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
Catalogue details

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.

    297/302 (page 297)
    Mr. John Pimlott, of the Marston Hall Rock Miaes, examined. 23.087. (Chairman.) Of what mine are you the niiinager ?—The Marston Hall Rock Mines. 23.088. How long have you been employed there ? —12 years. 23.089. How many men are employed in the mine at present underground ?—58 men and boys. 23.090. Is that more or less than you have had before ?—It is about the average. We sometimes have a few more and sometimes less. 23.091. How many tons of salt by the year do you turn out ?—About 30,000. 23.092. How do the men go down to their Avork ? —They descend in buckets. 23.093. And how many go down in a bucket at once ?— Sometimes there will go down three and sometimes four. 23.094. Is that the outside that the bucket will hold ?—It will hold more ; but we do not allow more, excepting a boy sometimes. 23.095. Are they lowered by means of a rope ?— Yes. And steam engine ?—Yes. Does the same bucket bring up the salt ? 23,096 23,097 —Yes. 23,098 the salt into the buckets brought up, loose or in and the buckets How is l)ags ?—It is filled are brought up. 23.099. How many hours do the men work ? — Eight hours, that is, the men who work by the day. Those that are by the jiiece work sometimes four, sometimes five, sometimes ten. 23.100. How is the work let ?—We let it off to four under me. 23.101. What are they called? —We call them drifr-men. 23.102. And they employ the men ?—They employ the men. 23.103. And pay them ?—Yes. 23.104. What wages do they allow them ?—If a man is a qualified rock-getter who can do what we consider a day's work, we pay him 3s. 6c?. a pay, and so, from 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6c?. 23.105. What do you mean by qualified?—Well, there are some men who can do more Avork than others. There are very few who, if they do not go into the mine when boys, are capable of making qualified rock-getters ; taking all the branches. 23.106. By that do you mean expei'ience in blasting ?—Yes ; a man that we call a qualified rock- getter will do as much work again as others will. 23.107. How much would you say a man could take out in a day ?—That would depend upon what part of the work he is working. In some parls not more than a ton and a half in a day : and in others, what we call under-work he will get 10 tons in a day. 23.108. Is that owing to the softness of the ma- terial, or the position he is working ?—It is the position he is working. In some positions, when blasting, he will not bring away many hundred- weights, whilst in others he will remove four or five tons. 23.109. What quantity of powder should you say you use in the course of twelve mouths ?—About 10 tons. 23.110. Have you any accidents from the use of powder ?—We have never had but one since we commenced, and that was but a slight thing, a mere notliiug, and through carelessnes. 23.111. Any accidents from lowering the men down ?—Not one, since the commencement. 23.112. How long is it since the commencement of the mine ?-='We commenced sinking in 1851, but it was in 1852 Avhen we commenced lifting the rock. 23.113. Have you been employed since the com- mencement ?—Yes. 23.114. Have you many boys working ?—Seven. 23.115. At what age do they begin to work ?—At 12 or 13 years of age. 23.116. And what should you say is the age of the oldest man who is working ?—About 65 is the oldest that we have now. We have one that has retired from work that is in litis eighty-fourth year. 23.117. Have these men been working with you from the commencement, many of them ?—Most of them. 23.118. How many shafts have you?—Two for the Rock mine. We have another for the water that is collected. 23.119. What is that water?—From every shaft there is a little surface water ; and we have a shaft sunk on purpose to collect it from round the other shafts to prevent its going down the mine. 23.120. How is that got rid of?—It is pumjied up by a steam engine. 23.121. What is the depth of your mine ?—315 feet. 23.122. When you opened the mine, did you sink both those shafts ?—Yes. 23.123. In sinking those shafts, had you any difficulty in regard to the air ?—Not at all. While they are sinking the shafts there is air conveyed down. 23.124. HoAv ?—By a pair of large bellows. 23.125. How are they worked ?—They are a large pair of blacksmith's bellows, and worked by a boy. 23.126. How is the air taken down tc where the men are working ?—By tin pipes. 23.127. Of what thickness ?—About two and a half inches. 23.128. Did you ever see any effect on the candles whilst sinking a shaft ?—Not at all. 23.129. Are the shafts not furnished with brattice work or anything ?—No. 23.130. The men working on the bottom, how were they lowered ? — They were lowered by a bucket. 23.131. A bucket worked by hand?—Yes, while the men were down sinking the shaft. 23.132. What extent have you opened up under- ground, should you say ?—About 12 acres. 23.133. What is the temperature in the mines?— I have not ascertained. I could not speak confident- ly. It is much the same both winter and summer. It will feel much warmer now than the atmosphere s on the surface ; and much colder in the summer. 23.134. {3Ir. Kendall.) I suppose your system of working and system of pay is just the same through the mines here ?—Yes. 23.135. In your mines, have you got two beds or seams of rock salt ; what do you call them ?—Seams. We only work one. 23.136. What is the workable depth ; the depth you work at profitably ?—14 feet upon the aver- age. 23.137. Have you ever worked in seams less than that ?—No. 23.138. Have you in any other mine ?—Not that I am aware of. 23.139. Are the pillars the same size in your mine as in others ?—They are larger, I think. 23.140. What are yours?—We are leaving them now 10 yards by 12. 23.141. You have had no falling away, have you ? —No. 23.142. Then why leave them larger now than you did some time ago ?—In some of the mines formerly there has been falling in by taking the pillars away. 23.143. You talked of qualified men just now ; there is no sort of apprenticeship in your mine, is there, amongst the miners ?—No, Sir ; no appren- ticeship. 23.144. What you mean is really thoroughly able- bodied men, skilful men, having been young and well trained up ; that is what you call qualified men ? —Yes. NORTHWICH. Mr. J. Pimlott.