No. 493. — March 27. Mr. Green, the Governor of Durham Gaol.

Has had many opportunities of observing collieries and pitmen; he thinks their general habits are bad; for example they are very much addicted to drinking and swearing, nor they industrious, except in their own particular work and they show a great want of attention to good habits and to domestic order and arrangement. They are very thriftless, very fond of good living and wasteful in their expenditure, purchasing unsuitable and unnecessary articles, such as large quantities of fat, meat , sugar, and butter. The irregularity of payments is discreditable to them and they generally leave their places in debt. That they are exceedingly unsettled and fond of change is well known. [This remark exclusively applies to new collieries; and some other remarks of this witness are perhaps more applicable to new than old collieries.] After having finished their and washed and dressed themselves, they usually saunter about the roads and only in very rare cases apply themselves to useful pursuits. The want of attention to drainage and arrangements of that description, renders them most disagreeable neighbours. It may be generally observed that they have small heads and are low in stature, and are commonly healthy. They are generally very ill-informed, and their prevalent vices will be found to be drinking, gaming, fighting, quarrelling, swearing and poaching, for which last offence they often in gaol.

Against these bad qualities may be set off that they are (excepting in the points above mentioned) usually cleanly, cultivate domestic peace and are tolerably honest, and far from vindictive. Of great and acknowledged thefts they will rarely be guilty, of minor peculations very often. Their children, when unrestrained by their parents are exceedingly mischievous. Mr. Green thinks that most of these evils arise from the absence of the owners and gently in general from pit neighbourhoods.

No. 494. — Four prisoners in Durham gaol, who were pitmen, I examined at length individually and collectively.

Thomas Macdonald was a wasteman. and was imprisoned for leaving his work. John Elliot was imprisoned for stabbing and wounding. J. Kerry for stealing money on the highway. The fourth was imprisoned for a misdemeanour and assault. They were respectively 5.5, 9, 9, and 13 years of age when they first went to work in pits. The result of their separate and united statements (in addition to the usual information on the working hours and arrangements of a colliery) was as follows: Dog-fighting is still very prevalent among the colliers; card playing for money is a very common thing; perhaps out of 500 pitmen 100 will be card players and gamblers. A vast number of public houses keep cards, &c., secretly. All this sort of thing is carefully concealed from the brewers and it is only discovered when the wife complains of the small portion of his earnings brought home by her husband. At the week's end, from Friday afternoon to Sunday night, the men very commonly get drunk and many are quite unable to work on the Mondays. Pitmen will steal any little thing they can lay hands upon, especially if it belong to the owner or master.

It is not uncommon for them, particularly the bits of mischievous boys, to pelt the windows of each other's houses for various motives, and to break them quite in sometimes.

Very few boys will attend night schools, but perhaps 25 out of every 100 will go to Sunday schools. The practice of running into debt is very common with pitmen.