The Express.
London, England, 1867-08-01 00:00:00

COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN AUSTRIA.

OSTRAU (MORAVIA)? Jun' 30.
Yesterday, at noon, a terrible explosion of fire-
damp took place at the Rothschild Colliery, near
°strain. At the time of the occurrence there were
100 men in the pit, but up to the present 50 only
have been got out, of whom 20 were dead and a
large number terribly injured. The most active
efforts are being made to extricate those still in the
pit, but all attempts to descend by the shaft are
attended with extreme danger.

THE BRAZIL MAILS.
LISBON. JVLT 31.
The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company's ship
Oneida has arrived here from the Brazils, and will
leave at 4 p.m. to-day for Southampton, with
14,328/. in specie, 1,852 bags of coffee, 300 barrels
of tapioca, 150 rolls of tobacco, 222 packages of
sundries, and 107 passengers.
The Shannon, with the outward mail of the 9th
July, was at St. Vincent (Cape Verdi) on the 20th
instant.

RIO DR JANEIRO, Jinx 8.
Exchange on London, 211 ; on Paris, 4.50.
Coffee, good first, 6,200 to 6,400 reis. Shipments
since the departure of the last mail, 83,188 bags,
of which 10,149 were for the Channel, 18,070
fur the north of Europe, 4,900 for the Mediter-
ranean, and 4,212 for the Baltic. Sales, 70,000
bags. Stock, 90,000 bags. Freights, 555.
BAHIA Jeur 14.
- .

Exchange on London, 22. Sugar, wines, 2,700
to 3,400 rein ; browns, 2,450 to 2,500 reis. Cotton,
12,700 reis.

PERNAMBUCO, Juts 16.
Exchange on London, 21/. Sugar, whites,
3,800 reis ; browns, 2,200. tton, 13,000 reis.

The Navarre arrived at Bahia on the lith inst.

AMERICA.
(HT ATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.)
NEW YORK, JVLY 31, 6 r.n.
The Transatlantic Company's steam-ship St.
Lawrence has arrived out.

Closing prices : Gold, 140. Sterling exchange
on London, 110. 6-20 United States Bonds, 1111.
Illinois, 1181 ; Erie, 76i. Cotton : Middling Up-
land, 28.
PHILADELPHIA, JULY 31.
Petroleum, standard wh►te, 32i.

THE RETRACTATION OF FATHER PASSAGLIA.—A
letter from Rome, dated 24th ult., to the Genera/ Corn-
sionsdoire of Vienna, says :—" The learned Abbe Passaglia,
yielding to the persuasions of Mgr. Clifford, his former
pupil, and now Bishop of Clifton, in England, has made
his retractation, by declaring that, as a catholic, he gives in
hie complete adhesion to everything declared by the bishops
respecting the temporal power of the Pope, in their Address
of 1862, and that he submits all his publications to the
judgment of the Holy See. People are awaiting the pub-
lication of this retractation, some expressions in which
have been changed ; for this reason Mgr. Clifford went a
second time to Turin to the Abbe Passaglia. Meanwhile
the Pope has given 3,000 francs to pay the debts of this
erring servant."
THE ARTILLERY ACCIDENT AT DOVER.—The
shocking accident at one of the Western Heights batteries
by the premature explosion of a cartridge on the occasion
of the royal salute in honour of the Sultan's departure,
on Tuesday week, whereby three artillerymen were injured,
as already reported, had a fatal termination on Saturday
last, one of the poor fellows, George Turner, a gunner of
the 13th Brigade, after lingering through intense suffering
from the time of the accident, expiring on that day. The
military authorities failed to communicate the circum-
stance to the civil power, and, indeed, made anangements
for the interment of the deceased on Tuesday without the
formality of nn inquiry. The fact of the man's death,
however, having some to the knowledge of the coroner for
the borough, Mr. W. H. Psyn, be at once put himself in
communication with the military authorities, and the result
was the opening of the inquiry yesterday morning. The
first witness celled was Thomas Robert Dewdney, sergeant
in the 13th brigade Royal Artillery, stationed at the
Western Heights, Dover, who said be knew the deceased,
who was a gunner in the Royal Artillery, and was about
3.5 years of age. Witness continued—l was on duty with
him on the 'Gird July, at No. 6 gun of the Drop Battery,
on the occasion of the royal salute being fired in honour
of the Sultan's departure. The battery consisted of six
guns. The deceased was No. 3 man on the gun to
which he was attached, and it was his duty to load and
assist in ramming home. Five rounds had been fired from
the gun, and we were reparingfor the 6th, when I observed
that before the ' was half driven home it exploded.
The deceased was in the act of r.umning home. The dis-
charge bad the effect of driving the ramrod from the gun
and blowing the deceased and another man from the
muzzle. It was the duty of No. 2 moo to sponge out the
gun, of No. 4 to serve the vent, and I can say that both
these duties were properly performed after the firing of
the fifth round. It was rather au old sponge. It was
rather too small for the bore, and possibly the effect of
this would be that a little fire was left behind in the gun.
Under these circumstances it would be of very little use
for the vent to be served. The sponge was wet four or
five times during the firing. George Stainfield said—l am
armourer's sergeant of the Coast Brigade of Artillery I
examined the gun in question on the day following the
accident. I found the exterior perfectly free from flaws.
I searched the inside with a spring searcher and found
one flaw at eighteen inches from the muzzle. I then took
a gutta.percha impression. The flaw was in the position
technically known as "left of up." The flaw was three-
eighths of an inch deep. and about the eighth of an inch in
diameter. It was deep enough to hold fire, and was of a
kind likely to retain it. The sponge that was used on the
occasion would not have touched this orifice, but the
sponge used was, in my opinion, a serviceable one, and
adapted for this description of gun, which was a 42-
pounder. The hole ran vertically, and was a little rough
at the edges. It would be likely to retain fire.—After some
further evidence, the coroner brie fly observed that there
seemed no neglect of duty on the part of anyone concerned,
and that the accident had probably resulted from the
entail fissure in the gun which had remained previously un-
detected.—The jury returned a verdict of accidental death,
but suggested that a reoommendation should be made to
the government in favour of a periodical inspection of guns
in active use, irrespective of the number of rounds fired, or
whether used for shot or blank cartridge.
PORTSMOUTH, JULY 31.—A court-martial assem-
bled on board the Victory this morning for the trial of
the officers (with the exception of Commander W. Men-
zies, Lieutenant R. P. Moutray, and Lieutenant F. W.
Christian) and crew of the Osprey. 4, screw gun-vessel, for
their conduct on the occasion of the lose of the ship on the
morning of the 30th May, off Cape St. Frances, on the
south-east coast of Africa. The following officers composed
the court :—Rear-Admiral Warden, C. 8., Captains F. B.
P. Seymour, C. 8., R. J. J. G. Macdonald, the F.
Egerton. C. 8., E. W. Vansittert, W. Chamberlavne, M.
S. Nolloth, J. Corbett, and R. Dew, C.B. Mr. E. Hoskins
officiated as judge advocate. The officers and crew were
acquitted, the court being of opinion that no blame was
attributable to them. A second court for the trial of
Commander W. Menzies and Lieutenant F. W. Christian
was then held. Lieutenant Moutray, the officer of the
watch ; Mr. John Saunders, the gunner ; Acting-Liente-
nant Meade, and Robert William Hitchcock, the look-out
on the morning of the wreck, were examined. The case
was not concluded when the wart adjourned.