MARVELLOUS ESCAPE OF MINERS.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1360, 11 February 1884, Page 2

MARVELLOUS ESCAPE OF MINERS.

♦ A telegra m from Maryborough : n the Melbourne Age says, — -'A peril' ously narrow escape from another disastrous mining fatality in this district occurred on Saturday evening, Jan. 19. At about 4 p.m. the alarming: news spread all over Home Hush that 13 men were buried in the Working Miners' United claim. Scores of people hastened to the mine, and the intelligence proved correct. It appeara that S. Hartley, C. Frith, J. Kennedy, A. M'Dougal, W. Banks, M. M«Lean r J. Blanch, J. Young, H. M'Donald, \V. M 'Donald, C. Summers, C. Tatteisall, and H. Cummins were mining itfc the south end of No. 1 workings, when the drive burst through at the spot midway between them and the shaft, completely blocking them in. The rush of sand and water was so great that feais were entertained by those on the surface that it would choke the pumps, and thus cause the men to < be drowned ; but although a large : quantity of sand found its way into thewell, the pumping was fortunately not interfered with, and the air-pipes remained unbroken, The miners who were not imprisoned, realising thc+ dreadful position of their mates, worked away with desperate energy to release them. It was found that after the first burst the flow, although heavy, was capable of being withstood, and when a considerable portion of the debris had been removed the manager (Mr A. Robertson,) accompanied by Messrs J, Trownsen (captain of the shift) and Jos. Watters, made a gallant and successful attempt to advance up the drive. They struggled bravely on through the sand and water almost breast high, after much difficulty, were encouraged by the sight of a waving light in the black distance. They then signalled their imprisoned comrades to make an effort to escape, and this the unfortunate men did. They had a severe fight, however, with the drift, and before they got through this many of them lost boots and even trousers in the struggle. The poor fellows, were overcome with joy at their escape from so terrible a position. No one was injured, and great praise is given on all hands to Michael M'Lean and Angus M'Dougal, who could have escaped when the drift gave signs of bursting in upon the drive, but who ran back to warn the others and were imprisoned with them. The miners intend to present them with a testimonial in recognition of their intrepedity.

The American interviewers and reposters are (says a corwspotident) very unfortunate with Lord Coleridge. They can get every little out of him but *' bland smiles," and bland smiles do not go very far towards filling up a newspaper. They have, in despair, "been obliged to fall back upon praising his " immaculate shirt front," though one would think that that was a matter which redounded more to the credit of his laundress than his Lordship. Even the Falls of Niagara failed to induce the " silver-tongued Coleridge " to clothe his thoughts in words. The only statement he appears to have made was the somewhat unsatisfactory assurance that ne could say ■'•' nothing." Oar astute Chief Justice seems to have taken the sailor's porrot as his model daring his transatlantic tour; he doeWt talk much, but he thinks a great deal. When the Prince of Wales was making his American tour, a very similar taciturnity distinguished him. At a magnificent banquet given him at "New York; some of the reporters of the leading papers dressed themselves as waiters, and stood behind the Prince's chair, in order to hear and report his conversation during dinner. Whan they came to compare notes afterwards they found that the only sentence which had fallen from the lips of the "Heir Apparent to the Empire on which the sun never sets was " By Jove, these are duced fine oysters,! " Tha following comments, on the Braithwaite-Stout controversy appear in the Dunedin papers: — The Daily Times says: — The Anglican Church has always been supposed to be superior in matters of taste to the Denominations which have seceded from it — such as the Wesleyans, Independent;, Baptists, &c. But if the recent at tacks on the Bishop by the Otago Anglicans were to be published in the Guardian, we fancy the respectable readers of that sound Church organ would hold up their hands in amazement. It is more easy to understand "Why Mr Braithwaite should think it necessary to publish his reasons for leaving the Lyceum. The Lyceans have always been prone to parade their opinions, with the view of giving the Christian public as much offence as possible. If we may judge from Mr StoutaCldtter to " my dear Braithwaite," afcd hid expectations as to the beliefs 4s&i gentleman will arriveat by " more dtady," the perfection of good taste and what amongst Christians is termed ** cliarity " ha» riot yet been arrived at «iven in the Lyceum. "I know you Vfljre bound to conceal your love," we cian imagine Mr Braithwaite replying ; 'but why did you kick me downstairs 1" * 4 * * * * Mr Braithwaite's letter must have been a boomshell in the Preethought camp ; but it is easy to attach too much importance to a single resignation of a prominent member. Many men have gone through the same stages of thought as he, and yet, unfortunately, the opposition to Christianity has not abated of recent years. We may rejoice at the prospect of the return of an erring member to Christianity, but we shall delude ourselves if we suppose that Mr Braithwaite's resignation is likely to break up the Lyceum, so long as it has a high priest of the tenergy and ability of •Mr Stout — The Morning Herald considers that •' the withdrawal of Mr Braithwaite, the Vice President of the Association, is significant. . . . . . The Tf.ason why the Association never was a success is that which most men of intelligence saw at a glance, although it has taken the Vice President years to discover. It might he possible to band people together on a mere negation, because after all that amounts to a positive assertion, but the foundation upon which this organisation has sought to build is the assertion of neither positive nor negative statements. . . . . The organ of so-called freethought, the Echo, gave np the ghost l>efore the present rupture took place. The two fsets together show that this new sect is in anything but a prosperous state. J . . We entirely agree with Mr Braithwaite in his remark that *' religion — that is a belief in God, immortality and the influences connected therewith is natm-al to man, whatever his intellect may say. " Here are a few recent catastrophes from Monte Carlo: — An Englishman allowed a train to run over his neck ; a Russian blew his brains out ; a young Bavarian fired two bullets into his stomach in tha middle of a gaming saloon at Monte Carlo, and a well dressed stranger shot himself in the Hotel des Empereurs at Nice ; a merchant poisoned himself at a Hotel de la Gare at Cannes ; an Austrain of distinguished family, at Vienna, blew out his brains in a shed in the Rae Segurance, Nice ; a lawyer threw himself from the top of the Ruabu Oapen into^he sea, at Nice ; a, German officer shot himself in the ear : a Hollander, poisoned himself with laudanum, arid another Dutch, nobleman put an end to his Hfe with his pigeon-match gun, in the garden of his villa at Monaco; a widow, aged fif.y-five, poisoned herself with laudanum at the Hotel des Deux. Mondes, Nice — she had sold her last jewel to endeavor to recover her Josses at Monaco ; a German ihot himself in the chest on a seat, a few steps from the casino, and an Englishman hung himself on a fig tree-Gn the St Pons road ; a gentleman shot himself before the Cape de Paris, close to the casino, and a young Russian shot himself close to the casino. A Brisbane telegram in the Melbourne papers says : "Mr Jones, who was so severely injured at Rockton by a circular saw, is still alive. The saw cut through fire ribs. The heart and left lung can be seen in full working ■order. Only one case of a aim Jar r^aiure has ever before been recorded,'