The Express.
London, England, 1866-12-07 00:00:00

EXTRAORDINARY SCENE.

On Tuesday evening, what is locally known as a
crowner-in," that is to say, a sudden subsidence of the
ground from the coal having been taken away beneath, took
place at Newton, four miles from Steurbridge. Sometimes
the ground subsides gradually over a considerable area ;
but in the case of a crowner-in" a rugged shaft is
formed from the old workings to the surface. The sides
continue for some time filling in till the shaft is filled
up to within a greater or less distance from the surface.
The "crowner-in " in question took place about half-past
6on Tuesday evening. The village of Newtown is built
on the Earl of Dudley's land, and in the vicinity of an
extensive colliery belonging to his lordship. A person
named Matthew Trownian, who kept a public-
house, some time back had observed that the
ground on which his house was built was subsiding, and
he took the usual measures, cramping the house with
iron rods and buttressing it with trees to lessen the
damage to the building. All this, however, proved of
no avail, for with startling suddenness on Tuesday even-
ing a great bole was formed in his back yard.
The alarming noise consequent on the formation of the
shaft was accompanied by an outgush of a gas known
among the colliers as "sulphur" and this having come
into contact with fire, it at once ignited. The flame shot
up from the hole to the height of the house, and set fire
to the sashes of the back windows. The wind was strong,
and the fire made head rapidly. A fire engine, however,
was sent for to Dudley, and after its arrival the flames
were extinguished. Meantime the " crowner-in " was en-
larging itself in the most rapid and alarming manner, and
in less than an hour after it was first noticed the back kit-
chen, a brewhouse, and a cart shed had all disappeared
in the ever-widening gulf. In the cellar beneath the
back kitchen were several barrels of beer and cider, and
with them of course descended the household utensils in
the upper part of the building. The alarming intelli-
gence soon spread in the populous neighbourhood
around, and there were in a very short space of time
many hundreds of people on the spot. With their as-
sistance Trowman and his family managed to remove the
greater part of their household furniture, linen, icc.,
before the back part of the main building went. After
this took place the " crowner-in " did not widen so
rapidly, and scores of ready hands commenced to pull
down the remainder of the house so as to save the
bricks and timber. Yesterday morning very little of the
house was standing. In little more than twelve hours the
crowner-in had increased to a hole 16 or 18 yards across
one way, and 10 or 12 yards the other. The depth would
be about ten yards, and the bottom was covered with
great masses of rock rent from the rugged sides. The
size was then increasing, but only very gradually. It was
a fortunate circumstance that the first subsidence took
place in the back yard; as if it had occurred within the
house, several lives would probably have been lost. Troy-
man's faraily numbers ten persons, and there were several
in the house besides.
he I

Major-General Dix, the American minister to
France, who arrived at Southampton yesterday, will pro-
ceed to Havre to-night on his way to Paris.
The Academy of Scienoea(France) at its last sitting
proceeded to elect a corresponding member for the section
of geography and navigation in the place of the late Ad-
miral Fitzroy. The candidates were Captain Richards, of
London ; M. Cialdi, of Rome ; and Mr. Livingstone, of
London. The first -named, having received 33 votes out of
42, was declared duly elected.
The mineral wealth of the state of Missouri is
enormous. " I went with a party," writes a correspon-
dent, "to see a mountain 800 feet in height, composed of
almost solid iron ; huge boulders of iron ore line the sides
of this bill, and beneath the surface the iron is in a solid
mass, almost as though it had been smelted. Professor
Silliman has estimated that the iron extends to a depth
of 1,200 feet, and that it would take the whole world a
thousand years to use it up. It is very little worked at
present, because no coal his been found in Missouri. But
Pilot Knob,' as the mountain is called, will not be suf-
fered to remain a mere natural curiosity many years more."
THE ARREST OF ADMIRAL PERSANO.—The fol-
lowing details of the arrest of Admiral Persano are given
in the Morirnento of Genoa :—" The President of the
Commission of Inquiry, M. Marsucchi, having signified to
him, after a brief interrogatory, that the High Court of
Justice had ordered his arrest, the admiral, without
being perturbed, replied that no one more than himself
bent before the severe majesty of the law. He had
I scarcely uttered these words when two carbiniers, fully
arned, appeared in the hall. Persano grew pale, and
was evidently affected, but he son recovered his pre-
sence of mind, and spoke in strong language against
his enemies. He was, he said, the victim of a public
hatred without foundation and without justice. 'ltis an
unworthy war that is being made against me—a disloyal
war, from which I wiln come out victorious.' H. Mar-
aucchi, seeing the admiral was getting more and more
excited, endeavoured to calm him, and then Persano be-
come silent, heaved a few deep sighs, and, by a gaiture,
intimated that he was ready to go with the =tinier&
He was then escorted between them into a small room
attached to the Senate House. Before he left the hall,
the president begged him nut to hesitate to ask for what-
ever he might require, as he would be at once supplied.
Persano bowed, and went out as described. His little
apartment has no appearance of a prison about it, and is
well ventilated and commodious."