The Sun.
London, England, 1861-01-18 00:00:00

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.

The members of the Common Council of the city
of London held a Court yesterday in the Council
Chamber, Guildhall. The Right Hon. the Lord
Mayor presided.
DISTRESS OF THE LABOURING POOR.
Mr. CONNELL then proposed that the sum of
£l,OOO be voted by the Court towards a general
fund for the relief of the suffering poor of the city
of London, inclusive of the coalwhippers and fel-
lowship porters, the same to be placed at the dis-
posal of the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee,
and that the citizens generallybe invited to con-
tribute to the amount to be distributed. He said
that he felt gratified that the Court had allowed
the motion to be taken out of its order, and he felt
assured that the matter was one which would
commend itself to every member, and that it was
quite unnecessary for him to go into the subject at
any length. They were all aware of the great and
almost general distress that prevailed at the present
moment among the labouring classes owing to the
inclemency of the weather, and be was sure that in
this Court, which was perhaps celebrated above all
other things for its sympathy for jistress and a
desire to alleviate it, he should have no t?ifficulty on
the present occasion in inducing it to come
forward
and alleviate that wide-spread misery whichrd
unhappily prevailed at the present moment in .the
city of London. He had himself been that day to
some of the water-side districts, and he could
assure the Court that the state of destitution in
which large numbers of working men were placed
was quite dreadful to witness. He had also received
a letter from the Rev. Mr. Atherton, incumbent of
St. James's parish, Ratcliff, in which he stated that
in that neighbourhood the state of distress was so
great that many shops where provisions were sold
had been plundered, and that a great many other
shops were being closed by their owners for fear
they should be similarly treated,
Mr. COCKERELL seconded the motion, and said
he felt it unnecessary to add anything to what had
been stated by Mr. Connell, as he was sure that
every member of the Court must be aware of the
great amount of distress that prevailed. They
all knew how his lordship and his brother aldermen
in their magisterial capacity had exerted themselves
to alleviate this distress, and he felt assured that
this court would not be behindhand with them in

such a matter. He could bear testimony, from his
own knowledge, to the great distress that prevailed
among the coalwhippers, and their committee had
voted £4OO for their relief, which was all that the
state of their finances allowed them to offer, but
this sum was greatly insufficient for the required
purpose.

Deputy ELLIOTT said that while admitting the
existence of distress to a great extent at the pre-
sent moment, and entertaining an anxious desire to
alleviate it as much as possible, still he could not
help feeling that the proposal for giving so large a
sum as £l,OOO was one that ought not to be enter-
tained. He must look at the question as any prac-
tical man would, and he was satisfied that broad-
handed charity like this was calculated to do more
harm than good. He must at the same time state
his opinion that the distress was not so extensive
as it was alleged to be. He had made inquiries at
one of the City unions, and was informed that the
number of inmates was only twenty-seven larger
than for the corresponding period of last year, and
one of the officials, a man of great experience,
stated to him, iu reference to the money that was
being expended in charity, that it was sufficient to
demoralise the entire working population. He
believed that the Poor Laws were quite sufficient
to meet the emergency if they were properly ad-
ministered. (No, no.) If anything additional was
required let it be done upon a moderate scale, and
not scatter money about in this manner. The dis-
tress was to a great extent occasioned by the frost,
but in all probability the frost would not last much
longer, and then there would be an enormous demand
for labour, and they might not be able to obtain it
if the labouring population got money by the means
now proposed. He had no desire to stop the cur-
rent of benevolence, but he did wish that the
court should look at the matter as practical
men would do, and that they would act
in reference to it, as they would in any important
question having reference to their own affairs. He
said that many of the men now out of employment
had been earning from thirty to forty shillings per
week when at work, and it was their duty to have
laid by some portion of their earnings. He con-
cluded by proposing as an amendment that £lOO
per week be granted by the Court for the pur-
poses stated in the motion, so long as the frost lasts.
Mr. JOHNSON seconded the motion.

Mr. Deputy PEWTRESS supported the amend-
ment, and at the same time observed upon. the
system that had been adopted of turning their
courts ofjustice into relieving offices, which he said
he considered most objectionable. No doubt a great
number of people were out of employ at the present
time from accidental circumstances, but he believed
that if the Poor-law was properly carried out it
would be found quite sufficient to remedy the evil.
Mr. REED, in supporting the original motion,
said that the object of it was to prevent the neces-
sity of compelling an honest labouring man from
becoming a pauper and applying for parish relief.
(Hear, hear.) Many a respectable working man
who was now suffering the greatest privations
would do anything rather than apply to the
parish; and the fund that was now proposed to be
raised was intended to be devoted to the relief of
such persons. As to what had been said by the
honourable member about the police courts being
turned into relieving offices, it appeared to him
that, instead of being any discredit, it was an
honour to any magistrate who assisted in relieving
the distress of the people in his district who were
deserving of such a course of proceeding, and that
Mr. Alderman Mechi and Mr. Alderman Allen,
and other magistrates of the city of London who
had interested themselves in this manner, were
deserving of the thanks of their fellow-citizens for
so doing, (Hear, hear.)
Deputy HARRISON then suggested that the better
course would be for the Court, instead of granting
£l,OOO at once, to consent to give £5O or I:100 a-week
to the Mansion-house and the Guildhall Police
Courts for as long a period as the Lord Mayor
should consider necessary. Arrangements were
made at both these courts for dispensing relief, and
he believed the course he proposed would be found
a satisfactory one.

Alderman-HALE said he thought the Court ought
to be careful not to take any steps that might be
calculated to stop the flow of public benevolence,
and he suggested that £5O per week to each court
would probably be found sufficient.
Mr. BONE objected to the money being dispensed
through the medium of the police courts. There
was a sort of general scramble for it, and the result
was most unsatisfactory.
Mr. LAWLER supported the original motion.
Alderman ROSE said he was of opinion, that the
course proposed by the amendment would not have
the desired effect. There was an extraordinary
and sudden pressure, and this could not be met by
doling out £5O or £lOO per week.
Mr. Alderman and Sheriff ABBISS said that, as
the chairman of the City of London Union, he could
state that the Board of Guardians did all in their
power to alleviate the distress that prevailed. They
were, no doubt, empowered to levy rates to any
amount they considered necessary, but he could
state that a great deal of the distress that now
existed was among persons who never would apply
for relief as paupers, and it was to relieve such per-
sons as these that was the object the court now had
in view. (Hear, hear.)
Deputy BOWER said he could speak from his per-
sonal knowledge of the very great distress that
prevailed among the coal whippers at the present
time. The men and their families were starving
by hundreds, and it was impossible that any Poor•
law could meet such a state of things.
Alderman DAKIN said that the Court were all
agreed in granting relief, and the only question
was how to do so in the most judicious manner.
With regard to the coal-whippers, he said it
ought not, to be forgotten that at a period when
there were public disturbances, and the peace
of the City of London was endangered, these men
came forward in a body, and volunteered to be
sworn in as special constables. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. H. L. TAYLoR said he should be most anxious
to assist in any proposition for alleviating the pre-
sent distress; but he doubted whether either of the
propositions that had been made would have that
effect ; and he suggested that the Lord Mayor, as
the head of the Corporation, should convene a public
meeting of bankers and merchants to consider the
subject. He was sure, from his known character,
that he would be too happy to take any course that
was for the benefit of his poorer brethren, and the
effect of such a meeting would be, that large sums
would be raised.

Mr. CONNELL then replied, and the original
motion for the grant of £l,OOO was put to the Court,
and carried by a large majority.
It was then proposed and seconded, and carried
unanimously, that the Chamberlain should be
appointed treasurer to receive the contributions of
the public in aid of the grant.
The Lord Mayor subsequently announced that
the Coal, Corn, and Finance Committee would meet
in the evening at the Mansion-house, to consider
what steps should at once be token to carry out the
views of the Court in alleviating the existing
distress.

Parliamentary,
A report was made by the Law,
and City Courts Committee, by which it appeared
that a rule nisi had been obtained in the Court of
Exchequer, calling upon the authorities of the Lord
Mayor's Court to show cause And establis,h their

right, under the process of that Court, to attach
property about to be shipped abroad.
Mr. Cox said that the privilege of attaching such
property wes a very important one claimed by the
Lord Mayor's Court, and it was very necessary that
the Corporation should support their rights. He
moved that the matter be referred back to the com-
mittee to take legal advice and adopt any proceed-
ings they might consider necessary to support the
rights of the Corporation.
The Court shortly afterwards adjourned.

IRE RISCA COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

RISCA, TUESDAY, JAN. 15.

Yesterday afternoon, after the despatch of our
parcel, and this morning five or six other miners
were called, who gave evidence of a similarly
favourable character as to the condition of the mine.
Several of them had worked in the eastern district
close to the seat of the explosion, but by none of
them had any signs of the presence of gas been dis-
covered up to the time of its occurrence. The report
was the same with regard to the west side. None of
them however, had heard the blower, the existence
of which at present rests entirely on Mr. Harrison's
evidence. In all cases the lamps were proved to
have been locked by the proper officer, and no de-
parture from the rule which provides that where a
lamp is extinguished in the process of working it
shall be taken back to the top of the slope to be
re. o, was proved to have taken place. Several
witnesses spoke of the current of air in the
m n es.3llg thoroughly sufficient; in fact, some-
as to be inconvenient and almost
of the b
n. Derrick's account of his journey
tpiamteosustothst:Zg.
through the east N:Purkings the night before the ex-
plosion was corrobori:ted by miners who had met
him at various points on his rounds.
Samuel Jones a timberman"
was at work all night
in the cross heading close to
Sage s s tall, where the
pit fired, but saw nothing to excit!' his suspicions.
There appeared to have been a smasl. fal
his l inross-
the
roof of this stall, and Mr. Owen, by
had
examination, endeavoured to show that 05
c
accumulated from it, but none of the men had ever
found any there. Gas had been seen from time :0
time in different part of the workings, but
when this was discovered, according to the evi-
dence, it had been usual to remove the men until
the air had been coursed through the place, and the
gas swept away.
No evidence was obtained as to infractions of the
colliery rules, with the exception that one of them
admitted that he had been allowed to wander about
the workings looking for his tools, or for other pur-
poses, without any check from the viewer, though
one of the rules prohibits men from roaming about
without special permission. One of the witnesses
identified the lamp of which mention was made by
Mr. Harrison, with a pick-hole in the gauze. It
was found some hundred yards from the seat of
the explosion, and on being produced,
Mr. Brown, the inspector, remarked that the
hole appeared much larger than it was when first
brought up from below. It seemed as though some
one had been trying whether a mandril or pick
would fit into it, and had thus enlarged it.
Mr. Llewellin, for the company, said he was pre-
pared with abundant evidence to show that it had
not been tampered with.
Joseph Adams, a collier belonging to a neigh-
bouring mine, who descended the pit immediately
after .the accident to render what assistance he
could, gave a long account of the operations in
which he had taken part for the recovery of the
bodies in the first few days. By far the greatest
number of men, according to his account, were
choked by the after-damp, not many were very
badly burnt, and some he had found crushed by
the falls. Fifty-two men were found lying dead
altogether. They were at work on the west side,
and were making the best of their way, after the
explosion, to the downcast shaft, when they were
stopped by a fall, and before that could be cleared
away the after-damp overtook them and poisoned
them. Adams, when questioned as to his opinion
of the cause of the explosion, attributed it to the
accumulation of gas behind the stalls where Sage
and others were at work "ripping back"—i. e.,
taking away as much as possible of the 12 feet
pillars of coal which in the first operations are left
standing between each stall. In "ripping back"
the men begin at the most remote end of the pillar,
and work forward to the heading, leaving open
space or " gobs" behind them. When all the pil-
lars are removed, the district then becomes a
"gob," "goat" or old working of larger or smaller
extent, which is shut off as tightly as possible from
the rest of the workings, so as to prevent the oozing
out of the gas generated therein. Adams said he
had been informed by Joseph Hall, one of the men
who worked in the thin east level, that there was
no air carried round the back of these " rip-
pings." The consequence of this, in witness's
opinion, would be that the gas emitted from the
" gob," which daily grew larger and larger as the
men worked forward, would be accumulated in the
roof, and, by some means or other, fired from the
lamp of one of the men there employed.
The evidence of this witness brings into view a
second cause of explosion. Mr. Harrison, the
manager, attributes it to a sudden discharge of
gas. Adams puts it down, on the contrary, to the
gradual accumulation of gas in the space left behind
by the men in taking away the pillars from the
back of the stall to the heading or gallery from
which the stall starts. As to the precise manner
in which the gas, however produced, was fired, no
evidence as yet has been brought forward. In
reference to blowers, this witness allowed that
when he had been employed in the pit some years
ago, he had known of three blowers suddenly
making their appearance.

lAN. 16.

After the despatch of our parcel yesterday, -
Joseph Hall was called to confirm the hearsay
evidence given by the preceding witness, Adams, as
to the inadequate ventilation of the "rippings" in
the fourth east district. His account, however,
of the conversation by no means agreed with what
had been reported of it. It turned out that some time
he had been at work driving a windway near these
rippings, and his conjecture was that the sides of
this windway had been squeezed together by Hall.
The current of air was weakened or stopped alto-
gether, and a sudden blower coming off, it had over-
powered the ventilation. He himself had seen a
blower some three months before, which was so
strong that it fouled the air for 20 yards to wind-
ward—that is, instead of being swept away by the
ventilation, it had forced its way against a current
of air, which was there going at the rate of from
sto 7 feet per second. The work was, of course,
stopped in that particular spot, and a spouthole or
narrow passage driven through into the next stall
so as to carry the gas off. Hall was questioned as
to the ventilation of the.open spaces left behind by
the men in taking out the pillars, but did not ap-
pear to think it practicable to sweep a current of
air through them, inasmuch as the roof and floor
were so bad that they very soon squeezed together.
He explained the mode of ventilating these rippings
by means of spoutholes driven through the 12 feet
pillars from one stall to another, so as to carry the
air well up to the face of the work, and could not
take upon himself to say that any better mode than
this could have been adopted.
John Sims was employed in driving a windway
in the first east district, and on several occasions
had met with gas in that operation. It was impos-
sible altogether to avoid this, for the brattice which
carried the air along in this work could not be car-
ried up to the face of the work. In such cases it
was usual for one man to hold the lamp some 5 or
6 yards back, while the other man cut away the
coal. On some occasions he had known the lamp
get redhot. If the wind were at any time slack the
foreman, on complaint being made to him, would
immediately do all in his power to remove the cause
of it, whatever it might be.
This morning the examination took place of
several colliers belonging to the mine, who had
been at work in the mine, and who gave the same
account of the absence of every sign of danger, and
of the confidence of the men in the arrangements
of the mine and the power of ventilation. Several
of the men had been at work when the pit fired.
They were made aware of it by a sudden check, in
some places by a reversal of the current owing to
the partial vacuum produced by the explosion, and
by a ringing noise in the ears. All caught up their
lamps and made as fast as possible for the bottom
of the downcast shaft, meeting more or less of the
after damp in their flight, which killed their weaker
comrades by the way, and affected even those who
were fortunate enough to escape severely. One poor
boy was called,
who started with his father from
the most distant part of the working, and when
they had almost reached safety a strong column of
the after damp met them. The old man told his son
to lie down, and both went quickly off into the
lethargy which is produced by this deadly com-
pound. How long they lay in this state the survivor ;
could not tell, but he was revived by a sudden resto-
ration of the current of air. He groped about in
the dark for his father, but could find him nowhere,
and when he was reached by the men who were
searching for the sufferers the old man was found
quite dead at the bottom of a short incline.
Thomas Purnell was called, and stated that he
had worked in the neighbourhood of the stall where
the mine fired, and some months ago had met with
a blower there. He could not get near enough to ;
hear it, but he knew of its presence by the cap of
flame on his lamp.
Being cross-examined as to the manner of driving
the ways, he said the brattice was never more than
three yards from the face of the work. The spout-
holes from stall to stall were generally from 28
yards to 30 yards apart, and whenever one was