The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-04 00:00:00

THE WIGAN EXPLOSION.

The coroner's inquiry into the cause of the Wigan ex-
plosion was resumed on Thursday. Mr. Maskell Peace,
town clerk of Wigan, appeared on behalf of the pro-
prietors; Messrs. Higson and Dickenson, Government
inspectors, were present, as well as the miners' agents,
Messrs. Pickard and Aspinall, and several of the local
clergymen.
Mr. Thomas Southworth, the manager of the Himlley-
green Colliery, was the first witness called. He pro-
duced a plan of the workings, and stated the explosion
occurred in the dip workings on the west level at a little
after half-past eight o'clock in the morning. At the
time of the explosion he was on his way from Hindley-
green station to the works. Reaching the colliery he
found the ventilation reversed—the downcast acting as the
upcast, and the upcast as the downcast. In the upcast
there was no injury. They do not wind by it, although
there is a cage in readiness. The-calamity occurred, he
believed, about Isherwood and Beesley'ddown brow—they
were both narrow places, "face ends." Isherwood was
found dead the same day, but Beesley was not found until
Saturday, and then not at his own place. The reason
why he was not found earlier was that it was never sup-
posed he would be in that quarter of the mine where his
body was discovered. Beesley was supposed to be sitting
in the level at the time. He had evidently brought his
box from the place in which he was engaged at breakfast-
time to the level. He was found about 120 yards away
from the shunt, at Ingram's brow, on the main west level.
All the deceased worked in the west level. He did not
believe that any of the men who were in the dip-workings
escaped. There is a barometer at the bottom of the pit,
and a clock beside it, and the observations are taken daily,
and duly registered.
Ellis Drinnan was then called. He said : I am under-
looker, in charge of the Ilindley-green pits. I live close
to the colliery. I went down the pit about six o'clock on
Thursday. I found in the office the head fireman,
Joseph Highton, and asked him as to the state of the pit.
He had been his round, he said, and all was right. Wil-
liam Meadows, under fireman, was also present. I went
to the lower side of the shunt and then to the other side,
and everything appeared right. It was then breakfast-
time, and I went and had breakfast. The whistle
blew at half•past eight o'clock for the pit to
start. I sent the lads out, and then went
round to the up-cast, where I stood for a few
, minutes. I was suddenly knocked down, and I could
not see for dust and coal. There was a great wind.
I prepared for running, intending to leave the pit
as soon as I could. I was almcst smothered with
dust. I took the west level to get to the pit shaft. When
I got there I went up at once. A man named Henry
Hayes, a pony tenter, came up by the same cage ; he had
been burnt by the furnace. When I came to the top I
went down by the other cage. Joseph Ingram had then
commenced to send up the men who were burnt. There
were five or six cages of them. When we got down the
draught was blowing the flames of the furnace up the shaft
instead of by the regular flue. We "slacked" out the fire
as well as we could, and afterwards the water was sent
down the pit, and all was right directly. The men then
began to pour in from the east workings, and we sent them
up as fast as we could. All the deceased were found that
day, with one exception. I made no investigation myself
that day, but I have since passed through the whole of
the west level, including the dip workings, and I am sure
the explosion has taken place on the lower side. The mine
snakes gas, and only locked safety lamps are allowed to be
used. A daily register is kept of the quantity of air which goee
into the workings and its distribution. The average
quantity passing into the westerly side averaged from
18,000 to 19,000 cubic feet per minute. That quantity has
been sufficient so far to clear the workings from gas.
There was passing through on the day before the explosion
19,020 feet, and through the dip workings 5,760 feet.
There appeared the ordinary quantity on the morning of
the explosion.