1869.] Mining. 309 



accorded to pay the Earl a lialfpenny for every pound of tynne 

 which should be wrought," &c. At the head of this court is a 

 Lord Warden — now the Duke of Cornwall — who appoints his Vice- 

 Warden, by whom the courts are held. 



This ancient Mining Court is now about to undergo — perhaps 

 not too soon — material modification ; and on the evening of Friday, 

 the 26th February, Mr. John St. Aubyn, one of the members of Par- 

 liament for West Cornwall, obtained leave to introduce a bill to the 

 House of Commons "for amending the Jaw relating to Mining 

 parinershiiJS within the Stannaries of Devon and Cornwall and to 

 the Court of the Vice-Warden of the Stannaries.'" This involves 

 so important a change in the laws which relate to mining in the 

 West of England, that, although this Journal is not the place for 

 discussing the questions at issue, it appears necessary to record the 

 intended alterations in our mining chronicles. 



From time to time various suggestions have been made relative 

 to the organization of some system by which a provision might be 

 secured for the widows and children of such coal-miners as may 

 perish in the course of their labours. A plan of colliery insurance 

 has been more than once proposed, and there is but little doubt 

 that it would have been long since estabhshed had the period been 

 a more auspicious one for commercial speculation. 



The project for organizing a Colliery Insurance Company, to 

 embrace a provision for the survivors of those killed in colhery 

 accidents, and to reimburse the colhery proprietor or worker for any 

 loss accruing to his property, is again exciting attention. A letter 

 has been published by Mr. Stephen Sleigh, of Austin Friars, which 

 clearly shows the practicability of such a system of insurance. We 

 learn from this letter that the value of the colliery property of 

 (xreat Britain is estimated at 70,000,000/. sterling. The production 

 of coal is at present 104,000,000 tons per annum, and in obtaining 

 this, on the average of ten years, 1000 hves are lost in each year. 

 It appears that 2d. per week per man would produce a fund 

 from which lOOZ. could be given to the widows and children of the 

 deceased colher ; and that a very small premium, varying of course 

 with the district, would secure the insurer from any serious loss to 

 liis property. As active measures are about to be taken to establish 

 this most important principle, we content ourselves at present by 

 directing attention to the movement. 



In the House of Commons, on Thursday, February 25th, 

 Mr. Greene asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department 

 whether it was the intention of the Government to introduce any 

 measure for the further prevention of accidents in coal-pits. He 

 elicited the reply — that a measure on the subject was being pi'e- 

 pared and would shortly be laid before the House. ]\Ir. Kinnaird 

 inquired if the Government intended to bring in a bill for the 



VOL. VI. y 



