The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-23 00:00:00

TIIE LATE EXPLOgON AT LUN Win L.

RECOVERY OF TBE BODIES,

On Tuesday afternoon the volunteers seloeted to
commence operations for the recovery of the bodies
assembled at the pit, and were arranged into six
shifts, to work four hours ea-... 11, to b 3 under the
crultrol of Messrs. Brown, \'Vehs•er, R. lladd'son,
W. Maddison, Potter, and Palmer, the gentlemen
who have all along carried out the instructions of
the engineers. Each shift consists of one of the
above gentlemen and 12 men.

At 12 o'clock en Tuesday night, all the crrange-
in en ts having been completed, the first party, under
the command of Mr. Brown, commenced the search
for the bodies of the men. After being in the pit
for a couple of hours three bodies were found; and
shortly after three o'clock in the morning they were
drawn to the top, and at once placed in ceffins and
conveyed to the shed erected for tnat purpose.
The next bhift commenced at four o'clock, under
Mr. Ralph Maddibon, and the men had not been
long in the pit before .a fourth body was found
and conveyed to the top. The bodies were all
much decompo'sed —in fact, two were mere
trunks, the legs of one being entirely gone,
having evidently been burnt by the fire after the
explosion ; two of them were without c!othing, and
incapable of being recognised. • It was considered
prolyible that the other twd.c9uld be identified, as
they had some portion of their clothing on, and as a
tobacco-box was found in the tronsers pocket, of one
of them. As it was believed to b 3 irripesihle that
t wo•of them could be identified, arrangements were
at once, made by the authorities for having them
buried yesterday (Wednesday) evening in Darfield
churchyard.
Two of the bodies were found near to the stables,
where the fire bad raged to a fearful extent, one
under the debris at the bottom, and the other also
in the immediate vickity of the bottom of the shaft.
On its being made known that, four bodies had
been recovered during the night, a great number of
the relatives of the unfortunate men proceeded to
the shed yesterday 'morning to see whether they
could identify the bodies. Up to three o'clock none,
however, were identified. -

After the recovery of the bodies the men were
buaily engaged in making a road through the vast
quantity of rubbish and coal, caused by the fall of
the roof, so that the horses, which are a great im-
pedinient to the progress of .the Work, may be got
out, and thus afford greater facilities for the finding
and bringing out of the bodies.
Before leaving the pit at the 12 o'clock shift yes-
terday, Messrs. Webster and Beaumont were en-
abled to make an examination. 'llavinz explored
the workings to a distance of 250 yards up the
south level, and 200 yards up the second south
board-gate,, they were obliged to return in conse-
quence of the foul air they had to encounter. The
result of their examination was most satisfactory,
as they found that the fire had been CO alpletely ex-
tinguished, so that all fears on that point are now
set at rest.

The v.danteers, it is but justice to sta+e, are
working with untiring zeal, their energies never
appearing to flag.
In the event of the effiuviuin being too over-
Powering, on the recommendaVon of Dr. Holland,
a number of Stenhouse's charccal respirators are
provided for those who like to use them.

KR PEASE, M P., .UPON THE NEWSPAPER
PRESS AND t_HE "MANCHESTER SCHOOL."

On Monday evening Lord Harry Vane and Mr. Henry
Pease, the members for South Durham, were entertained
at a public dinner in Darlington ; Mr. Hutt, M.P. for
Gateshead, presiding. Mr. Pease (a Quaker and a
Liberal, who was placed at the head of the poll) said, in
the course of hie address—" There is probably no press
throughout the civilised world conducted with the same
ability, or that is managed with the same regard to the
maintenance of the constitutional rights of the people, as
the press of England. But whilst we rejoice in this fact,
let us not shut our eyes to the possibility that even the
press may go a step too far. Although I know it is un-
popular enough to say such things, I am willing to say
that when I see the press begin to make up a budget for
the Chancellor, endeavour to make or unmake a prime
minister for the Queen, about to make war or peace for
a nation, and disposed to institute a theology for the
Christian world—then I say that it would be well for
Englishmen not to rest too securely, or to rely too im-
plicity, upon everything that issues from the press. We
know that every subject is amenable to the laws. The
greatest nobleman who sits in the House of Lords a !-
mite the same power. The Prime Minister may be
arraigned for treason, and royalty itself has limits which
it may not forego ; but when you come to speak
of the mythical we,' which crushes or creates by
every turn of the fiy -wheel, I know not where
you will find that with which to hold it in any sort of
reasonable check, upon those occasions when, in my
bumble opinion, it exceeds its legitimate functions.
Whatever may be the defects of the House of Commons
—however far short it may fall of its legitimate weight
and power in the constitution of the country (and that
weight might be -much greater than it is without
trenching on any other power)—whatever tendency
there may be in the press to exceed its legitimate func-
tions—our remedy is to be found in increasing to the
utmost possible txtent the individual intelligence of our
people, their individual independence of mind and action,
and through the constituted channels in bringing that
intelligence to bear on state affairs. No reform of the
House of Commons can do any effectual good unless
there bo a people who can appreciate it." After dwel-
ling upon the importance of education, Mr. Pease said :
—" It bas been said by some persons lately that the
Manchester school is dead. But suppose the school for
the time is in recess, I apprehend there are vital princi-
ples which will again call that school into action. Its
principles live, and to its principles, however little the
men themselves supposed it, this country is to-day
indebted to a large extent for its greatness, and for the
way in which it has come unscathed out of the terrible
war we lately waged," The meeting was on the whole
very enthusiastic, but the hon. gentleman's remarks on
the press did not call forth much applause, nor did they
meet:with any response from the six or seven M P.'s who
took part in the. proceedings.--Manchester Quardian.

THE POSTMASTER-GENERAL'S
XAPORT.

The third report of the Postmaster-General on the
Post-office, presented to Parliament by command of her
Majesty, hasj net been printed. It commences with noticing
the extension of inland service during the last year, in
which period 368 post-offices have been added, making the
whole present number in the United Kingdom 10,866.
The establishment of pillar-boxes is noticed as a
successful experiment, and it is intereled in a short,
time to put up a large additional nurniser in Lon-
don. Dublin, and Edinburgh, and in varieue parts
of the country. The measures adopted for acceienat
ing the delivery of letters in London—including
the sorting of country letters before they reach town
and the division into postal districts—have been so
far successful that the morning delivery of letters
commences 33 minutes earlier, and is completed 45
minutes earlier than before. The conveyance of
mails, exclusive of steam-vessels, and not count-
ing the walks of letter-carriers, within the United
Kingdom, extends to over a distance of 61,000 miles
per day, being about 2,000 miles more than in the
end of 1855. The number of letters delivered in
England last year amounted to 388 millions, being
an increase of about 5.j per ceet. on the preced-
ing Sear. The letters delivered in Ireland in the same pe-
riod were 42 millions, and in Scotland 43 millione; the for-
mer being an increase of only 1-75 per cent., and the latter
of 44 per cent. on the year preceding. The prop ,rtion of
letters is in England 20 to each person, in Ireland 7, and
in Scotland 16. The reduction of the postage on letters
to India from Is. to 6d., made in the beginning of the
year, has already caused an increase from 800,000 to
nearly 1,100,000. The correspondence with France has
also increased, owing to the reduction of postage, about
one million, or nearly one-third of the whole former
number. The interruption of the packet service to the
United States consequent on the exigencies of the late
war caused a considerable diminution in the correspond-
ence, and, though last year there was an increase of
125,000 lettere, the number is still considerahly less than
it was before the interruption. The number of news-
papers which passed through the Post-office last year is
estimated at 71 millions. Of letters returned owing to
imperfect directions there were about 2,400,000, and of
newspapers 550,000. The money transmitted through
the agency of money order offices amounted last year to
11,805,5621. for the United Kingdom, awl the profit
from the transmission, after deducting all expenses, was
22,6741. The gross revenue of the Post-office last year
is stated to have been 2,867,9541., being an increase of
5i per cent. As compared with the first year of penny
postage (1840), the gross revenue was increased by 111.
per cent., and, even as compared with the lest year of
high rates of postage, there has been an increase of 20
per cent. The report notices the continued practice of
sending money and other valuables in unregistered letters
as offsriug great temptation to theft, and as not unfre-
quently raising groundless suspicion. Numerous in-
stances are mentioned of blame being attached to the
Post-office, and to the letter-carriers, when the faults
arose from negligence of the parties sending the letters,
or from the roguery of the persons to whom they vecre
entrusted to be put into the post-office. The recent re-
commendation to adopt district initials has been re-
sponded to very satisfactorily. A Ire,ady about 55,000
letters daily, or one one-third of those posted ire the
London districts, are so addressed.

THE RUSSIAN RAILWAY ROBBERY SCHEME.—The
Russian railway shares were quoted yesterday at 'to
premium, the fictitious demand from Vienna and else-
where being sufficient to keep them nominally at that
price, although it would disappear instantly if any large
number were offered. Notwithstanding the fact of the
scheme being unanimously discountenanced by all the
leading firms in the city, it is to be presumed. the pro-
posed 2,000,0001. wilt be subscribed, since doubtless
Messrs. Baring, as the London agents of the B.ussian
Government, before they intimated to Sr. Petersburg
their readiness to offer that reduced amount ina de ar-
rangements for its being taken, either temporarily or on
such other conditions as might seem e:gpetlient. some
further continental orders for investment of a cha meter
similar to those already mentioned are asFertai aed to
Face been received by one or two of the principa d firms
in tlie Stock Exchange.—Times' City Article.