Inspection principle

The inspection principle has been the dominant organizational principle in German mining since the second half of the 19th century . With the introduction of the inspection principle, the management principle that had prevailed up to that point was replaced as an organizational principle.

The way there

As early as the beginning of the 19th century, several progressive trades and some mining officials made initial demands to abolish the management principle. At that time there were a large number of mountain regulations in the individual parts of Prussia, all of which were already outdated and no longer up-to-date. The handling of these many laws and individual mining regulations had meanwhile become almost impossible for the mining authorities . The liberalization of mining law would have resulted in an economic boom in mining. In 1826 the Prussian government had a new, generally valid, mining law drafted, which, however, took almost 40 years to come into force. To make matters worse, French mining law still applied on the left bank of the Rhine. A total of nine draft laws were necessary before all parties involved agreed to the new law.

The first essential measure to introduce the inspection principle took place on May 12, 1851 when the Co-Ownership Act came into force. This law initially applied to Prussia on the right bank of the Rhine. On March 6, 1852, the Minister of Commerce issued an instruction to implement the law. The law enabled the co-owners of the mines to independently elect a representative or a mine director who was endowed with far-reaching personnel policy powers. This law has now for the most part abolished the state's influence in the management of the mines. However, it took some time before the unions were able to implement the reorganization of the mine management. First of all, the trades had to choose their representatives (representatives) and employ the necessary company officials. Further steps were the reform of the Miners Act, which gave the Miners their self-administration, and the law to clear up the Längenfelder in 1854. An additional measure towards the inspection principle was the enactment of the law on the supervision of mining by the mining authority and the conditions of the mountain -, ironworks and salt works on May 21, 1860. This law was also known as the Free Movement Act. It repealed all remaining provisions that still allowed the state to control mining economically. On June 24, 1865, the General Prussian Mining Act came into force, the last step towards the inspection principle on the sovereign territory of the Prussian states. With the entry into force of the General Mining Act for the Kingdom of Saxony , the inspection principle was also introduced on the territory of the Kingdom of Saxony.

The principle

The inspection principle prohibits the state from any economic and technical management of the mines . The supervisory function of the mines is retained for the mining authorities. For the state, this means that with this organizational principle it is essentially concentrating on compliance and implementation of the mining law and the mining police regulations by the mining operators . This means that the state continues to maintain the mountain police supervision over the farms. He oversees the safety of the mine workings and the safety of the life and health of the miners . Furthermore, he also protects the interests of private and public transport and also pays attention to the safety of the surface. Another task that the state restricts itself to is the approval of the operating plans. The state must also ensure that the sustainability of mining is guaranteed. Ultimately, the state is responsible for the awarding of mining property and the adoption of regulations and rules. With this principle, the entrepreneurs have every possibility of technical design and economic management of their operations.

Effects

To the miners

The new legal situation had a serious impact on the miners. If, according to the old mining law, they had a kind of civil servant position, their privileges were largely withdrawn from them. Only in a small part of the Kingdom of Hanover did the local miners enjoy a tax exemption for a short time. However, on April 28, 1867, this special right was revoked by a change in the law. The law changes also changed labor law. Up until this point in time, the employment and dismissal, recruitment and remuneration of the miners as well as the transfer of miners from mine to mine were solely the responsibility of the state, the state now withdrew from this area and left everything to the entrepreneurs and theirs Agents. The miner was now effectively subordinated to the arbitrariness of the mining entrepreneurs. As a result, there was a progressive disenfranchisement and a growing proletarianization of the miners. This went so far that the miners could be insulted and insulted by the entrepreneur or their company officials, but in return they were dismissed without notice if they did the same. As a result of this repression, miners' strikes broke out in 1889, 1905 and 1912. This prompted the state to make several amendments to the law that improved the health and safety of miners and the working conditions of miners.

To the miners

The new legal situation now enabled the trades to run their businesses themselves. Furthermore, they now had the opportunity to determine the wages themselves. They could also determine the prices themselves according to the market. The trades or their representatives were also responsible for choosing mine officials and drafting service contracts. The change in the law made it possible for them to control the entire service and procedural rules of the mine officials. By self-governing their mines, reducing government spending and foreign capital, the mine operators were able to make large investments. This led to the expansion of mining in Germany. Large mining companies and mining groups could arise.

On the state

The new legal situation led to the fact that the sovereign was deprived of the mountain shelf that he had been entitled to for several hundred years . The state no longer had any influence on the technical, organizational and economic management of the mines. The only thing left for the mining authority to do was to monitor private mining by the mountain police. Due to the changed and reduced tasks, the state was forced to restructure its mining authorities. Instead of the mining authorities responsible for mining supervision up until then , the district officials were introduced as lower mining authorities. To support them in their work, they have been provided with a driver as a mining district inspector since 1898 . From 1920 onwards, additional employees, the mine inspectors, were employed to provide support. The middle authority was formed by the upper mines and the upper authority by the ministry.

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Jens Heckl, State Archive North Rhine-Westphalia (Ed.): Sources on mining in Westphalia. Digital Print Witten, Düsseldorf 2010, ISBN 978-3-932892-28-8 , pp. 25-28, 63.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Association for mining interests in the Oberbergamtsiertel Dortmund (ed.): Economic development of the Lower Rhine-Westphalian coal mining in the second half of the 19th century. First part, Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 1904, pp. 29–43.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Ralf Volkert, City of Witten (Hrsg.): History of the Brandenburg hard coal mining. From the beginnings to the mining law reform in 1865. Printed by Stadt Witten, Witten 1986, pp. 124–128.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Gerhard Gebhardt: Ruhr mining. History, structure and interdependence of its societies and organizations. Verlag Glückauf GmbH, Essen 1957, pp. 16-21.
^ ^A ^b ^c ^d ^e Karl Heinz Bader, Karl Röttger, Manfred Prante: 250 years of coal mining in the Brandenburg region. A contribution to the history of mining, the mining administration and the city of Bochum. Study publisher Dr. N. Brockmeyer, Bochum 1987, ISBN 3-88339-590-0 , pp. 81-88.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Erik Zimmermann: Black gold in the valley of the Ruhr . The history of Werden mining, Verlagsgruppe Beleke, Nobel Verlag GmbH, Essen 1999, ISBN 3-922785-57-3 , p. 61.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Adolf Arndt, Kuno Frankenstein (ed.): Handbook and textbook of political science in separate volumes. First Department of Economics XI. Volume mining and mining policy, Verlag von CL Hirschfeld, Leipzig 1894, pp. 78–84.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Joachim Huske: The hard coal mining in the Ruhr area from its beginnings to the year 2000. 2nd edition, Regio-Verlag Peter Voß, Werne 2001, ISBN 3-929158-12-4 , pp. 77-78.
↑ ^a ^b ^c Otto Hue: The miners. Historical representation of miners' relationships from the oldest to the most recent, volume 2, Verlag von IHW Dietz Nachf. GmbH, Stuttgart 1913, pp. 76–52.
^ Gustav Adolf Wüstenfeld: On the trail of coal mining. Gustav Adolf Wüstenfeld-Verlag, Wetter-Wengern 1985, ISBN 3-922014-04-6 , pp. 2-3.
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lorenz Pieper: The situation of the miners in the Ruhr area. JG Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachhaben, Stuttgart and Berlin 1903, pp. 28–32.
^ Wilhelm Schlueter: The right of workers' representatives in mining in Prussia. In: Glückauf, Berg- und Hüttenmännische magazine. Association for Mining Interests in the Upper Mining District Dortmund (Ed.), No. 48, 54th year, November 30, 1918, pp. 733–736.

[Quelle_1-1] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Jens Heckl, State Archive North Rhine-Westphalia (Ed.): Sources on mining in Westphalia. Digital Print Witten, Düsseldorf 2010, ISBN 978-3-932892-28-8 , pp. 25-28, 63.

[Quelle_2-2] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h Association for mining interests in the Oberbergamtsiertel Dortmund (ed.): Economic development of the Lower Rhine-Westphalian coal mining in the second half of the 19th century. First part, Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg 1904, pp. 29–43.

[Quelle_3-3] Ralf Volkert, City of Witten (Hrsg.): History of the Brandenburg hard coal mining. From the beginnings to the mining law reform in 1865. Printed by Stadt Witten, Witten 1986, pp. 124–128.

[Quelle_4-4] Gerhard Gebhardt: Ruhr mining. History, structure and interdependence of its societies and organizations. Verlag Glückauf GmbH, Essen 1957, pp. 16-21.

[Quelle_12-5] A ^b ^c ^d ^e Karl Heinz Bader, Karl Röttger, Manfred Prante: 250 years of coal mining in the Brandenburg region. A contribution to the history of mining, the mining administration and the city of Bochum. Study publisher Dr. N. Brockmeyer, Bochum 1987, ISBN 3-88339-590-0 , pp. 81-88.

[Quelle_5-6] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Erik Zimmermann: Black gold in the valley of the Ruhr . The history of Werden mining, Verlagsgruppe Beleke, Nobel Verlag GmbH, Essen 1999, ISBN 3-922785-57-3 , p. 61.

[Quelle_6-7] ↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Adolf Arndt, Kuno Frankenstein (ed.): Handbook and textbook of political science in separate volumes. First Department of Economics XI. Volume mining and mining policy, Verlag von CL Hirschfeld, Leipzig 1894, pp. 78–84.

[Quelle_7-8] Joachim Huske: The hard coal mining in the Ruhr area from its beginnings to the year 2000. 2nd edition, Regio-Verlag Peter Voß, Werne 2001, ISBN 3-929158-12-4 , pp. 77-78.

[Quelle_8-9] Otto Hue: The miners. Historical representation of miners' relationships from the oldest to the most recent, volume 2, Verlag von IHW Dietz Nachf. GmbH, Stuttgart 1913, pp. 76–52.

[Quelle_9-10] Gustav Adolf Wüstenfeld: On the trail of coal mining. Gustav Adolf Wüstenfeld-Verlag, Wetter-Wengern 1985, ISBN 3-922014-04-6 , pp. 2-3.

[Quelle_10-11] Lorenz Pieper: The situation of the miners in the Ruhr area. JG Cotta'sche Buchhandlung Nachhaben, Stuttgart and Berlin 1903, pp. 28–32.

[Quelle_11-12] Wilhelm Schlueter: The right of workers' representatives in mining in Prussia. In: Glückauf, Berg- und Hüttenmännische magazine. Association for Mining Interests in the Upper Mining District Dortmund (Ed.), No. 48, 54th year, November 30, 1918, pp. 733–736.