The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-06 00:00:00

AMERICA AS IT IS.

TOHN CASSELL upon the UNITED STATES.
V On Monday, December 17, will be published in No. 161
of " CASSELL'S ILLUSTRATED FAMILY PAPER," being the
Christmas Number, the first of a series of articles, entitled
"AMERICA AS IT IS," by JOHN CASSELL. The object of
these articles will be to convey to the pubic not only the
impressions of American life and manners, formed from the
writer's experience of a ten months' sojourn, and from an
extensive tour reaching as far west as the Falls of St.
Anthony, hut also to supply an historical sketch of the con-
troversy between the Northern aftd Southern States, from
the first introduction of the Slavery Question into Congress,
with an account of the great political parties to which it has
given rise.
Cassell, Fetter, and Galpin, London and New York. I

THE COLLIERY EXPLOSION IN MON-
MOUTHSHIRE.

RISCA, WEDNESDAY.
There has been no change in the state of things
at the mine with regard to the recovery of the 55
men who still remain below except that all hope is
extinct of any one of them being alive. The loss
of life therefore may safely be estimated at 135.
" Shifts" of men succeed each other every six hours?,
but their progress is impeded by the quantity of
fire damp with which the mine is still surcharged.
Mr. Brough, the Government inspector, descended
yesterday, as has been already stated, and came up
at 3 o'clock this morning. He was altogether 21
hours underground. His account of the mine is
that it still remains in a very bad state. Great
quantities of coal had been falling from the roof
and the working parties were obliged to use the
utmost precaution. It is known where the men
still unrecovered had been working, and it is in
that direction that the operations of the miners have
been carried on for the last two days. The inspec-
tor thought he had diverted the foul air into a
channel which would enable the men to work more
securely, and he spoke with confidence of being
able to recover some of the bodies this evening.
Indeed he intimated that the effluvia arising from
their decomposing gave strong and unmistakable
evidence of their being not far distant. There were
the carcases of about 14 horses also in the mine.
Mr. Brough reports highly of the spaces of the
galleries, ducts, and passages of the mine, and of
the careful superintendence of the company's offi-
cers, and especially of that of Harrison, the princi-
pal viewer, on whom the chief responsibility of
course would rest if the calamity occurred from any
neglect on the part of the owners.

;fire Black Vein Mine, as already stated, has had
a very bad reputation, and it appears that its natural
appellation, which is sufficiently ominous, has been
converted into a still worse one, for it has also got the
name of the " Slaughter Pit" amongst the men. This
arises, however,from a cause which is peculiar to the
nature of the coal. It is accepted generally as a fact
that the steam coal, which is the product of the
Black Vein, is much more apt to generate fire-
damp than other descriptions, and in a damp state
of the weather, when the barometer stands low,
more than usual caution is required. The atmos-
phere for some time past has been very damp, and
to this circumstance has been attributed the fact
that no fewer than eight explosions have occurred
in South Wales mines within the last month.
In most mines the ventilation is principally ob-
tained by means of furnaces, which convey the foul
air through up shafts. This is the mainstay of the
miner's safety. It appears, however, that in the
Black Vein the ventilation is secured by means of
a pumping machinery. The law requires that there
should be what is considered sufficient ventilation
in every mine, but it leaves the proprietors to em-
ploy such means as they may deem best calculated
to secure this end. A machine, however, is an in-
strument which can only effect a given amount of
power. There is a maximum ofresult beyond which
it cannot go. A ventilating machine, therefore,
which would be ample to secure ventilation under
ordinary conditions might be inadequate to do so
when, from any cause, there was greater tendency
than usual to generate noxious gases, and that there
was such a tendency immediately pievious to this
dreadful explosion is admitted on all sides. In the
present state of affairs it would, of course, be infair
to fix upon the real cause of the disaster ; but those
who are in the best position to hazard a conjecture
incline to the belief that this will be found the real
source of the calamity. There is no reason at pre-
sent for supposing that it originated in any want of
precaution on the part of the men.
The coroner and jury again assembled at Risca
this morning, and proceeded in their task of visit-
ing the dead bodies. Yesterday they viewed no less
than 42, which, considering the stateof the weather
and the advanced hour at which they began this
work, shows that they have been very active in the
performance of their painful duty. They expect to
complete this portion of their duties to-day, or at
farthest early on Thursday; but they will not have
concluded even then, for it is certain that by
that time some of the bodies now underground
will be brought up. From the positive manner in
which this information has been afforded one is
disposed to conclude that the bodies, some of them,
have already been found, and that a natural sense
of respect for the feelings of the relatives and of
the people generally prevents their being brought
out till the evening. Three was the largest num-
ber of bodies which the jury as yet saw in any one
house. In one case it was a father and two sons,
in another two brothers and a cousin. A consider- I
able number of the dead were interred to-day.
Hearses were brought from Newport for the con-
veyance of the bodies, but the supply being unfor-
tunately inadequate to the demand, the coffins were
conveyed in many instances on bearing poles. One
met the evidences of death in all directions, and
the day being remarkably fine there was a large
number of visitors from Newport and other places
besides the friends of the deceased. Some, who
were inhabitants of the place, were of course
buried in the graveyard of the parish, but its
dimensions were totally inadequate to meet the
glut of dead which this disaster occasioned. Men
were, therefore, employed all the morning in the
field given by Lord Tredegar in digging graves, of
which no less than fifty have been made. It
appears that a great many of the miners are
strangers to the locality. Some few years ago
there was a strike amongst the men, and others
were brought from Glamorganshire and elsewhere
to supply their places. The expense of the coffins
and the other :expenses attendant on the burials
will be borne by the company. A silent and
settled sadness continues to characterise the expres-
sion of the people generally. The calamity is, of
course, the topic of conversation, but still there
seems a dislike to dwell upon it, and a wish to put
it aside, as something too serious for talk. One
might at first attribute this to apathy of feeling,
but it is rather the effect of that stony of mind
which takes place when people are overtaken by a
great calamity, when they have to submit to a stern
fatalism against which no exertions can avail.
Until the meeting of the jury on the 18th, for
the purpose of taking evidence to ascertain the
cause, if possible, of the explosion, nothing of
much importance can transpire; but in the recovery
of the dead bodies still underground the people of
Risca Vale will have many occasions to renew
their sorrow and their tears.

MACHINE NEEDLES.—One thousand men are
employed in the United States in the manufacture of sew-
ing-imachine needles, and the profits of them amount to
nearly 300,000 dots. a-year. Since the introduction of the
sewing-machine the sale of spool cotton has increased to the
extent of more than a million and a half annually.
HOLLOWAY'S PILLS AND OINTMENT.--PLEASURE TO
TAB HillLpry.—Unless the digestion be in good order our
spirits droop, and our bodies soon become enfeebled. Hol-
loway's remedies release at once a disordered stomach, and
restore the digestive organs to perfect health and vigour.
The Ointment should be briskly rubbed twice a day over
the pit of the stomach and upon the right side, that it may
stimulate and regulate the liver. The Pills act as a gentle
aperient, purify the blood, and cool the system. They sub-
due irritation and remove all obstructions. In dropsy, and
disease of the kidneys, immense success has attended the
diligent use of Holloivay's Pills and Ointment, which will
so adjust every function that happiness must result.