ABSTRACT
The Bill to regulate the coal mining sector introduced by Lord Carlisle on 22July 1850 called upon the Home Office to appoint impartial inspectors empowered with the limited authority to enter and examine any coal mine for a temporary period of five years. The proposal did not include a universal standard of safe working practice, instead government inspectors would report to colliery management what they considered to be unsatisfactory, defective or unsafe and make suggestions for improvements. With the exception of entry to the workings, the only compulsory component of the Bill required colliery companies to keep up-to-date maps and plans, and to report all fatalities to the Home Office within 24 hours of their occurrence. This advisory style of proposed intervention reflected the Home Office’s cautious response to mining reform but contrasted markedly with the current factory regulation. Although the early Factory Acts had similarly lacked provision for enforcement, it had been quickly realized that the authority to immediately fine offenders by executive officers was necessary for effective implementation.1 Moreover, in spite of its mild, non-coercive nature the Bill for the ‘Inspection of Coal Mines’ still met with opposition in both Houses.2
