The Express.
London, England, 1846-11-25 00:00:00

Dl nt.lsx, Tpeg;Day.— (Continued from
THE OLDBURY COAL-MINE EX.PLOSION.
into the
oJpoihtnoußFrertittd.l)l., resterday.)
last;sm inteheS7 vbelyQowrinaga d. ,gate tdd Bras
had of sulphur, and there was • considerable quanh.v of
burnt sulphur in the " drawing " gate-road. I requite. 'd
that the air-heads might be cleared out. I have ulways
found more sulphur in the crop; if the air-heads in this mine
Z,ad been =tried to the back of the workings the gas would
have been carried away. I never knew (asin this ease) men
wort. is the crop 120 feet from the air-headings. I examined
all the old dams and bolt-holes ; they were all tree from sul-
phur, ex, 'opt a small portion at one pace. The air-hew.ings
in the mint: are in the usual way ; they are seldom driven tothe
workings ii4,-he deep of the mine. Mr.J.Yardley another mine '
surveyor, corre'borated the evidence of the preceding witness,
and said, in addik'on, that he considered the principal defect in
working the mine was the side near the crop ,• that much
dirt carne out in repairing the air-trough ; and that there
might have been two tons of dirt in eighty yards of air-
heading. Haynes, the ground-bailiff, made • voluntary
explanation as to why the workings had been carried on in
the crop without more n.ir. The substance of this was that
work would have been exhausted in a fortnight, and that it
was expected there was .air sufficient to ventilate for that
time.
The jury, after a quarter of an hour's deliberation, re-
turned a verdict of "Manslauchter against Thomas Haynes,
the mine-surveyor."
OLDBURY, TUESDAY.—The I. Anil') here has proceeded
to-day. The evidence adduced sea v chiefly that of the mine-
eurveyors who had been appointe.l to examine the pit, and
of course varied little from that given by those gentlemen in
the examination at Dudley.
Charles Kennedy, a minor, said: " worked at this pit
until within the last two years. The last side of work I was
employed in was at the farthest end from the shaft. I can-
not say how far It was from the shaft, but the air-spout, in-
stead of being driven sufficiently into the wo.-ks, was stopped
about one hundred yards from it. The w't-way should,
in my opinion, have been carried round the back of
the work. I complained of the sulphur many times to all
the bottles. Whilst I worked at the pit, there was some-
times a flame of sulphur as long as my finger. It frequently
happens that there is sulphur in one part of a wine and
not in another ; and it frequently happens that men work in
the part where there is no sulphur; but not in that where it
exists • but this I consider to be very dangerous. I was
twiceburnt in this pit. There is much danger in it, because
of the want of ventilation.
Mr. John Brettell, the mine-survevor, was next exa-
mined. The main points in his evidence will be found
above. The additional facts elicited were the following :
In me judgment there should have been a pair of doors at the
top or the new gate-road, and the air-head continued up to
the boundary of that side of work in the crop where the men
were at work. It was the duty of the " bottle "in the pit
to inform the ground bailiff if anything was wrong in the
pit; that officer generally inspects the pits under his
management once a week. The doggie" or the " buttie "
would be most likely to kilo,: that the doors ought to have
been put up, and the air-way driven to the boundary of the
side of work in the crop. In making a survey of the pit,
the ground bailiff would be likely to discover this, but not so
much so as the " doggie "or the " buttie." The men at the
work in the crop would have to " brush away any sulphur
that might have accumulated there, as there was no air.
There was only one fortnight's supply of coal in the crop.
Mr. John %ardley, another mine surveyor, said that his
examination had convinced him there had been fire in the
crop, inasmuch as some candles which had been left stuck on
a pillar were completely melted. lie considered Holland,
the " buttie," to hive been a careful, steady, prudent man,
and a good collier.
Holland, the son of the late "bottle," being re-called,
said that he never heard kis father or the doggie make any
complaint to Haynes of a want of ventilation, or of as: exist-
ence of sulphur in the pit ; or the want of doors or air-heads
—and from what he knew of his father's habits, he did not
rot believe he would have worked in any pit where he knew
there was danger.
Mr. Stubbs, attorney of Birmingham, who appeared for
the owner of the mine, next called
James Stansfield, a buttie collier, who stated that he had
been employed in mines upwards of forty-three years ;
that he was at present engaged in a colliery half-a-mile
from that in which the accident occurred; that on the
morning of the explosion, his melt went down into the
mine as usual ; but, after being down half au hour, they
came up, because the work was full of sulphur. He after-
wards went down himself, and discovered a vast accumula-
tion of sulphur in the work ; the sulphur came from seven
to nine yards to the mouth of the air-head, and they were
not, in consequence, able again to work it until the following
Saturday.
The Coroner recapitulated the facts as detailed in evidence,
and the jury, after an hour's deliberation, returned a verdict
of " Accidental death ;" but expressed an opinion that they
considered great neglect was to be attributed to the ground-
bailiff, for the imperfect ventilation of the works.
There are two other inquests yet to be held; but the same
evidence is to be adduced.
Nark-31:111y of the witnesses speak of " sulphur " as being the
cause of this explosion, and their phraseology has been in this particular
preserved in our reports of thls inquiry ; it L 4 proper to state, how-
ever, that there is no such thing as sulphur in these mines; the explo-
sions arise from " tire-damp " only.

IRELAND.
DUBLIN, MONDAY, Nov. 23.
THE EARL Or DEVON'S DEPENCE.—A few days past a
letter appeared in the Mail referring to the condition of the
Devon estate, and imputing to the local representatives of
the noble Earl conduct unbecoming generous or considerate
minds. To this the noble Earl has replied in the Mail of

this evening :
TO TIM EDITOR 01 vim ETTNINO MAIL.
NEwcarn.v., Nov. 18.—Sir,—In your paper of the 13th inst. you put
forth some statements founded apparently upon a letter written by
some person not named, which re,er directly to the Devon estate, and
contain so much of falsehood that I cannot allow them to pan uncon-
tradieted. If your paper was circulated only in this neighbourhood, I
should have left these remarks without notice, ',mouse evet yone here,
not excepting, sal believe. the anonymous informant, must know them
to be wholly unfounded. But readers at a distance may naturally sup-
pose that a respectable journal would not give currency pointed ag 'Jost
individuals upon authority not named, without intending to represent
theta as just; and it becomes neoereary, therefore, even for your own
sake, that you should receive more correct information. I can make
a pretty good guess at the writer of the letter, but I will sot give even
a hint upon this paint, lest I should be mistaken, and thus coat a
suspicion upon some me undeserving of it. The letter-writer takes
upon him to assert, that the entire of the March rents, and
part of the September rents are paid, and insinuates that
these latter have now for the first time been called in so early.
It is wholly untrue that the whole, or even one-third of the
March rents are paid, or have been called for. It is wholly
untrue that any part of the September rents have been called in, or
any part paid, except, perhaps, one, two, or three tenants (out of
more than four hundred), who take a pride in voluntarily paying their
rents as somas due. It is certain, on the other hand, that much of
the rent due at September, 1843, as well as no small portion of previous
armor, still remain unpaid. So much fur the writer's statement of
facts. An insinuation is there made, upon the authority of a New-
castle man, which, from the context, must be taken to rckr to
myself, that the only rents pant with satisfaction are those of Ma-
iientee landlords, who are "out of the way of suffering Personal vio-
lence." This is grounded either upon information wilfully false, or
upon an ignorance of and criminal carelessness as to the truth. Since
January last I have resided nearly six months at this place, and dur-
ing that time I have been constantly in the way of personal violence,
both in crowded meetings of labourers, and in my solitary walks and
rides through the property, supposing that apprehension was disposed to
offer it—but I certainly have never had any of this,
because I know the generous nature of Irishmen ; and I
know that, during a connexion of more than forty years,
I never experiencersnal Boma, much km personal
lence. Crider these c d ircupemataneom, I trust that you will think it
due to the character of your paper, after satisfying yourself by in-
quiry from some witnesses less partial than myself, to admit your
mistake, and to disabuse your renders upon points respecting which
you have tinged them. The position of an Irish landlord, or an Irish
agent, is painful enough, under any circumstances, at this time; and
It It, too had that theireonduct and character should be assailed bymis-
representations made current through the public press.—l am, Sir,
your obedient servant 4 Davos.
ARRIVALS OF I'OREION CORN AT CORK.—Nine vessels
laden with foreign corn arrived at Cork from Thursday to
Saturday last. Several of those before arrived at that port
had departed for other stations in the south and west of
Ireland.
FALL IN THE PRICE OP FOOD.—The Sligo Champion
says that Indian meal has fallen in the markets of Sligo
from 181. to 161, per ton. The government also had pur-
chased a cargo of 400 tons from one of the chief merchants,
destined, no doubt, for the relief of the poor on the north
and north-eastern coasts, which have no convenient markets
for the sale of provisions.
IRISH PRIVATE BILLS.—In addition to the railway bills
for the ensuing session, notices have been served for
the promotion of thirteen private bills. Of these nine are
for the improvement of harbours, lake, and river, navi-
gation. One in particular deserves some notice, namely, to
incorporate a company for the purpose of draining Lough
Neagh. This is the largest inland sea in the British islands,
bordered by the counties of Derry, Antrim, Tyrone, Armagh,
and Down, and its area estimated at 100,000 acres. It pre
sents above 100 miles of coast in a country teeming with an
intelligent and industrious population ; and by the Newry,
Ulster, and Logan canals it is placed in communication with
a large portion of the north, and promises to be the centre of
an immense internal traffic. It is not probable the legislature
will sanction the drainage of this noble sheet of water to
enable the border proprietors to divide among them 100,b00
additional acres.
THE LATE STORlL—Aecounts pour in from the country
containing descriptions of the fearful ravages committed by
the storm, more particularly on the sea-coast. The Reporter
gives an account of the loss of property on hoard the Ajax
steamer, which plied between Cork and London. She left
Cork on Thursday for London, with a very large cargo,
principally consisting of live stock and provisions. When
forty miles from land, the storm rose with tremendous fury,
and heavy seas struck the vessel with such force as to tear
away the bowsprit and smash in the forecastle deck. It was
found necessary that she should be lightened, and much
of the live stock was thrown overboard. Out of ninety-
three head of cattle on board, only twenty were this morn-
ing landed alive. The fury of the gale continued till day-
break, when the captain put back, and arrived at the quays
this morning,with all on board in &miserable plight. The deck
passengers suffered the greatest hardships, and their appear-
ance when landing was most heart-rending, many of them
being bruised, their clothes torn, and their limbs swollen
from being crushed together during the greater part of the
time.
SHIPWRECK AND Loss or LIPS.—The Jessie Torrens,
Wm. Skead, master, went on shore yesterday morning near
the coast guard station at Donny Cove, near the Galley
Read, and will be a total wreck-11 or 12 men are saved
out of a crew of 20. This vessel was timber laden, and
bound from Quebec to Liverpool. Another vessel was seen
near Clonakilty, at the west side of the entrance to that
harbour, and is mvpmed to have gone down.
REPEAL ASSOCIATION.—THIS DAY.
The usual vieekly meeting of this association was held in
Conciliation-hall to-day. The body of the hall was very
crowded. Michael Dunne, Esq., J.P., was called to the
chair.
Mr. O'Corizau, referred to the reply of the Times to his