The Sun.
London, England, 1866-11-02 00:00:00

The Lord Chief Baron and Earl Granville
in the Cinque Forts.

The biennial banquet of the Dover Sailors' Home
took place on Tuesday evening at the Lord Warden
Hotel, Dover. Earl Granville, Lord Warden of the
Cinque Ports, presided, and was supported by the
Lord Chief Baron (Sir Fitzroy Kelly), Sir Brook
Bridges and Sir E. C. Dering (the members for
East Kent), Major Dickson, M.P., Mr. Knatchbull-
Hugessen, M.P., Admiral Hall, Sir Luke Srnithett,
the Mayors of Dover and Folkestone, Cols. Elwyn,
R.A., Chapman, R.E., .NP.Mahon, Cox, &c. The
customary loyal and patriotic toats having been duly

honoured,
The LORD CHIEF BARON rose and said he felt
much flattered in being able to propose to the com-
pany " The Prosperity of the House of Commons."
Retrospecting to the time in which it had been his
fortune to be connected with the house, he remem-
bered with great gratification the associations to
which it had led. In looking around he saw men
who were entitled to the respect and confidence of
their country, and he scarcely knew an occasion more
worthy of their care and solicitude than the present.
He would impress upon them the necessity of keep-
ing continually in view the prosperity of the navy
as one of the first of the great duties they had to
perform. Whatever might be the shortcomings of
the House of Commons, and whether they did
stand in need of that reform and improvement
which some are so eager to force upon them, they
could not at least be reproached with any indiffer-
ence to the prosperity and well-being of the navy.
They had always—at least during the time he had
had the honour to sit in the House of Commons—
devoted their sincere efforts to the promotion of the
strength, the interests, and the prosperity of the
navy, and he did not doubt that they would con-
tinue to do so. He trusted that the hon. gentlemen
present would make it a point to keep the House in
mind of its duty in respect to every measure which
tended, in a greater or less degree, to insure the
safety on sea and the comfort on land of the mariners
of England. First and chiefly, he hoped they would
not be unmindful of the necessity of increasing and
enlarging the harbours of refuge. Just consider how
many shipwrecks, how great an amount of suffering
and loss of human life, might be avoided even iu a
single year, if there were more harbours of refuge
along the most dangerous and exposed parts of the
English coast. And that brought him to consider
the harbour of Dover, for which the Legislature has
already done much, and for which he trusted it would
yet do a great deal more. He was sure that Earl
Granville, as Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports,
would do his best to promote the prosperity of the
town. He would just mention that, despite some
little dispute which had arisen on the subject, Dover
was still the first of the Cinque Ports. But it was
not within the power of man, either by harbours of
refuge or by any other works, to obviate the calamity
of shipwreck ; and then it was that this admirable
institution was called upon to exercise its beneficent
influence. It would ill become a stranger among
them to enlarge upon the inestimable benefits which
the Dover Sailors' Home confers upon so many of our
fellow-creatures; but he could not help remarking
that it was when a man was reduced to the utmost

' I extremity, and the most forlorn condition in which it
is possible to contemplate any human being, that this
great institution steps in and affords health and com-
fort to the distressed. Neither were the benefits of
this institution limited to their fellow-country-
men. Its benefits extend to mariners who come
from every part of Europe, and more especially
the sailors from the opposite shore ; he alluded
to the French, and to whom he was happy to say
each year binds us stronger and stronger. He hoped
the illustrious Sovereign of that country might con-
descend to cast an eye upon this institution from
which so many of his subjects had been relieved in
cases of the greatest and severest of human suffering.
Returning to his original subject, he hoped that the
House of Commons would direct its efforts to the
advancement of the navy, and would never forget
the Sailors' Home. (Applause.)
Sir E. DEIZING, in responding, observed that he
had been a member of the House of Commons since
before the time of the Reform Bill of 1832, and he
thought that to return thanks for such a body was
an honour of which any man might be justly proud.
No doubt all thought that House susceptible of great
improvement. He believed it was the general feel-
ing among all parties that it was desirable to come
to an amicable and friendly settlement upon a ques-
tion which for years and years had disquieted the
public. Although it might be that the House of
Commons, constituted as it now is, reflects in a great
measure the virtues, the weaknesses, and 112 might
say the prejudices, of the great m of our country-
men more clearly, inns decidedly, and more
promptly than any other public assembly, yet, what-
ever tb:ie feelings might be as to the present consti-
tution of the House of Commons, they should recol-
lect that that House, constituted as it now is, is iden-
tified with the greatest period of the country's his-
tory, with all the great persons of whom they are
justly proud, and who bad contributed largely to
the welfare and prosperity of the country. Of all
schemes he knew of none which would be regarded
with greater satisfaction by all classes than if some
proposal was made which would take Sailors' Homes
out of that dependence in which they existed by the
casual and voluntary subscriptions of individuals,
and place them on a better foundation.
The Rev. W. YATE, the founder of the Dover
Sailors' Home, of which institution he continues to
be the hon. secretary, here read the annual report,
from which it appeared that the Home had received
227 wrecked crews, consisting of 2,000 men of dif-
ferent nations.

" Prosperity to
atottprirbouptoesde the honour of
theD
Earlo vGeurAssali-lioLrLsE,
uthoemn
ero.,r rnosee
his selection to preside to the respect for the ancient office
which he now by the Sovereign's gracious pleasure most
unworthily held. They were probably aware that, but for
the contest of precedence between two of tho oldest of the
Cinque Ports, the ceremony of his installation would have
taken place before. He rushed in to act as mediator, and,
as mediators generally got served, he effected no good, and
was glad enough to come out of the contest unscathed.
They would all agree with him that that ceremony could
only take place where all was perfect harmony and con-
cord. He did not mean to say that he should not himself
have felt the compliment of a public installation ; on the
contrary, he should have been highly gratified, but he con-
sidered it somewhat unreasonable that any compliment
should be paid to the present Lord Warden, who had not
an historical character at all, which was not paid to some
of the greatest men in the kingdom, which was not be-
stowed upon Lord Liverpool or the Duke of Wellington,

nor on Lord Dalhousie, and was only revived in honour
of that statesman (Lord Palmerston) who, despite the di-
versity of political opinions, by a service of 50 years to his
country, and by his character, both public and private,
insured the respect of all classes in the country, and became
the most popular statesman that ever guided the counsels
of a country. To co-operate in a work like the present
was an honour that the greatest Lord Warden might not
be ashamed to share in. To argue against the Sailors'
Home even the eloquence of Lord Derby or Mr. Gladstone
would prove vain. He enjoyed with the other privileges
of his office a most beautiful view from his residence both
across the downs and on the sea. On some days the sea
was dotted with vessels, on others 40 or 50 largo vessels
wore to be seen in all the beauty of full sail. On another
occasion, as bad occurred during the last three weeks
a sight was to be seen which in his opinion could
not be seen in any other port in the world—four or five
hundred vessels motionless, fastened by their anchors, or
lazily turning with the tide. while the swiftness of the
steamer gliding by in defiance of wind and tide formed a
striking contrast ; and then, simultaneously, the whole
would set sail, and keep clear of each other in a manner
which to a landsman would seem incredible. In such a
scene it was impossible not to be struck with the variety
which the metropolis pours forth to every part of the known
globe. There was, too, that fatal white lino which marks
the meeting of the waters over the Goodwin Sands, a line
which reminded them of the dangers and perils to which
sailors are subject, even when so near to:their native shores.
The other day he read the speech of a member of Parlia-
ment (Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen), who took the chair on
the last occasion of this kind, in which ho made sonic appro-
priate remarks in reference to the Great Harry of the Eliza-
bethan period, and he:(Earl Granville) could not help com-
paring it with the Great Eastern of our own times. Ho had
a doubt as to whether the Great Harry was not more beau-
tiful than the Great Eastern, but of course there could not
be the slightest doubt as to the superiority of the latter
vessel in other points. Its last feat was to accomplish the
greatest event of modern days by completing a link be-
tween us and America. Admiral Hall had alluded to the
pleasure which he felt on finding Sailors' Homes established
in America, which was, he believed, the stimulus which
urged him and his colleagues on to such laudable exertions.
However proud they might be in the existence of our com-
merce and the progress which they were continually

making, they should still remember the seamen. The
noble earl having adverted to the increase of shipping
casualties, and consequently the greater necessity for such
institutions as this, concluded by proposing the toast.
Complimentary toasts followed, after which the company
separated.

TERRIBLE COLLIERY EXPLOSION

TWENTY-FIVE LIVES LOST.

On Wednesday morning a fearful explosion of firedamp,
causing the loss of 25 lives, occurred at the Pelton Col-
liery, a pit working about nine miles south-west of New-
castle-on-Tyne, and five miles from Durham. The Pelton
Colliery is not a very extensive working, and is owned by
Messrs. Hutchinson and CO., who have everbeen known by
the care they take in lookingafter the proper ventilation of
their pit. Latterly, a new seam, called the Boston Bank
seam, has been opened, and an additional number of work-
men engaged therein. Between two and three o'clock on
Wednesday morning 30 mon and boys went down the
shaft to work the night shift in the new seam, and they
pursued their vocation for about two hours, when an un-
usual smell of gas was noticed. This, however, created
no serious apprehensions among the colliers at the time.
Shortly after five in the morning a terrible explosion was
heard, not only in the pit, but throughout the whole neigh-
bourhood above ground. Immediately dense volumes of
smoke and dirt were vomited from the mouth of the pit,
and the whole district became panic-stricken. Crowds of
people, many of whom had relatives in the pit, rushed to
the bank to learn what had occurred, and as soon as the
nature of the appalling catastrophe became known, the
scene was heartrending. A number of volunteers quickly
set to work with a will to render aid to those down
below. The viewer and under-viewer took the
direction of the volunteers, and in the course of an hour or
two a score of men had descended the shaft. At first the
stithe was too overpowering to allow of the men doing much,
but when this had been partially cleared away, the volun-
teers were enabled to reach the scene of the explosion. It
was then discovered that not fewer than 25 poor fellows
had met their death, either by the explosion itself, or the
equally deadly after-damp. Their bodies, some shockingly
burnt, others in a quiet, calm, and placid sleep to all ap-
pearance, were scattered all over the seam, and the sight
was too appalling for the volunteers who had descended
the shaft. The search was then proceeded with to discover
the living, and up to a late hour yesterday three persons
had been found alive. Then the work of sending up the
bodies began, and as the relations of each identified a father,
a brother, or a kinsman, they were carried to their homes
in the village close by. 0 wing to such a large crowd
having assembled on and about the month of the pit, the
services of a body of constables had been called in to keep
clear a space for the workers. Messrs. Hutchinson are
doing all they can to alleviate the sufferings of the widows
and orphans of those whose lives have been thus momen-
tarily snatched away. There is yet one more of the bodies
to be found, as up to four o'clock yesterday afternoon 24
had been sent up the shaft. Every inquiry will be made as
to the cause of the explosion, and the Government inspec-
tor of mines is already busied about the workings. Sucha
fearful explosion has not been known in the county for
some years. What makes the explosion more strange is
the fact that the owners of, the colliery not long since
erected a ventilating apparatus on a large scale, which has
hitherto been found to work very well.

Lockhart and Sir Walter Scott.

(From the Inverness Courier.)

The late John Gibson Lockhart was not a social or
clubable man. He was fastidious and reserved, silent in mixed
company (he heard ottly with one ear, and was too proud to
acknowledge it), was inveterately prone to satire, so that he
earned for himself the appellation of " The Scorpion," and
he was a victim to dyspepsy, which, perhaps, like charity,
should cover a multitude of sins. His fine acute intellect
and classic taste were often obscured, and his better sym-
pathies chilled, by pain and languor. To a few friends,
however, Lockhart at times unbosomed himself. With
them, his cold, sarcastic, haughty manner melted away—
at least for a season—and in those genial hours he was the
most confiding and delightful of companionsi As showing
the better nature and higher feelings of the man, wo are
tempted to publish a private letter addressed to the late Mr.
Wm. Laidlaw, the factor and friend of Sir Walter Scott,
in which Lockhart speaks of the sense of duty and respon-
sibility under which he wrote the memoirs of his illustrious

father-in-law—a work which, with all its faults, is unques-
tionably the best biography since Boswell's "Life of John-
son." There is a great tenderness in the following letter ;
and the picture which the writer draws of his happy fire-
side contrasts painfully with his latter years, when broken
health, a desolate hearth, and feelings lacerated by paternal
troubles and anxieties, might have made him join the la-
mentation of the ancient British bard—

" God hath provided unpleasant things for me :
Dead are those I love !"
Few letters of Lockhart's are so generally interesting, or so
valuable biographically, as the subjoined :
" London, January 19, 1837.
" My dear Laidlaw,—lreceived yesterday your letter and
a very munificent donaton of ptarmigan, for both which
accept my best thanks. They were both welcome as remem-
brances of Scotland, of old days, and of your kindness and
affection, of which last, though lam the worst of corre-
spondents, neither I nor my wife are ov 31. fu,-getful. The
account you give of your situation at present is, consider-
ing how the world. wags,•not unsatisfactory. Would it were
possib:o fur me to find myself placed in something of a simi-

lar locality, and with the means of enjoying the country by
day and my books at night, without the necessity of di-
viding most of my time between the labours of the desk
—mere drudge labours mostly—and the harassing turmoil
of worldly society, for which I never had much, and now-a
days have rarely indeed any relish. But my wife and chil-
dren bind me to the bit, and I am well pleased with the
fetters. Walter is now a tall and very handsome boy of near
11 years ; Charlotte a very winsome gipsy of eight—both
intelligent in the extreme, and both, notwithstanding all pos-
sible spoiling, as simple, natural, and unselfish as if they
had been bred on a hill side and in a family of 12. Sophia
is your old friend—fat, fair, and by-and-by to be 40 which
I now am, and over—God bless the mark !—but though I
think wiser, at least more sober, neither richer, nor more
likely to be rich than I was in the days of Chiefswood and
Kneside —after all our best days, I still believe.

"Politics, over which we used sometimes to dispute, I
have quite forsworn. I have satisfied myself that the age
of Toryism is by for ever; and the business of a party which
can in reason propose to itself nothing but a defensive at-
titude, without hope either of plunder or honour, seems to
me to have few claims on those who, when it was in power
never were permitted to share any of the advantages it so
lavishly bestowed on fools and knaves. So lam a very
tranquil and indifferent observer.

"Perhaps, however, much of this equanimity as to pass-
ing affairs has arisen from the call which has been made on
me to live with the past, bestowing for so many months all
the time 1 could command, and all the care I have had any
real heart in, upon the MS. remains of our dear friend. I

am glad that Cadell and the few others who have seen what
I have done with these are pleased, but I assure you none
of them can think more lightly of my own part in the mat-
ter than Ido myself. My sole object is to do him justice,
or rather to let him do himself justice, by so contriving it
that he shall be, as far as possible, from first to last, his
own historiographer; and I have therefore willingly ex-
pended the time that would have sufficed for writing a
dozen books on what will be no more than the compilation
of one. A stern sense of duty— that kind of sense of it
which is combined with the feeling of his actual presence in
a serene state of elevation above all petty terrestrial and
temporary views, will induce me to touch the few darker
points in his life and chat acter as freely as the others which
were so predominant; and my chief anxiety on the ap-
pearance of the book will be not to hear what is said by
the world, but what is thought by you and the few others
who can really compare the representation as a whole with
the facts of the case. I shall, therefore, desire Cadell to
send you the volumes as they are printed, though long before
publication, in the confidence that they will be kept sacred
whilst unpublished to yourself and your own household;
and if you can give me encouragement on seeing the first
and second, now, I think, nearly out of the printer's hands,
it will be very serviceable to me in the completion of the
others. I have waived all my own notions as to the manner
of publication, &c., in deference to the bookseller, who is
still so largely our creditor, and, I am grieved to add, will
probably continue to be so for many years to come.
"Your letters of the closing period I wish you would send
to me ; and of these I am sure some use, and some good use
may be made, as of those addresses to myself at the same
time, which all, however melancholy to compare with those
of the better day, have traces of the man. Out of these
confused and painful scraps I think I can contrive to put
together a picture that will be highly touching of a great
mind shattered but never degraded, and always to the very
last noble —as his heart continued pure and warm so long as
it could beat.—Ever affectionately yours,

"J. G. LOCKHART."

MR. MERRIMAN.—I confess it was a laughter-
moving exhibition. His enigmas and bon-mots were not,
strictly speaking, cf the first order. As for instance, when
the lady, in the richness of her classic bewity was resting
on her horse, Brown would address the gentleman with
the whip and with the gold band down his trousers—" I
say, sir ! Mr. Coleman, sir!" " Well, sir, Mr. Brown, what
can Ido for you ?" " Yes, sir." " I say, what can I do
for you ?" " I was thinking, Mr. Coleman." "Oh, you
were thinking! Indeed, Mr. Brown ; you had better take
a chair, and rest yourself after that exertion." " I was
thinking, Mr. Coleman, why it was that you were such a
favourite wiih the ladies." "Why lam such a favourite
with the ladies of the audience ?" "Yes, of the
audience. Because—because you have such a command
over the ring." In a second Mr. Coleman gives him a severe
" cut" on the leg, which causes Brown to leap into the air
with a cry of assumed agony. The mottled charger begins
to get into motion, the band strikes up, the paper hoops are
brought, Mr. Brown walks round diligently behind Mr.
Coleman, as eager not to lose sight of the horse for a mo-
ment.—Dickens's "All lice Year Round."