Scenes And Incidents From The Life Of A Practical Miner
With A Treatise On The Ventilation Of Coal Mines

51 and would accept of a situation of such grave importance and solemn responsibility, whereby they recklessly place in jeopardy the lives of hundreds of their fellow men, for the sake of the glittering gold alone, accepting and pretending the fulfilment of the duties required, while they must know that all they can do is, after the catastrophe is over, to ask questions, and attend the coroner’s inquest. This is a curious inspection of the mines indeed, it would be so certainly if it were in general opera- tion, which God forbid for the miner’s sake. Yet I am afraid there is something in the system like this as it now exists—it cannot be otherwise with men who never had the opportunity to know what tlie ventilating of an extensive mine was. It is an easy task to look at the plan and talk about it, but it is quite a different thing to possess the skill and judgment requisite to go into the mine, take hold of the volume of air with the hand of mechanism, and work it through all its zig-zag windings, through every hole and corner, with safety back, and without impediment; for in the mine, the atmospheric air is as pliable and powerful in its operations as elsewhere, it acts with the same utility in all its results, as steam in the hands of the artist and mechanic, so long as it retains possession of the vital spring of elasticity, which must, and will be the object and aim of the truly scientific, intelligent, and practical miner. But, is there any other class of men who would be so base, so depraved in nature, as to pre- tend to operate with such scientific skill and judgment, as the intelligent practical miner'I As well may we send a chemist, or any other opposite tradesman, into a tailor’s cutting shop, as send a man to the inspection of mines who never had an opportunity to see the varied processses in the system: there is nothing chimerical there, nature forms its own analysis, and the assistance requisite is the material to work on. It might be said, these men served their time to be viewers, and their superior learning must furnish them with the qualifications necessary to the inspection of mines, in preference to the practical miner. As I hate controversy, we will sub- mit the matter to two of their own body, and after a fair trial befui-e reason and justice, and abide by the decision; and having no interest in the case, 1 beg to select two of the oldest, whose intellectual qualifications have been nearly equal, and the school of their learning being the same. Now, sup- pose the one to be restricted to go every day to school (down the pit, not even Sundays excepted) practising on the varied incidations in the mine, when after a proper survey through the whole of the district, with a minute observation, which he enters in his book and commits to his mind for reflection daily; thus lie proceeds from day to day, adding to his store and accumulating a wealth of knowledge, gathered from that source which alone the rudiments of perfection is seen in the elements, while in combination with the general current of air, circulating throughout the whole extent of the mine. The other goes one day in each fortnight, say- one to the other’s fourteen, and is not down the pit the rest of his timej thus they go on for fourteen, years. At the end of that time we want to know which of them lias acquired most scientific knowledge. We find that one of them has been in practice daily for fourteen years, the other for twenty-six days the first year—say 364 days, the other 5,110 days. Suppose wc ask the lesser number his opinion of their respective qualifi-