Drowned by water from an old waste of which no record had been kept. It was asserted by one of the miners that he told the manager that the symptoms indicated waste a week before the inundation, but this was denied by him

[NB The men are not named in the report but they were William Hunter, 31; Patrick Kennedy; 34, John McCusker, 18 and James Pedden, 37]

An irruption of water from an old waste working broke into the workings of Cardenden Colliery, which carried away and drowned four men who were working at the place. The other workmen in the colliery escaped by a second outlet, affording another example of the benefit of this wise statutory enactment. Had there been no such outlet, at least 40 lives must have been sacrificed. The existence of the old waste was unknown. One of the workmen, however, states that he told the overman, eight days before, that water was oozing through the coal which looked like waste water, but the overman never went near the place to look at it, nor does it appear he had been there for at least a month before. The Special Rules at this colliery, and at many others in Fifeshire, contain no provision for a daily examination of the working places before the workmen enter, or indeed at all, unless there be fire-damp, which was not found here. In all new collieries such a Special Rule is established, but where, as in this instance, the rules are already established, I have not always been able to get it introduced. It is to be hoped, however, that the Fife coalowners will not continue to object to its introduction. If such a rule had been established at Cardenden and acted upon, the overman might have detected the suspicious appearance referred to by the collier, and put in a bore, which, at the cost of a few shillings, would have shown the state of matters, and might have saved the lives of these unfortunate men.

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