The Express.
London, England, 1847-12-25 00:00:00

THE EXPRESS, SATURDAY

Ma. Liercisr.—We regret to learn, says the Edinburgh
Courant, that a son of the late Mr. Liston, whom recent
death has caused such galena regret, died on Friday,
of an affection of the brain, at an educational eentinary in
the neighbourhood of the city, where he was pursuing his
studies. The deceased was a►out gunmen years of age.
Excise Flat/01.—Three distillers in Fife have been
convicted in large penalties for abetractisg malt from their
premises without giving due intimation.

PROVINCIAL.
LANCASUIRE
DISSENTERS' MARRIAOSS.—At a meeting of the
Northern Union Clerks' and Superintendent Registrars' So-
ciety, recently held in Manchester, the following resolutions
were agreed to, respecting the law of marriage in dissenting
chapels :
That the `secretary be rormeted to drew up a pM.I. dea;rt,
praying for the following allerations in the Marilee
Act via—'met =ethos my le solemnised at the et etka-
serdlofewsorldsans sew idertme sere, sr rills detegge
is required ell emir b moreges in the reerbeldoellb
trs the bee ps~i remota moires bisSeisfas baba M
the rapes el tlng way
=beet =at s belestrely
lag annereptler In the northern dieter re or* be se-
quoia ireelitele each signatures through the esarwerma(the ss.
vent t registrars, end take the neerowyslspekr ene-
warlagmrtirre:entation of such petition.
The Manchester Guardian, in reference to Ibis sars
lutist—Surprise has often been explored at the very small
camber of marriages solemnised at dissenting chapels; a fact
which may be easily accounted for by the very great annoy-
ances which the regulations respecting the notices often om
casion. A license for a marriage at church may be obtained
in two days, and in some places (though illegally) without
any notice at all. If, however, the ceremony is to be per-
formed at a dissenting chapel, seven clear dare notice must
be given ; and, if the parties reside in different districts, both
must give notice to the superintendent registrar of that in
which they respectively ave. Now, when we add that the
superintendent registrar has the power—which some exercise
—of compelling the personal attendance of the party applying,
it is not a matter of wonder that ladies will sacrifice their
wish to be married at • place of worship of their own
denomination, in order to avoid the attendant annoyance
of going to the registration office, for the purpose of making
the required declaration. There is also another grievance,
of no small magnitude. We w• exceedine surprised, the
• day, to find that there is no Wesleyan ethodiatchspel,
in Manchester, licensed for the solemnimtion of marriage..
Now, if two parties, Wesleyans,—• lady residing in this
town, and a gentleman at Dover or Launceston, wished to be
married here, in a chapel of their own denomination,
permitted they
would not be to go to • licensed chapel in Salford,
unless (which is very unlikely), Dover or Launceston was
also without a licensed methodist chapel. It may be urged
that the Wesleyan' might have a chapel licensed; and this
is a sufficient answer for the individual case; but it often
happens that there is no licensed chapel in a poor-law union,
because there is none to license, though there may be one
within an easy distance, in a differeotdistrict. The partieshave,
therefore, to choose between the inconvenience of solemnising
the marriage at some other place than that desired, or of
having it, contrary to their feelings, performed at church.
If, moreover, by a little exercise of good feeling, it is pro-
posed to get over the difficulty, and the managers of some
independent chapel offer the use of it to their methodist
neighbour*, or if the parties, instead of going to church, pre-
fer resorting to a chapel of some other denomination, the
law steps in and prohibits the arrangement. Now, to all
these objections must be added, the difficulty of understand-
ing the law, and the constant danger of some mistake,
which, discovered at the last moment, may prevent the so-
lemnisation of the marriage; and this, we can assure our
readers, is no imaginary occurrence They may probably
think our statement or the legal requirements sufficiently
perplexing; but it is very &Duple, compared with the enactments
themselves. We can see no reason—except a determination
to maintain offensive distinctions between churchman and
dissenter,—why the law as to the notice required should not
be the same for all marriages, wherever solemnised. It
would not appear to us at all unreasonable, in the case of
dissenting marriages, to require seven days' notice to be
given, by either party, to the superintendent-registrar in
whose district the ceremony is to be solemnised ; for this is a
provision much more likely to operate usefully in preventing
clandestine marriages, than to prove an inconvenient restric-
tion in other cases; but, for • like reason, we would enforce
similar notice in the case of marriagn at church. If the
existing requirements are necessary, as securities against
fraud, churchmen should equally enjoy the protection of
them ; if they are unnecessary and useless, they cannot be
kept up for any other purpose than that of harassing and
annoying dissenters, and, consequently, ought to be at Ore
abolished.
PREVENTION OF ACCIDENTS IN COAL MINES--
Last week a paper was reed on the above subject, by Kr.
Spence, at the Manchester Mechanics' Institution. After
a few preparatory observations in reference to the cala-
mitous results usually attendant on accidents in coal
mines, Mr. Spence observed that many efforts had been
made by those immediately connected with the working of
collieries to lessen the danger of explosions. It was true
also that with a regular system of ventilation, thoroughly
carried into practice, and by the adoption of all known pro-
' factions, the danger had been very much lessened, even in
those pig where the evolution of inflsmmable gas was so
Iranians es to make an explosion a possible occurrence at
any moment. When such regulations were adopted, immu-
nity from accidents was a prominent feature in particular
workings, but even the fact of that security being obtained
was one of the elements of dancer; for any one con-
versant with the generality of working men must know
that safety in the midst of danger tended to make them
regardless of the rules they ought to observe. It was there-
fore essential that some method should be adopted which
should exclude the prudence of the working man from
amongst the means of 'minty. Mr. Spence then explained
the cause of explosions in mines. The process of mining
coals, he said, tended to set at liberty varying but abundant
quantities of two gases. These gases, probable pent up pre-
viously within the strata, were set et liberty when the strata
were broken up, sometimes silently and imperceptibly, and
at others with considerable force and influence. These
gases were termed the choke-damp and fire-damp. The
choke-dargp was carbonic acid gas, unintimmable in itself,
and destroying combustion wherever it came in contact with
it. Being detrimental to human life, it was one of those
things which rendered ventilation more requisite where it
abounded. The lire-damp, which was a combination of
hydrogen gas and carbon. and sometimes sub-carbooetted
hydrogen, was the cause of the explosions. The con-
stituents of this gas were the same as those of the gas
used for lighting the streets; in the gas artificially
made, however, carbon was more abundant. In the gas
from mince, hydrogen predominated, there being two parts
hydrogen to one of carbon. Its specific gravity was 6.5., half
the weight of atmospherical air. Hence it ascended, and the
highest parts ef the mine were in consequence the most liable
to explosions. The gas, however, was not explosive, per se,
but only when mixed with certain proportions of common
air, one part of the gas to ten parts of air being the most
perfectly explosive compound. As in a great proportion of
seal pits, the evolution of fire damps was oonstantly taking
Awe, some means of getting rid of it were deemed abso-
lutely necessary. Ventilation was the most apparent, and
had all along been the molt efficient, remedy • but as his
itan involved no change in this respect, he should not enter
nto the details of the various modes of ventilation that had
from time to time been adopted. Suffice it to say, that
the danger of explosions still existed, for ventilation had
not effected the object sought to be accomplished;
nor was it probable that it ever could. Another
means of averting the danger of explosions, some-
times tried, was by fighting the enemy with his
own weapon, and setting fire to the gas. If
this could be done with certainty and security, it might
perhaps be efficient. For some time it was questioned
whether the+ might not be attempted by some arrange-
ment of electric or galvanic currents, ramified through
all the workings of the pit : the practicability, however,
of this mode was very problematical, and the promise of
suttees not very great. Another class of expedients adopted
was that of separating and insulating the atmosphere of the
pit from combustible contact with the source of light. The
SSW eminent effort in this department, which stood out
In relief from all others, was the splendid discovery of Sir
Humphrey Davy. Mr. Sperm* thee explained the principle
on which the Davy lamp was constructed, and showed that
although it was a valuable discovery, it had not materially
lessened the danger of explosions in mines. The principle
which he (Mr. Sperce) aimed at, was the production of a
perfect insulation of the source of light from the atmosphere
of the pit. Re proposed that all coalpits should be fitted up
with an apparatus for the production of noel-gas, consisting
of main pipes and branch fittings peculiagly adapted to the
circumstances of the case. The mode of flung up the piper
would be by a system of flexible joints of velemthed
esoutehouc between the lengths of the cast-iron pipe- three
would serve the purpose of preventing breakage. Theis&
pipes would be a main gaspipe from the gas holding dews
the shaft to the bottom of the pit, branch mains from theme
to the several underground working., and then breads ser-
vice pipes to the several lamps is be
used. 'Another WWI
of pipes would also be required far the conveyance of air
from the atmosphere above ground. This would be by one
main pipe down the shaft, with branch mains and orrice
lipea frem them to each lamp. The burners of the lamps
would be constructed on the principle of causing tU
dr
admitted from the air pipe, with which each lamp would
be furnished, to be spread in a thin stratum errand the flame
se r to effect its combustion, and afford • maximum supply
tratefrom a limited supply of air. The lumps might be
Oct with two gae cylinders the one rearagiag the
other in case of breakage, these being aomedble to nose bat
the superintendent. Another eerie* of pipes would elm be
required to convey from the lamps the product of the com-
bustion to the atmosphere above ground. Then he would
call waste pipes. Various other details were enumerated
connected with the proposed plan, and Mr. Spence ex-
premed himself willing to give his gvices to any gentlemen
who were disposed to try the experiment. A short tonne-
Whin conned as to the practical working of the plan, in the
Mina of which Mr. Spree was asked if he had calculated
the expanse, to which ha replied in the negative.
SERIOUS CHARGE AGAINST A LEITEB.-CAIRIER.—
On Thursday, at the Borough Court, Manchester, • serious
charge was brought before Mr. Maude by the postmaster
against a letter-carrier, mimed George Clifford, and his son,
of having opened and robbed two letters of saw of money
they contained, and of having in his corrosion a great num-
ber of letters entrusted to him for delivery. The prisoner is
the letter-carrier of the Oldham-road and bills Platting dis-
trict. He had been entrusted with the delivery of a money
letter containing half • sovereign and a registered letter
supposed to contain notes, on TuOday,_ and when asked by
Mr. Thompson, a clerk in the poet-offtem, 1111 Willreasy
owning, for the receipt which he shouldbave bang* bob,
proving the delivery of the letter with oda, be sold is vs
" all right," but he had left the receipt at bows is I dower.
On Thursday rnorning when he got to the post-otibe, wee
placed Is custody of One of the porters, whilst Xs. Dhe
erffick,