An explosion of fire-damp occurred on Saturday week, in the
Bull Pit near Wakefield. There were at the time of the explosion sixteen men and eight boys in the pit ; six of the boys being severely burn t by the ignition, and three of them so much injured that one died front suffocation immediately, and the other two died the following day. Three other men were slightly injured by the fire ; making in the whole eleven who suffered more or less injury in the space of a few seconds. An inquest was held on the following Monday, and ad.. journed till Thursday ; when it appeared that James Bedford, one of the workmen, bad been guilty of great carelessness in placing a lighted candle in a dangerous part of the pit, instead of using the safety-lamp. After a protracted investigation, and hearing Bedford's voluntary state- ment, along with other evidence as to the cause of the accident, the Jury returned a verdict of "Manslaughter against James Bedford."
As the mail was on its way from Leeds to London on Tuesday night, the Wakefield bag was lost. Whether taken from the mail by a robber, who must have been disturbed in his work of plunder, or lost by accident, is not known. It was found beneath a tree, in a field in Sandell, next morning—opened : some letters also appeared to have been opened. The finder conveyed the bag to the Post-office as he discovered it, from whence it has since been forwarded.
One of the boilers belonging to the stationary engine on the Liver- pool Railway burst on Friday week, and a man named Wilson was killed, by being dreadfully scalded ; be was actually blown to the sine opposite to where he stood. Two other men were likewise so much bruised and scalded, that little hopes are entertained of their recovery.
An attempt was made last week to set fire to a handsome new range of shops now building on the site of the Earl of Derby's mansion, in Church Street, Preston, Lancashire. Several heaps of shavings were placed on the premises, and set fire to; but they were fortunately dis- covered in time to save the premises. It is supposed that the builder having purchased the wood requisite for the building in planks at Liver- pool, so as to obviate the necessity of sawing it at Preston, bad ex- cited the jealousy of some persons engaged in that business : hence the incendiary attempt—Halifax Express.
Previous page
