CHAPTER XLVIII.

Progress of Mining, Manufactures, and Commerce, in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.

IN

SECTION I.

Coal, Iron, and Lead Mining.

1

N the Introduction, it was stated that the country was rich in the raw materials of industry; and in the preceding volumes an account was given of the various attempts at mining, and the introduction of manufactures, to the end of the seventeenth century. In this chapter an effort has been made to present a clear and concise account of the development of mining operations, the manufacture of iron, the development of the means of communication and commerce, and, finally, of all the chief branches of manufactures.

The carboniferous system of Scotland has been fully treated by geologists, and its peculiarities and extent have been often described. Although broken strata of coal have been found in the Western Islands and Sutherlandshire, the great coal-bearing strata of Scotland extends from Fife Ness across the country in the line of the valleys of the Forth and Clyde. The superficial area of the coal-fields of this region is calculated to be about 1600 square miles.

The carboniferous or coal-bearing system occurs immediately above the old red sandstone, and it consists of a series of formations, which are usually classed in four groups thus :-(1) The upper strata, commonly called "the true coal-measures"-a thick series of sandstones, shales, fireclays, some impure limestones, ironstones, and numerous coal seams; (2) Millstone grit-generally a local formation of moderate thickness, consisting of gritty sandstones, with inter-stratified shales and thin seams of coal; (3) Mountain or carboniferous limestone-a series of thick-bedded marine limestones, with some shales, sandstones, and thin seams of coal; (4) Lower coal measures—a great thickness of fine sandstone and grits, with shales, fireclays, ironstone,

1 Mackintosh's History of Civilisation in Scotland, Vol. I, p. 29.

shell and fresh-water limestones, and thinnish seams of coal. Thus coal and ironstone occur in the same group of strata.

The coal seams and beds occur in all degrees of breadth and thickness. At Johnstone, in Renfrewshire, there was a seam of 100 feet in thickness, but it is exceptional; while the thickest seam in the Lothians is only 13 feet. The centre of the coal-fields is Clydesdale, where about one-half of the Scotch collieries are placed; they extend through or touch upon thirteen counties, and of these Lanarkshire has the greatest number, and Ayrshire, Fifeshire, Stirlingshire, Edinburghshire, and Linlithgowshire follow in order. In most of these counties, more or less valuable beds of ironstone, shale, and limeston eare intermixed with the coal.

In the early part of the eighteenth century the coal-mining operations in Scotland were on a very small scale; but considerable progress was made before the end of the century. When the shallower parts of the coal-fields were exhausted, it became necessary to form the sinking shafts. The early mode of mining was simply to drive into the coal-seams tunnels; but only a small extent of the seams could be worked in that way, when the tunnels became dangerous by the accumulation of foul air. Where the seams dipped downwards, water accumulated, and much labour was required to keep the workings clear.

After the method of working the coal by shafts descending to the seams was adopted, contrivances for raising the coal and keeping the pits clear of water were introduced. In some pits the coal and water both were drawn up by a winch worked by men; in others, chain and bucket engines were employed for hoisting the water out of the pit. In 1762 a steam-engine was used for the first time at a coal pit in Scotland. Few of the pits of those days exceeded a depth of twenty or thirty fathoms, and with such appliances as were then available the difficulty of working them was great.3

From this date to the end of the century the coal trade increased slowly but steadily; and, as steam-power began to be more and more applied to manufactures, the consumption of coal increased. When steam ships and railways were introduced a much greater demand for

2 Coal is found in layers or seams varying from one inch up to thirty or forty feet in thickness, but seven or eight feet is the maximum thickness of single seams; miners consider one which measures five feet as a thick bed, and seams of one foot or under are not deemed worth working.

3 Industries of Scotland, by D. Bremner, p. 4; 1869.

coal arose.

But there were some unpleasant and unsatisfactory conditions connected with the working of the coal mines which cannot be passed over unnoticed.

4

In a preceding volume the state of the workmen in mines and at salt-works was explained; in short, they were in a state of semislavery until 1775, when they were emancipated by an act of parliament. So it could not be expected that men kept in this condition for centuries would at once assume the spirit and characteristics of those who had been long accustomed to the exercise of liberty and freedom. In the year 1842, it was found that children and women were employed in the coal mines of Scotland, as well as in those of England. An act of parliament was then passed prohibiting the employment of children and women in coal pits; but neither this act nor subsequent ones were altogether effective for a long time. There were, however, a number of Scotch pits in which women and children had never been employed; and at present the mines are placed under a regular system of inspection.

All the collieries in Scotland are now worked by steam-power; and various attempts have been made to apply this power to machinery for excavating the coal. Seams of coal are now worked. at a much greater depth than they could have been before steampower was introduced. The Nitshill Pit in Renfrewshire is 175 fathoms in depth-one of the deepest in Scotland.

In 1866, the quantity of coal raised in Scotland was 12,034,638 tons; and the same year, the declared value of the coal exported from Scotland was £515,805: the quantity of coal, cinders, and culm represented by this would amount to about 1,500,000 tons. Since this date the annual produce has greatly increased. In 1875 the minerals raised in the Scotch coal-fields amounted to a total of 21,778,480 tons, consisting of coal, ironstone, limestone, and oil-shale.

In 1871, there were 47,620 persons employed in coal mining in Scotland; and of this number, 14,497 were under twenty years of age; and out of the total there were 355 females engaged in this work, of whom 184 were under twenty years of age. The hands were distributed in the centres of the mining industry thus:-In Lanarkshire, 23,658; in Ayrshire, 8208; in Fifeshire, 4646; in Stirlingshire, 3822; in Edinburghshire, 3399; in Linlithgowshire, 1721; and the remaining number were distributed among the

4 Mackintosh's History of Civilisation in Scotland, Vol. III.,

p. 291,

counties of Haddington, Clackmannan, Dumbarton, Renfrew, and Dumfries. In 1891 the coal miners were distributed thus :-In Lanarkshire, 38,000; in Ayrshire, 10,910; in Fifeshire, 8,352; Stirlingshire, 5,230; Edinburghshire, 4,113; Linlithgowshire, 3,213; and the remainder in the other counties above indicated.

In 1875, in these districts there were upwards of 76,000 persons employed in raising coal, ironstone, and lime. In 1891 the number of coal, ironstone, and shale miners was 82,701. The pits through which the minerals are raised vary from 30 to 180 fathoms in depth, and as a rule are not heavily watered.

Touching the wages and the social condition of the coal miners much might be said, but space is limited, and brevity must be observed. In no occupation has there been a greater fluctuation of wages in the present century than in that of the coal miner. In Lanarkshire, in 1836, the daily wage was 5s. ; the next year a reduction was made to 4s. ; and a strike ensued which lasted four months, and then the men returned to work at the terms offered. Wages gradually declined, and in 1842 they were as low as 2s. 6d. and 1s. 8d. a day. Their union was then renewed, and they went out on strike; and this time the masters yielded and granted an advance of 1s. ; but it was soon after reduced again. In 1847, there was a great strike, when the men stood out for 5s. a day; they, however, recommenced work at 3s. a day, which in a few weeks after was reduced to 2s. a day. In 1851, the average wage of miners was 2s. 6d. a day; but in 1852, the Scottish Miners' Association was formed, "for the protection of miners' rights and privileges." In 1854, the daily wage was 5s. ; but a gradual fall followed, and in 1858 the average wage was 3s. 5 From this date onwards for about fifteen years the coal miners' wages in Scotland continued to rise till they reached the figures of 8s., 10s., and even 12s. a day; then they fell greatly. In 1887 their wages was only 2s. 6d. a day: a rate which was too low for their class of labour, or for any body of regularly working men. Since then their wages have fluctuated. There has been several strikes, and an extremely disastrous one in 1894.

The sons of miners generally follow the occupation of their fathers, and begin to work at twelve years of age, when he enters the pit and "is attached to his father or some other man, and becomes known as

5 Notices of some of the Principal Manufactures of the West of Scotland, p. 14;

a 'quarter-man.' The miner with whom he works is entitled to put out one-fourth more coal than if he worked without assistance, and from the price received for the extra quantity he pays the boy, whose duty it is to fill the coal into the 'tubs' and convey it to the pit bottom. At fourteen, the boy becomes a half-man;' at sixteen, a 'three-quarter-man ;' and at eighteen, he assumes the title of 'miner,' performs a man's work, and draws a man's pay." 6

As a class, the coal miners of Scotland have had upon the whole a hard lot, and their present condition is not a comfortable or happy one. Although in recent years their houses have been rebuilt, which in early days were wretched huts, still many of their dwellings are far from comfortable. They are small: their dimension is usually twelve feet by fifteen; but of course there are exceptions at some of the collieries. At the Dalkeith Colliery, which belongs to the Duke of Buccleuch, the miners' houses are well constructed and commodious, with spaces of ground attached to them for drying clothes or as playground for the children.

It has to be understood that those engaged as iron-miners all work within the district of the coal fields; in fact, the ironstone miners' work differs but little from that of the coal-miner. Although it was known that ironstone existed in the Scotch coal measures before the eighteenth century, little was done in the way of mining or manufacturing iron in Scotland before that century, and it was only towards the end of it that the manufacture assumed much importance.

At first there were only a few persons employed in mining for iron, and in the last century the number of iron miners were not numerous. But the great development of the iron trade in the present century increased the number of miners of every description. In 1871, the number of persons employed in mining for metals was 14,201, and of this number 3830 were under twenty years of age, and among them there were 20 female miners. The number directly engaged in mining for iron was 9087.

In the preceding volumes it was noticed that lead ore exists in Scotland, and has been worked in many parts of the country, but only in a few cases has it proved remunerative. At present, four or five mines are worked, and the total produce is about 1500 tons of pure lead per annum. The chief mines are at Leadhills in Lanarkshire, about fifty miles from Glasgow, and Wanlockhead in Dumfriesshire.

6 Industries of Scotland, by D. Bremner, p. 22.