February 2nd at Stanrigg, resulting in the death of one person, who went into an abandoned place of the working with a naked lamp

Newspaper Report

This accident happened in or near to the deceased's working-place, which he had been engaged driving forward to a "heading," not in course of extension.

It would appear that he had formed a connexion with the "heading" three or four days previous to the accident, and that shortly after this communication had been made the overman and fireman very injudiciously took out the brattice, by which the air had previously been carried to the extreme "rise" of the heading, and the result of this was, a small quantity of firedamp accumulated between the point where the deceased formed the connexion with the "heading" and the space to the "rise" of it.

The fireman explained that he had cautioned the deceased regarding this accumulation, and pointed out its range and the limit of safety. The result, however, proves the absurdity of attempting to work with an unprotected light in the immediate neighbourhood of fire-damp, and with no other protection than an imaginary line of safety formed by a current of air, changing with the varied conditions of the shaft and airways.

Newspaper Report

At Burnbrae, near Airdrie, on February 18th where one person was killed by a hutch coming up an incline

Newspaper Report

'The Procurator Fiscal in this case charged the engineman with culpable homicide, and with culpable violation or neglect of duty; he was tried at the Ayr Circuit Court in September last, by Lord Cowan and a jury, and after a careful examination of witnesses practically acquainted with the working and construction of boilers, and others who proved the state of the boilers and the previous working of them, the jury found the accused guilty as libelled, and his lordship sentenced him to six months' imprisonment.

[NB - The engineman was John Wyllie, age 24, Auchinleck, Ayrshire - source NAS catalogue]

Though the waste connected with this pit is extensive, the workings are now limited and nearly exhausted.

The deceased was fireman, and it would appear that on the morning of the accident he had discovered firedamp in one of the working places; in company with the oversman he had afterwards endeavoured to dislodge it, and restore the ventilation so as to allow the miners to go to their work.

The current of ventilation at this particular place was conducted in part along the face of the ironstone and partly out the drawing road. The firedamp lay along the face of the ironstone. Finding they could proceed only a short distance with a safety lamp, they had rashly attempted to travel a few yards in the dark, thinking there might be some interruption, easily removed, which prevented the ventilation from making its usual circuit along the " Cundie" leading back from the wall face.

The presumption is, that the deceased in attempting to travel round the air-course, was suffocated by inhaling the irrespirable gases ; and his body was found six hours afterwards, a short distance from where he had abandoned the safety lamp. The oversman was taken out in a state, of unconsciousness, but afterwards recovered.

This unfortunate occurrence was occasioned by an irruption of water from an abandoned waste, forming part of the same colliery (old Sheep-mount pit, abandoned for the last 12 years), and lying near to the going works.
The workings from the " upper doors" of the new Sheep-mount pit were principally confined to a dook west of the slip marked 27 feet down to west, and the only extension from the " lower doors" was the stone mine. Aitken, one of the deceased, and a man named Develin worked in the stone mine (situated about three fathoms below the "upper doors"). It appears that shortly before the accident they had been blasting, and on discovering that an excess of water was rushing through the openings and crevices in the rock at the face of the mine, they had abandoned their work, and were in the act of being raised by the engine, when, unfortunately, a "hutch," which had been standing near to the pit bottom, was driven by the force of the water between the cage and the side of the shaft, and for sometime prevented the cage being raised. Develin scrambled on to the cover of the cage, and kept himself above the water, and was rescued; but Aitken appears to have got jammed between the "hutch" and the cage, and. must have been drowned in a few moments after. The water rose rapidly in the shaft, closing up the entrance into the " upper doors".
At this time only four persons were engaged in the workings leading off at the " upper doors." They soon discovered their helpless situation, and after being inclosed 112 hours, three of them were safely rescued. It is uncertain whether the boy Fagan was drowned at the pit bottom, by the water closing in upon him unexpectedly, or that in attempting to reach it, he had got entangled with some projecting part of the mine, which cut off or retarded his retreat.
The workings from the old Sheep-mount pit were known to be standing full of water. In nearing this dangerous accumulation it does not appear that the underground manager took the usual and necessary precaution of surveying the mine to know its relative position to these works, or of causing boreholes to be made, as provided by the 15th general rule of the Mine Inspection Act, which, under the circumstances, he was bound to do.
The Procurator Fiscal charged the underground manager with culpable homicide in neglecting to adopt due precautions to prevent the flooding of the workings. The case was tried at the Glasgow Autumn Circuit Court, before the Lord Justice Clerk and a jury. After a lengthened trial the jury found the accused guilty as libelled ; but in respect of his good character, they strongly recommended him to the leniency of the Court.
In passing sentence, the Lord Justice Clerk said, " It was painful to him to have to deal with a charge of such a kind against a person who occupied the position of the manager of a coal work, and, above all, against one who previous to the unfortunate occurrence bore a very excellent character. Unfortunately, his duty left him no alternative but to pronounce such a sentence as would sufficiently mark the sense which the Court entertained of the offence. However, believing that the failure of the panel to do his duty was merely the result of thoughtlessness, and was not intentional; and that notwithstanding the apparently reckless manner in which the work was conducted, the panel believed it possible to carry it through without serious consequences. It was because he (his lordship) believed that, and because the sentence he would pronounce, without being severe, would operate as a warning to the panel at all times, and would show the public that the lives of persons in employment were not to be trifled with, that he would restrict the sentence to four months imprisonment."

[NB Manager charged with culpable homicde was Alexander Laird, age 36, coal pit manager, address: Bellshaugh, Govan - source NAS catalogue] Newspaper report

At Dykehead near Hamilton, on 7th August; this accident, which resulted in the deaths of 13 persons, was caused by the brattice, woodwork, and framing of the shaft taking fire by coming in contact with a spark, it is supposed, from the ventilating furnace; there were 50 men and boys in the pit at the time this accident occurred, of whom 37 were got out alive, 12 were suffocated, and one died a few days after. - see main site

The sufferer in this case had on the day of the accident left his own working place and gone into a neighbouring workman's room. I understand that he remained there for a short time, eating his bread, and on returning went unknowingly into an intervening place, not in actual course of working and extension and there ignited a quantity of firedamp which had collected in it.

It does not appear that the working part of this colliery were badly ventilated, but it was known to those entrusted with the management that the place not in actual course of extension, and where the accident happened, contained-firedamp.

It was stated that the oversman had placed, on edge, a board across the pavement of the place to prevent any person from going into it ; such a precaution might in many cases have had the desired effect; but the result shows it was no fence, and if a proper fence had been constructed, say of two wooden rails, placed securely across the entrance, at eighteen inches and three feet from the pavement, it is reasonable to suppose that this unfortunate occurrence would have been prevented.

There are two seams of coal at present being worked in this pit. The first at 15 fathoms from the surface, and the second at 51 fathoms. The cages work both to the pit-bottom, and when coals require to be put on at the upper seam a signal is made to the surface, and the cage is rested on "folding boards" constructed for that purpose.
I understand that, on the day of the accident a drawer, who was engaged to put on the coal at the upper level, had been taking a full hutch towards the shaft, when he either pushed it too far or otherwise allowed it to run into the shaft, where the deceased and three workmen were being drawn up from the lower level on the cage.
There was a check-gate and trap-door near to the shaft at this mid-working, and placed on the road along which the full hutches required to be drawn. If these had been kept shut it is difficult to understand how such an accident could have happened. Mid-workings, however, are always attended with a certain amount of such risk, and the only way to get rid of it is to set apart so much time during each day for drawing the coals from mid-workings, taking care that a grated moveable scaffold is placed over the pit at the time, close enough to prevent any person from falling through it; or to fix a scaffold at the required level, and provide a rope for the sole use of the workmen there engaged.

[NB Thomas Fitzpatrick, married, age 22, drawer, address Wallace Street or Kilmarnock Street, Wallacetown, St Quivox was charged with culpable homicide, and culpable violation, or neglect of duty in connection with this accident - source NAS catalogue]