The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-12-19
Collicry Explosion.

= fearful explosion occurred in . coal Dit at
Barnsley Yorkshire England. on The 1stl, In inst t.
which VIC hare some particulars by tho W Atlantic
tsiosIaphc ca lie. The scene Of tho fatal disaster
was the Oaks couery, near Barnsley, and it occur
the most extensive coal pit in tho district, tie
enty yards The works extend fully Two mics @ IN
hours filed with the number Of hands requisite to
Keep up their great production and fitted up with
every necessary tackle, instruments and tools.
On Wednesday morning about four hundred
persons, men and boys, commenced work in the
Pit at the usual hour, and wet on until near the
hour Of one O'clock, when terrific explosion. sup
posed p5 OF fire damp, tooz place. The persons en-
polyed above ground. with almost alf the hands
working in the glass factories, foundries, needle
and iron rolling works, with the citizens and shop
keepers Of the town, rushed to the mouth Of tie
pit Immediately after they heard Of the disaster.
Exploring parties were formed, and number Of
It was at first believed that all in the bit had
been killed, but some few pc. sons were brought out
alive by the exploring parties that descended. It
hundred persons were killed. Among those saved
are o few Of the engineers. They are terribly mu-
Hated. t,a They state that the explosion was from
On Thursday, another explosion, occurred. It
happened about nine o'clock in the morning while
the pit. removing the dead bodies. Eighty bodies
had been taken out up to the time Of the second
explosion. At that time there were several ofi-
thirty Of them were killed. Up to the evening Of
Thursday, over three hundred dead bodies had
been recovered and brought up.
On Thursday, an explosion, attended with great
loss Of life, took place at Strahord.
a to that Il last s tbe
Oaks Coliery, in which seventy-three persons per-
ished and since that time explosions In coal pits
attended with great loss of life. have been fre-
quent. Many, perhaps most Of these explosions
are to be attributed to the recklessness Of the
miners. IF they use the safety lamps invented by
sir Humphrey Davy, and no other light, an explo-
sion cannot wen occur, for the flame cannot reach
the explosive gas, and it's burning inside the wire
screen ives warning Of the prese:ce of the dan
gerous fire damp IN time to allow all to escape,
But long immunity from accident begets careless
ness, ana as the Dsvy lamp gives less light than
an unshadowed candle or lamp, the men use the
ire damp, it reaches the fame, and in an instant q
terrible explosion ensues extending in most cases
to the whole mine.
While these accidents may be attributed directly
to the carelessness of the miners themselves still
it would seem that the owners and managers OF the
mines might SO ventilnte the pits that fire damp
could not accumulate in such quantities as to be
dangerous. Of course this would be attended with
heavy expense, but when human life is placed in
competition with an increase in the cost of coal
there ought to be hesitation in mourning all the
expense necessary to render coal mining PERFECTLY
safe. The English Government is not nnmindful
OF the lives Of it's people, and such terrible les
son as that at Barnsley viii not be lost on the Par
Lament. We look, therefore, for the enactment Of
9 stringent law, requiring Of the coal miners the
adoption Of all possible precautions against ac-
cident. .">.