instance of a mill-occupier, who had been often warned of the dangerous state of his own machinery, and at last, himself, fell a victim to it, dying in a dreadful manner.

The next extract with which we must try the patience of our readers, is one from a Report of Mr. Horner's, dated the 30th of January, 1840:

"It is well known that serious accidents from the machinery, often attended with loss of life, are not unfrequent in factories. These sometimes arise in the working of parts of the machinery where no fencing off is practicable, but they are often caused by parts being left exposed which, in well-regulated mills, are always carefully boxed, as it is termed. Within the last three months I heard of a woman having been killed at a mill in Manchester, in consequence of an upright shaft not having been properly boxed; and a very sad case was brought before me last month at Burnley, by a surgeon who had attended a poor girl of sixteen years of age, who last January had been fearfully mutilated at a neighbouring mill in Rossendale; in this case also by an upright shaft that was not fenced off. Both her thighs, one leg, and one arm were broken, and she received besides severe bruises on the body and head. Contrary to expectation, she has recovered, and is now going about on crutches. I was informed at the same time by the father of the girl, whom I sent for, that the millwright who put up the shaft advised that it should be boxed, and the day after the accident this was done, at an expense, as my informant believed, of about 5s. I am sorry to have to add that it was at the same time stated to me that the mill-owner has not only refused to give any compensation for loss of wages to the poor girl, who was at the time of the accident in the receipt of 10s. a-week, but even to pay the surgeon's bill. The Act gives no power to the Inspector or Superintendent to interfere in such a case, not even to require that such dangerous parts of the machinery shall be fenced off; but as the 45th clause directs that the Inspector shall report the state and condition of the factories or mills, and of the children employed therein,' I have thought it my duty to report to your Lordship a case so serious, and so formally and circumstantially brought under my notice."

The last quotation we shall venture to make on this part of our subject, is from a Report, dated so late as the 30th of January, 1843, being the last that has come to our hands. It shows how necessary it is that the Legislature should interfere :

"In my Reports for the two first quarters of last year, I noticed some cases of serious accidents from unguarded machinery: I regret to say that I have received information of others having occurred very recently. Mr. Superintendent Ewings informs me that, on the 20th of December, at the Mill of Messrs. A. Haigh and Sons, as Bolton, a girl, Margaret Taylor, about 16 years of age, employed as a piecer, was at work near an upright shaft situ ated between the backs of the bobbin-frames, which had been only partially covered with a thin tin casing, which was worn through, and was not fixed at the bottom to the floor. Her clothes were caught by its rapid revolutions, and being forced against the fixed parts of the machinery, the whole of her lower extremities were dreadfully mangled, the bones being crushed, and the

1 In this case, an action for damages was instituted by Lord Ashley, as the next friend of the poor girl's, to ascertain what remedy there was in common law. The defendant went great lengths in endeavouring to get rid of the action; but finding he could not escape, ended by paying Fifty Pounds to the poor girl, Twenty Pounds to cover the Surgeon's bill, and all costs.

flesh torn away. She died after ten days of great agony. Mr. Ewings adds, that now there has been a strong iron case placed on that shaft, and that Mr, Haigh intends to have the other shafts cased in the same manner. But Mr. Ewings was at the mill five weeks after the accident, and Mr. Haigh was then only intending to put up those guards, which ought to have been set about the next hour, after so serious a proof of the consequence of his former neglect; by which he had saved a few pounds and the poor girl had lost her life.

"In his weekly Report of the 24th December, Mr. Beal states that he had been making inquiry into two accidents that had just occurred at Rochdale. At the mill of Messrs. Howard, in Cheetham-street, a married woman about 25 years of age was caught by an upright shaft insecurely cased; she was severely injured, but was still alive at the time Mr. Beal wrote. The other case occurred at the mill of Messrs. Armstrong, from a child being allowed to clean dangerous machinery when in motion; her arm was lacerated severely.

"In December, a serious accident occurred in the mill of Mr. Abbot, at Blackburn, in consequence of a horizontal shaft, in a very low room, revolving near the head of the workers without any guard. A young woman, Mr. Ewings states, while in the act of dressing her long hair (which is often the case preparatory to leaving for dinner,) was caught by the hair, dragged up, and completely scalped. She was living when Mr. Ewings wrote, but in a dreadful state of suffering."

In any one of the above cases the shaft could have been secured and permanently boxed off and guarded, at an expense of 58.

At the commencement of this article a reference was made to the manner in which the law of God regarded oppression of all kinds. We know not that we can take leave of our readers for the present with a passage of Holy Writ more applicable to the enormous neglect we are here bringing under review, than the following:-"When thou buildest a new house, then thou shalt make a battlement for thy roof, that thou bring not BLOOD upon thine house, if any man fall from thence."1 Deut. xxii. 8.

1 The manner in which the roofs of houses are frequently constructed in the east, will occur to all who have any acquaintance with oriental literature.

The Lord Bishop of Newfoundland has been translated to the see of Jamaica and the

DEATHS.

The Right Rev. Dr. Bowstead, Lord Bishop of Lichfield and Coventry.

The Very Rev. John Probyn, Dean of Llandaff; and Vicar of Matherne, Monmouths

1 The Deanery is about 5001, a year; the living 3521.