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

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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$for any length of time in any i)lace where the air was very bad and did not suffer at all from it. He has been at work at the Furness Mines for the last 25 years. He con- siders these mines to be far better for the men than the Cornish mines. The mines are a mere nothing in depth compared with those in Cornwall, and although the miners inhale a small portion of dust from working in iron ore, it is not injurious to the constitution. In Cornwall the boys go to work much too early. They should not go before 10 they are 18. When they go as early as they often do it is not giving them fair play, for though they say the boys only do boy's work, it is harder work for them than men's work. They must not, however, go to work too late, or they will never make good miners. Many of the men em- l)loyed here, who have been farm labourers before, were too old for miners. In Cornwall they would be worth almost nothing. But if the boys go at 18 they are generally strong enough for the work, and are quite capable of becoming good miners. 20 The strata which the shafts have to be sunk through to reach the iron ore consist of clay and gravel, which is provincially termed pindle. The ore is reached by shafts, which vary from G feet 6 inches by 5 feet wide to 14 feet by 8 feet wide. Vertical shafts are sunk so as to be within about 100 yards of each other. The drifts are run at various depths from 20 yards to 100 yards, and they are made 7 feet square. The shafts are of various depths, but they all communicate to the 80 yards level, and the deepest or drainage shaft is 120 yards deep. The men use ladders 30 for access and egress. The chief part of the ore is so soft as to be worked with the pick, and there is very little kidney ore at Dalton. When reached it is all taken away, and the roof is suj)- ported by wood, larch wood being preferred for the purpose ; the crush is, however, very great, so that the wood is en- tirely crushed, and the ground settles. In some places the surface has sunk 30 feet in consequence. The whole space occupied by the mine is about three acres. The mines are generally dry, and there is not much dust. 40 Occasionally, l)ut not often, ia certain states of atmosphere, the air in the shafts stagnates, and cannot be got to move, and candles will not 1-urn, and the men cannot \\ork. When this is the case they let down a fire pan filled with v. ood, which is burning briskly, by a chain into a shaft, and move it up and down, and this ci-eatcs an up-cast cur- rent. If the air was very bad the fire would not burn, but he never remembers an instance of its not burning. In addition to this it is sometimes necessary to force the cur- rent on by throwing a stream of water by the engine which 50 works the pumps for draining the mines, for an hour or two in a day, according to the state of the weather. There are two changing houses or drys at the Parks mine. These are provided with a supply of hot and cold water, and tubs for washing, with frames for hanging up the clothes used in the mine to diy. No women or children are employed at the surface, as the ore does not require any picking, and is sent as raised to the furnaces. There is a fund in connection witli the mine, which is CO formed by each man contributing 4hd. per week. From this fund the miners receive 10s. per week in cases of sick- ness and accident, and all expenses of medical attendance, &c. in cases of accident. Captain Hoskins's brother is also employed at Parks mine. He began to work underground in Cornwall when 12 years old, and worked at the Pen, Bertha, Croft, Wheal Neptune, Marazion, and Cam Brea mines. He has worked in bad air, and thinks if he had stayed in Cornwall he could not have lived till now, but would have died of what 70 they call the miners' consumption. He has now been in Furness for 16 years, and thinks the iron mines more healthy than the mines in Cornwall, and he considers this to be from the Furness mines not being so deep and more free from sulphur and powder smoke. Statements of ailing and aged Miners, &c. No. 1. Aged 53. Daiton in Furness. March 26, 1864. Went to work at the ironstone mines 16 or 17 years ago (or at the age of 36 or 37). He has worked at Mr. Ken- 80 nedy's mines at Roanhead for the last 15 years, and at depths varying from 30 to 50, 60, and 80 yards. The men are let down and drawn up in cages drawn by an engine. The shafts vary in size; some are single, and are about 4 feet 6 inches by 6 feet; others are double, or from 65 by 7 feet. The roads or drifts in the pit are about 7 feet high and 8 broad. When they get to the ore they take it all away, and prop up the roof with wood. There are several shafts coming to the surface. Generally the air is good, but sometimes there may be a little bad air in places. The smoke is away in a moment, buir in some mines it may 9 lig in for an hour or two, but not when there are several engines at work. Some of the men go to work at 3 a.m. and leave at 12, and then^ another batch goes down at 12 and comes up at 8 p.m. They do not often have parties working at night, and only under particular circumstances. The mines re- quire to be pumped, but when the men work it is quite dry. There is not much stour or dust in the mines. Some of the men who work at the surface of the mines liave regular wages, and earn about 18s. per week. Those lOO who work below are on piecework, and get about 20s., 21s., or 22s. a week, and sometimes more. They generally live well. He has cake or bread and cheese and tea at break- fast, and he takes tea with him to the pit. At dinner he gets fresh butcher's meat almost every day, or at least two or three times a week, with potatoes. In the evening he has potatoes and bread, and sometimes bread and milk. Occasionally he has a pint of beer, very rarely any spirit. He smokes about 3 oz. weekly. He has had to work sometimes for a few days in bad air, 110 but never in very Imd. and that was when he first started, and not since he has been at Roanhead. The bad air is shown by the candles not burning well; the flame gets small, and sometimes the candle goes out, and then thev have to leave work. The bad air makes a body dizzy, and just as if he was drunk and weak, and oil of a tremble m the hmbs, and takes away his appetite, and makes him sick whiles. It does not cause pain in the stomach or affect their bowels. He has never suffered in the chest particularly, and his 120 l>reath is good, and he has never anything the matter with his stomach. The dust has sometimes affected his breath- ing. He is still working underground. He is small, has a stooping gait, and is spare and sallow, but is healthy looking for his age. » No. 2. Aged 72. Dalton in Furness. March 26, 1864. Worked as a farm labourer till he was 23 years of age, and has been a miner for 30 years, but has not been con- stantly at work at the mines, lieing occasionally off for a ]^-,q year or two when trade was not brisk. He has worked for 11 years at Elliscales for Mr. Ashburner, and for 5 years for Mr. Rawlinson, and before that at Lindale Moor, but he was off occasionally, and cannot say how long he worked there. The air is very good in cold weather, but sometimes it is bad in close muggy weather, and the wind affects the air in some mines; in his, the air is bad when there is an east wind. When the draught is good the smoke clears away rapidly, but if not you are almost poisoned by it. Some- j^q times he has worked when the air was very bad, and when the candles went out, and then he became weak and all of a totter, yoiu' limbs would not carry you, and the sweat stands upon the face as big as peas, but they had then been in long enough and had to come out. The last time he was in air as bad as this was two or three years ago, but generally the bad air goes off in a few hours. He had to give up working in the bottom, it affected his wind, and he now works at top when the air is good. He believes it is stiU the same way if there are not proper roads and air ] r q vents. They are ill plagued till they get a road, and it may be for a month or si.x weeks. Sometimes they work both ways and try to meet it. He gets the same wages as other miners, about a pound a week, and lives well. At breakfast he gets bread and butter, and takes coffee to the pit with him; for his dinner he has meat, fresh or salt, and at night he takes milk por- ridge. He has taken a good many pints of ale in his time, but little or no spirits, and he smokes. He has never had anything particular the matter with him in his life His ■\ qq breath is not good, but may be as good as most men at his age. He has a hard cough and some expectoration. The heart's sounds are flat, but without murmur; the pulse is feeble; tongue furred ; appetite middling, and the food he eats agrees with him; the bowels are regular. He is still in regular work underground, and is hale and strong for his age. No. 3. Aged 73. Dalton. March 26, 1864, Has worked regularly at the ironstone mines for 14 years, and was employed at farm labour before. He first worked at Parke mine, and then went to Mr. Ken- D$

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