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CARDIFF COUNTY COURT,

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- CARDIFF GOVERNMENT SAVINGS'…

I-mRAILWAY TRAFFIC RETURNS.

HUNTING APPOINTMENTS. !

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.…

SFhq (fattdijf & ^tlerthqr…

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LOCAL INTELLIGENCE.

Frightful Catastrophe at Upper…

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Frightful Catastrophe at Upper G-ethin b Colliery, p THF PROPERTY OF W, CRAWSHAY, ESQ; An explosion occurred at this colliery on Wednes- day which, in its sad results, place it by the side of the Hartley and the Dunryn. Few can imagine the effect which an explosion of this nature has on the district around, and Merthyr on Wednesday presented a sad spectacle, a spectacle which a short time pre- I vions was witnessed at Tredegar, and previous to that at Tybach. <. About nine o'clock a messenger arrived at Cvfartlifa office, announcing a dreadful explosion at Getlivn colliery, and with liis well known humanity, Mr. Crawshay and agents, proceeded to the scene by the Cvfartlifa railway, which is directly connected with the colliery, accompanied by Drs. Dyke, Probart, and Rees, Mr. W. Jones. Mr. Bediin^ton Ivirk- house, engineer, and the Rev. J. IIoAvell, of Cy- farthfa. The explosion occurred at five minutes past eight, and was immediately made known to persons work- in- near the bottom of the shaft, and those at the pit's mouth. It occurred at the eastern workings of the nine feet seam, and in a spot where a danger signal, indicating the presence of fire," had been placed a day or so previously. The explosion was not so violent as former ones. 6 men being burnt to death, but fully 26 or 28 were suffocated. On proceeding to the scene immediately after the occurrence, we found the old picture. First the great cover over the pit's mouth, then a dense crowd of people, and in the midst, close by the shaft, the heap of straw for the dead bodies, and, near, the medical gentlemen, and agents of the works. As each body was brought up it was taken to the heap of straw, and every possible means used to restore life. Unhappily these efforts were fruitless. Yet few would have thought that either of them was dead. The body was supple, warm, the very glow of health could be traced on the coal-stained face and lips, but water, brandy, all failed, and in every case, after five or ten minutes' effort, the signal was given by one of the doctors, "Take away the body." The signal for lowering the carriage is made by striking an iron bar, and this sound came sharply, fiercely, and, towards the end, angrily. The storm of death seemed at the close to be more violent, and the dead bodies came up now by ones and twos inces- santly, and so great was the crush to see who the sufferers were, that only by dint of the strongest measures could a space be maintained around the shaft. We have never seen such a spectacle—such a scene of horror. Those burnt were so charred about the face that any feature might have been broken off as one breaks a piece of charcoal. Their hair was burnt away hands clotted like a jelly. About twelve o'clock the whole of the poor sufferers were placed on trams, and taken up by rail to Cyfarthfa-yard, where the friends and relatives were found awaiting them. This was the saddest scene of the whole—the screams and sobs of the women being awful to hear. Various rumours are afloat as to the cause of the accident. By some the workmen are censured for disobeying rules, by other witnesses the pit is stated to have been unsafe, but no doubt a searching inquiry will be made. As the melancholy procession of the dead passed through the sti eets, the most stolid were affected, and the spectacle of robust men unused to soft emotions sobbing violently, touched every looker-on. And what a procession! Not soldiers struck down in the field, amidst the roar of guns and thrilling music of the band; but a proces- sion of poor hard-working colliers, whose life had been a toil, whose death was a tragedy. There they were, sable in hue like their own blocks of coal; and many amongst them wives, wives no longer; children orphans, were weeping and wailing till the little tene- ment received its dead master, and the door closed the scene of honest pathos from sight. We append a complete list of the sufferers. On Thursday, the inquest was held, at the Bush, and the formal opening of the inquiry having been made, it was adjourned, the jury first visiting the homes of the sufferers. Joseph Rees, collier 29 suffocated Thomas Bowen, 42 John Phelps, doorboy 13 Thos. Morgan, collier 46 Joseph Morgan, „ 16 David Davies, „ 18 Jno. Morgan, „ 20 Rees Davips, „ 76 badly burned KecsPuviPg, dootboy 11 suffocated Hardure Lewjp, collier 35 Samuel Harries, labourer 28 A. W. Stephens, collier 15 badh burned Morgan Thomas, „ i6 suffocated David Be/ldoe, overman 49 badlv burned J no. Morgan, collier 33 suffocated Jno. James, „ 23 badly burned Alex. Richards, „ 22 suffocated •lohn Lewis, „ 15 Pa vey or Rees, „ 45 William Rees, „ 15 Hoderick Thomas, „ 20 badly burned Davidibomas, 24 Griffith Morgan, 42 suffocated Win. Morris, „ 4.2 badly burned «lno.. Daniel, „ 47 Juo. Luke, „ 34 suffocated James tnomas, 22 Davi 1 KIlis, „ is Griffith Ellis, „ 41 il. Lewis, „ 13 1). P. Tiioraas, „ — Lewis Price, „ — George l-'rice, „ David Luke, 11 ]eg broken

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