The Express.
London, England, 1858-10-02 00:00:00

(Stamped Id. Additional.) ET W 0 PENCE.

THE COLLIERY ON FIRE NEAR
D 1711141.

(710 W OIIR OWN ZIPOITB4
DARLINGTON, FRIDAY, Noow.
Far needy thirty-az hours a fire barn bra raging in the
pit shaft of Page-bank Colliery, near Bishop Auckland,
whilst present appeumoss give little hope of its being a-
rmorial kw WOW time to come.
A few woods as to the positioo, obstruction, and eater-
dear of the colliery will user the nadir to undadand what
has to follow. Page-bank, that, is situate in the valley .01
the Wear, and close to that rivtr, four miles from Bebop
Anekland, and live from Durham, and not far from a hem&
line tithe North-Snares Railway, running from the Stook-
tea end Darlington at Bishop Auckland to Durham, aid
theme to Leemide junction ca the North-Pastern. It is in
the metre of a mai, wintry dim*, the nettled beauties of
wkkA, sad them are "7 peat, ere almost entirely detoured
by the deer smoke of pit heaps and thousands of coke ovens
Beim ca the" dip" of the Ferry-hill coal-ileld, the pit is
compranyely shallow, being only 46 fathoms 1 foot 9
inches from the surface to the bottom of the seam of coal at
pees* (i. s., till this fire) in work. Psge-brak forme toe
of it robs it edibles known seder the mull tern of
Byes-peen, kelasiting to • company el whisk Mr. Ralph
Weel, Seekson, the foods, of West Harthemel, is the lead-
fog pram, sad having • manure with the Wed Hartle-
pool Balmy tad Doe*. The cod wrought la of the
dessibeita rid dor eekf.g, the sem b. 3 lel 6 bathes
'lid"4sbdeba7 ler two bar of it good coal.
le mach es to the posltion it the colliery.
Now as to It, oonsirsotion. There are not, as
to most collierlas, two , principal pits, or eledia,
ass ember and me upcsat. One shaft was made
b sower the purposes of both in the following meaner :-
1 The 011-41 s diameter being 16 eel—mu divided from bet-
ter to by fro three series' by mime of wood-work or
Itranciag. Two it them mellow wan mod for the pomp
den down to the wockinp, sad the third fen " spout," or
fool dr. Thus the broom by which a ourriat I. kept me
was herallately under the braititing, sad to keep this oca-
Molly males—ao pert, as it seam being of ins or other in-
combastlble mated* was of tour a most important matt*.
This upset soothe" of the shalt, it shod& be restaitsd, was
ad serried to the top, air, indeed, mere than kelt- way .
At that port, via., shoat 23 fathoms from the surer, wee a
Mud saes of tool and dark metal, about cm foot four
inches thick, sad through this a drift was made
for • distance of some 60 yards or more, into
which the Mora or mesa sir wee conducted, and so to
a deplo 20 fathomed*" near the engine-house, sod moped
by term of a abbrey. Thee, It will be Imo, the colliery
bed ao inlet or outlet, so fir ea prams in the bottom were
coacterned, but that afforded by this me abaft, and in this one
abaft the fire which broke out on Thursday toured. Near
Whoa, the pit was a very expend.' me to sink. Her cost
was, I am told, about 30,0001., prinelpally Ming from the
peat quantity of wear which bad to be aatoontered. As
to her antredatte, the colliery has bra is work only about
three years, and hes earned the replants amongst pitmen
of being "fiery." Complaint was, It is stated, made to the
orgialrates some time ago that the was foul, sad danger**
to the nisei who worked in her, and It la certain that fa
cora of midday the gas exuding from the drift above re-
fined to imploded and killed two ma.
I will new posed to give, as coonsely as pea* as so-
beat it the esbeirephe which his happened at this place.
Of came • dearly*. of the first appearances could only
be gathered elm prams who chanced to be ca the spot at
the time, and these are, as usual, wry conflicting. They
will All, no doubt, be duly silted at the Inquest. A pan"-
ma who Ms se solider to the owners wished ft to be " de-
nsely mambo& that this was no sqlosioa." The mat,
berear, Maar. *oat the pit, and who probably reasoned
from pommel emelleacee of the Mad of sir to the pit, did ant
hesitate to say that it was. do fen se cm's inqufties could be
utheekolly enewered, these lead to the cmclualia that tenth
Bea Tama thews two emanates. It seem that the
"night shift" had gone la et two o'clock au Thom
day retrain., numbering tom 40 to 70 ma and
boys. With Wen was ea overman named Jeks Mould.
This man's duties crud at eight sat" at which time be bad
completed • thorough inspeotka of the workings, sad had
arrived at the bottom at the shaft ready to be relend by his
succreor. The mood ernes* aimed Thome Kellett,
snivel at the pit month about the ems time, sad wee
lerwrod. Oa he vary dews be melt or saw are IN the wood-
work, sad repated the feet to WAX Arerdingly they
seat informatics road the weeks, nreestang the ma to r-
amble at the bottom of the shaft, sad, to the meantime'
began threnody's by mord for the porpoises of iespeotion.
Mould rode bode the "cage" or box which holds the sad
oast-vauce is its meat and duca=t, and Kellett eat M the
orside. 'They bad, it would apps* been drawn up a To-
lerable dienoe—tea Whore or more--who some poe-
tise tithe brattier which had bees set free by the 113% foil
at 'booked poor Kellett from his Nest, thus prodpitallag
him to the bottom, sad in ell probability Ming him Maid
was drawn to the top, at immedlately gave sa dens, bat
the be soddenly got sash hold that it was imporibla to
radar ray amisraes to the sma beim, AM* their oriel
he help could be didbeedy beard. The fire very nom got
hold ci the " opeere," or wooer anal and pleb= of the
_ . .

pwspiapagia; end thus this was thought to; ot etendstill.
The lobo gushed up the rat sad burst s cowddwahle pestles
of the weithesel mar IS. nos*, nod, swot whoa thS had
bus ontlegtheind, the as.. meth Sewing Gam the pit
path Swede loodkatka el the as that still raged below.
Mr. insestrai, thi poreguami kapok" of minas, was
small ea the get, end, umbel with the esitiona vinous,
Mr. Mom sad Mr. 80b..., la deaths' mom for boat
extlaguiellog the dams end saving the lies of the Isis.
Telegispido nowegeo wee dethablinth to pedals, Hartle-
peel, Darlington, sad *swims% for melees, and to New-
castle dx tho prolnional aseielesw of Mr. Midribs Wood
sad Mr. lath. The ingthes enfold is a short epos of
time, end pus* s pad vdwe of weber *ea the River
Weer, white was dthooted to the bads' *lbw, end she Is
the thrift, the tool is with* was hand to hoth ignitd ft
was pothably elms the fin resebei Ibis MA that ths
sfca opeins fi leek piths. Had the Aral orlitested low en
aspirates Is the worth, It le Moab to see bow Mould could
I be ipotesi alit, ar hew hi weld hove moped, the Wanton
►alas .moldy a the what Monett was gabs dews, lad
therefore them Most/ heath to weamil.
The beans et tide dap saws el es sathrpteg daeorip-
tics, sad se ahem of the 'SOS Dan seaman demob °oath
awl s beethlthei, Baas. that Ohs roposted Mown; of
eon to get may *atom dews the Pit wow quits itrultions.
/franks *loth was pet lc own the la sontha milk a vin► to
oesatteg a ettlthiel current, bet them was bltho hips list
this would In deity mil, the Istrelselks of task eh only
wiebtg the the twos more *wooly, without reboots( the poor
dame lowa below. - . .

Tb. ides d the engineers wee thee they will be ebb in
tiles to out off the lie is the drift hall that is the *Wit, awl
that the latter will than exhaust hula Thies is, however,
the possibility that the coal I. the mildew wM tete dm fl
It has not done so already, and Mil loftier, there is the cer-
tainty that In five days et the nisei the whole eatery will be
fall el wine, the wrathy eisibmwily pumped oat being
wady NAN paves per hear, wed the pumas( MOD=
brag totaily diebied.
The absence of greet end detwitetrattes grief at the some
el the calamity Wm* me m nosekabin There wee a
sorbs and melancholy esprewlen on evesy cassiannes, bed
sot until Usk the epee dal I see one person enitilinag
thaw hurt-rending sheers d grief which ere usually amen-
able ea each ocomeions,

T►. lire nut as it •qty la• ceightatoi hots the tar-
aim. It is empoleil that a mot lad hem sarriedim the
•haft, wad reeled mot the timber ; bat brattish' is et toe
mod& • *meter to take ha hats a spark, ahem reader&
highly *swingable by Wass sal icamoostisaid haat That
water •m mot sweaty ?maim dot's the thither I om-
elet/ea fig= the hot that eao 'Moot of Idos rod Nallitt••
iseist was staid a be le int ea • ma of wear.

All thaw will be msttere for the eoransesjery. It is sally
fair to solAt that water is rid to have bees Tunnies in at lbw
ee Ale chicon in She warning.

LATEST Pl

BAVED.
FRIDAY NUM.

The mighbuorbsed d the oli wee a seise M pea matte-
meat dorlag the der, bat the emelmy of the moldable was
I goad, athmialed about tea °Week, when a lei soma

John Mamma= was inveighs up alive by John Nioho
a 'taker at Cutts colliery, who wee the Bert man to mime
down the pit to ass the mat Me of *SM. It appeared
that, the explosion took place in the middle of the abaft, and
est fire to the main brusher, a considerable partite of which
wee buittwhen Nicholson descended. Having heard men
ehoeftag [for aseistanoe he went down to them,
and wee sanded to bring back the joyful tidings
that all were believed to be safe. The lad
BIIZEIMPOD seemed to,lte a light-hearted fellow, for it is said
that he actually ktudsd as he wee being emeyed into
one of the hems near the pit. After him there were
metent deliveries of men and boys during the day, esch
fresh map from the jaws of death, as it were, being
a mum of heerdelt ealiefection to their Motives. As
soon as as they were out of the shaft they wen taken to
the Mcßee adjoining the colliery, where restoratives
were adminkitersd, sod every attention paid to tear. Means.
W. It. Hawke*, Spennymer ; Hardy, Brim, Green, and
Allen, Willington, uremia', were on the groped ell day, end
gave the most unremitting Mention to the poor snlierers.
Yams, however, seemed to be little the were for lb* keg
ocediemaint, mid were quite obeeelsi ; me, is inhere,
informed as that himself and a few others spent the anal
night in singing, in order if possible to keep up the spirits
'of the younger boys. Others, on the other hand, especially
the old me, were brought ap in a state of Menstion, bat so
fats we could learn, all went on well under the Mendes
given to their weals. Their condition suited ml

Ciasadmmelloa ea ell Lad•. Up to five Ake&
IS Ewa sad boys wise seseasd sad AN
dale boy, named lisbmaa, was brought op a ones. Oa
having we hoed that three mote mwe died; sad
that these ambers bleintlid all who wee knows to be
andiagrooad. It will thug to mat that there is a dis-
°money betwisa this sad the knew elatement as to the
numbers in the pit at the time of the explosion, bat it wee
not lmown yesterday bow saw Wile wan* there. The
haling of gloom which hung owe the &WM has be.. to
• very grog me•sar• dkipated la owsequenos of the
fortunate terminstka of what threatand to be a very sad
sada.

MB WEEDON .FIZAUDS.-ADJOURZOID
INQUIRY.

The commissioners easembled at the Pavilion
:=1 mongog, and mended with the auuninetian of

Riehera Crabb, the foreman In the lane department, wee
the AM whams exaguned. Ile meld the casks of boom which
the menndmitmen had mesa ea Thursday wane surplus stone
returned boat regiments. Of the 170,000 pain of Toyer
boots, n,79e at present reaseda at Wisdom witch an about
etpal, in quality, to the supine MOMS which wen nada by
OM& and Co,
Mr. Wats* the boot-htepootor stated that the Ale-
mepeney respecting the 1,600 pais of boob seat In by
7darare. Imam, Campbell, and Co., but for which that dos
had not bon creditea, bad been &smeared b 14. Mauro;
then • report to that afloat would be forwarded, by the next
poet, to the War-oaks, and that he (whams) expecrad to be
. -

• WOlien Hall, the labourer, who era ezenelned on Thum-
dey, adhered to the evidence he bad already gives. He
mid 20,000 pairs of knee Wets were received from the Tower
in December, 1866, which were returned to the Tower *gain
is Nay list A gentleman bad applied,a day or two
since. at Weldon, to see those boots, lariat en ceder Iran
the Wsr-odlos te do so. He was much annoyed at having
base mat to Weldon to see boots which wore at the
Tower, the goveinmeng having invited him to traelor
Unix
Mr= cloth inspector, wee subjected to a length-
anal simagetion, first, on the subjectrot, whit, se
iss se regarded himself, he entirely He goer.
Lthrstrongly of the miserable salary received,the
iltst be ergo sot, is other bespoders were, provided with
a rcsidesos. This drew from Mr. Terser eons OWNS emu-
mute on the mall @sledge paid by government to men
plead in respoesibis poidtions.
The inquiry was dna again adjourned 01111 this
(Bawdy) seindeg.