Appendix B to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. Cap. 151 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines. / Presented to both houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty.

  • Great Britain. Royal Commission on Mines
Date:
1864
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Appendix B to the report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the condition of all mines in Great Britain to which the provisions of the Act 23 & 24 Vict. Cap. 151 do not apply, with reference to the health and safety of persons employed in such mines. / Presented to both houses of Parliament 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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    than the agricultural labourers; and this was assigned by more than one independent observer as the reason why the miners do not suffer, as they might othei-wise be expec- ted to do, from working underground. I thought myself that such of the men as had been onlj' recently taken on at the mines were less healthy looking than tkose v/ho had been some time employed as miners; though this might be due either to the new men suffering from the occupation, or to the old men having improved in health from the more 10 nutritious diet which they got. 4th. Dusf.—Some of the men who had worked in other metal mines before going to the iron mines stated as one reason why they suffered less from wcrlciiig in the latter, was that there was less dust, and that the litttle dust which they breathe is not injurious to them. It is probable there is much truth in this remark. One man whom I met with, who had previously worked at the hsem.atite mines, said that the men swallow the dust, and when they leave working spit red, and that the red spit will be brought 20 up when they have colds, even five or six weeks after they have given uj) v/orkiug underground. The softer kind of ore is also very unctious, and adheres readily to the skin, and the ochery tinge once acquired is long before it can be got rid of. The iron may therefore very ])ossibly enter the system, and being absorbed into the blood, may counteract the blanching effect which is generally ]n'oduced by working in the dark. Certainly the Furness miners have not the ansemic appearance which is so characteristic of the men who work in the tin, copper, and lead mines in 30 all the districts vv'hich I have visited. 5th. Temperature—Wet.—The mines are, as before stated, shallow, and being better ventilated do not become so warm as to interfere with the work of the men. They are, how- ever, so much warmer than the external air that the men complain that they become tendered by working in them. Some of the pits also, and especially those which are old, and the lower workings or bottoms of most mines, are often more or less damp and sometimes very wet. It will be seen that both Mr. Hall and Mr. Cranke ascribe the colds 40 and rheumatic affections to which the men are liable to the operation of these causes. 6th. The miners usually enter and leave the mines by laddei's or sties, as they are locally termed ; but the mines arc not so deep as to make the exertion of ascending and descending any serious laboiu', and I met with only one man who stated that the ladders tried him, and he was 57 years of age, had been a miner at intervals for 22 years, and was still working underground. It would be premature to pronounce definitively as to the 50 effect of the iron mining upon the health of the men em- ployed in the vv'ork. The mines have not as yet been in full work for a suiScient length of time for any large number of workmen to be brought up as miners. The mines have been chiefly opened within the last 25 years, and there were few men of those whom I examined who had been at work over 20 years; and of those some had not constantly worked as miners. Indeed, the period of work of the 67 men who had been entirely employed in the iron mines averaged only 11 7 years, and the extreme periods of 60 work were 30 and 28 years, and ] and 2. The mean age of the men will also be seen to be .']6 ■ 4 years, and the extreme ages 56 and 57, and 20 and 21. It is evident, therefore, that but few of the men have been employed in the mines so long as fully to test the effects of the work, and that they have not generally reached the age at which the miners become ordinarily seriously affected in health and strength. It may, however, safely be concluded, that if the occupation were materially injurious to them, the men would already show signs of failing power and impaired 70 constitutions. It is possible that the mines, though now so well venti- lated, may become hereafter less so. At present they are only shallow, but in some situations the extreme depths of the deposits of ore have not been reached, and it m.ay be necessary to sink much deeper shafts. If so, the facility of ventilation may be lessened, and the character of the air in the lower workings may become defective. Notes TAKE^' in Furness. Mr. Hall, Surgeon, Dalton in Furness. 80 March 26, 1864. There are not at present many ailing miners in the dis- trict. Those who have recently been ill have suffered from colds and dyspeptic symptoms, and from scarlet fever, which has been prevalent. The miners do not suffer par- ticularly from any form of disease, and are upon the whole as healthy as the agricultural labourers, or any other set of workmen. They complain a little sometimes of working in bad air, and then suffer at the stomach, but not to any serious extent. They have sometimes to work in wet place<? the water dripping down upon them, and often ankle deep 90 in water, and under these circumstances have colds and rheumatic complaints. For the most part, the men have only been employed at the mines for a few years, and after they v/ere grown up, and had been previously employed in agricultural pursuits. Some few of them may have been at the work all their lives; but they also do not appear to suffer more than men who v/ork in the open air, and they are not particular subject to In'onchitic or asthmatic affections. The miners are usually well paid. Most of them work 100 at piece work, and may get from a povmd to 25s. per week. Others work at the surface on regular wages, and they earn about 18s. They live well, usually having fresh meat several days in the week, with milk porridge, potatoes, bread and cheese, and bacon ; and many keep a pig. The cottages inhabited by the miners are generally good. The are built in rows, of rough limestone, and are slated. They usually contain four rooms, and are properly under- drained, and provided with dusthole, privy, coalhole, &c. Many of the cottages have small pieces of garden ground 110 attached to them, but others have none, though many of the miners rent allotments. The cottages are usuallj^ in- habited by only one family, but some have two. Some of the older cottages consist of only tvv o rooms, and are very defective. The rent paid varies according to the situation and accommodation from 2s. per week, to 2s. 3d., 2s. 9d., and 3s., paid monthly. The men are generally in clubs, from which they receive medical and pecuniary relief in cases of sickness ; and in cases of injury the proprietors generally provide medical 120 attendance. In some of the mines there are clvibs to which the men subscribe, and from which they receive 8s. or lOs. per week in cases of accident. Medical relief is only pro- vided, however, in cases of accident; except at the Lindale Moor Mine, where a medical man is regularly engaged. There are large newly erected National Schools at Dalton, which are partly supported by an endowment formerly devoted to the maintenance of a grammar school, partly by the proprietors, and partly by the children's jDence. Some of the mine masters stop a portion of the workmen's wages 130 for the support of the schools. There are also other Na- tional Schools in the parish, at Lindale, Ireleth, and New- barns, recently built. Iron mining has been carried on in the Furness district for many years, but it is only within the last 25 to 35 years that it has become important. When Mr. Hall first knew it, about 35 years ago, the only mine in work was that at Lindale Moor, and it only employed from 40 to 50 men, and often fewer. Now there are 400 to 500 men at work there. Mr. Rawlinson's mine, at Butts Beck, was the next 140 opened ; and that gentleman and other mine masters have opened others all around, employing a large number of men. Mr. George Simpson, the Relieving Officer for the Balton district, confirmed the report of the state of the miners given by Mr. Hall. He said that the miners were as healthy as the rest of the population, and he was not aware that there were any particular ailments to v.'hich they were liable from working underground. Both he and Mr. Hall said that they were generally a steady set of men, though 150 some occasionally took too much ale. Many of them smoke a great deal. Mr. Cranke, Surgeon, Ulverstone. Letter dated April 2, 1864. I have been employed by the Lindale Moor Company for some years to attend their workmen ; and from the experience I have had I conceive their men to be as healthy as the agricultural labourers, except that they suffer more from rheumatism in its different forms, and from chest affections; that is to say, common colds, bronchitis, and 160 pneumonia. These, however, might be obviated by the use of woollen shirts during work, and change of clothing im- mediately afterwards. The men do not suffer, in conse- quence of their employment, from asthma and consumption. They are not subjected to the breathing of bad air to any great extent; but the mines are somietimes very wet. There is no dust. I am paid by the Company; and in case of sickness and accident a weekly allowance is granted to the sufferer from a fund in connexion with the mine. Captain Hoskins, Park Mines, Dalton in Furness. 170 Vv^ent to M'ork underground in .Cornwall when only 11 years of age, and worked as a miner for 13 or 14 years. He worked at AVheal Caroline, in the Marazion district, and at East Crofty and at Carn Brea Mines. He never worked
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