STEAM THRESHING MACHINES BILL. (Hansard, 18 July 1873)

THE EARL OF MORLEY,

in moving that the Bill be now read the second time, said, that the object of the Bill was to prevent accidents arising from the use of these machines owing to their not being properly fenced. Last year 12 of those accidents occurred to women and children, some of them being of the most horrible description. The Bill, therefore, required that the drum of every steam threshing machine shall be provided with a sufficient fence whenever it shall be in use, and inflicted a penalty of £10 on the owner of the machine for not so providing it. Another clause provided that if any person suffers bodily injury in consequence of default of the owner of the machine, after notice in writing has been given to him by an Inspector of Factories that such machine is dangerous, such owner shall be liable to a penalty of £50. The measure was very much needed, and the Government had been strongly pressed to bring it in. There was ample precedent for it in their factory legislation; and altogether there was sufficient justification for its introduction, even at this late period of the Session. It had been suggested that it was necessary to give some time to enable the fencing to be effected before the Bill came into full operation, and the Government would therefore consider, before the Committee was taken, what the length of that time should be.