The Express.
London, England, 1867-12-18 00:00:00

STATEMENT BY ONE OF THE PRISONERS.

Within the last few hours a written statement has, it is
said, been placed in the hands of the detectives which may
seriously compromise the position of the prisoners.
Allen, it is stated, sent for one of the inspecting officers
of the detective force, and said that he wished to
say for what reason he was in the vicinity of the
prison on Friday. His evidence was taken down in
writing and duly signed by him. The particulars of the
statement it is not thought proper to disclose at present.
It is possible that when the other two prisoners know
what Allen has done they may follow his example.
The prisoners are separately confined and narrowly
watched.

Up to this morning no further capture has been made,
but the police are in possession of information which
gives them • strong hope that within • few days some of
the principal actors in this heartless crime may be as
safely imprisoned as Burke and Casey.
The condition of the wounded lying at the hospitals is
about the same aa that last reported, and no other death
has happened.

FEARFUL EXPLOSION AT NEWCASTLE-

UPON-TYKE.

FOUR LIVES LOST.
NEWCASTLE, TeESDAT NICHT.

This town and district have been in a state of
the wildest excitement since 4 o'clock, arising from a terrific
explosion which occurred on the Town Moor, at that how.
The following narrative of facts, which I have personally
ascertained, will give a correct view of the calamity, which
has mused so much terror to-night in the north. It seems
that Inspector Amos and Sub-Inspector Wallace, of the
Newcastle police, last night, received information that •
quantity of nitro.glycerine was stored in • 'cellar in the
White Swan-yard, in the Cloth Market, immediately be-
hind the Branch Bank of England, and that it belonged
to an auctioneer named Spark. They examined the place,
and found that it was contained in nine square canisters,
in baskets packed in straw, and immediately sought the
owner of it up, to have it removed to • place of safety.
They found him at his place of business, and represented
the matter to him. He said that he would have it sent
back to the person who consigned it to him, and in com-
pany of the officers he tried the railway company, but they
refused to carry It. An application was then made to Mr.
Nesham, who hes a gunpowder store, to have it put into a
magazine, but he refused to take it. The case was then
represented to the magistrates, who, upon consultation,
gave instructions to have it destroyed. The sheriff of New-
castle, Mr. John Maweon, is • well-known practical
chemist, and the police applied to him as to the hest
method of dealing with this deadly liquid. He, after con-
sulting with other chemists, advised that it should be
buried in some of the creeks or crevices of some old pit
workings in the neighbourhood. Eta, while these tran-
sactions bad been going on, from some unexplained reason
the nitro-glycerine had been removed from the White
Swan-yard to Spark's office, in the town-hall, immediately
over the council chamber. This being discovered, a police-
man was immediately sent to watch it, and between 2 and 3
in the afternoon a cart was brought and the canisters
were placed in it and taken to the Town Moor. The sheriff
and Mr. Bryson, the town surveyor, with Sub-inspector
Wallace, and apoliceman named Donald Bain, accompanied
the cart to the Tswn Moor. They found a crevice or
creek neer the Cholera Hospital, into which the liquid
from the nine canisters wee poured; but after this was
completed, it was found that a quantity of crystalised
matter was sticking to the bottoms of three of the canisters.
The sheriff instructed Wallace to put some earth over the
liquid that had been poured into the crevice, and ordered
the other men to bury the three crystalised canisters in the
earth some distance off. 'While Wallace was shovel-
' ling the earth into the crevice, he was startled by • fright-
ful explosion in the direction where the men bad gone,
and running to the scene he found a sad catastrophe
had occurred. The three canisters had exploded. Donald
Bain, the policeman, was nearly blown to pieces, and
was dead. Shotton and Appleby, two cartmen, were also
killed. Mr. Bryson was dreadfully mangled about the
face, and was apparently dying, and the sheriff was
shockingly hurt. A boy, named Samuel Wadley, was
lying in a hole dreadfully injured. Masson, Bryson, and
Wadley were taken with all despatch to the infirmary,
and the bodies of the other three were removed to the
Cholera Hospital. Bryson has received a compound fine-
ture of the thigh and other injuries, and is not likely to
recover ; the sheriff very much hurt shout the face and
is likely to lose his eyed, but his case is hopeful. Wadley
is very ill. The magistrates have been sitting at the
police court, making an investigation. No abatement of
the alarm, as the public mind cannot be disabused of the
idea that the explosion has to do with Feniasism.