The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1859-10-04 00:00:00

FRIGHTFUL EXPLOSION IN BIRMINGHAM.

infLYINGAAX, Tuesday Evening.
At .10 minutes past 10 o'clock this morning a disaster,
attended with the mist frightful results and 110001114
pinned by circumstances peculiarly afflicting, in.vurroal no
this town. Thu cause was an explosion upon the wend-
iss of Messrs. Phillips and Puna% pereuslion cap
makers, of Whittall.street, in the neighbourhood of rit.
Mary's, one of the most densely populated, or, rather,
choely built districts of the town...
. . . . _

At the hour above named all the people employed
were at their work. There are variutui rumours as to
the number, but it ranges between sixty and *evenly. of
whom by for the greater propirtion were women. Thera
were an extra number of hands, for the principals hero
in course of execution a contract for the Turkish Govern-
haul, and its completion within a given time is impera-
tive.

tin? premises upon which the business was conducted
are three story, the room which iA called the " pri-
ming shop" being upon the first floor ; in that town.
there wen., soveral persons employed ; suddenly, and
without a moment's warning, a violent explosion oc-
curred ; it was followed by another instantaneously. A
loud report was heard, houses in the neighbourhood were
shaken, then • crash, and the building fell in, leaving
nothing standing but the front wall immediately fatting
the public street.
. .

The timber within the walls became a loam of flame,
so violent and no intense that in ill incredibly short time
the beams were bend to a charred Inas,. The instant
after the explosion a suffocatinic vapour arose. From
the barred windows of an adjoining factory poor eras-
tem who had been at work OU the premises upon whicit
the explosion had occurred were seen struggling, half-
suffocated, maimed, and blackened, vainly endeavouring
to obtaiu an exit. Messrs. Callisher and Perry, breech-
loading gun makers, whose premises adjoined, and which
had been partly blown down, did their beat to rescue the
sufferers, and, in one or two instanoes, succeeded; but
the fatal consequences of the catastrophe were too
rapid.
rho fire-engines arrived promptly ; the flames were got
under speedily, and such of the pour creatures as had
escaped with life were taken, 16 or 17 of them, to the
General Hospital. Must of these were in a frightful
state, burnt with more or less severity. One woman
died immediately ; timers' others were between life and
death.

In the meantime thousands had assembled ; the engines
played upon the blaring and smoked mar, as • precau-
tion against another explosion. V msin sitar that
event had taken place a couple of dead bodice were palled
front the ruins. Soon alter a number of men were set to
work to dig over the sniouldering man of bricks and
Material— the contents of the pile of building. As this
process went on gradually bodies were discovered; in
one or two instanoes the poor creatures are said not to
have boen dead, but to have struggled convulsively yet
vainly for help which could not be given to them with
sufficient haste. These must have died in catreniss

agenY•
As hour after hour went on the interest became pain-
fully intense. There was no muster-roll of those who
were missing, and a crowd of anxious faces stood ex-
pectantly by. The work of the diggers went on, and
body after body revealed itself, a blackened mars too
frightful to behold, and too appalling a spectacle to
deccribe. .

Towards the afternoon, about 3 o'clock, the excavators
had made their way into the line leading from the front
door of the premises; buried three or four yards beneath
the ruins of the wall and fragments they dug out the
bodies of three women; it is almost neediest& to add that
all were dead. The story of these pour creatures is loon
told. They had donbtlesa been working on the floor,
heard the explosion above, and rushed to the door, but
before reaching it were buried beneath the ruins.
These three um& fourteen bodies which had been dug
out up to that time; but it was known that there wero
others still entombed, and presently afterwards others
were discovered. Those nearest the surface had been
burnt to death, and a speedy work that must have been,
such was the fury d the Batumi. Crushed beneath
burning and explosive material, or stifled by suffocation,
the rent:Limier must have died WI speedily. Tatter,
few.de garments were dug up, and many hundred: -
wei,;Lt of persuasion caps (ruin beneath the amok*:
pile.
The cause of this explosion will proably for ever rto
main conjecture. It may have arisen from somethin ;
us osinexion with the detonating powder itself —th
accidental connexion with it of souse foreign and sul-
ficiently chafing substance to cause an explosions NI i
against which no human foresight could guard. Indeed
the toys of the sun :night have beet, sufficient to caul)
the disaster ; but he this as it tea), this, the third expo-
siun of the kind within three mouths here, makes it iii-
cuuilmut upon the authorities to interfere. It can no
louder be tolerated that manufactories of this kind
should be permitted in the centre of large towns. Tha
risk is great enough for those employed in this perilous
trade, without its being 'intruded into the umildat of a
dense population, in the occurrence of to-day windows
were shattered in the neighbourhood, houses shaken,
and it was only by a miracle that several persons rm.
ding uoar eacapod without 61-1-1011.1 injury.
Messrs. Phillips and ruralt are partially insured in
the llama taw.

la the midst of such excitement as prevailed on thi
sxot to-day, and ul such vast crowds who had assemble 1
it was almost impossible to procure definite informatio
of any kind. /led as the disaster has been, there were
many eiaggerstml reports afloat ; but the above narri,
tire is believed to be not far from correct.
Since the above was written it has been confidently
stated thatfuur more bodies have been dug out, inakinz
twenty killed. This is by uu WAWA improbable.
There were not wore than six or eight men employe 1
upuu the premises; and one of many affecting incident
which might be narrated is that of a man who, basin;
rescued Ins wife from death, himself Perished beneath
the ruins.

HOLLOWAY.* OINTMINT AND PILLD.—HIDUMALIC paina.-11
the 111 ..1 the year In this countr) nothing is more canine
then those sudden chills which came rheumatic tenure..
If hiolioy.celebrated Ointment be rubbed over the pen s
afected immediate relief may be 'ably guaranteed' • especial.,
It the puns be previously opened by fiessotstions eltb 'tent
water. When the blood le hi a bed stele, and gross Sasteure
require correction, It be neasenery to have mount le H°lll°
-
way's adutlreble PUS, which, by Pertql end
the rpstan, greatly mist Lb, operettas Ude iPOU
L ent, bud incilitaie sod cud= the own.

'I