The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-21 00:00:00

THE LATE MR. FINCH.

Liverpool has lost another of her benevolent men. At
the age of 73, the active and energetic spirit of John
Finch, Esq., sen., has calmly passed into the eternal rest
of its Creator. He died on Wednesday, from the effects
of sudden cold on the chest, and after only an illness ef
two days. In full possession of all his faculties, he peace-
fully closed his eyes on the busy scenes of that life, which
he had fervently endeavoured to occupy to the utmost for
the good of his fellow beings. His great principle was, to
act in harmony with the spirit of the universe, whose
boundle.s beneficence having created all things for the use
and pleasure of mau, desires that each shouldi equally
work for the good of all. Thus Mr. Finch never wearied
in his efforts to raise the humble classes from ignorance
and vice. He laboured with delightful energy to get cheap
instruction for the people ; and the last act of his life, Was
spreading abroad the petition against the taxes on knol-
wedge. In early life his spare moments, during days of ac-
tive exertion for his increasing family, were earnestly spent
in endeavouring to check the degrading vice of drunkenness
in:the country ; and many years before the benevolent
Father Matthew began his excellent work, Mr. Finch had
lectured ,against this crying sin, and formed no less than
70 temperance societies in Wales, in Scotland, and
in Ireland, as also in England. The tracts he
wrote, made the most vivid impression after
his lectures had been heard; and all this was
done during continuous years, from his own purse, and
absolutely unaided effort. Nay, more, there were men of
good standing in life, who persecuted and opposed him In
this labour of love, but who yet could never convince hire
that he was wrong. In furtherance of this object, he most
liberally aided the building of the people's Concert Hall
in Nelson-street, in the hope that the innocent diversions
of music and dancing might keep the working classes front
the beer houses. In the meantime his attention had been
drawn to the demoralised and suffering state of the dock
labourers ; and he very earnestly set to work, with aid
from the ever benevolent Lady Byron, to get those rough
men into habits of regularity, and to save their expenses,
by releasing them from the impositions of the middle-men,
who acted between them and their employers. This effort
led Mr. Finch to see much of the misery endured by
sailors when out of employ ; and he proposed the forma-
tion of the Sailors' Home. The idea was readily accepted
in London by some of the active philanthropists known to
Mr. Finch, and was even more rapidly acted on by his
friends in America, and at last it became a necessity in
Liverpool. Education for the people, perfect liberty et
religious and political opinion, earnest industry in the
pursuit of independence, stedfast integrity, were the lead-
ing principles of this excellent specimen of a British
merchant, who felt that the duties he owed to society
were not the less to be fulfilled, because a serious atten-
tion was necessary, and most earnestly given, to his own
family. "Go thou and do likewise."

FEARFUL COLLIERY ACCIDENT.-SUPPOSED

LOSS OF 150 LIVES.

A fearful explosion of fire damp has occurred at a
colliery near Barnsley, by which it is feared about 150
lives have been lost.

A Barnsleicorrespondent writes, under date Thursday.
two p.m. :—" News has just arrived here that one of the
most terrific explosions which was ever known in this
locality, has taken place at Lund Hill Colliery, about five
miles from this town, in which 175 persons were working-
The explosion was such as to be seen :at a distance of •
mile and a quarter from the spot, and completely destroyed
the whole of the head gearing. causing a great portion of
the hill to fall down the shaft." in a postscript, he adds:
" Sixteen persons have been brought out alive."
Another account furnishes us with the following par-
ticulars :

A few minutes after twelve o'clock yesterday an awful
explosion took place at the Lund Hill Colliery, situated
about half a mile from the Wombwell station on the South
Yorkshire Railway. The pit, which is about 220 yards
deep, belongs to Taylor and Co., and is worked by separate
shifts of men night and day. The day workers, to the
number of 180 men and eight lads, descended at six o'clock
this morning. At twelve o'clock 22 of them, who reside
near the pit, came up to dinner, the rest remaining to
partake of that meal in the pit. Shortly afterwards a
fearful explosion occurred which shook the ground for a
great distance around, and the frame in which the
corves descend was blown up the shaft and lodged
in the gearing above the pit mouth. Numbers of
men from the neighbouring collieries flocked to render
assistance, and up to seven o'clock sixteen men had been
drawn up alive, some of them most seriously injured ;
this left 142 men remaining in the pit to almost certain
death. The interior of the pit was set on fire by the
explosion, and the flames have spread with such rapidity'
as, it is feared, to cut off all chances of reaching that part
of the pit where the 142 men are supposed to be. The fire
began to blaze from the air shaft about four o'clock, and
sent up an immense number of sparks and pieces of
burning wood, which had a most terrible appearance.
Some idea of the fearful nature of the fire may be
gathered when we state that the flames ascending up the
air shaft, 220 yards deep, reach more than twenty yards
above the top, illuminating the country for a distance
around. About seven o'clock the proprietors and man-
agers of the pit had a conference, and decided to stop
up the mouths of the working shafts with planks and
earth, as the only way of stopping the draught up
the air mine and subduing the fire. This plan was attended
with partial success, and about half-past 8 o'clock the
flames ceased to ascend above the surface of the ground.
Previous to this several miners had entered the pit, and
penetrated some distance along the main tramway, but
found the workings so full of sulphur as to preclude all en-
trance into them. The stoppings by which the workings
were ventilated had been blown down, and great havoo
made with the works generally, so that there is not the
slightest expectation of any of the miners who are yet in
the pit being rescued alive. Twelve or thirteen dead bodies
were picked up in the main tramways, and carried to the
bottom of the shaft, but it was found so urgent that the
mouths of the pit should be closed that they were allowed
to remain there. Several of the miners taken out alive
are dangerously injured. The pit has only been in work
two years, and was considered one of the best ventilated
mines for miles around. It is supposed that a fall in
some part of the works has led to the explosion. It is.
expected that some days will elapse before the fire will be
sufficiently extinguished to permit the pit to be entered-
The cause of the explosion is as yet involved in mystery-
The overlooker states that when he went round the pit
in the morning, before the day men descended, all was
then perfectly safe.