MINES. 
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District Magistrate. We recommend this both for the better mainten- 
ance of safety statistics and for the better check of the working 
of the Compensation Act. 
Training of the Miner. 
The incidence of accidents is closely related to the character 
and skill of the labour employed. For instance, in Indian mines the 
untrained cultivator may be allowed to work at the face on his first day 
underground and, in the best of mines, the worker's illiteracy increases 
the difficulty of protecting him against danger. A large staff of trained 
men is maintained at most mines to look after the safety of miners, but 
conditions at the face change quickly and safety depends to a great 
extent on the skill and experience of the miner himself. We would 
invite the attention of employers to this factor in the safety of the mine 
and, while we do not think that statutory regulation is possible at the 
present stage, we suggest that owners and managers should ensure 
the newcomer not being started at work except under skilled super- 
vision. More adequate practical training is especially important in view 
of the illiteracy and lack of education of the miner, for whom written 
warnings and instructions are of little use. In stone and similar quarries 
increased supervision of the use of explosives is especially necessary. 
First-aid classes are held in the major coalfields and, with the 
support of the inspectors, a fair number of men have been trained by 
this means. The ordinary miners should be encouraged to qualify in 
first aid, and we suggest to managers the grant of inducements to this 
end. Apart from the practical use of such a qualification, the training 
mn itself has an educative value which makes it especially worthy to be 
recommended. 
Mining Boards. 
The Mines Act provides for the establishment of Mining Boards 
for the consideration of proposed legislation, settlement of disputes 
between inspectors and owners as to bye-laws and consideration of cases 
referred to the Board instead of to a court. These Boards have a govern- 
ment officer as chairman and, besides the Chief Inspector or his represen- 
tative, include two nominees of employers and two nominees of Govern- 
ment, of whom one is to represent the workers’ interests. We recommend 
elsewhere that these Boards should be given the task of deciding the 
minimum assumed output to be taken for the purpose of calculating the 
wages of underground workers ; having regard to this additional 
function and to our general view that the workers should be given a 
greater voice in the industry, we recommend that the workers should 
have the same number of nominees on the Board as the employers, 
and that these should be chosen by Government after consultation 
with the workers’ organisations, where these exist. 
Courts of Enquiry, 
Courts of Enquiry are regulated by Sections 21 and 22 of the 
Act as well as by rules. We understand that rules now being drawn up 
by local Governments will make it obligatory on the court to permit 
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