738 REPORT — 1891. 



•whereby, in view of the existing law, they jointly provide against all the casualties 

 incidental to their trade. The words, ' contracting out of the Act,' were advisedly 

 set aside as not representing fairly the arrangements now prevailing, and it was 

 contended that the existing contracts are in view of the Act, and are the result of 

 legislation rather than an attempt to evade its provisions. The history of colliery 

 clubs having been lightly touched upon, the paper set out the progress of the 

 movement for establishing permanent funds, one of whose chief objects is to 

 remove the anomaly as to fatal accidents, whereby when men were killed in large 

 numbers subscriptions provided for their dependents, but when men died singly 

 there was no attempt to elicit public hel]i. When representatives of the societies 

 met in conference for the first time in 1878, the total membership was 00,000, and 

 a central association was formed, at whose conference this year (1891) were repre- 

 sented societies with an aggregate membership of 268,971 ; with a revenue of 

 242,658/. ; with accumulated funds amounting to 367,293/. ; with 2,395 widows 

 and 3,842 children in receipt of allowances, and having in the year 1890 dealt 

 with 39,411 cases of disability through accident. The increase of membership 

 from 1889 to 1890 was over 30,000. Mr. Campbell proceeded to show what had 

 been done in view of the Employers" Liability Act in the coalfields having perma- 

 nent societies, and it appeared that at Decembei", 1890, there were 110,973 of the 

 members of the permanent societies under arrangement with tbeir employers, the 

 general principle being that the masters contributed 25 per cent, on the con- 

 tributions of the men. The ' remarkable experience ' referred to in the 

 title of the paper had special reference to Monmouthshire and South "Wales, 

 where the society was formed after the Act of 1880 was passed. It was now 

 second in point of numbers of the permanent societies, and had 52,760 members. 

 Add to these 12,978 members of the North Wales society, the 44,824 of Lancashire 

 and Cheshire, and a small contingent of Xorth Staffordshire, and then let the 

 question be squarely put — was it possible that, in view of the powerful agitation 

 maintained in and out of Parliament since 1880, these 110,973 men could have 

 been forced into an arrangement or by force could be kept under an arrangement 

 with their employers ? No more than the}^ could coerce a nation could they 

 coerce 110,000 men who stood almost shoulder to shoulder from Cumberland to 

 Cornwall, and who had shrewdly made the Act of 1880 the means of making 

 provision for all accidents — not only those for which the employer is legally 

 responsible and those caused by the workman's inadvertence, but for that great 

 proportion of disasters for which neither masters nor men could be held account- 

 able. Elaborate statistics were appended to the paper, from which Mr. Campbell 

 said it would not be difficult to ascertain how much bad lieen lost to the sufferers 

 from accident in the mining community by reason of there not being general 

 combination between masters and men for their mutual insurance and benefit. 

 The tables of figures answered the question whether monetary considerations 

 hindered safe management ; and especially was this the case as to North Wales, 

 where, with a most compact organisation of employers and employed in view of 

 the Act, there had since its passing been a steady reduction in the number of 

 accidents. It was contended that the miners' permanent societies ought not to be 

 disturbed, and that, while the Legislature shoidd be encouraged to make the Act 

 of 1880 permanent and to prohibit contracts based alone on consideration of 

 employment, contracts should be permitted and encouraged which made provision 

 for all accidents as sufficient as the Act gave in cases where the employers were 

 liable. The risk was an insurable one, and the Legislature were not likely to 

 hinder a man insuring against an insurable risk ; nor was it reasonable to say that 

 while it might be covered by a proprietary company it ought not to be available 

 business for a concern in which the parties interested were proprietors with the 

 profits returned to them. Since the select committee of 1886 received evidence 

 the number of contracts in view of the Act had increased by no less than 38,000 

 in mining alone. Every year strengthened the position of those who contend that 

 in this matter freedom of contract should be maintained, coupled with reasonable 

 security against the workmen being placed at a disadvantage ; and the object of 

 the paper would be served if it assisted in maturing public opinion in the direction 



