"That one of the most frequent causes of accidents in these mines is the want of superintendence by overlookers or otherwise, to see to the security of the machinery for letting down and bringing up the work-people, the restriction of the number of persons that ascend and descend at a time, the state of the mine as to the quantity of noxious gas in it, the efficiency of the ventilation, the exactness with which the air-door keepers perform their duty, the places into which it is safe or unsafe to go with a naked lighted candle, the security of the proppings to uphold the roof, &c. "That another frequent cause of fatal accidents is the almost universal practice of intrusting the closing of the air-doors to very young children. "That there are many mines in which the most ordinary precautions to guard against accidents are neglected, and in which no money appears to be expended with a view to secure the safety, much less the comfort, of the work-people. "There are, moreover, two practices, peculiar to a few districts, which deserve the highest reprobation, namely,—first, the practice, not unknown in some of the smaller mines in Yorkshire, and common in Lancashire, in employing ropes that are unsafe for letting down and drawing up the work-people; and second, the practice occasionally met with in Yorkshire, and common in Derbyshire and Lancashire, of employing boys at the steam-engines for letting down and drawing up the work-people."—_First Report, Conclusions_, p. 255-257. Well, what did the British Government do when the heart-rending report of the commissioners was received? It felt the necessity of a show of legislative interference. Lord Ashley introduced a bill into the House of Commons, having for its object the amelioration of the condition of the mining women and children. Much discussion occurred. The bill passed the House of Commons, and was taken to the House of Lords, the high court of British oppression. Some lords advocated the measure, whereupon Lord Londonderry and some others spoke of them as "bitten with a humanity mania." Modifications were made in the bill to suit the pockets of the luxurious proprietors, and then it was grumblingly adopted. What did the bill provide? That no child under _ten_ years of age, and no woman or girl, of any age, should be allowed to work in a mine. Now, children may be ten years of age, and above that, and yet they are still tender little creatures. The majority of the sufferers who came to the notice of the commissioners were above ten years of age! In that point, at least, the bill was worse than a nullity—it was a base deceit, pouring balm, but not upon the wound!