The Industrial Review, Social and Political. — 1878-03-23 (London, England)

MACDONALD AND THE MINERS.  ALTHOUGH the occurrence of fresh and fatal catastrophes in mining operations have fully justified an immediate appeal to the Executive and the Legislature,it must be sorrowfully admitted that the success of Mr. Macdonald, at least, on starting, has been equal to his zeal. To his request of a day before Easter for discussing resolutions on the subject, the Ministerial leader  answered very blandly, and, we dare say, with equal sincerity, that he very much wished he could, but was afraid, seeing the state of public business, he could make no such promise. Nor can we perceive that there was want of reason in what Sir Stafford said.  In the opinion of Mr. Macdonald, however, the polite refusal of a day before Easter justified him in taking the somewhat extraordinary course, as he admitted it to be, of moving the adjournment of the House in order to introduce a discussion forthwith. This announcement, as might be expected, evoked a chorus loud as the baying of a pack of hounds from the country gentlemen, who, if they can do nothing else or better, can, at least, supply lack of reason by lavishness of noise. Now, it is not every man, especially a young member, that can maintain coolness and self-possession under such provocations ; and the miner's friend, having promised to be very short if heard in quiet, proceeded to say that if, on the other hand, he received interruption—at which word his voice was drowned in a latrant tempest from the opposite Benches. Had Mr. Macdonald stopped at the promise, of brevity, he would have gained his point, for the Speaker ruled that he could not be said to be otherwise than within his right in so doing if he thought proper. But lie had gone one step further, and the arbiter of Parliamentary proprieties was constrained to add that "any language of a threatening character addressed to that House was out of order." By a prompt apology, however, Mr. Macdonald recovered himself, and said all, perhaps, he had then to offer. What he wanted at once to observe was in answer to Mr. Secretary Cross, who, a few nights before, claimed him as a witness to the good effects of the Mines Act of 1872. "True," he replied, "but the present question was not the good that had been done, but the urgent things left undone," In justification of this language, he got so far as to cull from the reports of Government Inspectors a frightful sum_ of 535 lives lost, within a short and recent period, by the violation of rules in the Mines Acts, which,by a prostitution of language, others styled "accidents," but which, if Parliamentary usage would allow him, he would stigmatise as " murders in the mine."  The speaker accepted the ingenious hypothesis under which Mr. Macdonald managed to slur the free expression of his thought, but felt bound to stop him with the intimation that he was indulging in matters only regular when he should have fixed a day for the general discussion of the subject. He succeeded, nevertheless, in drawing a declaration from Mr. Cross, who, as must be frankly acknowledged, never condescends to acts of concealment or suppression with regard to matters falling in his own special department. The right honourable gentleman assured the House, and, through the House, all other persons interested in the question, that every attention was being paid to it. The inspectors, he stated, are doing their best to see that the Act is worked properly, though it. seems to many of the public that their activity is slack before casualties occur, and their energy conspicuous, when for the immediate occasion it is too late On the other hand, with some gentleness, Mr. Cross spoke of the difficulty in persuading the miners themselves to use due care and caution. Without imputing undue blame to any, he urged that all parties concerned should try to work the Act with full effect. And, while calling upon the men to be watchful in their own conduct, he said nothing to impair the sense of responsibility in the minds of owners. As for the inspectors, he answered for the whole staff, that they never received a hint of anything wrong without instantly attending to it; at the same time inculcating upon them the duty of spending all the time at their disposal, as they go from place to place, in visiting the mines, and examining their condition, both at the mouth and .in the underground workings.