The Sun.
London, England, 1839-07-02 00:00:00

fORITY—NOES,
Fellowes, Edward
Fleming, Admiral
Gordon, Hon. W.
Gore, 0. J. R.
Gore, 0. W.
Goulburn, 11.
Graham, Sir James
Grimsditth Thomas
Grimstone,' E. IL
Hale, It. Blagdon
Halford, H.
1 Heatheote, Sir W.
1 Heneage, G. W.
Henniker, Lord
\Herbert, Sidney
Berries, J C.
Hillsborough, Earl
Hinde, J. H.
Hodgson, Richard
Elope, Charles
Hope, G. W.
Hallam, Lord
Howard, Sir R.
Hughes. W. B.
Hurt, Francis
i Ingestrie, Lord
Inglis, Sir IL H.
Irton, Samuel
Irving, John
James, Sir Walter
Jerrisvn, Earl
Kemble Henry
Knatchbuil, Sir E.
Knightley, Sir C.
Liddell, H. P.
Lincoln, Earl of
Lowther, Colonel
Lowther, J. H.
Lvgon, Colonel
Mackenzie, Thomas
Mackinnon, W. A.
Mahon, Lord

the immediate exhaustion of the flame in fire-damp, usu-
ally prevent any extensive burns or deep injuries, except
to those who may be csught in the midst of the flames ; and
most of the deaths which occurred in the present case have
doubtless resulted from the effects of the carbonic acid gas
(or choke damp of the miners) which is generated by the
combustion of the inflammable gas.
After two or three and twenty had been brought to bank,
however, in the state described, the bodies began to be
shockingly mutilated, the skin coming off at the touch ; so
that a quantity of fl Innel was sent down in which to wrap
the mangled remains.
William Anderson, Esq., the viewer, went down the pit
soon after the accident, and remained there till about one
o'clock. Ile then came up for half an hour. Ile was suf-
fering much from exhaustion. Mr. Jobling, viewer of
Jarrosv Colliery, and an overman from the same colliery,
arrived about one o'clock, and also went down. A viewer
from Heworth Colliery, whose name we have not learned,
about two o'clock also descended, in order to aid in assist-
ing the sufferers. Mr. Mather, wine-merchant, also went
down at an early hour, and certainly deserves much praise
for his humane exertions.
The following is a list of the sufferers who had been
brought to bank at the time of our going to press :
John Dickinson, rolly-wayman ; Alexander Falconer,
not married ; Mathew Gibson, left a wife and three
children ; Jonathan Ellison, left a wife, but no family ;
Benjamin Gibson, left a wife and family ; two sons of the
said B. Gibson ; John Scott, left a wife and one or two
children ; Alexander Scott, brother of the above John
Scott, unmarried ; two boys (Longstaff) brothers ; John
Dinning, left a wife—oo children ; two boys of the name
of Moody ; John Fairley, single man ; Patrick Ramshaw,
aged about lit' ; Thomas Cooper, a boy; Edward Hardy,
a young man ; George Hall, ditto ; William Hudson,
ditto; George Calvert, has left a wife and one or two
children ; William Young, has left a wife ; Elstob (a
boy), his body much burnt, his right hand lifted up to his
head and face, as if to guard off the destructive agent by
which his life was sacrificed ; Joseph Argyle descended
the pit to look for his son, and was brought up a corpse;.
he has left a wife and eight children. The brother of this
poor fellow was with him when they were overtaken by the
choke-damp and urged him to retire, but he persevered
i in seeking for his son, and fell a sacrifice to his affection.
' Thomas Dobson, a young man ; George Walker, ditto ;
Sandy Forsyth, ditto ; John Stephenson, married, no
children; Thomas Mould, left a wife and family ; An-
drew Stephenson, unmarried.
Although there are said to have been only about sixty
persons working in the neighbourhood of the explosion,
yet as there were upwards of lb° men down the pit, the
general distress and anxiety were much increased. We
were much struck by the gallant conduct of the men who
went down in search of their comrades. As the scene of
the explosion was nearly two miles from the shaft, and the
choke damp must have extended to a considerable distance
from the point where it occurred, the difficulty of reaching
the sufferers, and the danger and gallantry of those who
sought for them, will be in some measure evident to the
common reader. It is true most of those engaged in the
arduous duty were influenced by parental, fraternal, or
filial affection in their dangerous task; but many of the
noble fellows were instigated only by common humanity
and sympathy, and we saw many of them, after having
been brought almost lifeless from the pit mouth, and being
revived a little by the fresh air, again descend to the
scene of death. We saw brothers, pale and quivering,
stagger from the corf to the outside of the crowd for fresh
air, and with a few brief and simple words of affection and
agony, again, scarcely yet recovered, enter the vehicle and
return in search of him they had lost. We saw a father,
an old man, whose three sons were missing, who had been
twice brought up to the light of day almost dead, and
who, in his pale features, feeble frame, and quivering lips
displayed the effects of the poison he had been inhaling
and the insupportable grief that preyed upon him, again
attempt to rush to the fatal spot, whence, as from the tomb,
he had just issued, and we joined in detaining him almost
by force.
But our pen fails in the attempt to convey some faint
imagination of this deplorable calamity to our readers.
Carts containing three or four dead bodies left the yard
from time to time, surrounded by groups of agonised
mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters, screaming, and
blind with grief. One poor woman, the wife of the poor
man of whom we have just spoken, as being detained
from risking his life for the third time down the pit—
attracted our particular attention. Three of her children
had been at the fatal spot, and one of them lay dead
before her. Her grief for a time over this poor little boy
was terrible. But gradually we observed her to steal up to
the door near the pit mouth, through which the dead
bodies were borne. She still had another boy, whose fate
was doubtful, and she left the dead to inquire after him
who might still be living. Hope was stronger than de-
spair. It was, therefore, with feelings of exquisite dis-
tress that those who saw her, beheld her other little boy
borne lifeless past her. The sight of her utter misery,
and the agonising shriek which burst from her heart, few
who beard, will ever forget.
Subscription lists will be laid in our offices on both
sides of the water, in behalf of the sefferers; and the
sums thus collected will be turned over to the hands of a
Committee, which will doubtless be immediately formed
for extending relief to the unfortunate sufferers in this me-
lancholy accident.
The St. Hilda Pitt has been worked about 14 or 15
years, during the whole of which time there have been no
explesions of any great consequence. The colliery houses,
in which the pitmen and their families live, are situated
about half a mile from the mouth of the pit, near a laid in
colliery, also the property of Messrs. I3randling, from which
were formerly obtained the coals known by the name of
" Manner Wallsend." We understand that some stones
and other matter had been knocked down by the force of
the explosion, and blocked up one of the crossways of the
pit, which prevented some of the men from making their
escape.
It is pretty well ascertained that nearly sixty lives have
i been lost by' this dreadful accident ; and we have heard
the scene below described by an eye witness as most awful,
—horses and men lying dead in every direction. After
this hour (half-past six), none can be brought to bank
alive. Up to the moment of our going to press, some of
the men who have been down to bring out the bodies of
their comrades, are coining to bank, and are relieved by
others who have in some measure recovered. The pale
and trembling forms of the poor fellows, their staggering
step, and incoherent gestures, show how very nearly they
have held fellowship with death.
We heard more than one man declare that nobody had
done more in rescuing those men who dropped down, by
bringing them to the good air, than Mr. James Mather.
There is something very dreadful in men voluntarily work-
ing amid a poisonous atmosphere until they drop down,
trusting their lives solely to the prompt attention of their
companions and the effects of fresh sir. By such means
alone, however, have the dead bodies been brought up. Mr.
Mather went down at the suggestion of the medical men,
for the purpose of administering such remedies as the
poor fellows in the pit stood in need of from their conti-
nued working in a polluted atmosphere.
(From a Third Edition, Friday Evening.)
Mr. Atkinson, viewer of Wallsend Colliery, with proper
consideration for the friends and companions of the unfor-
tunate dead, arrived in the evening with a number of men
from Wallsend ; but as nearly the whole of the bodies
were then brought to bank, and as there was no want of
men in the pit, he and those with him soon returned, with-
out rendering that assistance which, under other circum-
stances, might have been of so much value.
The appearance below was as that of the grave itself,
over which these poor mourners lamented. Every thing
there bespoke it. The men were moving about like spec-
tres in a thick darkness with indistinct glimmerings from
more than usually dimmed lamps, seldom uttering a
word, except in suppressed tones, doing their duties to the
dying and dead, in a solemn manlier, that was deeply
affecting. After passing into the colliery eight or nine
hundred yards, we began to observe the ravages of the
explosion, and the effects of the deadly carbonic acid and
carburetted hydrogen gases. As we proceeded further
from the shaft, the air began to assume the pecu-
liarity of smell that came from the chests of the
bodies that had been inflated. The deadly gas became
stronger and stronger as we approached. We encountered
in one place five bodies, who had apparently died placidly,
without one muscle of the face distorted ; then there were
three more, that had been destroyed by the explosion—
clothes burnt and torn—the hair singed off—the skin and
flesh torn away in several places, with an expression as if'
the spirit had passed away in agony. We proceeded on,
and were stopped by what is called " a fall," a large mass
of the roof and sides, blocking up your passage ; beyond
it, the top of which we surmounted with difficulty, were
several bodies found, as, if in their attempts to escape—this
barrier bad stopped them, and then either not able to sur-
mount the difficulty, or conceiving it insurmountable, there
they had laid down and died.
In another place, going with a single guide, we sud-
denly encountered two men, one with a light, the other
bearing something on his shoulders ; it was a blackened
mass—a poor, dead, burnt boy he was taking out. A lit-
tle further on we found waggons that had been loaded,
overturned bottom upwards, scattered in different dire.e:
tions ; a horse lying dead, directly in the passage,
his head turned over his shoulder, as if, in falling, be la.
wittdh
made a last effort at escape; he was swollen in an extram -
dinary manner. acted with a
The men who were exerting themselves
without out bustle,
solemn, high-wrought, steady courage,
scarcely with a remark, and what were maue wereil such as
and assumes in
y in. a sub.
were necessary'—brief and decided,
ducd tone, such as human nature assumes in its most
vigorous, perfect, and ennobling moments.
came amongst 12 or 15 men
by the surcharged atmosphere.
we
At one point
who had been driv suddenl y
en back
One poor man, especiallY, was sick and ill, something
was given to assist his recovery ; thought somewhat better,
still he seemed slow in gettingwell. \\ hen again asked
where be felt most oppressed, he
said in a broken sup-
pressed agony,
.._I am not well, Sir, I have two sons in
there," pointing- dowl, to the place he had been driven
from in his attempts to recover his children, " one was 16,
the other 22."
Amongst them there was a self devotion and courage
that would have enobled man in any rank. Their compa-
nions were brought out ill' ' sick atupified, and struck down
at their feet with an uncertainty of recovery ; yet it pro-
duced no hesitation, not a doubt, no flinching, but at once
fearlessly brave fellows moved into the same situation, to
go on with the performance of their melancholy exertions.
One brave man, sick, vomiting, and insensible, borne
out on the shoulders of several men, after he had been re-
lieved a little by some medicine that was given him, as
soon as he could articulate, desired all to go back directly,

eiiii, r side.

EVE,NINq,, EDITION,
and leave him lying there, for nOw, .be said he was
.quite 1
well, and no time should be lost, in their efforts. -
Another heroic fellow, for we must be allowed the term
where it is so justly due, who had been relieved by his
friends, as soon as his strength was a little restored, started ,
to his feet and said, " Come, now, let us in again ; our
place is there, we are of no use sitting here ;" and tA ould
have rushed back to the suffering and danger he had nar-
rowly escaped, but was prevented.
The following is a list of the other 20 sufferers, whose
names we have obtained since the publication of our second
edition. The whole number of human lives sacrificed by
this most direful catastrophe is 501
James Ransom, left a wife and one child ; Dickin-
son, son of J. Dickinson (see previous list) ; Robert
Johnson ; Michael Brown ; John Hall, brother to G. Hall
(see previous list) ; Thomas Ellison, father cf the boy
Ellison (do.) ; Thomas Harrison, wasteman ; Thomas
Horne, do, ; W. Todd, unmarried ; W. Lamb, left a wife
and four children ; Henry Lamb, unmarried, brother of
W. Lamb ; W. Ramshaw, do., brother to Patrick Ram-
shaw (see previous list) ; W. Rogerson ; Roger Spence,
' married man ; John Snowdon, left a wife and two chil-
dren ; W. Hall, left a wife and two children, wife far ad-
vanced in pregnancy ; G. Longstaff, father of the two boys
of the same name (see previous list); John Douthw ait, a
boy ; Gibson, boy (not a son of B. Gibson, but of a
man named Charles Gibson, who was saved) ; W. Wright,
left a wife and family. Six horses and two ponies which
were in the pit were also killed.

BLOCKADE OF BUENOS AYRES

By the last arrival from Buenos Ayres accounts have
been received of a new interpretation, and a most extraor-
dinary extension, of the blockade declared last year, and
now in force, of the Rio Plata. This will best be explained
by the following note addressed by M. Batadere, the French
Consul at Monte Via4ee, to Mr. Hood, the British Consul-
General in the same place :
" Consulate of France in Monte Video, March 13, 1 839.
" Mr. Consul-General,—The doubts which have been
raised respecting the declaration of blockade of Rear-Ad-
miral Le Blanc, which I had the honour to communicate
to you by letter of the 4th of April, 1838, render it neces-
sary to dissipate them, so as to avoid any reclamation or
unfortunate misunderstanding.
" When, after having exhausted every possible means
of conciliation to obtain from the Government of Buenos '
Ayres the just reparation which it had a right to expect,
the Government of his Majesty decided on establishing
the blockade, it is evident that it was proposed only with
a view to bring General Rosas to more reasonable senti-
ments by means of the complete and absolute privation of
all the resources which he derived from external and mari-
time commerce.
" Consequently, to limit the blockade only to the coast
of the Rio Plata would fail in fulfilling this object, and,
on the contrary, would only confer a privilege on the Ar-
gentine ports situated on the ocean, and render illusory the
results proposed.
" On this understanding I am charged, Mr. Consul-
General, to declare to you that the intention of Franco
was to comprise in this measure all the coast belonging to
the Argentine republic, as well on the Rio Plata as on th
ocean.
I beg you to have the goodness to acknowledge the
receipt of this letter.
" I remain, with distinguished consideration, &c.
" A. BARADERE.
" To the Consul General of Great Britain in Monte
Video."

The line of coast thus for the first time pretended
to be included in the blockade is equal in extent to
about 3 000 miles, from Cape San Antonio round Cape
Horn to the confines of Chili, and along all that iMmente
range there did not exist one single French F1;:p of war to
enforce the blockade thus absurdly and .usolently declared
upon paper. It appears that in 'Lonsequence of the block-
ade of the Rio Plata Inny merchants in this and other
countries had directed their speculations to various points
situated on the open sea, and not comprehended within
the terms of the blockade as published by Admiral Le
Blanc. It was in consequence of this that the,
cupidity of the French agents was excited, sad
the notification alluded to was made. It had not
transpired what answer, if any, had been given by the
British Consul, but there can be no doubt that the pre-
tension is too gross and untenable to be countenanced for
one moment either here or even by the French Govern.
meet. It is singular that the French Admiral himself had
not directly published or made any official commu-
nication to the same effect, either to the authori-
t'es of Buenos Ayres or Monte Video, or, so far as was
known, to the British Commander. It was reported, how-
ever, that he was supported in, or had been urged to, this
extravagant measure by the American Commodore Ni-
cholson, who, it seems, had entered into all his views
against General Rosas, whom he affected to de-
clare in the wrong. As there are a e;.nisider-
able number of British merchant vessels engaged
in the whale fisheries on the coast of Patagonia, it may be
hoped that due provision has been, or will be, made for their
protection from insult or capture under this new decree
directed against British commerce.—Morning Paper.

LAUNCH OF HER MAJESTY'S

SHIP NILE.

(From the Devonport Independent.)
At nine minutes before six o'clock last evening (Friday)
her Majesty's ship Nile was launched from this dock-yard,
As a ship, the Nile is one of the finest of her class ; she is
built on Sir Robert Sepping's plan, carrying 92 guns on
two decks. She has the improved stern of Mr. Roberts,
the late Master-shipwright, which combines the advan-
tages of the round stern, with the appearance of thwe on
the square construction. The advantage consists in trzing-
ing her stern guns to bear in any direction with the greatest
facility. Her tonnage is the same as that of the Caledonia
was originally, in other respects she is the sister ship of the
Rodney. At her figure-head she bears a finely carved bust
of Nelson. The stern is neatly and chastely ornamented

with carved work, the centre piece being a medallion of the
sakne illustrious hero, surrounded with a laurel wreath, with

a group of flags, cannon, and other warlike designs on

As the weather for the two or three preceding days
had not been very favourable, some anxiety was felt in
the early part of the day on this particular, but the after-
noon turned out as fine a one as could possibly have been
wished for the occasion. Every scat was filled, and the

galleries at the bows of the ship- , from four till six o'clock
presented a splendid spectacle, being filled with elegantly
dressed spectators, a large proportion being ladies. The
Dock-yard Band was stationed in the ship's head, the
Band of the Hercules under the starboard gallery, and
shortly before the arrival of the Admiral Superintendent,
and his party, the fine Band of the Royal Marines was
placed immediately opposite the bows of the vessel.
Appropriate tunes were played by each of them, " The
Battle of the Nile ;" " Rule Britannia ," " Hearts of
Oak," &c. The bust of Nelson which forms the Centre
head of the Nile, was decorated with a scarf, formed of an
ensign, gracefully tied, and was also ornamented with
laurel. All the arrangements for the launch were made
under the direction of E. Hawkes, Esq., master builder, and
his assistants. Admiral Superintendent Warren and his ,
party arrived shortly after five o'clock, accompanied by
Mrs. and the Misses Warren, Major-General and Mrs.
Ellice, Captain and Mrs. Brand, and a numerous party of
friends. Preparation:, had been previously made for the
ceremony of naming, the bottle of wine for the occasion
being decorated with white and purple ribbons.
Every arrangement being completed, her name was
given from the "altar" by Miss Warren, and the " last
tic that bound her to this earth" being cut at fifteen mi-
nutes to six, after a short pause, she glided from her cradle,
slow first, then fast and faster still, till with a majestic
plunge. she at nine minutes to six descended into her na-
tural element amid the cheers and shouts of the assembled
thousands, which sounded from ship to ship, and from
shore to shore. Mr. Hawkes immediately received con-
gratulations from Admiral Warren, General Ellice, and the
officers and gentlemen around him, on the success that had
attended the launch, and the majestic spectacle that it had
afforded.
It is almost impossible to calculate the number of spec-
tators who witnessed the launch, but counting those who
were present both on land and water, it could not have
fallen below 50,000, of whom we should think 30,000 must
have been in the Dock-yard. We are happy to say, that
we have heard of no accident of a serious nature having
occurred.
This fine ship, as already stated, carries ninety-two
guilt, and the weight of each breadside is 1,6521b5. There
are only two other ships similar to the Nile in the service,
these are the Rodney, at present in the Mediterranean,
and the London, building at Chatham. They were all
constructed by Sir Robert Seppings, the late Surveyor of
the Navy. The fine and effective round stern of the Nile
is that of T. Roberts, Esq., the late builder of this dock-
yard, at present residing in this borough. She was laid
down in 1827, and her completion has been under the
superintendence of Mr. Watts, foreman of the new work,
from the College of Naval Architecture. After quitting
the stocks she was received by A. Lumadale, Esq., the
Master Attendant, who was most active in performing his
part of the important duties of the day.

Lord Albert Conyngham has paired off for the
rest of the session wiih Mr. Blakemore.
REPRESENTATION OF WEST SOMERSET.—
I quite time that the Liberal Electors of West Somer-
set
tis quite
look out for another candidate, to place by the
side of Mr. Sanford. If the Tories had been content
with one, perhaps it would have been as well to have
remained as we are, without the disturbance and cost of a •
contest. But, as they persist in their endeavours to
monopolize the representation, they must be boldly met,
and subjected to the cost of the fight they have provoked.
The last election cost them fourteen thousand pounds—they
could not fight another battle of two against two for less.
Mr. Acland cannot, or will not, find funds—Mr. Dickin-
son will scarcely be soft enough to pay the piper. The
party who bled so profusely last time will be loathe to
bleed again, and without money the Tories can do nothing
—it was money only that carried the last election for
them, and by money only could they succeed in the next. If
they are so anxious to spend another fourteen thousand
pounds, let not the Liberals disappoint them. As the
Tories have announced their candidate, let the Liberals
have theirs, and even if it be resolved to spend nothing but
the Sheriff's fees, the right feeling of the electors must be
appealed to, and the county polled to the last man. If the.
Tories are so eager for the fray, they may at last be made
to pay dearly for it. Let this also be remembered Mr.
Acland has now, in the House of Commons, avowed him.
self one of the Oxford Papists. No Methodist, no Protes-
tantannoduLanlds it o b
who
otacke thenow dutyledge of men to reads the Bible as
ther rCulheuoref
and construe it. for themselves, can henceforth vote for Mr.
Acland.—Somerset County Gazette.
Tit
some tasteless N N
LSO
wiseacresl‘i°l'lU T.—lf the opinion
of am
be correct, High Art" con-
-1 sists in lifting a statue two hundred feet from the sea-
level. The best mode, therefore, of attaining elevated
sE
sculpture, is to stick a black marble figure on the top of a
tall factory-chimney ;—a plan combining the two grand
desiderata, height and cheapness.—Sunderland Herald.