The present Bishop of Bristol, to whom the world is so greatly indebted for having first called the attention of Sir Humphry Davy to the subject of explosions from fire-damp, and who has kindly interested himself in my arduous and anxious undertaking, was desirous to obtain for me the latest accounts with respect to the Safety-lamp, as to the constancy of its use, and the extent of its security; and his Lordship informs me, that having applied to Mr. Buddle and Mr. Fenwick for information upon these points, their answers have been most satisfactory; at the same time, his Lordship transmitted me much valuable information, which was accompanied by the following letter from Mr. Buddle. TO THE RIGHT REVEREND THE LORD BISHOP OF BRISTOL. Wall's-End, August 11, 1830. MY LORD, I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Lordship's letter of yesterday's date. I am glad your Lordship has interested yourself in Doctor Paris's work, and I hope that he will be enabled, through the assistance of Sir Humphry's friends, to do ample justice to the genius and worth of that excellent man. I should be very happy if any letters of mine could assist Dr. Paris in doing justice to his merits in the invention of the Safety-lamp; and I shall with pleasure submit to your Lordship's better judgment and discretion the selection of such of them as may seem to be conducive to that object. I do not find that any improvement whatever has been made, either in the principle or construction of the _original lamp_, as presented to us by Sir Humphry. His transcendent genius seems to have anticipated every thing belonging to the subject, and has left nothing more to be done. I have the honour to be, My Lord, with great respect, Your Lordship's most obedient, humble servant, JOHN BUDDLE. In consequence of some late reports of accidents in the mines, I requested my friend Sir Cuthbert Sharp to make certain enquiries in the mining districts; and for this purpose, I sent him a string of queries, to which I begged him to obtain answers. These questions were submitted to Mr. Buddle, and they produced the following letter. TO SIR CUTHBERT SHARP. Newcastle, August 28, 1830. MY DEAR SIR CUTHBERT, I return Dr. Paris's letter, and shall briefly answer his enquiries. If the Davy lamp was exclusively used, and due care taken in its management, it is certain that few accidents would occur in our coal mines; but the exclusive use of the "_Davy_" is not compatible with the working of many of our mines, in consequence of their not being workable without the aid of gunpowder. In such mines, where every collier must necessarily fire, on the average, two _shots_ a-day, we are exposed to the risk of explosion from the ignition of the gunpowder, even if no naked lights were used in carrying on the ordinary operations of the mine.