The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-23 00:00:00

-ITERRIBLE EXPLOSION AT II ENGINEER
• MSTATILISHMEN3VCHATHML, •

On Monaa:t roOrriing .a .frightful' explosion occurred
at Chathani in 1114 'ii4:.rtiin; of tlici!Rhyal Engineer
establiliment wliieh"fi'set 'apai`t, 1:4: the manufacture of
hand-grenades; .fit,:e's;and Other mi,,,,fles ofrt dtsernetivA
character, by which.a number of men' eniployeci In the,
factory were severely' iaj are& sonic of the eases .being
likely.to terminate fatally. The part of. the. engineer
. establishvient in which the accident 'occurred was'that
thie worth gun she'd, a long building
eXi'L'ailigarcnit nth- feet in length by between 20 and
30 in width, the interinf,- Vfilich is' not reqsaired for the
guns and field pieces, used hY:,t'hb it'oyal Engineers,
being set apart for the stowage of eegititering
implements in u,e by the sappers and minefs-, -:i;1:1;1 the
central portion is used as aMalltifactory for fuses, hand-
grenades, &c.; a number of the sappertef.the,itoyil'and
Andian Engineers being under daily insitruCtsonall the
building. The working party, numbering about 30 men,
and 'a few non-commissioned officers, nearly the whole
being Indian Engineers; with onljia fey of the Royals,
Commenced operations in the factory at th7ifslial /ram this
nci'Mngi. The men were underthe dißectiOn of a sergeant, ,
instructor zihhind Adams, of the Royal Engineers, a man
of great experietia,' Owl frt eiterY respect stated to be
well :qualified for the rettonsikrlc post he fills. :The
work chiefly performed by the en'ginee'fs consisted' in
filling the grenades, shells, and fuses witfY #C6tepobAitiott
previously prepared.. This composition, which cdfisjsted
of fine powder, and saltpetre, in about equal parts, with,
portion:Of sulphur, is knevin to be of a highly
explosive character, and therefore great care is always
,iecifitreti.::l4 its rnanip'ulation.,
,Special direCtiens were
accordingly given to the turn employed in the factory to
use the utmost care in filling the tubes, the sergeant-
instructOr by perSonal observations Ascertaining that 'his
orders were carried out. The composition is dealt Oat
to the men in moderate quantities, and placed hi Patcers
by the side of each.. The tubes and grenades are 'then
filled and rammed tightly by means of a copper rod:
This operation which is technically known as"tamping,"
requires to be performed with great care, as any undue
ramming of the composition will anvil it to explode..
Constant use and experieneetave enabled the men engaged
in the work to know the exact nyrn:bef tiofblows which may,.
be given to each fuse and grenade, and any beyond that
number are likely to prove danger6its. littfytblng
connected with the Work *deeded 'satisfactorily this
..morning until: shortly before .12 o'clock, When the
frightful explosion took place. Just before the accident
occurred, Adams noticed- one of the engineers, named
Smith, performing his work in a rather careless manner,
and reprimanded him for it. The. same man afterwards,
finding a difficulty in ramming the composition into his.
fuse, asked the man next him to assist him, which he
did, the two giving blow and blow. Suddenly the
composition of the grenade which Smith held in his
hand became ignited, Smith, who appeared paxalysod
with fear, continuing to retain his hold of, it. The
fire from the grenade then communicated with the loose
composition lying about, which immediately ignited a
large quantity of powder in a barrel, when the whole,
building blew up with a terrific explosion, resembling
-the' discharge of artillery, and Creating the tamest dismay
throughout the entire establishment. The first explo-.
sion was followed by a number of other repecti as the.
various heaps of grenades and fuses became ignited.
The effects of the explosion were of the most serious
character. The building itself was shaken to its
foundation, while one entire side of the factory in
whith the work Was being carried on, was carried com-
pletely away, and the woodwork blown a considerable.
distance. The force of the explosion being sideways,
the roof of the shed was not blown off, but portions of.
it were lifted, and the lead work, for a considerable
length, rolled and twisted in an extraordinary manner.
Considering the number of men employed at the time, it
seems 'surprising that several were not immediately
killed, but as it is, about a dozen are more or less
seriously injured. Sergeant Chapman mid Sappers
Goode' and Elliott, of the Royal Engineers, on the
instant of the explosion occurring, were-. blown ihrougliii
the side of the shed" and deposited in a -mallard some
distance off. Chapman, with the exception of a few
trifling bruites, escaped unhuit, but both Goode and
Elliott are severely burnt and
,injured ; they were. both
immediately conveyed to the hospital. Sapper Thomai
Rogers, of the'lndian Engineers, is so severely injUred
that he is not expected to survive.' ille was employed
close to Smith when the explosion happened; and is'
injured so much about the face, head, and other parts
,of the body that should he recover it is feared that his
'sight is quite gone. .Many of the 'engineers were
almost entirely denuded .of' their 'clothing, which was
blown 'off by the explosion, and two or three are suffer-
ing severely from burns, from their: clothes taking fire.
One man had the entire front of his clothes blown away,:
and was much injarOd. Sqon hien, who are suffering
severely, have been admitted into the Royal Engineer'
Hospital, at Brompton. Their names are Thos. Rogers,:
LE:, 'suffering severely, and believed to be Mind
George Smith, I.E:, much injured from burns; Jamea
Goode, R.E., seriously injured ; Stephen Elliott, 8.E.,'
slightly scorched, and suffering.from the effects of being
blown through the shed ; James Mackenzie, 1.E., much
scorched; William Ritchie, 1.E., slightly burnt; and
Francis Macdonald, 1.E., severely injured. The two
worst cases are those of Rogers and Smith, but :the
others were on inquiry to-night proceeding. satisfactorily.
Many of the men who escaped injuries had their clothes
torn, and. Sergeant Adams, besides having his clothes
partially destroyed, is slightly scorched- about the facer-
As soon as practicable after the aceideht Colonel liar-
ness,'C.B., director of the Roya! Engineer establish-
ment, directed .a board of officers to assemble at Bromp-
ton to investigate the cause of the explosion. The
officers charged with this duty were Major J. W. Lovell,
C. 8., president; Captain ,11. Schaw, and Captain W. J.
Stuart; of the Royal Engineers. The members of the
board of inquiry were occupied until late this afternoon
in the examination of the sergeant-inStructor and other,
non-commissioned officers and men who were in 'the
factory at the time of the accident, in order to' enable
an official report of the accident to be forwarded to 'the.
Duke of Cambridge. Fwm what was .stated.to the
Court there seems little' doubt that the explosion is to
be wholly attributed to the incautious manner. with
which Smith, one of the men most injured, performed
the process of ramming. Owing to the north gun ,shed
bcing.retnoved from the main buildings of the barracks:
.no injury to the barracks accrued from• the explosion.

THE RUMOURED REMOVAL OF •.• THE
GALWAY PACKET

. .
The Galway Vim-licator, in commenting on the.
rut/inured transfer of the l'ackCt Station 'froth'
Galway, says : • ~- - • , .
'A wretched paragraPh which appeared in Saunders'
Newsletter yesterday,
.. (171,iday),, dated from Limerick,
•
caused a good deal of small talk amongst the gossips of
Galway. 'lt stated that Mr. Malcolnison had iurchased
fr9in Mr. Dargan his.,interest in the Limerick and
Foynes Railway, with a view of transferring the frail
service by our, company's steamers from Galway. to ;the
Shannon. .A.;few unreasoning men, who take, every-
thing for granted because 'twas in the papers, believed•
the abstirdity. Rnt every roan of intelligenCe sooitted
the flimsy falsehood. We need not tell our readers that
there was not the slightest foundation for such a ilia-
,-cliievous statement. It is a fact that the Limerick
people are again 'stirring themselves in the punMit bf a
chimera, and trying to revive a dead agitation on a dub-
jeet"that has been. long a settled fact. If the Atlantic
Company had entertained any notion of removing i-oin
Galway, there is Cork harbour 'before. their eyes, Ivith
all the requisites wanted fora packet
.station. It is not .
likely, then, that men., of business and experience in
shipping matters would remove their magnificent vessels
to a puddle near Limerick.
We now state on the highest authority, that there is
not, wallas there. been the remotest idea entertained
'from the commencement of the Project, of removing
-from thirtfartintrla- (ital.-to make au American-pa ket '
station elsewhere.. ,The . whole agitation for a Pabket
Station, for nearly'a quarter of a century, had in 4iew
Galway, alone for, that Ilirpoe. ~, Atli the inegotiations
with Government, the debates in NreaMent, 'tlieifOrnia- .
ton of a company, and the subscriptions of :the pe.pple
of Ireland and England, had reference to Galway only,
the next parish to ...New Yotk. And, after all this '
labour had been accomplished, and success had crowned
the exertions of Galway, some foolish people revive an
. exploded fallacy, and talk about undoing the great work
and the possibility of removing the ships elsewhere !
With shame we ha' e to state ailocal paper has been
the main cause of circulating such' utterly mischieTous
and unfounded statements. That paper and the lone-
.rick Chronicle are the veracious oracles who know every-
I thing connected with the company and the intentions
'of Government.
The circumstances of the Company arei, just ow-i•
more favourable than. they have been from the ciont-,
mencement. The Board'ot' Works, we believe, has on.:.
kilted to.the expenditure of the £1,600 required foil the,
moorings. In London, any amount. IA" capital rep red
is at their disposal. Dr. Greys in Paris, this moil era,'
1.
'making final arrangements. with the French Govpms,
meta, on French communication .with America,; by
Waterford and Galway. The first of the 'few ships
will sail on the 30th of March. All the .Director}' are
acting unanimously and in perfect good faith ;'and if
this state of things be considered discouraging., by those
whose wish is either,to. the thought, we can only wish
them a' littlemore under Standing, abet a little less of
prating virulence, and mischief inAking4naking e•o4si
~. 0 P.

COLLISION IN THE CirA.NNur..—A collision' happily
of no very serious -consequence, took 'placet;Pabout two
o'elocit on Friday :morning,. !off. Waterford ; Harbour,
(about 22' miles from the:: beLveen the :Milford
steamer Shelburne, bound for cork, and anion-built
East Indian-barque, proceeding Eller homewardi voyage
to LiVarpool. The bews'of the latter are said to have
run into the port paddle. of . the former, carrying, away
...the paddle box, and considerably damaging the wheel.
The barque itself is suited to have escaped with theloss
Of a few spars. Several hours were required to eilear
.the steamer of the debris before she. could reFume her
course; and her arrival at Cork was, therefore, necessarily.,.
retarded. Fortunately, there were. but I•G'w pa&sev ers
aboard her at the time. It is said that had she
been
struck in any other part of the hall;
than the paddle,
-this fine vessel must, inevitably,' g have ono down.