The Sun.
London, England, 1844-10-01 00:00:00

AND MEMEL.

In consequence of an error in the translation of the
following notice from the Prussian Government, which
appeared in this paper of the 26th inst., it is repeated i.—

(TRANSLATION.)
" The Sea Light ,exhibited on Brusterort has been
improved, so as to show two fixed lights, the position
and elevation being the same as the former, and visible
in clear weather at a distance of about 2} German miles,
within 101 degrees of the horizon—namely, from 'West
by North, as far as N.N.E. (W. by N. bis N.N., Ost.)"
" Both:Lights will be exhibited for the first time on
the evening of the Ist of October, 1844, and kept burn-
ing from sunset to sunrise throughout the year.'

Sir Robert Sale, in addition to being appointed to
the command of a regiment, has received the lucrative
appointment of Quartermaster-General of her Majesty's
forces in India., for which place he proceeds overland in
December.—Liverpool Albion.
THE GREAT WESTERN.—This fine steamer,
which sailed hence on the 17th ult., arrived out at New
York on the 31st ult. She left again on her return, on
the 14th instant, with between twenty and thirty pas-
sengers, was telegraphed off Holyhead at five o'clock
yesterday afternoon, and arrived in the river about mid-
night, after a passage of fifteen days and a few hours.—
Liverpool Albion of Monday.
RAILWAY FARES.—The travelling public will be
agreeably surprised in the ensuing week to find that the
groat northern lines, including the London and, Birming-
ham, Grand Junction, and York and North Midland,
have spontaneously agreed to make for the future a large
reduction in their fares. A boon so unexpected, and
some would even say so uncalled-for, must be regarded
as a great public benefit, the value of which will be en-
hanced in the estimation of the public by the good grace
with which it is bestowed. These very men whom the
public have been taught to regard as grasping monopo-
lists, have shown in this case, as indeed in ever other case
throughout the whole history of railways, that the pub-
lic interest and that of the railways mutually depend on
each other, and that the latter can never seek to develop
itself without consulting and promoting the former.—
Railway Chronicle.
ATTACK ON A DUBLIN GAMBLING
Houss.—ln-
formation having been given to the authorities that
t, gamblin was carried on at house
which Cad been opened exta
ensiely for cigarnd read-
ing-rooms for the military, a n rid yatniPg‘h‘mt bAr:rk-e-Squpueu)r:-'
intendent O'Connor and some of the detective force
effected an entrance into the rem'
however, find persons at the timep elBne-es.
edthienbgambling,
They did not,
but among other articles which were in
aenhainvdolreyotfeweltoiethuma
party- in was
othue' loaded,seclr
agnodt pboyssteusrsnioinn e they
turning
et
could throw a -high number for himself and have
one to follow for a player unconscious of the deceit.aTohwe
accounts of several officers
cers of the garrison with the con-
cern were also taken possession of, showing that the
buiinoss carried on was of rather en extensive nature.—
Saunders.

COLLIERY EXPLOSION.
DREADFUL LOSS OF LIFE.

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

This calamity appears to have been even more
dreadful than we at first announced. The number of
men in the pit at the time of the explosion was nearly
150. Only one man, it is said, has escaped alive or
uninjured. Upwards of 100 dead bodies have already
been brought to the bank. It is utterly impossible to
describe the dreadful anguish of the surviving
relatives.

One man was found unsinged, with his cap in his
mouth ; he had probably placed it there in order to pre-
vent the foul air getting into his mouth.
Several had their fingers closed into each other, and
pressing on their mouths.
Fifteen putters (boys and young men employed in
taking the coals from the hewers to the bottom of the
shaft) were in one lump—all clasped together. They
had their clothes on prepared to ascend. When working
they are nearly naked.
The state of the relatives beggars all description.
Each cottage had its dead father or brothers, or both.

Three men at the bottom of the shaft were saved. I
The shock was so great that the roof near
them had fallen down, and so blocked up
the passage as to stop the further progress
of the bad air. These men, thus providentially rescued,
were the first who brought the intelligence to the bank.
The explosion was not heard by those outside the pit.
The men, when asked the cause of the dreadful accident,
say that the state of the pit must have been known to
some persons ; but it doe* not appear that any com-
plaints had been previously made.
One lad had his bones sticking out of his thigh; many
had their bones broken, some were very much scorched,
while others to all external appearance were uninjured.
The "after damp" is generally fatal to those who escape
the immediate effect of the explosion.
The three men saved are John Thompson, waggon
wayman ; John Hall, hewer ; and Coats, putter.
These three were at the bottom of the shaft when the
explosion occurred.
An equally disastrous explosion occurred twenty
years ago at Wallsend, about four miles from Newcastle-
on-Tyne. A hundred and one perished on that occasion.
Wallsend was then under the superintendence of
the late Mr. Buddle, who was also the head viewer of
the Northumberland and Durham coal trade ; and it
strangely happens that Mr. Foster, the present head
viewer, is the practical superintendent at Haswell and
some neighbouring collieries.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE EVENING PIPERS OF YESTERDAY.

STANDARD.—We are not surprised at the dead
silence of the Times on the subject of the "mayor-
alty." A reasonable time ought to be afforded to
our Contemporary to digest the " great fact,"
that its influence in the City is not quite so
extensive as it has taught us to believe. It is
I true that its campaigns against Mr. Alderman
Harmer and Mr. Alderman 'Wood were entirely suc-
cessful ; but the cause must be referred to the
extreme weakness of the candidates, rather than
to any extraordinary influence exercised over the
citizens of London by our Contemporary. Such,
indeed, was the self gratulation with which these
successive victories were proclaimed by the Times,
that it seemed to fancy it had secured a pa-
tent for the rejection of any aspirant to the
civic chair whom it might desire to exclude.
This flattering delusion must, or ought to have
been dissipated by the proceedings of the
Common Hall on Saturday. After exaggerating the
clamour against the successful candidate by every
possible means—by denunciations of his fitness for
the office to which he aspired ;—earnest admoni-
tions to the Livery in its leading columns; and
letters from the übiquitous Mr. Rock, under every
variety of signature, elsewhere ; it is obliged to
confess that its imperious mandate has been de-
fied, and its authority not only disputed but
set at nought. It is no part of our present business
to a: count for its suscess on the occasions referred to.
Suffice it to say, that the cases were widely different
from that of Alderman Gibbs, because the proof of the
correctness of the imputations by which the parties
were declared to have been disqualified had preceded
the allegations. In assuming, therefore, to have con-
trolled the decision of the Livery on those occasions,
our Contemporary was entirely beside the mark.
In the case of Alderman Gibbs its exertions have
far distanced any of its previous efforts to bear down
a victim. The labour was, indeed, worthy of the
difficulty of the task. It charges him with
refusing to submit his accounts, when the simple
fact was, that he did submit them to the only
parties competent to audit them, so far back
as December, 1843, since which time they
have been printed and published. It is
true that these accounts, audited by men of
character and station in the City, have been ques-
tioned by Messrs. Rock and Co. ; and equally so
that the Alderman has afforded every facility for
their examination, and that the Master's report
upon them would have been concluded, but for
the vexatious interposition of the plaintiff. Well,
these accounts disposed of, what other charge has
the Times to allege against its victim ? It admits
that it has none. The gravamen of Mr. Alderman
Gibbs's offence appears to have been that he was
in Chancery ; whither he was forced and detained
in order that some excuse might be afforded for the
recent attempts of the Times to obstruct his passage
to the civic chair. Mr. Alderman Gibbs could
not repudiate the select vestry which had existed
from time immemorial ; but he proposed that the
question should be tried by a court of law, and
offered every facility to hie opponents for bring-
ing such an inquiry to a speedy issue. Had this
proposal been accepted, that question would have
been decided a month ago ; but a decision which was
so likely to be in his favour was not to be thus pre-
cipitated. The object of his assailants was to induce
the Livery to believe that the charges which were
impending might terminate unfavourably to the
defendant ; and that meanwhile the Livery should
" wait until he was cleared." The proceedings
before the Master in Chancery for the purpose of
establishing the correctness or incorrectness of the
Alderman's accounts, have been delayed in a similar
manner, and, as we must believe, for a similar
object. The Livery would, indeed, have been "des-
titute of all sense of propriety," if they had not at
once seen through the motives and objects of his
assailants. If, however, they have preserved their
self-esteem, they have lost the countenance of the
Times. We presume that they will have no difficulty
in adjusting the amount of the balance in their
favour. The result of this contest is useful
beyond the vindication of an upright man
from the imputations which have been cast
upol him; for it has shown that the influence which
' has cowed so many worthy and respectable people
is a mere bugbear, which has no manner of existence,
so far as the City of London is concerned, save in the
imaginations of the alarmists themselves. The claws
of the would-be lion have been clipped, and, roar he
ever so loudly, his roar will never again be mistaken
for the " thunder" of the king of the forest. In its
present position " silence is wisdom."
GLOBE.—The selection of Mr. Alderman Gibbs,
by the Court of Aldermen, as Chief Magistrate for
the ensuing year, is made the subject of a triumph
by the Harald. Nearly two columns of exulting
comment are appropriated to the occasion. The
powers of the eulogist are peculiarly adapted to
the theme. The Herald, which has failed as an
organ of Government, may, possibly, acquire noto-
riety as the adopted advocate of Mr. Alderman Gibbs.
If " The Gibbs' Gazette" were to be introduced as
a second title, the thing might take, or rather be
"taken." It would indicate the special mission of
the journal ; and impart a kind of Aldermanic and
Mayor-like importance to its character. Whatever
appeared in its columns would bear the unquestion-
able stamp of truth, and be redolent of integrity.
The signature of the Alderman of Walbrook
would not give it a more sure passport to public
confidence. . . . . The Court of Alder-
men had an undoubted right to select which
they thought most eligible of the two Aldermen
returned to it by the majority of the Livery. We
are not disposed to quarrel with their choice. The cir-
cumstances in which they found themselves were by
no means such as to render it of much consequence
to the character and influence of the Corporation, as to
which of the two Aldermen, to whom the Livery had
limited their choice, was selected for the. office. It
was fortunate for Mr. Alderman Gibbs that there
existed strong grounds to justify the Court of Alder-
men in again passing by his competitor for the
Mayoralty. Had there been any other candidate
before the Court, we do not believe that even the
Court of Aldermen could have had the temerity to
elect Mr. Alderman Gibbs to the office of Chief
Magistrate, surrounded, as he is at the present
moment, with the most grievous prejudices and im-
putations. Whether they be created solely by his
wrongheadedness, and imperturbable obstinacy, as
his friends maintain ; or whether they be the re-
sult of absolute breach of official trust, as some have
not scrupled to assert ; one thing is certain—the
dignity of the office will be obscured, and the effi-
ciency of its administration will be diminished. An
individual placed in a post so elevated as that of Chief
Magistrate of the metropolis of England should be
not merely free from the imputation of having
abused any public trust confided to his keep-
ing ; he should have done nothing which would ,
seem to imply that he has not fulfilled that trust
with fidelity. Mr. Alderman Gibbs may be, and
probably is, free from the graver offence of malver-
sation of the parish fah& of St. Stephen's, 'Walbrook; I