The Express.
London, England, 1852-05-07 00:00:00

FATAL COLLIERY EXPLOSION.-UPN ARDS

OF TWENTY LIVES LOST.

SHIELDS, THURSDAY, 9 r.st.
This forenoon a fearful explosion took plate in the
A pit, Hebburn Colliery, five miles from this place. There
were 200 men and boys in the pit, but the explosion was
confined to the Chapter flat. en advance worki,.g. The
whole of the men and boys in that portion of the colliery,
amounting to 22 in number, were instantly killed by the
fire, which was quickly extinguished, in .conseysence of
meeting a horse drawing a number of tube along tie rolley
way. The horse was upset and severely injured, but the
men travelling in the tube fortunately escaped. The pit
was well ventilated, and nothing is as yet known as to the
cause producing the accident. The lessee of the c dliery is
Mr. Easton, of Gateshead. The colliery is in the fiery
Bonham seam, and this is the third explosion that has
taken place in it during the last 20 yearn. Thi *hole of
the bodies were brought to the hank in about too hours
after the accident occurred. No injury has hei. dune to
the ventilation. The inquest will be held on Sati.rday.

THE ALLEGED MURDER NEAR. DRURY.

LANE.

Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held by
Mr. Bedford, at the Plough Tavern, Carey-stn•• t, Lin-
coln's-inn, on the body of Mr. Robert Clarke, it, d 51, a
coachmaker, some particulars of w hove death in a•i•..equence
of brutal violence received by him in a noturinte. IWILIK:
Banbury-court, Lung-acre, have already appeared
Mr A. Haynes attended to watch the ease on l-,ehttlf of
the accused. _ _ .

John llenwood, police constable 9.5 F, repeated the
evidence he gave at the examination before the tr eixtrate,
to the elf•ect that shortly before two o'clock or, Sunday
morning last, while on duty, he found deceased 'rtting on
the past:tient, and leaning against a wall cppusite a house
kept by & David Lo Hart
co, at 31, Ha-street, the aiela
door
of
i which sin Batibiary-court, and believing that be was the
same man that about a quarter of an hour prevasualy he
had seen enter the house with two females, he call. el out to
know whether there was anybody who knew anything of
him. Several voices answered, " 1 know nothing all of
him," and en retreating the question he heard a • 'rice say,
" Don't answer him." Eventually the sergeant ante up,
and finding that the man was dead, they come yo I him on
a stretcher to the station, and from thence to King's Culls ge
Hospital.
Thomas Bridgewater, house surgeon of King College
Hospital, had examined the body, and diecove; d several
slight bruises on the upper part of the right eyelid, a small
quantity of fluid blued in the mouth, and a btu,* on the
nose and upper right jaw. Ile then minutely de• tiled the
result of the post-mortem examination, which leaved that
the heart, and, with the exception of the lungs (e ich were
congested an consequence of the sudden death), ilia viscera
were healthy. Olt ranking the skullcap, be taut .1 the tis-
sues of the head very vascular, and the inembri.aes more
adherent than natural; there were effusion, of 1. sal from
the membranes, and at the base of the bruin, ae I clots of
blood on the ventricles. From these and other u!amerances
the witness was of opinion that death resulted Irma concus-
sion of the brain, at which conclusion he had arri ed,
inde-
pendently of the history of the occurrence. I .neussion
would have been produced by a blow, or a fall, or ,eith, but
there was no corresponding external bruise ; but -till many
cases had occurred in which no external mark of .. blow, or
fall, had been left, although death had resultee tom con-
cussion.

Alice Tillett, /Co. 10, Valentine-place, Illackf ars-road,
deposed that, while walking with a girl, named ayes, on
Sunday morning, between land 2, in Trafalgarsq.•sre, hey
met deceased, who, although tipsy, was able to Will steadily,
and proceeded to Belasco's house in Banbury-- 'art and
went upstairs. Tho woman Delano demanded of the
deceased, who said he had no money, and lay doe a to sleep
on the sofa. Mrs. Belasco and a servant then e. Inmeneed
abusing him and called him " Irish," whet. he f :.t up and
threatened to strike any une who repeated it. Rieman took
him by the arm gently, and he was going quietly ...way, and
when on the landing the man Belasco abused hi,•l for not
Raying, and pushed him rather violently with L .'h hands.
Taken quite by surprise he tell down the stairs h. i 4 down-
wards with his hands under hint, his head string every
stair until he reached the bottom, where he lay t. Sonless,
his head on the mat and his legs up the stairs. 13, lasco fol-
lowed, knelt down, and struck him three or lAir times
about the head, at the same time nide, ng him
out. On the witness remonstrating with B. two, he
said " You're a woman of the world, you aught to
know better;" and his wife gave them earn a elan
of gin, and told them "If there was any heeler about
it to say he had fallen down stairs." Mrs. a and two
female servants then dragged deceased out by the eollar and
put him sitting against the wall, and a minute or two after-
wards the policeman called out. The wituiss and her com-
panion remained, by the direction of Mrs. Bel i.e.', some
short time longer in the house; and the latter went out with
them and again told them to say he had fallen elai”rn stairs.
Witness, however, turd the first policeman she ii.et of the
occurrence, gave her address, and said she would be forth-
coming if required.
Cross-examincel.--On the day of the examinatim• at Bow-
street she went into a public-house in Bryalges-smet with
some women, who offered her 1001. if she liked to go away,
which she refused.

The jury hero expressed a desire to examine the Animas*,
which, having been done, and on returning, t) Coroner
summed up, and the jury, after a short cm •ohation,
returned a verdict of " Manslaughter " agair-t David

At Bow-street police court the two Helene' .ind their
servant were again examined, when Mr. llridgeu.iter gave
the evidence above reported. At the close of the inve►ti-
gation, Mr. Hall said that 6.s the ea+e was con, hided, he
wu in a position to give an opinion upon the whu,e of the
evidence, and he considered he waa warranted in earning to
the conclusion that each of the finale prisoner- might be
discharged, no proof being given that they had acted in
such a manner as to cause the fatal results to th ,leiseasedi,
all the injurie. having been inflicted by the male oriaosur.
The witnesses were then bound in the sum of n../. each to
give evidence at the next sessions of the Centre. Criminal
Court against the prisoner for wilful murder.
Mr. Hall hoped that the parochial authorities would insti-
tute proceedings against the house in Hart-street, which
was well known to have been a most infamous place for a
considerable time. _ . .

Mr. Mow*ley, chairman of the guardians of the Strand
Union, who was present, said he would lose no time in
drawing the attention of the board to the circumstance.

BURNING OP THE ROTAL YACHT SCHOONER
TITANIA, AT COlT6B.—About ten o'clock on V ilnesdsy
evening the schooner yacht Titania, of 100 ton,' the pro-
perty of R. Stephenson, Esq., was discovered to be un
are; and as she was in the midst of the fleet hai ed up on
the wind in Cowes Harbour, groat fears were !ertained
that many of the finest yachts in England line .t be de-
stroyer'. The large town fire engine was got iit o a horses
boat and towed up to the burning yacht, but nit as being
stated that she had • quantity of gunpowd, : in bar
augaernes, the men were cautioned not to go mar her.
Bat kr this unfortunate circumstance, there w.is such a
number of men, and such powerful engines, th.o. the fire
mast soon have been got under. Their exertion, wt-re now
principally directed to the saving of the Tenant in cutter
yacht, belonging to Captain Smith, and • 'amour yacht
belonging to Mr. O'Shea, in which they were •ureessful ;
but the Titania, the competitor of the celebrated America,
was. completely burnt out. Her masts went by the board
soon after midnight, but she kept burning till n arty day-
light, when the sailors finding that the magazil.e did not
blowup they would no longer believe that she het: 2 cwt. of
gunpowder in her, and boarded her aft, playing toe engines
with such effect that, although her iron sides wer• red hot,
they soon put the fire out. The gunpowder was
found to have been protected by the magazine
from both fire and water. Her valualilcs are
all destroyed ; even the plate is ell melt. ddown.
She hes her bowsprit alone standing. Ther, was con-
stant shouting from East Cowes shore that the Talisman
was on are, but it was only the reflection of tr.• red•hot
sides of the 'Titania en her that gave her the appearance
of being on fire also. The paint is much blivered, andt
the pitch has run out of her seams ; but she ha. received
little other damage. The tire is stated to have even occa-
sioned by the over-heating of the flee in tiring Hut
cabins and furniture, the owuer being earesited on.
board. Had the wind been from the south ~stead of
the east it would have been a fatal affair for ..he other
yachts (about twenty) that were near her. N powder
should be allowed to be kept on board the yai tits when
laid up.
ANTI-MILITIA MEETING AT OLDHAM.—One of tho
largest and most spirited meetings ever recent., ed in tho
borough of Oldham was held on Wednesday rti, lit, in the
Town Hall. Two thousand persons were prem.:, but the
numbees who found admission were hut a small i onion of
these edits presented themselves, and were tun. back for
Mug elf rum. Public feeling has been worked upon by
I* Illakfir its prospect of an early election, lint the bit-
IMMO apolitical divisions has Men thrown a,i to for lb.
11111111 Mat, and there seemed to be but one sentiment as to
eitiermination to resift the new Militia Hill. Mr. Peter
Sa-
vige resided, Mt a petition again,t the proposed Militia was
carried unitnimoudy. The people in Oldham, Winchester,
and the other large manufacturing towns have not 'I, retofore
'resisted the Militia Bill so energetically as was •o be ex-
pected, from n feeling of false security. The entolment of
a militis was imminent some few years ago, but the danger
rolled sway like a summer cloud; and now ei:ais Lord
John Russell's Militia Bill has been recently del, ated with
so little uf effort from the people—in fact by the factious op-
position of a late member of the government it, :f, rather
than the voice of the people—that all belief in militia bine
had beets shaken. The Militia Bill of the proem govern-
ment looked en inuch like • mere ghost of the I,i'liter one,
that may people have thought it would " snuff he morn-
ing air" in the first division after the Easter holidays, and
are only now beginning in reality to be afraid. It need
not be disguised, however, that there is a feeling among the
old physical force party of the working people inclined to
f the militia scheme, in the belief that the " people"
would by then means get arras in their hands The

suediti'oi this notion", and it. wickedness. W 1.1 exposed
recently at a Manchester 'mating by a spoaker i•, opposing
the government measure.
OCEAN PENNY POSTAGE.—A I k . t am!. delivered
by Mr. Elihii Ilurritt, at the Melba •
.' . • • . South-
ampton-buildings, last evening, cap
‘.....,,,r1A. • ..ects
au and feasibility of ocean penny • 'T"'": • ;. • .4.thr
was received with the warmest and •
tenet by a large and influential audien •• • . • • ~
foreigner'. A peMillit 6 pitillament_ • '•• :
-:floa4
rare was proposed by Mr. Paxto ...M
XT. Edwards, and was carried u '
~...., .1. ~,, • ,
-=
7,4 t ',.. .' ' "