The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-11-13 00:00:00

MINERS' MEETING AT OLD HILL,

List Wednesday night a miners' meeting, the
special object of which was to discuss the Employers
Liabilityißill was held at the Three Furnaces Inn,
Waterfall lane. Old Hill, There was a small at-
tendance. Mr. W. Breakm ell (miners' agent)
addressing the men, said the consideration of
.the
Employers' Liability Bill was a subject of vast ?Ea
poi tance to them, and had not occupied their serious
attention as it should have done, He held that it
was a righteous Bill, and if it had been made a law
in 1878, the many explosions which had since sacri-
ficed the lives of over 600 colliers, which, he be-
lieved, would have been prevented. He had known
collieries at which men had been afraid to work, and
other places where the managers had distinctly told
him that the masters would not spend money to
ventiiate the.pits, and lives of their men he thought
such things would be prevented. He found that at
the last meeting of the South Staffordshire Institute
of Mining Engineers the secretary read a report
upon his visit to the Mining Institute of Great
britain, where, he s •id, the Bill was discussed, and
the general feeling among the masters was that
they should coAract themselves out of the Bill.
He, the speaker, took that to mean that they, by
united action, were endeavouring not to contract
the: selves selves out of responsibility ef the Bill, but out
of the responsibility of paying f r the negligent act
of a manager, He asked would it not be better for
toe men to join a union, and if they were bound to
pay to do so, and have equal power end some contro
over heer money i) If they did not pay to a fund
which they could in some measure control they
would have 'o pay to a fund over which they would
have n con 1.01, like their present "field club." lie
went on to refer to the colliers' coal and drink
allowances, alleging that attempts were being made
at some of the collieries in the district to discon-
t nut or reduce these allowances. He said that
earnings were
earni
putting a colliers' wages at 3s per
.day, and alloaing
hitu to work five days a we?k,
hisnot sufficierit to maintain himself and family and
palylosheoluabseohuor affldeuxrdpead fort expanses;
to the community at
; in fact, the very men
w
large were not having se much to subsist upon as
tepau
the st
pertsoftlite parish were having. If they
consulted istics of thter own parish they
would find that the paupers Cost is per head more
than what colliersi had to live upon to-day. In con-
clusion he said f they wanted to alter the state of
heir
o gahom:s they must la ct_erne more united and
better
eiied—(applause).—lt was then resolved
t• Teat in the opinion of this meeting we agree to
agitate Iliad all the miners are thoreughly united
so ° that we may have all the advantages which the
promoters of the Employers' Liability Bill intended
us to have. Also "rhat no insurance will be satis-
factory to us as working men without we hae
Equal roarer neon the Board in the distiibution of
toe funds," It was farther agreed to proceed with
the present agitation fund, and continue to receive
subscriptions at the collieries.

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