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
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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![10 June 1910.] Mr. M. Delevingne. [Continued. up rather more than a man who was not. Can it be said that metalliferous miners do not lay up on occasions when they might, for fear of losing their pay ?—That may he an explanation. A large number of coal miners are in miners’ relief funds, but I do not know if that is so in the case of metalliferous miners. 146. That concludes all you have to say on the heading of accidents ?—No, there are one or two points I should like to call attention to. This table which I have prepared classifies the accidents according to cause.* If 1 may briefly give the chief points in the table to the Commission, I should like to. The chief cause of accident, of course, in metalliferous mines, as in coal mines, is falls of ground. Falls account for neai'ly 50 per cent, of the accidents underground during the last decade. 147. That is the same figure as coal mines?—Very much the same. Among shaft accidents the most numerous are those of men falling down, and the figure seems to have some significance in coimection with the mode in which metalliferous mines are usually entered, I mean by ladders and in other ways, and not by mechanical means as in coal mines. Among other underground accidents the use of explosives is the most serious cause. I have given the figure for that. Then as to irruptions of water, at one time there was a certain number of accidents due to that cause, and in 1893 there was one very bad accident which caused the loss of 20 lives, but there have been no accidents from that cause for 13 years. Again haulage is not a serious source of danger in metalliferous mines as it is in coal mines. The average has all through been very small indeed. For instance, I have them here classified into three causes. There are no accidents due to the breaking of ropes or chains. The averages, during four periods, of accidents caused by persons being run over or crushed by trams or tubs are -6, -4, ' 2, -7, and the other haulage accidents are '3, -5, '6, 3. It is a very- small matter compared with other causes. 148. (Mr. Greaves.) How do you classify haulage and winding ? Where a mine is approached by an incline is that haulage or is that a shaft ?—It would depend upon the angle of inclination. If it was almost level I think that would be haulage; if an angle of 45 they would probably classify it as a shaft, but there is no hard and fast line laid down by the Act. Then elec- tricity accounts for no accidents at all, either below or above ground. We have only heard of one or two cases in which the use of electricity has been introduced. Among the surface accidents the use of machinery and the movement of wagons and locomotives on sidings are the chief causes of accident. I think those are the chief points to be noted on that table. 149. What have you got to say with regard to the health question ?—I have referred to the Report on the Health of the Cornish Miners. 150. You mean Mr. Martin's Report?—The Report of Dr. Haldane, Mr. Thomas, and Mr. Martin. As regards other classes of metalliferous mines. I may per- haps refer the Commission to the recent Report by Dr. Tatham, which has been issued by the Registrar- General’s Office as a supplement to the Registrar- General's reports, in which he takes the different classes of metalliferous mining and discusses their liability to disease. In the case of lead miners he says, “ They “ appear to suffer inordinately from phthisis and “ respiratory diseases.” I shonld perhaps call your attention to a paper which Sir Thomas Oliver read a little while ago on the subject of the incidence of disease among lead miners. The Home Office’s attention was called to it at the time, and I think the Secretary of State desired that this should be brought to the notice of the Commission. I will hand it in to the Secretary for the information of the Commission. 151. (Mr. Letvney.) Could you give any figures relative to the death rate, say, 40 years ago com- pared with what it is to-day or in recent years ?—Do you mean from disease. 152. Before the introduction of the rock drill and the present class of explosives from that particular disease?—The information will be probably in these reports of the Registrar-General. They go back for a long period of years, and comparative figures could be got out. (Dr. Haldane.) There are some figm-es in the Cornish mines report. They are given for 50 years back. We do not give the figures for the lead mines. 153. (Mr. Lewney.) The same thing applies to the lead mines ?—-I think the information is available. They are not Home Office figures, they are the Registrar- General’s figures, based on the Census figures. The Home Office gets no general returns of disease amongst miners. We are collecting a few special returns in the case of Cornish miners. As regards ironstone miners, the death rate from lung disease is comparatively low; the mortality figure, taking 100 as the normal figure for occupied males generally, in the case of tin miners is 419; in the case of lead miners 155 ; in the case of coal miners 111; in the case of ironstone miners only 79. It is very much below the average even of occupied males generally throughout the country. 154. (Mr. Greaves.) Have you the figure for the slate mines ?—Figm'es are not given for the slate mines. 155. (Mr. Lewney.) My question related more par- ticularly to lead mines. I admit the iron mines are the most healthy of the lot ?—I think we can get the information. It is right to say that in recent years the number of persons employed in lead mines is so small that the figures have to be used with caution. This is the last decennial supplement. 156-7. (Dr. Haldane.) Those are the comparative mortality figm'es you are quoting. These are based on the mortality within a certain age. I think they are between the ages of 20 and 40 or 50 ?—No, from 25 to 65. 158-60. (Dr. Haldane.) These comparative mortality figures are a little bit misleading, because he does not count the mortality after a certain age, and from all these dust diseases the worst of it comes towards the end. The older a man gets the worse the effects become ?—They give the general indication. They show that there is an excess of incidence among lead and tin miners. 161. (Chairman.) I think that ends what you have to say about the health business ?—I have no more general remarks to make, but there are certain things which I will suggest later on. 162. The Royal Commission on Mines has dealt with the following subjects: Special Rules, ankylo- stomiasis, the administration of the Act and discipline in mines, the investigation of accidents, the use of explosives, and surveying and plans ?—Yes, and very largely the recommendations of the Royal Commission in regard to coal mines would apply to metalliferous mines. 163. Now will you go through any points that occur to you as desirable for the Commission to consider ?— The Home Office has had for a number of years certain questions in relation to the amendment^ of the Metalli- ferous Mines Act under consideration, and I think perhaps it would be useful if I put before the Commis- sion the points which the Home Office has considered, and suggest that they should engage the Commission’s attention in their inquiry. I have them in no special order. The first point is the exemption which metalliferous mines employing 12 persons only or less are entitled to under the Act. For example, section 12 of the Metalliferous Mines Act, which requires notice of opening of mines and notice of abandonment of a mine to be given to the mines inspector, does not apply to any mine in which 12 persons or less are ordinarily employed below the ground. It seems very important that, the inspector should have notice of every mine which is opened or abandoned, whatever the number employed. 164. That would be so in coal mines ?—Yes. 165. There is no such limitation?—No. Then, Section 14, which requires plans of abandoned mines to be sent to the Home Office, does not apply in the case of mines employing 12 persons or less below ground. It seems important that the Home Office should have plans of all abandoned mines. Section 19, which requires plans](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b28038538_0015.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
