The Express.
London, England, 1864-01-16 00:00:00

11--"jleritßi EXPLOSION OF GUN-
roWDER AT LIVERPOOL LAST
NI6IIT.

oor,3IOUS DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY.

tit= the Lnerpoul Mercury of this day.)

•-
so event hat occurred within the memory of any
either in the town of Liverpool or as the Me-
zslt- e ode of the Mersey, which has occsaiosed each gni-
gaol as was felt lest evening from me extrewally of
a„,,,,..tx3hbourboods to soother, in eosesmeme of the
aoc of upwards of eleven tons weight of gunpowder
PrF.ud a vessel lying in the Mosey, off Monks'
The consternation which provided through
part of the town, particularly towards the south end,
red it extremely difficult to Militia anything hke a
~Nriete account of the distraction of property whichbad
; pL,ee, The following particulars, however, have been
:telLom,utbenticsources, and are, therefore,reliaide
se tear they fall very far short of the full amount of
;E( ual t ire iu which this unpremidented calamity has
;t appears that yesterday afternoon the barque Lotty
L.,ptykja Webber, belonging to ]leases. Hatton and
of If erseyvtreet, left the west side of the King's
•;:ii the tide, in charge of a pilot, and proceeded to
• ' "

. _
~,,horsge in the Mersey, a hook's Ferry. She was
far the West Comet of Africa with a gamed cargo,
• Mel also on board NO quarter-kegs of powder, in all
11,,, tons weight of that destructive commodity, which
• ,:oved away in the after hold of the vessel, imme-
jtely beneath the captain's state-room.
.'icet:t after 6 o'clock last evening, the steward of the
~;el vas in the act of filling a lamp from a can of patella
• alien by some means at present unexplained that in-
-....yabla lignid became ignited. The can was instantly
by the steward, who was horroretrickee to see
contents flowing along the cabin floor and in-
ipiting the curtains and bedclothes of the cep-
de sleeping apartment To arrest its progress was 1111•
e,.,fitle, and shortly afterwards the flay Area= poured
:a,,3;11 the grating of the lazaretto mad communicated

t"...5 the cargo stowed in the after-hold. It was imms.
seen that no hope of extinguishing the denies could
be entertained.
The Rock Ferry steamer Wasp, Captain Joseph Hughes,
Rock Ferry at 6 o'clock, end es she steamed up the
:.ter the attention of the punnets and crew was excited
greet noise on board the unfortunate ship, which in the
place gave rise to the impression that there was either
:_rarder or mutiny on board. On nearing the mud, bow-
ret, the) wore hailed with cries to come alongside and
...iv off the crew, as the vessel was on ire, and
mere was • gust quantity of gunpowder on board.
The iti,sp hove alongside and made fast to the illdated
The SOW immediately jumped on board the steamer,
of them only half dressed, and in such a hurry did
....cc leave that no one even remained to let go the rope by
t the steamer was made fast to her, but bye vigorous
r: it was '• hitched" off from the deck of the steamer.
mate requested them to wait whilst he ran down into
mei he made an effort to do so, but speedily returned,
~.mg the heat was so gnat that be could not get down.
Wasp then took away the crew, and landed them at the
t.terge's Laling•stage.

About 20 minutes past seven o'clock the °Patents of the
,sel blew up with a report which it is hardly possible to
The simultaneous explosion of 500 pieces of
te,,vy ordasoce could not have produced so terrible
ad alarming a shock. Its effects in every part
Liverpool were severely felt and created indea—
ramble terror. At the earns moment the most solid
t:ocka of warehouses, offices, and private dwellings were
!Laken to their bus—doors, locked and even bolted, were
thrown wide open—hundreds, yea, even thousands, of
,uares of glass were smashed—and to add to the alarm, the
entire line of lamps through the greater portion of the
streets were extinguished, rendering it difficult to pees
from place to place, and jeopardising the safety of
t=ae who rushed forth to ascertain the cause of the
consternation. The fear which prevailed was parti.
"duly experienced by the poorer inhabitants, who
roared forth from court and alley screaming for de.
vsranc• from some unknown danger, and dragging
their helpless children at their heels. Crowds ran first this
Tay and then that, inquiring what was the calm of the
::arm. Now one retinae was assigned and then another,
lad as some vague rumour was circulated pretending to
the disclosure of the origin of the casualty, the crowd rushed
to the spot, only to be left in the more bewildered state of
=lament and uncertainty.

The spectacle which the burning vessel presented
ht the moment of the explosion was one of the
sot frightful yet grand which mould have been
....clued. The flames had enwrapped the whole of the
. err portion of the vessel, but had sot burst forth and
4-tasd the rigging. Suddenly a sound that deafens, and
the solid earth to heave and reel, bursts upon the
e:•.:.t.: the black bull belches forth a hideous volume of
gin,' illuminating the heavens and coating its
%rid hilt on either shore and over the vessels lyiogat
miler to the Sloyns and the river. High in the
air the yards, mute, and in fact the whole
tf the upper portion, of the vessel were thrown by
the force of the explosion, and fell like fiery hissing ger-
rine into the waters sal around. Bolts, portions of the
h:11, and fragments of the lighter parte of the ship were
propelled as far as either shore, and we heard of some
p.eces falling upon the steont-boata lying near the landing
!t.ger. The hull was riven into a thousand pieces, and les
ediately the amok@ had cleared away portions of the
i.,:reing Man were seen floating down the liver with
the ebb tide. Of these at one time nearly as molly
ai a hundred were perceptible, and as they floated
duns the stream presented a very singular appearance.
P..ey were traced for a very considerable distance, but even-
tthlly the lights were extinguished by the water dashing
ever them, and no mischief was oiscaaioned by the Darning
Pieces. Shortly after the explosion a portion of the bull
toiled past the Woodside ferry-boat, that vessel being cam-
pilled to shut off steam to avoid coming in collision with it
it come down the river. A vessel called the Retriever
was lying within a few hundred yards of the horsing ship,
htt she sustained no injury from the falling burning spars.

The La verpoo/ .Ifrr,ur•y. then proceeds to narrate in de-
some of the chief casualties, the narrative extending
over nearly three long columns. In many of the streets
tie whole of the gas lamps and the lights in dwellings were
extinguished, and the inhabitants rushed out in the belief
that an earthquake had taken place. Plate glass, shutters,
end doors were thrown out in Castle-street, Lord-street,
bale-street, and many other quarters.
Along the whole lies of decks the shock wee felt with
Peat violence, and the utmost consternation was caused.
The damage, however, was chiefly confined to the break-
age of windows, those facing the river having
especially suffered from the effects of the con-
cussion. Tne force of the blast seemed to have
varied in so unaccountable manner ; at one house,
the whole of the windows would be shivered into a
thousand fragments. and the very nest would perhaps have
rsalped with none or very slight damage. As a role, comer
premises seemed to have suffered most, and these were
chicly public houses, the plate-glass fronts of which were
idly mutilated. No peremal injury seems to have been
':stained, though there were narrow escapes.
At the Southern Hospit,l the shock was severely felt,
Le whole building distinctly vibrating. All the gaslights
sent out at once. The impression was that an explceim
of gas had taken place in the home ; the gas st the meter
sae therefore turned off immediately. Many of the
patients rushed into the street in their night dresses—
s...me with broken legs crawling out upon their hands
"a 'cum ; and, had it not been for the admirable
coolness of the house surgeons, backed most ably by the
porters and nurses, the consequences might Dave been dread.
f al. The poor sufferers were soothed and removed to their
beds as soon u possible, and in shout half an hour the
host,tal resumed its usual quietude. The only damage
done writhe blowing off of some of the ventilating gratings
in the ward., and the smashing of several of the windows.
The streets of Liverpool were densely crowded for hours
after the occurrence. and it was near midnight before a
feeling of conscious security returned.
Sonic idea may be formed of the terrific effect of the ex.
r.),1160t when it is mentioned that the report was beard at
( Mater, the authorities at that place having telegraphed to
verpool to know what was the cause of the tiemendons
report which they had beard.

The explosion war felt with terrific force at Birkenhead.
ne public lamps sod nearly the whole of the gas lights in
shore and private honer were instaatly extiagnishod,
people rushed into the street+ exhibiting the utmost
terror. The thoroughfares, especially those leading to
Wv,elile Ferry, were soon crt.w.led with persous eager to