The proceedings at the inquest concerning the deaths by the
Rawmarsh colliery explosion concluded yesterday. afternoon. Two more persons have died, making the present number of victims fifty-two. After three hours of private deliberation, the Coroner's Jury returned the following verdict— "We find that the fifty-two men and boys whose bodies we have viewed were accidentally killed by an explosion of fire-damp in the Warren Vale Colliery, in the parish of Rawmarsh, in the county of York, in the occupation of Messrs. Charl2s-
worth."
The Jury added to their verdict these "remarks "—
e Although there is not sufficient evidence for us to return a verdict of man- slaughter against any particular person, we should ill discharge our duty if we did not accompany our verdict with an expression of our strong disapprobation of the loose manner in which the works appear to have been conducted at the above pit. We further regard the instructions hitherto given to the men as quite inadequate to the proper supervision and safe working of them ; and it certainly does appear to us, that it is very desirable that there should be some stringent rules and regulations at every colliery for the better and safer working of the coal-mines; and further, that the proprietors of every mine ought to be held by the Legislature responsible for the efficiency of their agents and superintendents."
A. Coroner's inquest at Alnwick has also given a verdict on a death by rail- way collision, which censures the management. Patrick Moreton, a clerk in the service of the Electric Telegraph Company, was killed on the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway, on the 22d of December ; he was in the guard's van at the end of an immensely long and too slowly-moving cattle- train, when a passenger-train overtook the cattle-train and totally destroyed the guard's break. The inquest concluded on Wednesday, with this special verdict—
"That the deceased Patrick Moreton met his death by a collision of two trains on the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Railway; and that the collision was owing to the neglect of the company's officers in charge of the first train to send back a fog or lamp signal to the train following, and further to the neglect of certain officers of the company to supply fog signals to the guard of the first train. " We find the directors and managers of the York, Newcastle, and Berwick Rail- way, guilty of great blame and culpable neglect—l. in forwarding an enormous cattle-train immediately preceding a passenger-train, which cattle-train passed Christen Bank when the passenger-train was within one minute of being due ; 2. in appointing an unqualified guard to such a train ; 3. in appointing only one guard to a double train, 250 yards long.
" Also we find, that the production of the printed instructions by the superin- tendent, as a proof of the general carefulness of the company's management, ap- pears to us only an attempt on the part of the company's managers to get rid of the responsibility resting on them, and to throw the blame on an unfortunate guard, while at the price of a few paltry tracts they get rid of the expense of providing a competent individual, whose sole duty ought to be to see, at least once daily, at some central station, that all parties in charge of a train are provided with proper signals."
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