The Sun.
London, England, 1868-11-30 00:00:00

THE COLLIERY ACCIDENT.

Very few fresh particulars as to the accident have come
to hand. The Manchester Guardian of Saturday says :--
"No light whatever has been thrown by any means upon
the proximate cause of the accident. It was suggested,
probably in the gossip of the idlers about the pit-brow and
in the villages, that the gas in the mine had probably
become ignited by an explosion of gunpowder used in
blasting. It is true that to a limited extent gunpowder is
used in the pit, but the supposition we have mentioned is
discredited by most men who have knowledge of the pit.
Another suggestion is that the padlock of a lamp may
have been tampered with, and its flame exposed in the
inflammable gas. This hazard unhappily finds some support
from the well.known careless habits of some of the workmen
—it being only a few weeks since one of the miners, him.
self a victim to the accident of Thursday, was fined a
sovereign, as an example to his neighbours, for picking a
padlock of his safety lamp to procure a light for his pipe.
It also derives some corroboration from the fact that the
explosion took place at the breakfast hour, which was corn-
monly with many of the miners also the smoking hour.
The whole question, however, lies in the region of
conjecture, and probably will ever remain so. The wit-
nesses are dead. The existence of firedamp in the mine
in such quantity as to cause so violent an explosion is
nearly equally difficult of explanation. Although the
Arley seam of coal is notedly a gaseous one, testimony is
borne on every hand to the thoroughly good management
of the Hindley pit, and the ventilation had hitherto been
regarded as exceptionally good. An examination has been
made of the return air-course from the district in which
the explosion took place, and it was found in good work-
ing order. A suggestion has been offered which meets
with some favour, that there had probably been a sudden
outburst of gas, and a breach of the pit rules in respect
to lamps, occurring at the same time. The matter was
keenly canvassed by the miners and visitors about the pit
mouth, who exhibited an endless ingenuity in constructing
theories to explain what it is hopeless, almost, to suppose
can ever be demonstrated.

The Manchester Examine• says there is a general con-
currence of opinion that there must have been a sudden
outburst of gas from the roof, and that it fired, not at the
ventilating furnace, but at an open light in the workings.
The miners worked with padlocked safety-lamps ; but
nothing is more common than for the men to open the lamps
by picking the lock. A month ago two men were detected
smoking in the workings, and were severally fined by the
manager £l. One of these men is amongst the killed. There
was a rumour on Friday afternoon that the explosion had
been caused by the firing of a shot, and the question will
no doubt be investigated at the inquest. Up to Friday
evening the coroner's precept for the holding of an inquest
had not been received.

The meeting of the company which owns the mine Wad
held on Friday, and the sum of £250 was voted to be
applied at once in mitigation of the distress which must
arise among the families of the bereaved.

With regard to the cause of the explosion—as a good
deal has been written on the effect which the state of the
atmosphere, as indicated by the barometer, has in increas.
ing the tendency to explosions in collieries—it may be
stated that a barometer is kept at this colliery and read
daily, and the quantity of air passing through the mine
is also stated. The average number of men working
during the previous fortnight was between 260 and 270,
and for this number there was an abundant supply of air.
On the day previous to the explosion the workings were
examined by five different firemen, and reported to be in
good order, and the information sent to the manager was
that 54,430 cubic feet of air per minute were passing
through the pit. The reading of the barometer at that
time was 30 540. On the following day, the morning
of the explosion, the reading was 30 6-10, and this
bad been entered in the book kept for the purpose.
The several firemen had reported the workings safe,
and the underlooker had made his entry in a small memo•
randum-book, in which be wrote the statements made to
him before laying them officially before the manager. He
gauged the quantity of air passing each morning at nine
o'clock, and as the explosion took place just before that
hour, there is no register for the day, but no appre-
ciable difference in the force of the wind had been noticed
by officials or workmen. With regard to the ventila-
tion, it may also be stated that on the morning after
the explosion the return air-courses from the district where
the explosion occurred were examined, and found to con-
tain no sulphur, although the furnace had not been lighted.
These facts seem to point to a sudden outburst of gas,
and that there is a probability of a breach of the rules by
the removal of a lamp-top may be inferred from the fact
that one of the victims of this explosion was fined a Bove.
reign for picking the lock of a lamp to obtain a light for
his pipe.

A jury of about twenty persons was called together on
Saturday morning by Inspector Dickinson, and they viewed
the bodies. The letter of instruction from the coroner
stated that after this had been done the bodies might be
removed, and he would formally open the inquiry on Mon-
day morning, at half-past eleven o'clock, and take such
evidence as would justify him in issuing certificates of
burial. As soon as this became known amongst the friends
of the deceased much dissatisfaction was expressed in
consequence of arrangements having been made in many
cases for the interment of the bodies. Several persons
offered to go to Southport and see the coroner (Mr.
Driffield) at their own expense, and eventually it was de-
cided that Sergeant Scrivens should lay the circumstances
of the case before him. The messenger went accordingly
and the reply he brought was that it appeared impossible
to alter the arrangements.

THE BISHOP OP LICHFIELD IN NEW ZEALAND.
—There was a rumour afloat, at the time of the mail
leaving, to the effect that, should the Bishop of New
Zealand and Lichfield succeed in transacting a large
a mint of business which is at present before him by the
m idle of October, he will proceed, in company with
Bishop Patteson, to Norfolk Island, in the schooner
Southern Cross, in order to view the fruits of a mission
instituted by himself, and carried on so ably by his
successor. The schooner would have Bishop Patteson at
the island, and go on to Sydney with the Bishop of New
Zealand and Lichfield, who would proceed thence tc
England. —New Zealanit Examiner.
THE LOWOOD GUNPOWDER EXPLOSION.-The
gunpowder•mil explosion at Lowood, near Lancaster,
has unfortunately resulted in four deaths, two others of
the sufferers having expired. The fifth man who was in
the mill at the time is yet living, and it is hoped will
recover. The explosion took place in the " corning "
house, and the work se.?ms to have been conducted with
every precaution, so that no special cause can be assigned
for the accident. The men had all been employed at the
mills for several years, and were known to be steady and
careful. The presumption, therefore, is that so long as
" villanous saltpetre is digged out of the bowels of the
harmless earth" for the manufacture of gunpowder these
sad fatalities may from time to time be expected