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.

    518/526 (page 459)
    It will be readily seen that the gig in descending would often be acted upon by the spring, especially as it is allowed to run down by its own weight, and so fre- quently stopped. To obviate this a second part of the catch, called the break, was introduced. By the side of tlie gig, by tlie back seat, was an upright handle, which was in fact the long arm of a straight lc\-er. Attached to the short wm was a moveable rod rimning along the bottom of gig, and attaclied to the end of the spiral spring. By means of this contrivance the spring could be per- manently held in a state of tension, and its action upon the safety catch be prevented, the handle of tiie lever moving in a rack, and under the control of the person sitting by it. It appears that it is the custom for this break to be always apjjlicd to the spring, even when the men are ascending, and for the man riding next to the handle to hold it in his hand, so as to be ready to release it in case of emergency. The men are accustomed to assemble at the 1 CiO fathom level, and to ride from these. The rails were not laid below the 190, although the shaft is somewhat deeper. At this part some stout timbers are laid across the shaft, allowing only a clear height of 2 feet!) inches. On Saturday last, the men were coming up as usual, when one of the links of the chain o()ened, causing of course a severance. This occurred when the gig was about 100 fathoms from the bottom. The gig descended at a great velocity, dragging with it the broken chain. The spring could not exert its power, as the break was on it. The breaksman had not the jiresence of mind to take it off, and the gig, in running under the timbers at the 190 at so great a \'elocity, dashed each man successively against them, and killed every one upon the spot. The inquest was held at the account-house of the mine, adjourned to that place from an adjoining inn, on Tuesday the 21st instant. The adventurers were re])resented by Messrs. Davis and Borlase, solicitors of Penzance, and they had secured the services of Messrs. Brerton engineer, to the Cornwall Railway, Sherrifif from the railway engineering oflBce, and Mathews, town surveyor of Penzance. The friends of the deceased were not represented. From the shorthand writer's notes, you will see that the inquiry was directed to the working of the safety apparatus of the gig ; and after an inquiry lasting an hour and a half a verdict of Accidental death was recorded. The ques- tion of the quality of the chain, and its breaking strain, was not gone into. The agents reported the chain as being capable of bearing a strain of 4\ tons. This was high, even for a new chain; and as the chain has broken on several occasions, and has never been through the fire since its breakage, it quality must have deteriorated. The use of chains in drawing in shafts with a regular underlay is far from satisfactory. Wire ropes are cheaper and much safer. Accident in Botallack Mine. Nine lives lost. On Tuesday, the 21st of April 1863, an inquest was held at Botallack, in the parish of Saint Just, in Penwith, by William Hichens, Esq., of Saint Ives, a county coroner, concerning the deaths of nine persons, men and lads, in the Boscawen diagonal shaft of Botallack Mine, in the afternoon of Saturday, the 18th of April. The men and lads were ascending from their work in a tram-waggon attached to a chain, and drawn by steam-power at the surface ; and when approaching the upper part of the shaft, the chain, a single-link one, broke, and the breaks beneath the waggon failing to clip the rails, the waggon descended with a rapidity estimated as equal to 100 miles an hour, and all its occupants were instantaneously killed. The names of the deceased were:— John Chappie, senior aged 50 John Chappie, junior - ?s 20 Michael Nicholas 9) 41 Thomas Wall >> 50 Richard Wall - 9S 20 Peter Eddy - 55 16 John Eddy - 55 16 Thomas Nankervis 55 17 Richard Williams Nankervis 55 10 They lived in the village of Botallack and its neigh- bourhood ; and Chappie, senior, Nicholas, and Thomas Wall have left widows mth large families. The inquest was opened at half-past 11 o'clock, at the house of James Bolitho, the Queen's Arms Inn, in the 3 village of Botallack; and the following were sworn on the jury : — Rev. George Hadow, vicar of St, Just, foreman, Mr. John Bennett, „ James Akermann, „ George ChenhaUs, ,, Jolin Letham, „ John Wallis, „ James Bennetts, „ William Hodge Saundry, „ Nathan White, „ William Williams, „ James Bolitho, „ William Trehair. After having been sworn, the jury and the coroner pro- ceeded to view the bodies of the deceased at their several residences; and having performed this duty, at twenty minutes to 2 o'clock the sitting was resumed' in the large room of the account-house on the mine. Mr. Rowland Davies and Mr. Walter Borlase, soHcitors of Penzance, attended professionally on behalf of the ad- venturers. The jurors answered to their names, and in reply to a question from the coroner, said they had all seen all the bodies of the deceased. Mr. Rowland Davies, addressing the coroner, said : I ask permissiim, Mr. Coroner, to attend on behalf of the mine, but more for the purpose of giving information than with any other object in A'iew. The Coroner rephed : There can be no objection. I always consider mine an ojien court; and although I do not allow interruptions from professional men, I shall be glad to receive all information possible. The Coroner then, addressing the jury, said: This sad case of accident you are all aware of. The object of the present inquiry is to ascertain, in the first place, how the parties came to their death ; and in the next place, if any blame attaches to any persons whatever. If you should think there is blame in any quarter, it will be your duty to sift the case to the bottom, to ascertain where the blame lies, or whether there may have been such neligence on the part of some persons connected with the mine as possibly to have been the cause of death. If so, you will say as much, and the parties will have to answer else- where for their ofiFence. I hojie, however, that that will not turn out to be the case; I believe there is no reason to expect it. Any reports you may have heard you are bound to dismiss from your minds, except so far as they may be used as means for ascertaining the true facts of the case. If such rumours lead you to inquire more closely into the fagts, so much the better. But you must not allow them to operate on your minds either for or against any jiarties supposed to be implicated. We will now proceed to hear evidence. Thomas Nankervis, sworn. (Coroner.) Your name is Thomas Nankervis ? (Witness.) Yes, sir. You are a miner ?—Yes, sir. What parish do you live in ?—Saint Just. You work in Botallack Mine?—Yes, sir. And that is in Saint Just, I believe ?—Yes, sir. W^ere you at your labour there on Saturday last?—Yes, sir. At what part of the mine ? Any particular level ?—At the 160 level. Did you see any of these parties, Thomas Wall, Richard Wall, John Chappie, the elder, John Chappie, the younger, Michael Nicholas, Peter Eddy, John Eddy, Thomas Nan- kervis, and Richard William Nankervis ?—Yes, sir. They were all at the mine ?—Yes, sir. At the 160 fathom level?—Yes, sir. Did they leave to go up before you ?—Yes, sir. Leaving you there?—Yes, sir. All of them ?—Yes, all of them. For the purpose of going up to the surface?—Yes, sir. Having left their work for the day, I suppose ?—Yes, sir. At what particular part did they leave you ?—They got into the tram at the 160. You saw them get into the tram ?—Yes, sir. Was yom' brother one of the deceased parties?—Yes, sir. You put your brother on the waggon ?—Yes, sir. What is your brother's name ?—Richard Williams Nan- kervis. You saw the tram start ?—Yes. Did you see anything more of them?—No, sir; nothing more till I saw them all dead. Where did you see them all dead?—At the 190. Did you see them pass you, or any thing of that SOrt?-» I saw Si fire, as if a chain was passing by.