The Express.
London, England, 1851-12-06 00:00:00

THE NATIONAL SOCIETY.

The following memorial has already received the
signature of a large proportion of the nobility, clergy, and
wary who subscribe to this society :
•"fo the most reverend, the rigat reverend, and right
honourable the president, vice-presidents, and committee
of the National Society for Promoting the Education of
the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church
throughout England and Wales.
" We, the undersigned members of the National Society,
and others anxious to promote the education of the poor in
the principles of the church of England, of which we are
all attached members, desire respectfully to present this our
memorial to the committee to which the management of the
National Society is exclusively entrusted. Many of us lately
contributed to form the majority by which, at the last
annual meeting of the society, the agitation fur some
years past prevalent in the society was resisted, and a
protest entered against attempts to hinder the cor-
dial co-operation of the government and the society.
We cannot, therefore, but hope that this memorial
will be received as expressing the sentiments of a
great body of the clergy and laity of our church having
• claim upon the attention of the committee of the National
Society. And should tho recommendation contained in
this memorial be adopted by the committee, there is good
reason to expect that, while agitation will thereby be dis-
couraged, a considerable increase in the number of mem-
bers, and In the amount of their donations, will ensue, and
thus far larger means than ever be secured for enter ding
the blessings of a sound education to the growing masses
of the population.
" Admitting tho services of the committee in the cause
of education, h' the prudent management of its resources
in the distribution of grants for building new school-rooms,
in raising the standard of acquirement for teachers in the
society's training institutions, and in the facilities afforded
to the clergy and others for procuring school maps and
other apparatus, we feel bound nevertheless, under the
pressing urgency of the occasion, to unite in calling their
attention to the great importance of the following mea-
sures.

" First, that they ehould, through the president and
vice presidents, from time to time, submit for the choice of
the society at the annual meeting ouch a list of candidates
to serve on the committee as may reasonably be expected to
secure the confidence of the church geaerally; and that
notice of all business to be transacted, and resolutions to be
moved at the annual meeting, should he sent to the sub-
scribers, who should be permitted, if they please, to vote
by proxy on all subjects not precluded by the charter.
" Secondly, that a more cordial co-operation with the state
in promoting the educationof the poor than is now apparent
should be forthwith resumed, entirely confiding in the die-
position of the committee of council to exact no condition of
which the church can reasonably complain.
"Thirdly,while the undersigned are ready to acknowledge
the great improvement effected by separately acting coun-
cils in some of the National Society's Training Institutions,
they would urge upon the consideration of the committee,
in whom is vested the whole responsibility of management,
toe great importance of reducing all church services, at
which students in those training institutions assist, to the
model usually adopted in well-ordered parish churches, and
which has recently been recommended by almost all the
bishops, vice-presidents of the National Society, to the
parochial clergy.
" Finally, your memorialists would suggest, that, in pro-
viding catechetical instruction for students or scholars in
the society's institutions or schools, the utmost vigilance be
exerted, in order to prevent the apparent sanction of any
doctrine or ceremonial not strictly in accordance with the
articles and formularies of the church of England." -

COLLIERY EXPLOSION AT BARDSLEY,

NEAR MANCHESTER.

A dreadful explosion of fire darup took plaoo
during the night of Thursday, at Idard.ley Coliery, near
Ashton-under-Lyne, and about ten miles from Manchester,
which resulted in a shocking loss of life. So faro our cor-
respondent could learn, at the mouth of the coal-pit, four
men had lost their lives, and ten horses were killed. The
mine is the prsperty of Mr. Jonah Ilarrop, who is u very
extensive proprietor of coal miss, in the neighbourhood.
The coal is of the description called Black Mine, and is
at the depth of 1,200 feet below the surface of the earth,
and is worked by two sinking, called the Victoria Pit and
the Diamond Pit, which are 100 yards apart, and afford the
means of good ventilation—the Diamond being the down-
cast and the Victoria the up-cast shalt for air. About SO
men and boys are employed. in the coal workings of each
shaft in the day, but these had left work at six o'clock
in the evening of Thursday, and been succeeded
by night workers. Of the latter, 12 or 13 were caul
getters in the Victoria's works, but the roads of the Diamond
were out of repair, and only two coal getters were at work
in the night, in addition to two men who went down to
repair the roads. The level. are very extensive to both
shafts, and in those of the Diamond pit the two road re-
pairers went to an incline about 900 feet south-west of the
shaft, while the colliers went into a level about 140 feet
beyond them, diverging to the north west to get and
fill coals. About a quarter to eleven o'clock on
Thursday night the tire-damp in the Diamond
exploded with • terrine report. 'the noise was so loud that
the county police were alarmed by it at a distance of two
miles from the spot, and the shock created by it was ao
great that the people in the village of Bardsley telt their
houses shake. To many of thine, who are colliers, and
employed in these mines, the cause of the report was readily
conjectured, and they rushed to the colliery, where they
discovered by the smoke issuing from the Diamond-shaft
what had taken place. Indeed the blast had been so power-
ful at the top of the shaft that it had blown away
all the east-iron plates forwiug the landing stage at the
mouth of the pit, and done other damage. The thirteen
men at work in the Victoria's level, though at • great
distance from the scene of the explosion, heard the noise,
and felt the shock in the air as it passed them; and them
all immediately sought safety by flight to the bottom of
the Victoria shaft, up which they were drawn to the
surface, a good deal exhausted by the choke damp
which always succeed such explosions, and which had
overtaken them on their way to the shaft.
It was conjectured, but too truly, that the men in the
workings of the Diarnund abaft had perished, and the
anxiety felt on their account was no little increased by the
uncertainty which prevailed as to the time which must
elapse before their fate could with certainty be aacertained.
It was felt advisable to make the first attempt at relief by
the Victoria shaft, and to penetrate the level uniting tt
with tho Diamond, and tour men descended for that
purpose by about 11 o'clock. These men, however'!
on reaching the end of the level spoken of, and
opening a door communicating with the Diamond
shaft, were met with such a strung and over-
powering current of air, loaded with choke damp, that they
were compelled to make a hasty retreat and reamend by the,
Victoria. Their descent, however, had the effect of re-
storing a draft through the mines which was necessary to
their ventilation, and so far did good. In the coulee of a
short time other bodies of men descended, and firebug
the explosion bad• destroyed all the mappings and
air gates upon which the ventilation depended.
it was necessary to repair these at once. This
was of course • work of time, and relays of
men were employed all night and up to eleven o'clock year
terdsy morning before the miming colliers could be got ati
Samuel Taylor, aged 22, and Robert Beaton, aged 25, who
were the men sent to repair the road, were, found on the
incline before described, quite dead, and shockingly burnt.
The two colliers were discovered a little distance from each
other, having apparently just turned their backs upon their
work and made an effort to escape, but they had
been met by the choke damp in great strength
and had died from suffocation. From these facts it is
conjectured that the road repairers had set the mine
on tire, and had been the first to suffer by it ; and this sup-
position is strengthened by the fact that one of them
(Beaton), on going down into tho mine on Thursday
evening, and meeting a workman who bad a lamp with- on
open top he took it from him. The men are strictly for-
bidden to work without safety lamps, and one man had
been discharged on Thursday morning for disobeying the
order. In addition to these unfortunkte men, as many as
ten hones, stabled in various parts of the workings, were
yesterday hand to have been killed, some by the fire-blast
and some by suffocation.
The coal mine has been in work only since October,
1349. The ventilation was good, and having been examined
by Mr.*Blackwall, mine inspector to the government, had
been highly approved by him.

RwuovAL or TILE TEMPORARY VICE-CLIANCEL-
LONS' COMM, Wsermtnerza.—Tbe wooden bei:diaga
erected mom elms.*lrtetl years ego in front of Westrainem
Mall for the two additional vise-ehaneellore then appointed
are about to be removed. When they aro gone the en-
trance to the hall will be fully diclesed, and no longer dis-
figured by the %might', sheds, lensed courts, which ►are
for several years stood m front of it.

ASSAULT UPON A CORONEV:S OFFICER AND JUST.—
, Liist evening My Wakley, empannelled sing at the
Southampton Arms, But New-road, to Meows into
the death of Joseph White, aged five months, who it wee
=had been murdered. Kr. Davis., the coroner's cop-
acoodagattied by the jury, proceeded 'to view the
body, whieli yat 23, -Fitsroy-row—a dirty, low locality,
the retreat se • wicked elms, including men, women,
and boys, who era the terror of the neighbourhood. As
soon as the °Most sad jury entered the row they were
dosed sod heated by A body of women and boys, who, as
the lifellwaehed the house where the corpse lay, cant-
*Wag tug theca with stones. The jury
with the ty gained the house, and had just
entered roam to view the body,wben the mob attempted
open the door with sucks and missiles. The
000aiabi• went out to quiet them, when he was met
with poem and yells, and one of the stoat deter-
mined- Miens rushed
kicking him, whereupon '
speedily rescued. L par
MCA of two jurors mei,'
in conveying him
Resealed the cam

to give ap bia pa,
030)1110T expressed
arrested, for bad

Lan videebeedly
eaedpseied.
Lad Gene lensed

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raison. The ca.
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as rushed at the officer and conswenoed
whereuyon the tatter seised him, but he wee
ted. Upon this Mr. Devise, wi ,th au *ask
in, eased another ringleader, and
him to the New-road, w, .. Au
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Boer with such ferocity that , Ad .74„ ',/
, Pdltehr, Upcs the Yeescett Al ~,4,41.-', I'. fl:
wed-deep regre that their ~ , .... . ,
had they been brought bete. ~‘ • in '
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