The Express.
London, England, 1848-08-23 00:00:00

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STATE OF THE
_MANUFACTURING DIS-

TRICTS.

At AsnToN the chartists continued their meetings,
but up to last night all was peaceabis. The autlvrities con-
tinued to hold reserves of police and military ready to act in
an emergency, and armed patrols were sent out again at
intervals during Monday night. They came up with some
groups of men outside the town, at a late hour, but these
were unarmed. Some shots were heard soon after midnight
near Dukintield, and it wu believed an armed meeting had
taken place there—the chartists and confederates not having
so much fear of disturbance in that quarter, from the cir-
cumstance that there is no police force there. The parties
implicit.d as principals in the murder of Bright, the p.lice-
nun, had not been apprehended—or, if in custody, had not
been brought to Ashton—up to last night, though their
capture ere this had been fully expected.
At MAxotesran all was quiet up to yesterday evening.
The coulee to ►e adopted against the chartist leaders out on
►ail, whose examinations were postponed till to-day, was
looked forward to with interest.

EXPLOSION AT EAST MINTON COLLIERY,

DURHAM.

--------.
An inquest was held upon the sufferers by this ex-
plosion, before T. C. Maynard, Esq., coroner, on Monday
Put. The total nember of deaths, either in the pit or sub-
sequently, is fifteen. This eve is a peculiar one, the col-
liery, though only in its infancy, having the highest amount
of yearn power known on any mining establishment in the
world, no less them 1,330 horse power being available,
though 630 horse power is the force ordinarily kept in em-
ployment. Another peculiarity is, that the workings are
without " goals " i.e., these parts of the workings
in which all the coals have been wrought out,
and the roofs allowed to fill in, thereby facilitating the accu-
mul-Lion of gas, and increasing the danger of explosions. A
third peculiarity is, the seam in which the least num-
ber of " blowers "—collections of carbutetted-hydrogen,
which, from their great condenewion, force themselves out
when the barrier is worked too thin—have yet been de-
tected ; this is the Hutton seam ; whilst these blowers are
of o•dinary occurrence in the Bensham and Harvey seams.
The fourth peculiarity is, the great size of the upcut arid
downcast shafts, and the consequent great ventilation of the ,
I mines, which is calculated I. carry off an immense quantity
of the bsd air without danger.
In coal' queries of these considerations, the attendance of
viewers and scientific men was more numerous than is usual
on such occasions.
Henry Pace, the first witness called, was overman of the
south-eastern part of the pit where the explosion took place.
Had examined that part of the pit, which was only GOO yards
di-tant from the shaft, shout an hour and a halt before the
misfortune took place. The air-courses then were in the
best order. The area of these working was six square
chains. The coal there was not worked up to the
dyke. There wu a hairier of coal, about a chain
thick, between where the explosion took place
and where the coal had been worked up to the
dyke. No gas came off when they bared the dyke, about
9 months since. He found that the explosion had taken ,
place in the second hoard of the soath-eastern workings. Tne
men were then workirg with open candles, and generally so
throughout the mines, and he considered it perfectly safe for
them to do so. The 'toppings and doors in the vicinity of
the explosii n had been blown out by the explosion. The
"after-damp" (carbon) WWI T. ry strong when he got to the
scene of the explosion, but the current of air was speedily re-
stored, and it rapidly disappeared. [Witness west on to de-
suit e the places where the decead were found—which of
them were destroyed by the exseplosion, and which by the
deadly a ffects of the carbon thereby disengaged.] He was of
opinion that the explosion bad been occasioned by a blower.
.Every possible means had been taken to prevent accidents in
the colliery.
Anthony Gray, a pitmar, and deputy in the pit, who had
at 10 o clerk in
had char of ththe morninge workings in,
question and who left the pit
m 4 the pit wu then decidedly
'oc