§ MR. MACDONALDasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, If his attention has been called to a paragraph in the "Colliery Guardian," of date May the 26th, which gives a brief account of a coroner's inquest which was held on the 16th of May, in respect to the death of one Francis Bohan, who was injured in the Moss Pit, near Wigan, on the 1st of April, and died on the 11th of that month; if he has seen it is there stated by Mr. Hedley, Her Majesty's Inspector of Mines for that district, that—
when he visited the place he found the ventilation very weak, and that the edge of the gob showed a good deal of gas,and to which he subsequently added—If people would continue to use gunpowder near gobs full of gas they might be pretty sure to have accidents;and, if in the circumstances he had directed that a prosecution should take place against the person who designates himself the owner of the mine for having had the mine at that date in a state "reasonably calculated to endanger the lives" of those that were employed in it? Also, if his attention has been called to an inquest touching the death of one William Radford, who, with five others, was injured by an explosion in the Bryn Hall Colliery, Wigan, on the second of May; if he has been informed by the inspector of the district, Mr. Hall, that the owners, or others for whom they ought to be responsible, so changed the condition of the mine that he the inspector was unable to tell how 1761 the explosion had occurred; and, whether he is about to order, or has ordered, proceedings to be taken against the owners of the mine for placing it beyond the power of the inspector to tell the cause of the disaster?
MR. ASSHETON CROSS,in reply, said, that the accident occurred at the Moss Pit mine, near Wigan, on Saturday, the 1st of April, and the manager's report of it reached the Mines Inspector on the following day. The Mines Inspector went and visited the mine on Tuesday, the 14th, having had an engagement which prevented his doing so on the Monday. With the assistant Inspector he then examined the mine, and they both then agreed that the ventilation was inadequate, and that gas was visible at the edge of a gob near which a shot had been fired. One man was injured, who died on the 11th, and an inquest was held, at which the Inspector attended, when, on carefully cross-examining the witnesses, he failed to elicit any evidence as to the gas being present at the time of the accident. The jury returned a verdict of manslaughter against the person who discharged the shot. Previous to the inquiry the Inspector looked on the case as one that would furnish good cause for a prosecution; but the evidence given before the Coroner convinced him that a conviction could not be obtained. Another accident occurred at the Bryn Hall Colliery, Wigan, on the 2nd of May. The manager's report reached the Inspector on the 4th. It was then stated that six men had been slightly injured, and the Inspector inspected the mine on Monday, the 8th. On the 9th one of the injured men died, and an inquest was opened, which was adjourned. At the adjourned inquiry the evidence went to show that the mine was well ventilated and clear of gas, and the verdict of the jury was that neither the foreman nor the workmen were to blame, but they recommended greater precaution in working the mine in future. The Inspector said the result of his inspection of the mine was satisfactory, and he found no gas; but that, unfortunately, through a mistaken estimate of the injuries sustained at the time, and the expectation that no injury would be necessary, the shot hole from which the powder was stated to have been blown out was not left untouched, which would 1762 have afforded definite evidence of the character of the accident. It was a question whether under the Act the mine owner was required to retain the mine in the position in which it was left by the accident until the Inspector had made his visit. The Inspector's opinion was that the circumstances did not seem to warrant the institution of proceedings in that case. It was, however, to be regretted that the Inspector did not put off any other engagement to go and inspect the mine immediately he heard of the accident, and the Home Office had given instructions to insure that that course would be taken in future. He believed that the Inspector did make use of the words—"If people would continue to use gunpowder near gobs full of gas, they might be pretty sure to have accidents."