The Sun.
London, England, 1826-03-13 00:00:00

DISTRESSING AND FATAL ACCIDENTS.

( From the Stilling Journal, March 9.)
It has seldom fallen to our lot to record a more
disaressing visitation of Divine Providence, which, from its
nature and severity, has plunged a suffering family into the
deepest affliction, yet in few cases has the saving hand of the
Almighty preserver been more remarkably seen than in the
following, where, but for' the marked intervention of a moment,
the issue would have been still more overwelmingly fatal.
Francis Batterson, an industrious workman at Devon Troll
Works, had, on Tuesday the 28th ult. been, with four of his
sons and a daughter, engaged in driving a level 'in one of the
Company's coal-pits ; and about three o clock in the afternoon,
the whole were assembled at the bottom of the shaft, waiting
for a bucket to take them up. The colliers all having left their
work, and no engine going to draw them to the top, they were
about repairing to another pit, in which there is a stair pro-
vided for the ascent of the workmen (and by which they are
expressly enjoined to go to and return from their work) when
they heard some people in the shaft changing a box in the
pump for drawing water, whom they ordered to tell the engine-
man at the top to draw them up, which they neglected to do, so
that when the engine started it was only to place, as usual, the
buckets in mid-pit till next day, and consequently one guard
was taken away from the safety of their ascent.
It is customary, and, indeed, a rule that ought in no case to
be deviated from, when people do ascend, to hook the I:ucket
securely previous to going into it, but at this moment the unfor-
tunate father.had either been impressed with the idea that they
had too little time, or had trusted to a dexterity of performing
it after they were in it, which a long practice, hail rendered
familiar, but not safe. Accordingly Ins two youngest sons and
a daughter were placed within the bucket, the two elder sons
taking their station on its edge, and the father had placed only
one foot on it, when the engine suddenly startedivith the un-
fortunate group, with only one of the hooks secured ; the
father was instantly thrown out, the two elder sons leaped off,
but the two younger, with the daughter, , were in a few seconds
carried tip in perilous situation beyond the reach of help, and
even beyond the dreary limits of hope, the bucket hanging by
one side. There case was now truly awful, and infinitely more
so on account of their being fully alive to their danger, which
was evident from the bitter cries of the poor girl, and the ago-
nizing and frantic shrieks other little brother, while attempting
to make himself heard by the enginerevin above.l When they
had ascended upwards 'of one handred feet, the sound reached
the top, and the man at the engine suspecting something wrong,
but this only hastened the
caimtnalsetrdoiaptheely, riebvrersethde,h,
beuiclicloettionb'eginning to descend, the
bottom was caught on the frame-work of the pit, and toying off
the iron band or lug, in which the only hook was fixed, dropt,
and precipitated the whole to the bottom. Humanity shudders
to carry her eye to the sequel I—the poor girl, who,had just. at-
tained her 16th year, was in a moment dashed on the iron plates
which Cover the bottom, anti dreadfully mangled; the elder
boy, who was about eleven years of age, by the same rough
Passage, wee hurried into eternity ; and the third, who is
nine years old, was also taken up for dead, while the father
and the two 'other sons very narrowly escaped being crushed to
heath by the descending bucket and their helpless relatives.—
Words cannot paint the scene which presented itself to those
who first descended to this scene of blood, when, amid the
silent gloom of everlasting night, they discovered, by the
feeble glimmerings of an expiring lamp, one living brother,
with a dead brother on his knees—another with, a dead sister,
and the distracted parent supporting the apparently lifeless
corpse of the third member of his family. the announce-
ment of all this to a feeling mother may be more easily
conceived than described ; but when she was told that ker
husband and two sons were safe, gratitude to a kind Provi-
dence seemed greatly to restrain the struggling emotions of her
wounded heart; and when it was discovered that the spark of
life still lingered in one of her boys, Hope, with her smiles,
enlightening futurity, and with her heavenly accents, justify- ,
ing the ways of Providence, engaged, for a while, on her all a
mother's unwearying and solicitous attentions, and as her heart
clung round the living child, it tended in a great measure to
divert her thoughts from the more disastrous portion of her
sufferings. IVe are, gled to announce that the youngest boy is
now in a lair way of recovery, though he met with a fractured
thigh and twin, and was otherwise much bruised.
ANOTHER ACCIDENT.—Yesterday afternoon, while our
Correspondent was sealing the packet containing •the accounts
°Utile above, ,another fatal accident happened in the same ph.
young man, John Hunter, about 24) years of age, was owning
up on a bucket of coals, and had ascended a considerable way,
when a beam of wood, which'supports the partition of the pit,
fell down upon him, and killed luau:
The 'body was taken up
at the bottom of the shaft, Without a single symptom of anima-
tion. Hunter had only late recovered from a fractured thigh
which he met with by part of the roof of the workings falling
on him.

THOMAS WENTuronTH I3EAUMONT, Esq., M•P.,
is busily engaged at present in canvassing the
freeholders of the county of Northumberland,
against the General Election. On entering the
EXCHANGt: Rooms, Newcastle.apon-Tyne,
Wednesday last, the Honourable Gentleman Was
received with nine loud and hearty cheers. Mr.
13ExumoNT's canvass at Newcastle is reported as
having been extremely favourable to his wishes.