Epitome of evidence taken before the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. cap. 155 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines / presented to both houses of Paliament by command of Her Majesty.
- Great Britain. Royal Commission on Mines
- Date:
- 1864
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Epitome of evidence taken before the Commissioners appointed to enquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. cap. 155 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines / presented to both houses of Paliament by command of Her Majesty. 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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![(G.)-WAGES A] Getting 7598. Can you account for that ?—I suppose that the ibt. hope of reward sweetens labour. I suppose that they hope to profit by it. 7599. If the men were paid oftener, would it not pre- vent that to some extent ?—No, I think not; once a month is often enough to pa}- people. 7600. But a man coniing to you from another part of the county would not receive any payment for two months ?—Yes, he would, if ho cnme to luo and wanted money. 7601. Cut according to the rul(\'<, he would not be en- titled to get any money for two inuiithsi'—No; but then we should grant him subsist. 7602. But if you did not grant him subsist, it would induce his getting into debt at a shop?—It would. Capt. Chaeles Thomas. 8808. (CJiairman.) Then must he not go to a public- hou.se or to some shop to get it changed ?—Yes, to a shop the}' go on taking up a month's moat before they have money to pay for it. They get into debt for a month, and then they go to a. shop to pay for it; a large portion do this. 8809. They are always a montli in an-ear, are they not, in receiving tlieir pay from tlie mine Y—Y^es, always in all the t!ornish mines. 8817. I mean that they would have to wait for two months before they got anything ?—Yes, except as a favour. 8818. In those cases, is it your belief tliat they give for subsist more than 11 a month to the tutwork men ? —I do not know ; we give 2/.. to the tributers and 3L to the tutwork men, but no subsist at all for a month, except a man asks for it as a favour, and then we do. 8819. Suppose a man does not receive any pay for two months, he must necessarily begiji ))y getting into debt ^ —Yes. Capt. JosKrii ViviAX, Nortli Rroskcar. 9084'. [CUau-iiMU.) But that is the consequence?— Yes ; very often a great many get in debt to the small shops -who ought not to do so; they are living faster than their means will allow, and foster than thej' have occasion to do. Capt. John Micuell. 10.093. {Chairman.) So that if a man goes fresh to a mine, and does not get any money for two months, he must go the shop to a certain extent?—He comes from another mine. 10.094. But sn])pose that he is out of work ?—Then he must have subsist. AVhere a man is in debt he cannot find fault with weight or anything. Geokge Smith, Esq., LL.D. 10.287. {Chairman.} Do you think that a large number of the miners are in debt to the small shop- keepers ?—That is most certainly the curse of the popu- lation. 10.288. Does that arise in any degree from their always being a month's pay in hand ?—I am afraid it does. 10.289. You think that a more frequent payment would be an advantage ?—I think that a more frequent payment would be very beneficial. 3 DEDUCTIONS. (A.)—PACKMEN. (G. //.) PacA- Capt. Joseph Vivian, North Eoskear. 9085. [ChairmaM.) Do you think that the packmen induce the families of miners to get into debt?—Yes, and other people to. 9086. You think that the packmen going amongst the miners' families are a great evil ?—I should suppose that they ma}- be, but I think that they keep the shop- keepers in check, for they sometimes sell things a little below ; they have no establishment to keep up. 9087. {Mr. St.'Anhyn.) But thev give credit ?—They do. ' • ^ Geokge S.mith, Esq., LL.D. 10.290. (Chairman.) Do the miners'families get into debt through the temptations afforded them by travel- ling packmen ?—Yes. 10.291. Has any means ever occurred to you of putting a stop to that to any extent ?—No, I do not know what could be done in a legislative way to pre- vent it. These men certainly inflict serious injury upon the comforts and the morals of the people. They go round with their packs, and they exhibit their finery, and coax the women to take it, and tell them that they may pay 6('. a month or Is. a month, or anything of that sort, and when once the goods are received they have them entirely under their power, and summon them by a dozen at a time to the County Court. 10.292. Arc the parents responsible for the debts in- curred by their children to these packmen ?—The debts aie generally incurred by the jDarents, or with , their knowlege. 10,29:5. {Mr. Holland.) By the wife?—By the wife generally. 10.291. (Chairman.) Do all these packmen pay li- cence ?—^Yes ; a hawker's licence. f;.)_CONDlTION OF MINEES. Capt. T. Eichards. 8902. {Mr. IMJand.) You do not mean that there (G. !.) Conrfi- should be any deficiency of food ?—No ; I think that if Hon of Miners. our men had better wages generally—of covtrse some men are provident aud some are improvident—but it is surprising as to food ; we find some very good men taking very little animal food. In the Lelant Hills, high country, especially there is a great deal of gruel and vegetable food, and not much animal food. In the western district, from St. Ives to the Land's End for instance, or St. Just, they are men who do not eat much animal food; they take more gruel and vege- tables, and they are strong men. 8903. Do they eat much wheaten bread ?—Yes. 8901. Is it wheaten flour ?—Yes, if ever so little. 8905. {Chairmnn.} Do they get milk?—Yes, very often in those country places. Mr. Joseph Matthews. 18.904. {Mr. Kendall.) Do you know much about the condition of the miners on the surface, their mode of living, and so on ? Do you visit them much ?—I see them and know their gettings. The general getting is about 2.S. 4d. or 2s. 6d. a day. 18.905. Is the condition of the miners better now than when you first knew them ?—Very much better. 18.906. Taking them as a body of men, are they more careful than they used to be ?—I think so, very much. 18.907. More temperate ?—More temperate. (H.)-JOINT STOCK COMPANIES. Mr. Chkistopher Childs. 3134. {Chairman.) In some of these mines, I suppose there are a very large number of adventurers ?—I am sorry to say that the practice obtains now of dividing the shares into a greater number; some people hold the opinion that it is an advantage for persons having small means to be able to invest their money in what they call good dividend-paying mines; but I believe myself that it is increasing the evils which are found to exist in this country by so dividing the responsi- bilities, and by such a constant change of shares from hand to hand, that there is almost an inability in certain (H.) Joint mines to fix who the adventurers are. Stock Com- panies. Mr. Richard Quiller Couch. 6557. {Chairman.) Have you found any difPerence on proper representations being made, in the attention that is paid to them ?—Yes ; I think that those persons who are hondfide miners take more care of the health of the miners than persons who are in to-day and out to-morrow. N3](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b2398482x_0103.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
