The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-01-22 00:00:00

THE SEVERE WEATHER.

The reports received of Monday's weather from all
parts of the country show that the frost was of excep-
tional severity. In London the cold of Sunday night
and Monday morning is stated tolave been the severest
experienced since the year 1861, twenty degrees of
frost having been registered. Navigation on the
Thames was almost stopped. All the available metro-
politan skating ponds were again thronged on Monday.
It is estimated that about 20,000 skaters and sliders
went upon the Serpentine; 15,000 on the Long Water;
8,000 on the Round Pond;. 14,000 in Regent's Park;
8,000 in St. James's Park; 12,000 in Battersea Park;
9,000 in Finsbury Park; 47,000 on Clapham Com-
mon while very large nmr iers went upon the ice at
Hampstead Heath, the Welsh Harp, and other sheets
of water around London. At night skating went on
by torchlight. There were several immersions; and
several cases of severe contusions and broken limbs
caused by falls have been admitted to the hospitals.
The Irish mail train from Holyhead for Fuston was
snowed up at Aber, near Bangor, on Monday night.
By great exertions, however, the snow was at last
cleared away sufficiently to enable the train to resume
its journey at 7.30 on Tuesday morning. A 10n,?,. por-
tions of the line in Wales the snow was from 41t. to
Oft. deep.
The weather in Dublin has been extremely severe.
Snow commenced to fall at one o'clock on Monday,
and continued without intermission until eight o'clock
in the evening. The tramway and general traffic was
suspended in the streets. In the country the roads
were covered in places to the depth of several feet
with snow, and railway travelling has been much
impeded.

Atßyde on Monday night two large colli rs were
blown against the new Iron Railway Pier, and carried
away about 200 feet of that structure.

THE SNOW STORM OF TUESDAY.

From all parts of the country reports have been re-
ceived of the damagdone by the gale of Tuesday; of
the obstruction to traffic by road and rail caused by the
heavy snowstorm and snowdrifts; and the continue
severity of the frost. The most violent storm which
has been experienced for many years prevailed
throughout the whole of Tuesday, and-Nas attended
with great destruction of property and loss of life.
The recent low reading 4 of the thermometer, not
only throughout the United Kingdoim, but also in
various parts of Europe, the lowest, indeed, recorded
for upwaras of twenty years, had prepared the public
for a long period of intense frost. The change may
be said to have commenced noon after eight o'clock on
Monday night, when the rise of the mercury of the
thermometer was marked by an equally rapid fall in
the barometer.

The trains to London from the north were consider-
ably impeded by the force of the wind and the great
depth of snow, and in consequence of the fact that
telegraph posts had been blown down in all parts
and ip some places had fallen across the metals great
care had to be exercised by the drivers. In the
south of the metropolis great destruction was
reported on Tuesday morning; in many cases
houses were partially unroofed and chimney-stacks
and conservatories blown down. A calamitous
high tide occurred en the Thames, flooding, in addi-
tion to many other places, the low-lying neighbour-
hoods between Blackfriars and Westminster bridges.
The most heartrending scenes were witnessed, and
it was in vain that the poor people attempted to re-
move their furniture. The most damage was done to
houses lying between Upper Ground-street and
Waterloo, many of the buildings being flooded with
51. feet of water. Southwark-street was flooded
with fully six inches of water. The London-
bridge terminus presented anything but its usual
animated appearance. Trains running to Brighton,
rid Horsham, went only as far as Dorking,
the line being blocked below there. Up to
two o'clock there had been uo trains between London
and Brighton, or rice vershl, and 30 minutes later a
notice was issued that "all main line trains were sus-
pended until further orders." The attendance on the
ice on the various pieces of water in and near London
was very small compared with the two previous days,
and the task of the icemen and police were corre-
spondingly less difficult. Skating and sliding were
carried on only in places where the snow as it fell was
swept off the frozen surface.

The telegraphic department of the Post Office an-
nounced on Tuesday evening that communication
between London and the country was almost entirely
suspended, and it was added, " It will be quite im-
possible for the department to undertake the trans-
mission of more than a very limited quantity of news
to-night and until communication is restored."

The Commision for the county of Kent would,
under ordinary circumstances, have been opened on
Tuesday, at Maidstone. Owing, hem ever, to the in-
clemency of the weather, Mr. Justice Hawkins and
Mr. Justice Lindley were unable to reach Maidstone,
although they succeeded in getting as far as Shore-
ham, which is about half way. The learned Judges,
accompanied by their marshals, left London by the
4.12 p.m. train from Victoria. The journey
which under ordinary circumstances is timed to
occupy one hour and 18 minutes, extended to no
less than seven hours. On arriving with great diffi-
culty at Shoreham, which is only 22 miles from
London, it was found quite impossible to proceed
further, and the train was accordingly shunted on
to the up line and proceeded back to town, ar-
riving at Victoria at 11 p.m. At one time, indeed,
it seemed quite likely that the passengers' a large
portion of whom4consisted of the members of the South-
Eastern Circuit and of persons having business at the \
Assizes, would have to imagrgo the extreme discom-
fort of passing the night in the snowed-up train; and
on their arrival in London .their sufferings by no
means terminated, for all vehicular traffic had ceased,
and the Grrosvenor Hotel, to which the Judges and
some members of the Bar resorted in hopes of finding
a night's lodging, was so full of similarly belated pas-
sengers that the necessary accommodation could not
be obtained.

The Chorley district has suffered severely from the
storm. Snowdrifts were four yardsdeep. The Lanca-
shire and Yorkshire Railway was blocked near
Chorley, and though some trains bad five engines
attached, they were unable to force through. Shortly
before six o'clock 14 trains were blocked altogether,
some of the passengers having been cooped up for
seven hours. Traffic was reopened about seven p.m.
Telegraph wires were broken for several hours

The traffic on the London, Brighton, and South
Coast line-between lledhill'and Brighton was entirely
stopped most of the day. Between Landon and
Croydon trains took two or three hours to run in spite
of extra engine power. At Streathatn the last train
despatched from Victoria at seven o'clock in the even-
ing got snowed up, and had to be dug out.
Shortly after the House of Commons met on Tues-
day evening the high state of the Thames, which
was laden with ice-floes, caused considerib,ble
alarm. The water was driven along the bed of the
river b'efore the east wind at a remarkably high rate
of speed, and large masses of ice were thrown up on
the Speaker's steps. Several of the members went on
the balcony in the height of the storm to witness the
unu3ual spectacle. At high water the ice-floes were
within one foot of the top of the terrace balcony, the
force of the current piling them up in layers along the
northern side of the river. The snow in portions of
Palace-yard, had drifted to the depth of three fee.
Throughout the entire system of the South-Western
Railway the storm was very severe. The traffic,
however, was not completely stopped, except on the
Portsmouth direct line, where passengers could not
book further than Petersfield. The up trains during
the day arrived at Waterloo late, especially those run-
ning on the main line, and although the outgoing
trains were not despatched punctually the officials had
reason to be satisfied with the arrangements which
they were able to make under the unprecedented cir-
cumstances.

Nowhere was the peculiar drifting and penetrating
character of Tuesday's snowstorm more apparent
than at the stations of the District and Metropolitan
Vail ways. Most of the platforms, covered though
they are, were ankle deep in snow; and even in the
tunnels the snow was so driven by the wind as to ob-
struct the view of the drivers. The traffic was
considerable, and was conducted without serious
delays.

The interruptions to traffic on the northern railway
systems were much less serious than on the southern
lines. On the London and North-Western Railway a
block took place at Wimbley cutting, a short distance
to the South of Harrow, and after 6.15 p.m. neither
tity up nor down trains were able to make their way
to their respective destinations through the drifts of
snow. Early in the evening a gang of from 300 to 400
men were set to work to clear a passage, but at a late
hour their efforts had not been so far successful as to
admit of the due despatch and arrival of the trains.
The Irish, Scotch, and Limited mails were detained.
Bevo,nd some few delays the Midland Company en-
joyed a comparative immunity from the effects of the
storm. The same may be said of the Great Northern
line, where most of the trains were from half an hour
to an hour late. The "Flying Scotchman " was
about an hour behind time, the greatest obstruction
being experienced after •passiw, Peterborough, north
of which point the storm radius apparently did not
extend senously,
In Sussex there was a continuous fall of snow during
Tuesday, accompanied by terrific blasts of wind from
different points of the compass, which caused the
snow to collect and barricade the roads. The AI undel
railway omnibus was caught in one of these drifts
with the passengers, and had to be dug out. Some
houses and shops were snowed up. The wind left
parts of the roads and fields entirely bare, while
others were impassable. The train service was nearly
wholly suspended, and twO extra engines had to bring
up the mail,

...Between nine and ten. aon. on Tuesday a large
barque was observed a,shor -3 on the ridge at the en-
trance to Harwich harbour. The lifeboat Springwell
on being launched capsized, IN of the crew were
drowned, but one of them died soon afterwards from
exhaustion. Several smacks have been wrecked in
harbour, and signals of distress have been exhibited
by vessels riding at anchor. A gallant rescue was
effected by a man named Stuart, at the height of the
gale, by jumping 'overboard from the quay after a
lad who had been blown into the water, and saving
him.

The schooner Mary Ann, of Whiteha,ven, with
stone, parted from her anchors in Yarmouth Roads,
and went ashore. The mate, Anthony Kitchen, fell
from the forecrosstrees and was drowned, but the
rest of the crew were saved by the rocket apparatus.
—The Yarmouth lifeboat went out to render a,sist-
ance to the schooner Guiding Star, of Padstow, which
parted from her anchors and drove ashore. The life-
boat capsized, with eight men on board. Two of
them reached the shore, and two bodies have since
been washed up. The shrieks of the drewning men
could be plainly heard' from the beach.—Five of the
crew of the barque Edith Mary, of London, for St.
Thomas, which went ashore near Yarmouth jetty, and
went to pieces, were drowned.—At Gorleston a brig
drifted on shore. The rocket apparatus was set to
work, but the crew seemed unable to avail themselves
of the lines, and the lifeboat then made several in-
effectual efforts to get out, but had to abandon the

task as hopeless, and the crew are supposed to have
all perished.

The following telegrams from the Continent show that
the severe weather has not been confinea to the British

- les : •
-
Boulogn0; Jan.- 18, 8 railway lines
between Paris, St. Omer, and Calais have been
blocked by snow since this morning. The sea off this
'port is rough, and the service of mail boats from and
to England is suspended. The cold is intense.
Amsterdam, Jan. 19.—A violent snowstorm is now
raging here. The railways are Llockei by snow, and
traffic on the lines suspended.
Madrid, Jan. 18.—The foreign mails of the 15th
and 16th inst. have not yet arrived here in con-
sequence of the accumulation of snow on the Northern
Railway preventing the trains from running.

ATTEMPT TO BLOW UP AN ARMOURY
AT SALFORD.
Early on Friday evening in last week, an attempt
was made to blow up the armoury connected with the
Infantry barracks at Salford. Shortly before six
o'clock the neighbourhood was startled by a loud
explosion in the butcher's meat store of the barracks,
immediately adjoining the armoury, in which are
stored, in addition to the arms of the regiment, a
number of rifles belonging to the four Manchester
regiments of Volunteers, about 5,000 weapons alto-
gether. The explosion was exceedingly violent, de-
stroying the shed and scattering rubbish for several
htgridred yards. A woman and a boy passing at the
time were seriously hurt. The armoury was not much
injured, so that the object of the outrage was not at-
tained. The boy died on Sunday night at six o'clock.
An inquiry was held on Saturday at the Salford
Infantry Barracks.. egarding the explosion. All the
officers of the regiment and the officers of the Hussars
now stationed at the Manchester Cavalry Barracks
were present, together with the Chief Constable of
Salford and Detective-Superintendent Donohoe. It
is stated that important disclosures were made re-
garding t. e explosion, but the .authorities decline to
furnish ny particulars. An -hour previous to the
explosi, a large number of men were in the shed
receivir stores. If the explosion had taken place
while y were there scarcely one of them could
have ped.

The • wing additional particulars are given :

The estigations of the police and the military
and oth `c evidence they have been able to obtain
confirm the impression that the explosion at the
Salford Barracks on Friday night was a diabolical
outrage, and there are circumstances which point
with some clearness to the object of the outrage as the
destruction of the armoury. Its authors seem to have
been misled as to the part of the building in which
the arms were stored, and this seems to indicate that
they were strangers, or, at all events, persons
who were not very familiar with the barracks. The
barracks occupy a considerable area of ground abutting
upon Regent-road, from which entrance is obtained.
Behind the building is a blank boundary wall some
four or five yards in height, and against this wall,
inside the barrack yard, is a long lean-to shed, which
is divided by partition walls into three compartments,
used respectively as a linen store, a meat store, and an
armoury. In the boundary wall, and only about a
yard from the ground, there are a number of strong iron
grids built into the brickwork for the purpose of
ventilating,the sheds. The explosion occurred close to
the last grid in the meat store, and close to the partition
wall of the armoury, into which, probably, it was thought
the grid entered. This suspicion is strengithened by
the fact that the next grid bears marks of attempts to
remove it. The canister, which was found in the
debris, was, it is supposed, introduced through the
grid near which the explosion occurred, the grid
having been first removed, and was fired by means
of a fuse. It should be remembered that there was
a dense fog over the whole district at the time, and
the persons who committed the outrage would have no
need to fear interruption.

Another Correspondent says :

The surmise that dynamite was introduced into the
barracks in any vehicle passing through the gates is
represented by the men of the regiment as being
totally unnecessary to account for its presence in the
shed where the explosion occurred. They are con-
vinced that the tin of dynamite was introduced into
the shed through the grid in the wall, and an inspec-
tion of the place at once shows this to have been the
easiest and at st likely mode to be pursued, especially
as the fog which prevailed on Friday night would
effectually veil any one from observation. One mem-
ber of the regiment said :

"The thing, no doubt, has come upon us as a surprise;
still, we were not altogether unprepared for such an
occurrence, in proof of tkds, the explosion has not led to
any alteration in the discipline and the guard. Ever since
we took our station at the Salford Barracks- we have been
prepared for an emergency. The guard has been doubled,
as have the sentries ; and, in accordance with instructions
from the War Office, extra precautions have been taken to
meet any emergency that might arise," •

'When the explosion occurred several people thought
it *as the magazine that had blown up, and this idea
was also adopted by some of the people outside; but
in a very short time a number of the men on guard
were on the spot, and then the true circumstances
were known. At first it was thought that gunpowder
had been the explosive used, but there is no question
now that it was dynamite, and that it was used
in considerable quantity. What can have been
the motive of the outrage it would be difficult ta
say. If the object was to steal arms it seems to have
been singularly ill-advised, for the report, of the
explosion would ot course attract the attention
of the men in the barracks to the, spot. It may be
that it was made to attract attention to one spot. and
while it was thus diverted to carry out some scheme
in another portion. If that was the object the plan
was frustrated; for the guard on duty at the gate was
not called away by the occurrence, and no portion of
the barracks was left without the guard under which
it was placed at the time of the explosion. The
force of the explosion was exceedingly violent; men
who were seated at a distance of a dozen yards
away felt the stools on which they were sitting
rise under them. When the rations were served
out, about half-past four o'clock, nothing was seen
of any articles being in the shed which had not a right
to be there, and the inference therefore is that whatever
vessel contained the explosive substance was put
through the grid between half-past four and the time
of the e.xplosion. In fact, this must have been so, be-
cause it would have been impossible for the quantity
of dynamite to have been in the shed and to
have escaped the observation of all the men. If
the object of the explosion was to destroy arms it
was ill-planned; as a matter of fact there were
really no arms within a considerable distance of the
place, except a few that were under repair or under-
going the process of browning. The armoury, which
has accommodation for some three thousand stand of
arms' is
,in another part of the barracks, and it is
only the armourer's repairing shop, which is next to
the shed, where the explosion took place. All the
arms of the Volunteer regiments sent in to barracks
for security are stored in the armoury, but the men of
the regiment have their own arms in their own posses-
sion, and a supply of ammunition too. There is really
little harm done to the barracks.

The occurrence has had the effect of keeping the
men more confined to barracks. On Saturday those
who had obtained leave for the night received orders
to return by ten o'clock, and on Sunday many of the
men were unexpectedly placed on duty who, had
nothing extraordinary occurred, would have had leave
for the day. There has not beez). anything found
among the rubbish which can in any way lead to the
identification of the perpetrator of the outrage. The
Irishmen in the regiment, assuming the occurrence to
have a Fenian origin, are as loud as any one in its
condemnation.
In the cavalry barracks in Manchester the number
of the guard has been increased to thirty-one ; three
sentries have been placed in acgclition to those already
on duty, and outside the barracks eight policemen are
on duty. All the eoldiers are armed with their car-
bines, and have ten rounds of ammunition given them,
and without the possession of the countersign no one
can enter the barracks. Every one approaching the
sentries is challenged immediately after dusk.