The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-15 00:00:00

THE OAKS COLLIERY EXPLOSION•

It was mentioned in 7'he Sun of yesterday that
two sets of men, numbering altogether upwards of
20 persons, who had gallantly volunteered to make
search for the sufferers in the Oaks Colliery at
Ardsley, near Barnsley, had perished by two fresh
explosions, which occurred in that pit on Thursday.
The total loss of life by the first great explosion
on Wednesday and the subsequent ones on Thurs-
day is believed to be rather over than under 400.
The Yorkshire Post says :
" A fact which tends to corroborate previous
statements as to the number of men in the pit at
the time of the explosion came to light during the
investigations, and strengthens the assertions as to
the almost incredible amount of human life engulfed
in this immense living tomb. We are informed, on
creditable authority, that 430 lamps had been issued
on Wednesday morning, and as only some two or
three had been returned, the fearful estimate of the
loss of life which we gave on Thursday is not likely
to be overstated. During the day the Lord-Lieu-
tenant of the West Riding was on the ground, and
made a careful inquiry into the nature of the sad
occurrence, at the same time viewing with deep and
sympathising interest the spot where the accident
happened. Major Waterhouse, M.P. for Ponte-
fract, in company with the ex-Mayor for the same
borough (Mr. Jefferson), also paid a visit to the
scene, and was minute in his inquiries as to the
causes and results of the event. As to the cause
little or nothing is known beyond what has been
already stated, and the surmise is that some one of
the unhappy victimshas, by reason of his negligence
of, or non-compliance with, the regulations set
down for the use of the safety lamp, been instru-
mental in producing these fearful consequences.
Among the 19 persons who were brought up alive
some have since expired, and obtained, we believe,
a happy relief from their intense sufferings."
The Leeds Mei curt' says :

" The manner in which the pit was worked was a
fruitful subject for discussion among the crowd, and
it was stated by several well acquainted with the
colliery lights used in the
workingshawteraelthtohuegsafetyonlye olanmps
the engine place
and the main thoroughfares of the mine were lighted
by gas. This was natural gas accumulated in the
pit by placing pipes to the principal fissures from
which gas oozed, and conducting it into a gasometer,
whence it was drawn as required in the usual way.
Some of the men who had worked in the mine and
considered it safe were inclined to attribute the ex-
plosion to some accident resulting in an escape of
accumulated gas. It appears, also, that powder
was used for blasting in the getting of coal—a prac-
tice probably attended with far greater risk than
the burning of naked lights in the main roads ; and
some conjectures point to this practice as the pro-
bable cause of the dreadful disaster. For the in-
spection of the mine three deputies were regularly
employed by day and three by night. The duty of
these men was to visit all the working and other
dangerous parts of the pit every shift, before the
men began to work, to see that they were safe. This
duty was, we understand, duly performed, without
the discovery of anything to create alarm. It
seems, however, that complaints have been made
for some time of the unusual heat in the pit. It is
even alleged that some of the men objected to work
in it. The heat of the atmosphere in the pit is
attributed to the long distance the air had to travel