association, their accumulated capital is only small, being but £414. The weekly contribution is 6d. per member, and no benefits are given a resolution having been passed that the funds be not opened for the first twelve months, in order that an accumulated fund may be obtained, so as to enable them to be on a par with some of the older established districts.

West Bromwich District.-This district numbers 4,000 members, has only recently joined the National Association, and the report had not yet arrived.

The following is an abridged list of the districts, with the number of members in each, and the funds accumulated in August of the present year.

Total amount of Funds, as far as reported... £107,153 5 3

CHAPTER XLIV.

PASSING OF THE MINES' REGULATION BILL.

On the 10th August, 1872, the Coal Mines Regulation Act received the Royal Assent, and passed into law, its various provisions to take effect on the 18th of January, 1873. This was the bill over which there had been much agitation in recent years, and though it was not all that many of the sanguine advocates of the measure desired, it was certainly as much as could be expected. It is a really good Act, taken on the whole, and certainly goes much further to secure the safety and independence of the miner in following his calling than any previous legislative enact

ment.

At the outset it is provided that no boy under the age of ten, and no woman or girl of any age, shall be employed or allowed to work in any coal mine. Boys of the age of ten shall not be allowed to work in any mine, unless it be in a seam, by reason of the thinness of which such labour shall be, in the opinion of the Secretary of State, necessary, nor in such case for more than six days in any one week; and if employed for more than three days in one week, then for not more than six hours in any day; and in any other case, for not more than ten hours a day. No boy above the age of twelve; and under the age of sixteen, to be employed below ground for more than 54 hours a week, or 10 hours in any one day; and every boy above twelve and under thirteen years of age shall attend school on at least 20 hours in a fortnight, Sundays not being included, or any time before 8 o'clock in the morning and 6 o'clock in the evening. A number of stringent regulations are made to secure the proper registration of such boys at school, in order that the Act may not be evaded in this respect. Clause 14 enacts

that no one under the age of eighteen years shall have charge of any machinery or apparatus on which the lives of men depend. The payment of wages in public-houses is done away with by this Act, and it is now illegal to pay wages either in a public-house, or in any place contiguous to one. Clause 17 regulates that after August 18th, 1873, all coal should be paid for by weight, instead of by measure, as

in times past, except in such places where the owner and men voluntarily enter into a mutual contract to continue the measurement system. The men have also the power of appointing a check weighman on every pit heap, at their own cost, and the owner has no power to dismiss him for any fancied grievance; but any complaint he may have against this representative of the men must be heard before the justices, who are to be composed of independent persons, a clause forbidding any man connected in any way with collieries to adjudicate upon any dispute between miners and coal-owners. By clause 20, the system of working mines with single shafts, which formerly obtained, is abolished, and no person is to be employed in any mine in which there is but one shaft, or which has not some easily accessible and well-known means of outlet belonging to the same mine, or in direct communication with some closely-adjoining mine. Every mine must be under the daily control of a manager, and a person shall not be considered qualified as the manager of a colliery unless he be registered as the holder of a certificate, after having passed an examination as a mining engineer; the Secretary of State to have the appointment of the examining board, and the nature of the examination necessary to test the competency of candidates for viewerships. The owners are bound by the Act to make returns of the quantity of coal raised yearly out of their mines, and also a return of all lives lost, and all personal injury sustained in their mines by reason of explosions, inundations, or acciIdents of whatever nature. The proper inspection of mines by an inspector appointed by Government is also assured by the Act, and if the inspector at any time complains about any matter, the owners are bound to act upon the suggestion of this officer, or else to state their objections in writing to the Secretary of State, when that minister shall order the question at issue to be settled by arbitration, both parties being bound by the decision of the referees. When a coroner holds an inquest on any person killed in the mine, he is bound to adjourn the inquiry to allow of the attendance of the Inspector of Mines, and to give him sufficient notice of the time to which the adjournment has been made; whilst all persons personally interested in mines, or employed in them, are rendered ineligible to sit as jurors on any such in

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quisition. A clause especially provides for an adequate amount of ventilation in every pit, and in every mine where inflammable gas has been found to exist an examination shall take place once in every 24 hours if one shift only is worked, and once in every 12 hours if two shifts of men are engaged. These examinations are to be made by a properly qualified person or persons, and the results are to be recorded in a book specially kept for that purpose. The entrance to all places not in work shall be properly fenced off, and if at any time a dangerous amount of gas is found in the mine, every man and boy must be at once withdrawn from the pit till it has been dispersed. Proper precautions are also to be taken against inundations, and all workings in the vicinity of standing water are not to exceed 8 feet in width. Every plane, on which persons travel in and out bye upon, must be provided with a sufficient number of man-holes, or places of refuge, so that the men may be able to go into them when the set is running. In the special rules, provisions are made for propping the roof, whilst the roof and sides of all travelling roads are to be made secure by propping and otherwise. In descending and ascending, the men have only to ride in cages properly covered, in order that they may be protected from anything that might fall down the shaft. Penalties of fines and imprisonment are imposed on both men and masters for any breach of the clauses, and general or special rules.

This Act was the result of about ten years' earnest agitation by a large section of the miners, assisted by many outside friends, foremost amongst the latter in this district being Mr. Joseph Cowen, Jun., who not only assisted with his eloquence at large and popular meetings, but also advocated the measure through the columns of the widely-circulated Daily Chronicle, of which journal he is the enterprising proprietor. The Act has been called a "Delegates' Act," and to me no greater compliment could be paid to the framers of the measure, for in spite of its many defects, and of the croakings of the malcontents who wish to magnify these shortcomings, it is a really good measure. No one can read through this brief digest of it, which is all that can be given in a work of such limited dimensions, without coming to the conclusion that the representatives of the miners have been

actively engaged in its framing. No man, or any number of men, who had not actually worked in the mines could have framed such an Act, no matter how extensively they had inquired into the pitmen's grievances, or however desirous they might have been to remedy these grievances. There is an evident desire throughout to do justice to both sides, and to secure the confidence of both men and masters. This is very apparent in several of the clauses, but in none more so than in the 27th section, that relating to the examining boards, by which a Secretary of State may from time to time appoint, remove, and re-appoint fit persons to form such boards, as follows:-namely, three persons, being owners of mines; three persons employed in or about a mine (not being owners, agents, or managers of a mine); and three persons practising as mining engineers, agents, or managers of mines, or coal viewers; and one inspector appointed under this Act. Under the provisions of this equitable section, the board for the district, including the counties of Northumberland, North Durham, and Cumberland, is composed of the following gentlemen, owners of mines:-Mr. Thomas E. Forster, Mr. John Taylor, and Mr. Matthew Liddell. Persons employed in or about a mine:-Mr. Thomas Weatherley, Mr. Robert Elliott, and Mr. Andrew Sharp. Persons practising as mining engineers:-Mr. J. B. Simpson, Mr. A. S. Palmer, and Mr. Thomas T. Smith. The board have appointed Mr. G. B. Forster, Cowpen; Mr. Cuthbert Berkley, Marley Hill; and Mr. S. B. Coxon, Usworth; to be examiners. The appointment of examiner is held during the pleasure of the board, and may at any time be revoked by a resolution duly entered in the minutes. Examinations are to be held twice a year, should a sufficient number of candidates be desirous of presenting themselves, at such times and places as the Secretary of State may appoint.

Soon after the passing of this Act, Mr. Thomas Burt addressed a long and important letter to the editor of the Weekly Chronicle, in which he adopted the measure, and explained many of its clauses and provisions. In his letter, he recommended that the Act should be carefully read by the miners, and more especially the general rules, a piece of advice so good that it will bear repetition in this place. Before concluding this chapter, I will give a brief extract