The Sun.
London, England, 1869-05-28 00:00:00

RITUALIST PRACTICES.

In the Court of Arches yesterday morning, before th
Right Hon. Sir R. Phillimore, an application was made
on the part of the Bishop of Winchester, who had promoted
the office of the judge, to his lordship to accept letters
of request against the Rev. Richard Hooker Edward
Wix, the vicar of the parish of St. Michael and All
Angels, Swantnore, in the Isle of Wight, for ritualistic
practices adopted in his church. The suit was commenced
under the Church Discipline Act.

Sir R. Phillimore said the Bishop of Winchester had
assigned various reasons for requesting that the case
should be tried in the Court of the Archbishop of the
Province. It was unnecessary to mention snore than
one—his bodily infirmity—which Sir R. Phillimore much
regretted. He had no doubt it was his duty to accept the
letters of request.

THE IRISH CHURCH BILL AND THE

LORDS.

What the Lords will do with the Bill, is still the
Undetermined question at the clubs. The latest gossip is
that Lord Cairns has soothed his party in Ireland, and
that such leaders of the Opposition as himself, Lord
Derby, and the Marquis of Salisbury are desi-
rous of not rejecting the bill on the second
reading, and are disposed to be absent on that occasion.
Mr. Disraeli, we understand, is inclined to this course,
but there is much difficulty experienced in commending it
to the violent spirits of the Tory party, who feel that
they are always abandoned by their leaders when the day
of battle arrives. If this is to happen, people begin to
ask, "Who, then, will be present?" and, as a stopgap,
the Duke of 'Wellington is mentioned. The report
is still current that most of the bishops will be con-
spicuous by their absence on the occasion of
the second reading, which, in its way, will be
an ecclesiastical event, and this bit of gossip
causes the Carlton Club to ask—" If the heads of the
Church dare not act on this occasion, when will they?"
The cynical remark is heard that the Bishop of Peter-
borough, who was so lately Dean of Cork, " intends to
speak rather as a good Christian than as an Orange.
man ;" and, lastly, it is repeated that Lord Westbury
is to appear as the friend of the absent bishops,
while it is whispered that the Bishop of Oxford will make
his first appearance in the interesting character, and quite
new part, performed by him for the first time, of a friend
to religious liberty and to the Governments—Echo.

MI?. MUNDELLA ON TRADES UMONS.

On Wednesday night Mr. Mundella, M.P., at the
request of the trades unionists of Nottingham, made a
speech on the Trades Union Bill, in the•Mechanics' Hall
in their town. He entered at some length into the history
of trades unionism, pointing out that its excesses had been
caused, in a great measure, by the unjust laws, which
refused to workmen that power of combination of
which they could not deprive their employers.
He sketched the progress of the present bill,
whose parentage was of a character which war-
ranted the goodness of the offspring. Hughes
Harrison, Crompton, and many of the ablest lawyers and
of the largest capitalists in England (including Mr.
Brassey, the member for Hastings) had devoted to it their
best abilities. He explained the provisions of the bill,
which would allow trades unions to be registered,
protecting their funds, and which would place capital and
labourupon an equal footing. He had conferred withmany
members on both sides of the House, and did not fear any
opposition from the great employers of labour, many of
whom were doing their best to advance the measure. The
Tory landlords would give the most opposition, as it was
a new idea to them that masters and men could bargain
upon equal terms, and they thought possible there might
come to be unions among agricultural labourers. He
hoped to live to see such unions which would make
the illused labourers of Dorsetshire, who sustained
a miserable existence on nine or ten shillings a
week, more like the stalwart Northumberland labourers'
who earned twenty shillings. In conclusion, Mr.
Mundella severely reproved those among the
unionists who sought to exclude machinery, to
keep the stone from being hewed at the quarry, or
who refused to submit their disputes to arbitration. The
principle of arbitration was spreading very fast, and
he had the pleasure of receiving since his present
visit to Nottingham a letter from Louis Philippe (who
might yet be Emperor of France), and who was the author
of a recent work on trades unions, stating that his time
had never been more usefully employed than in making
known in France what arbitration had accomplished in
Nottingham. Mr. Mundella, was received with great
enthusiasm by the audience which crowded the room, and
resolutions in favour of the bill were adopted unanimously.

THE COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN 1110 -

MOUTHSHIRE.

The details of the colliery explosion confirm the report
we published yesterday. The pit is called the Sinking
Pit at Cwmnantdda, about two miles from Pontypool,
Monmouthshire. It belongs to the Ebbw Vale Com-
pany, and Mr. Evan Jones is contractor for it, Between
300 and 400 men are employed in it, and it is fortunate
that when the explosion took place all but a few bad left
work. The workings are generally supposed to be free
from gas, and, after being tested with a safety lamp,
are used with open lights. At the time named some
ten men were down, making roads in what is called
" the deep," some 700 or 800 yards from the
bottom of the shaft. It appears from the accounts
in the several local papers, that about twenty minutes past
eight o'clock on Tuesday night, three men were working
some distance higher up in the pit than where some of the
headings in the lower are situated. Just before the explo•
sion, the three men referred to noticed a quantity of sul-
phur in the air, and they at once made their escape, and
directly after an explosion was heard in one of the headings
in the lower vein by a man named Charles George, and he at
once repaired to the spot ; but owing to the " after choke"
he had to beat a hasty retreat. The two horses (with the
three men in the higher part of the pit) and a donkey
were killed, but the men fortunately escaped. At twelve
o'clock at night search was made for the missing men in
the lower vein, and six dead bodies were discovered before
three in the morning, all of them being burnt and dis-
figured in a very shocking manner. The names of those
discovered are : Thomas Williams, John Jones, and Evan
Rees (single), and William Cooke, Alfred Davies, and
David Rees (married). Soon after the bodies of the above
men were recovered it was ascertained that Anniah
Williams was missing, and it was supposed he was work-
ing with the unfortunate men at the time of the explosion.
Another search was made, and soon after his lifeless body
was discovered under one of the dead horses, but so fright.
fully burnt and disfigured that scarcely a feature was
recognisable.

Like many other similar accidents, there is no knowing
at present how the accident happened, all the poor fellows
who were working in the heading where the accident
occurred having lost their lives.
There were only a few men working in the pit at the
time of the accident, which, had it occurred in the day-
time, nit less than fifty lives would doubtless have been
sacrificed.

The bodies now await the coroner's inquiry, which will
probably throw some light as to how the accident occurred.

A Cabinet Council will be held on Saturday at
the First Lord of the Treasury's official residence, Downing-
street.
The Judges assembled on Thursday at Westmin-
ter, and made the following arrangements for the Summer
Assizes : —Norfolk—Lord Chief Justice Cockburn and Mr.
Justice Byles. Home.—The Lord Chief BA-on and Mr.
Justice Mellor. Western.—Mr. Justice Keating and
Mr. Justice Lush. Oxford—Mr Baron Pigott and Mr Justice
Smith. Northern—Mr. Justice Hannon and Mr. Justice
Hayes. Midland Mr. Justice Brett and Mr. Baron Cleasby.
North Wales - Lord Chief Justice Bovill. south Wales—
Mr. Baron Channel!. Mr. Baron Bramwell remains in
town.

.7, 1471:7
, t
(53.1i't

HER MAJESTI'.,

BALMORAL, May 25.

Her Majesty drove out in the morning, se.
companied by Princess Beatrice and the Dowager
Duchess of Athole.

The Queen, accompanied by their Royal High'
oessus Princess Louise, Prince Arthur, an i Prince
Leopold, with the ladies and gentlemen in waiting,
were present at the dance given in honour of her
Majesty's birthday to the servants, tenants, Sce.lol/
the estates.

The Prince of Wales rode out yesterday fore'
noon, attended by Major Grey, alid accompany
by the Crown Prince of Denmark.

LATEST INTELL W-E.NO

(REUTER'S TELEGRAMS.)

AMERICA.

NEW YORK, May 27•

The North German Lloyd steamship Ameries
arrived at 11 a.m. to-day, and the Hamburg and
American steamship Allewannia at 3 p.m.
The Allan steamship Damascus arrived et
Quebec to-day.