The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, JANUARY 27, 1862.

disposal of the competitors by Earl Spencer, who
manifested throughout considerable interest In the
affair. Captain Landon marked at the butts on the
part of the Northamptonshire and Lord Suffield on
the part of the Norfolk competitors, and Colonel
Ibbetson, Inspector of Volunteers for the Eastern
District, acted as umpire. The Norfolk firing party
was commanded by Lieutenant• Colonel Viscount
Bury, M.P., and the Northamptonshire by Major
Earl Spencer and Lieutenant Beasley. The shoot-
ing was at ranges of 200, 400, 500, and 600 yards,
five rounds each. At the close of the shooting the
competitors on both sides were hospitably enter-
tained at dinner by Earl Spencer.
The St. Neots and liimbolton Volunteers were
inspected last week by the Duke of Manchester in
Great Staughton-park, the seat of Mr. D. Onlow.
The Duke, after inspecting the troops minutely,
put them through manual exercise and company
drill.

In Lincolnshire Captain Wingfield, who has re-
cently returned from a tour on the Continent, has
assumed the command of the Stamford corps for
the first time since his appointment. The non-
commissioned officers and men of the Falkingham
corps have entertained their officers at dinner. A
drill-sergeant, provided by Government, has been
stationed at Gainsborough, and has entered upon
the active performance of his duties.
In addition to the numerous and valuable prizes
which will be offered for competition by the Council
of the Wiltshire County Volunteer Rifle Association
at the annual county shooting match, to be held at
Salisbury during the present year, arrangements
are being made for providing a prize of 300 guineas,
open to all the world.
The annual meeting of the Glamorgan County
Rifle Association was held at Neath on Tuesday,
Colonel Talbot, M.P., in the chair. The report
showed that the annual income from subscriptions
was £407, and that there was a balance in hand of
£lOO. It was resolved to admit county militiamen
as members, and that subscriptions received from
Artillery Volunteers should be appropriated to
prizes for great gun practice. The annual meeting
to shoot for prizes was fixed for the week commen-
cing July 21.

The Baroness Windsor has given a shootin g ground
to the Redditch Rifle Corps. To provide a space
away from roads a patch of woodland has been
cleared, and butts are to be erected.

The Bristol Rifle Corps on Saturday took formal
possession of the commodious head quarters which
have been recently purchased by its members. They
are a fine and imposing site of buildings situate
midway between Bristol and its fashionable suburb
of Clifton, and were formerly known as the Bishop's
College, an educational institute. It having become
known that they were for sale, Captains Ford and
Wright, two officers of the rifle corps, animated
with the most patriotic and praiseworthy motives,
immediately purchased them, at their own risk, for
£5,400, and offered them to the corps at the same
price,each agreeing to take a large number of shares,
and the purchase money was raised in this manner:
—A meeting was held, and as a considerable sum of
money would be necessary to be expended to adapt
them to the purposes of the corps it was determined
to form a company, under the Limited Liability Act,
with a capital of £8,500, in £5 shares, which sum
was subscribed among the members of the corps,
numbering about 600, in eight days. It is also in-
tended to form a volunteer club, to which a large
number of names has already been sent in. On Sa-
turday the corps mustered in strong force on the
ground at the rear of the new head quarters, and
Lieut.-Col. Bush, the respected commander, briefly
addressed them, congratulating them upon their
having taken possession of those really imposing and
commodious head quarters, and acknowledging the
praiseworthy manner in which all had come for-
ward and aided in raising the capital for their pur-
chase. The corps then proceeded on a march, and
were subsequently dismissed in the city. A prelimi-
nary meeting was held at Bristol on Friday, the
Mayor in the chair, for the purpose of making ar-
rangements for the successful carrying out of the
volunteer review which is to be held on Durdham-
down early in the ensuing summer. It was calcu-
lated that 10,000 volunteers would join in it,of which
number Bristol would furnish over 1,000. The meet-
ing was addressed by his worship the Mayor, the
High Sheriff, Lieut.-Col. Bash (Rifles), and Major
Savile (Engineers and Artillery), and a committee
was appointed for carrying out the details and col-
lecting subscriptions to defray the contingent ex-
penses.

The annual meeting of the Devon Volunteer As-
sociation was held at the Castle of Exeter on Fri-
day afternoon. The Earl of Devon presided. The
noble chairman stated that the total strength of the
Volunteer force in the county of Devon amounted to
3,590 men. The report, after giving details of the
past year's operations, addressed an earnest appeal
to the county for a liberal and permanent augmen-
tation of the funds of the association. They rested
this appeal on the broad ground that the Volunteer
force of this country, improving, as was the case,
month by month, in discipline, skill, and efficiency,
was to be regarded, not as the creation of a tem-
porary enthusiasm, or a bulwark against a passing
danger, but rather as a permanent and effective part
of the defensive system of the empire. The report,
moved by Lord Seymour and seconded by Mr. T.
Newman, was unanimously adopted. Several prac-
tical questions with reference to improvements in
rifle shooting were afterwards discussed by Colonel
Acland, Major Vivian, Sir J. Duckworth, Mr.
Northmore, and others.

The Richmond (North York) Volunteers gave a
grand ball on Thursday in the Assembly-rooms,
when a very numerous company assembled.
The 31st West York (Tadcaster) Volunteers
opened a grand bazaar on Wednesday in the Town
Hall. The stalls were supplied with about £2OO
worth of goods, which were sold by a committee of
ladies. A fine collection of pictures, by Ward, Her-
ring, Poussin, Teniers, and Sir J. Reynolds, was
exhibited. From noon till 9 p.m. the room was
filled.

The 3d company of Darlington Volunteers is be-
ing rapidly raised. Another meeting has been held,
this time at Banktop, at which Capt. Spark, Lieut.
Benson, and Ensign Plews were present. Several
Volunteers were obtained, and in a week or so it is
thought the full complement of men will be raised.
Mr. G. J. Scuifield was elected Captain of the new
company.

THE ARMY MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.

We learn from the Medical Times and Gazette that a
paragraph has appeared in one of the morning papers
which promises a speedy and favourable answer to the just
demands which have been lately urged by our brethren of
the Army Medical Department. We noticed in our num-
ber of last week that Sir George Lewis, in answer to the
deputation which waited upon him, stated that the ques-
tion hakbeen referred by the Government to a select com-
mittee. It is now said that the proceedings of the com-
mittee have so far progressed that their decision is no
longer in doubt, and that that decision is substantially in
accordance with the representations of the medical
officers, who are to be replaced in the position to which
they were advancel by her Majesty's original warrant.
It is to be hoped that this is so, but as yet there
has been no public official announcement of the fact,
and we believe we are right in asserting that no such an-
nouncement has been received by the department. We
cannot suppose that it will be permitted by the military
authorities permanently to set at nought the provisions of
a royal warrant. If the medical officers of the army are
thus to be deprived of the rank which the Queen graciously
conferred on them, the increased pay and other privileges
granted by the warrant may also one by one be rescinded,
and the medical service reduced to the level it occupied be-
fore the Crimean war. By prompt and satisfactory con-
cession on the part of the War Office, the feelng of doubt
and disappointment which has lately prevailed would at
once be removed, and an appointment in the medical ser-
vice of the army would again be justly held a reward
worthy to attract men of the highest general and profes-
sional attainments.

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THE DREADFUL COLLIERY A CCIDENT
IN NORTHUMBERLAND.

NEWCASTLE, SATURDAY NIGHT.

Another act in this sad tragedy has been accom-
plished. During last night the men employed in
clearing the shaft made progress in restoring the
ventilation, and early this morning they had carried
the brattice work so far as to enable them to get at
the bodies without danger. A few of them were
found lying among the ashes of the furnace, but the
greater part were lying in the yard seam, within a
short distance from the shaft. The first man was
found sitting on a coal seat, his head resting on his
arm in a posture of calm repose, and immediately
behind him was a whole row of corpses seated on
the ground with their backs against the wall of
coal. Further on were three or four rows of dead
men lying pele mele, with legs interlaced, some
with their heads lying on others' breasts, some
locked in each other's arms. It was almost impos-
sible to get any description of the terrible scene be-
low from those who were engaged in the duty of
removing the corpses, so much were they affected
by what they had seen ; but from the general ap-
pearance of the men there can be no doubt that all
of them died from the effects of the gas, and died
quietly and calmly. There is every reason to be-
lieve—and it is a merciful supposition—that in
most instances their agonies would not be pro-
longed beyond Saturday. Signals, it is said, were
heard up to Sunday, and perhaps a few of the
strongest might have struggled against the deadly
vapour longer than the rest.
Though there might have been a considerable
body of pure air shut up in the workings when the
fall took place, yet the 205 men and boys and the 30
horses would soon consume this; and as the yard
seam, in which they took refuge, generates carbonic
acid gas in large quantities, the atmosphere of
their living prison would very soon be fatal.
It is the single consolatory thought in the whole
of this terrible calamity that they were spared the
prolonged agonies of starvation, and their passage
from life to death was early and painless.
This all the appearances warrant us in believing,
and it is the opinion of all the experienced
persons whom I have questioned on the point.
When the workings were effectually cleared of the
gas to allow the men to remain in them for any time
preparations were immediately made at the pit's
mouth for the reception of the bodies. During the
whole of the day and night previous special engines
had been arriving at the colliery with a load of
coffins. These were moved up to a convenient posi-
tion, and at last it was proposed that they should
be lowered down into the pit and the bodies placed
in them there. When it was found, however, that
the process of decomposition had not gone too far,
it was determined to bring the bodies to bank and
identify them there. It was about half-past 10
when the first was brought up, and from then till
the time I write the process has been going on
without interruption. The tidings of the rapid
progress of the sinkers had been spread abroad far
and wide, and from earliest dawn the crowd round
the pit head had been increasing. From every
quarter they tramped in, and by 10 o'clock there
must have been close upon 5,000 people present.
During the past week it has been very difficult to
restrain the impatience of the men at the length-
ened delay which has taken place in reaching the
bodies, and it was expected at this painful moment
there would have been an outburst. Within the
last two or three days, however, growing more
reasonable, they have expressed themselves satisfied
with the operations, slow and wearisome though
they have been ; and throughout the whole of the
last sad stage their demeanour was admirable. Oc-
casionally a stifled groan or hysteric cry would be
heard from the crowd as some well-known face
slowly rose out of the dark chasm, but for the most
part a reverent silence was kept throughout. With
the shaft in its present condition it was found im-
possible to lower a cage of the usual character, and
the bodies were brought up in slings passed under
the armpits. As each came to earth it was unslung,
wrapped in a winding sheet, and placed in the coffin
which stood by on a truck. As each was identified
his name was chalked on the coffin, and it was
wheeled away from the platform and delivered over
to the friends who stood waiting outside the bar-
rier. The bodies of those men wbo lived in the
village hard by were carried there at once, and for
others, who came from a distance, there were hearses
and carts in waiting. Still, this process was slow,
and in leaving the colliery to get to the railway
station your path lay through long lines of piled-up
coffins, some of which had already received their
ghastly burden, and others were standing ready for
it. They were made in a pecaliar fashion, the head
part opening out on a hinge, so that it might readily
be turned back for the relatives to cast a last look
on the features of the dead. Some of the bodies
were more decomposed than others, but on none had
the gas had such an effect as to make their features
ur.recognizable. There were none of those horrible
sights seen after explosions of firedamp, when
all semblance of humanity is destroyed by the fiery
blast. Most of the bodies brought up yesterday
wore the appearance of men who had gone off in a
calm sleep ; some few were discoloured, but on
none of the features were there any other signs.
Before I turn gladly from these sickening details
I may mention, in confirmation of what I said
above as to the early advent of death, that out of
the pockets of some of the men as they were taken
from the slings fell corn and other provender which
they had taken from the stables below, thus show-
ing that they were released before there was time
for them to suffer from hunger. About ten bodies
an hour are brought to bank, and by to-morrow
morning all the bodies of those who made their
escape into the middle seam will have been re-
covered. I am sorry to say that there is reason
to fear that some of the men who were
at the bottom of the shaft waiting to be
taken up were surprised by the fall there, and
would have their retreat to the middle seam cut off.
If that would be the case they would perish mise-
rably by drowning, as the water rose slowly on
the stoppage of the pumps, and their bodies will
not be recovered until the shaft is perfectly cleared.
A meeting of the colliers and other workmen was
held to-day at Newcastle. They expressed them-
selves entirely satisfied with the arrangements
made at the meeting for the relief of the widows
and orphans, and a resolution was adopted calling
on the working men throughout the district to
raise subscriptions in aid of the fund. some of the
speakers strongly condemned the single shaft sys-
tem, and it was resolved to present a petition to
Parliament praying for a select committee to in-
quire into the general question, with a view to spe-
cial legislation for the prevention of similar acci-
dents. Mr. Dunn, the Government Inspector, was
present. It would seem that the attention of the
Government has already been directed to the sub-
ject, and that they contemplate legislation, as a
letter from Sir G. Grey to the inspector—appa-
rently a circular letter intended for all the inspec-
tors—was read, directing him to make a return to
the Home-office of all the pits in his district which
are worked by a single shaft, with their depth and
means of ventilation, and asking for his opinion as
to the expediency of an enactment that all pits shall
be worked by two shafts.
The subscription list amounts now to between
£4,000 and £5,000, including the following sums:—
Her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen, £2OO ; his
Grace the Duke of Northumberland, £300; the
Right Hon. Earl of Durham, £200; collected in the
London Stock Exchange, £5OO ; the Common Coun-
cil of the City of London, per the Lord Mayor, £105;
the Elswick Ordnance Company, £105; the owners
of Bebside, Choppington, and Walker Collieries,
L. Pattinson, .£lO5 ; Messrs. Bell
Blrlootsh;erMrs,lllgh
£105; Messrs. John Bowes and Partners,
£1095 ; Messrs. Walker, Parker, and Co, £lO5 ,
Messrs. R. and W. Hawthorn and Co., £lO5 ; Sir M.
W. Ridley, M -p
£100; the Birtley Iron Company
an d Owners of Oulston Colliery, £100; Messrs. James
Coal Company,
cm rpaasvn
syb, 1
andoo ; Messrs. Woods and Co.,
SoiceY and Co, £lOO ; the Cowpcn and North Seaton
ay,
£ll3O ; Mr. George Crawshay, London, £100; Messrs.
Hawke,
Sons, £100; Messrs. Lamb-
ton and Co., £100; Sir W. G, Armstrong and Co.,
£52 10a ; Mr. R. 0. Lamb, £52 lOs ; Capt. Lamb,
£52 lOs ; the Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Dur-
ham, £5O; Mr. Joseph Laycock, £5O; Mews.

Hodgkin, Barnett, and Co., £5O ; Messrs. Finlay,
Hodgson, and Co., £5O; Mr. Clement Lister, £3O;
the Right Hon. Lord Di nevor, ; the Right
Hon. Lord Ravensworth, £25 ; Mr. John Clayton,
£25; Mr. Thomas E. Forger, £25.

The sympathy which her Majesty has shown
with the sufferers has excited the greatest gratitude
among all classes hero.
A large sum was distributed to-day among the
widows and others who have been left destitute by
the accident.
Collections will be made tc-morrow in all the
places of worship for miles round.