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

dene with it was filled up tightly with rubbish.
They had never been in the habit of using mortar
to stop the spoutholes, though no doubt with plenty
of mortar it would be possible to stop them more
tightly ,than at present. The spoutholes, however,
were very likely to creep together, and squeeze out
a wall. Occasionally there was a scarcity of trams
(for carrying the coal from where it is cut to the
bottom of the shaft), and in that case the coals which
had been cut would He about, thus reducing the
size of the airway (thereby reducing the column
and the velocity of the current of air).
This witness was still under examination when
our parcel left.
JANUARY 17.

After the despatch of yesterday's parcel Morgan
Beddow, an assistant-fireman was called, and his
evidence carried the inspection of the third and
fourth cast districts to within two hours and a half
of the time of the explosion. He descended with
the men to work between five and six o'clock in the
morning, and went his rounds in the ordinary man-
ner. It was close upon seven o'clock when he visited
Sage's stall (where the " blower" is supposed to
have come off), and at that time there was not the
slightest indication of fire-damp there. Beddow
was in the pit when she fired (in miner's language
a pit is always feminine), and in all probability he
owed his life to a quarrel with his father, who is a
head fireman on duty during the day. After finish-
ing his rounds he met the old man at the bottom of
thecslope, who asked him to go with him" a-dial-
ing"—i.e., surveying. Young Beddow, however, as
it was Saturday, wanted to get away early for an
afternoon's amusement in Newport, and refused,
on which the father got angry, and bade him get
out of the pit:as fast as he could. They had parted
about five minutes, and young Beddow was just
going up the slope to the bottom of the shaft for
the purpose of ascending' when the explosion took
place. He was thrown forward some yards by its
force, though not seriously injured, but the old
man who had gone forward into the workings was
killed. Beddow was also !examined as to the state
of the " goaves," which he maintained were firmly
packed in ; and as to the " rippings" behind
Sage's stall, the open space thus formed he said
had closed up by the squeezing together of the roof
and flour. He had that morning tried for gas there
es far as it was possible to get in, but there was
n one. The ventilation of his district was very good
th,Nt morning.
this morning Mr. Phillpotts, the manager
of tt'ie company, was called and examined at
great length, but, as he did not interfere in
arry way with the underground management, his
evic'ence threw no new light upon the causes of the
accidalt. Mr. Harrison, the viewer, had power, he
said, to carry on the underground operations ac-
cording to his own ideas, but, of course, he would
not have power to undertake any extraordinary
outlay, such as sinking a new shaft, or placing a
furnace, with,lut consulting him. The ventilating
machine was sel
+, up at his recommendation, after
consulting Mr. Do.hson, an eminent engineer of the
neighbourhood, who jnade a report on the best
means of developing the resources of the colliery.
In that report Mr. Phillpotts allowed it was recom-
mended to sink a shaft to the deep workings, for the
purpose of making a new colliery of the affair,
which, when connected with the old workings,
would greatly improve the ventilation. This, how-
ever, would have taken some years to do. All Mr.
Harrison's requirements, he asserted, had been car-
ried out, nor had he ever refused to give effect to
any of his recommendations on account of expense.
He himself had had no experience of underground
workings. Of course there had occasionally been
gas present in the mine, but he had never heard of
lamps getting redhot, or of the men being obliged
to put them in the windways to cool them.

THE FATAL RAILWAY ACCIDENT
.NEAR LINCOLN.

DEATH OF ANOTHER SUFFERER.
On Wednesday afternoon an inquest was held
upon the bodies of the engine cleaner and passen-
ger, Clark, who died the evening previously.
Richard Pearson said—l am a guard on the
Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Railway.
I have been in the employ of the company for 13
years, and have been guard upon the line from
Lincoln to Hull 12 years last December. Thomas
Thompson is the engine driver, but I do not know
how long he has been in the service. He has been
on this line about three years. I left New Holland
on the night of the accident 26 minutes late (the
proper time is 5.45)--6.11. After leaving New
Holland we ran up to Langworth, and were 24
minutes late, making up two minutes. We left
there at 7.55, proceeding from thence to Greetwell,
and arrived at the cutting, but had not increased
the speed. It was about five minutes to 8 o'clock
when I looked at my watch before the accident oc-
curred. We are doe at Lincoln at a quarter to 8
o'clock. We carry the letter bags. Up to Greet-
well Cutting we were running at the same speed,
and were not attempting to make up our time.
The train which carries the letters from Lincoln
does not wait if we are behind time; their time is
ten minutes past 8 to leave Lincoln. The driver
blew the whistle in the Greetwell Cutting, which
is an extraordinary circumstance at this point.
My attention was called to it, and I immediately
applied the brake. After I had done so the car-
riages came into collision, and I was knocked down
at the bottom of the van, and I do not know any
more of the circumstance. The train was arranged
—engine and tender, three fish waggons, brake van,
third class, one first and one second class carriage,
and a dummy behind. When I recovered from the
force of the concussion I went to see after the passen-
gers. I found one severely injured—a third class
passenger—he was laid upon the seat. The car-
riage was quite upright. I asked him if he was hurt,
and he replied that he had got his thigh or leg
broken. After having seen him, the fireman, G.
Thompson and myself, went to look after the driver
and cleaner. I found the driver lying on the bank,
near to the engine ; I sent the fireman back with a
signal behind the train to Greetwell. I could not
see the other man, there was so much steam blow-
ing off. I then came on to Lincoln. I did not
notice any portion of the wheel lying about ; it
was quite dark.
By Mr, Kirton—They do sometimes come down
the cutting faster than other portions of the line,
but since the severe weather set in he had driven
very carefully.
By Mr. Robey—The speed would not be more
than 30 miles an hour. The engine wheels are
tested at New Holland, Ulceby, and Barnetby
junctions. The speed depends upon the driver.
We have no instructions from the company either
to increase or slacken our speed. The station mas-
ters at Barnetby and Ulceby superintend the tap-
ping. lam unable to say whether they tap the
engine wheels ; I never saw them. This was the
first journey the engine had made that day. She
had been in the shed all day. lam unable to say
how old she is.
Mr. J. Barber, locomotive ' foreman New Hol-
land, said—l am connected with the Manchester,
Sheffield, and Lincolnshire line, and look after the
locomotive plant. I know this engine, and had in-
spected her on Monday afternoon. I examined the
wheels, and had new blocks put upon the tender
brake. When she left New Holland she was in a
perfect state to travel. I have seen the wheel this
morning and examined it. It is made by Mr. Tay-
lor, of Leeds, from the best scrap iron. From my
experience, the low state of the temperature of the
atmosphere and the rigid state of the frost would
cause the wheel to fly. The speed of from 25 to
30 miles would not be the occasion of it. I have
known of other engine wheels having flown in a
similar way during the continuance of the frost.
The weather exercises the same effect upon cast
as upon wrought iron. Accidents of a similar
character have occurred all over the kingdom.
A salt waggon at New Holland now has never
been moved for two months, and yet the tire is
split.
Mr. Robey said that he had seen the same effect
spoken of by the last witness. A cylinder in his
yard broke all to pieces in one night.
Messrs. Tye and Dixon coincided with the evi-
dence given as to the afect of the frost.
Mr. Barber—l do not think it is necessary for
any other inspector to look after the engine-wheels,
as the driver is brought up to it from a child.
William Griffiths said—l am permanent-way
inspector on the Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincoln-
shire line. It is my duty to look over the road,
and see that all is right. My district is from Bar-
netby to Lincoln, a distance of 29 miles, and from
Saxilby to Ciarborough Junction, a distance of 81
miles. Igo over the line, occasionally riding and
sometimes walking. I see the entire distance I
have to superintend once in six days. The gangers
on the road, if they see anything wrong they cannot
set right send to me. I was at the Greetwell cut-
ting on the Bth, when the roadway was all right,
men having been on, backwards and forwards,
night and morning. The hill does not shelve on
to the rails—there is a recess large enough to catch.
all fallings from the bank. If the rails had been
disarranged in the least my gangsman would have
rectified it. The rails have hot been removed from
the time I saw them, and they are in a good state
of repair. It is 481 yards from where the first
piece of the tire was found to the point where
the engine and tender toppled over. It is 15 yards
from the place where the first marks arc found in
the snow to where the first piece of the tire was
found. The last piece of the tire was found. 196
yards from the first piece.
G. H. Richardson said that he was sitting in the
third-class carriage, and saw the end of it broken
in. He assisted the deceased (Clarke) to get out
from the debris. The train was going, he thought,