The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-11-07 00:00:00

EARTHQUAKE IN ENGLAND.

iFrom The Times.)

Shortly after half-past ten on Friday night (the 30th
ult.) a distinct shuck of earthquake was felt in many
places in the Went of England, and in South Wales. The
unusual sensatii in lasted for about a couple of seconds,
and is presumed to have been occasioned by what is
termed an earth wave. Five years ago (in October,
1863) a similar shock ornurred, which was felt through-
out • considerable part of the West of England.
The chock on Friday last was felt in Worcester and
numerous towns and villages on the western bank of
the Severn, up to the boundaries of the county on that
side. The Incidents appear to have varied con-
eilerably. In some situations it was at slight
hardly to be perceptible, while in others the witnessed
di-scribed it as even more severe than that which was
experienc d in Ma It appears pretty certain that
persons who happened to be in the upper chambere 41
their houses did not experience the effects of the shock
no acutely as those who were at the time in the bade-
silent. Many persons who had retired to rest, arid
were undisturbed by it, were incredulous when in-
formed of the fact by their neighbours until combo
native evidence was accumulated from all quarters
The tine when the shock was perceived was, as near
as can be ascertained, 20 minutes to 11. The night
was cloudy, but light, the nsion being nearly at the
full. The mutation, of the earthquake were various.
Some persons describe it as a trembling of the earth as
if a Wien waggon was passing along the street, others
imagined some animal had got into their bedroom and
was erninpering about the floor. The motion of
articles of furniture, the jingling of glasses, and the
oscillation of beds were very common. Most of the
reports agree that these indications were accompanied
by a noise like that of a high wind, or of a vehicle or
train passing. Reports were brought into Worcester
in the course of Saturday from different towns and
villages westward describing the shock in very similar
terms. It is a fact, though it may have nothing to 110
with these phenomena, that up to the time of the
shock the weather was cold, but the thermometer rose
15 deg. on Saturday.
Three shocks were felt in Leamington. They fol-
lowed each other in rapid succession, but neither of
them were either violent or prolonged. The first oc-
curred at about a quarter to eleven o'clock, and was
felt in different streets, but more particularly in the
west and north-west portion of what is termed the New
Town, which is on the north side of the River Learn.
At the time the night was quite calm, but somewhat
close for the season. The shocks were noticed by Dr.
O'Callaghan, LL.D., the president of the hand Philo-
eophical Society, who, during a residence in the Wi-st
Indies, had on more than one iocaaion felt the chock
of earthquakes. On Friday night Dr. Callaghan
sailed attention to the occurience, and found that the
shocks had been observed by some of his domestics. In
York-terrace and the Kenilworth-road the shockswere
distinctly felt. A lady on the Parade was startled by
an unusual noise, and the shocks were noticed by other
persona, but do not appear to have attracted general
attention. In November, 1863, the earthquake was
felt in Leamington with considerable violence. On that
occasion things were moved about in cupboards, and
small articles of furniture were displaced, while many
persons were aroused in terror from their sleep. The
shocks on Friday night were much slighter.
At Exeter many people noticed the earthquake.
Three distinct shocks were felt by the inmates of a
house in Yorlc-buildings. The occupant of a h--use,
who had long resided in the Wed Indies. recognised
the shaking as that of an earthquake. The inmates
of the Eye Lifirmary felt the building shake, and ex-
perienced a peculiar sensation at the time.
At Merthyr the shock was rather severe, and oc-
curred on Friday night about 1030. The movement
appeared to be from south to north, and continued for
three or four seconds. The sky was covered with light,
hut there were no thunder clouds. A few minuted before
the occurrence there was that strange calm prevalent
which has been noticed during the time of a complete
eclipse. Great alarm was felt by the inhabitants. At
Twynrodyn and iititer high quarters the people rushed
out of the houses, some attributing the shock to explo-
sion, underneath in some coal or mine pits, but as
Merthyris not undermined, and no mine or coal stratum
exists there, this fact was conclusive that the disturb-
ance proceeded from a greater and more mysteriou s cause.
At the time of the occurrenoe there was a grand pro-
cession by torchlight in honour of one of the candi-
dates for representing the borough, and the great
swell of the earth and shaking of doors and windows
contrasted strangely with the merrymaking going on in
the valley.

The folleatingcorrespundenee has been published :
A very sensible shock—it might be called a smart shock—
of earthquake occurred here last night, Friday, October 30, at
1015 pm.
My own impression was that of a heavy blow from beneath,
the impulse of which was contrimnicated upwards through
the chair on which I sat. I was not conscious of any lateral
movement, nor of anything that could be called vibration.
At the moment I was fay persuaded that ! heard a short
boosting sound, as of a heavy body falling, but I cannot
certainly say that this was not a subjective sensation, brought
about by w.sociation of ideas. There certainly was not any
prolonged rumbling sound, neither was there, within my own
knowledge, any creaking or ratting of furniture or windows,
nor any displacement of objects. It is quite possible, how-
ever, that some sounds may have &coped my observation,
for a strong wind was blowing at the time, and my attention
moreover, sat almost wholly absorbed by the more striking
feature of the phenomenon already described.
Persons who were in bed at the time say that the bed
seemed to be lifted under them. !rivals and timid people
were seriously alarmed, and even persons of a tolerably cool
temperament experienced a strange agitation of the nervous
ay stem, which did not immediately subside. I am, sir, your
obedient servant, Grottos F. BURIAR, MI), curves,
Oct 31.

A[lo'4l p as. we were startled by a slight shock of earth..
My experience of it was a trembling of the house,
with a rumbling noise, for about live seconds, and then a
very perceptible swaying to and fro of the room myself and
family were sitting in. The effect lasted altogether tor
about eight seconds. fills it been felt In any other part of
.fouth Wales am, Sir, yours obediently, J. C. Via
EARMINTER, 41, Upper Mansel-etre,t, SWANSEA, Oct. 30.

P 9.—1 have jualeard that a number o. it'ihabitants of
Swa.nsea felt the shock.

last night about 1040 my wife and I were seated reading,
when the walls of our house and floor of the room in which
s.c were sitting oscillated perceptibly, the picture frames
also rattling against the walls on which they were hanging.
I think my wife who hos previously experienced the effects
of an earthquake is justified in saying this was undoubtedly
a slight shock of earthquake, as we could not imagine any
other cause for the effects experienced.—Yours respectfully,
W. LEWDI, NAILSWORTH, near Sraugn, Olocestenhire, Oct.

P S —Since writing the above I find it was felt by many o
my neighbours.

ant night, at twenty-five minutes to eleven, there was
• slight shock of earthquake here It began with the usual
rumbling and vibratory sort of sound, followed immediately
by three distinct tmdulations, proceeding, as nearly as I
could judge, in a direction from N. W. to SE., lasting alto-
gether about nine or ten seconds. The night was floe, calm,
and mild.
. .

—.—
The awful effects of the recent earthquakes in other parts
of the world niches us, no doubt, more sensitively alive to
the possibility that we, too, may be similarly visited but
no one xho has iore experienced that strange feeling can
ever mistake It. I trust you may have further and reliable
report, to substantiate my statement —1 am, Sir, your
obedient servant, W. C. WARY-JACKSON, Melton-lodge,
UREA? MALVERN, Oct. 31.

Last night, at 35 minutes past 10 o'clock, my wife sud-
denly observed to me that the bedroom was shaking, and at
the instant she spoke I perceived a similar movement. The
bed felt as if it were lifted up with a tremulous motion in
an adjoining room the nursemaid was startled by the same
cause; and in another part of the house one of the servants
noticed the window and furniture shake. There was no
noise, and, as the night was calm and floe, I consider wl at
we felt was the result of a distant earthquake —Trust ng
that this may interest some of your readers, I remain, yours
obediently, GltuROE NEUMANN, Tracey-house, BONITOS,
.41evc,E, Nt. It.

The shocka of a very strong earthquake were felt here last
night at about 11 o'clock. It si-emed to be felt all over the
villane.—l remain, yours truly, F. H. Yin Tut, liam-house,
Cliettl.noil KINGS, Oct. 31.

A dlatinct shock of earthquake was felt here last night,
about half-past ten, accompanied by a goad deal of atoms-
pherip disturbance. My house wad perfectly coliet at the
time, and after the vibration, which was very marked, it
seemed as if a gust of wind swept through it.—Your obedient
servant, C. E., BATS!, OA. 31.

We (rimes) have to thank an immense number of
correspondents for information respecting the eartb.
quake shock of Friday night. From their cornrnuica-
tions it appears that the shock was felt about twenty-
nve minutes to 11 p.m. Its greatest force seems to
have occurred in Wales and the western counties. One
correspondent at Hereford says :

My chair for an instant shmk violently, and I perceived
what I might have taken for a 1/111 lOUn blast of wind, but it
was too instantaneous, and it seemed to come from the
earth rather than from the air, the wind wag sonic, hat
gusty. Tire sky was nearly clear, except that there wag a thu k
bank of clouds in the south west. . . . This shock was not
violent, nor did it seem to last so long, as that which affected
a considerable area in the south of England early in the
moniing of October, 6, 1163. 00 that occasion I was
awakened frets my a eep with the impression that a stack
of chimneys on one side of my room had fallen down, SAW
that I should see the wall opposite to my bed crack open.

At Worcester we are informed there was &gentle up
and down motion without sound, while from Cardiff we
are informed that the shock was accompanied by a low
rumbling sound which caused an apprehension that a
edlliery explosion had occurred. Al Broseley, in
Shropshire; two distinct shocks were noted, each
lasting about six or seven seconds. A correspondent
writing from Sherborne, Donietshire, describes the
event tkere thus : _ _ .

It appeared as If the building had noun suddenly upheaved
by something rolling underneath from north to south. and
that it gave a little shake on settling down again.

irroin Soreersetstpire we learn that the vibration was
40 great as to cause bedsteads to rock. The shock also
extended to the Midland districts. Reports from
various parts of Leicesterehire speak of ninny persons
haying experienced a slight undulatory movement.
Olt-versa persons in Leicester, who at first attributed
the shock to explosion, spi ak of the win loss -frames
and various things in their houses rattling so
violently as to disturb them from their slumbers,
while china and glass jingled in the shelve.. The
shock was distinctly felt in and around Nottingham.
A re-Went in an elevated position on 'the h'i west,"
on. e part of Sherwood, states that about half-past
ten o'clock he felt the bed move under him, and in con-
sequence jumped up instantly, when he found that
his brothers had been aroused by the same shock.
ttlisr persons living in the same locality distinctly felt
the vibration. Several houses were shaken, and numbers
of people were awakened out of their sleep. At Marl-
boroogh the shock was so severe 48 to give a sensible,
and, in some cases, a violent COIICIOO4OII to chairs and
tables, and to awake persons who were sleeping. At
Rugby and Farringdon the vibration was perceived,
and approaching the metropolis, we are informed by a
gentleman residing at Weybritlice-common, that the
earthquake wave caused some furniture in his bedroom
to vibrate, and, coming still nearer to London, a corre-
spondent at Blackheath writes :
• • ' • "

-
My daughters came down from their heds in the greatest
alarm, and said they had had their beds shaken under them.
and that they were convinced it was an earthquake. A ser-
vant Mille house, who was alto in bed. Mated that she had
felt the same shaking, and earl, of them (rola the sensations
experienced a feeling of sickness.

The general conclusion to be drawn from the 111381.1
of communications we have received (we are still
quoting from The Times) is that the shock or shocks
(for .ore lionik of cue and odeers of two hocks) were

felt in all the counties of Wales, in Hereford-hire,
Worcestershire, the weatern and several of the mid-
land cm le gentleman noticed them in the
Isle of W ignt. We have no information of the event
being noticed to the eastward of the metropolis.
There is a general agreement that the time was be-
tween half-past ten and a quarter to eleven on Friday
night, and the majority of observers state that the
motion was from north to south ; but a few deacribe
it as having been from east to west. All who refer to
the previous earthquake shock of October, 1863,
agree that that of bat Friday was less severe and not
so lasting as the previous visitation.

The Daily News, in commenting upon the earth-
quake, proceeds to remark :
_.

_ .
Three shocks were felt; and It seems to be a peculiarity
of our English earthquakes to e In this way—ln triplets
of shocks. Many of our readers will doubtless remember
that thin was noticed to be the case with the earthquake of
1803, the effects of which were experienced even in London
in the form lif" three little quivers" I hat earthquake, in-
deed, resembled the present one in many respects, hut it
would seem to have been much more vi lent. Indeed, it was
rental ketl by an eminent imologtst that a very slight inerease
In the violence of the .qtrthquake of 184.13 would have sufficed
to have caused serious destruction of life and property
lit Herefordshire and South Wales. We may, per-
haps, hear of some striking •qfects whiLli have been
produced by the present earthqoake ; but the accounts we
have as yet received do nod warrant us Iti ascribing to It any
such effects as are related to have followed the three shocks
of Igtia. In that earthquake the walls of two unfinished
hoist, at near Ro,s, oii the Wye, were partly thrown
ow ti ; mid at bishop's-wood, lower down on the Wye, a
house was shaken with so much violence that a person was
nearly thrown out of a large tool heavy four. post 110 i
The noise which accompanied that earthquake was a
very striking phenomenon. For the person who wigs
so violently shaken in his bed, imagined from the
noise that a barge Ivies with gunpowder most
have exploded on the river. The Rev. W. S. Symonds
relates that a man who was engaged early in the
morning loading a cart w ith potatoes, which he hail pro-
mised to deliver before his work commenced, "heard a
dreadful noise come roaring up, apparently frOM a world to
the wmtward, anti his cart rocked so violently that he was
nearly thrown out of it. The trees all around him rocked
violently to and fro, and the rooks arose cawing from the
wool ; the small birds also twittered and took wing with
notes if dlstres.. The thunder-like noise appeared to roll
off towards the east "

There seenia good reason for associating the earthquakes
which have disturbed the western counties of England with
those of much greater intensity, signs of which still remain
In the neighbourhimit of the disturbed regions. For example,
the old red sandstone of the district around Fak has been
burst-open in old times by the upheaval of an enormous dome
of upper Silurian rocks ; and several of the rivers of the
western counties of England run along the tracks of ancient
earth-shocks. Yet it would be Incorrect to suppose that the
eastern parts of England are safer from the action of
destructive earthquakes than the western, for the remark-
able earthquakes ,d I Si principally affected the eastern
counties. In that ear thonake the cathedral of Lincoln was
destroyed. The earthquake of September, 1275, was even
more destructive, many of the hugest churches in England
having been flung to the ground. Ills noteworthy that both
these earthquakes took place during one of those long periods
of rest it filch followed the action of Vesuvius, the principal
vent of the region of disturbance to which the greater
number of our English earthquakes must be referred
So important were the subterranean effects produced by
the long rest of Vesuvius between the years 1049 and 13054
that the neighbouring Neapolitan vents acre forced
into action, the Solfatara lake crater erupting in I 98. and
Ischia, which had been dormant for fully 1,400 years, vomit-
ing forth in 1302 a lava stream which flowed right down to the
sea, a di•tance of two miles It might, perhaps, seem fanciful
to associate the present earthquake with the declining activity
of the resent eruption from Vesuvius; yet many circum-
stances have happened of late years to indicate that regions
yet farther removed froni an important volcanic outlet may
Uhl hi a sympathy of this sort with the action of the crater.
There is, at any rate, something encouraging is the suppo-
sition that English earthquakes are not due to the existence
of a centre of disturbance immediately under our own
Island, but to a far-away cause whose principal energies are
reserved for less fortunate countries. For earthquakes
follow each other, in England, with a rapidity which would
render the fanner supposition somewhat alarming. It will
probably surprise ninny of our readers to learn that
uts lit 300 earthquakes have been recorded as having
taken place in the British Islands, and that half of
these have happened in the present century. Scotland has
been more exposed to these visitations than any part of Great
Britain. In fact, near lt, in Perthshire, it year scarcely
ever passes without a shock ,d greater or less intensity being
experienced. The opinion wee prevalent some time since
that beneath this part of deethassi the "r uhterrattean fires
were unttmally near to the surface."' $l,l, in truth, the
evidence we hese goes far to show that the Coterie
earthquakes helong to the same centre of action as those
which have disturbed the south-western counties of Eng-
land. For example, four days before a shock had been ex-
perienced in Scotland in 1789 the smutty of Wiltshire had
been disturbed. Singularly distinct evidence was afforded in
this instance of the fact that the true °Hein of English earth-
quakes is to be looked for for to the south, since it is related
that on the sante day a tremendous earthquake occurred at
Borgo di San Sepolchro, in Italy, swallowing up many houses,
aliii Ilestroying many lives
There seems, therefore. little reason to fear at present that
volcanic tires Mel their accompaniments, violent and
destructive earthtpmkes, should again agitate the soil of
Britain. Yet as we have no incline of learning why or how
It I. that places which have once been the seat it vbilent
ntis-
turhaacestnould be reduced to a state of comparative tildes-
cence, or that a reverse process should make countries which
are now at rest the scene of catastrophes as fearful as those
which have so recently befallen Peru and Ecuador, we cannot
feel any positive assurance on this point. The shocks which
we experience from time to tittle should remind us of the
possibility of a change one day taking place ill our condition
in this respect; and the fact that these shocks are not ac-
companied by serious destruction ought to excite in us at
once a feeling of thankfulness for the initnunity we enjoy
from the most terrible form of calamity which can possibly
afflict mankind, and a sense of sympathy for those who are
less fortunately circitimtanceil.

MR. BERNAL OSBORNE'S UTTERANCES.
,
Mr. Osborne athlre..seti the elect. ,r; :' f 7•:.tttingliaro,
on Tuesday even It.'. when he trool, a very clever
Speech, in the ca-oil whieh be s,ld ,--
. It appeared that at Nottiogbam they hail had a habit of
conducting their elections rather after Venetian usage. In
Venice there was a Council of Teti, which excluded all can-
didates they did not like, and only nominated their par-
tic-tar favourites. Nottingham hail had such a council.
f A cry. "Ni. 30." They had done with • No. 30," he broke
up "No. 30" two years ago, and he would break up the
unknown number now. Applause and diasention. But
there was another practice in Venice, that of idropping
. accusations against an absent man into what was
' called the " lion's mouth." 'I hey had got a liou's mouth
In Nottingham, anti what shape did it take? It took the
shape of a carpet-hag. t Much laughter anti cheering.
Letters dropped into that bag did not return. That carpet-
bag had all the drawbacks and none of the advantages of
the ballot-box. Ile did not hesitate to tell them that he had
been sacrificed to that missing letter. (Cheers. t Bad it twit
placed before the Nottingham electors he should not have
.been treated as he had hem n by a certain party in that town.
(Cries of'' True." But this was 1068, anti on what princi-
ples did be stand before them? Let there he no mistake
now. A candidate at Britlgnorth, happening to be a
handsonte man, had sent his carte to the inhabitants.
(Laughter. lie himself was, unfortunately, a plain man,
sot he had not sent them his carte, hut he would now give
• them his polttical photograph. (Laughter, interruption,
. anti applause ) Mr. Osborne ran over the li-t of his ,
main votes, and resumed by saying :—Well, they hail got
three candidates before them, and he was told there
was another coming to-morrow. So much the better.
,Chters. • He had nothing to nay against any one of them. They
were all honourahe men, all tit to represent them in Parlia-
ment ; but be, at least, thought be was himself as good as
' any of them. Laughter and cheers. Of two of those can-
didates he would only say this,—
Hose happy could I be with either,
IVere Conker dear charmer away "
Laughter. But he was compelled to go on with the remain-
ing hues, which the ladies would recognise immediately,—
" But since you both tease me together,
• To neither one word will I say."
' ;Renewed laughter., Ile only asked them for one vote. He
hail no preferences. Give hint one of their votes, anti then
with the other settle the account between the other two
gentlemen who were strtiggling for a place. Would they not
think it hard If an old faithful servant, with plenty of
work in him yet were to be discharged, and superseded by
two applicants for the place—one a young man from the
country •great laughter ; a very promising young man
—he did not say he was not A Voice.—" Seelyn—and the
other an old stager from town ? That would not be exactly
what he called fair play. Were the performances—mark,
he said, the performances of a lifetime, to be superset'ed by
the promise of a ,etc weeks? ,Cries of "No •") Did they
think it fair that a man who had given the beat yearn of his
life to advationg the interests of all classes should be now
thrown on one able for men who, in order to if., wonders,
. promised impossibilitias) Was he, after spending his life
, in hard work for the people, to be camt away when the vie-
' tory was won to make way for gentlemen who had not ear-
-1
t ried the knapsack anal musket in the day of action to come
• in now and reap the spoil( ? ("No", Was the old soldier to
be discharged without a pension ? He did not think that
I was the way Nottingham electors would treat a veteran,
CrNnoet Iniek.oly,:u.aNtpdlautsue
tile Liberal
ii,itrrarrpti. 3
1
Registrationir. 1/11--
iodation, and after sonre severe remarks upon what
he styled " the entail inner circle," wk., he said " unlit d
the strings," he proceeded t—[hey had heard something of
the end of the exclusive era. [hey had been told that the
day of exclusion was past; that a new era hail dawned, in
which they, the working men, were to have it all their own
way. ,'• :on. no," and disorder . Ile had not told them so,
but they had been Gild It. Well, the language was not new
It was used WO years ago by Jack cede, lie told the
working men Ike would make it felony to drink small hear.
;Laughter., That seven halfpenny loaves should so sold for
a penny, and that the pint pot should he a)ade to kohl a
. quart. Renewed laughter) What was more, people were
: fools enough to believe it, and they were going to return him
, as their member of haitament, bat unluckily he was
. caught picking pockets, and had to be hung.
,Great laughter..
! He warned theta to put a great discount on ail that kind of
t talk.