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Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 6127, 20 April 1891, Page 2

Pick aud shovel men, in quarry or initio, are engaged in work that exposes them to much risk of life aud limb. It .should naturally follow, then, that especial caro should bo taken by all in ohargo of such work to guard tho men from danger. In spite of every care, it happens that life is sacrificed, and limbs lost sometimes, from the recklossnoss of tho men themselves, but too often, it is feared, from the " driving," propensities of gangers and overseers. It is stated in a Wellington paper that within the spaco of a few weeks one man has boon killed and two others escaped immediate death by getting away with broken legs, one of them so badly injured that the Superintendent of the Hospiial thinks that it will bo necessary to amputate tho foot. Jn connection with these accidents, a correspondent, writing to the Post, asks what is the cause, who is to blame, and who

responsible for the loss and damage ? The answers that seem to be given to two of these questions are carelessness and neglect, I or sometimes " no person to blame." 'then, 1 ot course, that being so, the third question 1 stems to be quietly disposed of. And then < should tbe person killed be tbe father of a < family, his poor orphans may go adrift on i th-i waves of the world, depending upon i charity On the other hand, should he be a < tingle man who loses his leg, he .is deprived oi the means of making a living for himself, i and therefore becomes a burden to hiuosell and others during the remainder of his life, I and all this owing to those Will-'o-the-wisp kind of aaents called carelessness, neglect, "or no person to blame." No such lame excuses should be tolerated. If there is carelessness or neglect let it be traced to its source, and in nine cases out of every ten (if not in all cases) either the contractor or his •boss'will be atfault. Thecorrespondent continues. "In reference to this being, known as the ' bo.-s,' he will orobably give you your time if you should happen to be auy way cautious" in looking up at the face, where you see as it were, death staring you ia the face with a large fall of earth hanging over you with no leg to stand on. Navvies know what the legs of a fall meau. You must not lose a shovelful, whatever the ask may be ; the ' boss' is about, aud he is a guarantee that everything is all right. At the same time his whole attention is on the horses and drays, and to see that no man loses a moment. Down comes the fall. Oh, , then, indeed, there is something serious. There is a life lost or a leg broken. It is no person's fault, and, above all, it is not tee contractor or the boss' "fault. Away with such expressions. Shame upon such conduct as to allow men like this through real 1 greed, and nothing else, to be slaughtering aud wounding poor men, and shame upon the law that tolerates such, couduct. At : election times every man who aspires for a seat in our Parliament is doing so solely and ■ entirely for the 1 sake of the Working man. ) Where are they, all,now? Where is our Minister of Mines; our Minister, of Public Works, our Minister of Justice, and fair play if you lifee ? Are they all asleep, or is p, poor navvy worth their notice at all?"