§ MR. CLYNESI beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether his attention has been, called to the inquiry into the causes of the accident at Houldsworth coal pit, in the parish of Dalrymple, whereby two men lost their lives; whether he has received any report on the defects in the machinery, as disclosed in the evidence, and on the fact that the man in charge of the engine had worked thirteen hours when the machinery failed to act properly; and whether he can take any steps to prevent excessive
†See (4) Debates, clv., 330.133 hours of work in the case of such men having the lives of others in their charge.
§ *MR. GLADSTONEYes, Sir. I have received a Report on the proceedings at the inquiry into this accident, which I greatly regret to hear of. I am informed that no defects in the machinery were disclosed at the inquiry. The cause of the accident was not definitely ascertained, but the engineman attributed it to an unavoidable flow of water from the boiler into the engine. As to the hours worked, I understand that the engineman had been thirteen hours on duty during the night, but I am not informed how much of that time he was actually at work. The hours of the shifts is a matter of arrangement among the men—the work at night is usually very much lighter than the work during the day. The question of winding accidents and their causes is now before the Royal Commission on Mining. I have called their attention to this case.