The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-26 00:00:00

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would be impossible to c CITY out 4.. he provisions of the act.
Sir G. LEWIS said th e diffft iulty he felt was how to de-
fidg the difference betwec 'u Vae inspectors and the sub-
inspec-tors. Perhaps the b esl , course would be to postpone
the quest: en till the next st. v '11) of the bill.
This was el!Lreed to, and til o clause passed.
On clause 10,
Mr. AYRTON
.`roved to a. Id after the word places, "and
all other accessible IN'aees," The object of this amendment
was to compel the owne" oft.:l er to ventilate or shut off dis-
used workings.
Mr. CLIVE said this was 0, tie of the most disputed por-
tions of the bill. He was been dto say that the commis-
sioners had recommended the aa
that there would be a diffi,?.ulty in applying it in all in-
stances. He had therefore theikl'ht it best to make the
1 clause run as it did.

Mr. AYRTON' suggested that it :must surely be possible
to Stop off those places
which Nirtre difficult to ventilate, and
which if left open might admit gos in quantitieS large
enough to endanger the mines: s•
Mr. CAYLEY suggested th,lt -the words " where pos-
sible" might get rid of the difficui.ty.
Mr. BRUCE salt there were &cum
Mr. AYRTON accepted this prop.`sal•
lstances in which an
attempt to ventilate might be dangerz4's, because the gas
was only explosive when mixed with mot, a than three times
and less than 14 time's its own bulk.
After some furtherconversation, the cotta-uittee divided—
For the amendment
Against it „ . lB
Majority ..
Mr, AcItTON saki that accidents were frequently
caused through the tram wars in mines being too nairow:

He proposed MI an amendfnent that places of refuge should
be provided at intervals of not less than ten yards, or. that
the tramways should be ma de so wide as to allow room for
men to pass the trucks, which ran down with great ra-
pidity.
Mr. VIVIAN thought it undesirable to take the respon-
sibility of avoiding accidents WY the owners or workers of
mines. Serious accidents had to be reported to the Secre-
tary of State, and that of itself wag a great safeguard. If
the drifts were widened there would be great danger of the
fall of the roof—a most fruitful source of accident. He
thought it desirable to have places of refuge; but not at
shorter intervals than 20 yardis. A wide drift without re-
fuges would be highly danger ous.
After a conversation tits? amendment was withdrawn.
After some discussion do amendment, fixing " twenty" •
instead of " thirty" yards as tt te size of the place of refuge,
was adopted without a division. •
Upon page 5, line 2,
Mr. AYRTON moved to lea 've out the words " cover
overhead," and to insert " covert 'd safety cage."
Mr. VIVIAN said he had feat el from repeated experi-
ntents that " safety cages" were a fertile source of danger.
Every mechanical contrivance of thi s sort watt likely toget
out; of order. He believed all cases mcthis kind to be im-
pre cticable, but, even if they were prac, ticable, they would
probably lead to a false security, arising" from xaistaken.
econtomy. Less attention would be paid to the duo lnaPec-
lion of the state of the ropes. He thought to pass .% law in
favour of safety cages would lead to an incite:4l)d thjury
and ,loss of life.
Mr. CLIVE said that the question of the safety cages • had
been vary carefully considered, anl he hoped the aommlittee
would consent to adopt the use of the overhead cover.
Mr. E.ICARDO said it was not advisable to lay deewn
any partimular rule about the apparatus to be employed,
bu:,‘ the com'owners should be considered responsible for the
lives those whom they employed, and left to adopt, the
best mea.:lo i.or their safety. He therefore thought the
clause was a:fat:kilt as it stood. s
more from Mr. KINN
After a few wort ,1 AIRD, Mr. BRIM;
and other hon. mem, bore,
Mr. CROSSLEY a.
Ivised his hon. friend who had moved
this amendment to give
way to the opinieo. of other mem-
bers with greater practical
knowledge, and not attempt to
enforce on all parts of the ,country a contriVanca which
might perhaps answer in a ceriain district, lest the result
should be to destroy life instead of saving it.
Mr. AYRTGN said that he believed safety cag'S were
used in the majority of mines throughout the co.ttntry.
(No, no.)
The amendment was negatived without a division.
Mr. BRUCE moved the addition of certain words to pro,-
vide that the cage should not beused on all occasions when:.
men wore :lowered.
The amendment was agreed to.
Mr. BRUCE thou moved the insertion of the words
"except upon; occasions when repairs were being effected."
After some Llisoussion,
The committee divided :
For the amendment 47
Against it .127
3 Celerity
Mr. AYRTON me ved an amendment to clause 10, to the
effect that a proper wt. lighing machine should be provided
for each pit, for weighi, t c3al and ironstone. -
Mr. H. BRUCE had n.o‘ objection to a machine being
provided, but he could not ace of what use it would be for
the purpose of iron mines.
Mr. AYRTON explained that his object was to secure to
the workmen 'payment for all the ore or coal that was
brought to the bank.
Mr. CAYLEY hoped the claim would not be objected to
by the Government. In the two committees which had sat
on the subject, no point was more insisted upon than the
necessity of having wecjhing machines as between the
workmen and the employers.
• - if
Mr. CLIVE had no objection ;to the claim it was un-
derstood that it was to be perinia'sive only, but recom-
mended that it should be deferred to the report, in order
that the wording might be considered, so as to make the
claim practical in its object.
After a few words from Mr. NEIVDEG/1.2.2E,
The CHAIRMAN reported progress, andl the committee
obtained leave to sit again.
UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGE ESTANES BILL.
The amendments to this bill were brought up And agreed

to.
The London Corporation Bill was postponed for a mo nib -
The Inland Bonding Bill was read a third time aMI
passed.
The Union of Benefices Bill was read a second time.
MUNICIPAL CORPORATIONS (IRELAND) ACT
AMENDMENT BILL.
The house then went into committee on this bill.
On the question that the preamble be postponed,
Mr. P. HENNESSY moved that the chairman report
progress.
The motion was negatived.
On clause 2,
Mr. HASSARD moved an amendment to save the rights
of the several counties in which the boroughs named were
situate (Limerick alone excepted), if they resided in the
boroughs, or within eight miles of the same.
Colonel DICKSON moved to amend the amendment by
leaving out the words relative to the residence of the
coroners.
Mr. I. BUTT and Mr. CARDWELL Suppurted the clause.
Lord NAAS spoke in favour of Mr. Hasklard'a amend-
ment.
Colonel Dickson's amendment was agreed to..
On the question that the clause as amended stand part
of the bill, the committee divided on Mr. Hassard's (mend-
m ent
Ayes
Noes ..
Majority
The bill then passed through committee, and the house
resumed.
The Admiralty Court Jurisdiction, No. 2, Bill was read
a second time.
On the motion of Mr. VILLIERS, leave was given to
bring in a bill to continue the Poor Law Board for a limited
period.