The Sun.
London, England, 1863-07-08 00:00:00

SECOND EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, HALF-PAST 4 O'CLOCK.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE—This Day,

NEWMARKET RACES—TII' DAY.
SWEEPSTAKES OF 10 SOVS.
Chevalier d'lndustrie
Rest'
3
La Medora
HANDICAP PLATE.

Waterwitch ..............
2
Spark
3
Meriden

Eleven ran,
STAMFORD PLATE.

Arg0naut................

Five ran.

DREADFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

crnoeTlnl
ihewer
yhadjourned
u, innnieqoarurteußs
nt
Briton
ttpoeolnyn the bodies of the six
26 th nit., was held in the Town-hall, killed
Drry, on FArtrhei Friday,
hyPark
ne
Monday last, before Mr. Alex. Cuthbertson, coroner.'
Mr. Thomas Evans, the Government inspector of
the South Wales district, was present to watch the
proceedings on
of behalf of the Crown, and Mr. J. R.
or,
ofSwansea,
l Messrs.
rn s behalf
Thomas,
the
Son,
and
pro-
prietorsTripp'soliit
of the colliery,
Co. The evidence was exceedingly
Ae
voluminous, but
the facts may be briefly stated.the
of
F evidenceri
given it
iappearsssrs. T thatthehomasand Co.,
Park Colliery isthe pro-
perty
From
andh
of Aeas
beencorn
paratively recently opened. The explosion occurred n
morningabout a quarter to 8 o'clock on the morning
Fri-
day, and took place in the east side of the six-feet
vein, where fourteen men were then at work..
Wm. Woozley was the general manager of the
colliery, and be deposed that the six-feet vein
was considered a " fiery" or dangerous working
place, and the men were consequently required
to work with locked safety lamps. This rule,
however, did not seem to have been invariably
attended to, as on the previous day some of
the men were working in the three-feet vein
with their lamps uncovered. William Thomas
acted as the overman ateut two days before the
accident, but had been engaged in the pit for four
or five months before, and knew the whole of the
workings. He had not any special directions given
him about the lamps, as he was supposed to know
the duties of overman. The rules regulating the
colliery required the overman to inspect the whole
of the working places before the men descended the
pit in the morning. William Thomas, the overman,
went down the pit about 7 in the morning. Several
workmen went down in the cage with him, and
others followed immediately, but they remained at
the bottom of the shaft, and did not proceed to work.
There were 24 men in the pit at the time of the ex-
plosion, 14 being in the six-feet vein. Of these 14
three were killed on the spot, viz,, Richard Edwards
(suffocated), 54 ; Thomas Griffiths (suffocated), 41 ;
and Francis Jenkins (suffocated), 18. Six others
were also dangerously burnt, of whom three have
since died, making six deaths. The whole distance
to be traversed by the overman in inspecting ale
workings was about 470 yards, and it would take
him about half an hour. The overman had special
instructions given him not to allow the men to go
to work until he reported all safe. The day before
the accident he (William Woozley) was in the pit,
and considered it quite safe for the men to work.
Believed the colliery properly ventilated, consider-
ing its size. The safety lamps were not locked on
the moment of the accident. He found some li tle
gas in the pit on the Thursday evening, but did not
consider it dangerous ; some of the men were work-
ing in the three-feet vein without the lamps being
covered, but he did not find fault with them for
so doing. William Thomas, upon being examined,
said he had only acted as overman for two days
before the accident. He went to the pit some-
what later than usual on the morning of the ac-
cident, and on the way he was met by Mr. Wooz-
ley, the manager, who told him to make haste, as
he feared an accident. He went down the pit, and
found that several men were then sitting at the bot-
tom of the shaft. He told them to sit where they
were, and not to go to work until he retired from
inspecting the works. He examined the three-feet
vein first, and when there heard the " puff of fire "
come from the six-feet vein. He admitted that it
was his duty to see that all the lamps were locked
before the men went to work. Had, not locked any
of the lamps that morning. He found some gas in
some of the stalls when he examined the colliery in
the morning. Believed the colliery sufficiently ven-
tilated. A door had been put at the bottom of the
pit since the accident. Could not say whether that
had improved the ventilation. John Evans, a col-
lier at work in the west heading at the time of the
explosion, stated that he left his work about five
o'clock on the evening previous to the explosion.
There was gas in his heading when he left, but he
kept it down by brushing it out with his waistcoat.
The overman knew this very well. Some of the men
went down the pit on t.he morning of the accident
before the overman. W. Thomas, the overman, told
witness not to go to work until after he came back;
but two men, not hearing these orders, went to the
six-feet vein before the return of the overman, d
the explosion occurred immediately. He found gas
whiche n e whenthe i broughtciu r
inquiry
wat to tande.
in his stall on the morning of the. ex lesion, and was
obliged to brush the gas out wit his jacket. The
lamps were not locked.
He
hadgreat difficulty in
froerceaivevedeek, in order to obtain the evidence
One man lost his way and was
mouth of the
r.pit.
whitby described the nature of the
suffocated.
getting out,
Dr.
injured to attend and
u n and
waasfteinrs
jof two workmen too severely
give evidence. The inquiry creates considerable in-
terest in the district. The proceedings o •
t Monday
occupied six hours.

SHIPPING—This Day.

BY MAGNETIC TELEGRAPH.

GRAVESEND, Wednesday Morning.
Arrived, July B—Harvest, from Freddrickshald ; Frede-
rica from Remidos ; Twe 'Lusters, from Worcum ; Maria,
from St. Petersburg.
Sailed, July B—Barbata, for Rio Janeiro; Belgium
(steamer), for Ostend ; Rhine (steamer), for Boulogne ;
City of Hamburg (steamer), for Havre.

DEAL, Wednesday Morning.
Passed—Albion, from Colombo, for London ; New La-
press, brig, from the West for the North; Kelpie, for
Bathurst; Coral Isle, for Bermuda; War Eagle, for Liver-
pool; Arrow of Brigham, for Cardiff--all from London ;
Deerfoot, from Kastenje ; Damio, from the West—both for
London ; P. F. Q. It.. Commercial Code, from the North,
for the West.

THE BLACK TROOPS AT PORT HUDSON.—A letter
has been received in Liverpool from New Orleans,
in which it is stated that in the late battle in which so many
negroes were killed, the negro corps were forced on to the
conflict by the Federals at the point of the bayonet; that
on their approach the Confederates reserved their fire till
the unhappy blacks were close to the muzzles of the guns,
which were then ffred upon them with most destructive
effect, and they were driven back with great loss. As they
retreated they were met by the Federals and again forced
back to the fight at the point of the bayonet.
AN INCIDENT IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS.—
Yesterday, at the morning sitting, a somewhat
curious incident occurred in the House of Commons, involv-
ing a violation of one of the standing orders of the house.
It is known to those who are in the habit of attending the
House of Commons that immediately after prayers the
Speaker takes his seat at the clerk's table, and sits there
until 40 members are present, that number being necessary
to make " a house." During that period of waiting no
member who has entered the house must leave it until
the required 40 are present, and if a member, through
ignorance or forgetfulness of the standing orders, ventures
towards the door, he is politely requested by the ser-
geant-at-arms to retire to his seat. Yesterday, at ten
minutes past twelve, there were not more than 2O
Lmemode-
bers present, when Sir William Dunbar, the%
andr
of the Treasury, hastily left the Ministeri.al
dweepnuttyousterogfetahnet,hwouhsoewuanspeinrceait%endhdbatynheCaeapti‘air. Cibco.seFeof,rstthere
and Col. French. communicated w
annudn offb_o 7,
much
sn t the
, taie"eLto'rdwohfothheaTdrebaeseuniru
[ Sir Harrington,
William
pthe course of a few minutes
incautious
h .
ywee.haownyt
eovlbeltarhaes
esk.
tailnmet
amusement
others tet
hdh ietchnhcotn
ieuuor res:
weel
bi,hrytecleoruamsCi7s_asewimP
dot-at-fie
fly informed of the mistake missedenatn:higiumi nin searchth e l oobfb yt h.
e iSuogoi Soon
afterwards who appa
rabdeteo.ntroesr;wpcaerraendpsj
seot n.yaetG,hdoomtsubsaseedet
ashiavisri
nf
as
ogrui e
d:.
tly
I not ()facia
Lord of the Treasury had made.—lliontng ,port,