§ The EARL of ST. GERMANSrose to present a petition from Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney, on the subject of the ventilation of coal mines. The noble Earl observed, that he need not dwell upon the interest and importance of the subject. All of their Lordships must be sensible how essential it was to the wealth and the power of this country, as well as to the comfort of its inhabitants, that coal should be obtained with the least possible waste, and at the least possible cost. Neither of these conditions were, however, attained under the present system of colliery management, in consequence, principally, of the frequent explosions which took place from the accumulation of noxious gases; and the question then was, whether there was any mode of preventing the occurrence of these melancholy catastrophes. The petitioner stated that in 1847 there had been 623 persons killed by mine explosions, and 196 seriously wounded; while, in 1848, there had been 191 explosions, in which 446 persons were killed, and 158 disabled for life. To this melancholy list must be added the victims, amounting to between 30 and 40, of a recent explosion in Yorkshire. This subject had already attracted the attention of the Legislature. In 1835, a Committee of the House of Commons had been appointed to inquire into the occurrence of accidents in coal mines, and to devise and consider the remedies best calculated to secure the lives of the 'persons employed in them. This Committee collected a large body of valuable information from the scientific and practical men whom they examined as witnesses; but they did not recommend any specific remedial measure. The petitioner, Mr. Gurney, gave evidence before that Committee, and explained to them a plan by which he proposed to ensure the perfect ventilation of coal mines. The Committee recommended the attentive consideration of those proposals, and expressed a hope that now, as the attention of the public had been called to the matter, some remedial measure would be adopted. No such steps, however, were taken, and matters remained as they were until 1839, when a terrible explosion took place near South Shields, a meeting was held, and a committee of scientific and practical men re- 1329 siding in the neighbourhood was appointed to investigate the whole subject. This committee sat, at different times, for a period of three years, considering and discussing various measures for the prevention and remedy of such disasters. He then held in his hand their report, and a more valuable document, in his opinion, never was published. He would not read it to their Lordships, hut would merely state that it contained a very graphic description of the scenes of misery which one of these terrible catastrophes occasioned. The members of that committee had taken great pains in examining and analysing the different species of gases, and in describing the operation of the choke-damp, the after-damp, and the various other incidents which exposed the miner to greater dangers than any other set of workmen engaged in industrial pursuits. They had also examined the different means employed for the protection of the life of the miner, and described the different safety-lamps which were now used in different mines. They showed that the best lamps were insufficient for the purposes for which they were intended, and in certain conditions of the atmosphere increased rather than diminished the danger. They then proceeded to point out for adoption the plan for the ventilation of mines which Mr. Goldsworthy Gurney had described minutely in his evidence before the Committee of the House of Commons in 1835. The South Shields committee called upon that gentleman for further explanation, which he most readily afforded; and the conclusion that committee arrived at, after full and mature consideration, was, that Mr. Gurney's plan was perfectly efficient for the purposes it professed to accomplish. The noble Lord quoted a passage from the report of the Committee, stating that the plan of ventilating coal mines by high-pressure steam was peculiarly adapted for its purpose, at a small expense, and without interfering with the ordinary working of the mines, while it swept the galleries almost with the violence of a hurricane; but under perfect control, and that it seemed to be one of the most perfect inventions of modern times. Notwithstanding these recommendations, nothing was done till last year, when Sir Henry Delabeche and Dr. Playfair were sent by Government to inquire into the causes of some accidents that had taken place in a coal mine in the north; but the only practical recommendation they made was, that there should be 1330 some improvement in the system of ventilation. Last year, a gentleman connected with the Seaton Delaval Colliery in the north, namely, Mr. Foster, official viewer in that mine, happened to he in London, and, visiting the Polytechnic Institution, he saw some experiments made there with high-pressure steam, which struck him as being applicable to the ventilation of coal mines and buildings. The professor of the Polytechnic Institution referred him to Mr. Gurney, who furnished him with all the necessary information, and Mr. Foster soon afterwards had the necessary apparatus erected in Seaton Delaval. After eighteen months' experience of its results, Mr. Foster published a letter in the Gateshead Observer, in which he stated that the apparatus had performed its work most successfully; but he claimed no credit for its introduction beyond making the first trial, because he had acted upon the instructions of Mr. Gurney throughout, and he hoped that others would adopt the same system. That, their Lordships would observe, was the opinion of a practical man. Mr. Foster spoke of an increase in the ventilation of the mine to the extent of 50 per cent, as contrasted with the ventilation under the old system; and he believed that the ventilation might be increased to an indefinite extent at a very small cost. There was an incidental advantage obtained by this discovery, which he believed its inventor did not contemplate. A mine in the neighbourhood of Manchester was lately discovered to he on fire, which their Lordships all knew was a terrible calamity, not only causing a complete stoppage of labour for the time, but was a cause of groat expense; for at that time there was no mode of extinguishing it but by pumping water in in great quantity, and pumping it out again afterwards. Mr. Darlington, the owner of this coal mine, having heard of the successful experiments of Mr. Foster, wrote to Mr. Gurney to know if he could devise any means for extinguishing the fire. Mr. Gurney proceeded to the spot, and after examining into the subject, expressed no doubt that by the high-pressure application of steam, such a quantity of carbonic acid gas might be driven through the mine as would extinguish the fire. He held in his hand a letter from Mr. Darlington, in which the whole process was described. He would not trouble their Lordships with reading it—suffice it to say, that the experiment was attended with the most perfect and 1331 unqualified success, and that Mr. Darlington ended his letter by saying, that the fire was extinguished at a cost of fewer pence than it would have cost pounds, under the old system, by the introduction of water, and that the mine was now in a perfect condition. So much for the success which had attended the invention of Mr. Gurney. He would not have said another word on the subject if he had not heard that some individuals of high scientific acquirements, having, no doubt, been misled themselves, had represented to Her Majesty's Government that Mr. Gurney was a visionary and an enthusiast. He (the Earl of St. Germans) had known Mr. Gurney for several years, and had the greatest respect for him as a scientific man. He had no doubt he was an enthusiast, for he believed no man had ever made any scientific discovery who was not an enthusiast; but as to his being a visionary, he knew no man who was more rational. Mr. Gurney had been brought up to the medical profession, and being connected with one of the scientific institutions of the metropolis, he was engaged for some time making experiments on gases—especially those gases which were peculiar to coal mines. His experiments satisfied him that there was great insecurity in the use of the present safety-lamps; and that, under certain conditions, they even increased the danger connected with coal mines. He then directed his attention towards the framing of a blowpipe, by which these gases might be consumed, and in the course of his experiments he discovered that light, which was commonly called the Drummond light. He knew that that had been doubted, and he did not wish to go into an argument on the subject; but it would be sufficient to say, that a Committee of the House of Commons, which sat in 1842, reported that Mr. Gurney was now universally acknowledged to be the inventor of the Drummond Light. Mr. Gurney was subsequently employed by the masters of the Trinity House to apply this invention to lighthouses, when he discovered another and still more brilliant light, which, to distinguish it from the Drummond, he named, from the place of his residence in Cornwall, the Bude Light. That light was now-used in the House of Commons, to the satisfaction, he believed, of everybody in the House, and it was attended with a great saving of public money. He mentioned these things to show that Mr. Gur- 1332 ney was not a mere visionary and enthusiast. Mr. Gurney had also been engaged in the study of the nature and properties of steam, and the world was indebted to him for the application of the high-pressure system to the locomotive railway engine, which he communicated to Mr. Stephenson, and which at once raised the velocity of the locomotive from nine miles an hour, which was the speed on the Stockton and Darlington Railway, to thirty miles an hour, 'which was at once attained on the Manchester and Liverpool by the high-pressure system. On these grounds he ventured to request that their Lordships would give the petition their favourable consideration, and to express a hope that Her Majesty's Government would take the matter in hand; for it was a disgrace to the country that accidents should be continually occurring, when there were means existing to prevent them. He ventured to suggest that two or more eminent engineers should be appointed to inquire, not into the general subject, but into the means of cure suggested by Mr. Gurney, and the propriety of its application to coal mines. He was bound to say, that other experiments tried, not by Mr. Gurney, had failed, owing, he believed, to the conditions which Mr. Gurney had prescribed not being complied with, and his instructions not followed out. In particular, low-pressure steam had been used in some instances instead of high-pressure, which was most essential to its success. He ventured, therefore, to hope that Her Majesty's Government would take the matter in hand; and if the inquiry should turn out to be satisfactory, he trusted the Government would, without hesitation, take measures for the compulsory adoption of a system which promised to he as much for the interests of humanity as for the material wealth of the country.
LORD BROUGHAMsaid, this subject was certainly of the very greatest importance, when they saw such frightful accidents constantly taking place, for even since his noble Friend had given notice of his intention to present this petition thirty-three lives had been lost at Hebhurn Colliery, and only one person out of thirty-four had escaped unhurt. When they saw such dreadful calamities happening to such an extent that a statistical calculation could be made of a loss of life taking place on the average of years to the extent of 700 or 800 a year, and the same number maimed—and let him remind their Lordships, that to a poor person, especially in 1333 the condition of a collier, maiming was almost a sentence of starvation—when they saw such fatal accidents happening from fire-damp, and when they saw, further, that it was utterly impossible, after the long experience they had liad, to make the workmen attend to their own safety by using the safety-lamp—when they saw all this, he was sure that nothing need be said to prove the high importance that attached to an inquiry of this description. He wished his noble Friend had moved for a Committee of their Lordships' House, that evidence might be taken upon this subject, though perhaps the course he had adopted would amount to the same thing in the end. If they had a declaration, by competent and official authority, that there was a complete safeguard against the explosion of fire-damp, he would not like to be the mineowner against whom it could be proved that he had not adopted it, if an explosion took place in his mine, and parties were killed; for in addition to the heavy damages that would, no doubt, be given in such a case, his opinion was, that the mine-owner would be criminally responsible for the deaths of these individuals. Without pretending to much knowledge on the subject, he must say, that he differed from his noble Friend on one point—which was not at all material to this question—whether Mr. Gurney was the inventor of the Drum-mond Light. He might be the inventor of the Bude Light; but his lamented friend, the late Mr. Drummond, had showed him the Drummond Light in operation at the house of Mr. Bellenden Ker, long, long before the period to which the report of the other House referred; and, therefore, he utterly denied that Mr. Gurney was the discoverer of the Drummond Light, except, perhaps, in this way—in which he believed several discoveries had taken place—that both discovered it at the same time, each ignorant of the proceedings of the other. With regard to the fire-damp, he might allude to an anecdote of the most illustrious of modern engineers, who had changed the face of the world more than any man ever did before or was likely to do again—he meant the late Mr. Watt, who, in a conversation with him (Lord Brougham), related the following singular anecdote: He said he was anxious to inquire into the nature of the fire-damp; and as he found that no trust could be placed in the accounts of those persons who had seen it—for the survivors were naturally so alarmed at what had happened that they could give 1334 no intelligible account of it—he determined to go down a coal mine where there there was fire-damp; for he knew that the hydrogen gas of which fire-damp was composed was eight or nine times lighter than common atmospheric air—that it went up to the roof of the gallery, and lodged there till a considerable quantity had accumulated. Mr. Watt accordingly went into a gallery in a mine where the fire-damp was known to be, and was put into a niche in the gallery. The air in the gallery was then considerably agitated, after which a man went to the further end, proceeding with great caution, and set fire to it. Mr. Watt stated to him (Lord Brougham) that he saw the light go first in one direction and then in the opposite one, and that then it burst with an enormous explosion up the shaft of the mine. From thence Mr. Watt drew the conclusion that the only way of remedying the fire-damp was by artificial ventilation, which proved the sagacity of that great man; for it appeared that Heb-burn Colliery, where the late explosion took place, was one of the best naturally ventilated mines in the kingdom. Perhaps it might turn out that even artificial ventilation would not do; but on that point, certainly, Mr. Poster would be an impartial witness, though it was impossible, with the experience of a year and a half, and only in one mine, they could come to any practical conclusion; but he would fain hope that this inquiry would lead to the great good of ultimately destroying firedamp. There would still remain the choke-damp; but that was of a very different nature, as it sunk down to the bottom of the gallery, instead of rising to the top; and there never had been more than one or two lives lost by its operation, instead of the scores of lives that were lost by the explosion of fire-damp.
§ The EARL of ST. GERMANSexplained, that he rested his statement regarding the Drummond Light upon the report of the Committee of the House of Commons,
§ The MARQUESS of LANSDOWNEwas very glad to have this opportunity of saying, that Mr. Gurney's unquestioned merits wore sufficiently known to the public, without claiming for him honours of which there was any doubt. With respect to the particular question which the noble Earl had brought before them, he felt satisfied that experiments of a very successful nature had been made by Mr. Gurney, both in this metropolis and in some mines in the north; and he was not aware that any seri- 1335 ous or practical objection had been discovered to the application of his principle, which professed to save the lives of a large and valuable class of Her Majesty's subjects. Under these circumstances he agreed that it was most desirable that some inquiry should be made to ascertain whether this principle could be carried into practical effect.
§ LORD WHARNCLIFFEthought the noble Earl, in bringing forward this petition, had stated strong grounds for the presumption that this artificial system of ventilation would be successful; but whatever might he the actual merits of the system, he thought it was well worth the while of Her Majesty's Government to consider whether some inspection ought not to be established into the state and condition of coal mines. Up to a very recent period he had himself entertained strong doubts as to the propriety of establishing such an inspection, because he thought that if such an inspection were established the inspectors would require to be continually present, and must be responsible for the operation of the whole system. But he had lately had cause to alter his opinion. He found that in Belgium a system of Government inspection over mines had been established for several years past—that it was conducted by able and competent persons, whose business it was not to interfere with the operations of the proprietors, but to assist them with their advice, and so endeavour by every means to prevent the recurrence of such frightful catastrophes as had been but too much incident to coal mines. What had been the result? It was stated, on the authority of Mr. Seymour Tremen-heere, who had been appointed inspector of mines under the Act prohibiting females from working in coal mines, and who had been over in Belgium making inquiries on this subject—it was stated by him, that though there had been an increase of 20 per cent on the amount of coal raised, and an increase of 17 per cent on the number of the population employed in the mines, yet there had been a decrease of 20 per cent in the amount of fatal accidents. Now, however effectual the plan of Mr. Gurney might be for its own especial purpose, namely, in creating a mechanical process for the ventilation of mines, it was obvious they could not dispense with the additional security of inspectors in order to ascertain that it was properly applied to all mines. He had 1336 been told that at a public meeting in Newcastle a decided opinion was expressed in favour of such a system of inspection. He trusted this subject would meet with the attention of Government; and with regard to the question immediately before them, he was satisfied that any system which promised to diminish the chance of accidents was well worth the attention of the House.