The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1880-09-25 00:00:00

THB SEAHAM COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

About nine o'clock on Saturday night four mare
bodies were brought to bank, having been found in the
return of the far east way by Mr. Stretton and Mr.
Bailes, jun. Their names are John Riley, J.
M'Glochlen, Jacob Fletcher, • and R. Drainer. They
were found in such positions that it is evident that
they had all 'died frern the effects of choke-damp.
But one melancholy discovery Was made On a piece of
brattice-board, about 2-ift. long and 2in. wide, on
which was written on one side in chalk in the same
hand. "J. Riley, J. 11L'Glochlen, J. Fletcher, R.
Drainer ;" on the other, "Five o'clock. We have been
praying to God."
"Robert Hartley, deputy, who was one of the.
exploring party, narrates as follows :
" I was working at the • fall in the third east way, when
Mr. Stratton and Mr. Bailes came up and said they wanted
22 men to proceed to the return in the far east way, as four
dead bodies, had been found. I went among the men re-
quired, following Mr. Bailes to where the poor fellows were
lying. The sight of them was most affecting, and Ido not
think there was a man among us but who was moved by
the.sorrowful picture set before Us. The first man we came
to was Jacob Fletcher, stonernan, who was lying with his
head out bye, over on his right side, having his right arm half
drawn up under him, and his left stretched far out over his
head, his knees tieing drawn up. Riley was lying across the way
at the feet of Fletcher, drawn up much in the same position.
Drainer was sittipg-with'his head and shoulders against the
side of the coal, and his feet towards Riley. MTilochlen
was sitting on the bye side of Drainer in a similar attitude,
but with his head inclined snore in bye. There were three
lamps placed together and standing in a row between
Fletcher and Riley. Fletcher's lamp was standing close to
his breast. The bodies were not at all disfigured, only
swollen very Much. Their faces were black, but the conn-
tenances did not seem n to he changed more than hearing
signs of having died from the effects of after-damp. They
appeared to have been wandering about, and at last,
becoming exhausted, had succumbed and died. Each of
the bodies was placed on stretchers and carried out to the
bottom of the shaft to be sent to bank."

The narrator was unable to express an opinion as to
whether the deceased could have lived much longer
than five o'clock, the time at which the writing was
.done, but thinks their lamps must have been burning
at the time the one man wrote on the piece of board.
Mr. Fishman • (Bunker-hill) is of opinion that the
writing had been done with the last effort, and that
they could not have lived much longer. The lamps
were supplied with oil for 12 hours, and would burn
until all was consumed. The -writing is in a fairly
good hand, and bears evidence of having been traced
without any effort. All the bodies were, on being
brought to bank, sent to the dead-house near the pit,
and almost immediately after they were identified and
'taken to their homes. •

Several of the bodies recovered from the pit were
buried on Saturday. The vicar, the Rev. W. A.
Scott, assisted by the Rev.' D. James, curate, and
other clergymen, officiated at the funeral of John
Short, Thomas Greenwell, Michael Henderon (father),
Roger and William Henderson (sons), Thomas Foster,
George Shields, John Jackson, Robert Graham, and
Dominic Gibbon, which were buried at Seaham Col-
liery churchyard. About 1,000 persons were present,
and the scene was an affecting one. At Seaharn Har-
bour churchyard Michael Owens James Slewin, and
Matthew Charlton were interred. Application was
made ithe case of the Hendersons for .permission for
Ilissenting minister to deliver an address at the
grave, but the-vicar said he regretted he must refuse
the application. •
At N.'-ork Minster on Sunday the offertories .were
devoted to the Seaham Colliery Relief Fund. The
Lord Mayor and Corporation attended, and in the
morning the preacher was the Very Rev. the Dean of
York. In the afternoon the Rev. Canon Fleming,
hon. chaplain to tho Queen, preached to a crowded
congregation. The rev. canon- drew some practical
lessons from the dreadful calamity, and in the course
of his sermon said :

" Since I spoke in this minster on Sunday last my words
have reached all parts of the country, and I have received
many letters on this subject to which I ventured to refer.
Some of the writers assure me that science has done its part.
I did not intend by any words of mine to put science on its
defence, but rather on its mettle, and ask it to continue to
elicit, develop, and perfect some further means which may
he found of greater practical utility in preventing the loss of
human life, both in misses and on our railways. Aila if our
Legislature will then make such appliances to be coMpulsory
upon railway companies and also on mine-owners and miners
it will achieve one of its most humane measures for guarding
the community from those reckless accidents which we have
learnt too well to expect to hear and read of happening
somewhere or other with fatal regularity. There is no
higher mission for the Legislature than to watch over human
I,4eau • • -

It is stated that a female inmate of the Hampstead
Workhouse, about ninety years of age, has just cut her
third set of five or six new teeth.

CARDINAL MANNING ON DENOMI-
NATIONAL SCHOOLS.

On Monday night Cardinal Manning presided at a crowded
meeting of Catholics held in the Mechanics'-hall, Notting,-
ham, in favour of denominational schools. On the plat-
form there were Dr. Bagshawe, the Roman Catholic Bishop
of Nottingham, Mr. A. M Sullivan, M.P., and Mr. Belling-
ham, M.P.
Cardinal Manning said, if he were asked what de-
nominational education was he should answer that it
was education with liberty of conscience. In the con-
dition of this country it was most just that, education
' should be denominational, and no other -form of
education could possibly be just. Let him say, -
the outset, that Catholics were not responsible for I
name of denominational education. No denomina-
tional Christianity could exist where there was absolute
unity of faith. It was the misery of a shattered religion,
of a Christianity broken up piecemeal, that compelled
the use of various names, and had created what states-
men were pleased to call the religious difficulty.
We had entered into a period in owhich ths ancient
unity of Christianity was broken nt, in which religion
had become fragmentary • but, nevertheless, the
chil-
dren of England must be taught. How, then, were
they to solve this problem? There were only two
ways of issuing from the difficulty, and they were both
intolerable; the one was a secular system, an education
in which the name of God should never be heard, or a
system of education in which some one form of religion
chosen by the State should be laid down and enforced.
Both were anti-Christian. It had been said that
if Catholics were in a majority they would coerce
their fellow-countrymen in matters of religion and
educatiOn. To that proposition, both as a Catholic
and a Christian, he said absulutely, " No," and
for this reason—by coercion they might make
hypocrites, but they would not snake believers.
(Cheers.) If any man were to say that by acts of the
supreme power of legislation the Catholic majority
might coerce the people of England into Catholic
schools and churches, he (the Cardinal) would say that
by so daing they would violate some of the most vitat
principles of the Catholic faith. How, then, were the
people to be educated? It must be done by the volun-
tary efforts of parents, by the supreme effort and
guidance of the Church, and certainly by the co-opera-
tion of the State; for the State was deeply concerned
that its citizens should all be trained so as properly to
discharge their public duties. It was clear, then, that
what was called the religious difficulty must be left to
the consciences of the parents and pastors of all those
various divisions which unhappily existed, and there-
fore that which Was called denominational education
was a dire necessity. He was only amazed that the Non-
conformists of England, who separated themselves in
old time for conscience' sake from the State religion,
did not at this moment unite against a system of secular
education in which the name of God should never
be heard, and band themselves together like their
forefathers to preserve the faith they believed and a
Christianity for which they then were willing to suffer.
His Eminence proceeded to trace the progress of
recent legislation with regard to education, and said
that the Act of 1870 created changes which, disastrous
as they were, did not destroy the vital Christianity of
their schools; and though the Catholics were weighted
with enormous difficulties, it was possible for them in
conscience still to persevere, and not to reduce them-
selves to a condition in which it would have been
enormously difficult for them in' England, numerous
and poor as their flocks were, to provide proper educa-
tion for their people. Denominational education was
the most just. All men, whatever might be their
religion, had to pay taxes. Was it not, therefore, just
that all classes should be benefited in the return of
their contributions, and that they should partake of
the benefits with equality and without injustice? If
one religious sect was subsidized to the exclusion
of another, it would be a drying -injustice ; and if
the Secularists or the Atheist's were to estab-
lish schools all. over England and Christians
should • not teach their religion in those schools,
that would be an injustice that would blaze. up to
heaven. Any other system, then, would be most un-
ust. It would be a state tyranny. It would be in-
vesting the State with the parentage of children.
This was a pags,nism revived by the first French Re-
volution, and imported to England by whatwas called
Secularism. The denominational system, too, was a
cheap one. The voluntary schools had provided room
for nearly three millions of children at a cost to the
State of £1,700,000, dating from 1838 to 1879. The
School Board work had cost nearly eight millions
sterling to build schools, and the number of children
provided for would be about 624,000. The education
of a child in the voluntary schools cost about El 14s.
a head, of whioh 13s. came from the State; and in the
Board schools it cost £3, of which £2 came from the
rates. In conclusion the Cardinal affirmed that it
was the Catholics who stood up for the conscience of
the English people and claimed education with liberty.
H ear, hear.)
A resolution in favour of denominational schools was
proposed by Mr. Sullivan, M.P., and unanimously
carried.

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