Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1878-09-18
FOREIGN NEWS,
THE SULTAN'S TRIALS.

grain-tax, and he has appointed a COM
mission to devise leans for retiring the
pape1-currency. The commission will
recommend the conversion of the cur
renCy into q per cent. loan, secured on
specific revenues to be set apart for. that
purpose.
A TERRIBLE MINE EXPLOSION.
A special cablegram Of the 18th says
England is now passing through an era
of accidents Of the most dreadful ma
ture. The excitement and anguish
caused by the sinking of the excursion
boat Princess alice on the Thames has
not subsidized to any appreciate degree,
when close upon it comes tonight the
news of a terrible colliery accident in
Wales. To the horrors of this new calam-
1ty England will awake in a few hours.
The disaster occurred yesterday after
noon at Ebbervale Colliery, Abercarn,
near Newport, in Monmouthshire. The
pit IS still on fire, and the burning gas
occasionally bursts out from the mouth
of the venti]ating shaft. Search-parties
have been able to penetrate only a few
yards into the main entrance to the
NINE, where they encountered eigh-
teen dead horses in the stables. Beyond
this point the fallen timbers and the
blazing woodwork and coal gas efectual-
ly bar the way.
This disaster is the most terrible that
has ever occurred in Wales. The
scenes at the mouth of the pit are IN
descrlbable. Frantic women who have
relatives in the mine are kneeling about
the shaftway, calling Historically for
the men who are known to have gone
into the mine. The dead body Of
a boy Zone of the drivers) has been re-
covered. There is hardly any hope en-
tertalned that more Of the miners are
yet alive, although it is asserted there
IS distant part Of the pit in which ref
uge may have been found from the
flames. The poisonous gases, however,
would soon penetrate even to the most
distant places Of refuge, and render
breathing impossible.
Reverting to the first Of recent calam-
tiles, was informed tonight that 628
bodies had been recovered from the
Princess Alice, and from the river.
Cannon were fired over the Thames at
Woolwich yesterday afternoon to bring
up cOrpses. Several bodies were re-
covered III tnaJ way.
TERRIBLE! TERRIBLE!!
London advices of the 18th inst.
say that the full extent Of
the terrible disaster in the coal mine at
Abercone yesterday is not known. At
2:3O this morning flooding of the pit
was commenced. At that hour the fire
was within short distance of the botr
tom Of the shaft, and all hope Of fur
Their rescues had to be abandoned.
When this decision was announced to
the relatives of the 251 men still in the
pit, the scene was terrible beyond de-
scription. Thirteen additional bodies
of victims were recovered before flood
ing the pit. Abercone colliery
is the property Of the Ebbu Valley
steel, iron and coal company. one Of
the largest iron and coal properties in
South Wales. It is situated few hun
dred yards from Abercone railway sta
ton. in the Western Valley section of
the Monmouthshire railway. The pit,
which is $50 yards deep, and one Of the
largest and best worked in the district,
was yielding 1000 tons of steam
coal daily. The machinery for wind
ing, pumping, and ventiiating was of
the best kind, and the use of the safety
lamps in the mines was rigidly
enforced. The cause of the
explosion cannot even be sur
missed. Volunteer explorers succeed
ed in bringing out ten or twelve men
very much burned; also seven dead
bodies, but it is feared that others can
not be for the present got at in conse-
quence of the fire extending, and there
remains no reasonable hope that any
further lives will be saved. The whole
district of Monmouthshire is much ex-
cited, and it seemed as if the entire fe-
male population Of the district had
gathered about the mouth of the shaft.
EMPEROR WILLIAMS SPEECH.
A. Berlin cablegram Of the 10th says:
In the speech from the throne, which
was read by Count Stalberg Werpizer-
AIDE at the opening of the Reichstag yes
terday, it SAID that, immediately after
the first attempt upon the Emperor's
life, the Federal Government became
convinced that the crime was due to
the influence Of the sentiments propa-
gated far and wide by the agita-
ton which aimed at undermining
the existing laws of the State and
society. The speech. after referring
to the rejection of the first bill brought
forward in the reichstag for the arrest
of the Vaccinations which imperiled
the common interests of the country,
says: "The federal government thinks
now, as formerly, that extraordinary
measures are required to prevent a fur
Their extension of the already wide
spread evil, and to pave the way for its
extinction, and that such meas
ures should preserve the liberty
Of citizens in general, and only pre-
vent the abuse of liberty, by which the
pernicious Socialist agitation threatens
the foundations Of life and all culture"
The speech expresses confident hope
that the Deputies will not refuse the
means of giving the Empire the same
security from internal as it already en-
joys from external attack. The Liber-
als arc not muoh r1ooOod with tho