No. 31. — Robert Crawford.

Aged 16. Has been 6 years down pits. Is now a 'foal' and has been so for 4 years. Draws with 'soams.' Mostly here the full corves go down the banks, and in that case the foal sets his back against it. One corf comes down at a time. Has no leather on his back. Sometimes he has to pull the empty corves up a very steep place and also the full corves up a steep place. Likes the full corf coming down the bank best. There is a vast of steep places. There are some helpers-up. Pit does not hurt him. There is but little difference between the work of a 'half-marrow' and a 'foal' when there is a good headsman. Sometimes these parties fall out and the foal gets the worst of it. Never knew any boys here suffer from the putting. Is working mostly in the 'broken' here. Sometimes the air has made some sickish and often makes the boys heads work, sometimes sore. Some are in low places, e.g. Edward Park is in a low place in Bigges Main Pit Sometimes it rubs the skin off his back. Some have felt so bad as to lie down a few minutes till their backs were less painful. Feel their backs stiff in the morning sometimes.

[Out of 5 boys, of 16,17,15,15,15, who are foals and half-marrows, 4 read pretty well all write their names; all go to Sunday-school and sometimes to chapel. They go occasionally to night-school in winter. Out of 5 boys all have been lamed, and have been off work from these lamings a fortnight, a week, 8 weeks, 4 weeks, and 15 weeks, respectively. No limbs were broken in any case, nor any permanently injured. All occurred from the rolleys, or tubs 15 or horses.]

No. 32. — Thomas Batty.

Aged 93 according to his own account and that of the agents. Went down a pit when he was about 6 or 7 years of age and was employed in and about pits up to about his 85th year and has always had good health and good fortune. A bout 40 years ago he was made an overman and has never worked himself since. When he was a 'foal' in collieries near Morpeth he got about 2½d a-day wages. At that time they had to put 72 4-peck corves for 9d.; various distances ; perhaps an average of 200 yards and at most 250 yards. The hewers then get 1s. 4d. a-day for hewing. He used to work as a hewer at Hartley Colliery for 10 or 12 hours every day. Five groats a-day at Walker Colliery was reckoned great wages then. The overman had 10s. a-week. Working in the 'broken' was not much known then. That sort of work was only started about 30 years ago; not long before the safety lamp was known. Then there were no plates in the mines to put the trams on, nothing but the bare 'thill.' Putters know nothing of putting now to what was done then. Boys seldom used to see daylight in the winter-time. If a pit was worked on the Friday night till 5 o'clock, some would be coming down again at 11 o'clock the same night, so as to finish early on the Saturday and then in that case, rather than go home, witness knew many to lie down in the stables from 5 o'clock on Friday night till 11 o'clock, and then they would go to work again, In the sea sale pits he knew drivers frequently employed for 2 or 3 shifts following down the pit. This was their own choice, as they mostly had the overshift earnings for pocket-money. When he was at Cowpen Colliery the seams were low and men had to come down every night to make height. The putting of round coals was and is of course more easy than the putting of small coals because the latter weigh so heavy. Considers pit-work healthy if the pit is free from foul air. Never knew any men who suffered much from pit-work. The dust from coal is more loosening than the dust from stone. Has had a shortness of breath this 30 years but is yet a healthy man on the whole. As to learning there is 20 to 1 more of that now than formerly. Since he was married he has walked often 10 miles to hear a sermon, as there were then very few places of worship. Now he can attend service here on Sundays.

No. 33. — Ralph Hall.

Aged 77. Has worked 70 years in pits and gives the same account as the preceding witness. He (R. Hall) now goes down the pit every day and works shift work or off-hand jobs for 8 hours a day for which he gets 2s. 6d. a-day, or 15s. a-week and house and firing.

No. 34. — George Beresford.

Going to 13. Has been down Benton Pit four years and a half. Kept a door for a good bit, then went to cleaning the way (with hay); then went to driving. Gets up at half past 2 every morning, because he lives a good way off, at Ousebum, which is two or three miles off. Gets to the pit and goes down at 4 o'clock. Drives all day. The pits looses at 4 p.m. The deputies tell the lads and the lads tell each other, that the pit is loosed. It is half-past 4 perhaps before he rides. Gets home to Ouseburn about half-past 5 o'clock. Then gets his dinner, 'tatoes and meat; then washes himself after dinner and then goes to bed directly, perhaps about 7 or 8 o'clock. Never has any time for play. Sometimes they keep him he thinks, till half-past 4 o'clock, from their watches being wrong. About two years since he worked in the night-shift for a good bit in Benton Pit, keeping a door. A good few boys live at Ouseburn who work in the pit. Has a brother a driver, who works here down the pit. Sometimes has been sleepy and a good few times fell asleep in the night-shifts. Sometimes the rolley-way men give the boys their hammers (beat them) when the rolleys get off the way and if the horses fall down they bray the boys, hitting them over the head with their nieves (fists). Knows his letters only; cannot write at all. Goes to no Sunday-school or place of worship now.

No. 35. — George Foster.

Going to 16. Has been in these pits five years. At first he drove for two years, next he helped up for a year and a half. Next started to put and is putting now. Is a half-marrow, and makes from 2s. to 2s. 6d. a-day. Draws his own pay and gives it to his mother. Gets up at half-past 3, and goes down the C pit at 4 o'clock. The pit looses about 4, and he gets 70 up about half-past 4 p.m. Goes in a good way bye, more than a mile. Changes about with his marrow (about 14 years of age) in drawing with soams; they change in six hours about; has wrought double shift, of 24 hours, three times in the Benton Pit. About a year and a half ago he wrought three shifts at one time; going down at 4 o'clock one morning and staving 36 hours without coming up. Was driving for two shifts and helping up for one; stopped about two hours altogether, half an hour or so each shift to get his baits, which were taken down with him the first day and sent the other two shifts. The overman asked him to stop. Was lamed a long time ago by the horse going on when his arm was in the corf and he was off a fortnight. Was once off work with a strain in helping up and be was off two days. Can read an easy book, cannot write. Goes to no school now. Goes to chapel sometimes. Has two brothers down, one nine years old, keeping a door and he has been down about a year the other drives and he is about 13 years old and has been down about two years and a half. Sometimes the little boys are struck at but mostly only to frighten them. Father is a waggonman. Witness sometimes goes in with the shifters at night.

No. 36. — Joseph Peel.

Aged 14 last March. Has been down seven years and more in this colliery. Kept a door at first for a year; cleaned the way for half a year; next drove for two years; next helped up for three or four months; next hoisted the crane for ten months; next put and is now putting as the marrow of the preceding witness. Worked at keeping a door for four shifts of 12 hours each, at one time, that is, was 48 hours down the pit without coming up at all. He got into a wrong shift and stopped to get into his right shift. The overman told him to stop as they wanted boys. His baits were then sent down to him. Has often worked three shifts following; perhaps six or seven times. Besides this has been down many double shifts of 24 hours. Worked a good part in the night-shifts. Would sooner work shorter hours and gets as much as he could make in them; would like about eight or ten hours. Boys often get lamed from sleeping now. His back often works. Would like smaller tubs they are over big. Would put more score if the tubs were smaller. Thinks the tubs, iron and wood tubs, hold 24 pecks each. Wood ones are canniest. Boys mostly get hurt by falling off the limmers. Can read easy words; cannot write. Goes to no school at all now. Goes to chapel often. A vast goes there. Was once at a night-school for a month. There is a night-school in the winter here.

No. 37. — Edward Wright.

Aged 19 on June 11th. Has been down pits 12 years. First went down Heaton Middle pit, which is now closed. Has always been down the pits of this colliery. Kept a door at first for two years; next drove rolleys for four years; next put for a half-marrow for three years; next was a wood-leader, and is so now. Goes in the day-shift at half-past 3 o'clock a.m., comes out at half-past 3 p.m. In this situation he has often to work long hours. Often has to go in on the Sunday night at 9 o'clock and comes up on Monday afternoon at half-past o'clock. One boy of 14 years of age is a wood-leader. There are three of them in the C pit where witness is; the other two are 19 or 20 years of age. Woodleaders have to run about for the deputies and hewers. Has both to carry and prop up the wood. Has 2s. 4d. per day fixed wages and three corves of coals hewn for him. The air does not agree with some boys. Helpers-up get heavy work sometimes. His family was lent to Holywell Colliery for a year and a half and while he was there David Arrington, about 16 or 17, strained himself so sore, by his foot slipping out behind him, that he died, after being in the infirmary at Newcastle a few weeks. It is a common thing for putters to slip their feet and strain themselves. Is a teacher in the Sunday-school here; has 11 boys in his class, from the pits here. These 11 boys are active boys, but in general the pit boys are stupid and dull. Some boys go down at seven years old.

No. 38. — Joshua Stephenson.

Aged about 8 years. Says he has been down the pit two years and more. [This witness is entered in the returns as seven years of age and as having been in the pit two months; but John Graham, the heap-keeper, states to me that he believes the boy has been down nearly two years]. Went down the pit (the C pit) before he was six years old. Keeps a switch and a door. Lives at the thatched houses near Benton. Gets up out of bed at 3 o'clock and down the pit at 4 o'clock a.m. Goes in a piece bye. The pit looses at 4 and he gets up and home about 5 o'clock; then he washes himself and get his dinner, meat and potatoes. After dinner he goes to bed, almost directly; he never plays about first. Goes down the pit in the cage. Takes baits down with him; mostly bread and cheese, sometimes beef; always as much as he wants. Some of the putter-boys bray him but not to hurt him. Cannot read at all. Never was at any school in his life, day or Sunday-school. Never goes to any church or chapel. His father works shift-work. His height, without shoes, is about 3 feet 8¾, and his appearance very diminutive and far from robust and healthy. [I was informed by several pitmen, independently of each other, that a boy named John Craggs or Craigie aged seven years and nine months, who entered the pit at seven years old, was exceedingly small.]

The trappers at this colliery appear from the pay-bills to have been employed for an average of nine days out of the eleven working-days per fortnight during the last year.

In the Benton Pit, which I descended, the corves were made to hold 24 pecks each, the seam being tolerably level. There was, however, one place, of about 20 yards or more in length, called the Wellington-way, very steep and in which the putters held back the descending loaded corf with difficulty.