The Sun.
London, England, 1862-01-21 00:00:00

PRICE..... -...4d.
STAMPED ....sd.

The 62d left for St. Andrew's, New Brunswick (a
small port nearer the American border than St.
John's), whence they have been conveyed by rail to
Woodstock, where the march to Canada begins.
They will be put through by companies, and after
one regiment has passed the road will be
very good. The 63d are to leave shortly
for the same place. The harbour of St. Andrew's
is too shallow to allow such ships as the Adriatic
to go in there.

All those troops intended for Canada would have
been comfortably lodged in Quebec and Montreal
within a couple of days after their arrival here, if
we had a railway to join the Grand Trunk line at
Riviere du Loup, thus making us independent of
the Americans at all seasons. There are delegates
now in England, reiterating our frequent petition
for Imperial aid to carry out this undertaking. We
have built a portion of the line, and so has New
Brunswick, but neither province has the means to
continue the good work without assistance from the
home Government. We should become bankrupt
in the attempt. The necessity of this line being
completed was never more apparent than at the pre-
sent time, and I venture to say the difference in the
cost of sending all these soldiers and stores to Canada
by the tedious and hazardous route that is being
adopted would go far to satisfy our demands. In
fact, the only practicable communication between
Canada and England is through the United States,
and up to the present moment not a single com-
pany of soldiers has been got over the road to
Riviere du Loup. The difficulties and dangers of
this route are greater than is thought in England,
and a handful of determined men could render it
impossible for our troops to traverse such a country
at this season. Let us hope some steps will be taken
in the spring to commence this national work, for
such it is, and then, in a few years, the whole of
British America will have free access to the Atlantic
through this harbour, the finest in America. Until
this is done, the task of holding Canada against the
Americans will be a far more difficult task than we
are willing to admit.—l remain, Sir, your obedient
servant, A NOVA SCOTIAN.
Halifax.

THE DREADFUL COLLIERY ACCIDENT

IN NORTHUMBERLAND,

SHIELDS, MONDAY, 8 A.M.
A telegraphic message, sent last night to London,
stated that a fall in the shaft on Saturday night
had prevented the sinkers going on with the re-
moval of the bratticing. The same state of suspense
obtained until about 5 o'clock this morning. It
seems that the shaft of the pit was cribbed round
with oak timber, which was carefully planked in
the fore part. The engine-beam, in its terrific fall
down the shaft, carried much of this timber and
planking with it, exposing the strata, which hap-
pened to be of large loose stones. A perfect torrent
of water runs down the sides of the shaft, and this
water washed the stones out, which made it im-
possible for the working parties to go on without
loss of life until the stone was all carefully bratticed
up, which has been done under the direction of Mr.
Coulson, the master sinker; and as it is now per-
fectly complete and safe it is expected the work of
removal will go on rapidly. In fact, some good
lifts of timber have been made this morning. Mr.
Coulson informed your correspondent this morning,
about 7 o'clock, that the sinkers were within 12
feet of the furnace drift, and the greatest confidence
is expressed that when they reach it immediate
communication can be opened with the men and
lads below in the yard seam ; and, even if they
cannot get them up thence to bank, strong active
relays of pitmen and miners can soon clear the shaft
from the yard seam. The yard seam at the face of
the coal is three feet in height ; but there is an
arched way in it leading from the shaft to the
staple, up which the men are supposed to have
escaped from the low main, only six feet in height.
The whole of the buried party, if alive and in the
yard seam, will be gathered together in the arched
way. It is not known whether they will have a
fire, but it is certain they will have a good supply
of oil for their lamps for some days to come.

Mr. Telford and and some of the most experienced
viewers and overmen in the steam coalfield were
assembled at the pit this morning, ready as soon as
the obstruction is cleared away down to:the furnace
drift to work their way through in search of the
lost party. • . . _ _ _

Mr. Foster, with Mr. Atkinson, the Government
Inspector of Mines, and a large party of gentlemen
experienced in the working of mines, arrived at the
spot at 7 o'clock this morning.
The bodies of the five men killed in the shaft on
Thursday were brought up from the high seam this
morning, and removed to their homes.
The labours of the past four days in the shaft have
gone on with wonderful order and regularity. There
has been no noise or confusion at bank, as the rub-
bish sent up the shaft bas been stowed away in the
high seam ; the only sounds breaking the silence at
the pit mouth, which has been kept quite clear of
idlers and lookers on by the police, being the shouts
of the workmen—" Bend up the gin ;" " Bend up
the Jack ;" " Heave up the crab." After Friday
night the wives and children of the buried work-
men were induced to leave the pit head and have
been kept away, which has been a great relief to the
working party. Dr. Davison, the colliery surgeon,
relieved now and then by Dr. Pyle and other sur-
geons, has been in attendance for any emergency
since the first hour that he received information of
the catastrophe. Mr. Carr, Mr. Humble, and the
other officials of the pit appear to be nearly worn
out with their four nights and days' labour and
anxiety. Mr. Coulson, however, the master sinker,
who has had vast experience in shaft work, and
undo whose directions the tedious process of re-
moving the obstruction has been conducted, is bear-
ing up well. The anxiety of every one connected
with the district is becoming more intense every
hour as time wears on, and the fate of the poor men
and lads still hangs in the balance. Last night, the
fourth of weary watching by the families of the
entombed men, was one of extreme anguish in their
homes, though hope and the report of the jowling
of the buried men in the shaft keep up the hearts
of the poor women and children wonderfully.
Very many of the men have families, and, indeed,
they number nearly the whole working male
population of the village. One poor woman has a
husband and six children, with a boy, whom she
and her husband had brought up, buried in the pit,
and many other persons are in no better position.
One man is reported to have taken his little boy
down with him at 9 o'clock on Thursday morning
to show him the pit, little more than an hour be-
fore the accident took place. It has not been ascer-
tained whether the broken half of the engine beam
is in the shaft or has fallen to the bottom of the pit.
If it fell to the bottom of the pit, however, the men
there would be warned by the thundering noise of
the material brought down the shaft with it, and
would get out of its way. The beam was of cast
iron, and, as already rei )orted the arm that has
broken off weighed 21 tons. Practical men who
have examined the half from which the fallen mass
broke off, describe it as of good metal. There is no
appearance, they state, of an old fracture or flaw ;
and no sufficient reason has been assigned for its
suddenly breaking at the axle. The pumping
engine at Hartley Colliery is ono of the most power-
ful in the coal trade. The beams of the larger
pumping engines that have subsequently been put
up in the Northumberland Steam Coalfield have
been made of malleable iron. Hai tley Colliery has
been very costly to its present owners in conse
quence of the immense quantity of water flowing
into it; and the huge pumping engine, the broken
beam of which has been the cause of the present
terrible disaster, had been at work about six years.
The loss that is likely to arise to the owners from
the present calamity will be extremely severe, for
the amount of water flowing into the mine may be