The Bee-Hive. — 1872-11-09 (London, England)

LLOYD JONES.  DEATH IN THE MINE.  GRIM Death has three famous allies in our growing civilisation: accidents on railways; disasters by sea; anii catastrophes in mines. These appear to be the Juggernauts of seisms,  t differ in this, that whereas the votaries of VISITSIT were the offerings of ignorant devotees, the victims above referred to are not. The mangled, and dead which annually swell this great army of martyrs are enough to make one shudder at the cheapness of human life. We too often look abroad for objects of pity when they lie plentifully enough at our own doors. "The death march of India" "touched a- chord of infinite fibre," which vibrated throughout the land; and a massacre in New Zealand sends a thrill of horror into many a peaceful home. When a railwey.aecident occurs, resulting in loss of life, the ghastly annals harrow the feelings ,ef tens of thousands who read the eicikening tale. If a ship is wrecked along our dangerous shores universal pity is felt fm the poor sailor, tat it cannot be denied that the greatest consternation is felt at railway accidents; this comes from the fact that all of , us are more or less travellers, but we are not all sailors; and moreover that the former occur Most frequently from preventible causes. A consideration of the facts connected with the terrible sacrifice of life in the calamities named, will, show; most incontestibly that of all these the miners are the greatest sufferers.  , The time is opportune for the discussion of I this question, inasmuch as we have had. all three of these forms of death before our eyes, through the daily papers, during the past week or two, such as the Alorley Alain Mine explosion,,the railway accident at liirtlebridge, and the disasters along our coast during the recent gales, la addition to which some returns rpoently issued will assist us in the comparisons we-Assize to make, . _ _  The total loss of life on the railways of the United Kingdom last year was 404, out of a total of 307,000,000 passengers and 200,000 employees, or a total of 307,200,000 persons, being one in 760,396. There were also 1,261 Injured, being one in 243,809. But of those killed 16, were suicideb, and 77 trespassers, neither of which can rightly be charged as accidents in the ordinary sense. Of the killed and injured, railway servants form a large proportion, being one in 1,740 killed, and one in 1,560 injured. The less of life by shipping disasters around our coasts and surrounding seas, during the past year, was 626-131 of which are stated to have 'been the result of carelessness, and similar causes. The proportion of losses to persons I have not at hand. Here then we have a total loss of life by railway aooideetts and casualties by sea, of 1,030. Let us compare the dad havoc, to human life by these two engines of death to the terrible mining accidents which so frequently occur, and we shall find that the loss of life in our mines during the past year was 1,075, out of a total employed of 370,881 persons, or one life sacrificed to every 345 employed. For the ten years ending 1870 one life was lost in every 300 employed; for the ten years preceding that, one to every 245. The deaths in coal mines alone, during twenty years-1851 to 1870 inclusive—were 20,644 persons; in addition to which, the deaths in our iron stone mines, number about 68 per annum, bringing up the sad total to over 22,000 persons. In addition, however, to this ghastly list, there are about 10,500 accidents to persons every year, some 6,000 of which are of such a character, that those so injured are never fully restored to health— a large proportion being rendered blind, lame, or so 'pained, that they are unable to follow their ordinary employments ever afterwards. So that not only have we one death in every 345 employed, but one in every 354 is more or less injured.  The facts here disclosed are so startling and sad, that your indulgence is craved to place them before the public, to the end that some means might be devised to shield these workers in the cold darleraine from some of the hardships to which they are liable in their daily occupations, or to take some steps to befriend those injured for life, and to provide for the fatherless and the widow, who are deprived of their means of living by the sad fate of husbands and fathers when toiling to provide for us the greatest boon to our country, a good supply of coal and iron.  Our National Life-boat Institution looks after the poor sailor, our courts of law compensate the railway traveller,but the poor miner, as a rule, is left to his own resources, and to the generous aid of his own co-workers.