The Sun.
London, England, 1847-12-09 00:00:00

THE FLOODING OF THE COAL

I MINES AT WIG AN.
The disasters created ny the do-ding of the
mines at Wigan have, since Saturday last, been in-
creased in a tenfold manner. We are glad, however,
to state that there ha 3 been no further loss of life.
The pumping water out of the pit where the unfortu-
nate colliers are immured continued with unabated
activity up to Saturday afternoon ; still the quantity
of water in the shaft, as far as we could learn, had
not been much reduced from what it was the pre-
vious Friday. On Saturday evening the rain again
fell in torrents ; and about eleven o'clock the water
rose above the banks of the Douglas, and, despite all
efforts to check it, again entered the hollows with
fearful violence. It reached Messrs. W. Lancaster
and Co.'s pit at four o'clock on Sunday morning
when it rolled into the shaft in large quantities,
and by noon had filled it on a level with the 4-foot
mine, the water being 130 yards doep. The noise
then ceased, but the water continued to rise in
the shaft, bacled Into Messrs. Preston's 4-foot
mine, which is a little higher, and has since filled all
the mines and hollows in the neighbourhood, where no
impediment or " fault " stands in the way of its pro-
gress. On Saturday night, during the whole of
Sunday and Sunday night, great exertions were
made to check the entrance of the water from the
river into the hollows; piles were driven, a space
three yards thick was puddled with clay to back up
the piles, and at least seventy large bags of cotton
were thrown into the hollows. Still, when the
strength of the stream abated, the water forced its
way beneath the clay, and rolled into the mines during
the whole of Sunday, and was not checked until
early on Monday morning. By this time a
second barrier of thick planks and piles, braced
together, had been made in the field to back up the
puddling of clay ; but again the heavy rains destroyed
all. Before nine o'clock on Monday morning the
stream had risen above its banks, the barriers were
broken in, and the waters entered the mines in larger
quantities than ever, and continued to do so
during Monday and Monday night ; for, in the
then state of the river, all hopes of stopping it
was abandoned. Many of the shafts at the coal-
pits are filled on a level with the Douglas, and the
water has, no doubt, backed into all the workings
under the town and neighbourhood, and into all the
crevices made in the rocks and other strata by the
draining of the mines during the last century. On
Monday great fears were entertained that the roofing
of the hollows would give way in other places ;
policemen were stationed to prevent parties passing
between the river and the dam adjoining Mr. Park s
forge, and some cottages in the neighbourhood were
abandoned by the tenants. The bed of the river, and
most of the property adjacent, appears to be under-
mined, and in some places the ri ver bottom is worn so
thin that only a very few inches of slate or rock sup-
port the water, and keep it out of the mines. These old
mines were formerly the property of Mr. Jeffrey Lang-
sha w, who was a bailiff of Wigan in 1806, and about that
time, we are told, these mines were in full work. The
small field in which the roofs have given way, is now the
property of Messrs. Eccles, spinners, and in it are
built the mills and large warehouses of the firm. The
mine, which appears to crop out in a part of this
field, falls in the direction of Ince, where, at Messrs.
Lancaster and Co.'s pit, it is seventy yards below the
surface; and, above it, in that part of the district,
there are other mines, which have been and are still
in working. The coalmasters had a meeting at the
Royal Hotel, on Monday, to consider on what steps
to take for their mutual benefit. It was determined
to proceed again on Tuesday (yesterday) with the
necessary repairs on the river bank, to examine and
secure its foundation ; and that all parties should set
their engines and pumps in order, and work simul-
taneously and vigorously together until the mines
were again cleared of water. Accordingly a great
number of men were actively at work yesterday ; and
should the weather prove favourable, there is little
doubt but their dear-bought experience will enable
them to successfully carry eut their operations.
Manchester Guardian of yesterday.

UNFINISHED PUBLIC WORKS IN

IRELAND.
A deputation of Irish Members of Parliament bad
an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer
on Tuesday, for the purpose of urging the propriety
of the Government making the necessary advances
to complete the unfinished presentments under the
Labour-rate Act.

The following gentlemen attended :—Mr. G. A.
Hamilton, Mr. E. B. Roche, Mr. H. Grattan, Mr.
Herbert, Mr. Charles Clements, Sir R. Ferguson, Sir
L. O'Brien, Sir Percy Nugent, Mr. W. Fagan, Mr.
John O'Brien, the Honourable Mr. Caulfield, Mr.
O'Flaherty, Mr. St. George, Mr. Grace, and Mr.
Tennisson.

The deputation repeated the statements made by I
them a few days since, when they were favoured
with an interview of the Irish Secretary, Sir William
Somerville. What they required was an advance of
money to complete the unfinished works which had
been presented for under the Labour-rate Act, not by
grant, but by loan, which the country was willing,
and would be ready to repay. In their present con-
dition those presentments were a waste of property,
perilous to life, and an utter forfeiture of past heavy
expenditure. It was estimated that an inconsiderable
sum, as compared with the outlay already made,
would complete them, and that it was false and mis-
calculating economy for the Government now to
withhold the necessary aid. The Bill contemplated
to be introduced by the Government for enabling the
counties of Ireland to present for their unfinished
roads would, in the present prostrate condition of the
country, be found unavailing, unless accompanied by
the necessary advances for their execution, which
shall be punctually repaid by yearly instalments, as
had been done in all former advances under the Board
of Works.

Mr. John O'Brien, Sir Lucius O'Brien, and other
members of the deputation, suggested that such a
course would be a prudent security for the repayment
to the Government of its past advances, which they
apprehended an insurpassable difficulty in collecting,
should the landed proprietors and rate-payers of the
country feel that they had derived no advantage from
the outlay, and that it had been expended in the
creation of public nurseries, for in no other light
could unfinished presented works be otherwise consi-
dered, and the destruction of the public thorough-
fares. They added that the question was one of
urgency, for the unfinished works were rapidly de-
teriorating, and it was no exaggeration to say that
each month's delay added 20,0001. or 30,0001. of
future additional outlay to the already over-burdened
resources of the country.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer entered fully
into the question submitted for his consideration ;
and while he regretted that, from the financial con-
dition of the country, it would be altogether imprac-
ticable to make additional advances of the public
money for completing unfinished public works in
Ireland, he promised to extend aid, on the security of
the county rates, towards the completion of a due
proportion of those works, according as the first ad-
vances were repaid.
The deputation said that of course those re-ad-
vances would be found serviceable to a certain extent,
but they urged on the Chancellor of the Exchequer
that he should, in addition, enable the counties of
Ireland to borrow, from private parties, on the secu-
rity of the county rates, funds sufficient to complete
the works still remaining unfinished.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer said that Ite had
prepared a Bill, enabling grand juries to make pre-
sentments for the purpose, and he would be prepared

to submit its details for the consideration of the
House on an early day.
The deputation then retired.

COMMISSION OF LUNACY.

Yesterday a commission of lunacy, opened on Thurs-
day last, the 2d inst., was resumed at the Swan Tavern,
Fulham, before Mr. Commissioner Barlow, to inquire
into the state of mind of Mr. John Wood Willie, a re-
tired surgeon in the East India Company's service, late
of Hollywood place, Fulham-road, and now an inmate of
Kensington House Asylum, Kensington.
Mr. Edwin James attended as counsel, and Mr.
A shurst, as the solicitor, in support of the commission,
and Mr. Sergeant Allen and Mr. Stinton appeared to
watch the case on the part of Mrs. Willie, the wife of the
alleged lunatic.
Before the proceedings were commenced the alleged
lunatic was ushered into the room, and accommodated
with a seat next to the Learned Commissioner.

The jury having been sworn, and the Lord Chance'
lor's commission read,

Mr. Willie said he must beg leave to quit the room, as
he would not sanction by his presence the proceedings,
and accordingly left the room.
_ _ _

From the evidence it appeared Mr. Willie, who had
been in the East India Company's service, fancied the
officers of that company were persecuting him; that he
had married one of his servants, to whom he had given
large sums of money; that ho was in the habit of hunt-
ing for devils about the house; and that his conduct was
generally' very wild.
The Learned COMMISSIONER briefly summed up, the
jury not requiring him to go into the evidence, and on
his concluding the room was cleared for the jury to con-
sider their verdict.
Captain Bagne, R.N., the foreman, said the jury were
unanimously of opinion that Mr. Willie was of unsound
mind, and incapable of ntanagina himself or his affairs,
and had been so from the Ist of February, 1845.
The inquiry then terminated.

ELECTRIC TELEGRAPH IN THE UNITED STATES.—
The following is a table of the electric wires finished, in
progress, and contemplated, as far as is known :
Finished and working

In progress.
Contemplated 2,000

7,859
As many of these have two wires, the length of wire may
be safely estimated as exceeding eleven thousand miles.
—New York Herald.