1864. | Mining, Mineralogy, and Metallurgy. 141 
were always used; and the strictness with which a well-devised code 
of rules was enforced appeared to secure this colliery from accident 
by explosion. Yet, when least expected, the fire-damp accumulates, 
and mysteriously it is fired, sweeping away in a moment 39 men, and 
strewing wreck around in its deadly progress. This sad accident 
should teach us that we must not suppose we can, by any skill or care, 
secure absolute immunity from casualties of this class. In all proba- 
bility the Morfa explosion arose from a sudden outburst of carburetted 
hydrogen gas, attended with a fall of the roof, by which the wire 
gauze of a safety-lamp became broken. It is important that a record 
should be prominently made of the fact, that the proprietors of this 
colliery, the Messrs. Vivian, refused the aid which the public readily 
offered, and that they take upon themselves the burthen of supporting 
the widows and orphans of those who perished in their employment. 
Knowing the imperfections of human nature, and the power exerted 
by selfishness over the better feelings of the heart, we are persuaded 
that both master and man would be permanently benefited by a legis- 
lative enactment, rendering it imperative that the Colliery proprietor 
should be responsible for the maintenance of the widow and the child 
of the collier, who has perished by accident in his pit. With such a 
provision, a more searching system of inspection would be introduced ; 
the workings would be kept in better order; rules would be more 
rigidly enforced ; and, as a consequence, the coal would be obtained 
in better condition, and at less cost, than at present. Beyond this, 
the Colliery proprietors would speedily protect themselves by forming 
funds to meet the exigencies as they arose. A course of this kind is 
the only one left for trial: there is surely philanthropy enough in this 
Christian land to force on the experiment. 
In nearly every division of human labour, some mechanical power 
has been introduced for the purpose of relieving the labourer from 
the constant strain made upon his muscular system. The coal-hewer 
has not, however, been in any way assisted. With the primitive pick 
and the ancient wedge, he has been compelled, often under the most 
trying conditions, to “get” the coal. This state of things may be 
accounted for by the circumstance that Mining work is performed in 
the deep and dark bowels of the earth, where there is little to attract, 
and much to repel, such minds as usually give birth to appliances of 
physical force. The subject has not been, however, entirely neglected. 
So long since as 1789, a patent appears to have been granted for 
improved machinery to be used in getting coal, and since that time 
many plans have been proposed, and some of them patented, though 
none have been successfully applied. The first machine which has 
been found capable of taking its place in the regular business of coal- 
cutting is one belonging to the West Ardsley Coal Company, Messrs. 
Firth, Donisthorpe, and Bower. This machine has been in regular 
work during the last twelve months, and it appears to be admirably 
adapted to the purpose for which it is contrived. 
The Machine— shown on the adjoining plate—is carried on a cast- 
metal frame of great firmness, the size and weight varying to suit the 
condition and thickness of the bed of coal to be operated upon. An 
