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Text
G-E1TEKAL
AND
SPECIAL RULES
BOR THE
Conduct and Guidance of the Persons acting in the Management
OF THE
SEATON DELAVAL COAL MINE
OR
COLLIERY*'
i
1
BELONGING TO
MESSRS. LAMB,
BURDON & CO.,
AND OF ALL PERSONS EMPLOYED IN OR ABOUT THE SAME.
/
PRINTED BY M. & M. W. LAMBERT, GREY STRSET.
1861.
��GENERAL RULES.
To be observed in every Colliery or Coal Mine and Iron
stone Mine, by the Owners and Agents thereof, as
required by the 23rd & 24th Vic-, cap-151, sec-10-
1. —An adequate amount of ventilation shall be
constantly produced in all coal mines or collieries and
iron stone mines to dilute and render harmless noxious
gases to such an extent that the working places of the
pits, levels, and workings of every such colliery and
mine, and the travelling roads to and from such work
ing-places, shall, under ordinary circumstances, be in a
fit state for working and passing therein.
2. __ All entrances to any place not in actual course
of working and extension, and suspected to contain
dangerous gas of any kind, shall be properly fenced off
so as to prevent access thereto.
3. —Whenever safety lamps are required to be used,
they shall be first examined and securely locked by a
person or persons duly authorized for this purpose.
4. —Every shaft or pit which is out of use, or used
only as an air-pit, shall be securely fenced.
5. __ Every working and pumping pit or shaft shall
be properly fenced, when operations shall have ceased
or been suspended.
6. __ Every working and pumping pit or shaft where
the natural strata, under ordinary circumstances, are
not safe, shall be securely cased or fined, or otherwise
made secure.
�4
7. —Every working pit or shaft shall be provided
with some proper means of communicating distinct and
definite signals from the bottom of the shaft to the
surface, and from the surface to the bottom of the
shaft.
8.—AU underground self-acting and engine planes on
Which persons travel are to be provided with some
proper means of signalling between the stopping-places
and the ends of the planes, and with sufficient places
of refuge at the sides of such planes at intervals of not
more than twenty yards.
9. —A sufficient cover overhead shall be used when
lowering or raising persons in every working pit or shaft
where required by the inspectors.
10. —No single-linked chain shall be used for lower
ing or raising persons in any working pit or shaft,
except the short coupling chain attached to the cage
or load.
11. —Flanges or horns of sufficient length or diame
ter shall be attached to the drum of every machine
used for lowering or raising persons.
12. — A proper indicator to show the position of
the load in the pit or shaft, and also an adequate break,
shall be attached to every machine, worked by steam
or water power, used for lowering or raising persons.
13. —Every steam boiler shall be provided with a
proper steam guage, water guage, and safety valve.
14. —The fly wheel of every engine shall be securely
fenced.
15. —Sufficient bore holes shall be kept in advance
and, if necessary, on both sides to prevent inundation,
in every working approaching a place likely to contain
a dangerous accumulation of water.
�SPECIAL
RULES.
1, In every part of the said Colliery, where the
pillar working or broken is in operation, Stations will
be fixed upon by the Viewer, where each Workman’s
Safety Lamp will be examined and securely locked.
From those stations no Workman is to take a Safety
Lamp for use in the pillar working or broken, without
its having been examined and securely locked by the
Overman, Inspector, or Deputy.
The Overman and Inspectors to have full power to
direct the Workmen how to use their Safety Lamps
during the time of working; and it is particularly en
joined that every Workman strictly attend to such
directions. No lamp to be used on which there is not
a tin shield. None but the Overman, or similar Officer
in authority, to be allowed to carry a lamp key.
2. Should any accident happen to a Lamp whilst in
use, by which the oil is spilt upon the gauze, or it be
in any other way rendered unsafe, the light to be im
mediately extinguished by drawing the wick down
within the tube with the pricker; such Lamp to be
directly taken out to the station where the Lamps are
examined, and not to be again used until after having
been properly examined by the Overman, or other re
sponsible person, on the in-bye side of which station
towards the broken workings, no candles are to be
taken.
�6
3. Should any Workman using a Safety Lamp,
detect, by the usual indications, the appearance or
presence of fire-damp, he is first to pull down the wick
with the pricker, as before-mentioned, and then to re
treat to the Lamp Station and give information of the
same to the nearest responsible person, it being strictly
forbidden for any Workman to continue to work in a
place where such indication has been observed by him;
and should the flame continue in the interior of the
Lamp after the wick has been drawn down, the Lamp
then to be cautiously removed, and no attempt what
ever to extinguish the flame by any other means to be
adopted by the Workman.
4. Every Hewer, Putter, or other person, to whom
a Safety Lamp is intrusted, is hereby strictly prohibited
from interfering in any way whatever with the Lamp,
beyond the necessary trimming of the wick with the
pricker. The Lamp in no case to be hung upon the
row of props next the goaf or old work, and not to be
nearer the swing of the gear, on any occasion, than two
feet.
5. Should any Hewer, Putter, or any other person
whatever, in charge of a Safety Lamp, in any case lose
his light, he is to take it himself to the station where
the Lamps are examined, to be relighted, examined,
and locked by the Overman, or some other responsible
person, before being again used.
6. It is expressly directed that any person witnessing
any improper treatment of the Safety Lamps by any
one, shall give immediate information to the Overman
in charge of the Pit, so that a recurrence of such con
duct may be prevented, by the offending party being
brought to justice.
7. Any person found smoking tobacco in any part
of the said colliery where the Safety Lamp is used, or
a tobacco pipe found in their possession, will be liable
to be taken before a Magistrate. No matches, under
any pretence whatever, to be taken down the pit.
�8. No Putter, Pony-driver, Helper-up, or other per
son, is, under any pretext, to carry a Lamp during his
work, except in special cases, where the parties have
leave to do so from the Viewer. Lamps will be hung
along the going-roads, to afford sufficient light for the
performance of the work.
9. Every person using a Safety Lamp to receive the
bottom part of the same himself from the hands of the
Lamp Keeper then in the pit. The gauze to be taken
home at the end of each shift, by the person using it,
for the puspose of having it properly cleaned before
being again used,/>[
10. Any person acting contrary to the above in
structions will be liable to be taken before a Magis
trate, in order that the lives of the Workmen employed
therein may be duly protected. And any person in
forming against any offending party or parties will, in
every case, be handsomly rewarded. . No riding on
loaded Cages except under special arrangement. Sig
nals, see Act of Parliament.
11. The Hewer that keeps his Safety Lamp in the
best order for a quarter of a year, will be entitled to a
premium of 5s.; and for the second best 2s. 6d. The
Putter to be entitled to 2s. 6d. for the same length of
time.
�OFFICERS’ DUTIES.
OVERMEN.
The Fore Overman to give all necessary instructions
to the Men and Boys in the pit respecting their work,
and to see daily that due respect is paid by the same to
the Rules and Regulations in force upon the colliery.
To visit every working place at least once a day, com
mencing at the starting of the pit. To examine daily
all the various air currents of the colliery, also all stop
pings and air brattices connected with the same; and
should any deficiency in the main or separate air cur
rents at any time be observed, notice of such deficiency
to be immediately given to the Resident Viewer. Also,
in the event of any sudden discharge, accumulation, or
indication of inflammable gas in any part of the work
ings, the same to be immediately reported to him, such
workings to cease working until the said gas be removed.
The Overman in the meantime, to the best of his
judgment, to adopt such means as will effect the same.
To examine carefiilly each day, with the Safety Lamp,
the edge of all the goaves in the broken workings, and
to see that due attention is paid to the Lamps by the
Men whilst at work, giving them at all times suitable
directions respecting them, according to the situation in
which they are placed.
To see that a sufficient quantity of timber, of all re
quisite sizes, is daily supplied to the workings, such being
the earnest wish of the Owners, so that every possible
�9
protection may be afforded to the lives of their Work
men, it being at the same time their particular desire
that a proper care of all materials should be taken, and
none whatever, on any occasion, wilfully wasted.
To see that all tramways and rolleyways are kept in
a safe and working state throughout the colliery.
The Safety Lamp to be used whilst examining all
workings; also any old or suspended workings.
To examine first thing every morning the state of the
barometer, it being provided for the purpose of shewing
when the presence of inflammable gas may, more or
less, be expected, and particularly at the edge of the
goaves in the broken workings.
To see the Resident Viewer every night after the pit
has ceased work, and report to him the general state of
the workings of the colliery and to receive directions
respecting the same.
BACK OVERMAN.
The Back Overman to have full charge of the pit in
the absence of the Fore Overman, exercising in every
thing the same authority and attention as the Fore
Overman whilst in the pit.
To report to the Fore Overman every night the state
of the pit, and what may have transpired through the
day, whether of a usual or unusual nature. Not to leave
the pit at night till all the day-shift men and Lads have
ridden, and to examine the main air currents and the
barometer last thing every night before leaving th e pit.
DEPUTIES.
The Deputies to go down the pit every morning two
hours before the Men, for the purpose of examining the
state of the workings previous to the Men going in.
To examine the state of the barometer, first thing, at
the bottom of the shaft. The face of every working
�10
place to be carefully examined, and on every occasion
with the Safety Lamp.
To have full charge of the workings; also control
over the Men and Lads in their respective districts, in
the absence of the Overman. At all times to report to
the Overman in the pit any deficiency that may be de
tected in the ventilation, also all appearances of danger
from any other cause. To examine frequently through
the day the condition of the edge of the goaves in the
working juds, and should inflammable gas at any time
be observed, the working of the jud to be immediately
stopped until the gas has been cleared away—giving
notice of such immediately to the Overman in the pit.
To put in, on all occasions, a sufficient quantity of tim
ber in every working place, putting in the same in the
best possible manner, for affording the greatest Safety
to the Workmen therein employed. The Safety Lamps
always to be used whilst drawing props, both in the
whole and in the broken workings. The Fore-shift
Deputies to see the Fore Overman the last thing every
night, and the Back-shift Deputies to see him every
morning in the pit, both for the purpose of receiving
instructions relative to the workings of their various
districts.
MASTER WASTEMEN.
The Master Wasteman to go down the pit every
morning two hours before the Hewers. To examine
first thing the state of the barometer, and next the prin
cipal intake air currents. To examine in the course of
the day all the various return air currents.
To see that all the working returns are kept properly
open and of a sufficient size, none of which is to be
under 60 feet area where the whole pit’s air is in a
single current, 70 feet area for two, and 80 feet where
the current has three distinct air courses. The Safety
Lamps, on all occasions, to be used in the waste, all of
which must be examined by the Master Wasteman
before being used.
�11
All doors separating the fresh and return air current,
to be fit up with proper locks, which must be kept con
stantly locked, and only opened by persons authorised
by the “Resident Viewer. To see that proper attention
is paid to the furnaces or steam jets. To report daily
to the Resident Viewer the general state of the waste,
also to give to the Overmen any information they may
at any time require respecting the same. The Over
men and the Deputies to travel with the Master Wasteman the whole of the air courses, at least once every
three months, in order to make themselves thoroughly
acquainted with the same.
LAMP KEEPERS.
The Lamp Keepers to keep in a clean and orderly
manner the bottom part of each man’s Safety Lamp,
and to supply the same daily with a sufficient quantity
of oil and wick. To keep a correct account of who
receives the Lamps, and to report to the Overman every
man who in any way injures his Lamp; also, those
who return their Lamps by any other person to the
Lamp Cabin after being done with the same. To see
that no oil, wick, or anything connected with the Lamp
is wasted. To allow no Lamp bottom to go out for use
that is the least out of repair. Any man persisting to
take it, to report him immediately to the Overman in
the pit.
ONSETTERS.
The Onsetters to allow no person to ride, during
work hours, without having sent to bank the token, as
a signal for such, on the previous cage. Not to allow
more than 8 men, or 6 men and 4 lads, to ride at one
time, and on every occasion the tubs to be taken out of
the cage. To allow every person sufficient time for
getting safely into the cage, before rapping away. To
have a stated number of raps, which must be three
when Men are going to ride. Two Onsetters to remain
at the bottom of the pit after the pit has done work, to
�12
see that all the Men and Lads are safely sent away. To
woik the rapper themselves, and on no account to allow
any other person to touch it. To assist in repaiiing the
shaft, taking charge of the rapper on every occasion—
to pay the same every possible care and attention.
Having a clear and distinct understanding with the
Men employed in the shaft and the Banksman, in order
that accidents may be avoided.
BANKSMEN.
A Banksman to attend at the top of the pit, every
morning, to see that the men and lads are sent safely
down the pit and that not more than the specified num
ber descend at one time in a cage. To give the
directions to the brakesman when all is right, and to
tell him that men are in the cage, and to tell him also
when men are going to ride.
To request the men,
when going down the pit, in the absence of the on
setters, to rap one after having got safely out of the
cage. To examine the pit ropes frequently through the
day, and last thing every night. To examine also the
cage chains, and cages, and on every occasion when
any apparent deficiency in the ropes, chains, or cages,
is observed by them, to report the same immediately
to the colliery engineer. Never to allow during work
hours, when men are going to ride, any man to take
his picks, drills or any other gear, down the pit in the
cage with him, but to see that such are sent down in
the tubs.
BRAKESMEN.
A brakesman to be constantly in attendance at the
machine, the good and safe working order of which he
must at all times attend to. Not to leave the handles
when men are riding in the shaft, or working in the
shaft.
Not to lift the cage from the bottom when men are
going to ride, without being told to do so by the banks
�13
man, being, at the same time, certain himself that the
regular number of raps for such have been given by
the onsetters.
To report any deficiency of the machine immediately
to The engineer, which, if considered of a serious nature
by him, to stand until repaired.
On all occasions to
let down and draw the workmen with the greatest
possible care.
ENGINEER.
The engineer to inspect first every morning and ocqasionally through the day, with a view to its proper
working state, all the machinery and its appendages in
use.upon the colliery. To examine also, at least twice
a day, the pit ropes and cages; also the chains belong
ing to the same, the renewing and repairs of which at
all times to be according to his directions, and in every
respect to his entire satisfaction, both in the joiners and
smiths’ department. To inspect and direct also, at all
times, the repairs both of the engine and coal shafts;
for which repairs, on all occasions, the best of materials
to be used. The repairs of the coal waggons and coal
tubs to be inspected by him, and done also to his entire
satisfaction. A book to be kept by him. in which
must be noted all particulars relative to the repairs or
improvements suggested by him in the aforesaid machin
ery, its appendages, ropes, cages, chains, &c.; and in
the event of any deficiency in any parts of the said
machinery, ropes, &c., occurring at any time, the same
to be by him immediately reported to the colliery officer,
adopting at the earliest opportunity such means as will,
to the best of his judgment, remedy the said, deficiency.
To see that all chains connected with the pit ropes and
cages are annealed, or put through the fire at least once
a month; and no riding permitted till all is in repair.
MINES INSPECTION ACT.
That the wages of each and every person shall be
paid to him or his authorised representative, in money,
�14
at the Colliery Office at Seaton Delaval, such Office,
not being contiguous to any house where spirits, wine,
beer, or other spirituous liquors are sold.
GENERAL REMARKS.
Any person observing any door standing open that
ought to be shut, or stoppings injured, or brattice
knocked down or broken, or any other thing, whereby
the ventilation of the mine may be deranged or ob
structed, is immediately to inform the Overman or De
puty, or other officer then in charge of the pit, so that
it may, with as little delay as possible, be remedied.
No Hewer to commence working in any place until
it has first been inspected by the Overman or Deputy,
or some other authorised person.
No Workman to commence or continue to w^rk in
any place where he may consider the timber insufficient
to support the roof of the mine, or any other cause that
may render the place unsafe, until it is put right by the
Deputy or other person in charge.
Any person wilfully or negligently injuring any Safety
Lamp, or in any way obstructing or deranging the ven
tilation of the pit, or breaking any of the Regulations
or Rules, shall be immediately discharged from his em
ployment, or, at the option of the owners of the colfiery, be prosecuted according to law.
LASTLY.
It is the particular desire of the owners and principal
agents of the colliery, that the various officers, whose
duties have been enumerated, will, at all times, report
to the proper authorities every individual case of neglect
or wilful disobeying of the rules and cautions herein set
forth, in order that the safe and proper working of the
colliery may be duly maintained.
�PENALTIES UNDER THE ACT.
Any Owner, or principal Agent, or Viewer, neglect
ing, or wilfully violating any of the General or Special
Rules, which ought to be observed by him, such person
shall be liable to a Penalty of not exceeding Twenty
Pounds; and to further Penalties, in case the default or
neglect be not remedied with all reasonable dispatch
after notice in writing thereof given to him by an In
spector of Coal Mines. Penalties are also attached if
the Special and General Rules be not painted on a
board, or printed upoD paper to be pasted thereon, and
hung up or affixed in some conspicuous part of the
principal office or place of business of the Coal Mine,
or Company, and maintained there in a legible state,
and a copy supplied to all persons employed in or about
the colliery who shall apply for such copy.
Penalties are also attached if proper Plans be not
kept up every six months; and if loss of life to any
person employed in or about the colliery, or any seri
ous personal injury. from explosion, be not within
twenty-four hours after loss of life, reported to the Secre
tary of State, and to the Inspector of Coal Mines for
the district in which the colliery is situate, every person
(other than the Owner or principal Manager) em
ployed in or about a coal mine or colliery who neglects
or ■wilfully violates any of the Special Rules, established
for such coal mine or colliery, shaft, for every offence,
be liable to a penalty not exceeding Two Pounds, or to
�16
be imprisoned with or without hard labour in the com
mon Gaol or House of Correction, not exceeding Three
Calendar Months; and every person who pulls down,
injures, or defaces any Notice hung or affixed as re
quired by the Act for the Inspection of Coal Mines (23
and 24 Victoria, Chap. 151) shall, for every such
offence, be liable to a Penalty of not exceeding Forty
Shillings.
Any person wilfully obstructing an Inspector in
carrying out the Act, shall, for every such offence, be
liable to a Penalty not exceeding Ten Pounds.
�
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Victorian Blogging
Description
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
Date
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Title
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General and special rules for the conduct and guidance of the persons acting in the management of the Seaton Delaval coal mine or colliery belonging to Messrs. Lamb, Burdon & Co., and of all persons employed in or about the same
Creator
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Lamb, Burdon & Co. (Firm)
Description
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Place of publication: Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Collation: 16 p. ; 21 cm.
Notes: From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
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M. & M.W. Lambert, printers
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1861
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G5398
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<p class="western"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /><br />This work (General and special rules for the conduct and guidance of the persons acting in the management of the Seaton Delaval coal mine or colliery belonging to Messrs. Lamb, Burdon & Co., and of all persons employed in or about the same), identified by <a href="www.conwayhall.org.uk">Humanist Library and Archives</a>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</p>
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application/pdf
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Text
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English
Subject
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Industry
Health
Coal Mines
Conway Tracts
Health and Safety
-
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9691fe7666a6dad215b4a70b3a611e86
PDF Text
Text
, ‘'A'(s'
DEADLY LIFE-BUOYS.
(From the Daily Telegraph.')
N those amphibious regions which skirt the quays and docks of seaports,
amid sextants and hammocks, ship-bags and brass cannon, canvas,
cordage, and all the maritime paraphernalia of the slop-shops in such
neighbourhoods, the eye is constantly caught by large yellow belts or
rings suspended over the doorways, and stamped with the words
“warranted corkwood.”
Everybody knows what is the use of
these odd-looking girdles : they are “life-buoys,” bought and sold to
save drowning men at sea. We look at them with a certain affection
and interest, imagining them to be articles which, at a pinch, would
preserve that most precious thing—a human life. The fancy wanders away
from the slop-shop to the vessel tossed and leaking in the fierce ocean,
where one of these yellow circles might be worth—not merely the few
shillings which it cost, but all the wealth that a man possessed. In a
collision at sea, when one ship goes suddenly down, and the only chance for
life lies in floating long enough to be picked up by the boats of the uninjured
vessel, the price of a “life-belt” might prove the best investment ever
made; or when the gale is blowing, and the craft drives furiously along, and
some hapless sailor falls from the yard-arm into the billows, one of
these awkward-looking commodities flung overboard might keep him up till
the ship could be brought-to, and the boat lowered. Or, at the awful hour
when a bark strikes upon the lee-shore, and begins to break in pieces, to
have a life-buoy at hand, and to slip it under the arms, might be the means
of bringing a shipwrecked mariner or passenger out of the very jaws of death
to the safe and firm shore. When we think on all these contingencies, the
yellow belt of safety has a charm for landsmen as well as for seamen. It is
an honest and a Christian trade, we say, to manufacture such goods; the
money is good money which is taken over the counter for them; and the
emigrant or seafaring man is surely wise, who, before “ going down to the
sea,” provides himself with one of these useful and trustworthy safeguards.
“Useful and trustworthy !” Let the ingenuous public dismiss these pleasing
thoughts from the mind, and henceforth regard the yellow canvas-bound
life-buoys with looks of shame and suspicion. There is no sham so wicked,
no cheat so infamous, as that perpetrated upon poor landsmen and emigrants
�2
DEADLY LIFE-BUOYS.
by the makers and sellers of these benevolent-seeming objects. Those who
go much among maritime folk, know that the buyers of life-belts are seldom
or never captains or mariners. The passengers, the travellers, the emigrant^
keep a few shillings aside to add one of these belts to their sea stock : but if
one ask a sailor’s opinion about them, he shakes his head, and says that he
“would rather go down and have done with it,” than trust to one of those
lying pretences, which he knows by experience are “made to sell,” and in
eleven cases out of twelve are merely worthless—sinking as soon as theyJ
become sodden in the water.
We owe to the correspondent of a contemporary revelations on the subject
which will fill the mind with indignation and horror. This gentleman had
reason to believe that the so-called “life-buoys” were villanous hypocrisies,
in far too many instances constructed to deceive the purchaser, and cheat him
possibly out of his life, for the sake of the few shillings of difference in value
between the real article and the spurious. A Sunderland buoy maker dis
closed the fact that he had found more than one belt bought at London slop
shops to be stuffed with worthless material, such as common rushes. He
added that, within his own knowledge, seafaring persons had consequently
given up all faith in the deceitful belts, and preferred to “take their chance,”
rather than trust the rascally slop-shops. Shortly afterwards, the writer met
a Shadwell operative, whose business it was to make the yellow “life-buoys.”
The man frankly confessed that “ not one in a dozen” was so constructed as
to keep a human creature afloat. “You could’nt do it at the price,” this
person said; “the shopkeepers won’t give more than three-and-six or four
shillings for ’em, and I’d like to know how much cork you can stuff in at
that figure.” Interrogated farther, this naïve purveyor of deadly life
preservers volunteered the information that “almost anything does to stuff
them. Cocoa fibre mostly, sometimes straw, sometimes rushes, same as what
the caulkers use ; anything will fill ’em well enough for sale—shavings, if
you havn’t got anything better.”
All this various rubbish, coated with
canvas, bound and painted, would float for a little time ; and by-and-bye, as
it became soaked in the salt water, it would sink through its own weight ;
but, of course, with the weight of a man clinging to it, much sooner. Aimed
with this intelligence, the correspondent of our contemporary went life-buoybuying in the slop-shops of maritime London. He visited Shadwell, Ratcliff,
and Poplar, and in each of these quarters he purchased a “good life-belt.”
One was “warranted corkwood;” another was branded “all cork;” ths
third simply bore the word “warranted.” They ranged in price from six
shillings to seven and sixpence. Having brought them home, the experi
mentalist first proceeded to test them by dissection. When the yellow
integument was laid open, the belt “warranted corkwood” was found to
�STRAWS FOR DROWNING IEN.
(Reprinted from the Morning Star, by special permission of Mr. Jas. Greenwood.)
WTseason
gale an<i wreck—when “the stormy winds do blow”
in the dreary night-time, and hearing them as we hug our pillows, we
exclaim “ God help poor souls at sea!”—permit me to disclose to
Xour readers a monstrously cruel and heartless cheat systematically
imposed on mariners, and those who make long journeys at sea. It
concerns what in devilish mockery are “in the trade” known as
“life-buoys.” I may mention that my attention was directed to this subject
BO long ago as last November twelvemonth, when that memorable hurricane
swept the island of St. Thomas, and the sea in its neighbourhood, causing
such appalling devastation amongst the shipping thereabouts. It was my
duty to describe in your columns the marvellous escape of a lad named
Bailey, who was attached to H.M.S. “ Rhone,” of whose crew, numbering
nearly 100, about a dozen were saved. Battling for his life in the raging
W®ck-waters, Bailey was so lucky as to secure a floating life-buoy suddenly
vacated by a hapless fellow, who, with his body within the ring, was nipped
off at the middle by a shark, causing the poor wretch to fling up his arms
and slip through “ like a bolt out of its socket,” as Master Bailey graphically
described it. Clinging to the precious buoy, Bailey was carried out to sea,
and far out of sight and sound of land. Night came on, and quite done over
with fatigue, he fell asleep, and so remained until his buoy drifted ashore,
carrying’ him with it; and he was awoke by the rasping of his legs against
the shingle. I examined that life-buoy, and saw the clear imprint of Master
Bailey s stubbly hair on the soddened, yellow-painted canvas, showing
where his sleepy head had rested.
As may easily be understood, I at once conceived a high respect for life
buoys , and resolved, if ever I went to sea, to provide myself with one,
though I had no more money left than would secure me a berth in the
steerage. I shouldn t have had much trouble over the purchase. In all
seaport towns, and in the vicinity of the principal docks, there are dozens of
maritime outfitting warehouses, and all of them sell life-buoys, most of them
keeping such an extensive stock of the article as to prove unmistakeably
the popular faith in, and extensive demand for, it. TIke any other
unsuspicious person, I should have asked for a life-buoy, and seeing that it
was properly branded “warranted cork,” I should have paid for it, and
ffi®med it away never doubting it.
How woefully I might have miscalculated, will presently appear.
The opening of my eyes to the true state of the case is mainly due to a
well known life-belt and buoy maker of Sunderland, Mr. T. Dixon Writing
to me concerning loss of life at sea, he informed me that he had grave
suspicions of the quality of the life-buoys manufactured in London, and
supplied to the Jew slop-shops. He informed me that he himself had met
With life-buoys composed of the basest materials; and sent me bits of
common rush as a sample of the interior of one he had dissected
He
further apprised me of the fact that to such an extent had this fraud been
P®fPe^te,d’ that a ver7 large number of seamen would have nothing to do
"uk
declaring that they would rather go down and have done
with it, than hang in the jaws of death for a few hours, with the certainty of
drowning after all becoming more apparent as the treacherous support
gradually soddened, and sank under their weight.
�2
STRAWS FOR DROWNING MEN.
It was scarcely to be credited that so murderous a business as my
Sunderland friend hinted at, could be commonly pursued; but I resolved to
watch my opportunity for testing it; and just lately, by chance, I met a
man in the poor neighbourhood of Shadwell, who informed me that he was
a belt and buoy maker.
We had some conversation on the subject of his trade, and then it came
out, not only that Mr. Dixon’s suspicions were well founded, but that he
had not suspected the worst. With a candour that contrasted queerly with
the villany his statements betrayed, the Shadwell operative informed me
that the buoys which are all stamped “ warranted corkwood,” are -nothing
of the kind—“not one in a dozen.” “You couldn’t do it for the money,”
said my informant; “the Jews that such as we work for won’t give more
than 3/6 or 4/- for ’em; and how much cork can you afford to stuff into ’em
for that, I’d like to know ?” I asked him what he could afford to stuff into
his buoys at the price, and he replied—“Cocoa fibre mostly; sometimes
straw; sometimes rushes, same as what the caulkers use ; anything almost
does; shavings, if you havn’t got anything better.” He appeared to think
that it did not matter what the canvass covers were stuffed with, so long
as they were well sewn and painted. I further inquired as to where the
precious goods of his manufacture might be bought, and he replied shortly—
“ Anywhere.” And it seemed that this was perfectly true.
The neighbourhoods of Shadwell, Ratcliffe, and Poplar were visited;
and at each place at a seaman’s slop-shop, a “good life-buoy” was inquired
for, and bought. One was branded “warranted corkwood;” one “all
cork;” and the third simply bore the word “warranted.” They ranged in
price from 6/- to 7/6. They were all three carried home, and dissected, with
the folio-wing results:—
No. 1 (“ warranted corkwood”), when its flimsy yellow skin was slit,
was discovered to consist bodily of straw, sparely covered with cork shavings
for the satisfaction, it is presumed, of any cautious mariner who might feel
disposed to risk a little slit in his purchase, so as to make sure of its quality
before he paid for it.
No. 2 (“ warranted”) was stuffed with rushes.
No. 3 (“all cork”) cork chips and rushes; about 20 per cent, of the
former, and 80 of the latter.
To test the buoyant capability of the three detected impostors, they were
placed in water, a weight of ten pounds being attached to each. This was
the result:—
“Warranted corkwood” sank in an hour.
“Warranted” stood the test for nearly two hours, and then succumbed.
“ALL cork” floated for four hours, and then sank from view.
Here is a pretty revelation! In our inbred love for the sea, and all that
pertains to it, in this, more than in any other direction, do our sympathy
and charity extend. An appeal for funds to float a life-boat on any
dangerous coast, is seldom or never made in vain. We have hearty despising
for all “crimps” and “long-shore” sharks, who prey on the seaman and
fleece him of his hard earnings, more than all. Of all men, none is so
utterly abhorred as the “ wrecker,” the cold-blooded villain who by means
of false lights and signals betrays a vessel to certain destruction, for the
sake of such plunder as the shattered hulk and the bodies of drowned men
may yield. What, then, must be our opinion of the man who, for the sake
of an extra profit of half-a-crown, consigns a fellow-creature to the lingering
�SCOUNDRELISM BY THE SEA.
torture of death hy gradual drowning ? To be sure, it may often happen
lihat, cast on the face of the wilderness of water, the possessor of a life-buoy
deserving the name may in the end be worse off than the man who has
no such hope left him out of the wreck of his ship, and “ goes down and has
done with it;” but who, since this wretched imposture began, can reckon
up the instances of desperate hope all unexpectedly mocked to death, of life
lost that would have been saved, had the promise that the treacherous buoy
held out but proved true ? Nay, how many men, and women too—emigrant
mothers bearing up their little children in the fathomless waters—have
been cheated out of their lives, by abandoning the spar or plank, for the
more hopeful-looking ring of stuffed canvas, “ warranted solid corkwood,”
but which is no more than straw and rags, and which soddens and sinks,
dragging the clingers with it ?
SCOUNDEELISM BY THE SEA.
(From Punch.)
^rERHAPS no plummet that shall be cast will ever find the bottom
of human baseness and wickedness.
We have sometimes thought
that we had nearly sounded them—as in the case of the first Napoleon,
SA or the last hag sent to prison for stripping children of their clothes.
But up crops a new case, which seems to demand a heavier lead and
a longer line than do either of the criminals we have mentioned. At
first, we knew not whether to thank Mr. James Greenwood, or not, for
making the revelation—so disgusting is the cold, sickening brutality he
records; but, on reflection, we thank him for having added another to his
good deeds. What think you, brothers and sisters, who lie safely listening
to the furious tempests, and who find some comfort, when you are pitying
the sailors, in the thought that they are furnished with life-buoys, that
may hold them up in the fight with the black waves,—what think you, we
gay, of this ?—
Writing to me (says Mr. Greenwood, in last Friday’s Star) concerning
loss of life at sea, Mr. Dixon—a well-known life-belt and buoy maker, of
Sunderland informed me that he had grave suspicions of the quality of the
life-buoys manufactured in London, and supplied to the Jew slop-shops. He
himself had .met with life-buoys composed of the basest materials, and sent
me some bits of common rush as a sample of the interior of one he had
dissected. He further apprised me of the fact, that to such an extent had
this fraud been perpetrated, that a very large number of seamen would have
nothing to do. with life-buoys, declaring that they would rather go down, and
have done with it, than hang in the jaws of death for a few hours—with
the certainty of drowning, after all, becoming more apparent as the treacherous
support gradually soddened, and sank under their weight.
There, just read that quietly. It is no case for tall language. The simple
words are pretty nearly enough, don’t you think ? You have taken in the
fact. The men struggling in the waters—thinking of firesides and children—
and feeling the article from a Jew’s slop-shop giving way under their cold
hands ! Let us go on, then.
Mr. Greenwood, naturally, did not care to receive this story without
inquiry. He is no Gusher, eager to gush before a tale can be contradicted;
i
�4
SCOUNDRELISM BY THE SEA,
on the contrary, a hard-headed, practical gentleman. He went to Shadwell,
and found a belt and buoy maker. The man was frank enough :—
He informed me that the buoys which are all stamped “ warranted cork
wood,” are nothing of the kind—“not one in a dozen.” “You could’nt do
it for the money,” said my informant; “ the Jews that such as we work for,
won’t give more than 3/6 and 4/- each for ’em, and how much cork can you
afford to stuff in ’em for that, I’d like to know
He appeared
to think that it did not matter what the canvas covers were stuffed with, so
long as they were well sewn and painted. I further inquired as to where the
precious goods of his manufacture might be bought, and he replied shortly—
“Anywhere.” And it seemed that this was perfectly true.
He told Mr. Greenwood what was put into the articles—rushes, shavings.
But this will be shown better in Mr. Greenwood’s own account:—
The neighbourhoods of Shadwell, Ratcliffe, and Poplar were visited; and
at each place, at a seaman’s slop-shop, a “ good life-buoyj” was inquired for,
and bought. One was branded “warranted corkwood,” one “all cork,” and
the third simply bore the word “warranted.” They ranged in price from 6/to 7/6. They were all three carried home, and dissected, with the following
results :—
No. 1 (“warranted corkwood”), when its flimsy yellow skin was slit, was
discovered to consist bodily ef straw, sparely covered with cork shavings for
the satisfaction, it is presumed, of any cautious mariner who might feel dis
posed to risk a little slit in his purchase, so as to make sure of its quality
before he paid for it.
No. 2 (“warranted”) was stuffed with rushes.
No. 3 (“all cork”) cork chips and rushes, about 20 per cent, of the
former, and 80 of the latter.
To test the buoyant capability of the three detected impostors, they were
placed in water, a weight of ten pounds being attached to each. This was
the result :—
“Warranted corkwood” sank in an hour.
“Warranted” stood the test for nearly two hours, and then succumbed.
“All cork” floated for four hours, and their sank from view.
We really do not see that we can do better than leave the case as thus
succintly stated. We thought that no form of rascality could surprise us
much ; but this revelation has more nearly produced astonishment than any
atrocity of which we have read for years. Yet, why be astonished ? For
“ bithnetli is bithneth,” as the Jew slop-keeper would say ; and “business is
business,” as his Christian rival would remark. But—would it not be
pleasant to fling a gang of the vendors of these accursed things into the sea
olf Brighton on a blowy day, and pitch them a choice assortment of their
own buoys and belts to save them ? We doubt whether a purer pleasure
could be suggested to us, unless we could hand them to the unfriendly Maories
about dinner-time. We may not have either happiness; but we may call
upon all our contemporaries to do their best to spread the knowledge that
such are among the devilish tricks of trade ; and we may among us save a
good many poor fellows from the deep. Can’t the Sailors’ Home, among
other channels, publish the facts ? And if Jack inquires into the matter,
and, breaking open a buoy at a slop-shop, finds straw or shavings, we hope
that he will not be so hard as to pull the Jew’s nose off—that is, not quite off.
�DEADLY LIFE-BUOYS.
consist almost entirely of straw, overlaid with just a sufficient quantity of
cork-cuttings to deceive a purchaser so cautious as to examine into its
quality. The “warranted” belt was stuffed wholly with rushes. The third
sample of these scoundrelly commodities, marked “all cork,” contained
about 20 per cent, of cork chips ; the rest was rushes. The belts were then
re-closed, and their floating capacity tried by placing them in water, with a
weight of ten pounds attached to each. Let the public note that ten pounds
Was an exceedingly moderate test for articles sold as capable of supporting
a man’s body in the sea ! But what was the result? The best, “warranted
corkwood,” sank to the bottom in the space of an hour; the “warranted”
life-preserver floated two hours; and the “all cork” villany kept itself up for
four hours, and then disappeared. It is needless to observe that, if these
three false and vile specimens had been in actual use, not one of them would
have sustained a shipwrecked seaman or passenger for a moment longer than
the time necessary to saturate with sea-water the belt and the clothes of the
poor betrayed wretches.
And these were three “life-belts” bought at hazard from the shops in
the chief streets of London—bought and sold as “good life-buoys,” and
branded, in plain letters, with the audacious lie that they were, good ! The
heart sickens as we learn what man will plot against his fellow-man for the
mke of a wretched and dishonest profit ! It is bad enough to sand sugar, to
mix horse-beans with coffee, to put alum in bread, quassia in beer, and grains
of Paradise in gin. It is shamefully wicked to defraud the poor, day by day,
and ounce after ounce, with cheating scales and weights. Yet we understand
how the coarse conscience may become indurated by the constant practice of
petty baseness; for the evil is indirect, the mischief is not forcibly present to
the guilty thought. That a human being, however, well aware what a vile
and cruel sham he is constructing, should sit down to fill a “life-buoy” with
deceitful rubbish, that he should go with his painted murder to the slop-shop,
that it should be then and there taken of him at a price which denounces it for
a manufactured lie, and should in turn be sold to the unwary customer as a
means of saving life in time of need, when the shopman knows that in time
of need it will miserably sink the buyer—all this appears to be well nigh the
most cold, awful, and horrible demonstration of unpunished homicide which
we ever encountered. Yes—homicide ! since hundreds of wretched creatures
must have perished by reason of these mendacious goods. Many and many a
poor soul, cajoled into purchasing one of the yellow shams, has trusted his
life, to it; and at that moment only, when no human justice could help him, he
has found that his life had been bought and sold for the paltry shilling or two
which would have made the belt genuine and serviceable. Merciful and just
Heaven ! who can realise the bitter agony of a human being so betrayed ?
�4
DEADLY LIFE-BUOYS.
At the moment, perhaps, when he is on the very point of rescue—-when ,1
little longer buffeting in the waves will give the boat’s crew time to reach
him, or will let him wash on shore alive and safe, though bruised—he feels the
accursed thing to which he trusted become a trap of death. The wicked,
lying fraud sags and sinks under his arms, and he goes to his fate a murdered
man. And there are artizans and traders here among tis who know that such
scenes have been, may be, and will be, and who yet go on fabricating these
painted villanies, or hanging their “warranted” life-destroyers at their
doors, ready to sell them with a smirk and a flourish to the first poor
emigrant—simple soul, taking it for granted that, in such a matter, no man
with a man’s heart would hold the life of his neighbour as nought for the sake
of half-a-crown or three shillings. In some countries, a cross is hung over
the lintel to keep evil things away : with us, people are not afraid to swing a
mock “life-belt” over their thresholds—a token that only the triumph of
evil designs is desired by the heartless shopkeeper. We can almost fancy
those treacherous doors haunted by the ghosts of poor creatures betrayed in
their last hope—angry and awful spectres, banning the wicked places where
death was sold to them under the name of rescue. Let those who inspect
and punish the villanies of trade look into this matter quickly; for it is a
civil curse—a national malediction—that the lives of men should be brutally
endangered, and contingent murder practised, for a gain of thirty pence.
(From the Newcastle Chronicle.')
JAMES GREENWOOD has done a most valuable service to the
maritime community, by exposing the iniquitous conduct of certain
east-end-of-London manufacturers, in the production of an article
they call a life-buoy. Many of these buoys, instead of being filled with cork,
are stuffed with rushes, hay, and such like rubbish, which, of course, will
only hasten the end of the poor drowning man who may lay hold of one of
them. We believe Mr. Greenwood is indebted to Mr. Dixon, of Sunderland,
for having called his attention to the iniquity. This species of manufacture
is free-trade with a vengeance ; but the pirate and freebooter are gentlemen
beside the rascals who make a living by this diabolical fraud. We hope that
the attention of Parliament will be called to it immediately, and that some
stringent test will be applied to the manufacture of life-buoys. Lynch law
is quite good enough for the people who engage in such an infamous trade ;
and it could not be much regretted if a party of indignant sailors were to
lay hands upon those east-end tradesmen and “manufacturers,” and throw
them into the Thames, -with their fraudulent life-buoys fastened about them,
so that they might become the victims of their own villany.
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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Title
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Deadly life-buoys; Straws for drowning men; Scoundrelism by the sea
Creator
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Greenwood, James
Description
An account of the resource
Place of publication: [s.l.]
Collation: [8 p.] ; 18 cm.
Notes: 3 articles. Deadly Life-Buoys reprinted from the Daily Telegraph; Straws for Drowning Men, reprinted from the Morning Star; Scoundrelism by the Sea reprinted from Punch. Response to Greenwood's articles from the Newcastle Chronicle. Concerning James Greenwood's investigations into deceptively manufactured life buoys. Pagination of Deadly Life-Buoys and Scoundrelism by the Sea bound in wrong order. Tentative date of publication from KVK. From the library of Dr Moncure Conway.
Publisher
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[s.n.]
Date
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[1869?]
Identifier
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G5382
Subject
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Health
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (Deadly life-buoys; Straws for drowning men; Scoundrelism by the sea), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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application/pdf
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Text
Language
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English
Conway Tracts
Health and Safety
Lifebuoys