The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-25 00:00:00

liar holiday, and in some respects they can claim a
greater share in its privileges, for He whose day it
is when He dwelt on earth came not to dwell among
the rich, the titled, or the powerful, but was the
lowliest of the lowly, and had not where to lay His
head. Who can, then, boast of pomp and power
on a day which records His advent among us in
lowliness and humility ? Who can complain of his
poverty at a period which renews the thoughts of
Him who left the Throne of Heaven to be born in
a manger. All our distinctions, which sometimes
seem so great to us here, sink into their native in-
significance, and resolve themselves into their primi-
tive nothingness.
It is well that it should be so. This festival is
either worth nothing or a great deal ; it is as nothing
if we are to let pride and selfishness, bitterness and
complaining show themselves according as tempta-
tions of different stations of life suggest themselves.
It is worth a great deal if we will all look faithfully
and truthfully upon it, and recognise its meaning
and its character. The rich and the poor
meet together and the LORD is the maker
of them all, is a true saying, and never more applic-
able and appropriate than at this time. They meet
as divided by the accidents of birth and station, but
united by a common tie, for they celebrate this fes-
tival of Him who redeemed them, and before whose
throne they must one day stand at His second
coming upon earth. What would this world be if
He had never came to visit it ? and how can the
rich look at their unfading treasures, and the poor
dwell upon their better inheritance, in a more im-
pressive manner, than by cultivating kindly feeling
one towards another, and acting in a spirit worthy
of the dweller in a Christian land, and the servants
of the PRINCE OF PEACE. Masters and servants,
employers and employed, should ponder over these
things at this special season, and contrive to make
this festival truly a time of peace and quiet.
The family gatherings that now abound are most
interesting sights, and far exceed in real enjoyment
some of the more splendid affairs of grander man-
sions. There are, however, many who cannot join
in the brilliant throng, and mix in the social circle
of happier days, but each who has the power
should do something to cheer and solace their
loneliness and affliction, and thus show that
they really comprehend what should be the
celebration of their times. Again, all who have
abundance of means should seek to improve this
time by bestowing what they can spare upon
those who need. They may not be permitted to
witness another anniversary of their SAvIOUR'S
birth, and what better thought can cheer their las

will be black pudding suppers in all directions, the
consumption of which may be counted by tons.
They are supposed to be made of pork, but pigs at
this season, whatever may be the desire to oblige,

0 7
are scarcely to be had in sufficient quantities to fur-
nish forth the cormorant demand for black
puddings.

The Cardinal Archbishop of Reims, Senator, (lied
yesterday at his residence, in the 75th year of his
age.

The Oaks Colliery Explosion.

BARNSLEY, Monday Afternoon.
It appears likely that the course adopted by the
mining engineers of extinguishing the vast body of
fire in the mine by sealing up the two shafts will be
attended with success ; therefore it is not expected
that the last resource in such cases, the flooding of
the mine with water, will be necessary. Were the
water to be allowed to run into the workings, as
was the case at Lund-hill and Edmund's Main, it
is questionable whether it would pay the proprietors
to get it out, and the result would probably be the
abandonment of the pit. With the workings ex-
tending over 1,900 yards on the dip the expense,
of cleaning out the water would be something
enormous, and in all probability require the sinking
of a new shaft. On Saturday the furnace and No.
1 shafts were sealed up—the former to the extent
of 117 yards from the bottom, and the latter 92
yards. Nearly 4,000 tons of spoil were put down the
two shafts, on the top of which was a layer of fine
puddled clay, five yards thick. On Sunday the re-
port issued was to the effect that the furnace drift
had sunk three yards since the previous day, whilst
there was about 80 yards of water on the top. To-
day there was a meeting of mining engineers at the
King's Head Hotel, which was attended by the
leading men in the kingdom, including Mr. Wood-
house, Mr. Forester, Mr. Potter, and the principal
local viewers. After taking into consideration the
report presented to them of what had been done
since the last meeting, it was agreed that the No. 1
shaft should be filled up in the Melton-field seam,
a little below the No. 6 drift, leading into the pump-
ing shaft ; that a scaffold in the No. 2 shaft, at a
point marked on the section, be lowered from the
surface to that point, together with a pipe three or
four inches in diameter placed at the side of the
scaffold, for the purpose of allowing the gas to
escape, such pipe to come to the surface, and to be
turned into a cistern of water at the top. The
meeting then adjourned until Jan. 7.

Speculation is rife as to the probable time when
the colliery will be opened out, and an attempt
made to reach the bodies. At present there can be
no doubt that there is a great fire raging below, and
it remains to be seen whether the steps taken will
be effectual in extinguishing it. Of the men brought
out alive after the first explosion only five are now
alive, four having been buried in the vault at
Ardsley Churchyard on Saturday.
Another victim has been added to the already long
list of killed. On Saturday forenoon Thos. Hard-
castle a young boy, died from the effect of burns sus-
tained in the Oaks Colliery on the day of the sad
calamity. Out of the 18 bodies recovered alive on
the day of the sad catastrophe only three, or at most
four, are still living, and one of these is not expected
to survive long. A young man named Keithley is
in a very precarious condition. The Barnsley Sub-
scription fund amounts to nearly £5,000. On
Friday a town meeting was held at Birmingham to
raise subscriptions for the benefit of the bereaved in
connection with the late colliery explosions in York-
shire and North Staffordshire, when, at the close of
the meeting, the mayor stated that the sums already
received amounted to about£4oo,including £5O from
the Grocers' Exchange. Messrs. Chance Brothers
had subscribed £5O to a fund in Oldbury.

hours than the remembrance that they have served
the poor, whom he left to them as a precious
legacy and a solemn trust. 'We have seen, then,
how, in many ways, Christmas may be kept, so as
to form, as it is right that it should, a landmark in
our years, as they roll 041 to bear us nearer to Him
whom we this day delight to honour. The hum of

business and the strife of politics may well be
hushed for a brief space, while we think of those
better things which shall last when they have all
waxed old as a garment and are put away for ever.

Solemn thoughts like these need spoil no right re

joicings ; and when the time for merriment is past,
all may go cheerily to their work again, refreshed
by the interchange of kindly feelings, and gladdened
by the thought that they have not missed a chance
of improving their opportunity. Christmas must

afford to all some relief, even in a secondary sense

while, if they follow out its meaning still further

and higher, they may realise that it brings them

glad tidings of great joy to cheer the weary world
around them, and to be the herald and harbinger of
that better world to come, where peace and charity
shall eternally flourish.

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DLCEMBER 25, 1866.

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