The workingman's advocate., 1868-07-11
Mr.. ALExAsprs MoDos.,n e,,u;,,

: PasDEncK HARRrses. Esl
Mr.. ALExASoes McDoSALD, examined.
Lord Eicho-Are there schools now NJ.
J tached to the pitst Yes.
That ID to say, the masters have showr
now an interest n providing the means 81
education for them which they did not show
when you first went ia the pit! am no
quite prepared 10 cay that that il the origin
OF the improvement.
ID You mean to say that il il not the mas.
ters who have established the schools now
The masters did establish the schools. but
10 1883 there were certain enquiries made
BY the government on certain matters. which
| viii refer TO and in 1912 there was a very
long Commission WHICH reported "a to the
entire kingiom On the state Of mines, and
that Drought the nideous condition Of the
population before the public so strongly that
tneI miners schools began to be adopted
very generally. There were some previous
to that, but generally they Only began to be
adopted after public opinion came out so
strongly on the social an elucltional con
dition Of that class.
| Without going intl the oadses> now, the
state OF education was low then at the pits.
and Is better nov! IL is very much better
now.
| At ths time OF your attendancs On these
classes at Glasgow was there any class for
anything like technical educltIon Did YOU
direct yourself ia your education at all to
the specially Of your work? No, nothing
Of that sort.
What Latin and Greek authors were YOU
reading at the University when you went
therey may state that during a consider
able number Of years previous to nv going
70 the univ srsity, attended evening classes.
rem )ved from home to town in the neigh
borhood calleI ArdrIe for the purpose of
attending evening classes, going to them
privately at night 10 ga ka Wedge Of L t.
IN and Greek.
Still working in the pit in the neighbor-
hood Of Airirie Suli working For seven
or eight years did So
| What did you read at the university
] The first book We read was extracts from
f0vid and Tibulles, by the hate Professor
Ramsay, perhaps one Of the most able teach
ers that ever lived. That was for our junior
year, and in the senior year we read from
Ciccro's Orations, and Tacitus, and from .
numoer of extracts again, but chiefly from
Cicero.
Did you read Greek at all Yes We read
a number of Greek authors undsr Professor
Washington.
You say That there i, great Improvement
| socially and educatioaailJ in the state of the
mInersy want to 90 farther, If you will
allow me to do so. an.i state some Of tae So
cial c0niltiOns OF the mines there at that
time. The terms OF pays were, one month,
Two months, aud three months loag; that
is to say, between the settlements, and in
some instances. much longer. In all the older
collieries of Scotland belon ging to the land
owners the pays were shorter, but in the
trading dlstr ct, the mining district which
was rising, the pays wers designeily made
that long, and with no othes object in view !,
undoubtedly, than this, whIch will explain.
Attached to every work the owner, if he
hal but twenty men, had truck shop. and
generally attached to that truck shop he had
pubic house The truck shop was de-
signed f5r the men spending al their money,
and it was Z neraIly contrived that the men
shiulj be ID about six or eight in the eye-
niog, or perhaps ten or twelve in the evening
at the public house, and the poor man had
literally got rid Of all the little savings which
he had not eaten up in tie truck shop during
the month, or two months, or fortnight (bnt
in very lew instances was il only fort
night,) by two or three o'clock in the mora
ing. have often seen them returning
home. lie had eaten nearly everything up
at the truck shop, and then he drank the
rest.
You have drawn distinction Just nov
between the mines Of land. owners AMI 9TH
ers /? Yes.
| Do You mean by that the mines which
we're worked by the owners OF The mines,
and the mines which were let be these own
ers 70 others Yes.
! Was there different system as regarded
truck and wages, and payment at the public
house by those who worked their own minesf
The system was pursued in the counties OF
Mid and East Lothian. in the county or Fife.
10 the county Of Clackmannan. and in Lin.
lithgow. The truck shops sprang 10 IN
Ianarkshire aud Ayrshire, when the small
uen began to lease mines, aud they began
to raise their capital from the leasing Of the
mines Of the owners. :
Truck il now illegal by Act Of Par.
lia'aent, is it notf Yes, but unfortunately
Ii 10 practised.
That Act you think is evadeds Yes,
shall refer TO that sobject again.
As 10 wages, instead Of being paid BY the
month how are they paid nowi Generally
BY the fortnight, but wherever the truck
shops are as rule, they are paid by the
month.
IL there any other social point connected
with the state Of thc miners at that time
which you wish to bring bsfore the Com.
mission The social condition Of th<
women (they worked in the mines1 was yerv
J fearful Indeed. When | was n bov I diI
! not knowa woman that worked in the mins
} that did not smoke tobacco, and q larg,
number Of them took strone drink Tha
smoking Of tobacco, am glad 10 say has en-
} tirely disappeared among the females o
the mining population.
As to drink, do you think there Is great
OF sobriety nos among the mining popu.a.
tion than there was - that time Yes, very
much greater. In fact l have known cases
where men never lett the house with money
remaining over. What we used % call ths
old collier stock never leit the houss q
long ~ they had any monsy remaining, BE-.
cause they could just draw money again the
tirst day they worked, and therefors they
Icostinusd to work on uusil IL vas con.
4 sumed, u I'll was not eonsum.d on the Sat
nrday night
1 II there much providence nov among III,
!, mining class Of Scotland---do men rise nov
- you yourself have rissa fron ths grads D
IL uorking ninss q Ysa Il shey a. ~
ne here shsy fiss elsewhsrsi they leaxs u