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.

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    7 July 1910.] Mr. J. S. Martin. [Continued. ordinary timbering. They are at a very high inclination generally. 1993. All these will he driven on the vein ?—They are working out a lode or vein, and if a stone falls where the men are working, it comes a good way and they cannot always get up there. It is 20 feet high, perhaps, 9 or 10 feet, and may he 20 fathoms up, where it is all abandoned. 1994. Is it not in the roadway ?—It is not in the roadways that the accidents happen, as a rule. It is when working here, for instance. 1995. You are referring to underhand stopes?— Overhand in the same way. They work upwards to the level above. It still remains the same thing. This part is worked out. They take the whole thing out sometimes up to 50 or 60 fathoms, three and four levels up. 1996. In reference to the provision for proper washing, baths and tubs where 20 or more persons are employed, do you not think that you fix the number rather high ? —I only made a suggestion. That is a matter for you to decide. You could not expect a person to be put in charge of one of these things for 4 or 5 men. You must fix a reasonable number and the place must be of a reasonable size. 1997. The Act requires that dressing rooms should be provided where 12 men are employed ?—Yes, but it does not require anything else except places to change. 1998. If a man is compelled to change there is very little expense in having a bucket of water ?—He is not compelled to change. He has the option. 1999. If the employer is compelled to provide the place to change, it is optional with him to provide water ?—He does not need to have a person to watch it. 2000. He does not require a person to provide the water. It is to look after the clothes, and see they are perfectly dried. There would not be much addi- tional cost in providing the water?—No. Sometimes in the country places the accommodation is very poor. The number is a matter you must decide. 2001. The point is in sinking a shaft you might have three men on a shift ?—Then I think they dry in a boiler-house. 2002. It is prohibited ?—Or in an engine house ? I I think that is about the practice. 2008. I thought it was prohibited ?—Perhaps, strictly speaking, it may be prohibited, but I think you will find that in such cases it is often practised. You have to look at it from more than one side. 2004. (Mr. Lovett.) Referring to the carrying out of the rules and regulations in mines, you said the Cornish tin mining has passed through some very serious crises during the period mentioned; so much so that had you not used discretion with regard to enforcing the Act some of the largest mines working at present would probably have been closed ?—Yes. 2005. Do you suggest the same consideration should be extended to other industries ?—Yes, I do not think it is the intention of anybody, the Government, or the owners, or the workmen, that industries should be legislated out of existence. I think common sense is required to be exercised under those circumstances. 2006. What do you suggest to prevent the carrying out of the regulations in varying degrees ? —Common sense must be used. In all cases where I consider it necessary distinctly for the safety of the persons employed in the mine, I have required it. 2007. I agree with the idea, but it appears to me that we might get employers in different industries in different districts who woiild be treated differently. One inspector might insist on the carrying out of the regu- lations and rules to the letter, and another would allow of some elasticity ?—That may be so. Of course, you will always have the difference of individuals. As a matter, of fact, the inspectors were directly responsible to the Home Office, and now inspectors are responsible to different grades, you may call it, and therefore, it would emanate from one to the other. It would be checked and considered whether it was desirable or not. 2008. Would you legislate for slate mines along with other metalliferous mines, or would you classify the slate mines with the open quarries ?—I have no experience of slate mines, or very slight experience, and I do not think I am in a position to give an answer. My opinion is that mines ought to be under the Mines Act and quarries under the Quarries Act. I will take stone mines and quarries in my district; I think they are separate and should be under separate Acts. 2009. Would you classify slate quarries with slate mines ?—I would have open cast slate quarries under the Quarries Act, and slate mines under the Metal- liferous Mines Act. 2010. Would not you include dressing departments in quarries in the Quarries Act instead of in the Factories Act, as it is at present ?—Yes, distinctly. I think I have said that it is desirable to simplify the matter, and that workmen and owners should have one Act to refer to. 2011. With regard to blasting, I suppose from what you have said you would make it compulsory that the senior member of a gang should be made responsible for the examination of a place after blasting ? —I think so. I have had two or three accidents in the last two or three years where irresponsibility occurred. In one case a lad was working with his father and after the shots were fired the lad was allowed to go back and commence work without his father going in. The result was that he caused a further explosion and was killed. He was only a boy of 16 or 17 years of age. The same thing happened in another case where a boy went back and the side came over and killed him. The man had not examined the place and the lad went back and commenced work. The case was put into the hands of a solicitor to take action against the man that was responsible, but without his own evidence there was no proof, and you could not prosecute, and there- fore he got off, but lie deserved punishment. 2012. With regard to the question of fuses, you referred to the fiddling about which sometimes takes place ?—I had an accident where one or two men were killed. I had another one where a man was killed in a metalliferous mine. He was firing two shots and was lighting both together and something happened. Either his fuse was cut too short or he was too long in getting the other lit, and the first one went off and he was fatally injured. 2013. In the larger quarries the blasting man is some- times called on to fight 10 to 15 holes ?—He would allow the length of his fuse accordingly. That is nothing uncommon. There was another case under the Coal Mines Act where the same thing happened. He was fighting four shots. The usual thing was two, the first one went off and injured him before he could get away. A comrade fetched him out, and in doing so he was injured by other shots going off. That man got a King’s medal and well deserved it. 2014. Tiie question of fencing has been raised. You would not make it compulsory that quarries should be fenced. You referred to a crag ?—I should not require all quarries to be fenced. If a quarry was in such a dangerous condition as to require fencing, I would leave it to the Inspector to have power to call upon the owner to fence it. 2015. We have to take into consideration the men working in the quarry ?—I am speaking as much of abandoned quarries rather than working quarries. 2016. I am thinking of the advisability of fencing quarries against accidents which might occur to the men working in the quarry by something coming down, which happens in many cases. They are working on the cliff and there are cattle about or boys or men push something down ? 2017. (Chairman.) That was not present to my mind, fencing the quarry against something tumbling over ?—That is working quarries. (Chairman.) We are generally thinking of people falling over. 2018. (Mr. Lovett.) I have known a cart come down and kill somebody at the bottom ?—I would keep the cart away. 2019. What are we to understand by a roadside quarry ?—At present the Quarries Fencing Act speci- fies that quarries within 50 yards of a road or footpath require to be fenced. I call that a roadside quarry.
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