rules submitted by mine-owners to the secretary of state, could gain legislative sanction and be enforceable through penalties. Various inquests discovered the extent to which incompetent management and neglect was to blame for workplace accidents and legislation. This led to legislation in 1872 that required the employ of specifically certified managers. The certificates were issued by a government agency to candidates after passing a series of examinations. The steady development of the coal industry, increasing association among miners, and increased scientific knowledge paved the way for the extension and rationalisation of the then-current legislation to a greater variety of industries. The 1874 Act also included the first comprehensive code of regulation to govern legal safeguards for health, life and limb. For instance, in the coal mining industry, the provision of safety lamps was made compulsory, use of explosives was regulated, and the shaft roof was required to be properly secured at all times. Any willful neglect of these safety provisions became strictly punishable. But the most important new step lay in the sections relating to daily control and supervision of every mine by a manager holding a certificate of competency from the government, granted after passing an examination. Increased levels of inspection were also provided for. The remit of the law steadily expanded to incorporate more industries, as reformers moved from one pressing issue to another. Other trades that came under legislative scrutiny included Bleaching and dyeing works, lace factories, and textile finishing, bakehouses, earthenware-making, match-making, cartridge making and paper-staining. As the result of inquiries by expert medical and sanitary commissioners, ventilation was required to remove dangerous gases, dust, and other impurities generated in all factories. By the end of the century, a comprehensive set of regulations had been put in place in England. Although the law would undergo further refinement over the following century, its basic contours were already discernible. As other countries industrialised in the late 19th century, they too adopted a similar legal system to prevent and mitigate large scale abuse in the industry. France In France, the working day was first limited in factories for adults in 1848, to 12. The workplaces covered by this law was clarified in 1885 to include industrial establishments with motor power or continual furnaces, or workshops employing over 20 workers. In 1851, under condition of notification to the local authorities, exceptions, still in force, were made to the general limitation,