The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-02-24 00:00:00

THE LATE COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

We have already given ample details of the
melancholy colliery explosion near Barnsley, but
as further particulars of an important character
have just been made known, we make no apology
for again alluding to the matter—
A most importaet quest'oa has arisen astothd the clo
the discretion
ion
:"'"
exercised by the professional gens: `
who advise
confessed that at ag
of the pit on Thursday night. It must
4first glance it does seem appalling that the 170 139 human
S."
beings who were at that time known to be in the pry ,etrould
be cut oft front all communication with the outer world, ana
some of them possibly buried in a living tomb. Everywhere
the question is asked, " Was every possible exertion made to
save the lives of those who have perished, and left us help-
less ?" The condtact of those who advised the course
pursued can only ho ;'ustified on the assumption
that there was not the slightest chance of recovering
another human being alive, and that the most decisive
measures were necessary for the preservation; of the property
in the Pit. The heroic men who explored the mine, and
rescued all whom they found alive, discovered that prompt
measures were necessary to check the progress of the confla-
gration in the pit. b-eause it was evident that if it had gone
on increasing at that tremendous rate it would have caused a
fail of tho coal and the earth above, and the consequent
collapse of the working and air shafts. Tho result would
have been an immense destruction of property, and the fire.
allowed to make such progress, might not have been put out
for years, and the bodies of the victims never have been
recovered.
On Friday morning a eonfftrenee of scientific gentlemen
was held at the company's offices to take into consideration
the proprietY or otherwise'of the plan adopted on the previous
evening,—There were present--Mr. Woodhouse, of Derby,
who occupied the chair ; Mr. C. Webster, of the lloyland
and Elsecar colliery; and Mr. William Maddison, of the
Wombwell Main colliery (the two gentlemen Under whose
advice the proprietors determined upon closing the shafts) ;
Mr. Day, of the Hoyland and Elsecar colliery; Mr. Ralph
Maddison, of the Worsbro'-dale and Silkstone colliery;
Ur. T. Cooper, of the Rawmarsh colliery; Mr. J. Sellars,
Mr. R. Child and Mr. Carr, of Wakefield • Mr. Hartopp. or
Barnborough-hall ; and Mr. Holt, of Wakefield. These
gentlemen, all of whom possess great practical experience in
the working of mines, expressed their unanimous opinion that
the stopping up of the shafts on Thursday night was the moat
judicious course that could have been adopted. In the course
of the afternoon another meeting was held at the company's
offices, at which there were present Mr. Webster and Mr,
Maddison ; Mr. E. J. Sutcliffe, of Barnsley ; Mr. Hill, of
Wakefield ; Mr. Chambers, of Thorncliffe ; Mr. Day, and
Mr. Morton, the government inspector. Mr. Day occupied
the chair, and stated what had been done, remarking
that the accident took place at half-past one o'clock,
and the pit was not closed until seven hours later, so that
there conld not be two opinions upon the matter that all
who were then in the pit must have been dead. The
government inspector, Mr.'Morton, said that he should like
to hear the statements of Mr. Maddison and Mr. Webster,
they having taken an active part in the affair. Mr. Webster
said that he and Mr. Cole and Mr. Maddison went down
together, and found materials of all kinds thrown together in
one mass. They proceeded on to the furnace, which they found
Le a complete state of ignition—fire raging to a fearful extent.
Fromtut nCthey proceeded 200 or 250 yards upon the south
able gas was so great that the party
level, but hero um namable
They returned to the shaft,
was obliged to beat a hasty ;,".`real.
and afterwards eAarnined the north level, arm ::?und the dead
bodies of several poor creatures, whom the workmen rJ:'loved
to the fdot of the shaft Most of the bodies were lying a
short distance; cf the shaft: They passed on and found a clump of
bodies (aboat:ten) all lying in a heap, and dead. Returning sub-
sentiently tp tho furnace they found it blown down, and the fire
raging witli the intensest violence. To remain in any longer
was quite impossible. They were down two hones. The
stoppages between the up and down ohaft were blown to pieces.
They succeeded in sending nineteen men up, and in getting
eight or nine dead bodies to the shaft bottom, when, had
they reinaisred any longer, they must have been suffocated.
No man could haee reniaired longer than they did. Return-
ing to the surface, they niade the proprietors acquainted
with what had taken place below, and stated that in their
opinion the pit must be closed immediately. There viras no
possibility of saving any more lives, and unless the pit
were at once closed there would be no chance of its working
again for some months. Mr. Maddison and himself,
feeling thee the awful responsibility they bad taken upon
themselves in advising such a course, then held a consulta-
tion with the other practical men about, as to whether, in
their opinion, anything mme conic] be done to save those in
the pit. The unanimous opinion of all parties consulted was
that nothing more could be done, and that the shafts ought to
be at once covered up. Whilst We were in the pit the fire
was raging out of the cupola at least fifty yards in height. Mr.
Morton : Very strong evidence that you neatly remained too
long in it. Mr. Maddison concurred in all that Mr'. Webster
had Said. He should wish to impress upon gentlemen present
the difference they found at the furnace between their first and
second visit. On the first visit they could go up to and kick
the fire about, but there was too much of It to put it out; and
yet when they came back again there was no apr:roachine it—it
was raging hot. Mr. Morton : You were afraid of its cutting off
your retreat ? Mr. Maddison : We were. Mr. Morton : You
were perfectly sure the bodies were quite dead ? Mr. Maddi-
son : We had not a shadow of a doubt about it. Mr. Morton :
Mr: Webster, did you report substantially to the conmiftee
thiS morning what you have now told us ? Mr. Webster: Yes.
Mr. Morton And upon their hearing your statement, did
they generally concur with you as to the propriety and
prudence of the measures you hod adopted? Mr. Webster:
Yes, they did. You will find it upon the minutes of the
proceedings. Mr. Morton : From the statements made to
me, and from any own observations this morning, I
must say I concur in the prudence of the measures
that have been adopted in the first instance by
Mr. Maddison and Mr. Webster, and of what they
have subsequently done with the knowledge and
consent of the owners. As to the cause of the accident, of
course that must remain for investigation before the proper
tribunal. The Chairman : It will be satisfactory to the
public to know that you, sir, concur in what has been
done. Mr. Morton : The responsibility belonging to Mr.
Webster and Mr. Maddison, in closing the tops of the pit
in which it was supposed that more than one hundred men
lay dead, is exceedingly fearful. They have borne that
responsibility creditably in the measures they had adopted,
and I think what they have done could not be improved
upon under the circumstances. The Chairman : 'Then yc ti
fully approve of what has been done ? Mr. Morton said
he did, and also of the proposal of erecting an apparatus
for forcing carbonic acid gas into the mine to
extinguish any flame that may yet remain. Had the shafts
not been closed on Thursday night, the risk of their
closing themselves would have been imminent ; and had
they once closed, the mine could not have been opened
again in all probability for some months. In reply to a
question, the Chairman said every one capable of judging
in the matter must say that the closing of the mine was a
wise measure. As to there being any one alive in the pit,
it was not possible, seeing that even those who were found
near the bottom of the shaft were quite dead. In answer
to Mr. Morton, Mr. Webster said : We did not abandon
our search for the dead until our lives were in imminent
danger. The miners were positively afrai I some time
before we came out, and they at length abandoned us. At
that time the shaft was falling in upon us. Mr. Morton
observed that as government inspector of the district, he
would spare no pains to have the cause of the accident fully
investigated when the proper time should come. The
meeting then broke up.
Another death has to be added to the terrible list of those

destroyed by tba explosion. On Saturday morning be-
tween four and five o'clock, Abraham Turner, of Wath,
died. He was one of the nineteen brought up alive from
the pit.

As regards the pit itself there is no probability of its
being opened for some time to come: The apparatus for
forcing incombustible gas into the pit has not been used.
Subsequent examination showed that gas of this descrip-
tion was generated in the pit itself, in enormous quantities,
and that the apparatus would therefore be useless.
On Saturday evening a conference of mining engineers
was held in the Company's Offices, at which Mr. N
Wood, of Newcastle, the eminent engineer, who was

specially sent for, was present. After a long and anxious
deliberation it was decided to recommend to the proprietors
that a jet of steam be thrown into the pit, that water be
thrown. into the workings, and that Mr. Webster and Air.

Maddison take charge 'Of the operations. These recom
mendations will be carried out by the proprietors. After
coming to this decision the conference adjourned until
Wednesday.
Experiments have been made to ascertain whether the
fire in the pit is yet extinguished. Pieces of wood, with
tarry rope attached, have been let down to the bottom of
the air shaft and drawn up again, and as the wood and rope
have come up without being ignited, it is assumed that the
_fire is extinguished—at any rate in the vicinity of the air
shaft. It would, however, be highly dangerous to remove
the coverings from the shafts, and allow the air to re-enter
the pit, as the current would certainly cause the conflag-
ration to spring up again if it is not yet extinct, and per-
haps give rise to another explosion. Probably the means
taken will have the effect of making it safe to open the pit
when the conference is held next Wednesday. Till then
no new step will be taken.
During the greater part of Saturday Mr. !Simpson and
Mr. Stewart, two of the partners, were occupied in paying
a house_to-house visitation to the numerous bereaved
families, and furnishing them with sufficient money for
their present wants. This melancholy task was fulfilled
in the most feeling and liberal manner. The water of the
engine, sent down into the pit at the rate of 230 to
best
300
gallons per minute, is generally considered to be the
and most likely step for extinguishing the flames; and