§ At all parts of a mine where timber grease or other inflammable material is stored, and at all insets where timber is used for the construction of the staging, and at the pit head, and in every steam engine room and boiler gallery in the construction of which timber is used, means of extinguishing fire shall be provided.
§ (2) In any mine, being a mine newly opened after the passing of this Act, and in which the total number of persons employed below ground exceeds thirty, no inflammable material likely to cause danger from fire to the persons employed below ground shall be used in the construction of the pit head frame or of the roof, if any, over the pit head.
§ (3) No inflammable material likely to cause danger from fire to the persons employed below ground shall be used after the passing of this Act in the construction of any engine house below ground.
§ Mr. HARMOOD-BANNERI beg to move, in Sub-section (3), to leave out the word "passing" ["the passing of this Act"], and to insert instead thereof the words "coming into operation."
Further time is required to enable mine-owners to purchase the materials. They will only have a very short time if the Sub-section reads "after the passing of this Act."
§ Viscount CASTLEREAGHI beg to second the Amendment.
§ Mr. MASTERMANI really do not think there is a case for this. We cannot do impossibilities, and we cannot ask anybody to do impossibilities. The request that no inflammable material likely to cause danger from fire to the persons employed below ground shall be used after the passing of this Act, is a request which I think should immedately be put into operation. It is quite different from structural alterations. So long as it is being arranged that no inflammable material should be used that will be taken as complying with the Act. There could be no prosecution for an impossibility, otherwise we want to see it carried out as soon as possible.
§ Question, "That the word proposed to be left out stand part of the Clause," put, and agreed to.