The Sun.
London, England, 1869-06-12 00:00:00

STRANGE POINT IN DIVORCE LAW.

A point of considerable interest arose during the hearing
of the cause of "Buchmaster v. Buckmaster," on Friday,
in the Divorce Court. The wife prayed for a dissolution of
marriage, on the ground of adultery and desertion. The
facts of the case were curious. The respondent, a
miller's son, clandestinely married the appellant,
who was a servant ; but, owing to the opposition
of his parents, only lived with her for a
short time. He had formerly been attached to a girl
named Bunker, and on the part of the petitionet it was
alleged was now living with her. The petitioner bad
accepted £lOO not to " molest" the respondent ; but had
subsequently filed a petition for restitution of conjugal
rights ; but the citation could not be served on
the respondent, who, it was alleged, was at
that time in Australia with Mary Bunker.—
Lord Penzance said he had great doubts if the desertion
could be made out, and referred to the case of "Fitzgerald
v. Fitzgerald." If two parties were married one day, and
then rued their bargain, and the wife accepted a certain
sum to go away—in fact to dissolve their marriage—it
would be strange if she had the right afterwards to
petition, or make one of her grounds desertion. He
(the learned judge) would look intc the law on the
subject.—Mr. Inderwick, for the petitioner, alleged that
when his client accepted the £lOO she was not aware that
her husband was living with Bunker, and had since then

THE EXPLOSION AT THE FERNDALE

COLLIERY.

Details are given in the local papers of the explosion at,
the Ferndale Colliery, which we reported on Friday. The
first rumours of the catastrophe were, as now appears,
exaggerated, and instead of 120 lives being lost,
the number is given as between 70 and 80. Ferndale is
described as being a wild and picturesque spot in Rhondda
Vale. The colliery belongs to Messrs. Davis and Sons,
extensive colliery proprietors.

The story of the explosion is much like those which have
so often been repeated concerning other explosions.
Between six and seven o'clock on Thursday morning, the
colliers, of whom GOO are generally employed in the pit,
had descended to commence their daily avocation. About
half-an-hour afterwards a vibration of the earth, followed
by a faint report, was perceptible to those stationed at the
mouth of the pit. Almost simultaneously with these signs
a dense volume of black dust issued from the mouth
of the " down-cast", shaft, and it was immediately known
by those on the bank that another calamity had visited
the pit. Mr. Bedlington, the general manager, and Mr.
David Recs, the local manager, were instantly summoned,
and very few minutes elapsed before they were on the
spot. They were joined by a number of the other officials
connected with the works, and the news having spread as
such news will, thousands of men, women, and children
from all the neighbourhood round flocked to the scene.
The excitement was intense, not only in the locality, but
throughout the whole district.
It must be understood that the Ferndale Colliery corn-
prises three separate workings, known respectively as the
Duffryn, the Rhonnda, and the Blaenllecha headings.
These all radiate from one shaft and are on
one level. It was in the Duffryn heading
that the present explosion took place. This working was
uninjured in the great explosion which took place in 1867.
From accounts received from some of those who were in
the working, it is gathered that out of the 400 men who
went down, there were from 130 to 140 in the Duffryn side,
and of these about GO made good their escape. The
Duffryn heading runs in a south-westerly course, towards
the Rhondda Vale. The workings have extended about
three-quarters of a mile. It is not known at what point
the explosion took place, but it is supposed to have been
towards the centre ; and it is conjectured that the cause
was the falling of a portion of the roof, and an irruption of
highly inflammable gas. The men nearest the shaft, which
is 280 yards deep, escaped, but those towards the other
end were, unfortunately, cut off by the after-damp. An
exploring party was promptly organised. The first party
descended a little before eighto'clock, and by half-past nine
ten bodies were brought to the bank. These presented no
appearance of having been burnt, but apparently had
f,,,rn the effects of the niter-nao, p. Relief parties
were told off to continue the search, and bodies continued
to be brought up till between twelve and one o'clock, at
which hour forty-five bodies had been recovered. Many
of these were shockingly burned. In one or two cases the
features of the poor fellows were so charred as to be
almost wholly unrecognisable.
No certain cause is given for the accident. The Cambria
Daily Leadcr says positively that as soon as the
men reached the Duffyrn district, a large fall of the
roof occurred about half-way into the district, thereby
occasioning a large escape of gas, which, finding its way
into the workings, was, by some means not yet known,
ignited. This, however, leaves the matter as uncertain
as ever, and, from the failure!of the inquiry made hitherto,
there seems to be little chance of having any positive
reason assigned.
A list of 44 dead recovered is given, but this is stated to
be incomplete, and the searching is yet going on. It is
noticeable that most of the men injured were killed. There
are very few who were hurt by the explosion and escaped.
The inquest before the coroner will be formally opened
at Pontypridd to-day, after which the jury will proceed
to view the bodies, and a correct list of the deceased will
he given. _ _

An incident of arrant heartlessness is reported, that of a
man who, while rendering some assistance in the recovery
of the bodies, observed a watch in the clothing of one of
the bodies, and endeavoured to secure it for his own use.
He had no sooner, however, got to the pit's bank than
he was surrounded by a mob who chased him to the
bank of the river, some distance away, where they
overtook him, threw him in the water, cut his head
against the stones, and would doubtless have " finished'
him, had it not been for the timely interference of the
police, who at once took the heartless wretch into custody
and locked him in the police.station.
The latest telegrams report the fatalities at nearly 80.

A Parliamentary return of Life Assurance Com-
panies registered since 1844 shows 262 such companies,
with a nominal capital of £60,057,500 ; £28,578,601 is sub.
scribed for, and £3,166,633 is paid up. Of these companies
10 have amalgamated with others, the business of 34 has
been transferred to others, and 152 have been wound up, or
are supposed to have ceased business.
SHI PWRECKED MARINERS' SOCIETY. —The 30th
annual meeting of the friends and supporters of this
society was held on Friday, under the presidency of th,
Duke of Marlborough, in Burdett Hall, Limehouse, From
the report read by the secretary it appeared that 10,884
shipwrecked persons, widows, and orphans, had been
relieved during the past year. The gross income was
£22,445. In the Belvedere Institution there were sixty.
eight poor old seamen, and thirty-six had received out
pensions. The meeting was addressed by Captain Maude,
Rev. Dr. Cumming, Rev. Dr. Smith, and other gentlemen
in support of the claims of the society.
A HUGE 13Low-Ur.—On Thursday, at the
extensive limo quarries of Messrs. Briggs, situated at
Salthill, near Clitheroe, one of the largest blasting opera-
tions ever attempted •in that part of the country was
successfully brought to a conclusion. At Salthill there is
a perpendicular face of mountain limestone GO feet in
height. A tunnel, 28 yards in length, had been bored in
the face, and 6) cwt. of powder well walled in at the
upper end. Three fuses were lighted at 2.20 p.m., and at
2.54 a mass of at least 50,000 tons of solid limestone was
lifted perpendicularly a height of 30 or 4) yards. So truly
was the vertical movement effected that to`.; a single stone
was thrown to the distance of more than 80 yards. The
huge mass went up together into the air, and, though
crumbling in the descent, fell well together. Most of
those present were scientific men.

LII-V AND TILE Clluncm —The Dublin corre-
spondent of the Times writes :--" The Court of Exchequer
on Friday witnessed, perhaps for the last time, the obser-
vance of a quaint custom which, in the light of coming
changes, seems more strange. It is the service rendered
every year by Christ Church Cathedral for the pro-
perty which it holds in frank almoigne.' The
Rev. Mr. Finlayson, vicar choral, and several of
the choristers attended in their surplices, and get-
ting upon the table of the court, while all present,
including the members of the Bench—all, with one
exception, Roman Catholics—reverently stood, they sang
a hymn with excellent effect as a musical performance.
The vicar choral then stood at the side bar and read the
concluding prayers of the morning service of the Esta-
blished Church, the boys singing the responses. Before
the Reformation the custom was to celebrate mass in the
courts on the first and last days of all the Terms in
homage for the lands, but at the time of the Reformation
the Protestant service was substituted. The court

:ertified that it wad duly rejadeul

THE BISHOP OF PETERBOROUGH ON
WYCLIFFE AND THE REFORMATION.

The reopening took place on Thursday, after it had been
closed for three years and a half for restoration, of St. Mary's
Church, Lutterworth. The interest of the church lies prin-
cipally in its connection with Wycliffe. The restorations
have been effected by Mr. Scott.
The Bishop of Peterborough, at luncheon which fol-
lowed the morning service in the church, said:— It
seems to me that the great vicar of Lutterworth in
old days was a truly Conservative Church restorer;
and in this work of Church restoration, which I
delight to look upon in this diocese, there seems to
be exemplified the true spirit of Church restorers.
Our Reformation was, in the deepest once of the word a
Church restoration, the recovery of all that was old, and in
no case the needless addition of a single thinz that was
new. I am never ashamed to say that I honour

the memory of that blessed reformer of the Church of
England, and I desire to recognise our Church, like one of
your own parish churches, as at once old and new—new in the
restoration that restores the beauty and truth of the old. 1 hon-
our those who founded the old, and those who restored the
beauty that seems new, and ye{ that isnevertheless old. For
this reason I trust that the spirit of Wyclife may dwell in the
parish in which he once dwelt, and that the word of Wyclife
may be taught there as he taught it in the open Bible that
ho gave to England, and that the spirit of Lis preaching may
be read in our liturgy, cud preserved in our services.

THE CRISIS.

--•o~ _

The John Bull has the following on the crisis :
" The air is thick with rumours, and we may be said to
be living in an atmosphere of intrigue. It is hardly
necessary to warn our readers against giving credit to the
multiplicity of reports, some of which have a substratum
of truth, but many of which are pure inventions of the
enemy. Such emphatically was the ruse of the Times which
pretended on Tuesday that the peers had altered their
mind. The only shadow of foundation for this rumour
was the statement of the Earl of Devon in presenting
a petition to the House that he did not advise the rejec-
tion of the bill on the second reading. This was fully
anticipated. Indeed, last year, when in office, his lord-
ship had plainly indicated that this was his intention.
. .•11 rril •
second and stronger Opposition whip was issued, that
the Government really believed that serious opposition
was intended, and the Cabinet Council for to-day was
summoned, when the course of the Government in
case of defeat will be decided upon. The Government
have issued the word of command to their supporters in
the press not to bully the Peers. Hence the cessation of
the violent articles, and the wise silence of the Govern-
ment. Nevertheless, it is well known that every arrange-
meat is matured for getting up a spurious agitation to
order, if necessary, by Mr. Potter and his friends.
It is idle to deny that the Cave is a considerable one ;
and that though there is an assured majority, it will not
be so large as we predicted last week. No effort
must be spared to bring up every peer, and to secure a
substantial majority. Many peers will probably not
decide till the last moment, and speeches will very likely
have a practical effect on the voting. The Archbishops,
we fear, are among those who have made up their minds,
and it is even said that they may vote for the Government.
The Marquis of Bath is among those said to be most active
in the Cave, as indeed nearly all the High Church peers.
The Bishop of Oxford is stated to have convinced himself
that it is his duty to vote for the bill, on the alleged
ground, which is being urged with too much suc-
cess on some peers, that the Queen desires the bill
to be read a second time, as, if it is not, her Majesty
feels she cannot resist any course suggested by the Prime
Minister, whereas if the bill is read a second time, the
Queen will use all her influence to make the Government
yield to any amendments passed by the Lords. Surely of
all the improper uses ever made of her Majesty's name,
this unconstitutionalsuggestion that she wouldinterferewith
the discretion of the House of Lords is the worst, and only
equalled by the folly of imagining that the Commons would
yield any substantial amendments. If the Government re-
fused the least concession to Sir R. Palmer, Mr. Wickham
Martin, Mr. Pim, Mr. Vernon Harcourt, and other of
its own supporters, it is worse than idle to contend that
they will yield to the House of Lords. We are authorised
to state that there is not a shadow of foundation for the
rumours that the Earl of Harrowby ' rides to lose,' as the
phrase is, or that Mr. Disraeli wishes the bill committed.
In reply to a deputation of Irish gentlemen now in
London, after speeches from the Revs. Dr. A. T.
Lee and Reichel, and Messrs. Hamilton and Macrory,
Mr. Disraeli expressed his warm sympathy with their
desire that the bill should be defeated. A deputation of
Irish Churchmen waited on Friday on the Archbishop of
Armagh, who had asked several English bishops to meet
them. His Grace and the Bishop of Derry have kept
almost open house fur the gentlemen from Ireland."
The Daily News says that Mr. Bright has addressed a
letter to his Birmingham friends on the situation created
by the resolution of the Conservative leaders in the House
of Lords.—lt is also stated that the Duke of Richmond has
nfiriracenri n lattar to flip Earl of Derl.y rl;grspproving of the
course he is pursuing, and declining to support it.

PARLIAMENTARY AND .711LTHICIPAL

ELECTIONS.

ilie select committee of the House of Commons in.
quiring into the mode of conducting parliamentary and
municipal elections met again on Friday. The Marquis of
Hartington presided, and the other members present were
Sir George Grey, Mr. Leatham, Mr. Brand, Mr. Whit-
bread, The O'Connor Don, Mr. Villiers, Mr. Ward Hunt,
Mr. Staveley Hill, Mr. Howes, Sir F. Heygate, Mr.
Gathorne Hardy, Mr. Cross, Sir Michael Hicks Beach.
Some further evidence was heard respecting the dis-
missal of a tenant of the Marquis of Lothian, who had
voted for the Liberal candidate at the last election for
Hoxburghshire.

Mr. William Scott, late of Timpendean, Roxburghshire,
said, in reply to Mr. Leatham, that he was the tenant of
the Marquis of Lothian referred to by Mr. Otto (Lord
Lothian's factor) in his evidence before the committee.
Since his dismissal from Timpendean by the Mar-
quis of Lothian he had taken a farm belonging
to the Duke of Roxburgh, which was one of
the largest in Scotland. He farmed 3,000 acres of
arable land. He had paid in rent to various landlords
over £5,000 per annum. The rent he paid to the Marquis
was £BOO. Before the last election he frequently said to
different parties that he should not be influenced in voting
by the fact that the lease of his farm had nearly expired,
but he never spoke with disrespectful levity of the Marquis
and his family. After the election he wrote to Mr. Otto,
saying he he heard it was said he had broken his
pledge. Mr. Otto came to see him, and said such an
idea had never occurred to him. " But," he added, " I
may as well tell you that nothing more will be done about
the farm." Witness said, " Why, what's up?" Mr.
Otto said, "I had the whole cut and dried ready for the
Marquis's approval, and he positively declines to renew
the lease, because you have voted against his
brother." Was quite sure that these words
were used. Witness subsequently had a conversa-
tion with his brother, George Scott, who said that the
Marquis had refused to renew the lease on the spur of the
moment, after the election, and he had no doubt his lord-
ship regretted it. Witness afterwards wrote to the
Marquis expressing surprise that the lease was not to be
renewed, and explaining why he had voted for the Liberal
candidate, adding that, out of respect for his lordship, he
had advised several persons to vote for Lord Schomberg
Kerr (the brother of the Marquis). To that letter he
received no reply.

By Mr. Villiers: Before the election Mr. Otto pressed
me strongly to vote for the Marquis's brother, but he did
not give me the impression that if I did not I Should not
get my lease. The refusal took me very much by surprise.
My neighbours did not think the lease would not be renewed;
they thought the day was gone by for that sort of thing.
I never knew of any other tenant of the Marquis being
turned out because of the way he voted.

By Mr. Whitbread : Mr. Otto told me that if I had
remained neutral I should have got my farm.
Mr. Otto was recalled, and positively denied that he
had ever given Mr. Scott any explanation as to the reason
why the lease was not renewed. Mr. Scott assumed that it
was because he had voted for the Liberal candidate, and
witness did not contradict him, having been told by the
Marquis simply to inform him that his lease would not
be renewed without assigning any reason.

Mr. Norwood, a revising barrister, and chairman of
the North Dublin Board of Guardians was next called, and
stated he believed the deficiency of voting places
in Ireland encouraged the assembling of mobs, and while
polling-places were so few escorts fur voters were abso-
lutely necessary. He did not think the Ballot would be a
protection to the lower orders against the influence of the
priests, but he held that the priests should not bg allowed
to act as agents.

A telegram from Norwich states that the prisoners,
William George Davy and his wife, charged with attempt-
ing to poison John Maycs Davy, at Swaffingham, have been
committed for trial.
POPULATION OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. The
Registrar-General of England estimates the population of
the United Kingdom in the middle of the year 1869 at
31,015,234; or, excluding the army, navy, and merchant
seaman abroad, and reckoning only the persons actually
in the United Kingdom, 30,621,431—viz., 24,869,607 in
England and \Vales, 3,205,481 in Scotland, and x,546,343
in Ireland. This is an increase of 240,644 as compared
in
with the numbers in the United Kingdom in the middle
of 1868, viz., an increase of 220,20 England, 17,366 in
Scollaudi and 3.058 in Ireland.

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