The Express.
London, England, 1867-11-26 00:00:00

MANCHESTER COLLIERY BELIEF FUND.

Yesterday the committee formed at the Mansion-
house in the mayoralty of Sir T. Gabriel, for raising a fund
for the relief of the widows orphans, and aged parents of
the men who perished in the oahunitons colliery accidents
at the Oaks pit, near Barnaley, and at Talk, in Stafford-
shire, held a meeting for the appropriation of tLe money
subscribed on the occasion. Sir Thomas Gabriel, the late
Lord Mayor, occupied the chair as president of the com-
mittee. Mr. Gibbs reported to the meeting that the total
amount subscribed at the Mansion-house, including in-
terest, was 24,9591. odd ; that, in addition, 2,8001. hail
been subscribed& at Liverpool, and 1,1501. at Halifax. In
addition to these, again, Z 9,5281. odd had been collected in ,
Yorkshire for the relief of the Oaks colliery sufferers, and
about 13,500/. for those at Talk. With these facts before
them the Mansion-house Committee, with the aid of the local
representatives, proceeded to consider and settle a scheme
of relief for the widows and families of the sufferers by
the Oaks colliery calamity, which had been prepared'
from authentic data, and partly upon the basis and ex-
perience of that of the Hartley colliery, by Mr. W. P.
Pattison, an actuary. Previous to the meeting this docu-
ment had been most carefully scrutinized and sifted, both
in the interest of the subscribers and of the sufferers,
first by the general committee at the Mansion-house, and
afterwards particularly again and again by Sir Thomas
Gabriel and Sir Sydney N aterlow, after which ordeal it'
underwent examination at the conference yesterday, and
was filially adopted, subject to a possible rectification of a
few of the items. The investigation lasted upwards of
three bout'. The effect of the scrutiny yesterday, and at'
previous meetings, was to reduce the original estimate of
the actuary, with regard to the Oaks colliery, by a sum of
from 7,0001. to 8,0001., which, or some part of which, will
go towards a fund for the relief in future
of sufferers by any similar calamity. In the case
of Talk, the local subscriptions amounted to about
13,5001. , and the local oomm ittee had expended about 1,3001.
The committee made a grant of 1,5001. to the authorities
at Talk towards their local permanent feed, or rather with I
the view to recoup them their actual expenditure and
something more in the relief of the sufferers by the cala-
mity. Originally the Mansion-house Committee, acting
upon a suggestion made to them on their formation by
Lord Derby, founded on his experience in the administra-
tion of the Lancashire cotton famine fund, expressly
stated in their public advertisements soliciting subscrip-
tions, that in the event of the public benevolence furnish-
ing funds more than sufficient to meet the require-
ments of that particular emergency the balance would be
retained in the hands of trustees as the nucleus of any
similar subscriptions that should be thought necessary
at some future time to raise for the purpose
of meeting a like calamity. Both Sir Thomas Gabriel and
Mr. Samuel Morley dwelt yesterday upon the wisdom of
that precaution, as shown by the event, without which
the whole of the Mansion-house fund would have been
divisible, pm rata, among the families of the sufferers by;
the Oaks and Talk explosions, without reference to the
absolute requirements in either case. But now, by the
operation of that saving clause, the committee will have a
very considerable surplus at their disposal--probably as
much as 12,0001. or 14,0001. for the mitigation of distress
consequent upon similar accidents, and, as if to confirm
still won) the wisdom of that precaution, the Ferndale
calamity occurs just at the time when a surplus arises, and
remains in the hands of the trustees for disposal.

SUICIDE AT A CITY BAWL—Yesterday afternoon,
Mr. W. Payne, come er for the City of London, held en
inquest at Messrs. Willis, Percival and Co.'s banking-house,
No. 76, Lombard-street, on the body of Mr. Charles
Brooks Woodcock, aged 46 years. From the evidence of
Mr. Alfred Johnson, a clerk in the bank, it appeared that
the deceased was second clerk. He was always considered
to be somewhat excutric. About a month ago, a new
junior clerk being taken, he became very excited, and
asked the witness whether the firm were not going to send
him away. There were no grounds, however, for any
such apprehension. On Saturday last he was very ex-
cited in his manner, and was so restless that he left his
books sad went out to walk on London-bridge. He slept
that night as usual at the bank. On Sunday morning, a
little after nine o'clock, he sent for a cup of
tea, and immediately afterwards he was found
by witness lying on the door of his bedroom with a shot
through his head, and a pistol by his side near his right
hand. He was quite dead. Another pistol, the cap of
which had been snapped, was found in the room. Mr.
Frederick Woodcock, a solicitor, residing at Gloucester,
said that the deceased, who was his cousi n,gotinto pecuninry
difficulties a few years ago, and he was so much affected
thereby that it was at one time a question whether be
should not he put into an asylum. Fie was in debt 5001.
His friends assisted him, and be became more calm. His
accounts were quite correct so far as the bank was con-
cerned. Mr. T. Franklin Lloyd, M.R.C.S., 46, Finsbury.
circus, said that he wee called in on Sunday morning, and
he found the deserted lying dead in a pool of blood near
the bedroom window. A pistol bullet bad entered the
head in front of the right ear, and had paned out three
inches over the left ear. The wound was self-inflicted.
fury returned a verdict of "Suicide while of unsound
NEW MAP OF ABYSEINIA.—Nresars. Blackwood
and Sons, of Edinburgh, have published a new edition of
Mr. Keith Johnston's map of Nubia and Abyssinia. To
any that it is from their " Royal Atlas " is to say that it is
in the very highest style of art. We need only add that it
is corrected and revised to November, 1867.