Minutes of evidence taken before the Royal Commission on metalliferous mines and quarries : volume 1.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on Metalliferous Mines and Quarries.
Date:
1912
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Minutes of evidence taken before the Royal Commission on metalliferous mines and quarries : volume 1. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by Royal College of Physicians, London. The original may be consulted at Royal College of Physicians, London.

    11/406 page 3
    10 June 1910.] Mr. M. Delevingne. [Continued. employing more than 30 below ground was only 119, and the number employing 30 or less was 568. 48. So that you have got a very large number, three- quarters of the mines in the country, that you may term very small mines ?—Yes. 49. The industry is not apparently a homogeneous one?—-No. That table I have prepared shows that there are a great variety of minerals worked, and a great variety of mines. Altogether, for the purposes of the Home Office classification, we take 27 groups of minerals. 50. You put that table in ?—I will put that table in.* 51. I think that ends your general remarks on the extent and distribution of the industry in the country, and gives a general view of the whole thing ?—That is all I have to say. 52. Now will you give (is in the same way a general sketch of the present system of inspection, and please do not assume that we all know about it ?—There is not very much to say. The metalliferous mines of the country are inspected by the same staff that inspect the coal mines of the country, with the exception of three inspectors, who were appointed in 1894 specially for the metalliferous mines. None have been appointed since that date, and thus the inspection of all the mines in any district is made by one class of inspectors. 53. Has that system of working by one class of inspectors been found on the whole to be preferable ?—- For administrative purposes it is very nrach simpler, both for the inspectors, the owners, and, I should imagine, for the public. 54. I will ask you more details on that presently. One wants the general sketch at present ?—There used to be two special metalliferous mines districts, one Cornwall and Devon, and one which comprised North Wales and some of the South-Eastern counties of England. The latter district was found to be very unwieldy, and when Sir Clement Foster, who was in charge of it, retired in 1901, it was abolished and absorbed in the other inspection districts. The Cornish district had previously been abolished in 1892. 55-6. The inspection districts as they formerly existed were as shown P—From 1901 up till this year there have been 12 inspection districts for both coal and metalliferous mines. 57. Until the appointment of the Chief Inspector, each of them was under an inspector of mines related directly to the Home Office ?—Yes. 58. I am going to ask you about the changes that have been introduced ?—The only change that has taken place, apart from the appointment of the Chief Inspector of Mines, which was about two years ago, has been the consolidation of some of the districts, following upon the recommendation of the Royal Commission. 59. A further grouping took place. Will you ex- plain that ?—Eventually the country is to be divided into six large districts. The whole of Scotland will form one district. 60. That is to say, Nos. 1 and 2 districts are now grouped together in one district ?—Yes. 61. What was done with Nos. 3 and 4 ?—They are eventually to be combined into one district. At present they are being left as they are. 62. What will be the next district ?—The York and Lincoln district has been increased by the addition of Nottingham and Derby, which is rather an important coalfield and which has been taken from the Midland district. Two Lancashire districts, Manchester and Liverpool, are eventually to be combined into one district, but at present they are being left as they are. 63. That was a temporary arrangement for practical purposes at the present time ?—Yes, entirely adminis- trative. 64. It has been found impossible to carry out a change of this kind too suddenly ?—Yes. It was difficult to make all the changes take place at once. 65. Will you please go on with what you were say- ing ?—The two South Wales districts have been * Appendix A., Table III. consolidated, and Monmouthshire has been taken from the Southern district and added to them, and those will form the new South Wales division. The remainder, that is, the Stafford district and the rest of the Mid- land and the Southern districts, have been combined into one large district called the Midland and Southern. 66. (Mr. Greaves.) What about North Wales P— That remains as it was, attached to the Liverpool district. Eventually the two Lancashire districts will form one large district. 67. North Wales will go with Lancashire ?—Yes. 68. Nos. 6 and 7 will be one district?—Yes. 69. (Chairman.) The outcome will be that there will be ultimately six districts instead of twelve ?—Yes, at present there are eight. 70. As far as that has gone that has been an improvement administratively ?—It has only taken effect from the first of this month. 71. Generally I want your opinion upon that change ? —I have no doubt, from an administrative point of view, it will be a great advantage. I should add that all the inspectors have to qualify in a knowledge of metalliferous mining, as well as in a knowledge of coal mining. 72. We shall be glad to go more into that when we come to your suggestions. This is merely an outline at present of the system. Does that cover all that you have to say under that heading ?—I have nothing more to say upon that. 73. Now we come to the next point. Will you give us the Acts by which the industry is regulated ?—The principal Act is the Metalliferous Mines Act of 1872. It was amended as regards the returns of output and the persons employed, by the Metalliferous Mines Act, 1875, as regards the reporting of accidents by the Notice of Accidents Act, 1906, and on minor points by some other Acts. 74. Did the amendments that took place in the Explosives Order apply to metalliferous mines ?—Do you mean the Explosives Order under the Coal Mines Act, 1896 ? 75. Yes ?—No, they do not apply. 76. There has been no new legislation, as far as explosives are concerned, applied to, metalliferous mines ?—No. The Metalliferous Mines Act applies both to the surface and underground workings, but the surface workings in metalliferous mines are also subject to the Factory and Workshop Act, which regulates the hours of employment of women, young persons, and children, and also provides for the fencing of dangerous machinery, the provision of sanitary conveniences, and others matters. 77. Consequently now you get a double inspection ? —You get inspection under a double series of Acts. The metalliferous mines are inspected for the purposes of both sets of Acts by the mines inspectors as regards the mine itself. 78. For that purpose they act as factory inspectors ? —As regards the mine they act as mines inspectors under the powers given in the Metalliferous Mines Act. As regards the surface workings, which include any works adjacent to the mine where the minerals are broken, crushed, ground, screened, washed, rough-hewn, oi. dressed, they enforce the provisions of the Factory Act, and have been given the powers of factory in- spectors for that purpose. 79. The employers and workmen have to make themselves acquainted both with the provisions of the Metalliferous Mines Act and also the Factory Act ?— That is so. 80. They have a double system of inspection?—No, it is not double. The mines inspectors are sole inspectors for those works. 81. The mines inspector has to get up the Factory Act for the purpose of acting as a factory inspector ?— Yes. On the other hand, the factory inspectors inspect all places where any process of manufacture is carried on, like brick-making, smelting, and cement-making. 82. Do you call the squaring of slates a process of manufacture ?—That is considered to be the dressing of material.
    digitised image 1
    digitised image 2
    digitised image 3