. 171 
 
 who would be constantly on the pit bank, and thus 
 have opportunities of prying into the management of 
 the collieries and fomenting disputes between masters 
 and men. 
 
 These were the most salient points of disagreement 
 between the employers and employed, all of which 
 would have to be considered in framing any new 
 measure relating to mines inspection. The expected 
 measure was brought before the House of Commons, on 
 the 1 5 th April, by Mr. H. A. Bruce, then Home Secretary. 
 
 The Bill proposed by Government differed in many 
 important points from the existing Act. They had 
 endeavoured to introduce into the measure nearly all 
 the suggestions made by the select committee of 1867, 
 besides some perfectly new clauses. The proposed Bill 
 was entitled " A Bill to Consolidate and Amend the 
 Acts relating to the Regulation and Inspection of 
 Mines," and applied to mines of every description. 
 This Bill was, however, withdrawn, to the great dis- 
 content of the workmen. 
 
 At a meeting of colliers, held at Manchester, a resolu- 
 tion was passed to petition the Government to appoint a 
 royal commission to examine into the causes of the 
 recent explosions at Ferndale and Haydock Collieries. 
 At this meeting some strong language was used, and 
 one speaker (Mr. Macdonald) said that "every explo- 
 sion was a crime." The principal remedy recommended 
 by the colliers at this, and at all their meetings, 
 was increased inspection. They relied on Government 
 supervision to compel the colliery proprietors to adopt 
 improved management. Indeed, the investigations into 
 the causes of fatal accidents in collieries, from the first 
 commission of Messrs. Faraday and Lyell in 1843, down 
 
172 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 to recent times, show a lamentable ignorance prevailing 
 among a class of men entrusted by colliery proprietors 
 with the safety of the men employed, and the security 
 of their property. Many of the accidents on record may 
 be traced directly to ignorance on the part of persons in 
 authority ; and, without going as far as Mr. Macdonald, 
 and saying that ignorance is a crime, it must be 
 admitted that the practice of entrusting the manage- 
 ment of dangerous collieries to incompetent persons is 
 highly blameworthy. Until recently a fallacious opinion 
 prevailed, and may still exist, among coal owners, that 
 to be able to manage collieries and colliers underground 
 it was necessary to be born on a pit bank and reared at 
 a colliery. It is not so, however. The officers in charge 
 of certain duties underground may be, and are, prefer- 
 ably chosen from among the steady and more inteUigent 
 workmen ; but a modern colliery, with its great depth, 
 its extensive galleries, and large output, — entailing a 
 complicated system of ventilation, the application of 
 complex machinery above and below the surface, and 
 the employment of a large number of workmen, — 
 requires a more generally informed and scientifically 
 trained mind than that of the usual workman, how- 
 ever intelligent. The want of education among mine- 
 managers had been clearly and repeatedly exposed 
 from time to time, ever since the causes of explosions, 
 or the subject of accidents in coal mines, had been at all 
 inquired into ; and the proposal to subject them to some 
 test as to knowledge had already been made by several 
 royal commissioners. It had now been taken up by 
 the workmen themselves, who have the deepest interest 
 in securing good officers, as on them depends the safety 
 of their lives underground. 
 
THE BILL MODIFIED. 173 
 
 The objection raised against this otherwise reasonable 
 proposal was that it interfered with the right of masters 
 to employ whomsoever they considered competent to 
 manage their property. 
 
 This objection had to fall, in the following session, 
 before the strong reasoning of Dr. Lyon Playfair. 
 
 During the commencement of the year 1870 the 
 agitators in the colliery districts pointed to the pro- 
 crastination, the almost culpable delay, of the Govern- 
 ment, and urged the colliers to continue the demonstra- 
 tions of the last four years until the desired end should 
 be attained. The best, nay, the only, answer Mr. Bruce 
 could make to these persistent appeals was to fulfil his 
 promise of legislation ; and accordingly, on the loth 
 February, he brought in another Bill. The alterations 
 made were inconsiderable, and more in accordance with 
 the views of the owners than those of the men. The 
 proviso at the end of the ventilation rule had been 
 altered in accordance with the proposition of the Mining 
 Association, the saving words being reintroduced- The 
 proposed panel system was expunged, and proprietors 
 desirous of removing an objectionable check-weighman 
 might apply to a magistrate, who, on sufficient cause 
 being shown, would give an order for the removal of the 
 man. The costs in cases of arbitration were to be paid 
 as the award should direct. This modified Bill was 
 read a second time on the 21st of February, when Mr. 
 Bruce explained the leading features of his measure. 
 Dr. Lyon Playfair powerfully advocated the adoption 
 of a system of certificates of competency for colliery 
 managers, attributing, in some measure, the frequent 
 explosions and other accidents in coal mines to the 
 ignorance of those entrusted with the direction of 
 
174 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 colliery working. In this view, Lord Elcho, who strongly 
 supported increased inspection, agreed. Mr. Elliot did 
 not anticipate any great benefit from minute inspection, 
 though he was not opposed to a general system of 
 inspection. 
 
 With reference to the education of officers, he said, 
 " The House would scarcely credit how difficult it was 
 to find the right men — men who really understood their 
 business ; " but still he considered that the man who 
 " had worked in the pit from early days," and therefore 
 possessed experience, " was more trustworthy than a 
 more scientific but less practical person." Many of 
 the members connected with the mining interest took 
 part in this debate, which, in the words of the, Home 
 Secretary, was of " an eminently instructive and practical 
 character." The committee was then fixed for i8th 
 March. 
 
 The hopes of all interested in having the Bill passed 
 during the session were, however, not to be realised. 
 The attention of the Ministry, and, indeed, the time of 
 the House, were so much engrossed by important 
 political questions, that the Mines Regulation Bill, after 
 numerous postponements, was shelved for that session. 
 Indeed, the discussion of the Bill involved more time 
 than probably the Home Secretary had anticipated. 
 The Mining Association held meetings and discussed 
 the clauses, from many of which they dissented, and 
 sent a deputation up to the Home Secretary to enforce 
 their views. On the other hand, the Bill was not more 
 popular with the workmen, who, at their meetings, 
 expressed a hope that Parliament would throw it out 
 unless materially amended. Thus both sides interested 
 in the question agreed to discountenance the measure, 
 
BOY LABOUR. 175 
 
 and meeting after meeting, followed by deputations, 
 showed that it would be the subject of much debate in 
 committee. Already, in March 1870, Mr. Bruce saw 
 little hope for his Bill, although he committed it pro 
 forma for the 25th of April, in order to introduce amend- 
 ments and embody the Metalliferous Mines Regulation 
 Bill. This measure had not received the consideration 
 of Parliament during the session, attention having been 
 solely directed to the Coal Mines Regulation Bill. 
 
 The joint Bills, however, never came to be considered 
 in committee, but were withdrawn on the 22nd of July 
 1870. 
 
 Early in the year of 1871 the usual meetings of 
 miners' delegates took place, discussing, in. anticipation, 
 the measure which was introduced to the House of 
 Commons on the 13th of February by Mr. Bruce. In 
 doing so he explained that the clauses of Lord Kinnaird's 
 Metalliferous Bill had been left out in order to facilitate 
 discussion, and had been embodied in a separate measure. 
 He then proceeded to explain the other modifications 
 introduced into the measure of the previous year. The 
 clauses most altered were those relating to the employ- 
 ment of boys, who were now allowed to commence work 
 at the age of ten years, with the restriction that up to 
 the age of thirteen they were to work underground only 
 three days a week, and not more than twelve hours a 
 day. Youths between thirteen and sixteen years of age 
 to labour only fifty-six hours per week. The provisions 
 made for education were, that every boy should attend 
 school ten hours per week ; and the teacher should have 
 the power to apply for and get the schooling fees 
 deducted from the wages of the boys. The ventilating 
 clause was again altered, and the words " under ordinary 
 
176 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 circumstances" reintroduced. The two rules requiring 
 the use of safety-lamps in places likely to be dangerous 
 were expunged, as well as the rule restricting the use of 
 blasting powder. The penal clause, making a colliery 
 owner or his agent liable to imprisonment for wilful 
 neglect endangering life or limb, was retained. In 
 referring to this clause, Mr. Bruce pointed out the 
 injustice of inflicting a penalty of imprisonment, without 
 option of a fine, on the workmen for an infringement 
 of the Act, while owners or their agents were only liable 
 to a fine; and, therefore, he had reintroduced the clause 
 by which owners or their agents would be subject to 
 imprisonment without the alternative of a fine. 
 
 Referring to Dr. Lyon Playfair's suggestion of requir- 
 ing colliery managers to obtain certificates of competency 
 by passing an examination, Mr. Bruce considered that it 
 would be " far more dangerous than advantageous for 
 the Government to interfere in attempting to influence 
 the choice of agents,'' an opinion which the right 
 honourable gentleman did not long adhere to. On the 
 second reading of the Bill, on the 23rd of February, a 
 discussion took place, in the course of which several 
 members protested against passing the measure without 
 further time for consideration. Many clauses were 
 adversely criticised, and increased inspection, certifi- 
 cates for managers, and more stringent education 
 clauses advocated. In general, however, the Bill re- 
 ceived the support of those members who were practi- 
 cally acquainted with the subject. Mr. Elliot con- 
 sidered that the clauses dealing with the safety of 
 miners could not be much improved. He, however, 
 objected to the penal clauses, and trusted that Govern- 
 ment would find it possible to remove them and impose 
 
MASS MEETING OF COLLIERS. 177 
 
 fines, say up to ;^ioo for owners and ^10 for workmen, 
 in lieu of imprisonment. 
 
 The Bill was committed for the i6th of March ; how- 
 ever, when that time came, it was clearly impossible to 
 proceed with it, and it was evident that both the mining 
 Bills would be found among the remanets of the session, 
 and they were withdrawn on the 9th August. 
 
 Shortly after the end of the session, namely, on the 
 8th of September, a mass-meeting of colliers was held 
 at Barnsley, at which Lord Elcho spoke, supporting 
 a resolution expressing the " injustice done them by 
 Government in not passing the Mines Regulation Bill." 
 This meeting was followed by others of a similar 
 character, at which Government was severely censured, 
 and a proposed committee of forty derided. All the 
 speakers at these meetings dwelt on the necessity for 
 sub-inspectors, certificates for managers, minimum age 
 for boys underground to be fixed at twelve years, 
 restriction of work to eight hours per day for youths 
 under sixteen, standard weights to be used for weigh- 
 ing coals, wages to be paid weekly, and a Minister 
 of Mines to be created, with a seat in the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 At one meeting a letter was read from Professor 
 Beesly, attributing the accidents in mines to " want of 
 precautions on the part of the managers of mines, and 
 excessive royalties charged by the landlords." Thus, in 
 the eyes of many, the collier, with his grievances and 
 the danger of his occupation, became an object of 
 sympathetic interest — one whose hardships had not been 
 duly recognised by his employers, and who deserved 
 the special support of the Government. But the men 
 were strong in themselves, as may be seen from the 
 
 N 
 
178 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 numerous meetings held by them during the years of 
 discussion on the Mines Regulation Bill, and the perfect 
 organisation and agreement existing among them. 
 
 They showed no signs of abandoning any point in 
 their list of grievances at the close of the session, and it 
 was quite evident that the struggle over the expected 
 Bill of 1872 would be quite as severe as that which had 
 taken place previously. The year 1871 was not marked 
 by any accident of unusual character, and the deaths, 
 according to the returns of the inspectors, had been 
 1075, or 84 more than during the previous year. 
 
 The men, at the commencement of 1872, were more 
 engrossed with discussing the eight hours' daily work 
 movement, and the rate of wages, than in considering 
 the future legislative enactments. No meetings on the 
 subject were held before the 12th of February, when the 
 Home Secretary introduced his Bill in the House of 
 Commons. The measure this time contained some 
 unexpected alterations and innovations. 
 
 The education clauses had undergone little alteration. 
 The limit of age for boys remained at ten years ; but 
 the hours of work had been reduced to ten per day. 
 The hours for attendance at school, between the ages of 
 ten and thirteen, were fixed at twenty per fortnight, 
 instead of ten per week. The principal innovation was 
 that providing that every mine should be under the 
 control of a registered manager, holding a certificate of 
 competency under the Act, introducing a number of 
 clauses regulating the examination of candidates and the 
 granting of certificates. To the surprise of many the 
 ventilation rule was again altered, and stood once more 
 in words of unconditional severity, without the shelter- 
 ing phrase " under ordinary circumstances," or even a 
 
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MASTERS AND MEN. 179 
 
 mitigating proviso. But at the end of the twenty-nine 
 general rules was inserted the slender guard of an 
 "onus proband!" proviso. Several new general rules 
 were introduced providing for the employment of safety- 
 lamps, the use of gunpowder and other explosive sub- 
 stances, one providing for a daily underground inspec- 
 tion by the officers of the mine, and an occasional 
 inspection of the workings by the men employed at the 
 colliery. Another new rule provided that the roofs and 
 sides of every working place should be made secure. 
 The penal clauses remained unaltered, and all coals 
 were, after the passing of the Act, to be paid by weight 
 only, except under exceptional circumstances. The Bill 
 was read on the 12th February 1872, and Mr. Bruce, in 
 introducing the measure, dwelt at some length on the 
 innovations he had introduced. 
 
 The masters soon perceived that the Bill required 
 careful scrutiny. They complained of the rule regard- 
 ing ventilation, the clauses prohibiting or regulating the 
 use of gunpowder, which were considered mischievous 
 by many authorities, and especially opposed the penal 
 clauses. On the other hand, the Bill had the approval 
 of the men, who objected to one clause only, viz., that 
 one stipulating for a periodical inspection of the work- 
 ings by the men employed. They argued that the 
 inspecting men could not be independent agents in such 
 a case, as they would risk the loss of their employment 
 by giving an opinion of the condition of the mine 
 adverse to the management. The differences between 
 masters and men were so great that a fierce and 
 lengthened struggle over the Bill was anticipated. To 
 obviate this, it was considered advisable to hold con- 
 ferences at which the different interests should be repre- 
 
i8o COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 sented, and there to discuss the points of difference, 
 and endeavour by mutual concessions to arrive at an 
 agreement which would be satisfactory to all parties. 
 Accordingly, meetings were held under the presidency 
 of Lord Elcho, in the month of March, at which the 
 masters were represented by members of the Mining 
 Association ; the men by a delegate, and Government 
 by two inspectors. These conferences resulted in 
 unanimity on nearly all the questions at issue, and a 
 report embodying the amendments was jointly agreed 
 on. The Bill continued to be the subject of discussion 
 in all the mining centres, and elicited the most opposite 
 criticisms. Thus on the loth of May, at a meeting of 
 mine-managers held at Oldham, it was resolved that 
 the measure ought to be entitled " A Bill for inflicting 
 severe penalties upon managers and owners, and greatly 
 increasing the cost of coal." Whereas a few weeks later, 
 at a monster meeting of miners held at Durham, a 
 resolution was passed to the effect, " That this meeting 
 begs to thank Her Majesty's Government for the intro- 
 duction of the Mines Regulation Bill." It had been 
 expected that the amendments agreed on by the 
 members of the joint conference would be accepted by 
 Government, and therefore great surprise was felt when 
 the Bill came to be considered in committee, on the 21st 
 of June, and it was found that but few of the suggested 
 alterations had been adopted. 
 
 In the House of Commons, Mr. Staveley Hill expressed 
 his surprise that the Bill remained in its vital points 
 unaltered. It was evident that the so-called conference 
 had overrated the authority given to the inspectors, 
 and had not sufficiently weighed the anomalous position 
 the Home Secretary would have been placed in had he 
 
THE CLA USES DEB A TED. 1 8 1 
 
 delegated his authority to any body of men outside the 
 House. The committee proceeded to discuss the Bill 
 clause by clause. An attempt was made to prohibit the 
 employment of women on bank tops, and to limit the 
 age for the employment of boys to twelve years instead 
 of ten ; but these amendments were not successful. 
 
 Finally, all the educational clauses, and those referring 
 to the employment of women and young persons, were 
 agreed to with the exception that the age for children 
 employed on the surface was changed from eight to 
 ten years. The next clause at which a stand was made 
 was the fourteenth, reciting the penalty for employing 
 persons contrary to the Act, and the point raised was as 
 to the insertion of the words " knowingly or wilfully," 
 which were eventually inserted. The weighing clause 
 led to some discussion, but was agreed to with a proviso 
 added, to enable deductions from weight to be made 
 in case of coal being sent up from the pit mixed with 
 stone or other foreign matter. The clauses relating to 
 managers' certificates led to a good deal of discussion, 
 and they were eventually struck out for further con- 
 sideration. Although some verbal amendments were 
 proposed and agreed to in various clauses, no principle 
 was attacked until the consideration of the general rules, 
 when Mr. Elliot rose to move an amendment to the 
 first, or ventilation rule. He proposed to insert the 
 words "under ordinary circumstances," and supported 
 his amendment by an able speech. This amendment 
 naturally raised a long discussion, which, however, 
 terminated in an adverse division. The amendment 
 was lost by 298 against 20 votes. But the discussion 
 influenced Mr. Bruce in so far that he accepted the 
 words " as far as practicable," and, at the suggestion of 
 
1 82 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 Mr. Elliot, the expression " reasonably practicable " was 
 eventually adopted. A discussion also followed on the 
 rule enforcing the timbering of galleries and working 
 places, eliciting a promise on the part of Government to 
 alter the rule. At the close 6f the discussion on the 
 general rules, Mr. Staveley Hill proposed to alter the 
 words throwing the otnis probandi on the owners, and 
 to amend the clause by making them only liable to 
 conviction in case it were proved that all reasonable 
 precautions had not been taken by the owner. The 
 difficulty was met by adding a proviso relieving the 
 owner from responsibility if he could prove publication 
 and enforcement of the rules. 
 
 On the 9th July, the clauses regulating the appoint- 
 ment of examiners for certificates were brought in by Mr. 
 Bruce, and agreed to. The Bill was re-considered on 
 the nth, and read a third time on the i6th July 1872. 
 
 Exactly thirty years had passed since Lord Shaftes- 
 bury fought the battle for women and young children 
 employed in mines. He was not able then to pass so 
 comprehensive a measure in the House of Commons as 
 he desired. But the noble lord was the first member of 
 the legislature who made an attempt to improve the 
 condition of the colliers, and to him is due the credit 
 of removing one blot from the page of our domestic 
 history, namely, the employment of women and girls 
 underground. 
 
 Although Lord Shaftesbury on the second reading 
 of the Bill had announced his intention of not moving 
 an amendment, when it came to be considered in com- 
 mittee, on the 26th of July, he did propose to alter the 
 age at which boys were to be admitted to work under- 
 ground to twelve years instead of ten. He explained 
 
THE BILL OF 1872 PASSED. 183 
 
 that although prepared to accept the Bill as it had been 
 brought up, he was not prepared to acquiesce in the 
 amendment proposed on behalf of the coal owners, and 
 had, therefore, proposed amendments of his own. The 
 question of age had, however, been so carefully con- 
 sidered in the House of Commons, that the House of 
 Lords did not disturb the clause as it stood, and after 
 some discussion. Lord Shaftesbury withdrew his amend- 
 ments on this point, as well as on that of a surgical 
 certificate of strength and health for boys. 
 
 The Duke of Richmond carried an amendment in the 
 clause regulating the responsibility of owners in regard 
 to the special rules. The other amendments were of 
 small importance, and the Bill was read a third time on 
 the 1st, and received the Koyal assent on the lOth of 
 August. 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Act of 1872 — Difficulty of Interpreting some of the 
 Clauses — Certificates of Competency — Special Rules — Col- 
 liery Accidents — Elementary Education Act — Debates in the 
 House of Commons. 
 
 In 1873, soon after the Bill became law, the conditions 
 of the measure became apparent. Although the work- 
 men, at the divers meetings and assemblies they held 
 during the year, expressed themselves perfectly satisfied 
 with the Act, which in the words of Mr. Macdonald 
 " gave them immense satisfaction," the owners and 
 colliery managers everywhere took great and serious 
 exception to many of the clauses. One of the most 
 important points of dissension was that relating to the 
 certificates of service to be held by managers. It 
 appeared as if the Home Secretary had no clear con- 
 ception of the class of men who were to hold certificates 
 of manager. Early in the year a large number of 
 under-viewers and overmen, who had the practical 
 responsibility of mine arrangements, applied for cer- 
 tificates, but were refused ; and a considerable delay 
 took place in the appointment of examiners, so that 
 those prepared to obtain certificates of competency 
 could not get them, and consequently a great number 
 of collieries were being worked by managers holding 
 no certificates, and therefore in unavoidable contraven- 
 
THE ACT OF 1872. 185 
 
 tion of the law. At first it was evidently intended to 
 give the certificates only to mining engineers and 
 viewers. But to this course there were many objec- 
 tions; even the men in some instances refused to 
 work under the direct orders of engineers, preferring 
 to depend for safety on the more practical under- 
 viewers. At the same time, many colliery proprietors 
 showed little discrimination in the choice of the men 
 they recommended for certificates, sending in the names 
 of overmen, firemen, and even butties, some of whom 
 were unable to read or write. The applications were 
 very numerous, as Mr. Bruce stated in the House of 
 Commons in February that he had already received 
 3596 such applications. The difficulties of this ques- 
 tion were fully appreciated by the Mining Association, 
 who sent a deputation to Mr. Bruce, in February, 
 suggesting amendments in the law. They proposed 
 to provide for the appointment of two persons, to share 
 the responsibility of management at each colliery ; one 
 to be the viewer or mining engineer responsible for the 
 setting out of the workings and not necessarily resident ; 
 the other, the resident under-viewer, charged with carry- 
 ing out the plans in detail, and holding a certificate of 
 second class. This suggestion was, however, not acted 
 on ; and the great majority of the applications for 
 certificates were refused on the ground that only those 
 who had the sole charge of a pit were entitled to them. 
 The result of this action was that men who had charge 
 of very small collieries got certificates, while others, 
 often more competent, who acted as under-viewers at 
 large collieries were refused. The objection to the 
 second grade of certificates was that by that system 
 the management would be divided, whereas the spirit 
 
1 86 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 of the Act was to bring home to one person the sole 
 responsibility. The controversy which ensued showed 
 that the under-viewers and overmen were desirous of 
 having this responsibility placed on their shoulders, 
 whereas the viewers were as anxious to be relieved from 
 it, while retaining the control of the general working of 
 the collieries. 
 
 The difficulties which arose out of this vexed ques- 
 tion led to a deputation of colliery proprietors and 
 managers to the Secretary of State, in order to arrive 
 at some understanding about the class of men who 
 were to hold certificates. In the course of the interview 
 with the Home Secretary, Mr. George Elliot men- 
 tioned the case of one of his chief-viewers, who, having 
 several collieries under his charge, refused to apply for 
 a certificate, and preferred relinquishing his appoint- 
 ment to placing himself in a false position with regard 
 to the Act, the wording of which required, as a matter 
 of fact, the constant presence of the responsible manager 
 at each colliery. The discussion which ensued turned 
 on the intention of giving the certificate to the officer 
 who had the responsibility of the management. Mr. 
 Bruce, however, stated that he would prefer giving the 
 certificate to the under- viewer, if he were entrusted with 
 sufficient responsibility by the employers to be fairly 
 termed the manager. 
 
 The result of this deputation was a circular emanating 
 from the Home Office to the inspectors, stating that 
 under-viewers were to be entitled to certificates of 
 service, provided they had been practically responsible 
 for the management of a whole mine during the 
 prescribed period. A large number of under-viewers 
 availed themselves of this decision, and in a very 
 
THE WEIGHING CLAUSE. i87 
 
 short time the anomaly of managers directing collieries 
 without certificates was removed. 
 
 The Government had already determined to appoint 
 sub-inspectors, but of the same standing as the inspectors, 
 only younger men, and qualified in time to succeed as 
 inspectors. One sub-inspector was appointed to each 
 district to assist the inspector. 
 
 The colliery officials were much occupied during the 
 year in framing new special rules, and some excitement 
 was manifested among the colliers on the subject. 
 Some colliery owners endeavoured so to frame the rules 
 as to throw a great deal of responsibility on the men, 
 which the latter opposed. The dissensions were more 
 specially notable on the subject of propping. The 
 deaths arising from falls of side or roof had always been 
 more numerous than from any other cause, and hence 
 the introduction in the Act of a clause compelling 
 owners to see that the working places of the mines were 
 properly secured. The attempt to saddle the men with 
 the responsibility by special rules met with determined 
 opposition on their part. The discussion on this subject 
 between masters and men took an acrimonious turn in 
 Scotland, and at one time a strike was imminent. This, 
 however, was avoided ; and at a conference of owners 
 and men certain concessions were made, and the rules 
 eventually accepted by the men. On this subject, also, 
 a deputation waited on the Home Secretary, to elicit 
 the proper reading of the sixteenth clause, when Mr. 
 Bruce gave it as his opinion that the timbering was not 
 to be taken from the men, but that " it should be done 
 under the supervision and responsibility of the manager." 
 
 The weighing clause, as might have been anticipated, 
 also caused considerable excitement. Many owners 
 
i88 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 showed some reluctance to adopt weighing machines on 
 the pit banks ; whereas, in general, the men were 
 strongly desirous of having them. In Lancashire and 
 South Wales considerable delay took place before the 
 new system was introduced. The change consisted not 
 only in the use of weight instead of measure, but in the 
 substitution of the imperial ton for the long ton, hitherto 
 in use, which varied in different districts. Before the 
 end of the year the Act was fairly in operation in every 
 district. 
 
 It is noteworthy that the thirtieth clause, giving the 
 pitmen of a colliery the right of examining the workings, 
 was rarely acted on, and fewsuch examinations took place. 
 
 The year was remarkable for the great prosperity of 
 the coal trade, and the consequent pressure to keep the 
 collieries at full work. This condition of affairs may 
 have had some influence in constraining the owners to 
 comply readily with all the requirements of the Act. 
 Coal had risen to such exorbitant prices that a Royal 
 Commission was appointed to inquire into the cause 
 thereof. By some, the high price of coal was attributed 
 in part to the greater cost of raising caused by the 
 Mines Regulation Act. This point was examined into 
 by the commissioners, but the evidence did not show 
 that any great increase of cost could be attributed to 
 the new Act. Mr. DickenSon, inspector of mines, esti- 
 mated the increase at 8d. per ton, and others at less. It 
 was, however, given in evidence, that by limiting the 
 labour of boys between twelve and sixteen years of age 
 the working day was practically shortened, and the out- 
 put of coal diminished, thus causing an increase in the 
 cost of production of is. 4d. to is. 8d. per ton. On the 
 other hand, there was strong evidence to show that the 
 
BLASTING POWDER ACCIDENTS. 189 
 
 shortening of the working day was more attributable to 
 the eight hours' movement, which had commenced before 
 the passing of the Act, than to the measure itself 
 Almost all the witnesses agreed that it was beneficial to 
 the community in general to keep boys out of the pits 
 until the age of twelve, although Mr. Fisher Smith 
 recorded his opinion that thereby the race of colliers 
 would be "exterminated." Speaking of the effect of 
 the Act, and the necessity for the clause providing for 
 the proper support of the workings, Mr. George Elliot 
 stated that in the north of England, where the timbering 
 is put up by the owners, the deaths by falls of roof 
 amounted to I'jo, whereas, in South Wales, where the 
 support of the roof was entirely left to the discretion 
 of the men, the death-rate amounted to 3 '20 for half a 
 million tons of coal raised. 
 
 No accident of any magnitude occurred during the 
 year 1 873. This immunity was not of long continuance, 
 for on the 14th April 1874 an explosion occurred at 
 the Astley deep pit, near Duckinfield, by which fifty- 
 four men lost their lives. This calamity was made the 
 subject of a careful inquiry on the part of the Home 
 Office. It appeared that explosions had previously 
 occurred at this pit, and that the condition of the mine 
 had called forth remonstrances from the inspector. The 
 inquiry disclosed a painful laxity of discipline, as well 
 as disorder in the management, and frequent change of 
 officials. Gas was allowed to accumulate in the work- 
 ings of an upper seam, which, through the subsidence of 
 a tunnel, found its way to the lower workings and there 
 exploded. 
 
 The great importance of care in the use of blasting 
 powder was painfully exemplified at the commencement 
 
I90 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 of the year 1875, by the explosion which occurred at 
 the Bunker's Hill Colliery, on the 30th of March, result- 
 ing in the death of forty-three men. This explosion 
 was attributed to the firing of a shot in a heading in 
 the whole mine in the immediate neighbourhood of a 
 disengagement of gas. The presence of gas in the 
 " immediate neighbourhood " of a place is in itself 
 sufficient to render shot-firing in such a place a very 
 hazardous operation. 
 
 Before the close of the year two severe explosions 
 took place — one in December, at the Swaithe Main 
 Colliery, near Barnsley, causing the loss of 143 men ; 
 the other at New Tredegar Colliery, near Newport, 
 where twenty-three lives were lost. There was no 
 direct evidence to show how the gas was fired at 
 Swaithe Main, but it appeared that it took place near a 
 large goaf ; and it also was established that the charges 
 of powder in the shots were exceptionally heavy, con- 
 taining 2,\ lbs. of powder ; and, moreover, that the 
 colliers were allowed to take loose powder down with 
 them, although it had been known, for some time 
 previous to the accident, that gas was to be found in 
 the mine — in fact, that careful attention to the details of 
 management, so needful for the safety of a fiery colliery, 
 appeared not to have been sufficiently exercised. The 
 accident at New Tredegar was caused by a quantity of 
 gas — which had accumulated through the imperfect 
 working of a brattice sheet — becoming ignited at a 
 defective safety-lamp, or through the imprudence of one 
 of the men. 
 
 During the year 1876 the Elementary Education Act 
 was passed, which applies to all persons under fourteen 
 years of age. 
 
THE TROEDYRHIEW INUNDATION. 191 
 
 In the following year, 1877, a terrible explosion 
 occurred at the Blantyre Colliery, in Scotland. By this 
 event, 207 men were killed, and it was a marvel that 
 such an accident could occur at a colliery where no cost 
 seemed to have been spared to carry on the workings 
 with all due regard to safety. 
 
 Reference to the more recent accidents in coal mines 
 cannot be made without alluding to the inundation of 
 the Troedyrhiew Colliery, in South Wales. Most 
 fortunately the irruption of water occurred at a time 
 when the men were out of the pit, only fourteen remain- 
 ing underground. Nine of these were recovered alive — 
 four on the day after, and five on the tenth day after 
 the inundation — and five were drowned. The story of 
 the confinement of the men in the recess of the mine 
 between two floods of water, kept in equilibrium by a 
 mere bubble of compressed air, and their rescue, reads 
 more like a romance than the recital of facts. It was 
 one of those events which outstep by far the limits of 
 usual occurrences even among the dangers and vicis- 
 situdes of mining, and for a time formed one of the chief 
 topics of interest of the day. The men were imprisoned 
 without food or light, and subject to a pressure of fifteen 
 and a half pounds per square inch, for the ten days. 
 
 The accident elicited an amount of sympathy never 
 equalled either before or since the Hartley Colliery 
 disaster. 
 
 Her Majesty the Queen, and many distinguished 
 persons, showed their interest by repeated telegrams 
 inquiring into the progress made for the rescue of the 
 miners. 
 
 The spirit shown by the mining party in saving their 
 comrades was deserving of the greatest admiration, and 
 
192 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 their intrepidity, amounting to heroism, evinced that 
 feeling of brotherhood common to men associated in 
 facing difficulties and dangers together. Nor were the 
 working miners the only men who gave evidence of 
 courage and zeal on this occasion ; owners, managers, 
 and medical men assisted the inspector in his arduous 
 duties, and joined their efforts to save the lives of the 
 unhappy prisoners. These efforts were not allowed to 
 pass without recognition, for the more prominent actors 
 in the rescue were rewarded with the Albert medal. 
 
 During the beginning of the year 1878 a series of 
 calamities occurred in collieries. The country was 
 startled by a succession of explosions, and the month of 
 March was marked by no less than four. At Kersley, 
 43 men perished ; at Borwood, 16 men ; at Unity 
 Brook, 35 ; and at the Chesterton Collieries 30 men 
 lost their lives; making a total of 124 deaths from 
 gas explosions within the short space of one month. 
 Early in the year the subject had been brought before 
 the House of Commons, and the Government urged to 
 take some action with reference to the use of powder in 
 fiery collieries, either by bringing in a Bill to prohibit 
 the use of explosives altogether in such mines, or impos- 
 ing more stringent regulations. The Home Secretary 
 expressed himself averse to disturb the Act of Parlia- 
 ment, which he considered was working well. On the 
 14th March, in reply to a question, he showed from 
 statistics the gradual diminution of accidents and deaths 
 since the system of mine inspection had been adopted. 
 
 But the continued recurrence of colliery explosions, 
 and more specially the Haydock accident, by which 195 
 men perished, induced Mr. Macdonald to move a resolu- 
 tion in the House of Commons to the effect that " it is 
 
MR. BURT DENOUNCES BLASTING POWDER. 193 
 
 expedient that the Government should at once take 
 steps to see that the inspection ordered by the Mines 
 Act, 1872, be vigorously enforced. That should the 
 powers contained in the above-named Act be insufficient 
 to meet the necessities of all cases, the Government 
 ought to introduce without delay a measure that will." 
 
 An interesting discussion followed ; and in the course 
 of an exhaustive speech the mover of the resolution 
 expressed his perfect faith in the Act of 1872, but urged 
 that the loss of life had been frequently attributed by 
 juries and inquiries to the recklessness on the part of 
 owners and managers, and that the mode of inspection 
 was illusory, for if the law were vigorously carried out 
 accidents would not so frequently happen. He sub- 
 mitted that the inspectors ought to visit the mines 
 more frequently, and make weekly or monthly reports. 
 He argued that blasting ought to be prohibited in 
 iiery mines, and gas not allowed to accumulate in the 
 goaves or wastes. But above all, that the certificates of 
 managers ought to be cancelled in cases where neglect 
 or incapacity had been proved. 
 
 Mr. Burt considered the Act of 1872 one of the best 
 ever passed, and thought that there would be little 
 necessity for any new legislation if all the clauses were 
 strictly enforced, citing the Blantyre explosion as an 
 example of gross negligence and violation of the Mines 
 Regulation Act. Referring to the thirtieth clause, 
 which gives the workmen the right of making periodical 
 examinations of the mines, he said that the inspection 
 of a large colliery involved a considerable time, and, 
 therefore, the men did not avail themselves so frequently 
 as might have been expected of this permission. Then, 
 alluding to blasting powder, he considered its complete 
 
 o 
 
194 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 prohibition, as well as the universal introduction of 
 safety-lamps, as unnecessary, and even mischievous. 
 The sparse light afforded by a safety-lamp would, in all 
 probability, tend to increase the number of fatalities 
 through falls of stone or roof, the greatest source of 
 death underground, as since the year 185 1 the number 
 of men killed by falls had been 11,000, as compared 
 with 6000 who had perished through explosions. 
 
 Sir George Elliot elaborated his theory of a zone of 
 greatest danger, which he fixed at a depth of from 400 
 or 500 to 1200 ft, and this zone he considered might be 
 placed under some special supervision ; but he did not 
 agree with minute inspection, as a too stringent measure 
 would only hamper the inspectors of mines. With refer- 
 ence to the question of blasting the coal, he considered 
 that naked lights ought not to be used where inflam- 
 mable gas existed ; pointing out how very much greater 
 the consequences of explosions at present were, when 
 compared to those of former days, when, perhaps, only 
 forty or fifty men were employed underground instead 
 of the hundreds now found in a large colliery. He did 
 not think the Act had materially increased the cost of 
 raising coal, and should like to see a Royal Commission 
 appointed to inquire into the effect of the Act as 
 regards that point. In conclusion, he observed that the 
 remedy " best conducive to the ^safety of the mines was 
 the abolition of gunpowder in fiery mines." 
 
 Dr. Lyon Playfair referred to his own experience 
 as proving the prevalence of ignorance among those 
 entrusted with underground duties, and urged the 
 importance of knowledge in those entrusted with 
 responsibility. 
 
 Other speakers agreed as to the benefit already 
 
ACCIDENTS DIMINISHED. 195 
 
 derived, or to be derived, from a system of colliery- 
 inspection, but the majority condemned the use of 
 blasting powder in fiery mines. Mr. Cowen suggested 
 that a fund ought to be organised for the relief of the 
 families of men killed by colliery accidents, the money 
 to be raised by levying a small tax on the coal sold and 
 a percentage on the earnings of the workmen. He also 
 referred to the advisability of giving great publicity to 
 the meteorological conditions of the atmosphere in the 
 colliery districts. 
 
 The Home Secretary, in reviewing the debate, 
 repeated the statement that accidents had greatly 
 diminished since the passing of the Act. He looked on 
 the certificate of colliery managers as quite as important 
 as those granted to masters of vessels, and had always 
 given instructions to prosecute managers when there 
 was sufficient cause for doing so ; but, for safety, it was 
 necessary to depend mainly on the responsibility of 
 employers and employed. He repudiated the view that 
 inspectors were not to visit a mine unless an accident 
 had occurred, and he had issued " consolidated instruc- 
 tions " to the inspectors on that subject. 
 
 These instructions enjoined on the inspectors to 
 examine a mine on invitation or complaint; to pay 
 attention to anonymous complaints without divulging 
 the source of their information ; not to send notice of 
 intended visits to mines unless advisable to do so ; and 
 to examine mines as frequently as possible without 
 announcing their intention, as the liability to an official 
 inspection without previous warning might be a most 
 effective prevention of abuse. Lastly, that a record 
 should be kept of the inspections and the results obtained. 
 
 As. regards blasting, he had pressed on owners to 
 
 i^ 
 
196 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 discontinue the use of powder ; but he found that the 
 objection to its disuse came more from the men than the 
 owners. His impression was, that the cost of coal get- 
 ting without powder would not be much increased, and 
 that blasting should be abandoned. It seemed to him 
 inconsistent to prevent the farthing candle, and permit 
 the blast. The time had not come for a Royal Com- 
 mission ; attention had been much directed to the sub- 
 ject during the past twelve months, and public opinion 
 was ripening. The Home Secretary again reverted to 
 the necessity of depending on the men to carry out the 
 rules, and agreed with Dr. Lyon Playfair that better 
 education among the miners would be attended with 
 good results. 
 
 The debate ended in the withdrawal of the resolution 
 but it had the important result of giving those most 
 conversant with the subject the opportunity of express- 
 ing their views. 
 
 The subject was not allowed to drop, and before the 
 end of the session Mr. Macdonald again brought it 
 before the House, with reference to the Haydock 
 Colliery explosion. This ill-fated colliery had been the 
 scene of several disasters. In 1868, 26 men were 
 killed by explosion; in 1869, 59; and on the 7th 
 June 1878, 195. The evidence given at the inquest 
 of the last explosion showed a want of ventilation, 
 and that gas had been allowed to accumulate in the 
 goaves. Mr. Macdonald referred also to the explosion 
 near Barnsley, where 143 men were killed, and the 
 coroner's jury had found that the general and special 
 rules had been disregarded. At Blantyre Colliery, 
 also, where 209 men were killed, the rules were dis- 
 regarded, yet no steps had been taken to punish the 
 
MANAGERS' CERTIFICATES. i<)j 
 
 managers. He affirmed that these constant disasters 
 were producing a feehng of grave discontent, and called 
 on Government to institute an active system of inspec- 
 tion and inquiry, and to take measures to have the 
 offenders against the law punished. 
 
 According to Mr. Lowthian Bell, the inspectors had 
 too much to do. He also pointed out how little gas in 
 a coal mine was necessary to produce terrible results by 
 explosion, and the necessity of having always a large 
 excess of ventilating power. 
 
 Mr. Burt observed that in most cases explosions 
 were explained by sudden outbursts of gas, whereas a 
 magazine of gas existed in the goaves of the mine. 
 He was quite satisfied with the action of the Home 
 Secretary, but thought that in the cases of Blantyre and 
 Haydock, where continued mismanagement, or, at least, 
 very bad ventilation and laxity of discipline had been 
 proved, it would be right to suspend the certificates of 
 the managers. 
 
 The Home Secretary, without entering fully into the 
 question on this occasion, made a very important state- 
 ment as to the clauses of the Act which referred to 
 managers' certificates. He desired to have it fully 
 known all over the country that the Government 
 intended to place managers of collieries on precisely 
 the same footing as the captains of vessels ; and again, 
 in the course of his observations, he said that " most 
 persons looked on that part of the Act as a dead 
 letter; but he wished to prove that it was a living reality." 
 
 It has been thought advisable to quote these debates 
 somewhat at length, as they show the opinion of those 
 best versed in the subject. It is clear that the majority 
 of the speakers attributed the causes of colliery ex- 
 
198 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 plosions to the use or abuse of blasting powder in fiery- 
 mines, to the use of naked lights, and to the want of 
 a more stringent inspection, coupled with a greater 
 severity in carrying out the provisions of the Act as 
 regarding managers. 
 
 Before the end of the'year another explosion occurred 
 at the Abercarn Colliery, in South Wales, where 280 
 men perished. 
 
 The colliery, which is an extensive one, was under 
 unexceptional management, and the ventilation ad- 
 mittedly good. In the month of July a deputation of 
 colliers had examined the workings, and their report 
 was satisfactory. In August the inspector had visited 
 the colliery, and did not apprehend any danger. Most 
 of the witnesses at the coroner's inquiry spoke to 
 the sufficient ventilation and good management, and 
 attributed the disaster to a sudden outburst of gas in 
 quantity. It was also given in evidence that falls of 
 roof had been recorded by a fireman on the morning 
 of the explosion, and it might be inferred that the gas 
 in the goaf had been suddenly pressed out into the 
 working face. Possibly a fall in the gob or goaf might 
 have brought down not only the roof, but the gas as well. 
 
 The coroner's jury, after a lengthened and careful 
 inquiry, returned the following verdict : — " That, in 
 the opinion of the jury, the death of John Hall was 
 caused by an explosion of gas at the Prince of Wales' 
 Pit, Abercarn, but that how it occurred there is no evi- 
 dence to show.'' 
 
 This was one of those accidents which could not be 
 attributed either to the neglect of the owners or the 
 carelessness of the miners — one of those misfortunes 
 beyond the control of human foresight. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Appointment of Royal Commission, February 1879 — Men Repudiating 
 THE Lowering of Wages — The Question of Royalties— Seaham 
 Colliery Accident— Employers Liability Act — The New Mines 
 Regulation Act. 
 
 During the two years 1877 and 1878 an exceptional 
 loss of life occurred through explosions in collieries. 
 In the former year 289, and in the latter 540, deaths 
 were caused by these accidents. Repeated questions 
 were asked in the House of Commons in reference to\ 
 the disasters, and a feeling of want of confidence in the ,' 
 working of the Mines Regulation Act arose among the 
 colliers. The inspection underground was considered 
 inadequate, the use or abuse of blasting powder in fiery 
 mines condemned, and more vigilance demanded from 
 the responsible managers. This agitation led to the 
 appointment of a Royal Commission on the 12th 
 February 1879, composed of scientific men, colliery 
 proprietors, and Mr. Burt to represent the men, for the 
 purpose of "inquiring and reporting whether with 
 respect to influence of fluctuations of atmospheric 
 pressure upon the issue of fire-damp from coal ; to the 
 adoption and efficient application of trustworthy indi- 
 cators of the presence of fire-damp, and, generally, to 
 systematic observations of the air in mines ; to improved 
 methods of ventilation and illumination ; to the employ- 
 ment of explosive agents in the getting of minerals ; 
 
200 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 and to other particulars relating to mines and mining 
 operations ; the resources of science furnish very practical 
 expedients that are not now in use, and are calculated 
 to prevent the occurrence of accident or limit their 
 disastrous consequences." These instructions were 
 certainly of a very comprehensive character, and gave 
 the commissioners ample occupation for six years. A 
 preliminary report was presented in September 1881, 
 and the final report on the isth March 1886. 
 
 During the time the royal commissioners were 
 collecting evidence and making experiments, the colliers 
 in different coal districts were resisting reductions in 
 wages proposed by the masters owing to the continued 
 dulness of the coal trade. In Durham the men organised 
 a strike against a reduction of 12 J per cent., eventually 
 accepting an award of 8f per cent, deduction for 
 underground and 6| for surface labour, which was 
 further increased i^ per cent, by the late Lord Derby, 
 to whom the question had been referred for arbitration. 
 The leaders of the men found it difficult to suggest a 
 remedy for low wages during the depression of trade 
 then existing. Mr. Macdonald in Scotland advocated 
 a limitation of the output by doing less work, which 
 practically meant a strike. The leaders were, however, 
 not unanimous on the way to obtain better or resist 
 lower wages ; for at the time Mr. Macdonald was advising 
 extreme measures, Mr. Bryson, in Northumberland at a 
 demonstration of miners in July 1879, said "he abomi- 
 nated strikes, and never saw any good come out of 
 them." However, as trade improved, the question of 
 wages became more easily settled, and in most districts 
 a revised sliding scale was adopted. About this time 
 (1879) the question of royalties paid to owners was 
 
ROYALTIES TO LANDLORDS. 201 
 
 discussed, and it was pointed out that while the men 
 were working at starvation wages, and the colliery pro- 
 prietors receiving a bare interest for their capital, or even 
 losing money, the landlords and owners of the unearned 
 increment were receiving their royalties just the same 
 as in days of prosperity. A proposal was made by Sir 
 George Elliot, in the beginning of 1879, to continue 
 working the Pensher Colliery, which was then not 
 yielding profits, on condition of paying the wages out 
 of the sales, and leaving the royalty to be paid out of 
 any surplus after the men were paid. The idea of 
 making the wages of the men who raise the coal a 
 first charge on the sale produce was therefore admitted 
 by others besides the representatives of the labour 
 interest. The attention of masters and men was with- 
 drawn from the discussion of sliding scales and wages 
 at the end of 1880 by a terrible explosion at the 
 Seaham Colliery in Durham. This accident caused 
 the more surprise as the northern district had for 
 some years been free from any catastrophe of this 
 gravity, and was considered to be in general under 
 most careful management. Indeed, the Government 
 inspector, Mr. Bell, in reporting the accident, said : — " For 
 two years and fivfe months preceding the 8th September 
 last (1880) there had not been a single life lost from gas 
 explosions in this district." The inquest was opened on 
 the isth September, and adjourned from time to time 
 until the 13th April 1881, when the jury found that an 
 explosion had taken place causing the deaths, " but as 
 to the seat of the explosion we have not been able to 
 determine." For the purpose of determining the cause 
 of this explosion. Sir Frederick Abel had, under instruc- 
 tions from the Home Secretary made an exhaustive 
 
202 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 report and a number of experiments on samples of coal 
 dust collected at Seaham Colliery. The result of his 
 experiments proves that the existence of very small 
 quantities of inflammable gas in the air of a mine may 
 suffice to bring about a propagation of flame with the 
 addition of coal dust, and by that means cause an 
 explosion. Among the most valuable experiments 
 made by Sir Frederick Abel is one demonstrating that 
 perfectly non-combustible powders, " when exposed to 
 the action of flame, are very little inferior to the most 
 inflammable or sensitive of the Seaham dust-samples in 
 their power to bring about the ignition of an otherwise 
 uninflammable mixture of fire-damp and air." The 
 experiments on this part of the subject were made with 
 calcined magnesia, kaolin, powdered flint, and other 
 forms of silica, pumice, slate, dust, &c. The danger of 
 coal dust in the ventilating currents of coal mines giving 
 off inflammable gas had been pointed out by Messrs. 
 Faraday and Lyell in a report as far back as 1845. 
 Since then, Mr. William Galloway made a series of 
 important experiments on the subject, which he com- 
 municated to the Royal Society in 1876, demonstrating 
 the important parts which coal dust played in causing 
 or aggravating explosions in collieries. The experi- 
 ments of Sir Frederick Abel abundantly prove the 
 increased danger of dust of any kind in the ventilating 
 current, without, however, going so far as to attribute all 
 the accidents to this cause. 
 
 During the next following years several heavy explo- 
 sions occurred, notably at the Abram Colliery, where 48 
 men lost their lives ; at Trindon Grange, causing 74 
 deaths ; at Tudbrae, and other collieries ; and the verdict 
 of the jury at these inquests was invariably to* the effect 
 
ORIGIN OF EXPLOSIONS. 203 
 
 that there was not sufficient evidence to show how the gas 
 was ignited. Yet these accidents were followed by the 
 most careful and complete investigations by the Govern- 
 ment inspectors, and by special commissioners appointed 
 by the Home Office to inquire and report. These search- 
 ing inquiries, even if they do not result in discovering 
 the actual cause of explosions, are nevertheless most 
 useful in bringing out the details of the management of 
 collieries and their deficiencies, if any, which, though pos- 
 sibly not the immediate cause of the accident examined 
 into, require amendment, and the publication of the 
 proceedings and reports from a valuable record for the 
 guidance of those intrusted with the management of 
 collieries. It is seldom that after an explosion it is 
 possible to determine with exactitude when and how it 
 occurred. Generally all the men working in the vicinity 
 of the ignition are killed, and the arrangements of the 
 mine so blown about and destroyed that no direct 
 evidence is obtainable. The recurrence of these pit 
 disasters increased the agitation among the colliers for 
 an amended Coal Mines Regulation Bill, and at all the 
 meetings of associations and delegates the subject was 
 referred to, and certain new clauses proposed and dis- 
 cussed. Questions were also asked in the House of 
 Commons, but to these the usual answer was that before 
 any legislation could be effected the report of the Royal 
 Commission on coal-mine accidents, then sitting, ought 
 to be presented. Meantime another subject, of great 
 importance to masters and men alike, came into the 
 arena of practical politics, namely, the liability of 
 employers towards their employed for injuries received 
 during work. 
 
 The subject of liability of employers for injury 
 
204 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 sustained by their workmen during the performance of 
 their duties, had for some years attracted the attention 
 of working men of all descriptions ; but no alteration in 
 the law had as yet been proposed by any Government, 
 and work was carried on under an Act of Charles II., 
 by which the employer evaded any liability owing to 
 the wording of the Act, which admitted the doctrine of 
 common employment in the case of so-called accidents 
 occurring through the neglect of persons employed by 
 the masters to superintend the details of the work. On 
 the 3rd June 1880, however, Mr. Dodson introduced a 
 Government Bill in the House of Commons to amend 
 the law. The main feature of the Bill was to make 
 the employers directly liable for injury caused to their 
 workmen through defective machinery, or through the 
 neglect or fault of their representatives, managers, or 
 foremen. This met with great opposition on the part of 
 the employers, and they advocated a clause enabling 
 them to insure against the consequences of the Act ; but 
 Mr. Burt and all the labour representatives in the House 
 of Commons objected strenuously to this clause, assert- 
 ing that the men would never accept insurance as a 
 substitute for the liability of employers. The introduc- 
 tion of this Bill was followed by numerous discussions 
 among the owners of works, and by the men. Meetings 
 were held in all the mining fields of the country, and in 
 some districts a compromise was effected by which the 
 costs entailed on the masters under the Act would be 
 met by the miners' relief societies on consideration of 
 the masters either contributing or increasing their con- 
 tribution to the funds. In Lancashire, the owners' sub- 
 scription to the funds of the Miners', Permanent Relief 
 Society was increased from 15 to 25 per cent, of the total 
 
EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY. 205 
 
 annual subscriptions to the society. These arrangements 
 were made before the passing of the Bill, which was read 
 a third time on the i8th August 1880. This Act was 
 certainly a measure of justice to the workpeople of the 
 country. It was inconceivable that, in the face of the 
 liberal labour laws which had been passed since the 
 commencement of this century, this obsolete Act was 
 allowed to remain in force by which a workman was 
 debarred' from claiming any compensation from his 
 employers for injury caused him during his work through 
 their fault, direct or indirect. The Act does not appear 
 to have quite satisfied the workmen, for we find a 
 deputation of miners introduced by Mr. Burt interview- 
 ing the Home Secretary on 2nd February 1882, to urge 
 the introduction of a new Mines Regulation Bill and an 
 amended Employers Liability Bill. A short time after 
 this, namely, on the 4th July 1884, a debate on a 
 suggested Miners Regulation Bill took place in the 
 House of Commons, when Mr. Burt pointed out that 
 the collieries of the country employed about 560,000 men, 
 and that out of these he estimated that some 86,000 
 were annually injured. The view of inspection in the 
 past had been that the inspectors were to visit coal pits 
 only when an accident had occurred, but lately instruc- 
 tions had been issued to the inspectors to visit a mine 
 whenever requested to do so, even anonymously. How- 
 ever, owing to the great development of coal mining, 
 and the increasing dangers arising out of increased 
 depth and extended workings, an augmentation in 
 the number of inspectors was requisite. The Home 
 Secretary accepted the suggestion for additional inspec- 
 tors, and as a fact several new appointments were made 
 soon after. This debate was the precursor of numerous 
 
2o6 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 questions and some debates in the House of Commons, 
 which eventually led to the introduction of a Bill some 
 years later in 1887. 
 
 The coming Bill continued to be much discussed by 
 the workmen at their various meetings, although during 
 the year 1885 they were deeply engaged in wrangling 
 with the employers about their wages. The coal trade 
 was not flourishing at that time, and in 1884 the pro- 
 duction had been 3 millions of tons less than iri the pre- 
 ceding year. Notices of reduction in wages were given 
 by colliery owners in different districts for amounts from 
 10 to IS per cent. In April 1885, the Yorkshire men 
 struck against a reduction of 15 per cent, and at a meet- 
 ing of a miners' council they determined to resist the 
 reductions in every legal way. A great many meetings 
 and conferences between masters and men took place, 
 but the masters were firm, in fact they could not give 
 way in view of the condition of the trade, and the men 
 lived to realise the fact that strikes cannot succeed in 
 times of commercial depression. Proposals were made 
 to resume work at a reduction of 10 per cent, or to 
 leave the dispute to arbitration, but eventually the men 
 resumed work on the masters' terms in May. The 
 agitation in the wages question was, however, soon 
 resumed, for we find a general council of miners at 
 Barnsley in August proposing that delegates should be 
 appointed to meet and negotiate with the masters for 
 an advance of 15 per cent, and that all the mines 
 should be laid idle till the stocks were consumed, and 
 that a limitation of production should be secured by 
 reducing the daily working hours. The rise of wages 
 was suggested at numerous meetings all over the 
 country, but was refused by the masters on the ground 
 
WOMEN ON THE PIT BANK. 207 
 
 that no reason whatever existed at the time for a rise ; 
 and at a meeting of miners at Manchester in October, 
 the leaders recommended that no precipitate action 
 should be taken. The agitation quite collapsed at the 
 end of the year, the men withdrawing their notices. 
 During this period of strained relations between the 
 masters and their men, not one act of violence or law- 
 lessness is recorded against the colliers. They held fast 
 to the maxim laid down by their leaders at the first 
 large meeting, namely, that they would oppose a reduc- 
 tion of wages " in every legal way," and not otherwise, 
 and when they saw the hopelessness of their cause 
 they withdrew their notices and accepted their defeat 
 unreservedly. Even the organ of the coal owners said 
 that "one of the most encouraging circumstances in 
 connection with the coal trade is the loyalty which the 
 colliers are showing to the principle of arbitration and 
 conciliation." Certainly, almost all the leading men 
 among the colliers have repeatedly and forcibly de- 
 nounced strikes and extreme measures as likely to 
 prostrate the realisation of the legitimate objects to be 
 gained, and recommended conferences, arbitration, con- 
 ciliation, and all legal means as the correct and reason- 
 able methods to adopt in all cases of dispute or dissatis- 
 faction. The miners' conference held at Birmingham 
 in January 1886 was occupied with the expected new 
 Mines Regulation Bill, and the subjects more specially 
 discussed and recommended were examination of the 
 proposed practical sub-inspectors, the appointment of a 
 Minister of Mines, and the prohibition of the employ- 
 ment of women on the pit bank. The men were very 
 strong on the latter point, and their representatives 
 made valiant efforts in the House of Commons during 
 
2o8 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the discussion of the Bill to carry a clause prohibiting 
 the employment of women altogether at collieries. In 
 contrast to these views of the workmen, who were con- 
 sidering the position of their future wives or daughters, 
 we find the reverend vicar of Pemberton presiding at 
 a meeting of pit-girls held for the purpose of getting up 
 a petition protesting against the proposed stoppage of 
 their work. The colliery owners made great, and mainly 
 successful, efforts to retain the employment of women 
 on pit banks, alleging as a reason the increased cost of 
 employing men or boys; and they went as far as 
 organising a deputation of pit-girls to wait on the Home 
 Secretary, probably to prove how strong and healthy 
 they became at their open-air occupation. This extreme 
 perturbation of the owners seems in reality to have 
 been " Much ado about nothing," for in 1888 there were 
 only about 4000 women employed at all the pits in the 
 country out of 560,000 people. 
 
 But this question is one not to be measured by 
 monetary but by ethical considerations, and the em- 
 ployment of woman on and about a pit bank is an 
 objectionable remnant of the callous system of treat- 
 ing workpeople which pertained in bygone days, but 
 which does not belong to the present time. An 
 animated discussion of the subject took place on the 
 consideration of the new Mines Regulation Bill when 
 it was introduced, but this measure was delayed, and in 
 the meantime the subject of royalties paid to landlords 
 was much considered. This matter had already been 
 discussed, and there appeared to be a general feeling 
 among the men as well as the colliery owners, that in 
 many cases the income levied by the landlord was 
 excessive, and in some instances exorbitant Mr. 
 
EXCESSIVE WAYLEAVE CHARGES. 209 
 
 John Wilson, M.P., as one of a deputation to the 
 Home Secretary (Mr. Childers), cited the instance of 
 one colliery where a minimum of ;^2200 a year had 
 to be paid to the landlord, work or no work, and 
 generally the trade was suffering from the unreasonable 
 amounts charged. Mr. Burt on one occasion described 
 the royalties charged as iniquitous, and the wayleaves 
 worse than iniquitous, and referred to a colliery in the 
 north of England working at the time at no profit, but 
 paying ;^20,ooo a year for royalties and wayleaves. 
 
 The excessive charges in the shape of royalties date 
 from the year 1872, when an exceptional demand for 
 coal arose which stimulated capital to embark largely, 
 but not always wisely, in colliery speculations. The 
 royalties in Durham, which, previous to 1872, ranged 
 from 4^d. per ton to 6d. per ton, soon rose to is. 6d. 
 per ton for new winnings. When the inflated demand 
 for coal subsided, and the trade returned to its normal 
 level, the new investors found themselves severely 
 hampered by the heavy royalties they had undertaken 
 to pay, and the colliers began to find fault with a 
 system which entails the payment of heavy sums 
 to the owner of the property at a time when the 
 colliery master is making little or no profit, and has 
 to reduce the wages of his workmen. The subject was 
 discussed first out of, and subsequently in, ParRament 
 for several years, and being a matter of great difficulty 
 and delicacy to arrange satisfactorily by any Govern- 
 ment, it was eventually safely shelved in September 
 1890, under the protection of a Royal Commission, 
 where it remains to this day (1892). 
 
 Questions as to coming legislation were asked re- 
 peatedly in the House of Commons, and eventually 
 
 p 
 
2IO COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 Mr. Assheton Cross brought in and carried a " Coal 
 Mines Bill," which received the royal assent on 25 th 
 June 1886. This measure had but a brief existence, 
 for in the following year it was repealed by the Act 
 of 1887. The Government measure had been post- 
 poned until the royal commissioners on coal-mine 
 accidents had presented their final report. 
 
 The report was presented on the isth March 1886, 
 being a formidable volume full of most important in- 
 formation. The field of inquiry covered by the commis- 
 sioners is so vast, and their investigation so complete, 
 that it is impossible in this place to give more than an 
 outHne of their labours. Among other important con- 
 clusions they arrived at, is the inconsistency between 
 barometrical readings and explosions, and they " enter- 
 tain great doubt on the wisdom of placing reliance on 
 the issue of meteorological warnings." Their investiga- 
 tions in this direction destroy the hopes which were 
 entertained by some scientists, that the miner could read 
 the coming danger on his barometer. The investiga- 
 tions regarding the danger of coal dust confirm the 
 previous knowledge that the disastrous effects of explo- 
 sions are greatly aggravated by the presence of coal 
 dust, or, indeed, any dust in the air of mines, particu- 
 larly if dry. In the absence of coal dust and inflam- 
 mable gases blown out, shots were not very dangerous, 
 but it was found that if a small quantity, amounting 
 only to 2 per cent, of gas was present in the current of 
 air, it would be sufficient to cause a flare-up. With 
 reference to shot-firing in coal mines, the commissioners 
 recommend "High" explosives, such as dynamite, 
 gelatine, guncotton, or tonite, mixed with water, and 
 consider that gunpowder and similar explosives should 
 
THE OLD AND THE NEW LAMPS. 211 
 
 be prohibited ; and in all cases where gas exists, to 
 adopt firing by electricity instead of by fuse. Among 
 the most important and interesting experiments re- 
 corded are those made with safety-lamps, in order to 
 test their reliability in explosive atmospheres. The old 
 lamps, which are safe enough in a stagnant atmosphere, 
 are no longer so in the modern colliery with its swift 
 ventilating currents. The time-honoured Davy fired 
 an explosive mixture with a velocity of 400 feet per 
 minute. The Clanny was useless in a current of 600 
 feet velocity, and the Stephenson in one of 800 feet per 
 minute. The best lamps, according to the experiments, 
 were found to be the Gray, the Marsant bonneted, the 
 Museler, and the Evan Thomas Clanny, and the com- 
 mission recommend that only such lamps should be 
 used in collieries which are fiery. They also notice 
 that the power of the oil used as illuminant is increased 
 by an admixture of petroleum. With regard to electric 
 lighting, which occupied a large part of their attention, 
 they did not see their way to recommend it, although 
 they look on the glow lamp as valuable for exploring 
 purposes, and as an auxiliary, but as the safety-lamps 
 indicate the presence of gas, they cannot be dispensed 
 with. In concluding the report, they reiterate the 
 opinion of many, or, indeed, most practical men, for they 
 "attach much importance to systematic inspection by 
 workmen under rule 30 of the Coal Mines Act of 1872." 
 The closing words of the report seem to point to the 
 desirability of appointing some permanent central officer 
 or official to investigate all inventions or suggested im- 
 provements in the working of the mines. The work- 
 men had frequently suggested at their meetings that a 
 Minister of Mines should be created, and Mr. A. O'Connor 
 
212 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 proposed this in the House of Commons, but the recom- 
 mendation of the Royal Commission appears to be more 
 for a board of scientific men, or a permanent mixed 
 commission of scientific and practical engineers, whose 
 duty it would be to ascertain the value of all suggested 
 improvements and inventions regarding coal mining. 
 They conclude as follows : — " In bringing our labours to 
 a termination, we feel very strongly that many of the 
 subjects with which we have dealt need much further 
 elucidation by perseverance in experimental research of 
 the kind which we have pursued. We are convinced 
 that, if the work which we are relinquishing were con- 
 tinued, the knowledge of the conditions to be fulfilled 
 for securing safety from preventable disasters, and the 
 development of resources and appliances calculated to 
 promote the fulfilment of those conditions, could still be 
 much advanced. It is, moreover, certain that new sub- 
 jects for inquiry connected with the safe working of coal 
 mines must continue to present themselves, as has been 
 the case during our seven years' experience. Those 
 considerations have impressed upon us the need of the 
 official establishment of some permanent arrangement 
 by which the continuous pursuit of this highly important 
 class of work would be secured, and by which also the 
 merits of suggestions and inventions presenting them- 
 selves from time to time would be investigated promptly 
 and thoroughly, and dealt with authoritatively." 
 
 Shortly after this voluminous and valuable report was 
 presented, the Home Secretary, Mr. Childers, in reply to 
 a question, stated that as soon as he had mastered the 
 recommendations of the Royal Commission he would 
 propose a Bill, which he did, but a change of Govern- 
 ment took place in June 1886, and it devolved on the 
 
THE BILL OF 1887. 213 
 
 new Home Secretary to bring in a Bill, substantially 
 similar to the measure prepared by his predecessor. 
 Mr. Matthews introduced his measure on the 3rd 
 September 1887, and the interest taken in the subject by 
 all those acquainted with it may be gathered from the 
 fact that 219 amendments had been placed on the notice 
 paper. A great amount of time and useless discussion 
 was saved in the House of Commons by conferences 
 between colliery owners and workmen, where many 
 minor points were settled by mutual agreement. 
 
 The principal points discussed were the employment 
 of women on the pit bank, the age at which boys ought 
 to be employed underground, and the appointment of 
 check-weighers. The coal owners supported the employ- 
 ment of women, and feared an increase of the cost of 
 raising the coal if their labour was dispensed with, and 
 this argument was met by some of the labour members 
 by the antithesis that the employment of women kept 
 the price of labour on the surface down. During the 
 discussion, Mr. Burt said that the arguments brought 
 forward in support of the employment of women were 
 similar to those used in 1842 for the maintenance of 
 female labour underground, and that the employment 
 of women even on the pit bank was " a survival of the 
 barbarous system of that time." The Bill was discussed 
 during six sittings, and several amendments and new 
 clauses were carried. Eventually, it was read a third 
 time on the 3rd September 1887, and sent up to the 
 House of Lords, where Lord Cross, in supporting the 
 second reading on the 7th September, stated that in 
 1879 he had asked the Royal Society to assist in the 
 commission to be appointed to inquire into colliery 
 accidents, that several most distinguished members of 
 
214 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 that body had served on it, and that many of their 
 recommendations had been embodied in the Bill. 
 Some amendments were made in the House of Lords 
 and considered in the House of Commons on the 1 2th 
 September, after which the Bill received the royal 
 assent on the i6th. This measure is so complete and 
 exhaustive that it is probable that legislation for coal 
 mines will not be proposed for some years to come. 
 The subject had been so thoroughly discussed by all 
 interested before the Bill passed, that very little remained 
 to be said about it when it became law. During the 
 last few years the subjects affecting the coal industry 
 which have become prominent are the royalty ques- 
 tion, now being investigated by a Royal Commission, 
 employers liability legislation, and the duration of our 
 coal fields. The Employers Liability Act of 1880 was 
 discussed in the House of Commons on the 23rd 
 February 1886, and the question referred to a select 
 committee, which reported in June in favour of renewal 
 with amendments, but since then no alteration has been 
 made in the law, the Act of 1880 being renewed from 
 year to year. 
 
 The duration of the coal in the country has been 
 frequently and ably discussed of late years, but no fresh 
 data have been advanced since the report of the Royal 
 Commission in 1 87 1, and each writer on the subject 
 takes the report and the late Professor Jevons' book as 
 basis of his arguments and conclusions. Professor 
 Marshall in 1878, taking the yearly increase of output 
 from 1854 to 1876 as normal, and assuming the same 
 to continue, estimated the duration at 125 years. Mr. 
 Price Williams in 1889 calculated that taking the rate 
 of increase of production of the previous years our coal 
 
D URA TION OF COAL. 2 1 5 
 
 would be exhausted in about a century. All writers on 
 the subject point out the impossibility of fixing an exact 
 term for the coal era of the country. In the first place, 
 the basis of calculation may be incorrect, for more coal 
 may be discovered underlying the Permian and other 
 formations than estimated by the royal commissioners. 
 Then, again, as coal increases in price more economy 
 will be observed in its use, and invention will come to 
 aid and affect greater results with a ton of fuel than are 
 realised at present. Already, as Mr. Williams points 
 out, the amount of coal required to make a ton of 
 finished iron, which in 1830 was 3 tons 7 cwt, was 
 reduced to 2 tons 3 cwt. in 1881, and economies in this 
 direction are daily being introduced. Steamships which 
 formerly used 4 lbs. of -coal per hour and H.P., now 
 require only \\ lbs., or 2 lbs. at the utmost. Improve- 
 ments have been introduced in the construction of 
 boilers, and, in fact, the principle of economy of fuel in 
 all industries is admitted, but economy has not yet been 
 sufficiently introduced into domestic consumption. The 
 result of all these inquiries has been to show that coal 
 will be available for a couple of centuries, more or less. 
 During the latter half of this century the output has 
 expanded and increased enormously. 
 
 In 1850 the output was estimated at over 50,000,000 
 tons; in 1890 it had reached 185,479,126 tons. To the 
 first half of this century belong nearly all the great 
 inventions and improvements necessary for the mining 
 of coal — the steam-engine, railways, safety-lamps, im- 
 proved systems of ventilation and working, and coal 
 mining. During the latter part of the century, we have 
 to chronicle a steady development and enlargement of 
 these inventions and systems, which have been so far 
 
2i6 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 sufficient to achieve the enormous output, which could 
 not have been otherwise reaHsed. The shafts have 
 increased in size and depth, and we now have pits up 
 to 19 feet in diameter, as at the Ocean Collieries in 
 South Wales ; and the coal pits at present are sunk to 
 great depths, as at Rosebridge, Wigan, 816 yards, sunk 
 in 1869, and Ashton, near Manchester, 896 yards, sunk 
 in 1 88 1. These immense shafts necessitate an enormous 
 output, consequently we find winding-engines up to 
 1500 H.P. and drums 20 and 30 feet diameter, carrying 
 steel ropes raising 6 and even 8 tubs at a time, repre- 
 senting a load of 3 to 4 tons of coal. The speed of 
 the cages in the shaft is at the rate of nearly a mile 
 per minute, and the quantity raised amounts to looo 
 to 2000 tons per day. The capital required for such a 
 plant is so large that extensive areas of coal must be 
 worked out of each shaft, and, therefore, the question of 
 haulage underground is one of great importance in a 
 modern colliery. This has been very minutely studied 
 by colliery engineers since the time of the introduction 
 of steam underground for that purpose. In 1867 a 
 committee of the North of England Institute of Mining 
 Engineers made a most exhaustive report on the 
 subject, and since then, the iron or steel wire-rope haul- 
 age has been generally adopted and improved. The suc- 
 cessful working of a colliery depends entirely on a minute 
 attention to matters of detail with a view to economy. 
 This, of course, assuming the coal seam is workable, 
 and that the colliery is provided with the necessary 
 plant. Hence we find in a modern colliery great atten- 
 tion paid to screening and cleaning the coals for the 
 market, and the small coal used for making coke is 
 ground to powder and washed like mineral ore. Inferior 
 
WORKING A COLLIERY. 217 
 
 coal is used up by turning it into gas, which is applied 
 for heating purposes, and in every possible way economy 
 is practised in producing and in using power. Electricity 
 has not been universally introduced. A lamp was 
 proposed by Mr. Swan in 1885, but was not adopted. 
 Within the last few years more progress has been made 
 in the application of electricity to machinery under- 
 ground, for purposes of coal-cutting, pumping, under- 
 ground winding-engines, and haulage, and already in 
 some instances it has been substituted for compressed 
 air, which is beginning to lose favour as a transmitter of 
 power. It is, of course, used for signalling and lighting 
 the pit bottom and main roadways in large collieries, 
 and it is surprising, considering the surplus power 
 frequently available at large coal mines, that it has not 
 been more generally introduced as a means of trans- 
 mitting power. It must, however, be borne in mind 
 that an electric current of high tension, no matter how 
 carefully arranged, is always a source of danger ; and 
 this, no doubt, retards its adoption underground. The 
 manner of working the coal has not undergone any 
 great change, and it need only be noted that the long- 
 wall system has come into more general use. Many 
 attempts have been made to introduce some mechanical 
 contrivance to replace the hewer at the face, but none 
 of these inventions have so far proved universally 
 successful. The same may be said of the patents for 
 replacing explosives. The wedge and the lime cartridge 
 are among the most successful, but have not proved 
 sufficiently so to be generally adopted. There is still 
 room for inventive capacity in this and other directions, 
 and every improvement will be welcomed by colliery 
 owners and colliers. 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Retrospect and Observations. 
 
 Exactly half a century has passed since Lord Shaftes- 
 bury (then Lord Ashley) rose in the House of Commons 
 to draw attention to the condition of the workpeople in 
 the coal mines, and shortly afterwards a state of things 
 was brought to light by the labours of royal commis- 
 sioners of which the nation, and even many of the coal 
 owners themselves, had never dreamt — a state of things 
 which has deservedly been described as unbecoming a 
 civilised nation. The case was so appalling that the 
 legislature interfered, and enforced such changes in 
 treatment of the workpeople as were dictated by 
 humanity and decency. Since then several Acts have 
 been passed, and comparing the present condition of the 
 mining population with their condition fifty years ago, 
 these Acts have been most beneficial to their well- 
 being and morality, and have not unduly hampered the 
 development of the coal industry. It is interesting to 
 note the gradual development of legislative interference 
 in the successive Acts which have been added to the 
 Statute Book since 1842. 
 
 The Act of 1842 prohibited the employment of 
 women and young children underground ; provided that 
 no boy was to be apprenticed under the age of ten years, 
 or for more than eight years ; that persons in charge 
 
THE SUCCESSIVE ACTS. 219 
 
 of engines were not to be under fifteen years of age ; and 
 also that wages were not to be paid at public-houses. An 
 inspector was appointed to visit the collieries and report, 
 but not invested with any power. 
 
 The next Act, in 1850, made provision for the appoint- 
 ment of several inspectors with power to enter into the 
 underground workings of collieries at all reasonable 
 seasons. Certain general rules were introduced to be 
 observed at all collieries for the safety of the workings. 
 Notice to be given to the Home Secretary of deaths 
 from accidents and inquests. Owners to produce proper 
 plans, and penalties ranging from £'^ to £\o were 
 imposed for obstructing the inspector or refusing 
 information. 
 
 An Act was passed in 1855 to amend the law for the 
 inspection of coal mines in Great Britain, in which no 
 new principle was introduced, but the notice of deaths 
 by accident were to be given to the inspectors ; and 
 owners were liable to a fine of £^ for violating or wilfully 
 neglecting the rules, and the men liable to a fine of £2, 
 or imprisonment with or without hard labour for three 
 months. 
 
 By the Act of i860, the educational clauses were intro- 
 duced, and employers had to receive a certificate from a 
 competent schoolmaster that the boy could read and 
 write before giving him employment, or else he had to 
 attend school between the age of ten and twelve for six 
 hours a week. Persons in charge of steam-engines were 
 to be eighteen years of age, and wages to be paid at the 
 usual office of the colliery. Coals truly weighed, and 
 the men to have the right to appoint one of themselves 
 as check-weighers. The general safety rules were in- 
 creased to fifteen, and special rules were to be adopted 
 
220 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 at each colliery. Iron mines worked in connection with 
 coal seams were included in the Act. 
 
 In 1862 a short Act was introduced providing for 
 two shafts or outlets to each mine, in consequence of 
 the Hartley accident, by which 204 men were suffocated. 
 Ten years later a still more comprehensive measure was 
 passed, namely, " An Act to Consolidate and Amend the 
 Acts relating to the Regulation of Coal Mines and certain 
 other Mines.'' New clauses regarding the boys were 
 introduced, who were not to work under twelve years, 
 except in thin measures, and to attend school twenty 
 hours a fortnight. Coal to be paid by weight only, and 
 the weights subject to the Weights and Measures Act. 
 New principle introduced of enforcing an examination 
 on all persons taking the management of collieries, now 
 denominated certificated managers. The safety rules 
 increased to thirty-one, and the owner or manager 
 liable to imprisonment for offences against the Act. 
 
 Lastly, the Act of 1887 was introduced. By this Act 
 boys are not to be employed underground on any condi- 
 tion under twelve years of age. Contract work to be 
 paid by weight only, and check-weighers not necessarily 
 to be employed at the colliery. The two shafts, or out- 
 lets, directed by the Act of 1862, to be 15 yards apart 
 instead of 10 feet. Two kinds of certificates of compet- 
 ency for managers are provided : a first-class certificate 
 for managers, and a second-class one for under-managers 
 or overmen. Notice now to be sent to the inspectors 
 of any proceedings taken under the Act against any 
 person employed in respect of an offence against the 
 Act. The Secretary of State has power to appoint a 
 special Court for the investigation of any accident. The 
 general safety rules are increased by eight, and every 
 
THE ACT OF 1887. 221 
 
 person employed in or about a mine who is guilty of 
 any act or omission, which would be an offence on the 
 part of the owner, agent, or manager, is to be considered 
 guilty of an offence, and liable to three months' im- 
 prisonment with or without hard labour. A fine imposed 
 may, at the option of the Secretary of State, be paid to 
 the persons injured, or to the relatives of persons killed 
 by an accident. 
 
 It will be seen that the legislature has from time 
 to time introduced more stringent regulations, and ex- 
 tended the field of supervision, though always only 
 for greater safety, protection of female and youthful 
 labour, and correct payment of wages. The benefits 
 conferred on the colliery workpeople by these Acts have 
 been very considerable, and the consequent improve- 
 ment in their condition, manners, customs, and morality 
 most decided. The mines are now well ventilated, and 
 nearly as safe as human foresight can make them ; the 
 limitation of youthful labour underground and the 
 education clauses have metamorphosed the dissipated, 
 ignorant collier of the past. If Wesley and Whitfield 
 found the colliers of Kingswood and Newcastle little 
 better than heathens, devoid of all religious belief, like 
 savages, unable to comprehend the most ordinary things, 
 we see them now in a very different condition. With refer- 
 ence to this, we need only take the following letter to his 
 wife, found scratched with a nail on a tin can, by one of 
 the victims of the Hetton Colliery explosion in i860: — 
 " Dear Margaret, there were forty of us all together at 
 7 A.M. Some were singing hymns, but my thoughts were 
 on my little Michael. I thought that him and I would 
 meet in heaven at the same time. Oh, dear wife, fare- 
 well. My last thoughts are about you and the children. 
 
222 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 Be sure and teach the children to pray for me. Oh, 
 what a terrible position we are in." The man who sent 
 that message to the living world in his last hour, who 
 met his fate with religious fortitude and manly resigna- 
 tion, was neither a heathen or a savage. Of course, the 
 education clauses introduced into the Act of i860 have 
 had a great influence on the status of the colliers. The 
 possession of the rudiments of knowledge give them 
 self-respect and independence of thought, and in their 
 societies and unions we find the question of wages not 
 the only one considered, but they discuss the safety of 
 the mines, the correct payment of their earnings, and 
 the hours of labour ; and in many instances they have 
 avoided disputes by accepting arbitration or joining 
 conciliation boards for the settlement of differences with 
 their employers. 
 
 Strikes, alas, have not been obviated, and even at the 
 present day we have just witnessed the termination of a 
 severe and acrimonious dispute in the north of England. 
 These combinations of the men are, however, not at 
 present disgraced by acts of violence and lawlessness 
 such as were common in former years, although the 
 action of the northern pitmen lately in stopping the 
 pumping-engines during the strike was an ill-advised 
 and spiteful action, the consequences of which subse- 
 quently recoiled on the men. The incentive for men to 
 strike must be a strong one, for the action entails the 
 most poignant sufferings on the one side, and severe 
 losses on the other. Many strikes have been founded 
 on a principle of wrong inflicted, and in such cases 
 public sympathy has been enlisted ; but, on the other 
 hand, strikes have been rashly commenced on ill-judged 
 advice, and have ended in discomfiture after a period of 
 
THE ''EIGHT HOURS" DA Y. 223 
 
 intense suffering. If all the considerations connected 
 with strikes could be duly ascertained and weighed, it is 
 more than probable that on the whole the result has not 
 been beneficial to the workman. The motive for strikes 
 may be to a great extent attributed to the want of con- 
 fidence the men had in everybody except themselves, 
 caused bytheirneglected conditionfor centuries. Previous 
 to the legislative interference in 1842, brought about by 
 a philanthropist totally unconnected with the colliery 
 industry, who was working from humanising motives, the 
 interference of the legislature had been of an oppressive 
 character, and for centuries, from the days of Wat Tyler 
 until recent times, the workmen of England have had 
 to fight for the independence of labour. They even 
 hesitated to accept the Act of 1850, probably suspecting 
 some arrangement by which they would be losers, just as 
 the Scotch colliers when set free believed it to be a move 
 on the part of their masters to avoid paying the head and 
 harigold money due to the father of a new-born slave. 
 But they were not long in discovering the benefits to be 
 derived from the Act, and concluded that more was to be 
 obtained from a sympathetic legislature. They agitated 
 for many new clauses, and obtained a considerable 
 number of them ; and at present they are discussing the 
 advisability of having the hours of work fixed by Act 
 of Parliament. The limitation of hours of labour, or the 
 eight hours' movement as it is called, is reasonable 
 enough if agreed on by a general consensus of opinion in 
 different trades, but it is open to grave doubt whether 
 Parliament should be appealed to in order to fix the 
 exact time a man ought to work at a certain occupation. 
 One objection the men had to the education clauses 
 was, that if the boys only worked eight hours a day the 
 
234 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 pit would be laid idle, and the industrious collier who 
 wanted to make wages would be debarred from doing 
 so by a clause in an Act of Parliament. This is not so 
 long ago, and it is not easy to understand how it now 
 comes to pass that the men wish to see the hours of 
 work fixed and limited by an Act of Parliament. The 
 matter is under consideration by the leading states- 
 men of the day, and belongs to the. future. It is only 
 alluded to here as a subject which for some years 
 has been publicly advocated by a section of the 
 workmen. It may, however, not be out of place to 
 state as an opinion that Parliament is not exactly 
 the fit tribunal to judge as to the precise time a 
 man ought to continue at any particular kind of 
 work, and draw a hard and fast line which takes 
 from the workman all possibility of betterment of 
 earnings if he felt able and inclined to extend his 
 hours of labour. 
 
 It would appear more practical to refer the fixing of 
 the hours of labour to a board or commission, who could 
 appoint assessors possessing a practical knowledge of the 
 colliery or trade under consideration, and take evidence 
 as to the limit of the hours of labour which ought to be 
 determined on. As far as miners are concerned, there is 
 an almost general opinion that eight hours' work under- 
 ground is a sufficient strain on the physical powers of 
 human beings. 
 
 If we turn from the colliers to the collieries we find a 
 marked improvement in the safety of the underground 
 workings. 
 
 The following table shows the number of lives lost 
 per million tons of coal raised, and averaged by 
 decades : — 
 
STATISTICS OF ACCIDENTS. 225 
 
 10 years ending i860, average 13-90 deaths per million tons raised. 
 1° " 1870 „ 1070 „ „ 
 
 10 , 1880 „ 870 
 
 9 ,, 1889 „ 5-80 
 
 According to the parliamentary summaries, the death- 
 rate per 1000 persons employed have been as follows : — 
 1 85 1 death-rate per 1000 persons employed = 4-5 6 
 1861 „ „ „ 3-38 
 
 1871 „ „ „ 2-89 
 
 1881 „ „ „ 1-92 
 
 1889 „ „ „ 1-85 
 
 These figures show a gradual diminution of the loss 
 of life underground, but this improvement has not been 
 realised at the expense of an increase of labour, for, if 
 we take into consideration the mineral produced per 
 person employed, we find that the productive power of 
 the miner has not decreased. 
 
 Table showing the number of tons of coal raised per 
 man employed : — - 
 
 1851 to i860 average = 280 tons. 
 
 I 861 „ 1870 „ 308 „ 
 
 1871 „ 1880 „ 366 „ 
 
 1881 „ 1890 „ 380 „ 
 
 These figures are not absolutely correct, because the 
 parliamentary summaries under the later Acts comprise 
 all mines classed under the Coal Mines Acts, such as 
 iron-ore, fireclay, and shale, but they are sufficiently so 
 to show that the productive power of the collier has not 
 diminished. 
 
 In confirmation of the last table, the figures of Mr. 
 Greenwell, in a paper read at the North of England 
 Institution of Mining Engineers, can be quoted. He 
 there states that in the year 1873 the production of coal 
 per man amounted to 332^ tons, and in 188 1 to 406^ tons. 
 
 Q 
 
226 
 
 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 The following table, taken from the parliamentary- 
 summaries, shows that by far the greater number of 
 deaths are caused by the falling of roof and sides. This 
 table is divided into periods corresponding with the 
 passing of the Acts of Parliament. From 1851 to 1855 
 and from 1856 to i860 only coal mines are included ; but 
 from 1 86 1 to 1872 ironstone mines worked in connection 
 with coal are comprised, and from 1873 to 1887 strati- 
 fied ironstones, hematites, and all ores worked in 
 connection with coal, as well as the mines in Ireland. 
 The Act of 1887 includes mines of stratified ironstone, 
 mines of shale, and mines of fireclay, but as the output 
 of coal is greatly preponderating, the result may be 
 expected as sufficiently approximate to accuracy. 
 
 Average Number of Lives Lost. 
 185 1 to 1855. 
 
 
 Per Annum. 
 
 Per cent. 
 
 Explosions, .... 
 
 231 
 
 23-40 
 
 Falls of roof and sides, 
 
 368 
 
 37-40 
 
 In shafts, 
 
 . 236 
 
 23-80 
 
 Miscellaneous underground, 
 
 102 
 
 10-30 
 
 „ surface, 
 
 48 
 • 98s 
 
 5-10 
 
 Total, 
 
 100-00 
 
 1856 to i860. 
 
 
 
 Explosions, 
 
 257 
 
 25-25 
 
 Falls of roof and sides. 
 
 • 385 
 
 37-80 
 
 In shafts, . 
 
 187 
 
 18-30 
 
 Miscellaneous underground, 
 
 . 136 
 
 13-35 
 
 „ surface, 
 
 53 
 1018 
 
 S-30 
 
 Total, 
 
 100-00 
 
DEATHS, ETC. 
 
 
 
 i86i to 
 
 1872. 
 
 
 
 Explosions, .... 
 Falls of roof and sides, 
 In shafts, .... 
 Miscellaneous underground, 
 „ surface, 
 
 
 224 
 421 
 149 
 192 
 
 n 
 
 2I'0O 
 39-60 
 14-10 
 
 I8-IO 
 7-20 
 
 Total, 
 
 1063 
 
 227 
 
 loo-oo 
 
 1873 to 
 
 1887. 
 
 
 
 Explosions, 
 
 
 230 
 
 21-00 
 
 Falls of roof and sides. 
 
 
 457 
 
 41-85 
 
 In shafts, .... 
 
 
 115 
 
 10-55 
 
 Miscellaneous underground. 
 
 
 199 
 
 18-30 
 
 „ surface. 
 
 tal, . 
 
 91 
 
 1092 
 
 8-30 
 
 To 
 
 100-00 
 
 to 1891.* 
 
 Explosions, 
 
 Falls of roof and sides, 
 
 „ in shafts, 
 Miscellaneous under- ) 
 
 ground, ' . . . ) 
 Miscellaneous surface, . 
 
 Totals, 
 
 Total employed. 
 
 Ratio of employed to ) 
 deaths, . . . ) 
 
 1888 
 
 1889 
 
 1890 
 
 1891 
 
 49 
 471 
 
 75 
 209 
 
 84 
 
 138 
 
 46s 
 
 74 
 
 292 
 
 95 
 
 290 
 
 434 
 88 
 
 245 
 
 103 
 
 SI 
 476 
 119 
 
 236 
 
 97 
 
 888 
 
 1064 
 
 1 160 
 
 979 
 
 534,945 
 
 563,73s 
 
 613,233 
 
 648,450 
 
 602 
 
 530 
 
 528 
 
 622 
 
 *The returns since 1887 are not averaged. The previous years were 
 averaged in periods of 10 or 15 years. The returns from 1888 inclusive are 
 headed as being " Under the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1887, 50 & 51 
 Vict. cap. 58." 
 
228 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 These figures show most satisfactory results as far as 
 deaths from explosions, and abundantly prove that the 
 greatest danger in mining lies in the fall of roof and 
 sides. The miscellaneous accidents underground are 
 remarkable, and are caused in great part by the 
 machinery now so extensively used for hauling. 
 
 It would be futile to hope for anything like a complete 
 immunity from accident in a dangerous calling like coal 
 mining. Work has to be carried on under difficulties 
 such as are not to be found in any avocation on the 
 surface. The want of light, the confined space, the 
 insecurity of the walls and roof of the working chamber, 
 and the presence of an explosive gas in the air, are 
 sufficient to account for a considerable loss of life, and 
 the returns which the inspectors are able to make 
 compare favourably, under the circumstances, with the 
 experience of any other avocation where the element of 
 danger exists, such as shipping, railways, or ironworks. 
 To assert that this comparative safety is entirely due to 
 the regulations of the mining Acts would be going too 
 far. The men themselves have contributed enormously 
 to the safety of the mines, and this appears to be fully 
 appreciated by all those who have studied the question. 
 For instance, the royal commissioners who reported in 
 1886 point to the clause in the Act (1872) giving the 
 men employed at a colliery power to inspect the workings 
 from time to time as one of the best safeguards against 
 accidents. With reference to this we have an expression 
 of opinion from Sir George Elliot, M.P., who told a 
 deputation of colliers, with reference to accidents, that 
 he attributed the improvement in collieries in part to 
 the men, and that " no technical management or good 
 inspection could operate with anything like the strength 
 
A MINING DEPARTMENT. 229 
 
 and force which the workmen themselves were able to 
 supply." This is, of course, all very well, but the work- 
 men would never have had an opportunity of doing any- 
 thing for the safety of the mines if they had not obtained 
 the encouragement and protection of the legislature. 
 Certainly no one can take the same interest, or have 
 such a stake in a colliery, as the man who works in it 
 at the risk of his life. 
 
 Among the suggestions made by the Royal Com- 
 mission of 1886 was one recommending the creation of 
 some central authority, by which " the merits of sugges- 
 tions and inventions presenting themselves from time to 
 time would be investigated promptly and thoroughly, 
 and dealt with authoritatively." This had been mooted 
 in previous years by commissions and committees, and 
 would certainly be a very beneficial addition to the 
 system of Government regulations for the safety of 
 collieries now pertaining. Such a central authority 
 would also be able to concentrate the statistics, facts, 
 and general data collected by the inspectors and other 
 authorities, which now have to be hunted for among a 
 perfect wilderness of parliamentary papers, where they 
 are eventually captured after much trouble, under divers 
 heads and different titles. Such a central authority 
 or mining board might consist of a president, assisted 
 by a mining engineer, preferably a mine inspector of 
 some years' standing, and a scientific chemist, and need 
 not interfere with the responsibilities of the Secretary of 
 State, who would treat it as a department. The con- 
 sideration of this subject brings to notice the fact that 
 the colliery engineers have no central institution or 
 society for discussing the progress of their profession, or 
 bringing information from the various districts into one 
 
230 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 focus. Whereas, nearly all branches of the great pro- 
 fession of civil engineering have some institution of this 
 kind, the colliery engineers are dependent on local 
 societies, unless the Federated Institution of Newcastle- 
 on-Tyne is to be considered as a central institution. 
 
 In recent years, platform speeches have been made on 
 the subject of the high royalties paid to owners of mineral 
 property, and the idea mooted that the first charge on 
 the sale price of the coal ought to be that of wages, and 
 not the tax paid to the landlord. This would indicate 
 a fixed minimum of wages, so that the profits, if any, 
 would be charged first ; with the minimum wages 
 second ; with the royalty, leaving the surplus, if any, 
 to be divided between capital and labour. This idea is 
 not likely to be adopted, but it seems reasonable to 
 expect that some arrangement might be introduced by 
 which a system of give and take for royalties could be 
 accepted, similar to the sliding scale of the workmen's 
 wages. It is worth noting that in this kingdom, where 
 the mineral, as a rule, belongs to the owner of the soil, 
 the mines have been developed to a much greater 
 extent than in any other European country. It is a 
 mistake to suppose that in countries where the minerals 
 are owned by the State that the royalties are trifling or 
 nil because the Government dues are small. In the 
 great majority of cases, the mining concessions are 
 taken and held by persons unable to supply the need- 
 ful capital to work the mines, and are sold or let on 
 royalties to others, and frequently pass through several 
 intermediaries before coming into the possession of 
 persons capable of developing them. The laws facilitat- 
 ing the acquirement of concessions or mineral rights 
 have not attained the object of assisting in the develop- 
 
MINES AND THE CROWN. 231 
 
 merit of mineral resources. In some countries, square 
 miles of mineral property are held by persons who have 
 no intention of opening out mines, and continue in 
 possession by the payment of a small annual tax in the 
 expectation of being eventually able to find a suitable 
 purchaser. It is noteworthy that the mineral districts 
 held by the Crown in this country have not been so 
 successfully worked as others. Fortunately, at the time 
 of the Norman Conquest coal was not in general use, in 
 fact, was unknown, except to a very few who happened 
 to live close to an outcrop ; and, therefore, it escaped the 
 royal perception, otherwise it is probable that William 
 I., who possessed the adventurer's instinct for mono- 
 polising anything of value, would have brought all the 
 coal fields within the circle of the crown. Among the 
 districts he turned into king's fields are, Derbyshire for 
 lead, where speculation has been languishing for years ; 
 the Forest of Dean for iron ore, the coal being included 
 quite fortuitously ; all the gold and silver mines ; and some 
 parts of Cornwall ; and these mining centres have not 
 received any vitality from the fostering care of the crown. 
 As a matter of fact, the protection of Government in 
 mining matters has, in general, acted more in the 
 manner of the upas-tree in producing longer and some- 
 times even complete stagnation. This is, however, no 
 reason why landlords should claim an almost prohibitive 
 tax on minerals, the working of which gives employment 
 to many thousands of people, and adds immensely to 
 the prosperity and wealth of the nation. A royalty of 
 4d. or 6d. a ton on coal is admissible, but when we have 
 to deal with combined royalties and wayleaves amounting 
 to IS., and even is. 6d., per ton on coal worth possibly 
 6s. to 7s. at the pit, the charge amounts to prohibition. 
 
232 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 During all the discussions which have taken place in 
 recent years about wages, royalties, and other subjects, 
 very little allusion has been made to the finite nature of 
 the coal industry. The consideration of this important 
 point has been left out of the practical debates. Various 
 estimates of the duration of the coal fields have, however, 
 been made from time to time, and discussed at meetings 
 of learned societies, and the general result of these 
 papers and discussions is to point out that if the out- 
 put increases in the same ratio as in the past twenty 
 years, the coal will be exhausted in a little over a 
 century. The royal commissioners, reporting in 1871, 
 submit one estimate among others based on a regular 
 increase of 3 millions of tons a year, and on this 
 basis the duration of the coal is calculated at 276 years. 
 But if we take the amount raised in 1871, namely, 
 113 millions of tons in round numbers, and add thereto 
 the increase at the above rate for twenty years, we arrive 
 at the figure of 173 millions of tons, the exact amount 
 raised in 1891 being 185,479,126 tons; and if we take 
 the year 1851 as starting-point, with a production of 
 about 51 millions of tons, and add the 3 millions 
 for forty years, we obtain 171 millions as the estimated 
 quantity for the year 1891, so that the increase of 
 production has been at the rate of about 3 millions 
 of tons a year. In dealing with this subject, it is 
 impossible to lay down a hard and fast line, because 
 circumstances must inevitably arise which will extend 
 the duration of the coal reserves of the country. The 
 first and most important factor in this direction will be 
 the greater cost of working as the mines increase 
 in depth, which will compel the consumer to study 
 economy. It is impossible to value exactly the pro- 
 
CONSUMPTION OF COAL. 233 
 
 portion of the 185 millions of tons now raised per 
 annum which is wasted, but it would probably not be 
 erroneous to assume that 25 per cent, of the total 
 amount raised, or about 45 millions of tons a year, are 
 consumed in sheer loss at the present time. The dark 
 clouds of smoke which hang over our large towns, the 
 long black streaks which issue out of the steamship 
 and factory chimneys, are abundant evidence of the 
 wasteful usage of fuel. The greatest consumption of 
 coal is in the production of force, and taking the 
 mechanical power derived from the combustion of 
 coal for raising steam, only about 5 per cent, of the 
 total energy is used, and less than that proportion when 
 it is applied to other purposes. There is an urgent 
 need for improvement in the mode of using coal for 
 industrial purposes, and a wide field is open in this 
 direction. Something has already been effected, how- 
 ever, as, for instance, in the economy of coal on board 
 steamers, for we find the consumption on board the 
 Atlantic mail steamer has been reduced from 4 lbs. per 
 hour and indicated H.P. twenty years ago to ijlbs. or 
 2 lbs. at present. In the production of iron, the economy 
 of fuel has also been marked, and the 3 J tons required 
 to produce a ton of iron fifty years ago, have now been 
 reduced to a little over 2 tons. But a great deal more 
 must be done, and will be done, in this direction within 
 the next half century ; that is to say, it is not unreason- 
 able to assume that the same amount of force will be 
 produced in coming years with a much lower consump- 
 tion of fuel than at present. 
 
 The following figures are taken from Mr. Price 
 Williams' paper "On the Duration of Coal," read 
 before the Statistical Society in 1889, and show the 
 
30'3o per cent 
 
 17-26 
 
 
 8-66 
 
 
 3-98 
 
 
 1-40 
 
 
 17-44 
 
 
 15-09 
 
 
 100-00 
 
 ) 
 
 234 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 proportions in which coal is consumed for different 
 purposes :— 
 
 Production of steam-power, including collieries, 
 Manufacture of pig-iron and metallurgy, 
 Navigation, including the Royal Navy, . 
 Railways, including fixed engines, . 
 Water-works and miscellaneous, . 
 Domestic use, . ..... 
 
 Export, 
 
 These figures disclose one very important feature 
 namely, the large amount of coal exported. In 1854 
 the coal exported from the United Kingdom -was 
 4,359,575, and in 1891 it amounted to 31,084,116, 
 including coke and patent fuel, showing an increase of 
 26,724,541 in thirty-seven years. A very large pro- 
 portion of this coal is consumed by British steamers 
 abroad, and the increase of coal export has been 
 simultaneous with the increase of steam shipping. 
 In 1870 the steamship tonnage amounted to 1,111,375 
 tons, and in 1888 to 4,297,829 tons. It is not 
 to be expected that the rate of increase of our coal 
 exports will diminish as long as England continues at 
 the head of the shipping trade of the world, but this is 
 the only source of consumption which is not likely to 
 decrease by the more general introduction and applica- 
 tion of scientific improvements. 
 
 It is impossible to agree with Mr. J. S. Jevons when he 
 writes that, "so far as purely industrial processes are 
 concerned, it is scarcely probable that we shall witness 
 any substantial diminution of the quantity of coal con- 
 sumed unless as the direct result of a decline in our 
 
D URA TION OF COAL. 23 5 
 
 manufactures." The present tendency of industrial 
 engineering is towards economy in the use of fuel, and 
 if in twenty years the consumption of coal in steamships 
 has been reduced one-half per H.P., it may be confidently 
 assumed that more will be done in that direction. The 
 steam-engine in use at the factories in the coal districts 
 where fuel is cheap is a wasteful machine, but let the 
 price of coal perceptibly rise, and improvements will 
 speedily be adopted ; and last, but not least, the economy 
 in the use of coal for domestic purposes, which has 
 already been initiated, will be continued and extended. 
 We cannot do without coal ; and as we know that our 
 supply is limited, we must endeavour by economy and 
 improvements in use to eke out our resources and 
 make the most of them. Yarranton, writing in 1677, 
 says : — " Pit coal is so good, so cheap, and so durable 
 that it answers all useful ends better than if we had 
 coppice wood given for nothing." Since the days of 
 Yarranton we have found it to be so, but our coppice 
 wood is gone long ago, and our pit coal will soon cease 
 to be cheap, and as its duration is limited, nothing is 
 left to us but to economise until we get a substitute, 
 probably in the shape of petroleum. Perhaps long 
 before the exhaustion of our fuel we may see the green 
 fields and the bright coloured flowers beneath a clear 
 sky in the manufacturing districts, in spite of innumer- 
 able chimneys rising up from a busy swarm of toilers. 
 We shall not have the silence of desolation, but life, 
 activity, and work everywhere and all round, but — 
 no smoke. That is the problem to be solved by the 
 next generation of engineers. 
 
 Before closing these pages, there is one other subject 
 which ought to be referred to, namely, the projected 
 
236 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 introduction of some system by which provision can be 
 made for the support of workmen in their old age. This 
 project applies to all classes of labour, but its benefits 
 would be especially felt by the miners who are exposed 
 to premature old age in consequence of the severe nature 
 of their, occupation, and are liable to have their health 
 weakened through accidents. There is no exact record 
 of the number of men injured in and about the coal 
 mines, but it cannot be much less than 100,000 per 
 annum, and a large proportion of these would be 
 sufficiently injured to weaken even a robust constitution. 
 Fifty years ago, when it was proposed to obliterate the 
 scandal of female labour underground, the idea was 
 opposed and ridiculed as originating in sentimental 
 humanity; and now, somewhat similar objections are 
 raised against the project to remove the disgrace of 
 allowing our workmen to spend their last days under the 
 unsympathetic roof of the workhouse, or the chilling 
 mercy of charity. Most of the arguments against the 
 project appear to be founded on the text that if men are 
 poor at the age of 65, it is their own fault, and the 
 consequence of drunkenness and improvidence. Statis- 
 tics in support ofthe former allegation are wanting, but it 
 does not seem probable that the percentage of drunkards 
 among poor men at the age of 65 would be very con- 
 siderable, as it is presumable that the habitual drunkard 
 does not, generally speaking, attain that age. That 
 much improvidence has existed, and still exists, among 
 the working classes is true, but this is a blot which is 
 disappearing, and will disappear more rapidly with the 
 altered condition of social existence and free and compul- 
 sory education. Not many years ago the workman had no 
 inducement to lay by anything, and, indeed, no institution 
 
OLD AGE PENSIONS FOR MINERS. 237 
 
 prepared to receive and hold his savings in trust; but 
 now that he has friendly societies, some of which are 
 admirably managed, and other kindred institutions, he 
 avails himself largely of the benefits offered. With 
 reference to friendly societies, a most interesting and 
 instructive description is given by Mr. George Holloway 
 of the Stroud Society. The subscriptions to this insti- 
 tution vary from Jd. to 3d. per day, according to classes, 
 with corresponding benefits. The profits at the end of 
 the year are equally divided and placed to the credit of 
 each member in the savings bank department of the 
 society, and the result of the working of this system is 
 that men who have regularly subscribed for seventeen 
 years have now the sum of £,z'^, i6s. id. to their credit. 
 This accumulation is intended to provide a pension which 
 begins at the age of 65, and if the member dies before 
 that age the whole of the money at his credit is paid 
 over to his family. Mr. Holloway is of opinion that " the 
 best mode of providing old-age pensions will be by 
 utilising friendly societies ; " but assuming the principle 
 of the Stroud Society to be adopted, the amount of 
 pension to be paid will depend on the profits made by 
 the working of the societies, and as the primary claim 
 on the funds is for sickness, there would be little or no 
 profit in times of prevailing epidemics. Moreover, no 
 institution, whether based on co-operative or commercial 
 principles, can offer the absolute security of the State for 
 trust funds. 
 
 Mr. Chamberlain, who has taken a great interest in 
 this project, states that the unofficial comm.ittee of 
 members of the House of Commons, who have dis- 
 cussed the subject, have come to the conclusion that — 
 first, the scheme must be voluntary; secondly, that 
 
238 COAL PITS AND PITMEN. 
 
 the corporation of the friendly societies is essential ; and, 
 thirdly, that the pension should commence at the age 
 of 65. Mr. Chamberlain proposes that the State should 
 assist in the pension fund by paying a sum down to 
 the credit of any man joining the fund, and agreeing to 
 pay a certain sum every year. Various other schemes 
 have been formulated, but so far not one workable pro- 
 posal has been made. It appears, however, from the 
 discussions which have taken place, that the scheme 
 ought to be voluntary but assisted by the State, and be 
 carried on with the co-operation of the friendly 
 societies but not through them ; and, lastly, that the 
 age for pension should be determined not by a hard 
 and fast limit, but by the necessities of each case. A 
 man may have the misfortune of being unable to earn 
 his bread at 50 years of age, and in such a case he ought 
 to have the right to claim the pension he would be 
 entitled to at that time, and another man might be 
 able to work and earn a living beyond the present 
 suggested age of 65 years, and not claim his pension 
 till later. The greatest facility should be given to 
 the workman for subscribing to the pension fund, and 
 he should have the right of despositing his money 
 in definite sums at any time, and not by weekly or 
 monthly payments, which he might not be able to keep 
 up with regularity. These payments might be made 
 through any post office in the United Kingdom. 
 
 The question as to how much the State ought to con- 
 tribute, and whether employers should be compelled 
 to assist the fund, are subjects which have been dis- 
 cussed. The German system of compulsory contri- 
 bution by employers and men jointly, has not proved 
 a success, and would not be acceptable in this 
 
THE GERMAN SYSTEM. 239 
 
 country. Such old-age pensions might be considered 
 to be simply a question of wages ; that is, if a man is 
 obliged to pay a certain sum to his pension fund, his 
 employers must increase his wages to enable him to do 
 so, and the income he eventually derives from these 
 savings would be the result of earnings. The most 
 popular scheme would be one based on voluntary 
 savings, with every possible facility for affecting them 
 on the security of the State, and that the money paid in 
 should be returned on demand. The pension to be 
 claimed at a reasonable age, say 50 years, and the State 
 to assist to an equitable extent by adding to the 
 pension. Of course, such pensions would only be avail- 
 able to workmen who had during their working days 
 been able to lay by some of their earnings. Men when 
 young earn money more easily, and have fewer 
 expenses than in later days, when the necessities of a 
 growing family become a serious drain on their income, 
 and, therefore, every inducement should be held out for 
 them to subscribe as early as possible in life to the 
 pension fund. In referring to this scheme, it must be 
 clearly understood that it is not intended to meet the 
 wants of that section of the community sometimes 
 spoken of as the submerged tenth, but to provide a 
 modest subsistence for the aged and deserving working, 
 man when his muscles have become feeble and his 
 sinews relaxed through the impairing influence of time. 
 
APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX No. I. 
 
 Acts passed by the Parliament of Great Britain regarding 
 Coal Mines and Miners. 
 
 I77S- C15 Geo. III. c. 28.) An Act for altering, explaining, and 
 amending several Acts of the Parliament of Scotland respecting 
 Colliers, Coal-bearers, and Salters. 
 
 1799- (39 Geo. III.) An Act to explain and amend the Laws 
 relative to Colliers in that part of Great Britain called Scotland. 
 [13th June 1799.] 
 
 1800. (39 and 40 Geo. III. c. Tj) An Act for the Security of 
 Collieries and Mines, and for the better Regulation of Colliers and 
 Miners. [9th July 1800.] 
 
 1817. (57 Geo. III. c. 122.) An Act to extend the Provisions 
 of an Act of the Twelfth year of His late Majesty King George the 
 First, and an Act of the Twenty-second year of His late Majesty 
 King George the Second, against Payment of Labourers in Goods 
 or by Truck, and to secure their Payment in the lawful Money of 
 this Realm, to Labourers employed in the Collieries, or in the 
 working and getting of Coal, in the United Kingdom of Great 
 Britain and Ireland ; and for extending the Provisions of the said 
 Acts to Scotland and Ireland, [nth July 1817.] 
 
 1827. (7 and 8 Geo. IV. c. 30.) An Act for consolidating and 
 amending the Laws in England relative to Malicious Injuries to 
 Property. [21st June 1827.] Repealed by Act of 1837. 
 
 1831. (i and 2 Will. IV. c. 36.) An Act to repeal several Acts 
 and parts of Acts prohibiting the Payment of Wages in Goods, 
 or otherwise than in the current Coin of the Realm. [15th October 
 1831.] 
 
 1837. (i Vict. c. 89.) An Act to amend the Laws relating to 
 burning or destroying Buildings and Ships. [17th July 1837.] 
 
 E 
 
242 APPENDICES. 
 
 1842. (5 and 6 Vict. c. 99.) An Act to prohibit the Employ- 
 ment of Women and Girls in Mines and Collieries, to regulate the 
 Employment of Boys, and to make other Provisions relating to 
 Persons working therein. [loth August 1842.] 
 
 1850. (13 and 14 Vict. c. 100.) An Act for Inspection of Coal 
 Mines in Great Britain. [14th August 1850.] Repealed by Act of 
 1855. 
 
 1855. (18 and 19 Vict. c. 108.) An Act to amend the Law for 
 the Inspection of Coal Mines in Great Britain. [14th August 1855.] 
 
 i860. (23 and 24 Vict. c. 151.) An Act for the Regulation and 
 Inspection of Mines. [28th August 1862.] Amended by Act of 
 1862. 
 
 1 86 1. (24 and 25 Vict. c. 96.) An Act to consolidate and 
 amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to Larceny 
 and other similar offences. (Stealing Ore of Metal, Coal, &c., by 
 Miners or others.) [6th August 1861.] 
 
 1861. (24 and 25 Vict. c. 97.) An Act to consolidate and 
 amend the Statute Law of England and Ireland relating to 
 Malicious Injuries to Property. (Injuries to Mines.) [6th August 
 1861.] 
 
 1862. (25 and 26 Vict. c. 79.) An Act to amend the Law re- 
 lating to Coal Mines. [7th August 1862.] 
 
 1872. (35 and 36 Vict. c. 76.) An Act to consolidate and amend 
 the Acts relating to the Regulation of Coal Mines, and certain other 
 Mines. [loth August 1872.] 
 
 1872. (35 and 36 Vict. c. 77.) An Act to consolidate and amend 
 the Law relating to Metalhferous Mines. [loth August 1872.] 
 Repealed in part by Act of 1875. (8-) 
 
 1875. (38 and 39 Vict. c. 17.) An Act to amend the Law with 
 respect to manufacturing, keeping, selling, carrying, and importing 
 Gunpowder, Nitroglycerine, and other explosive substances. [14th 
 June 1875.] (Application of Act of 1872 to Magazines used for 
 Mines.) 
 
 1875. (38 and 39 Vict. c. 39.) An Act to amend the provisions 
 of the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, 1872, with respect to 
 the Annual Returns from Mines. [19th July 1875.] 
 
 1876. (39 and 40 Vict. c. 79.) An Act to make further provision 
 for Elementary Education. [15th August 1876.] 
 
 1880. (43 and 44 Vict. c. 44.) An Act to extend and regulate 
 the liability of Employers to make Compensation for personal 
 Injuries suffered by Workmen in their service. 
 
APPENDICES. 243 
 
 1886. (49 and 50 Vict. c. 40.) An Act to amend the Coal 
 Mines Regulation Act, 1872. 
 
 1887. (50 and 51 Vict. c. 46.) An Act to amend and extend 
 the Law relating to Truck. (Truck Amendment.) 
 
 1887. (50 and 51 Vict. c. 58.) An Act to consolidate with 
 amendments the Coal Mines Acts, 1872 and 1886, and the Stratified 
 Ironstone Mines (Gunpowder) Act, 1881. 
 
 {Coal Mines Regulation.) 
 
 1888. (5 1 and 52 Vict. c. 58.) An Act to continue the Employers 
 Liability Act, 1880. 
 
 APPENDIX No. II 
 
 Acts passed or Orders made by the Parliament of Scotland 
 regarding Coal Mines and Colliers. 
 
 1563. Act prohibiting Export. 
 
 1592. Jacobi VI. For the better punishment of the crime of 
 Wilfully Setting Fire to " Coil heuchis." 
 
 1600. Jacobi VI. To enable the " King's coal heughs " to be 
 set in Feu. 
 
 1606. Jacobi VI. Act anent Coilziaris and Saltans. 
 
 Na persone within this realme heirefter sail fie, hyre, or conduce 
 ony salteris, coilzearis, or coilberaris without ane sufficient testi- 
 monial! of their maister quhom they last servit. 
 
 1609. Jacobi VI. Against Export of Coal. 
 
 1621. Jacobi VI. Commissione anent Coallis and Coilheghes. 
 
 (To examine and report on the condition of certain Collieries.) 
 
 1 64 1. The Act of 1606 was extended to all employed about the 
 Works. 
 
 1647. An Act against flitting and entertaining at Yule. 
 
 1661. Carolus II. Act anent Coal-hewers. Ratifiestheeleventh 
 Act of the 18 Par. of K : Ja : 6 : of worthie memory, with the 
 addition of watermen who laves and gatesmen who work the wayes 
 and passages in the heughs. 
 
 1696. Gulielmi. Overture for working Levells and Sinks to 
 Mines and Coall Pitts. 
 
 1698. Gulielmi. Act for repairing of Highwayes and filling up 
 of Coall Pits. 
 
 1700. Gulielmi. Overture for an Act anent Coal and Salt. 
 
 1703. The draught of an Act for reviving an Act past in the 
 twelvth Parliament of King James the Sixth anent Mines and 
 Minerals. 
 
244 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX No. III. 
 
 List of Serious Colliery Eplosions previous to 1850. 
 
 Note. — This list is necessarily incomplete from want of records. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Name of Colliery. 
 
 Lives 
 Lost. 
 
 1675, February 3rd . 
 1708, August 1 8th . 
 
 1710, : 
 
 1743, January 1 8th . 
 1757, June loth 
 
 1766, March i8th 
 
 1767, February 27th . 
 1778, December 8th . 
 
 1793, December 27th. 
 
 1794, June 9th . 
 „ „ nth 
 
 1795, April 24th 
 1799, October nth . 
 1803, September 25th 
 
 1805, October 21st . 
 „ November 29th 
 
 1806, March 28th 
 1809, September 14th 
 
 1812, May 25th 
 
 „ October loth . 
 
 1813, September 28th 
 „ December 24th 
 
 1 8 14, August 1 2th 
 
 18 1 5, June 2nd . 
 
 „ 27th 
 1817, „ 30th 
 
 „ December i8th 
 1819, July 19th . 
 
 „ October 9th 
 1821, „ 23rd . 
 
 1823, November 3rd . 
 
 1824, „ 19th . 
 „ October 25th . 
 
 1825, July 3rd . 
 
 1826, May 30th. 
 „ June 17th. 
 
 1828, May 20th. 
 
 „ November 28th 
 1830, April 24th 
 
 Mostyn, North Wales 
 Fatfield, Chester-le-Street 
 Bensham, Newcastle 
 North Biddick, Gateshead 
 Ravensworth, Newcastle . 
 Walker, Newcastle . 
 Fatfield, Chester-le-Street 
 Chaytor Haugh, Newcastle 
 SherrifF Hill, Gateshead . 
 Picton .... 
 Harraton, Chester-le-Street 
 Benwell, Newcastle . 
 Lumley Fence Houses 
 Wallsend, North Shields . 
 Hepburn, Newcastle 
 Oxclose .... 
 Killingworth, Newcastle 
 Killingworth 
 Felling 
 
 Herrington, Durham 
 Fatfield . 
 Felling, Newcastle . 
 Hepburn .... 
 Newbottle Fence Houses . 
 Sherriff Hill, Newcastle . 
 Harraton, Chester-le-Street 
 Rainton Fence Houses . 
 Sherriff Hill, Newcastle . 
 Lambton, Durham . 
 Wallsend, North Shields . 
 Rainton Fence Houses . 
 Newbottle, Durham . 
 Lumley .... 
 Fatfield, Chester-le-Street 
 Townley, Durham . 
 Jarrow, Newcastle . 
 Flint, Flintshire 
 Washington, Durham 
 Pemberton, Wigan . 
 
 Several 
 
 69 
 70 to 80 
 
 17 
 16 
 10 
 
 39 
 24 
 
 14 
 30 
 28 
 II 
 39 
 13 
 35 
 38 
 10 
 12 
 92 
 24 
 32 
 22 
 II 
 
 57 
 II 
 38 
 27 
 
 35 
 13 
 52 
 59 
 II 
 
 14 
 II 
 
 38 
 34 
 II 
 
 14 
 9 
 
APPENDICES. 
 APPENDIX No. ///.—continued. 
 
 245 
 
 Date. 
 
 1830, August 3rd 
 1833, May 9th . 
 
 1835, June 1 8th. 
 
 1836, „ 2Sth . 
 
 1837, December 6th . 
 
 1838, October 24th . 
 
 1839, February i8th . 
 „ June 28tli . 
 
 1843, April 7th . 
 
 1844, September 28th 
 184s, February 4th . 
 
 „ August 2nd 
 
 „ „ 2ISt . 
 
 1846, January 14th . 
 „ November 17th 
 
 1847, March 6th 
 „ May 17th 
 
 1848, March 29th 
 
 „ October 28th . 
 
 Name or Colliery. 
 
 Jarrovi', Newcastle . 
 Springwell 
 Wallsend . 
 Hetton, Durham 
 Springwell, Newcastle 
 Lowea, Whitehaven . 
 William Pitt, Cumberland 
 St. Hilda, South Shields 
 Stormont Main, Newcastle 
 Haswell, Newcastle . 
 Haye's Wood, Somerset 
 Cromach, South Wales 
 Jarrow, Newcastle . 
 Risca, Monmouth 
 Round's Green, Oldbury 
 Ardsley Main, Barnsley 
 Beeston, Leeds. 
 Eagle Bush, Neath . 
 Whinny Hill, Whitehaven 
 
 Lives 
 Lost. 
 
 42 
 
 47 
 102 
 20 
 27 
 35 
 23 
 52 
 27 
 
 95 
 10 
 28 
 39 
 35 
 19 
 72 
 
 9 
 19 
 30 
 
 List of Colliery Explosions, entailing loss of ten lives and up- 
 wards, since 1850, compiled from the Reports of the Inspectors 
 of Mines. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Name of Colliery. 
 
 Lives 
 Lost. 
 
 1850, March i6th 
 
 Haydock, Ashton . 
 
 13 
 
 „ June 5th 
 
 Little Usworth, Durham . 
 
 II 
 
 „ October loth . 
 
 Bent Grange .... 
 
 16 
 
 „ „ I2th . 
 
 Houghton, Durham . 
 
 26 
 
 1851, March isth . 
 
 Nitshill, Paisley 
 
 61 
 
 „ August i8th 
 
 Workington, Durham 
 
 35 
 
 „ December 20th 
 
 Rawmarsh, Yorkshire 
 
 52 
 
 1852, April 23rd 
 
 Pemberton, Wigan . 
 
 12 
 
 „ May— . 
 
 Morley Hall, Wigan . 
 
 10 
 
 „ „ 6th . 
 
 Hepburn, Shields 
 
 22 
 
 „ „ loth 
 
 Middle Dufifryn, Aberdare 
 
 65 
 
 „ „ 20th 
 
 Cappul, Preston 
 
 36 
 
 1853, March 12th 
 
 Risca, Monmouth . 
 
 10 
 
 „ 23rd . 
 
 Arley, Wigan .... 
 
 58 
 
 „ April 26th 
 
 Old Park, Dudley . 
 
 ir 
 
 „ July ist . 
 
 Bent Grange, Lancashire . 
 
 20 
 
246 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 APPENDIX No. ///.—continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Name of Colliery. 
 
 Lives 
 Lost. 
 
 1854, February i8th. 
 
 1857, „ 19th. 
 „ „ 27th . 
 „ July 31st. 
 
 1858, February 2nd . 
 
 „ 2Sth . 
 „ May 28th 
 „ December nth 
 i860, February 15th. 
 „ March 3rd 
 „ August 3rd 
 „ November 6th 
 „ December ist . 
 „ „ 20th 
 
 1 86 1, March 8th 
 
 1862, January 22nd . 
 „ February 19th. 
 „ November 22nd 
 ,, December 8th. 
 
 1863, March 6th 
 
 „ October 17th 
 
 1865, June 16th 
 
 „ December 20th 
 
 1866, January 23rd . 
 „ May 4th . 
 
 „ October 30th . 
 „ December 12th 
 
 1867, August 20th . 
 „ November 8th . 
 
 1868, September 30th 
 „ November 28th 
 „ December 26th 
 
 1869, April 1st . 
 „ June loth. 
 „ July 2ist . 
 
 „ October 22nd . 
 „ November 15th 
 
 1870, February 14th . 
 
 „ July 7th . 
 
 „ !, 23rd . 
 „ August 19th 
 
 1871, January loth . 
 
 Ince Hall, Wigan 
 Lundhill, Barnsley . 
 Tyr Nicholas, Wales 
 Hays, Ashton-under-Lyne 
 Bardsley, „ 
 
 Lower Duffryn, Aberdare 
 Bryndu, Tailbach 
 Tyledesley, Leigh 
 Higham, Barnsley 
 Burradon, Durham . 
 Winstanley, Wigan . 
 Lower DufTryn, Aberdare 
 Blackvein, Risca 
 Hetton, Durham 
 Blaengwawr, Aberdare 
 Hartley, Newcastle . 
 Cethin, Merthyr Tydfil . 
 Walker, Newcastle . 
 Edmundsmain, Barnsley 
 Coxlodge, Newcastle 
 Morfa, Port Talbot . 
 Tredegar, Monmouth 
 Cethin Cyfartha, Merthyr Tydfil 
 Park Lane, Wigan . 
 Garswood Park, St. Helen's 
 Pelton, Chester-le-Street . 
 Oaks, Barnsley 
 Garswood Park, St. Helen's 
 Ferndale, Pontypridd 
 Wynnstay, Ruabon . 
 Hindlay Green, Wigan . 
 Haydock, St. Helen's 
 High Brooks, Wigan 
 Ferndale, Pontypridd 
 Haydock, St. Helen's 
 Newbury, Somersetshire . 
 Low Hall, Wigan 
 Morfa, Taibach 
 Silverdale, Newcastle-under- 
 Lyne .... 
 Charles, Llansamlet. 
 Brynn Hall, Wigan . 
 Renishaw Park, Chesterfield 
 
 13 
 
 40 
 
 S3 
 19 
 12 
 
 2S 
 13 
 76 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 142 
 
 22 
 
 13 
 204(sufi".) 
 
 47 
 16 
 
 59 
 26 
 
 39 
 26 
 
 34 
 
 30 
 
 12 
 
 24 
 361 
 
 14 
 178 
 
 10 
 
 62 
 
 26 
 
 37 
 
 53 
 
 59 
 
 II 
 
 27 
 
 30 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 20 
 26 
 
APPENDICES. 
 APPENDIX No. ///.—continued. 
 
 247 
 
 Date. 
 
 Name of Colliery. 
 
 Lives 
 Lost. 
 
 1 87 1, February 24th. 
 
 Pentre, Pontypridd 
 
 38 
 
 „ March 2nd 
 
 Victoria, Monmouth . 
 
 19 
 
 „ September 6th . 
 
 Ince Moss, Wigan . 
 
 70 
 
 „ October 25th . 
 
 Seaham, Sunderland 
 
 26 
 
 1872, February 14th . 
 
 Maesteg Merthyr, Bridgend 
 
 II 
 
 „ March 28th . 
 
 Lover's Lane, Atherton . 
 
 27 
 
 ,, October 7th 
 
 Morley, Leeds .... 
 
 34 
 
 1873, February 5th . 
 
 Talke, Newcastle-under-Lyne . 
 
 18 
 
 1874, April 14th 
 
 Astley Pit, Dukinfield 
 
 54 
 
 „ July i8th . 
 
 Ince Hall, Wigan 
 
 IS 
 
 „ November 20th 
 
 Rawmarsh, Rotherham 
 
 23 
 
 „ December 24th 
 
 ( Bignall Hill, Newcastle-" 
 ( under-Lyne 
 
 17 
 
 187s, April 30th 
 
 Bunker's Hill, Kidsgrove . 
 
 43 
 
 „ December 4th . 
 
 New Tredegar, Monmouth 
 
 23 
 
 „ „ 6th . 
 
 Llan, Cardiff .... 
 
 16 
 
 6th . 
 
 Swaith Main, Barnsley 
 
 143 
 
 1876, „ 1 8th. 
 
 South Wales, Monmouth . 
 
 23 
 
 1877, January 23rd . 
 
 Stone Hill, Farnworth 
 
 18 
 
 „ February 7th . 
 
 Foggs, Darcy Lever . 
 
 10 
 
 „ March loth 
 
 Weigfach, Swansea . 
 
 18 
 
 „ October nth . 
 
 Pemberton, Wigan 
 
 36 
 
 „ „ 22nd . 
 
 Blantyre, Lanark 
 
 207 
 
 1878, March 8th 
 
 Barrwood . 
 
 17 
 
 » „ 9th 
 
 Unity Brook 
 
 43 
 
 „ „ 27th 
 
 Apedale . 
 
 23 
 
 „ June 7th . 
 
 Woodpit, Haydock . 
 
 189 
 
 „ September nth 
 
 Abercam ..... 
 
 268 
 
 1879, January 13th . 
 
 Dinas, Pontypridd . 
 
 63 
 
 „ March 4th 
 
 Victoria, Wakefield 
 
 21 
 
 „ July 2nd . 
 
 Blantyre . 
 
 28 
 
 1880, January 12th . 
 
 Leycett .... 
 
 62 
 
 „ July 15th . 
 
 Risca Black Vein . 
 
 120 
 
 „ September 8th . 
 
 Seaham . . • • 
 
 164 
 
 „ December loth 
 
 Naval Steam Coal 
 
 lOI 
 
 1 88 1, February 7th . 
 
 Whitfield . 
 
 25 
 
 „ December 19th 
 
 Abram ... 
 
 48 
 
 1882, February l6th . 
 
 Trindon Grange 
 
 68 
 
 „ April isth 
 
 Tudhoe . . • ■ 
 
 Z1 
 
 „ 19th. 
 
 West Stanley . 
 
 13 
 
 „ May 2nd 
 
 Baddesley .... 
 
 23 
 
 „ November 7th . 
 1883, October i8th . 
 
 Clay Cross .... 
 Whamcliffe, Carlton 
 
 45 
 20 
 
248 
 
 APPENDICES. 
 
 APPENDIX No. ///.—continued. 
 
 Date. 
 
 Name of Colliery. 
 
 Lives 
 Lost. 
 
 1883, November 7th. 
 
 Altham 
 
 
 68 
 
 1884, January 27th . 
 
 Naval, Pennycraig . 
 
 II 
 
 )j 
 
 November 8th . 
 
 Pochin, Monmouth 
 
 14 
 
 40 
 
 178 
 
 1885 
 
 March 2nd 
 
 Usworth 
 
 
 )) 
 
 June i8th . 
 
 Clifton Hall . 
 
 )» 
 
 December 23rd 
 
 Mardy 
 
 
 
 81 
 
 1886 
 
 September loth 
 
 Dean Lane, Somerset 
 
 10 
 
 j» 
 
 October 2nd . 
 
 Silkstone 
 
 . 
 
 22 
 
 •)-i 
 
 December nth 
 
 Elemore, 
 
 Durham . 
 
 28 
 
 1887, February i8th . 
 
 National, 
 
 Pontypridd 
 
 39 
 
 »J 
 
 May 28th . 
 
 Udston, Lanark 
 
 73 
 
 1888, 
 
 April igth 
 
 St. Helen 
 
 's, Cumberland 
 
 30 
 
 1889, January 1 8th . 
 
 Hyde 
 
 , 
 
 23 
 
 j> 
 
 March 13th 
 
 A 
 
 Brynmally 
 
 20 
 
 
 PPENDIX No. IV. 
 
 
 
 Productic 
 
 n of Coal 
 
 %t Different Ti7nes. 
 
 
 
 Amount of Coal 
 
 
 
 
 Years. 
 
 raised in the Kingc 
 in tons. 
 
 om, 
 
 
 
 1660 
 
 2,148,000 
 
 Estimate of Royal Commission on Coal, 1 87 1. 
 
 1700 
 
 2,6l2,OQO 
 
 
 ^j 
 
 
 1750 
 
 ... 4,773,828 
 
 
 3, 
 
 
 1770 
 
 ... 6,205,400 
 
 
 „ 
 
 
 1780 
 
 ... 6,424,976 
 
 
 
 
 1785 
 
 ... 6,888,712 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 1790 
 
 ... 7,618,760 
 
 
 „ 
 
 
 1795 
 
 ... 10,681,728 
 
 
 
 
 1800 
 
 ... 10,080,300 
 
 
 ,, 
 
 
 1816 
 
 ... 27,020,115 
 
 
 Samuel Salt. 
 
 
 1839 
 
 ... 31,024,417 
 
 
 J. R. M'=Culloch. 
 
 
 1845 
 
 ... 34,600,000 
 
 
 3j 
 
 
 1800-50 "1 
 
 (average) |4°.o°°'°o° 
 
 
 Royal Commission. 
 
 
 1850 
 
 ... 50,875,000 
 
 
 ,j 
 
 
 i860 
 
 ... 84,042,698 
 
 
 Official Returns. 
 
 
 1865 
 
 ... 98,150,587 
 
 
 
 
 1870 
 
 ... 112,875,52s 
 
 
 
 
 '^^5 
 
 ... 133,306,485 
 
 
 
 
 1880 
 
 ... 146,969,469 
 
 
 
 
 1885 
 
 •■• 159,351,418 
 
 
 
 
 1890 
 
 ... 181,614,288 
 
 
 
 
 1891 
 
 ... 185,479,126 
 
 
 „ 
 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Abel, Sir F., on explosions from 
 coal dust, 202. 
 
 Abercarn explosion, the, 198. 
 
 Aberdare, Lord. See Bruce, H. A., 
 M.P. 
 
 Abram Mine explosion, the, 202, 
 
 Accidents in mines {see also Ex- 
 plosions, &C.), 42 ; inquiries into 
 stifled, 43, 51 ; some unavoidable, 
 51 ; statistics of: see under Deaths, 
 &c. , also pp. 220, 225 et seq. 
 
 Acts of Parliament for the regulation 
 of mines and on the employment 
 of miners, v, 137, 144, 155, 192, 
 205, 206, 219. See also under 
 Parliament, &c., and Statistics, at 
 pp. 22S> 242. 
 
 Adscrifti gleios, colliers so-called in 
 Scotland, 3, 9. 
 
 Air passing through a colliery, no. 
 See also Ventilation. 
 
 Air-pump, Strilve's, 127. 
 
 Anstead, Prof., on explosions in 
 colUeries, 89. 
 
 Apprentices, pauper, in collieries, 
 61. 
 
 Arbitration and conciliation prin- 
 ciples, increasing loyalty of the 
 coUiers to, 222, 227. 
 
 Ardsley Colliery, 166. 
 
 Main explosion, the, 103. 
 
 Armstrong, Lord, on the duration of 
 coal, 167. 
 
 Ashley, Lord (afterwards Earl of 
 Shaftesbury), and his Act of 
 1842, V, 56, 63, 65, 99. See also 
 Shaftesbury, Parliament, &c. 
 
 Astley Deep Pit explosion, 1874, 189. 
 
 Atmospheric pressure and fire-damp, 
 199. See also Meteorological 
 influences in mines. 
 
 Ayrton, Mr. A. S., M.P., action in 
 Parliament respecting collieries, 
 143, 146, 159. 
 
 Barnsley Mines, the, 142. 
 
 explosion, 196. 
 
 Beche, Sir H. de la, reports on 
 
 collieries by, 92, 93 ; moves for 
 
 the establishment of the School of 
 
 Mines, 122. 
 Beesley, Prof., on mines regulation, 
 
 177. 
 Belgium, its smokeless coal, 24. 
 Bell, Mr. Lowthian, on the inspection 
 
 of mines, 197. 
 Blackwell, Mr. , reports on explosions 
 
 in mines, 109, no, 128. 
 Blaengwar Colliery explosion, 1861, 
 
 151- 
 Blantyre Colliery explosion, 1877, 
 
 191, 196. 
 Blasting accidents in mines, 189, 193, 
 
 195; Sir G. Elliot, M.P., on, 194. 
 Bolingbroke, Lord, on the condition 
 
 of colliers in 1756, 12. 
 Bonding, or binding, colUers, 3. 
 Boreholes for ventilating the goaves 
 
 of collieries, 126, 135. 
 Borwood explosion, the, 192. 
 Boy labour in coal mines, 136, 144, 
 
 162, ' 188, 212. See also under 
 
 Children, Education, and Women 
 
 and Children. 
 Brougham, Lord, his opposition to 
 
 Government inspection of mines, 
 
 112. 
 Bruce, Mr. Gumming, M.P., action 
 
 in Parliament, 81. 
 Bruce, Rt. Hon. H. A. (Lord Aber- 
 dare), his Mines Regulations Bills 
 
 of 1871-2-3-4, and the Act 
 
 founded upon them, 171, 173, 
 
 184, 185. 
 Bryson, Mr. , on strikes, 200. 
 Bucket-pump, and water-wheel, the 
 
 old, 34. 
 Buddie, Mr., of Sunderland, his 
 
 report on explosions in mines. 
 
250 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 1813, 44 ; his evidence in 1829, 
 48 ; on boy labour, and Govern- 
 ment inspection, 70. 
 
 Buildass, name given to a system of 
 overtime, 'j'j. 
 
 Bull-baiting, &c. , among the colliers, 
 12. 
 
 Bunker's Hill Colliery, explosion there, 
 1875, 189. 
 
 Burradon explosion, the, 149. 
 
 Burt, Mr. T., M.P., on the Act of 
 1872, 192 ; on safety-lamps, 194 ; 
 on the Blantyre and other explo- 
 sions, 197 ; his action on the ques- 
 tion of employers' liabihty for 
 accidents, 204, 205 ; speaks 
 against the employment of women 
 at the pit's mouth, 213. 
 
 Butties, the, or working contractors, 
 their tyrannies, 15, 61, 62, 76, jj, 
 
 135- 
 Byker Colliery, 1714, 32. 
 
 Canal System, rise of the, 40. 
 
 Carlisle, Lord, his Act for the 
 Government Inspection of Mines, 
 1850, 112, 119. 
 
 Cayley, Mr., M.P., his Committee 
 on the Ventilation of CoUieries, 
 &c. , 122, 146. 
 
 Certificated managers of collieries, 
 their rise and progress, 185, 195, 
 197. 
 
 Charters and grants, early, relative 
 to coal mining, 16. See also 
 under Parliament, &c. 
 
 Chartist agitation, the, and the 
 miners, 1842, 75. 
 
 Chesterton explosion, the, 192. 
 
 Childers-Matthew's Bill, 1887, 212. 
 
 Children in coal mines, 49, 55. See 
 also under Boys, Education, and 
 Women and Children. 
 
 China, coal in, 20. 
 
 Clanny, Dr., his safety-lamp, 47, 52, 
 211. 
 
 Coal, in China, 20 ; in the time of 
 the Romans, 16 ; consumption of, 
 in iron manufacture, 215, 234 ; 
 duration of, 168, 214, 234 ; early 
 working of, in England and Scot- 
 land, 16 ; exported, 234 ; hard, 
 used for building purposes, 117 ; 
 
 its export prohibited, 20 ; limiting 
 the output of, 206 ; price of, 188, 
 194, 209 ; sea-coal, 17, 22 ; small- 
 coal, 117; petroleum the possible 
 substitute for, 235 ; waste of, 167. 
 See also Production, Royalties, 
 &c. 
 
 Coal-cutting machinery,, 166. 
 
 Coal dust, explosive, 202, 210. 
 
 Coal heavers, the London, in the 
 eighteenth century, 37. 
 
 Coal mines, dissimilarity of. In the 
 kingdom, 52 ; firing, 4, 7 ; 
 Government inspection of, 54 (see 
 also Inspection, &c. ) ; working, 
 2 1 5. See also under names of 
 their localities, as Newcastle, Scot- 
 land, &c. 
 
 Coal seam, open, worked as a quarry, 
 116. 
 
 Coal trade, prosperity of, in the 
 eighteenth century, 13, 23, 37; 
 development of, 1800-1850, 40, 
 ■114 ; later development, 166, 188, 
 206, 215. 
 
 Coal Trade Association, the, and its 
 proposed rules for the inspection 
 of mines, 1854, 132. 
 
 Coalbrookdale Mines, the, 22, 36. 
 
 Collieries, Acts of Parliament relating 
 to, V, 1 et seq (see also Acts, and 
 Parliament) ; condition of, during 
 the past fifty years, 224 ; popula- 
 tion of, before 1800, i ; records of, 
 I ; regulation of : see under Mines, 
 Inspection, &c. ; viewers and man- 
 agers of, 150, 171, 173. See also 
 under Mines, &c. 
 
 Colliers, early condition of, v, 12, 
 49 ; condition during the last fifty 
 years, 92, 219 ; their grievances, 93, 
 156, 162, 177 ; old-age pensions 
 for, 236 ; total employed, 1888- 
 1891, 227. See also under Com- 
 binations, Mining population, &c. 
 
 Colliery engineers, 230. 
 
 Colliery owners, undeserved blame 
 of, 151. 
 
 Combinations among the miners, 
 early, 3, 84 ; later, 98, 157, 160, 
 177, 206. See also Miners' Union, 
 Strikes, Trade Unions, Wages 
 &c. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 251 
 
 Conveyance, undergfround, 114. See 
 also Haiilage, Tramways, &c. 
 
 Co-operative Societies, rise of, 80. 
 
 Cotton trade development and the 
 supply of coal, 41. 
 
 Cowen, Joseph, M.P., on mine 
 explosions, 195. 
 
 Cross, Mr. (Viscount Cross), his Coal 
 Mines Bill of 1886, and support 
 of the Act of 1887, 210, 213. 
 
 Cymmer Colliery explosion, the, 141. 
 
 Darg, the, = restriction of output, 84, 
 90. 
 
 Darley Main explosion, the, loi. 
 
 Davy lamp, the, and its precursors, 
 47, 52, no, 211 ; prejudice against, 
 52 ; found to be dangerous in ill- 
 ventilated mines, 124. See also 
 under Safety-lamps. 
 
 Deaths and accidents in coal mines, 
 statistics, 51, 120, 128, 129, 143, 
 149, 160, 165, 178, 192, 199, 
 205, 224, 225 et seq. 
 
 Delaval, Thomas, and Hartley 
 Colliery, 5. 
 
 Derbyshire coal mines, 26, 30. 
 
 Dodson, Mr., M.P., his Act estab- 
 lishing employers' liability for 
 accidents, 204, 205. 
 
 Dudley, Lord, and iron-smelting, 29. 
 
 Duncombe, Thomas, M. P. , brings 
 colliers' grievances before Parlia- 
 ment, 88, 94, 96, 97, 103. 
 
 Duration of coal. See Coal. 
 
 Durham mines, the, 26, 36, 201. 
 
 Dynamite as an explosive for coal 
 mines, 210. 
 
 Eden, Sir F. Morton, his History of 
 
 the Poor, 1797, quoted, i. 
 Education question, the, in relation 
 
 to legislation for colliers, 85, 89, 
 
 94. 97, 124, 136, 14s, 147, 222. 
 
 See also Boy labour, Children in 
 
 mines, &c. 
 Education Act, Elementary, 1876, 
 
 190. 
 "Eight-hours day" movement, the, 
 
 in 1842 and since, 80, 163, 178, 
 
 189, 223. 
 Elcho, Lord, action in Parliament, 
 
 174. 
 
 Electric-light, the, in coal mines, 211, 
 217. 
 
 Elliot, Mr., M.P. (now Sir George), 
 action in Parliament, relative to 
 mine managers, &c. , 174, 176, 
 181, 186, 189, 194 ; on blasting, 
 ib. ; on the cost of coal, ib, ; his 
 theory of a zone of greatest 
 danger in mines, ib. ; on inspection 
 by workmen, 228 ; on the royalty 
 to landlords question, 201. 
 
 Employers' liability for accidents, 
 203 ; Mr. Dodson's Act, 1880, 
 204, 205, 214. 
 
 Engineers, colliery, 230. See also 
 Mining Engineers. 
 
 Evan Thomas safety-lamp, the, 211. 
 
 Explosions in coal mines (see also 
 imder Ventilation, &c, ), early, 27, 
 31; later, 36, 42, 53, 82; since 
 the introduction of safety-lamps, 
 48, III ; since the Mines Inspec- 
 tion Act of 1850, 120 ; Sir G. 
 Elliot's theory of a. zone of 
 greatest danger, 194 ; the origin 
 of, 202. See also under the place- 
 names of their occurrence, as 
 Blantyre, Oaks, &c. ; also Tables 
 at pp. 244-248, and Statistics of 
 Accidents and Deaths at pp. 224- 
 227. 
 
 Explosives for coal mines, 210, 217. 
 
 Factory Act (1833) Commission, 49. 
 
 Faraday and Lyell on explosions, 
 &c. , in coal mines, 87 ; on explo- 
 sive coal dust, 202. 
 
 Felling Mine explosions, 1812 and 
 
 1847, 43, 150- 
 
 Ferndale explosion, the, 171. 
 
 Fire-damp, 27, 29. See also Ex- 
 plosions, &c. 
 
 Fire-engine, Newcomen's, 1705, 32. 
 
 Fireman, the, of a pit, and his early 
 prototype, 28. 
 
 Firing coal mines, 4, 7. 
 
 Forest of Dean Collieries, 22, 130, 
 231. 
 
 Furnace ventilation, 123, 133, 134. 
 See also Ventilation. 
 
 GALLOWfAy, Mr. W., on explosive 
 coal-dust, 202. 
 
252 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Gas, foul, in mines, 121, 150. See 
 also under Fire-damp, Ventilation, 
 &c. 
 
 Gas-lighting, introduction of, and the 
 supply of coal, 41. 
 
 Gelatine as an explosive in coal mines, 
 210. 
 
 Gladstone, Rt. Hon. W. E. , mentions 
 the possible limit to our coal supply 
 in his Budget Speech, 1865, 167. 
 
 Glo, early name for coal, 16. 
 
 Gray safety-lamp, the, 211. 
 
 Greenwell, Mr., his statistics of coal 
 production, 225. 
 
 Grey, Sir George, his BiU for pro- 
 viding more tlian one shaft to a 
 pit, passed 1862, 154: his action 
 in Parliament, 163. 
 
 Grievances of colliers. See Colhers, 
 &c. 
 
 Guncotton as an explosive in coal 
 mines, 210. 
 
 Gunpowder as an explosive in mines, 
 13S7 19°, 192 ; condemned, 210. 
 
 Habeas Corpus, early colliers ex- 
 cepted from the Act, 9, 
 
 Hallam, on the silence of history with 
 regard to the working classes, 15. 
 
 Haulage, &c. , in coal mines, develop- 
 ment of, 84, 216, 228. 
 
 Harigold money among the early 
 Scotch miners, 223. 
 
 Harrison, 1577 (HoUnshed), quoted, 
 22. 
 
 Hartley CoUiery, the, 5 ; the accident 
 of 1862, 151, 153, igi, 220, 246. 
 
 Haswell Colliery, the, in ; the 
 explosion there, 1844, 82, 86, 
 245- 
 
 Haverfordwest Colliery, inundation 
 there, 1844, 82. 
 
 Haydock Colliery, explosions there, 
 171, 192, 196, 245. 
 
 Hepburn explosion, the, 1805, 43, 
 244. 
 
 Heroism of sinkers and others, at 
 the Hartley accident, 1862, 153 ; 
 at the Hetton explosion, 221 ; at 
 the Troedyrhiew inundation, 192. 
 
 Hetton Colliery, in ; the explosion 
 there, i860, 150, 221, 246. 
 
 Holinshed quoted. See Harrison. 
 
 Holyrood and Newbattle coal mines 
 
 first worked by monks, about 1200, 
 
 18. 
 Horner, Dr., Inspector of Factories, 
 
 on the education of boys working 
 
 in coal mines, 136. 
 Hours of work of miners, before 1842, 
 
 62, 77. See also " Eight Hours 
 
 Day " movement. 
 Hull's book on the Coal Fields of 
 
 Great Britain, 1861, 167. 
 Humbolt safety-lamps, the, 47. 
 Hutchins Commission of Inquiry, the, 
 
 upon accidents in mines, &c. , 129, 
 
 130. 
 
 Inspection of coal mines (Govern- 
 ment), in 1842 under Lord Ashley's 
 Act, 66 ; afterwards, 84, 85, 92, 
 
 93, 94, 95, 101, 103, 105, "2. 
 113, 125, 135 ; the Select Com- 
 mittee on, 1864-67, 159, 164, 
 169; under the 1872 Act, 187; 
 inspection increased, 122, 137, 143, 
 ^55, 1^3, 171, 20s ; inspection 
 asked for by the coUiers, 128, 131, 
 133 (see also CoUiers, their 
 grievances) ; inspection by work- 
 men advocated, 211, 228 ; under- 
 ground inspection, 119. 
 
 Institute of Mining Engineers estab- 
 lished, 1852, 126, 127. 
 
 Inundation, of the Haverfordwest 
 Colliery in 1844, 82 ; of the 
 Troedyrhiew Colliery, 191. 
 
 Iron smelting and the coal trade, 
 29. 
 
 Iron trade, the, and the consumption 
 of coal, 41, 215, 233 ; and the use 
 of small coal, 117. 
 
 JAEEOW Colliery explosion, 1845, 89, 
 
 245- 
 Jevons, Prof., his theory of the 
 
 exhaustion of our coal deposits, 
 
 167, 214, 234. 
 
 Keesley Colliery explosion, 192. 
 
 Killingworth Colliery, 48. 
 
 Kingswood Mine, near Bristol, the 
 colliers there in the time of the 
 preacher Whitfield, n, 221. 
 
 Kirkless Hall Colliery explosion, 96. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 253 
 
 Labourers, the statute of, 1349, 3. 
 
 Lamps, safety, 47. See also Davy, 
 &c. 
 
 Lampton Colliery, the, 36. 
 
 Lancashire coal mines, the, 109. 
 
 Land, rise in the price of, 13. 
 
 Legislation, effects of, on the coal 
 industry, 117. See also ParUa- 
 ment, &c. 
 
 Lieicestershire coal mines, 26. 
 
 Lighting of coal mines, 211 ; lighting 
 of explosive mines, 37, 45. 
 
 Limitation of production as advocated 
 by working miners, 206. See also 
 " Eight hours " advocacy. 
 
 London, first importation of coal 
 into, about 1257, 17 ; the City 
 Coal Tax, 13, 23, 118. 
 
 Londonderry, Lord, his opposition 
 to Lord Ashley's Bill and other 
 measures, 67, 70, 112 ; and the 
 strike of 1844, 83. 
 
 Lords, House of, opposition to legis- 
 lation for mines and miners, ^j^ 
 147. See also Parliament, &c. 
 
 Lundhill explosion, the, 1857, 141, 
 246. 
 
 Lyell and Faraday, Profs., their re- 
 port on the Haswell explosion, 86, 
 87 ; on explosive coal dust, 202. 
 
 Macdonald, Mr. , M. P. , as spokes- 
 man for the working colliers, 171 ; 
 his action in Parliament, 185, 
 192, 196, 200. 
 
 Machinery in coal mines, early, 26, 
 32, 35, 42 ; steam introduced 
 thereto, 37, 40, 228. See also 
 Mines, working, &c. 
 
 Marco Polo, his accoimt of coal in 
 China, 20. 
 
 Marsant safety-lamp, the, 2n. 
 
 Marshall, Prof, on the duration of 
 coal, 214. 
 
 " Masters and Servants Act," 1747, 5. 
 
 Mather, James, testimonial to, by 
 working miners, 120, 
 
 Matthews-Childer's BiU, the, of 1887, 
 212. 
 
 M'Culloch, J. R. , statistics by, 248. 
 
 Meteorological conditions affecting 
 the atmosphere of mines, 195, 210. 
 
 Middlemen in collieries. See Butties. 
 
 Midland Commission of Inquiry into 
 the condition of the Mining Popu- 
 lation, 1842, 77. 
 
 Mill, J. S., M.P., action in Parlia- 
 ment, 167. 
 
 Millbanke, Sir R., his efforts with 
 regard to accidents in mines, 43. 
 
 Miners. See Mines ; also Colliers, 
 Mining Population, &c. 
 
 Miners' National Association formed, 
 1863, 158. 
 
 Mines, coal, on the Continent, 108, 
 230 ; managers of, 176 ; proposed 
 minister of, 207, 211 ; regulation 
 of. Conference, 1872, 180 ; State 
 ownership of, considered, 230 ; 
 women and children in, 56, 63 ; 
 working, ancient, 21 ; modern, 
 114. See also under Acts, In- 
 spection, Mines Regulation, Par- 
 liament, Women and Children, 
 &c. 
 
 Mines Regulation Act, 1879-1886, 
 Commission on, 199, 210. See 
 also Acts, &c. 
 
 Mining Board, a proposed, 229. 
 
 Mining Engineers, Institute of, estab- 
 lished 1852, 126. 
 
 Mining population, inquiries as to the, 
 
 43, 49. 77- 
 Mining Schools, 140. See also 
 
 Schools of Mines. 
 Monk miners, the, of Scotland, about 
 
 1200, 18. 
 Mostyn, R. , his accounts of a mine 
 
 explosion, 1677, 27. 
 Mostyn Mines, the, 27, 29. 
 Museler safety-lamp, the, 211. 
 
 Nasmyth, Mr. JAS., his ventilating 
 
 f^-n, 122. 
 Nationalisation of mines considered, 
 
 230. 
 Newbattle and Holyrood coal mines 
 
 about 1200-1220, 18. 
 Newcastle Collieries, 12, 17, 22. 
 Newcomen's fire-engine, 1705, 32. 
 New Tredegar Colliery explosion, 
 
 190. 
 Nitroglycerine as an explosive for 
 
 mines, 167. 
 Nitshill explosion, the, 1851, 120, 
 
 245- 
 
254 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Normans, coal unknown in England 
 at the time of the Conquest, i6, 231. 
 
 Oaks Colliery explosion, 1866, 160, 
 246, 
 
 O'Connor, A., M.P., action in Par- 
 liament, 211. 
 
 Old-age pensions for miners, 236. 
 
 Oldbury explosion, the, 93. 
 
 Output of coal, limitation of, as 
 advocated by the working coUiers, 
 200. 
 
 Overmen. See Viewers, &c. 
 
 Overtime in coal mines, 77. 
 
 Palmerston, Lord, supports Lord 
 Ashley's Bill of 1842, 69. 
 
 Parliament, Acts of, on collieries and 
 miners, i, 3, 4, 7, 21 9, 241, . 
 See also Acts, Inspection, &c. 
 
 Pease, Mr., M. P., his Select Com- 
 mittee on Collieries, 1835, 50. 
 
 Peel, Sir R. , M.P. (the first Bart.), 
 his Act of 1802, V. 
 
 Pelton strike, the, 1796, 5. 
 
 Pensher Colliery, the, 201. 
 
 Percy Main Colliery, the, 45. 
 
 Petroleum, mixed with oil recom- 
 mended for the lighting of mines, 
 211; the possible substitute for 
 coal, 235. 
 
 Phihps, Prof, and S. K. Blackwell, 
 their reports upon collieries, 104, 
 109. 
 
 Pits, coal, old, 20. 
 
 Piatt, Sir Hugh, his remedy for the 
 "smoke nuisance," 1603, 24. 
 
 Playfair, Dr. Lyon (now Lord Play- 
 fair), his' reports upon explosions 
 in collieries, &c., 89, 91, 92, 93, 
 173, 182 ; on the ignorance of 
 mine managers, 194. 
 
 Plot, Dr., his account of fire-damps, 
 &c. , 29. 
 
 Polytechnic Institute, an inspection 
 of safety-lamps there, 124. 
 
 Ponies in coal mines take up the 
 haulage work formerly done by 
 women and children, 84. 
 
 Poor, History of the, Sir F. M. 
 Eden's, i. 
 
 Production of Coal, vi, 248; statistics, 
 of, 22s, 232. 248. 
 
 Pumping-engine at the Hartley mine, 
 its disastrous break down, 1862, 
 152, 246. 
 
 Queen Elizabeth the owner of a 
 coal mine, 22. 
 
 Railways and Steamboats, and the 
 
 supply of coal, 41. 
 Rawmarsh explosion, the, 1851, 120, 
 
 245- 
 Restricting the output of coal, 84. 
 Retrospect and Observations — On 
 
 legislation, improvements, &c. , 
 
 from the passing of Lord Ashley's 
 
 Act, 1842, 219. 
 Riddell's (Sir W. ) Mine, 23. 
 Riots of colliers, 1842, 74. See 
 
 also Combinations, &c. 
 Risca Colhery explosions, 93, 131, 
 
 149, 246. 
 Romans, the, and coal, 16. 
 Roofs of coal mines, treatment, 114 ; 
 
 accidents from roof-falls, 189, 
 
 194, 225 et seq. 
 Ropes, steel-wire, 167, 2r6. 
 Royalties paid to landlords, 200, 
 
 230 ; Sir George Elliot on this 
 
 question, 201 ; increase of royalty, 
 
 208. 
 
 St. Hilda Colliery explosion, 1839, 
 S3. 245. 
 
 Safety-lamps, 52, 142 ; Mr. Burt, 
 M. P., on, 194; the committee of 
 1853-4 on, -13S; experiments with, 
 at the Polytechnic Institute, 124 ; 
 explosions in mines since their 
 introduction, in; new, 211; the 
 old found to be obsolete, 211, 
 See also Davy, &c. 
 
 Salt trade, the, and the coal trade, 20. 
 
 Salt, Mr. S. , on coal production, 248. 
 
 Schools of Mines, 124, 140; the 
 London School of Mines, estab- 
 lished in 1851, 122. 
 
 Scotland, early coal mines and miners 
 °f) 3> 7, 9, 18 ; later, 58 ; 
 Tremenheere's report on, 83. 
 
 Sea-coal, 17, 22. 
 
 Seacole Lane, London, 17. 
 
 Seaham explosion, the, 1880, 201, 
 247. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 255 
 
 Seaton Delaval Colliery, its system of 
 steam-jet ventilation, 126. 
 
 Shaftesbury, Earl of, his action in 
 favour of the regulation of col- 
 lieries, 7, 182, 185, 2ig. See also 
 under Ashley (Lord), Parliament, 
 Women and children in coal mines, 
 &c. 
 
 Shafts of collieries, accidents in, 
 225, 227 ; Act providing for more 
 than one to each pit, and the dis- 
 cussions leading to it, 152, 153, 
 154; old and new, 115; increase 
 in the size of, 216. 
 
 Slaves, the early colliers akin to, 3, 
 7! 9, 80, 223. 
 
 Small coal. See Coal. 
 
 Smith, Adam, on the taxation of 
 coal, 118. 
 
 Sir T. , his list of working-men, 
 
 1589, does not include colliers, 11. 
 
 " Smoke nuisance," the, in 1306, and 
 in 1603, 17, 24. 
 
 Smoke nuisance, the, 17, 24, 235. 
 
 South Shields Committee, the, and 
 their report upon explosions in 
 coal mines, 53, 120. 
 
 Spedding's steel-mill, 1760, 37. 
 
 SpringweU explosion, the, 1837, £3, 
 
 245- 
 
 Staffordshire collieries, 15, 26, 29, 
 109, 116 ; in the last century, 120. 
 
 Staith, a, on the Tyne, 19. 
 
 Statistics of accidents, deaths, ex- 
 plosions, labour, production, &c., 
 225-248. 
 
 Steamboats and railways and the 
 supply of coal, 41, 233. 
 
 Steam-engine, the, in mines, 40. 
 
 Steam-jet ventilation, 123, 125, 126, 
 133, 134. See also Ventilation. 
 
 Steel-mill, the, 45. 
 
 Stephenson, George, his safety-lamp. 
 
 Stint, the, = restriction of the out- 
 put of coal, 84. 
 Stormont Main explosion, 1843, 82, 
 
 24S- 
 Strikes of colliers, early, 3, 4, 5, 76, 
 
 82 ; later, 99, 200, 206 ; Mr. 
 
 Brydson on, 200 ; their results, 
 
 222. 
 Striive's air-pump, 127. 
 
 Sunderland Association for Inquiring 
 
 into the condition of Miners, 43. 
 Swaithe Main explosion, 190. 
 
 Talk-o'-th'-Hill Colliery explosion, 
 
 160. 
 Taxation of coal, 13, 22, 23, 92, 117, 
 
 118 ; of tools, &c. , li. 
 "Tommy-shop," the colliers', 77. 
 Tonite as an explosive for mines, 
 
 210. 
 Tools, prices of, in 1301 ; taxation of, 
 
 2. 
 Trade Unions of the colliers, 80, 90, 
 
 99. See also Combinations, &c. 
 Tramways introduced in collieries, 
 
 1676, 36. 
 Tremenheere, Mr. , his Report on the 
 
 Scotch Mines, 83. 
 Trindon Grange explosion, 202. 
 Troedyrhiew Colliery inundation, 
 
 191. 
 "Truck," and the Truck Acts, 42, 
 
 62, 56, 78, 156, 241. See also 
 
 Acts, &c. 
 Tudbrae explosion, the, 202. 
 Tufnell, Mr. Carleton, on the hard- 
 ships of colliers in 1833, 49. 
 Tyne, early coal trade on, 18. See 
 
 also Newcastle. 
 
 Underground work of women and 
 children miners before 1842, 7. See 
 also Women and Children. 
 
 Unity Brook explosion, 192. 
 
 Ventilating furnaces in coal mines, 
 III, 115. 
 
 Ventilation of coal mines {see also Ex- 
 plosions, &c. ), 42, 44, 52, 63, 100, 
 115, 121, 167, 221 ; previous to 
 the Act of i860, 146 ; Mr. Cayley's 
 Committee on, 122 ; Sir George 
 Elliot on, 105 i mechanical, 127. 
 
 Viewers and under-viewers, 185. See 
 also Colliery managers, &c. 
 
 Vivian, Sir Hussey, M. P. , action in 
 Parhament, 168. 
 
 Wages of colliers, 15, 62, j^^ jj, 
 158, 178, 200, 206 : fixed by Par- 
 liament, 2, 10 ; the sliding scale 
 of, 200, 230. See also Truck, &c. 
 
256 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Wales^ coal mines of, 27, 581 109, 
 116. 
 
 Wallsend Colliery, 36 ; explosions 
 there, 1835 and 1837, 51, 247. 
 
 Walpole's administration, 13. 
 
 Waste of coal, 233. See also mider 
 Coal. 
 
 Water-balance, the, 35. 
 
 Wayleaves, excessive, Le,, fees 
 charged by landlords, 231 ;: de- 
 nounced by Mr. Burt, M. P. , 209. 
 
 Weighing the coal, as between pit- 
 men and employers, 156, 162, 170, 
 181, 187, 212. See also Colliers' 
 grievances, &c. 
 
 Wesley among the colliers, 11, 221. 
 
 Whitfield, George, preaching among 
 the Kingswood colliers, 11, 221. 
 
 Williams, Mr. Price, on the con- 
 sumption and duration of coal, 214, 
 233- 
 
 Wilson, Mr. John, M.P., action in 
 Parliament, 209. 
 
 Women and children in coal mines, 
 14, 58, 81, 84 ; Lord Ashley's 
 prohibitory Act, 1842, 7, 54 ; 
 after Lord Ashley's Act, 90 ; 
 women employed at the pit mouth, 
 181, 207, 212, 
 
 Wood, Mr. Nicholas, on the inspec- 
 tion of coal mines, 106 ; on venti- 
 lation, 126, 127. 
 
 Working classes, scant record of, in 
 history, i, 3, 15. 
 
 Working of coal mines, improvements 
 in, since 1800, 114. See also 
 Machinery, &c. 
 
 Workington explosion, the, 1851, 
 120, 245. 
 
 Yarranton quoted, 235. 
 Yorkshire coal mines, 58, 109. 
 
 NEILL AND COMPANY, PRINTERS, EDINBURGH.