DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND. 171

and prejudice being suffered to consign moremartyrs to the tomb.

There is sufficient evidence in existence toprove the extreme danger, in regard to col-lieries, of suffering the continuation of oldcustoms, which have invariably been attendedwith calamities, beyond the mechanical ex-istence of any plan which, in altering the forceof habit, lessens the liability of danger. Couldthe hundreds of unfortunate beings, who havebeen sacrificed to an untimely death in coalmines, raise their voices from the grave, theywould be employed in supplicating mankindto provide better security for their successors,and describing the principal agent of destruc-tion as the contact of fire and foul air.

Mr. Buddie, indeed, in his Letter on theState of Ventilation, &c. to Sir R. Milbanke,,tells us that the “ ordinary and unavoidablecasualties in collieries occasion more calamitythan explosions of inflammable air .” Here thenwe have an admission of some, and certainlyof melancholy magnitude. Let any person cal-culate the destruction caused in one year byexplosion, and still according to this statement,only find one third of the actual losses. Isnot this enough to call for investigation ? is it