Well, it was proposed by mine owners themselves, and by many other persons, that this inspection should be very much increased. The arguments against this proposition are that it would be inexpedient to relieve owners of their responsibility; that quarterly inspections of mines would be impossible without, at least, 200 Inspectors; and that even with such an inspecting staff the re mines are 80 or 90 miles in extent, and a certificate of safety given by a Government Inspector must be fallacious in such cases. Therefore, my Lords, the Bill proposes no change in the general system of Inspection; but under Clause 52 miners may appoint two of themselves to inspect the mines at least once a month. This system is pursued in wards confirmed by the Reports of the | his district. Inspectors-that if the rule were enforced in the case of thin-seam mines the working of many of them must be retarded, and that working in these mines does not lead to physical deformity or injure the health of children. By permission of the Secretary of State, therefore, children will be permitted to work in thin-seam mines, even if only between the ages of 10 and 12; but the half-ports would be fallacious. In some cases time system and educational conditions similar to those imposed by the Workshops Act will apply to the case of such children. They may work six hours for six days a-week, or 10 hours for three days, and their attendance for education must be at least 20 hours per fortnight. The regulation for boys above the age of 12 and under 16-the age at which they are commonly called young persons-Lord Vane's mine; it is one of mutual will be that they shall not work beyond 10 hours a-day or 54 hours a-week, and the hours are to be counted from the time of leaving to the time of returning to the bank. Those are the main changes as regards employment, and they are mainly three-firstly, the limit of age for mining underground is raised from 10 years to 12 years; secondly, new regulations are laid down for boys between 12 and 16 years; and, thirdly, the provisions of the Workshops and Factories Acts are extended to miners working aboveground. The second division of the subject is inspection. In this no material change is contemplated by the Bill now before your Lordships. At present the number of Inspectors is 12. Ten years ago it was only six, and 30 years ago, when the noble Earl opposite (the Earl of Shaftesbury) moved in the matter, it was only one. No doubt, it will be necessary, in consequence of the additional number of mines and miners which will come under the operation of the law, to increase the number of Inspectors, though I cannot at present state to what extent; provision has however been made for some increase. It has been pressed on the Home Secretary that it would be dedesirable to have a more extended system of inspection. The present duties of an Inspector are to have a general knowledge of the mines; to give warning to the owner if he knows of danger; to make inquiry into accidents; to attend accidents; and to make an annual Report as to the state of the mines in confidence, and it has been found to answer better than any Government inspection. Next under the Bill, certificated managers will be appointed in coal mines. This question has been discussed at considerable length in the other House. Accidents often occur from the ignorance of viewers; and the experience of Belgium and other countries proves that improved education of the miners and those over them would cure many dangers. The proposal to give certificates to managers has been objected to on the ground that it would take away the responsibility of the owners; but it will be remembered that the choice of the manager will still be with the owner. The only difference will be that he will choose a person who has received a certificate. Your Lordships know that at present masters of ships must obtain a certificate before they are allowed to go to sea in charge of a vessel, as must colonels of a regiment before they assume the command of men; and though I do not say the cases are quite analogous, there is sufficient analogy between them to make the argument drawn from the certificated masters of ships a sound one in the case before your Lordships, because it would seem only natural that managers of mines, who have the lives of so vast a number of persons in their care, should have certificates of some kind. It has also been urged as an objection, that experience is more valuable than science in the case of the management of a mine. Now, I do not wish to undervalue experience, or what | to 1860 one life was lost to every 67,000 is called "the rule of thumb;" but I do tons of coal raised; from 1864 to 1868 not see why experience and science should not go together in this affair of the management of mines. It is an acknowledged fact that many of the accidents which now occur are due to the ignorance of managers of mines. My Lords, various proposals have been made as to the mode of examination. There have been schemes for the nomination of examiners by the Secretary of State, and schemes for the election of examiners by different classes of persons. These plans have been much discussed, and as a result a mixed plan has been adopted in the Bill. This plan is that the Home Secretary should nominate three owners, three miners, and three engineers, who will form a Board of nine, and this Board, in conjunction with the Inspector of the district, will choose the examiners. The general rule in future will be that all managers must obtain a certificate by examination; but if such a system were carried into operation at once, one of its effects would be to throw out of employment a number of valuable men, who, though unable to pass an examination, are perfectly competent for their posts by reason of long practical experience. The way in which this difficulty is met is by a certificate granted for service of 12 months as managers of a mine at some time within the last five years. My Lords, I venture to think this system will increase the securities for safety without unduly diminishing the responsibilities which ought always to rest with the owners and occupiers of mines. My Lords, I now come to the third division of the subject. It is the most important one, because it has to do directly with the safety of the miners; and, therefore, the Bill contains a variety of provisions calculated to effect the desired object. The first part of this branch of the Bill is a re-enactment of the measure passed in consequence of the Hartley Colliery accident-namely, the necessity of having in all cases the advantages of a double shaft in order to provide another means of exit in case of accident; while the second contains a code of general rules that will henceforth have to be observed. The effect of past legislation has been to cause a decrease in the number of accidents, though, unfortunately, the number is still large. From 1850 The Earl of Morley the loss was one life to every 98,000 tons; in 1870 the loss was one life to 113,900. The deaths in 1870 were 991, whereas if the proportion of one life to 67,000 tons of coal had been maintained, the deaths in 1870 would have been nearly 1,685. The number of persons employed per life lost in that year was 356. Part of the improvement, I must repeat, may fairly be attributed to the effect of legislation, though much is doubtless owing to the increased anxiety of owners of mines to extend protection to the men in their employ. It must also be remembered that, if the average number of deaths per annum is now 1,000, that by no means covers all the disastrous consequences of colliery accidents, because a large number of men are maimed by them, though not killed, and their names do not appear in the Return; but your Lordships can well understand that those accidents represent a vast amount of suffering and distress. Now, while on this point, I think it is important we should inquire into the causes of accidents, because there is an erroneous impression that by far the larger number are caused by fire-damp, though that is not the case. With regard to the causes of these accidents, they may be divided into four classes explosions by firedamp, falls of roof, shaft accidents, and miscellaneous ones. Now, in the year 1870, the proportion of deaths resulting from these causes is thus-fire-damp, 185; fall of roof, 411; shaft accidents and miscellaneous, 400; so that firedamp only occasioned one-fifth of the casualties, whereas the fall of roofs caused two-fifths of them. The same result is brought out if an average of 10 years before the year 1866 is taken. Within that period, 9,916 lives were lost; 2,019 being from fire-damp, nearly 4,000 from falls of roof, and the remainder from miscellaneous causes. Setting that aside, however, proper ventilation in mines is, of course, a matter of the very greatest importance. The gas becomes dangerous when mixed with four times as much atmospheric air, and it ceases to be dangerous when it mixes with 14 times as much atmospheric air; and hence, my Lords, the necessity for the ample ventilation which the Bill considers necessary. Now, my Lords, in the existing law, the words under - "ordinary circumstances" occur in relation to the regulations for ventilation. We omit them in this Bill, because they were almost valueless. How can the prosecutor prove that the circumstances were ordinary? The owner is considered prima facie liable. An accident occurs which proves that the ventilation was indifferent, and the owner may exonerate himself by proving that he took reasonable precaution. But, my Lords, accidents do not occur in ordinary circumstances, they occur in extraordinary circumstances, though in many cases these may be foreseen to some extent; and any well-conducted system of ventilation should be intended to serve its purposes under extraordinary circumstances. Mr. Brough, one of the Inspectors, mentions the case of a blower of gas which gave off 130,000 cubic feet of gas in 10 minutes. When he first came to the pit, only 12,000 cubic feet of air per minute passed through the pit. He caused it to be increased to 80,000 cubic feet per minute. An accident then occurred, which, under the conditions in which the Inspector found the mine when he first visited it, would have caused the death of 500 men and 70 horses, but as it was, in consequence of the remedial measures taken, no life was lost. Every well-conducted mine has a great deal more ventilation than is necessary in ordinary circumstances; the object is to guard against bad management. I now come to the provisions for preventing accidents caused by the falling of roof or coal, and the custom regarding which varies in different localities. I have shown that this is the most frequent cause of death. The men are careless, and in their anxiety to make the largest wages they are careless in the matter of propping. In Durham and Northumberland there is a rule in force under which the miners are not allowed to prop their own work. The propping is done by different men from the miner, under the superintendence of the managers. What has been the result? In Durham the deaths from falls are 1.95 per 1,000,000 of tons of coal raised; in Northumberland the number is 2.75. In North and East Lancashire it is 4.70; in West Lancashire 5.81; and in South Wales 6.57 per 1,000,000 tons. In the last three places, the propping is done by the men who work out the coal, Of course, my Lords, when looking at these figures, we must remember that there are other causes to be taken into consideration-such as the hardness or softness of the strata, &c.; but, at the same time, the figures are so striking that they are well worthy of our attention. This part of the Bill proceeds, therefore, on the rule which has worked so well in Durham and Northumberland, but it does not go so far. It does not prevent the miners from propping for themselves, but it provides that this work must be under the superintendence of an overseer appointed specially for the purpose. Passing from that branch of the subject, I may mention, my Lords, as the law stands, coal can be weighed, measured, or gauged, at the owner's option, when brought to the pit mouth. The Bill before your Lordships, however, provides that coal shall be weighed only, and by standard measure. It is objected that the provision is an interference with contract. I admit that, but the interference is not further than is necessary. Various weights are at present customary, and the uncertainty of the capacity of the measures is a constant source of dispute. We think, therefore, that the provision has such advantages, that it ought to form a portion of the Bill. As coals are sold by weight, there would not seem to be any good reason why they should not be raised by weight, and it would be pushing the doctrines of political economy too far to reject the clause on the ground of its interference with contract. order to meet an objection raised on the ground of the expense of providing weighing machines, the Secretary of State is to have the power of exempting particular mines from the operation of this clause. The last question with which I have to deal is the liability of owners. Our object in this Bill is to throw the responsibility on the owner, if he cannot prove due diligence. Under the Factory Acts of 1844 the occupier is prima facie liable, but can exonerate himself if he can prove due diligence, and can point out the culpable person. We do not propose in the Bill to enact this condition. The owner will be primâ facie liable; but all that will be necessary for him to prove is that he had used all due diligence-that he had taken all reasonable means by publication and enforcement of rules to prevent contravention or non-compliance In Moved, "That the Metalliferous Mines LORD DE ROS said, he could confirm with them. As to the institution of The Earl of Morley Moved, "That the Bill be now read 2a." -The Lord President.) serve that something was done in the | Bill further proposed to establish a uniBill for the women employed on the form system of election, by extending to banks of the mine, by limiting their em- the country districts the principle which ployment to 12 hours a-day and giving had been already adopted in the election them Sunday; and he trusted those of the School Board for the metropolis changes in their hours of labour would-namely, that of Ballot, and which had have a beneficial effect, for some of these been found to work well. The noble Marpoor women were very degraded, and quess concluded by moving the second their appearance as seen in photographs reading of the Bill. showed it, and there was great room for improvement in their moral condition. He must also say that he was much against the employment of young boys in mines. In some countries-Prussia, for instance-no youth under 16 was allowed to be employed down a mine. One must consider what it was for a boy of 10 or 12 years of age to be for a number of hours beneath the earth in darkness. It must produce a serious effect on his mind, and the mental depression to which it necessarily gave rise must prevent the child from having much inclination for education. He could produce statistics to show how difficult it was to get such boys to go to an evening school, whatever the inducements held out to them. In conclusion, he must again express his obligation to the Government for what he trusted the Bill would do in elevating the character and improving the condition of a class who, with all their faults, were amongst the most generous, honest, and single-voting was allowed a trial, but had not minded of our people. Motion agreed to; Bill read 2. Then the Mines (Coal) Regulation Bill read a second time; and both Bills committed to a Committee of the Whole House on Friday next. ELEMENTARY EDUCATION (ELECTIONS) (The Lord President.) Order of the Day for the Second Reading, read. THE MARQUESS OF RIPON, in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, it was one to confirm certain Orders of the Education Department, and also to make provision with respect to the election of school boards. It was necessary for Parliament to do something in the matter during the present Session, because the Orders made by the Department in 1870 and 1871 would not have any force after next September, and the Orders in question would be confirmed by the Bill. The VOL. CCXII. [THIRD SERIES.] THE MARQUESS OF SALISBURY said, his objections to the Bill were founded partly on its substance, and partly on the procedure proposed. He thought it wrong that an ordinary Continuance Bill, introduced at that period of the Session, should be made to carry with it so important a principle as the introduction of the Ballot for the first time into the school-board elections in the country districts. Even if he were not an opponent of the Ballot, he should think this a very unwise precedent, for there was no ground for such an extension of the Ballot, and there were several reasons against it. In the first place, he denied that the Ballot had been admitted as a recognized system in Parliamentary and municipal elections. The Ballot was on its trial there. That was the compromise made between the two Houses. Secret School been definitely accepted. Why, then, 3 F |