DURHAM AND NORTHUMBERLAND. 273

sufficiently obvious. The proprietors of thecollieries, from mistaken views of self-interest,are anxious to conceal every fact which theyobserve from the public. Hence it is quiteobvious that they never will, of their ownaccord, form such a society as is described inthe pamphlet before us; and that if such asociety be formed they will communicate noinformation to it unless compelled by Act ofParliament. As to the coal viewers, they ap-pear to be averse from all publicity and allchanges in the present mode of working thecollieries: * this I conclude from a fact whichI could not have believed a priori . Thoughseveral hundred colliers■ lose their lives everyyear by explosions of earburetted hydrogengas, and though they have been expressinga great anxiety to discover a mode of destroyingthis gas, not one of them has ever thought oftrying the lamp of Dr. William Reid Clanny,

* There is no doubt but many of the viewers, from mis-taken views, act very differently from what ought to fee ex-pected in a case of such importance to humanity. But Iwould not wish this observation to extend too far, as con-siderable liberality has of late been evinced by many ofthem; and for my own part I wish to particularize Mr.Buddie, Mr. Dunn, and Mr. Wood, though I cannot re-concile Mr. Buddie’s treatment of either Dr. Clanny orMr. Byan.

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