Dear friends, perhaps some of the foregoing scenes are still fresh in your minds, you witnessed them, and assisted in carrying home some of those whose deaths are here recorded, amongst them were some who are still exceedingly dear to your recollection. How many women have been made widows and children left fatherless by these awful calamities. Who would envy the pitman's life?

While danger stands tick on earth around,
But ten times more so under ground ;
For at one single shock were found
One hundred all slain.
from the rage and fury of lighted gas,
In vain the collier strives to pass ;
He can no longer stand, alas!
he falls a victim to the flame.
For gripe all greed the collier's torn —
His wife and children left to mourn,
Who anxious wait for his return ;
Alas! that cannot be.
Tyrants do your hearts not bleed,
For labourers on whose blood you feed !
If so, come, and with all speed
Bid the oppressed go free !

I have been eye witness to several awful calamities, but that at Harraton exceeded all that ever I witnessed in my life. The first thing that I beheld was the great pulleys thrown off the pit heap, and two boys blown up the shaft, nearly shattered to pieces, — the head of one of them was thrown across a field. I beheld several of the unfortunate sufferers brought to the pit top. Some of them were so severely burned, that they appeared as though they had been flayed alive. Some of them had no marks of the devouring flame, but were suffocated by the sulphur and after-damp. Some were so dreadfully mutilated, that there mangled bodies could not appear on the bank, without coffins. The bottom of the pit presented a truly awful spectacle, — heads, arms, hands and legs, and pieces of flesh were found scattered about in all directions, and some of the bodies were burnt as black as a cinder. In fine, the appearance of some of them was such, that is was nearly impossible for the beholders to challenge their mutilated relatives ; the whole scene pourtrayed havoc and misery indescribable. I had two brothers in law lost at this misfortune. There were no less than eleven or twelve buried in one grave at Old Penshaw church, on the awful occasion.

Fellow workmen, think of these things for a moment. How suddenly may we be cut off from the land of the living by these explosions and many other dangers, such as falling or stones, breaking of the rope, falling down the pit, &c. And there have been hundreds more destroyed in these two counties than are here recorded.

Reader, I would ask is your colliery exempt from such awful damages? No, my friends, there are no colliers than can boast they are safe from these calamities. Their danger is sometimes unseen, while in other cases it has been seen for weeks and months before the misfortune has taken place. At Lambton, George Pit, the viewers were down examining the workings, and Mr. Smith, the chief viewer, said he never saw a pleasanter pit in his life. The next day there were fourteen boys killed in it by an explosion. While respecting that at Harraton, I know it to be true, that the men were terrified to go to their work, for some weeks before the explosion took place ; and I know also, that there are collieries working in the broken coal, at present, with their lamps amongst as much gas as would destroy every one that is working in the inflammable parts of those pits, if any thing should happen to any of their lamps. I have know the lamp bottom fall off, I have known then fall off the props, where they have been hung, I have known a man stick hi pick into his lamp ; any of these, a heavy fall, or many other causes of accidents to the lamps may cause explosions.

Fellow workmen, it is highly necessary for all of you, that you should preserve yourselves as much as possible from these destructive calamities, and, whenever danger appears, point it out boldly. Do not be afraid of being discharged for speaking the truth, for surely many of these misfortunes would not have taken place had the pit been sufficiently ventilated. If proper means had been used plenty of air could have been got ; and if plenty of air could have been got nearly all the misfortunes that have ever happened in the coal-mines would have been prevented. I say again, whenever or wherever you see danger, appear from whatever cause it may, arise, point it out, boldly and judiciously. Do not clock it under any pretence whatever ; cry aloud and spare not ; speak like a man when life is at stake, whether it may arise from fire, water, a want of timber, or the want of brattices, or bad props, or any thing else. I say again, point it out to the whole pit's crew, deputies, overmen, viewers, and hewers : and, if not immediately redressed, point it out to the owners of the colliery. View the thousands of lives that have been thrown away for want of this and such like precautions ; though the danger has been seen for days, weeks, months, and sometimes years before any thing happened. For ever refuse to work with your lamp on fire, for a sufficient quantity of air can be got, if the owners of collieries will be at the expense of sinking two shafts, one down-cast and the other up-cast ; then with proper caution the mines may be well ventilated ; though if there be twenty shafts, and not other means used to get the air into the workings, it will not prevent the gas from accumulating and causing explosions.

There are many collieries where they drive the boards 30 or 40 yards to the pillar, and wall 20 or 30 yards before they get a hole, without a single brattice to send the air into the face of the workings in these places. There is often gas in them in the morning, but by giving the man a lamp he has to work amongst the inflammable gas until the motion of his body, and the moving of the trams or tubs, by the putters, clears away the gas. Though in the mean time if a boy was to run in with a lighted candle, not knowing the danger, he might cause the place to explode, and lose their lives, and perhaps, many more, all for the want of a few lengths of brattice. But as the following petition is about to be sent to the House of Commons, I will say little more about the subject at present.