Chapter XVII: Part 3: of Table

+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------------+
| | Bright’s | Accident. | Disease and |
| | Diseases. | | Accident together.|
+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------------+
| =Mining Industry= | =19= | =135= | =935= |
| Coal miners | 18 | 141 | 925 |
| Durham & Northumberland | 15 | 96 | 774 |
| Lancashire | 17 | 155 | 1069 |
| West Riding | 16 | 114 | 912 |
| Derby and Notts | 8 | 89 | 727 |
| Staffordshire | 22 | 135 | 952 |
| Monmouth and Wales | 27 | 243 | 1145 |
| Ironstone miners | 15 | 86 | 774 |
| Copper miners | 68 | 35 | 1230 |
| Tin miners | 29 | 48 | 1409 |
| Lead miners | 33 | 43 | 1310 |
| Mine service | 20 | 75 | 1021 |
| Farm labourer | 12 | 42 | 632 |
| Occupied males | 27 | 56 | 953 |
+---------------------------+-----------+-----------+-------------------+

This table shows that miners, as a class, are a temperate body of men; their mortality directly attributed to alcoholism being less than one-third, and that from liver disease being only two-thirds, of that of occupied males generally. In this respect they scarcely differ from farm labourers; their mortality from alcoholism is the same, and that from liver disease is only slightly higher.

Miners, as a class, suffer less than other occupied males from phthisis, as well as from cancer and diabetes, their mortality from the first-mentioned disease being below the average by 41 per cent., from the second by 16 per cent., and from the last by 29 per cent. Among miners, diseases of the nervous, circulatory, and urinary systems are less fatal than the average, but, with few exceptions, respiratory diseases are more fatal.

_Coal Miners._--As a class, colliers compare favourably with men in most other occupations on the score of health. During the first thirty years of the main working period of life their mortality is substantially lower than is the mortality in other industries, although at ages under twenty and over fifty-five they die faster than the average.

The excessive mortality of colliers under twenty years of age may be accounted for by the fact that from 40 to 50 per cent. of the total deaths are due to violence, caused by the waggons and “tubs” in which coals are conveyed from the underground workings to the shafts. This form of accident falls mainly to the lot of the younger and less experienced colliers who are employed in “tramming” and “hurrying” the coals. When their mortality from accident is deducted, the residual death-rate of colliers under twenty years of age does not greatly differ from the average.

The comparative mortality figure of colliers, without distinction of age, from all causes including accidents, averages 925; but whilst on the one hand it does not exceed 727 among the colliers of Derbyshire and Nottingham, and 774 among those of Durham and Northumberland, on the other hand it ranges upwards to 1069 among colliers in Lancashire and 1145 in Monmouthshire and South Wales.

It is not easy to explain why it is that colliers in the several coalfields, working as they do in the same material, and spending an equal portion of the day underground, should differ so widely from one another in their mortality. For example, on reference to the accompanying table we see, with regard to miners under twenty years of age, that whilst on the one hand, among colliers in the counties of Derby and Nottingham, and also in Stafford, the mortality is lower than among “occupied males” by 7 and 5 per cent. respectively; on the other hand, among colliers in Durham and Northumberland, the mortality exceeds that standard by 54 per cent., in Lancashire by 63 per cent., and in Monmouthshire and South Wales by not less than 127 per cent. Again, in the counties of Derby and Nottingham colliers between their fifty-fifth and sixty-fifth years die less rapidly than the average by 4 per cent., but colliers of the same age in Staffordshire die more rapidly than the average by 35 per cent., and in Lancashire and Monmouthshire more rapidly by 40 per cent.

Various theories have been advanced to account for the great disparity just alluded to in the local death-rates among colliers. In the first place, we know that coal-pits differ greatly in geological character, in depth, in the grittiness or dustiness of the rock which has to be worked in order to get at the coal, in the amount and composition of gas present, in the quantity of water permeating the strata, in the thickness of the coal seams, in the temperature of the workings; and last, but most important, in the perfection or otherwise of the ventilation of the coal-pit. Again, it is known that the habits and consequently the health and comfort of coal miners vary extremely according as the colliery is situate in a country district, or, as is frequently the case especially in the Lancashire coalfields, in what is practically an urban district, perhaps bordering on a large town. These variations in the circumstances of life are certainly sufficient to account for wide differences in the health and longevity of coal miners.

Aged colliers, wherever they are employed, sustain a mortality which is considerably in excess of the standard; yet even among them the mortality varies greatly with locality. For whereas in the counties of Derby and Nottingham the mortality of colliers aged sixty-five years and upwards exceeds that of occupied males by 18 per cent., the excess amounts to 50 per cent. in Lancashire, 52 per cent. in Durham and Northumberland, and 80 per cent. in Staffordshire.

In the list of principal causes of death amongst colliers there are two diseases which have been the subject of exceptional comment, both in this country and abroad--namely, pulmonary phthisis on the one hand, and ordinary inflammatory diseases of the lung on the other. Almost all writers on the subject, whether in recent or in earlier years, agree in attributing to colliers an unusually low mortality from tubercular, and a correspondingly high mortality from non-tubercular, disease of the lungs. The accompanying table, which gives statistics for the years 1890–92, confirms the general opinion. Thus, taking coal miners in the aggregate we find that their mortality ascribed to phthisis is only about half of that to which other occupied males are subject, whilst their mortality from respiratory diseases exceeds the same standard by 21 per cent. If we take farm labourers as a standard by which the mortality of colliers should be judged, we find that whilst colliers suffer from fatal phthisis in the proportion of 97 as against 115 for farm labourers, colliers die rather more than twice as rapidly from diseases of the respiratory system other than phthisis. Although, as has already been stated, colliers as a class enjoy special immunity from pulmonary phthisis, nevertheless the disease prevails amongst them very unequally. The highest mortality figures from phthisis among colliers are 123 in the West Riding of Yorkshire and 107 in Monmouthshire, whilst the figures do not exceed 83 in Staffordshire and 69 in Derbyshire. In no English county does the mortality of colliers from phthisis even approach 185, which is the figure for occupied males in the aggregate.

In the West Riding of Yorkshire the mortality of colliers from phthisis has increased since 1881 by one-fifth part; but in other counties it has decreased by proportions in some cases as high as one-third of its former amount. Non-tubercular diseases of the lungs are excessively fatal to the colliers of Monmouthshire and South Wales, and still more so to those of Lancashire, where the mortality from these diseases is 76 per cent. above that of occupied males generally, and is more than double of what it is among the colliers of Northumberland, Durham, Derby, and Nottingham. These diseases have very considerably increased in fatality since 1881 in all the coalfields of England: the increase being equal to two-thirds of the former amount among the colliers of Lancashire, and to more than one-half among those of the West Riding of Yorkshire. Colliers nowhere appear to readily fall victims to intemperance. In Derby and Nottingham, as well as in Staffordshire, the colliers are especially free from that vice, their mortality from alcoholism being only half the low figure for colliers generally. Even in Monmouthshire and South Wales, where the figure for alcoholism is the highest, only 7 of the colliers die of this disease for every 13 that die from it in other occupations. Since 1881 the mortality due to intemperance has slightly increased among the coal miners of Lancashire, but has decreased in all other counties respecting which comparison is possible.

_Ironstone mining._--This is one of the industries that are declining in this country. Miners of ironstone numbered barely 18,000 at the last census, and were fewer by nearly one-third part than at the census of 1881. More than half of these workers are to be found in the counties of Cumberland and York, and about an eighth part more are scattered over the counties of Stafford and Northampton. Speaking generally, iron-workers are a healthy body of men. They experience rates of mortality which are lower than those of “occupied males” at all periods of life between twenty years and sixty-five, and also lower than the rates for coal miners at the same ages. Both ironstone miners and colliers, however, suffer a much higher mortality than other workers at ages under twenty and over fifty-five years; the reason for this has not as yet been satisfactorily explained. It has been shown by Dr Ogle and other writers that the vital statistics of ironstone miners bear a general resemblance to those of coal miners. Recent investigations confirm this statement thus far, that in both cases the mortality from tubercular phthisis and from all other diseases except those of the respiratory system are below the average, and even this reservation does not apply to the statistics of 1890–2. Their comparative mortality figure from all causes is 774, and therefore considerably below that of coal miners in the aggregate. From disease alone (excluding accident) their mortality is slightly higher than that of colliers in Northumberland and Durham, but they suffer somewhat less severely from accident. Ironstone miners are a temperate body of men, their mortality figure from alcoholism being practically the same as that of colliers.

The extended tables of causes of death in my larger work show that ironstone miners suffer more severely than the average from influenza and from accident, but that under all other headings their mortality is below that of other occupations.

As compared with miners generally, the only diseases which show an excess among these workers are influenza, cancer, diseases of the liver, and suicide. Since 1881, the mortality of ironstone miners has decreased; but, as in the case of many other occupations, the improvement is limited to the lower ages, the rate having slightly increased at ages above forty-five years. Since 1881 the mortality of ironstone miners from alcoholism has decreased by more than half. There has also been a substantial decrease in their mortality from pulmonary consumption, and a slight decrease in that from other diseases of the lungs and air passages. Diseases of the nervous, circulatory, digestive, and urinary systems are, however, more fatal than formerly amongst these workers, and they are now more addicted than they were to suicide.

_Copper Miners._--The number of men engaged in this industry is so small that it is scarcely safe to express an opinion as to their healthiness or otherwise, especially when, as in the present case, the period covered by the statistics does not exceed three years. At the last census scarcely more than 1000 copper miners above fifteen years were enumerated, their number having dwindled to less than a third part of what it had been at the preceding census.

If one may hazard an opinion from so small a number of deaths, it would appear that copper miners are an unhealthy body of men: their comparative mortality figure is 1230, or 295 above that of miners in the aggregate. Pulmonary consumption and other lung diseases appear to be very destructive to these workers, and the survivors certainly do wisely in endeavouring to find a healthier field for their labour by emigrating to other and more prosperous regions. At the next census it is probable that the copper-mining industry in England will have practically ceased to exist.

_Tin Miners._--This is another unhealthy occupation; it is limited almost exclusively to the counties of Devon and Cornwall. The miners of tin at the last census numbered rather fewer than 10,000, and as the deaths in the course of three years did not exceed 336 in all, no very detailed observations on their mortality would be profitable. In consequence of the very general emigration of tin miners in recent years to South Africa and elsewhere, the age constitution of tin miners as a class has become exceedingly abnormal. Adults in the prime of life having left their homes in search of more profitable work abroad, the tin miners who are left at home are the least robust and healthy of their tribe, and this fact has a considerable effect on their mortality. Reference to the table on page 156 shows that tin miners sustain rates of mortality which are excessive at all ages. Their comparative mortality figure is 1409, or nearly half as high again as the average. Tin miners die two and three-quarter times as fast from phthisis, and one and three-quarter times as fast from other lung diseases as do occupied males generally; their mortality from cancer and from diseases of the nervous and urinary systems is also in excess of the average.

MORTALITY OF UNOCCUPIED AND OCCUPIED MEN.

In my previous work on occupational mortality, the death-rates of unoccupied men were compared, in considerable detail, with those of men following various occupations, in different parts of the country. A brief summary of what was then advanced at much greater length may fitly close the present section.

At the census of 1891 the number of unoccupied males living between the ages of twenty-five and sixty-five years was returned as 208,857. Of these, 35 per cent. were classed as “retired from business,” 6 per cent. as pensioners, and 23 per cent. as “living on their own means,” whilst 21 per cent. were referred to the class of “unoccupied persons,” including an unknown proportion of paupers and prisoners. Careful investigation of the facts leads to the surmise that somewhere between one-third and one-half of the unoccupied males, as above defined, experience a mortality which probably does not exceed that of occupied males at the same ages. If this be so, it follows that the mortality of the remaining two-thirds, or one-half, as the case may be, must greatly exceed even the high rates of unoccupied males in the aggregate. In the following table the rates of unoccupied males are contrasted with those of occupied males at the several stages of life.

+--------------+----------+------------+-------------------+
| | Occupied | Unoccupied | “Unoccupied” Rates|
| Age-Groups. | Males. | Males. | per cent. of |
| | | | “Occupied” Rates. |
+--------------+----------+------------+-------------------+
| 15–20 | 2.55 | 35.86 | 1406 |
| 20–25 | 5.07 | 29.58 | 583 |
| 25–35 | 7.29 | 27.05 | 371 |
| 35–45 | 12.43 | 35.71 | 287 |
| 45–55 | 20.66 | 37.77 | 183 |
| 55–65 | 36.66 | 59.44 | 162 |
|Over 65 years | 102.32 | 105.86 | 103 |
+--------------+----------+------------+-------------------+

The comparative mortality figures of occupied and of unoccupied males between twenty-five and sixty-five years of age are 953 and 2215 respectively. In other words, the number of males of definite age constitution, within these limits, that would give 1000 deaths among the general population, and 679 deaths in the healthy districts, would give 953 deaths among occupied, and 2215 among unoccupied, males. The comparative mortality figure of unoccupied males, therefore, exceeds that of occupied males by 132 per cent. The following table shows the chief causes of death that go to make up the comparative mortality figures for occupied males and unoccupied males respectively.

+------------------------------+--------+----------+-------------------+
| | | |Excess of Mortality|
| Cause of Death. |Occupied|Unoccupied| of Unoccupied over|
| | Males. | Males. | Occupied Males. |
+------------------------------+--------+----------+-------------------+
|All Causes | 953 | 2215 | 1262 |
|Diseases of Nervous System | 82 | 630 | 548 |
|Phthisis | 185 | 448 | 263 |
|Diseases of Heart | 126 | 240 | 114 |
|Influenza and Respiratory | | | |
| Diseases | 254 | 350 | 96 |
|Cancer | 44 | 96 | 52 |
|Diseases of Urinary Organs | 41 | 82 | 41 |
|Alcoholism and Liver Diseases | 40 | 76 | 36 |
|Accidents, including Lead | | | |
| Poisoning | 57 | 81 | 24 |
|Suicide | 14 | 28 | 14 |
+------------------------------+--------+----------+-------------------+

It thus appears that nearly two-thirds of the enormous excess in the mortality of unoccupied as compared with occupied men is due either to diseases of the nervous system, or to phthisis. The heavy mortality from both these diseases would appear to partly depend on the circumstance that the unoccupied class includes a large proportion of insane persons who are exceptionally prone to phthisis. Among other causes of death, diseases of the heart account for 114, and influenza (with respiratory diseases) accounts for 96 of the excess in the mortality figure of unoccupied men.

The mortality attributed to cancer is double, and that attributed to intemperance and liver disease, to diseases of the urinary system, and to suicide, is about double as heavy among the unoccupied as it is among the occupied class. The excess of mortality from accident among unoccupied males possibly results from the addition to their ranks of men who, having been permanently disabled whilst at work, drift into the unoccupied class, and finally die from their injuries.

At the census of 1891 London contained 1,230,010 occupied males aged fifteen years and upwards, while the industrial districts contained 1,833,295, and the agricultural districts contained 1,246,156 at the same ages. More than half of the occupied males in England and Wales are therefore included in these three sections of the population.

The mortality of _occupied males_ exhibits very wide variations in different parts of the country. These variations are exemplified severally by London, by the group of districts representing Industrial England, and by the areas representing Agricultural England.

At each of the seven age-groups, between fifteen and sixty-five years, the highest death-rates occur in the industrial, and the lowest in the agricultural, districts, London occupying an intermediate position.

The comparative mortality figure among occupied males, at ages from twenty-five to sixty-five years, is 1147 in London, 1248 in the industrial districts, and 687 in the agricultural districts; these figures being respectively 20 per cent. above, 31 per cent. above, and 28 per cent. below, the figure for all occupied males.

Phthisis and respiratory diseases are more fatal than any other causes of death to occupied males, both in London and in the industrial districts. In London these two headings contributed almost equally to the mortality figure. The industrial districts, on the other hand, show less mortality than does London from phthisis, but the difference is more than made up by the heavy death-roll from respiratory diseases. In the agricultural districts the mortality figure for phthisis is less than half of that of London, and the figure for respiratory diseases is still lower. After due correction for age constitution, these two classes of disease in the aggregate cause 48 per cent. of the total mortality among occupied males in London, 47 per cent. in the industrial districts, and 36 per cent. in the agricultural districts, against 43 per cent. for all occupied males within the same age limits.

JOHN TATHAM.