he
hours and the general conditions of labour are such as to cause great
wear-and-tear of body or mind or both, and to lead to a low standard
of living; when there has been a want of that leisure, rest, and
repose which are among the necessaries for efficiency, then the labour
has been extravagant from the point of view of society at large....
And, since material wealth exists for the sake of man, and not man for
the sake of material wealth, the replacement of inefficient and
stunted human lives by more efficient and fuller lives would be a gain
of a higher order than any temporary material loss that might have
been occasioned on the way."

If it be said that these arguments are general, is it not true that
special circumstances differentiate the case of coal-miners from that
of many other industries in this country? Others have spoken of the
heat of the mine, the danger of fire-damp, of the cramped position, of
the muscular exertions of the miner, at work in moist galleries
perhaps a mile under the ground. I select the single fact of
deprivation of natural light. That alone is enough to justify
Parliament in directing upon the industry of coal-mining a specially
severe scrutiny and introducing regulations of a different character
from those elsewhere.

The hon. Member for Windsor[10] who moved the rejection of this Bill
described it as a reckless and foolhardy experiment. I see the miner
emerging from the pit after eight hours' work with the assertion on
his lips that he, at any rate, has paid his daily debt to his fellow
men. Is the House of Commons now going to say to him, "You have no
right to be here. You have only worked eight hours. Your appearance on
the surface of the earth after eight hours' work is, to quote the hon.
Member, 'a reckless and foolhardy experiment'"? I do not wonder at the
miners' demand. I cannot find it in my heart to feel the slightest
surprise, or indignation, or mental disturbance at it. My capacity for
wonder is entirely absorbed, not by the miners' demand, but by the
gentleman in the silk hat and white waistcoat who has the composure
and the complacency to deny that demand and dispute it with him.

The hon. Member for Dulwich[11]--himself a convinced protectionist,
with a tariff with 1,200 articles in its schedules in his coat-tail
pocket--has given us a delightful lecture on the importance of
cheapness of production. Think of the poor consumer! Think of the
importance to our industri