solemn errand; whilst those within the cottages, borne down by grief and dispair, were engaged in taking a reluctant farewell glance of their relatives ere the lids of the coffins were screwed down, and the objects of their affection were shut out from their sight for ever. The ties of relationship were so extensive, that there was scarcely a house in the village in which the calamity was not felt, and from which one or more of the coffins were not brought forth. The coffins were borne to the graves uncovered, for there were no palls thrown over them, and the sound of the mourners' steps was drowned by their loud lamentations as they wended their way towards the sacred edifice and yawning graves. It was a sight not easily to be forgotten by those who had the misfortune to take part in it. The greater number of them being buried at Earsdon Church yard, a monument was placed there to the memory of those who had lost their lives; a sad testimonial to the powerlessness of man, and the great mutability of the things of this earth. May that mournful procession be the last which the eyes of mankind shall ever be called to look upon, and may that monument be the last which the loving hearts and hands of those who mourn shall ever have a cause to erect on such a sad and solemn occasion.

The danger of working in mines at the present day, great though it undoubtedly is, is but trifling compared with the perils which beset the miner at every turn half a century ago. There are many pitmen living now who know this, and can appreciate the change which has taken place; but the rising generation of miners, who know nothing of this, are too apt to forget those men who took a bold position in the agitation which resulted in this beneficial alteration. Accidents are now happily much more rare than they used to be, and with each year they will become still more so, for men of science have now turned their attention to the question, and the results of their patient and earnest thought is being applied in a hundred different ways and in a hundred ingenious contrivances, the main object aimed at in each being to render work in the coal pits more and more secure. There are men to whom the mining community owe a deep debt of gratitude for this happy state of things,

and the foremost amongst these honoured names is that of Mr. James Mather. By their appreciation of such men the miners will stimulate and encourage others to do likewise, for they of all classes of working men, stand most in need of friends.

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE SEPARATION GRIEVANCE. STRIKE AT SEATON DELAVAL. LARGE MEETING ON THE TOWN MOOR. PASSING OF THE MINES INSPECTION BILL.

Having dwelt at considerable length on the painful, yet withal interesting subject of accidents in mines, we are led back by the natural course of our narrative to a consideration of the social and political condition of the miners, taking up the thread where it was dropped previous to the digression concerning the casualties. For a time the whole of the men might be said to be in a perfectly comatose state, so listless and indifferent did they for a brief period appear; but this was the calm which invariably succeeds a storm, the lassitude which takes the place of physical activity when. the body is capable of no further exertion. However, this indifference did not last long, for soon the men aroused themselves again to a sense of the manifold wrongs under which they were suffering, and in 1859 commenced a vigorous agitation against the rules relating to the separation of the coals. At this time, and even up to a much later period, the hewers had to separate the small coals from the round. There were inspectors appointed on the pit heaps, and all tubs that contained a certain quantity of small in them were forfeited to the owners. This practice made many a man, after working hard all day, come to bank in debt; and though it was acknowledged by eminent viewers that the separation system was not a fair one, they said they had no other chance of keeping their trade than by having the best of the round coals only brought to bank. The rules regarding separation at Seghill Colliery were considered the most strict of any in force in the two counties; for the men not only had to rake the coals with a rake, but

every two men had a riddle, and the coals were first raked by them, then riddled and emptied into the tubs. On coming to bank, the first practice of the pitmen was to look at the chalking board, which was a large board whitewashed over, and ruled in columns, so that when any tub was laid out the number of the hewer was put upon this board. The hewer knew how much he had worked for at the face, but never could tell until he got to bank how much of his earnings would be left for him. One man who had just come to bank, and being rather near-sighted, as all pitmen are when they first ride from the black mine into the brilliant daylight, was standing looking earnestly on the board, when two gentlemen, who were going down to inspect the pit with the viewer, inquired why all looked at this board when they came out of the pit? The viewer, who knew perfectly well why the men looked, but who, being a bit of a humourist in his way, said: What are you looking there so hard for this morning, Bob?" The reply he received was, "I am luicking for what I div'nt want te find, maister." Mr. Peter Burt, the father of the much-respected secretary of the Northumberland Miners' Association, worked at this colliery, and one day when he had filled eight tubs he found on coming to bank that there were seven of them forfeited. In spite of the chagrin which such wholesale and unjust confiscation could not fail to induce, the old gentleman could not restrain his characteristic humour, but turning to another man standing near, he exclaimed :

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"Aw's shure Tommy Niel this day has me sair hurt,
He's laid seven out of eight for poor Peter Burt."

This couplet seemed, for some reason, to tickle the fancy of the workmen at Seghill, and it was a familiar quotation amongst the youths long after Mr. Burt had left Seghill. The wholesale system of "laying out," which the above incident illustrates, continued to be practised till the men determined that it could no longer be endured. But it was difficult to get the men stirred up in unison with each other, for whatever the nature of their grievances might be, they were not allowed to meet to discuss them; because any one who attempted to get up meetings of the kind was almost sure to be discharged. Nor could a room in which to meet be

very easily procured either, for the innkeepers of the two large houses in Seghill were in the very reverse of a free position. They did not dare to allow the men to meet in their houses on pain of being ejected, as the public houses belonged to the colliery owners. Whenever meetings were to be called it was done in an off-handed indirect way, the originators saying to their fellow-men, in an incidental and indifferent manner, "I hear there's going to be a meeting to night in Backworth lane," the favourite place of meeting of the Seghill men. The words would pass through the men "there's gan to be a meeting, men," but its object was never stated, for they were afraid not only of the masters but of many among their own ranks, who were always ready to discover anything to carry to the masters. There never was at any colliery men wanting who, for a smile from the masters, would betray their fellow-men and do much injury to themselves. It is true there were not many, but even the few could, and did, do a power of harm to both the employers and the employed, as they misrepresented facts and sometimes imagined them, rather than lack a story to tell. The Seaton Delaval men had had but few meetings, for there being no organization amongst them they seldom met, and their grievances accumulated and became insufferable up to the year 1859. One day when the back-shift men went on to the pit heap to go down, the "laid out" board was almost covered with numbers, many of their comrades then at work down the pit having had every tub taken from them. One bold and desperate man amongst the number shouted out on the pit heap, "men, how long will ye bear this?" and was answered by them, "not another day." The men became excited and confused, and it appeared almost as if they were bent on doing some damage to property. A hasty resolution was however come to, and the back-shift men, instead of going down the pit, went home.

A meeting was called the same afternoon at the Hastings Arms Inn, and it was then and there resolved not to go to work until they got their grievances adjusted. Before coming to this conclusion the question was discussed for hours, but all the debating led to the same result, that the injustice to which they had been subjected was intolerable.

The more intelligent men on the colliery contended that it was not legal to stop the pit in this abrupt manner, and though they felt their grievances as bad as any of them, they maintained that the only legal way to get them redressed was, to give in their notices, work till the notice was up, and then cease work. On the resolution being put, however, it was carried by a majority that the pit should be laid idle, with all its consequences. Pitmen as a class do not care to go against the majority, and though they may feel that the action of the majority is unjustifiable they generally prefer to sink their own opinions and throw in their lot with the rest when persuasion is of no avail. There are

hundreds of cases in which pits have been laid idle in a similar manner, and those who have moderate and rational views have had to suffer for the acts of the immoderate and irrational. There were nine selected from the men of this colliery and taken before the magistrates at North Shields on July 21st, 1859, for breach of contract; and as it invariably happens, they were the most intelligent men on the colliery. Most of them were members of the Methodist Societies, far advanced in years, and every one of them at that time teetotalers. The names of those taken were as follows: William Ritson, Robert Burt, Alexander Watson, Thomas Wakinshaw, Amos Eatherington, Henry Bell, Anthony Bolam, Edward Davis and Thomas Beaney. Each of them was sentenced to two months hard labour in Morpeth Gaol, with the exception of Thomas Beaney, who being subject to fits and having taken one that morning, was released. The cases of all were very hard but that of one was particularly so. This was Robert Burt, the uncle of Thomas Burt, a man between 50 and 60 years of age, and who was always looked upon as one of the most reasonable among his fellowmen. His wife was lying on her death bed, and on the morning he was taken away, she had been given over to death. He was a devoted husband, and being besides an earnest Christian, he was praying at the bedside of his dying wife when the police entered and took him in charge. Can any one imagine a piece of greater cruelty? Not only was he punished with ordinary imprisonment, but during the whole of the time his mind would be anxious concerning his wife, that he might never see again. How