The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1885-03-07 00:00:00

THE NARRATIVE OF THE WAR.

ADDRESS BY LORD WOLSELEY.
Telegraphing from head quarters at 'Corti on Sun-
day a special correspondent says:
blahomed Ali,
.a Bashi Bazouk, arrived from

Abudom last night. He came down through the
Shukook Pass, and was witness of a fight which took
place there between a party of Shagiyeh Arabs, who
were carryinc, dates for the use of our army, and
some marauding tribesmen. The latter were repulsed,
the friendly Arabs losing one man in the fight. Two
Arab merchants who have arrived here report that
' they left Berber twenty days ago. They report
' that at that time the , fighting force there
! had evacuated the town and had crossed
to the right bank of the river to oppose the
English. They say that the reading of the Koran is
now forbidden to the people, who are ordered to read
only the Mandi's books. The Mandi has issued in-
stuctions that his troops are not to charge the
English, but are to fight them from a distance. If
they do this he tells them that God will destroy their
enemies. General Buller and Lord Fitzgerald have
just arrived here. They report that all the sick and
wounded are doing well. Lord Wolseley held an
inspection of General Gordon's troops to-day; they
were drawn up under the command of Captain Gas-
coigne. After the parade in line they were formed
in square, so that all might hear Lord Wolseley's
words. The General said that he was very pleased to
see them. He congratulated them upon the pluck
and courage that they had shown, and warmly
thanked tliem for the good work they had done in the
transport of the wounded across the Desert. He told
them that all the promises as to pay and advantages
which had been made to them by General Gordon
would be faithfully observed, for that the Eng-
lish word once given was always kept. Armies
were coming from Souakim and Egypt, and the
Soudan would be held by the English until
the Mandi was crushed and Khartoum taken.
Upon Lord Wolseley's speech being translated
to the troops they were much pleased, and
cheered loudly. The General then shook hands with
Nusri Pasha, thanked him for his good services, and
said that he would not be forgotten or unrewarded.
Nursi Pasha, in reply, said that all the soldiers were
broken-hearted at the death of General Gordon, who
was adored by all of them ' and that they hoped the
English would avenge his murder, and break the
power of the Mandi. Lord Wolseley said that
England was resolved to crush the Mandi, no matter
how long a time it might take her to do so.

Telegraphing on Monday from Souakirn, the
special correspondent of the Daily Chronicle said:
This morning about a score of rebels made their
appearance within range of the Berkshire Regiment's
camp. Simultaneously their movements were descried
from the Hasheen redoubt, and a couple of rounds
from one of the Krupps sent them helter-skelter over
the hills. -From the redoubt it is reported that
Osman Digna is throwing up strong entrenchments in
the vicinity of Hasheen, while the bulk of his followers
are moving towards Tamai

Official confirmation, in the form of a telegram from
lord Wolseley, was on Tuesday received of the recalls
of General Brackenbury's column. Theforce reached
Birti on the Ist inst. on its return journey to Merawi.
A Reuter'a telegram from Korti states .that a native
having charge of the mails from the British force at
Gakdul was attacked by marauders while on his way
to Eorti, and robbed of the mails and of his camel,
being nearly killed into the bargain. The first of the
Indian reinforcements for the Soudan reached Souakitn
on Tuesday in excellent condition. The sheikhs of
the Habbab tribe —who have hitherto been considered
as friendly to us—have left Osman Digna's camp, and
returned to their homes. The contingent from New
South Wales left Sydney on Tuesday for the Soudan, the
day being observed in the New South Wales capital
as a public holiday. Immense enthusiasm prevailed,
and the vessels conveying the troops were accompanied
as they steamed away to the Heads, by a perfect
fleet of steamers. It is stated that the number of
volunteers for the service reached six times the
number required, while the contributions to the
Patriotic Fund had on Tuesday reached .E 45,000.
The contingent was reviewed on Saturday last by Sir
Augustus Loftus, the Governor of the Colony, in the
presence of 50,000 spectators, and before their embar-
kation they were addressed by his Excellency, who
expressed his confidence in their determination to
uphold the honour of the British flag, and hoped that
they would return "crowned with England s grati-
tude" as they left "encompassed with her sym-
pathies."

TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION AND
LOSS OF LIFE.
At nine o'clock on Monday night an explosion of
gas occurred at Usworth Colliery, near Newcastle, by
which a lamentable loss of life was caused. The
colliery belongs to Messrs. John Burns and Co., and
is one of the well-known group situated in the high
land between the lower courses of the Tyne and the
Wear. The managing viewer of the colliery is Mr.
Alfred Palmer, brother of Mr. C. M. Palmer, M.P.,
who is one of the firm working thA onlliary Tn.
accident occurred in the west pit of the Maudlin
seam. It appears that the shifters, fillers, and others
shortly after four o'clock in the afternoon, went down
the main shaft. About fifty proceeded to their labour
in the east pit and in the low seam, and between
thirty and forty went to work in the west pit of
the Maudlin. These included five hewers, two put.
ters, three drivers, eighteen shifters, four deputies,
and a horsekeeper. The usual work of the stonemen
and shifters proceeded in the regular routine until the
time of the explosion. At this hour the night shift
men of the colliery were due to descend the main
shaft to their work for the various seams. The
wqrkmen had actually assembled round the
mouth of the shaft, and the cage had received part
meat of its complement of workers, while their picks
and gear were laid upon the top in the usual manner.
At this moment a crashing report was heard from
below, waenee an uprush of air and dust conveyed the
tale of a terrible mishap. , The shock was severe, and
sufficed to smash the bratticing which separates
the shaft into two sections, and to jam
the cage in its place. No start had been made
at the time of the explosion, and the men made all
haste to reach a safe position. The consternation
caused on all sides may well be imagined, but not an
instant was lost by the officials at the pit's mouth in
endeavouring to ascertain the nature and extent of
the accident. Mr. Morland, the manager, and Mr.
Lindsay, the assistant viewer, were on the spot almost
instantly, and they at once communicated with the
managing viewer, Mr. Alfred Palmer, apprising him
of the accident. It was at once seen that the main
shaft was hopelessly blocked up, and that no com-
munication -with the pit could be obtained by that
means. Recourse was then had to the back shaft
which was within a few yards distance of the working
one. A kibble and chains were quickly fitted up, and
a band of brave fellows volunteered to descend the
mine. They were headed by Mr. Morland and Mr.
Lindsay, and comprised about a dozen men. On the
west pit, and at the foot of the shaft four men and
boys were found. One of these was dead when taken up.
His name is Ridley Taylor, a waggonman, who was
married, and leaves a family. Among another group
at the bottom of the shaft was a fireman of the South
Maudlin engine, William Howarth. He was severely
scalded and burnt, as well as bruised by being thrown
violently against the side of the workings. The third
man rescued was a young fellow named James Quin,
a stone-man, married. The others were a young man
named Thomas Dobson, fireman, and a stone-man
named Prest. When the injured men were brought
to the bank, the fact that three of them were severely
scalded conveyed the impression that a boiler explosion
might have been the cause of the accident, and hopes
were for a moment: entertained that the rest of the
men in the west pit—twenty-six in number—would
be in a safe position. This idea was, unfortunately,
soon abandoned, and over thirty lives were lost.