There exists a general want of cleanliness in the habits of the colliers, with exceptions of course; though I believe it is usual for them to wash their faces on in the day after labour, and sometimes the children follow the same example; but the younger children, not at work in the pits, present a miserable appearance. The ragged and dirty clothing of the whole family, the flesh of the children, which seems perfectly innocent of water, and blackened by the general employment, added to the squalid aspect and unwholesome stench of the place, bespeak at one glance a population neglected and abandoned to a course of life which has blunted the commonest perceptions of human comfort.
As might be expected, these hovels are infested with vermin, as are the persons of the children" Mr Franks went on to comment on the reasons for the poor health of the children:
1. Because the food taken is too poor in quality and insufficient in quantity to sustain such severe labour, consisting for the most part of oaten cake, oaten bread, or porridge; no butcher meat; even the hewers do not enjoy the luxury of common table beer, and the children invariably drink the water in the pit.
2. Because the food, bad in quality and scanty in quantity as it is, is always taken most irregularly, there being no fixed time set apart for meals.
3. Because the air of the mines in which the work is carried on, and which the workpeople respire, as well as the air of the houses in which they are crowded, instead of being pure, which is indispensable to convert aliment into nutriment, is loaded with noxious matters.
4. Because the hours of work are much too long for children of eight years old and under. The tender and feeble powers of girls and boys of this age must be taxed beyond their strength by uninterrupted labour of twelve hours average daily - labour called for at irregular periods, sometimes by day and sometimes extending through the whole night.
5. Because the medical evidence shows that this labour is injurious to the bodily frame. Evidence showing that there are peculiar diseases which tend to shorten the duration of life among colliers, resulting from the nature of their employment, has been obtained from Dr William Thomson, Dr S. S. Alison, Dr Makellar, Dr. John Reid of Markinch, Dr Morison and Mr. Symington.
As might be expected, these hovels are infested with vermin, as are the persons of the children" Mr Franks went on to comment on the reasons for the poor health of the children:
1. Because the food taken is too poor in quality and insufficient in quantity to sustain such severe labour, consisting for the most part of oaten cake, oaten bread, or porridge; no butcher meat; even the hewers do not enjoy the luxury of common table beer, and the children invariably drink the water in the pit.
2. Because the food, bad in quality and scanty in quantity as it is, is always taken most irregularly, there being no fixed time set apart for meals.
3. Because the air of the mines in which the work is carried on, and which the workpeople respire, as well as the air of the houses in which they are crowded, instead of being pure, which is indispensable to convert aliment into nutriment, is loaded with noxious matters.
4. Because the hours of work are much too long for children of eight years old and under. The tender and feeble powers of girls and boys of this age must be taxed beyond their strength by uninterrupted labour of twelve hours average daily - labour called for at irregular periods, sometimes by day and sometimes extending through the whole night.
5. Because the medical evidence shows that this labour is injurious to the bodily frame. Evidence showing that there are peculiar diseases which tend to shorten the duration of life among colliers, resulting from the nature of their employment, has been obtained from Dr William Thomson, Dr S. S. Alison, Dr Makellar, Dr. John Reid of Markinch, Dr Morison and Mr. Symington.