Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-06-23
BRITISH MINERS.
From a sketch by Tom Mann IN London
".JHMice"


JUStice."
During the past twenty years consider
able changes have taken place in con-
nection with the working, both above
and below ground, of the coal mines of
Britain. Ghe men themselves, by means
of uniOnism, assisted to some extent by
legislation, have succeeded in making
the conditions of a miners life decidedly
better than it was twenty years ago. In
saying this do it as one who was work
ing down mine i'll the WarWiCkshire
coal field at that time; with aviyid recol-
lection of how matters were then, from
practical experience; and believe that
majority of miners would agree with
me in saying that the houses are better
than they were, their food on the whole
more plentiful, and their hours of labor
shorter. COnceding this, let us see
wha, their actual condition is now.
Quite recently have had an opportu-
nifty of making personal acquaintance
with considerable number of Lanark-
shire miners-at their own homes as
well as at public meetings. | have come
in contact with that section who are
best organized, and it is only such points
as they have personally corroborated
that | will here allude to.
| Their hours of labor vary from nine to
twelve per day, but may be put down at
ten as an average. Working full time,
their average weekly wages do not
amount to more than fifteen shillings
about 1868 week, out of which they
have to pay rent-about two shllings
and six pence 60 cents weekly; thus
twelve shillings and six lence a week
would properly represent the income of
Lancashire miner for food, clothing.
schooling and general requirements,
often including fuel; taking a moderate
sized family of four children, six in all,
this allows two shillings and one penny
per week per head. The cost of main
tenance in the workhouse is three shil
lings and six pence per head; thus the
standard of life ismuch lower among the
Lanarkshire miners than that of the
ordinary British pauper.
The houses (after admitting, as | have
done, that they are better than they
were) are simply, in large number of
cases, "dingy dungeons, with four
pieces of plain timber fixed in one cor.
ner for bedposts. There are no ovens in
the houses, and nothing to bake If they
had them.
1t may be thought that even if this be
true of the Scotch miners it is far from
true of the English. Well, | will deal
briefly with the well-organized county
of Durham, These men do get better
pay, and as a consequence their standard
of life is higher. The hewers work
seven hours day from bank to bank,
still the pits run without stopping from
six in the morning till five at night, aud
some of the pits have had a steady run
for years past, and the men working at
them have had a comparatively good
time, averaging something like twenty
seven shillings week; but others have
had very bad time for years past.
especially in the Chester le- street district.
averaging little more than the lanark-
, shire men, Putting them all together
| the average of the county mot including
I boys runs to about eighteen shillings a
\ week; but it should not be forgotten that
in Durham hundreds of miners families
get no more than twelve shlllings "a
week. Compare this with the pauper
standard, and talk as we will about
. social improvements of the last twenty
years, the fact still remains that in this
y favored county the miners are to be
likened to so many galley slaves rather
than to dignihed workmen, with leis-
' urely opportunity to take part in hfe's
/ beauties. Some worthy members of the
: House of Commons take pleasure in
:, pointing to the men of Northumberland
u as being typical specimens of organized,
Industrious, freedom Britshers, | chal-
4 lenge contradiction for any statement
here made, 1t is true at some pits that
the best paid men get weekly average
, OF thirty shlllings it is also true that a
II much greater number get an average of
y twenty shillings week; it is further
: true that at least ten times Us many as
,, both the previous mentioned sections
=, Jumped together have not had an aver.
) age wage of more than fourteen shillines
Ii week for years past. Make the best
IS possible out of the materials at hand,
Il and defy anybody to show that the
II standard of life of the Northumberland
miner is IN any way superior to the
e average British pauper, The men have
l. literally been so crippled for money that
e they have been unable to take their
o fortnlghty trip to Newcastle. as was
4 their custom few years ago, One of
u the principal book dealers in Newcastle
Market told me that until recent years
IL his business consisted of supplying the
v northumberland pitmen with literature
r when they made their periodic visits to
u town, but that he doesn't sell one of
L. them now where he used to sell twenty.
is not that other people are supplying
is them, ii is that they don't buy them;
3 and they don't buy them because they
- have nothing to buy with.
Tho standard for oil ,-oI,,. :; Al,