The Sun.
London, England, 1850-11-13 00:00:00

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2IRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALV-.--.A.'
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-,DAILY NEWS.—The British nation and th ,te .7.,--• --,,,, zi
Beicish Government hare serious reason for complain i•aaefe-4ernees,4-0
in the cavalier manner in which both have tear' `e.:‘:ie.,..j.e,
-treated by the now hypeninsolent courts of St. ":..1 _lx_ I snag,
Petersburgh and Vienna. Here have the most solemn ''" s'"
congresses been held, the most grave resolutions
come to, of alliance, of offensive mad military move-
ments, of the putting down of this system of govern-
ment and the setting up of that, without England
having been once consulted in the affair. There was
a congress of kings and ministers, not i. sclusively
German, at Bregenz, early in October, in which all
the movements that we now see were planned and
pre-ordained. Yet not one word of these intentions
or resolutions was communicated to the British Go-
vernment until, we believe, the other day. Such a
slight was the more outrageous, since the chief of
these resolutions regarded the settlement of the affairs
of Schleswig-Holstein, in which England had taken
a most active part, both in mediating and in coerc-
ing, at least as far as moral coercion goes. It
could not even be said that England showed a hostile
spirit to these absolutist powers. For Lord Pal-
merston signed the London' protocol, when even
Austria hesitated to put its signature to so anti-
German a document. Yet this signal adherence to
Russian policy on the part of Eugland brought with it
no return in the shape of either politeness or con-
sideration. And Count Nesselrode at Bregenz, and
the Emperor Nicholas at Warsaw, proceeded to ordain
in their own way, how not merely the Hessians but
the Holsteiners, were to be coerced, without deigning
to consult England in the matter. We must say that
the British Government, if not the British nation, de-
served more respect than this at the hands of Russia.
We will not deny, however, that the British Govern-
ment has some reason for complaint against Prussia
for being so impolitic as to keep open the Schleswig
sore, which has united so many powers against her,
and at last given a handle for the united absolutisms
of Russia and of Austria to overwhelm her. The only
excuse of Prussia lies in her real inability to settle the
question unless Denmark could be persuaded to grant
concessions. It was the vital interest of Prussia
during the last months to have settled it. And we
firmly believe that if she did not do so it was from
sheer inability to persuade the Holsteiners to submit,
and in the impossibility for her to force them. Now,
however, pressed by circumstances and by a million
of armed foes, which necessitates in her the junction
of prudence with valour, the Prussian Government,
that is Radowitz himself, advised—nay, insisted
,
on the Stadtholderate withdrawing its troops
from Schleswig. Lord Palmerston insisted on this
the first. This, his Lordship said, would be the fair
fulfilment by Prussia of the fourth article of the
treaty with Denmark. Accordingly, in order to place
itself in accord with England, as the mediating
power, Prussia bas insisted on the withdrawal of the
troops of the Duchies behind the Eyder. And the
Stadholderate has, we understand, consented to it.
But how is Holstein to be subdued or pacified ? At
Bregenz the absolutist alliance determined that this
should be done by force ; that the Frankfort Diet
should at first attempt it; and that, if it failed, Rus-
sia would take the matter in hand. It was first, we
believe, begged of Hanover to undertake the task, and
send its army of 20,000 men into Holstein. But the
King of Hanover was aware that his army would
not execute such a misdon. and that soldiers and po-
pulation would rise against him, were he to attempt
it. The Austrians and Bavarians therefore undertook
it; and the armies of these powers have not only
marched through Henan to the occupation of
Hesse, but have actually occupied Ceburg,
with the intention of marching through Prussia
into Holstein. The Austrians and Bavarians, how-
ever, very well know that Prussia will not, and can-
not allow them to pass. Tney will pretest them-
selves at the frontier, however, be refu-ed passage,
and then they will appeal to Russia to grant them
that material aid in the reduction of Holstein which
was agreed upon at Bregenz amongst the absolutists
themselves, and formally threatened at Warsaw. Now
Russia's mode of granting this aid in the reduction
of Holstein is neither more nor less than marching an
army of 150 000 men through Prussia, and even
through Berlin; whilst an Austro-Bavarian army ad-
vences from the south. Will Prussia, can Prussia,
resist this double invasion ? The arguments of those
who dissuaded the calling out the landtvehr were, that
if the landwehr be called forth, the Prussians, as a
military nation, will never suffer the march of the
Russians through their territories ; and that the call-
ing out of the landwehr would thus be tantamount to
war. The landwehr has been called out, amidst the
acclamations of all classes of the people. The march of
the first corps from Berlin was accompanied by a burst
of popular exultation, of which the Prince of Prussia
received his share. The excitement is general. Still
if the Prussians are exuberant in military spirit and
indignant at the outrageous insolence of their foes,
these foes are confident in their numbers. The Aus-
trians are brave, having at their back the same Rus-
sians which enabled them to subdue Hungary. A
conflict, therefore, may ensue—a conflict of fearful
odds, and Prussia would be invaded by a million of
foes, which it would require the spirit of the Great
Frederick to meet, and his military talent to baffle.
Napoleon used to say, that if he were England he
would not allow a cannon-shot to be fired in Europe
without his permission. We believe that England,
without being Napoleon, has still the power to
forbid cannon-shots. IVe believe that it does lie in
England's power to forbid the Emperor' of Russia
to march his hordes across Prussia under the pretext
of reducing the Holsteiners, but really for the pur-
pose of crushing all constitutional liberalism or anti-
Russianism
in Germany. 'We believe that our
English Minister coul"l settle the question of Holstein
without this huge and menacing march and conflict
of armies,--first, by persuading the King of Den-
mark to offer fair conditions to the Holsteiners, and
then representing to them, not as a foe but as a
friend, the jeopardy in which they are placing the
entire German rae,e, with whom, if not victorious,
they inevitably fall into unmitigated thraldom. If
the King of Denmark will make no concession, and
grant no rights or conditions, then let him try to
conquer Holstein with his forces. If he cannot, let
them grant him terms. The consequence of any
other line of conduct with regard to Holstein mint
be either the annihilation of Prussia, or the awaken-
ing of a revolutionary war. Neither of these alter-
nativea ought ever to have loomed in the distance,
or been amongst the possibilities of the time, had
France and England done their duty. Why they
have riot done so, there is scarcely time to inquire.
But if they do not now exert themselves, Na-
poleon's prophecy will be thltilled to the letter, and
Europe will be either republican or Cossack.

THE AWFUL COLLIERY EXPLOSION.

LATEST PARTICULAR;:;.
DURHAM, TUESDAY.—A melancholy catastrophe oc-
curred yesterday at the Houghton Pit. near Newbottle,
in this county, by an explosion of firedamp, whereby
twenty-six men and boys were hurried into eternity.
The pit is the property of the Earl of Durham, and is
ventilated by means of two shafts, an upcast and down-
cast one. Mr. Rutherford is the viewer, and the general
condition of the mine was considered good. At the
time of the explosion there were 150 men and boys in
the pit, engaged in the 'rations workings. The explo-
sion was sudden. A loud report was heard, which re-
verberated through all the workings, and was soon indi-
cated at " bank" (a term applied to the entrance of the
shall), The air-courses were in many places completely
destroyed, and the direction of the current changed.
This occurred between five and six o'clock, but it was
past eleven before it was poshible to penetrate the work-
ings, when the noise of voices was heard in a direction
about 400 yards from the bottom of the :that, which
clearly showed there were some survivors of the melan-
choly occurrence. The
exmpenraetron on learningployedintheatrhdisuosuo.
arduous
and dangerous duty of lo
deubled their exertions, notwithstanding their compara-
tively_ exhausted strength, and after many deeds of he-
roism and personal daring, they succeeded in reaching a
part of the mine where the atmospheric air circulated,
and there 120 men and boys were found alive, and res-
cued from a fate which had seemed inevitable. From
the statement of one of these survivors it appears that
the men were engaged at their work when they heard
the noise, and they rushed simultaneously towards the
shalt, but they had not proceeded far when they met
with the choke damp, on enterirg which many of them
fell, some to rise no more. On observing this those not
so far in advance became stationary, or retreated for a
few yards, where they found the air rood. They soon
discovered that they were hemmed in by a body of
choke-damp, to pass through which would have been im-
possible; for any of' them, on attempting to enter it but a
few yards, were overcome, and would have fallen had
they not hastily retreated. On consulting together it
was considered the safest plan to remain where they
were, and trust to the exertions that would be made to
reach them from the shaft by carrying in the air; and
they did so remain for between five and six hours, until
their delivery was effected. Bafore that time had ex-
pired many a stout hoart quailed in prospect of
certain death. A dread solemnity pervaded the mind
of every one, impenetrable darkness increased the
agony of feeling, and the silence of this tomb of the
living. was only broken by wild ejaculations cf despair,
fervent prayers and supplicatious to the Almighty for
deliverance, or at intervals by signal shouts, intended to
guide any exploring party to the sepulchral abode. It
is impossible to portray the condition of these poor men
during this long and fearful period, or convey any ade-
quate conception of their joy and gratitude on being
rescued from such extreme peril and restored to their
anxious and mourning friends, who gathered round the
op
fi t
each m ou teh w
x,
ha
adasi
ttti,
dn awaiting
party
n silence and
frotdthe resigns
poisonous ion a tthmeosp returnhero
of the workings.
It is sad to relate, however, that twenty-six persons
attempting
fa
to get through
the shaft. Several were
burnt.
Some were found without heads, lters
omodsatns epf them
towarbdys
without legs or arms ; portions of the same body were
perished,the ch ok
found in different and distant places, showing the
c
v.o
i 1 nee of the fire. It is impossible to tell with
certainty where the fire origintitid; so g vat it th
havoc made in its vicinity, and the men working near
;' it were blown to s great distance. The principal por-
tion of the sufferers are roily-boys and waggon-men.