The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 1935, 17 March 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 17, 1875.

The alarming frequency of accidents in the Queen of Beauty has been the subject of much discussion, more especially during the last few days, since the terrible casualty which resulted in the death of Robert Fox. It is not at all desirable that*amine should acquire such,an unenviable reputation as that which has certainly attached itself to the ..Queen of Beauty—and not. we are compelled to say, unjustly. We are only surprised that thi shareholders, most of wlfom are practical men, hare not befoie this' taken

some steps to remove from their property the stigma which has been affixed to it of being the grave of so many miners. It has been asserted that when poor Fox was carried to the Hospital on Saturday he made the fourth man in the institution suffering from injuries received in the Queen of Beauty mine—a fact in itself sufficiently significant to account for the bad name which the mine has acquired. However, Fox's sufferings were not very protracted, death having released him before he had had time to realise the nature and extent of Kis injuries or the mutilation to" which he had been subjected. Seeing then that this mine has for a long time been noted for the too frequent occurrence of mining casualties,'it w,ould appear only reasonable that two considerations should have been kept in view. First, the shareholders should have insisted upon every ordinary and extraordinary precaution being taken by the men engaged in working the mine, whether hired servants or contractors, to prevent accideDts. Secondly, the Mining" Inspector; knowing the nature of the ground and the size of the reefs and workings, should have been most particular in seeing that nothing,was left undone which could possibly conduce to the safety of the men* -"and if his directions were not attended to he should have used measures to enforce compliance. Whether these considerations have been taken into account by those concerned we cannot say ; but the jury who deliberated upon the evidence adduced touching the d<?ath of Robert Fox have, in terms not to be* mistaken, pronounced it as-their opinion that the accident which resulted in Fox* death was " caused by neglect.'' If such a verdict had been p.iven by a Victorian jury, under the present Act in force for prevention of mining accidents some one would now be in custody for manslaughter;, s

On readiDg the evidence produced at the inquest yesterday we cannot see how the jury could have arrived at any other decision. The witness Wilson stated that "the'drive was in about 100 feet from the last of the timber." Now we are assured by persons of experience in mining—some of whom should have been called, to give evidence yesterday—that there is no ground, on the Thames which can be pronounced safe to work with blasting fop a "hundred feet without timber. It is said that this is the fault of the contractor's, but that is not so. The mine-manageris responsible,or should be, for the safety of the,men; and if .conlractors are so reckless of their own and other men's lives that they will drive 100 feet, and stope 30 or 40, without putting in timber, then the mine manager's duty would" clearly be to prevent it. The evidence of the Mining Inspector—exculpatory of the management though it be— shows that proper* precautions were not adopted. Why were they not? He says—"l do not think'the manager is •guilty of negligence, as he warned the men." If the manager saw the danger and warned the men, why did he not insist upon the timber being put in to secure safety ? Captain Goldsmith's evidence, throughout seems to haVe been directed to exonerating the management, and to shifting whatever blame there might be from his own shoulders and those of the manager to the unfortunate men who go to work with their lives in their hands; or else why, when the foreman of the jury put a direct question did he not give a straightforward answer. The foreman said—"Do you consider the workings were of a safe character ? " Captain Goldsmith replied—' f I. should say that the ground is extremely difficult ground to work> and requires unusual precaution and timber of very great strength ; and from what I can see of the manager, I consider he 'takes great pains to work the ground with-safety to the men. I have seen nothing like negligence on the part of the manager." The foreman should have-pressed for a direct answer to his question, that given being exceedingly vague and indefinite in character. Indeed, as before stated, for some reason best known to himself, the Mining Inspector's' evidence was of a nature calculated to excuse the manager rather than enlighten the jury.

These occurrences, however, which are entailing misery and ruin upon so many families, are beginning to awaken a widespread attention. Public benevolence is , so often appealed to for assistance to the widow and the orphan,'or the maimed, that it won't bear the continual strain. These accidents are very expensive, and preventive measures must be resorted to. If mine managers are incompetent, they should bo removed and replaced by others; and if the system of Government inspection is inadequate to the requirements of the field, some other provision must be made. Many persons forming hasty conclusions are 'apt to condemn the shareholders of a mine in which accidents occur. They have their responsibilities, certainly —

some more than others, bat in many cases shareholders are quite ignorant of the working of mines from which they draw dividends or into which they pay calls," and cannot therefore be held even morally responsible for any accidents that may occur. If the Queen of Beauty shareholders, however, are wishful to see their mine carefully and safely worked, they will take a lesson from the late sad case, and not rest satisfied until their workings have been put into such a state that nothing will be wanting but ordinary care on the part of their hands to secure comparative safety and immunity from frequent and severe casualties. As a further step in the direction of preventing mining accidents, we should like to see a'Commission of practical men appointed, as much with a view to enforce regulations as at present framed, as to secure better legislation on tiie subject. Until managers are made responsible for accidents resulting from negligence accidents will be too frequent, and the misery they entail will increase in the community to a deplorable extent.