The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1884-12-20 00:00:00

AE OTHER DYNAMITE OUTRAGE IN
LORDON.

ATTEMPT TO BLOW UP LONDON BRIDGE.

Considerable excitement was caused throughout
London on Saturday evening from a rumour shortly
after six o'clock that a serious explosion had taken
,lace in the City, and, it was added, everything tended
to show that another dynamite outrsge had been
.Lt-..enipted. At first it was stated that the attempt
had been made on London-bridge Station, and after-
wards that the railway arches in Tooley-street had
been the spot selected, but neither of these surmises
proved to be correct. It appears that shortly
before six o'clock—the time is variously stated as
from twenty to sixteen minutes to the hour—a
loud report was heard coming from tlee direction of
the Thames, and the shock was so great that
many of the lamps on the wharves and streets
which line the river were immediately extin-
guished, the glass which protects the light
being in many cases shattered. At the moment of
the explosion London-bridge was crowded with
traffic, and much alarm was occasioned in the minds
of people who happened to be crossing at the time.
The alaem, however, was not confined to those who
were in the immediate vicinity of the explosion, for
from telegrams which subsequently arrived in London
it appears that the shock was felt as far distant as
Won-Nich. It is not surprising, therefore, that
rumours of the most sensational character at once
arose and it was freely stated that an attempt had been
made to blow up the Custom House, while another
story readily received was that the large powder
magazine which lies in the Thames, a short distance
below Woolwich, had exploded. Like the other sup-
positions mentioned above, however, it was learned
upon inquiry that such was not the case. Im-
mediately after the first alarm had subsided,
the police in the City and metropolitan dis-
tricts were communicated with, and every care was
taken by them to ascertain what really had been the
cause of the report. As it was agreed upon all sides
that the explosion, whatever its nature, had taken
place in the immediate vicinity of London-bridge,
search was at once made in that direction with a view
to discover any trace of explosive material. There
appeared at first to be nothing to guide the officers in
their search, but a statement was soon volunteered,
which tended to strengthen the impression now firmly
gaining ground, that the dastardly attempt had been
directed against London-bridge itself. Several per-
sons, who were crossing the bridge at the time,
informed the police that just before the
explosion they noticed a blaz of light rising
from the water, and this was followed
almost instantaneouLdy by a rumbling sound,
which culminated in a deafening report. A crowd at
once began to gather on the bridge, but all that could
be seen were a few broken panes of glass in a building
next to the Bridge House Hotel, and some similar
damage on the other side of the river, including a
claw shattered sheets of glass at the Custom House
and at the Cannon-street Station of the Sonth-Eastern
Railway. The result of the inquiries on Saturday
night was that the police authorities came to the
conclusion that a missile composed of some powerful
explosive material had been hurled from the bridge,
and striking the water at once exploded, but it was
satisfactorily learned that no damage had been done
to the structure, and that there was no personal in-
jury to be regretted.
Throughout the evening and night careful watch
was kept on all parts of the bridge by the members
of the City force, while below on the tideway the river
guardians took every precaution that could be ima-
gined to secure the safety of life said property.
Additional boats were manned, and a constant cruise
' was kept up through the arches of the bridge. The
seem, of the attempted outrage was visited on Satur-
day night and throughout Sunday by large numbers
of people, whose curiosity was not, however, rewarded
by anything more than the sight of the trivial
damage to which reference has already been made.

From an inspection of the bridge it would seem
that the explosion has caused no structural injury.
Early on Sunday morning the Thames Police were at
the spot, and with other officials* of the Metropolitan
Police, made a close survey, and reported that there
was nothing whatever to be seen, so far as the bridge
is concerned, to indicate that an explosion had
occurred, nor could they trace anything likely to assist
them in their inquiries.'The greatest amount of
activity was also displayed at Scotland-yard through-
out the day, where Chief Inspector Williamson and
a considerable number of the detective force remained
on duty, and were in frequent communication with
the officials of the Government. For want of any
clue, however, their action was completely paralysed,
and they were unable even to suggest any theory as
to the nature of the explosive used, or by whom
the outrage was committed. It seems that, although
the bridge itself was not injured, the effects of the
explosion spread for a considerable distance on either
side of the river. From what had been stated by
several persons who were near the scene at the time,
the explosion would appear to have taken place rather
nearer the Surrey than the Middlesex shore, and yet,
singularly, the largest amount of damage has been
done on the northern side of the river, where windows
have been broken as far down as Billingsgate market
and the Custom House. Nearly all the windows on
the river side of Adelaide-place, the buildings in
which are occupied as offices, have been smashed,
and the destruction is apparent in a similar
way all along that portion of Lower Thames-
street which reaches from the bridge to the Custom
House. Several squares of glass in Fishmonger's
Hall, which stands at the north-west corner of the
bridge, have been broken, but the structure, which is
of solid stone, has otherwise escaped injury. Just
about the hall are several old warehouses abutting on
the river, and these have been very much shaken and
the windows both facing the water and street have been
completely smashed, and in one case, that of the Old
Swan Wharf, the window sashes have been blown
completely in. Dyer's-hall Wharf, which is a com-
paratively new building, in which is stored many
thousand pounds worth of tea, escaped with slight in-
jury to glass, and so powerful was the ex-
plosion, that its effects spread to the lofty glass
screen at the head of Cannon-street Station,
where several large squares of glass were
broken, and in their fall caused great conster-
nation to the passengers who were waiting on the
platform. It is fortunate that the river traffic at the
time of the explosion had been suspended for the day,
or the consequences might have been far more serious
than they were, as the force -.1 the explosion seemed
to sweep across All Hallows and Old Swan Piers. On
the south bank of the river the destruction was very
considerable, the windows in most of the large ware-
houses, both above and below the bridge, having suf-
fered. In fact the force of the explosion was felt in
several of the back streets in the Borough-market
neighbourhood, and was most alarming to the inhabi-
tants, who were at a loss for some time to realise the
cause of it.

Further accounts state that the explosion was the
great topic of the day on Sunday in the metropolis.
In all directions people were recounting their experi-
ences of the shock and the speculation to which it
gave rise, whilst those who were near enough to see the
actual evidences of the explosion were naturally the
centres of interest and inquiry. It has not failed to
be noticed that the day chosen for what can no longer
be doubted was a deliberate attempt at wholesale de-
struction was singularly appropriate, being the anni-
versary of the attempt to blow up the House of
Detention, Clerkenwell, in 1867. This coincidence
naturally points suspicion in the direction of the party
who planned that outrage, which, it will be remem-
bered, was intended to effect the release of the
Fenian leaders, Burke and Casey. The consequences
on that occasion were appalling ; six persons
were killed on the spot, six others and twenty infants
died in consequence, besides five other deaths of sick
persons attributed to the shock, while several persons
were permanently injured and disabled, and some
became lunatics. The damage to property was esti-
mated at £20,000. It is noticeable that London-
bridge has for some time been regarded by the
dynamitards as a suitatle field for their demoniacal
operations. Some eighteei. months ago this fact was
announced, and it was stated that the Government
had information that an attempt upon the bridge
was in contemplation. Although this information
was contradicted at the time the guard upon
the bridge was doubled a precaution which
after a considerable lapse of time has thus been
justified, and the accuracy of the statement
confirmed. Saturday night's attempt has put the
authorities upon the qui vive in all parts of London.
At the prisons, more particularly those of Pentonville
and Clerkenwell, where there are such painful recol-
lections of the catastrophe of 1867, an active patrol
kept on duty, while at the railway stations the
authorities are also on the alert, and an inspector was
at once sent round to the principal metropolitan
stations on the London, Chatham, and Dover line
warning the officials in the parcels offices to be very
careful an to the character of any parcels that might
be booked. Similar precautions have been taken at
all the other large stations in London.
On Sunday morning thousands of people flocked to
London-bridge fully expecting to see some extra-
ordinary spectacle. However, there was nothing to
he seen but an array of broken windows, and the
sightseeis went away apparently disappointed. In
the afternoon there was not nearly so great a number
of spectators, and as became dark and the rain
commenced falling heavily the bridge resumed its
normal aspect.
Among the many surmises set on foot to explain
the outrage is a suggestion that an infernal machine
may have been floated down the river with the object
of damaging the shipping in the Pool. This, of
course, might have been the means of creating an
appalling destruction of life and property. The
matter has been put into the hands of Inspector
Littlechild. The explosion was heard both north
and south. It reached Erith, and in Hackney, Vic-
toria-park, and the vicinity it created considerable
alarm .'Residents of the Victoria-park road and King
Edward's-road left their houses and ran into the
Areets, expecting to see some great catastrophe.
They stood together in groups discussing the locality
of the disaster. It was not until nearly midnight
that reliable news could be obtained. At the
last-end of London the vibration was so great
that the wildest rumours gained currency. The
roadway shook so perceptibly that a statement that
there hid been a severe boiler explosion on the Under-
ground Railway readily -gained credence. Another
,eo.iunt was that there had been an accident at the

proof-house in elnnection with the Guranake]

Ccmpany of the City of London in Commercial-road,
while the Fire Brigade authorities received an inti-
mation that an explosion had occurred beneath the
Tooley-street railway arches at London-bridge. The
noise heard was similar to a heavy clap of thunder.
As far as Bow the effect was distinctly felt. It is
supposed that the sound followed the course of the
river, water being an exceptional conductor of sound.