The Express.
London, England, 1853-03-31 00:00:00

GALWAY HARBOUR IMPROVEMENT BILL.

Ballinasloe, Monday.
A highly important meeting was held in the Court-house
here on Saturday, to consider a resolution passed by the
grand jury of the county of Galway at the late assizes, by
which they agreed to tax the county in a rats of 2s. in the
pound on Griffith's valuation, as a security for the payment
of interest on • loan of 130,0001., to be borrowed for the
construction of a pier and breakwater at Galway. The
principal gentry of the noighboourhood were in attendance
Lord CLANCAUTY presided, and opened the proceedings
'in along speech, wherein he dwelt on the injustice of
placing a heavy rate on the occupiers of lead, who were un-
able to bear additional burdens, and who would derive no
benefit frem the contemplated improvement of the harbour.
Mr. Cowan, J. Stratford Eyre, Captain Gascoyne, Captain
Bell, Mr. Pat Blake, and others, severally addressed the
meeting, and passed a series of resolutions condemnatory of
the project.
A committee was also appointed to draw up a petition
to both houses of parliament, praying the legislature not to
sanction the imposition of any additional tax on the county
of Galway.
Mr. STEVENS, a member of the Galway Harbour Board,
attended, and begged of the chairman to adjourn the meet-
ing until the ltev. Peter Daly could be in attendance.
Mr. Stevens also strongly enforced the claims of the town of
Galway upon the county, and advised the noble chairman
to reconsider the matter, and not to persist in opposing a
work calculated to confer so many advantages on the coun-
try at large.
Lord CLANCARTY, however, would not accede to the

request.
Mr. Itodux, of the Galway Packet, also epoke in favour
of taxation in aid of the harbour, and assured the meeting
that one plumy would never be asked, as it was only
nominal security that was wanted, to enable them to go
with advantage into the money market.
There was tint a large attendance of the farming class,
but there was an imp teing arr of
and Iran ltiw guardians. It is to he Immei.:e4l tat "bile
every une fee!, the greatest anxiety m the inninvement of
the harbour of Galway, in order that the packet station
may eventually be established there, the inhabitants are
really unable to pay for it. if Lord .3xucarly continues to

oppose the taxation clause in the bill now before the legis-
lature, there is little 2robshility of any improvement being
effected in the harbour. Mr. Dargan at one time offered to
build the pier now talked of fur some 80,0001., provided he
got a certain amount in hand, and got liberty to exact dues
on the shipping until he was repaid. This proposal was
not acceded to.

WATERFORD AND TRAMORE RAILWAY.—The or-
dinary half-yearly general meeting of the shareholders of
this undertaking was held in Dublin on Tuesday. The
chair was taken by Sir James Drumbrain, the chairman of
the company. The directors' repent stated that in the
month of December last they entered into arrangements
with Mr. Dargan for the execution of all the works, by
which he agreed to purchase the land, and leave the entire
line, including station-houses, sleepers, rails, dm, and in
fact everything, complete and ready for the working of the
line, for tine sum of 41,5001., the purchase of the neceseary
rolling stock to he mad- by the company. The whole of
the land required i 4 now in the possession of the company,
and the capital stock of the company consists of 4,800
shares of 101. each, of which Mr. Dargan holds a large
number. The remainder have all been disposed of. Mr.
Dargan having consented to receive the bends of the V7M.
pany for any balance that may be due to him upon the com-
pleti,n of his contract, it consequently follows that the
amount required from the shareholder's will be mei, ly
what may be necessary fur the payment of the ti..rlia-
mentary and other incidental expenses, as well as the pur-
chase of the rolling stock. The report was unardinouily
adopted.

THE TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION
AT WIGAN.

In addition to the forty bodies recovered up to
Saturday last from the Ince flail Colliery, near Wigan, one
of the men recovered alive, named Robert Ainscough, who
appearnl to be suffi.ring from asphyxia, has since died. end
nine more budieb have been recovered from the wofdisgs,
soaking the total ascertained nuniber of fifty death,. Irvin
an examination of the appearance of the workings, we aid
informed that Mr. James Darlinaton, the manager, has
formed an opinion that the explosion originated neither
at the furnace beneath the up-cast shalt, nor at
the further portion of the No. 4, or north dis-
trict, about 1,400 )ords from the shaft, but at a point
nearly midway between those two, or about SOO yards from
the furnace, where it was tint thought the damp had been
tired. From this he is led to conclude the ezphision must
have keen caused by the carelessness of some of the collier,,
in leaving open one of the air-doors immediately adjoining
the seat of the explosion, so as to change the c. one of the
ventilation, and allow the gas to accumulate ; otherwise it
is believed that the immense ventilating power in the mine
would have been sufficient to prevent such a disaster ori-
ginating at that point. This accumulation of gas was probably
set on tire by its being rapidly drawn over the lamps, or by a
naked lamp having been exposed in its vicinity; fur al-
though the lamps are kept locked, some of the colliers,
with more dexterity than prudence, contrive to open them,
with a view to obtain a better light. The damage done to
the pit is by no means so great as was at first supposed ;
three of the four districts are in a state which would admit
the men to resume work almost immediately, but it is un-
li,,ely that the ordinary work will be re-commenced for
several days. With the furnace put out, the natural ven-
tilation of the mine has proved to be sufficient to prevent
any dangerous accumulation of gat, but still there are WM
luted portions of the workings by no means free
from it ; and it will probably be two or three
days longer before the whole of the north dis-
trict can be explored, the stench arising from which
leads to the suspicion that several bodies are still concealed
by the earth which has fallen Irons the roof of the work-
ings. On Sunday Inst, twenty-one of the deceased were in-
terred in the burial-ground of the pariah church, and some
four or five others were buried in the graveyards of the
catholic chapels. An inquest was held on the body of
Ainscough, on Monday, before Mr. Grimshaw, the borough
coroner, and adjourned till Monday next, to wait the result
of the inquiry before Mr. Driffield and his jury. A sick
and burial fund exists among the Ince Hall Company's col-
liers, to which every man employed contributes 3d. weekly,
and, notwithstanding the extraordinary and extensive de-
mand upon this fund which the late catastrophe has occa-
sioned, 31. will he paid from it towards the funeral of each
individual who has tl.us lost his life, and the company have
supplied the coffins gr.ttuitously.

THE ORPHAN WORKING SCHOOL,
HAVERSTOCK-11ILL.

Yesterday the 95th anniversary festival of this
charity was held at the Landan Tavern, and was very
fully attended. The Loan DIATou. was in the chair.

After the weal loyal and patriotic iciest', his lordship
proposed " Prosperity to the Orphan Working School;"
and, in the course of a very earnest address on behalf of the
charity, took occasion to state that the charity was founded
in May, 1755, for the support of 20 boys, to whom were soon
added 20 girls. In 1773 a new school was opened in tho
City-read for 70 children, and continued there until 1547,
when the present building at Haverstock-hid was opened,
and received 153 children, The present number of reci-
pients of the charity was 241, and 2.5 are to be elected next
month, making a total of 260. lie also stated that children
wero . eceived front all denominations, and from every part
of the-United Kingdom. Children were now in the schools
born in the South Seas, Jamaica, Scotland, Ireland, Wales,
and in nearly every part of the United Kingdom. It was
never asked of what religious denomination were
their parents, but simply were the children Or-
phans? Were they objects of compassion? Chil-
dren were received from 7 until 11 years of age. They
remained until 14 or 1.5, and then, as far as was practicable,
they were placed out as apprentices or servants, with suita-
ble outfits, to the boys of the value of 51., to the girls of the
value of 31. co., and for the seven following years they were
encouraged by rewards of from ss. to 215., if their employers
certified their conduct to be satisfattory. The education
was upon the plea of the British and Foreign School So-
ciety, with such improvements as were to he found in any
or every other system. The elder girls took their rotation
in the house and is the laundry to fit them for service. By
the fundamental rule of the charity the children must attend
a place of warship among protestant dissenters, but beyond
that there was nothing in the school or the education by
which you would understand anything of sectarianism. No
catechism of any denomination wee allowed to be used in
the schools. Tae committee took care to select pious and
well qualified teachers. The Bible was their companion
and their catechism, and the ruling was by love.
It appeared that the receipts in the list year were
4,8111. 2s. 4d., and the expenditure 4,9911.145. 5d., leaving
a deficiency of 1801. 12s. Id. His lordship stated that
1,0001. was wanted, and lie hoped it would be obtained on
the present occasion.
The receipts amounted to about 7001., and the earnest-
ness with which the claims of the charity were advocmed
by the several speakers who proposed or responded to the
different touts, was fully reciprocated by the company as-
sembled.