The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-23 00:00:00

THE COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

Later inquiries confirm and amplify the horribledetad,
of the colliery explosion, near Barnsley, already itr:iit
A list of those in the pit, to the number of 155. has
"„rst
obtained, but is not a complete list of the killed. 08/",,,a
were there whose names have not been ascertained,s"to
the total number of lives destroyed will be swolleto
the number of 170 or 180. In some instances the wif'of
of the male members of a family have been swept 8.4
—father and two or three sons. There is searcel/
household in the neighbourhood which has not beet;
made desolate. The brave men who risked their
rescue those who had escaped death in the pit, Were ri,t
Coe (underground steward in the pit), John Warb,/igef
(foreman), William Bevors, Mr, Webster (0.1„,."Till
of the Holyand and Elsecar Colliery), Mr. ing-.),
son, John Hoyland (foreman of Rawmarsh Coln
Benjamin Hoyland (foreman of Darley Main Collie,,ci
John and James Ellis, Wilcock, Wm. Dockwortm;a
Wombwell), James Cookson (of Hoyland Colliery)t 5-de
James Warris. Although the explosion occurred 11,0
after noon, the descent was not possible till four• to
gearing used for the descent had been destroyed bY.
pf
explosion ; and though the most strenuous elert
till iatbd
were made to put it right, they did not succeed of
time mentioned, when Mr. Coe, Warhurst, and 13e;°1°,00
got into a " corf,' and proceeded on their Per';bef
journey into the pit. Before they had gone Or "bat
heard the noise of a slight explosion in the pit the
they proceeded until they found that the lining (0,1,5 t
shaft had been so discomposed by the explosion, no
further progress was impossible. They reternea
the mouth of the pit, and tie efforts of all:14 et.
now directed to getting the lining ill ",eset
In about twenty minutes everything was ream
to descend, and they went down again, and ar„etio
in safety at the bottom, followed by the other 11:40‘
These brave fellows spent nearly an hour in einl°'oo'
the pit ; and they did not quit their task till thol6oo
indications of imminent danger. They explored th,eifid
to within about forty yards of the extremity 0,1,' hey
northern level—a distance of about 400 yards. ;aye!,
also traversed about 20 or 30 yards of the southern 13101
but at this point they were stopped by the fire whie%sy
broken out as one of the results of the explosion. ~',OOl,
went far enough, however, to ascertain that a bed eni .1"61.
comprising an area of 50 or 60 yards, was in n3;till
They:discovered, however, that 19 human beings vie,ll;telf
alive, all near the working shaft. These were imule,"""
taken to the mouth of the pit, and conveyed to their orrietl.
It is believed that none of them are fatally it'eie
The explorers found 10 corpses on the northern
the pit. These were blacked by the explosion, and 'est
fully mutilated, evidently having been driven With 6;1 or
violence against the displaced masses of coal. Sev:l-1
54,
these bodies were brought to the bottom of the 1117%; 01
shaft, but the explorers had not time to reato/e II"' to
.t
the others before they found it necessary to quit the
y, i
t-
o
The decision which was come to by the propriet°lo
it
stop up the pit while so many persons remained, ,00
was not arrived at without the most anxious and
longed deliberation. Had it been delayed longer, ;Obi
was danger of the fire spreading and burning
such intensity as to cause the fall of the benefit
coal and superincumbent earth, and the cons,,„o-6(10
falling in of the shafts. Had this been aiwieets
probably none of the bodies would ever hafe,,,;a 10
recovered, but as it is, the fire having been cheereeti
time, a large number of the bodies will be got out 107 the
It is hardly necessary to add that there was o'oo4
slightest possibility of any of those in the pit being ions
when the stopping up was decided on. In the tneso The
the fire is still raging in the interior of the Pit' al 0'
stopping it up and preventing the access of air I°,: the
course check, and probably in time extinguisii'does
conflagaration. For the present nothing can hepetieg
but to wait the result of the experiment. At u
of practical men connected with mines, held this fa°yptbat
those present expressed their unanimous opini°P„ners°
the stopping up of the pit was the most judicious '-
under the circumstances.

teg
THE BISEIOPRICE: or GALWAY.—The Galway ,rea
appears to doubt the statement which we have Puuvt",ooP
of the appointment of the very Rev. Dr. M'Evily as P; oot
of Galway. We are enabled, however, to state tba; bat
only have the bulls for the consecration been receiveiu: tbe
the day for that ceremony has been fixed-1103N St;
22nd of March. It will take place in the Cathedra' Dor"
Jarlath's, Tuam, and the Right Rev. Dr. Parll'
Bishop of Clonfert, will preach the consecration se-io °
Freeman's Jonrnal. f
GRANTS FOR RELIGIOUS PURTOSES.—A return of
grants for religious purposes from the Consolidate° t;eioull
andd by votes of parliament, made to the different re;,7 tit
enominations in England, Scotland, and Ireland, for
last five years, has just been presented to parliaraie"nd bag
shows that the sum paid to the Church of DIV- vi'°
been £57,021 ; to the Church of Scotland, £101,5i,c;e03,"
amount paid by the Qieen's and Lord Treasurer's ria';
brancer, Scotland, £101,145, and drawback on T3l;',eetiter;
used in building churches, £432 ; to Protestant Th°jogica.
in Ireland. £191,365 13s. 2d. The grants to theo63 s 1;
professors were—to the Church of Scotland, £4,°00 Prater
to the Church of Rome in Ireland, £131,800 ► t° raat6
taut Dissenters in Ireland, £10,878 5s I Id. lecgbar,cl3;
for religious purposes in the colonies were—to t'e, for
of England, £146,275; to the Church of Scotian' of tie
North American provinces, £875. A recapitulati°llf ser
above grants shows as follows :—To the Churelli°o 161'
land, £203,296 3s 2d; Church of Scotland, Xlo,6';'..catell:
9d ; Church of Rome, £131,910 ; Protestant )-IL-, year'
£202,243 19s ld—making a grand total in the P'y
of £643,902 198.