The Express.
London, England, 1861-02-23 00:00:00

the corrugated iron portion of the roof was turned up as if
it were paper, and about 20 yards of the roof was partly
destroyed. The roof of the Midland station was partly
stripped, the ,Igtval poets and telegraphic pasts blowu nearly
level, and great destruction done. The damage to the
Great Western stations alone is roughly esumated at
1,5001. Naar the stations are the extensive works of
Messrs. Kell, the agricultural itupleineut makers and
I founders ; here a roof, about GOft. by 4Oft., was thrown
down and completely destroyed.

TEE ACCIDENT TO TEE CRYSTAL PAL.4PE.

We yesterday reported that a portion of one of the wings
of the Crystal Palace hail been demolished. The following
is the edictal report of the occurreoce forwarded to us by
the .ecretare : —•• I regret Where to inform you that during
the gale. which raged here with excessive violence between
le awl scteti hut evening. the square block which formed
the terilimation of the north wing of the Palace was blown
down, carrying with it a portion of the corridor which led
to it, mid in which the poultry shows ,have been recently
held. Loth block and corridor were empty, with the ex.
ception of a few garden seats and trestles stowed there
during the winter. No personal injury has taken place,
nor ha, anything been damaged except the shell of that
portion of the structure shove mentioued. The main
and the other patine/of the company's property are
entirely uninjured. I may add that p
block
in question eat it. companion at the oppoite
end of the terrace were originally designed to carry the
tank, lo play in 4 .one: .d the fountains. Hut this idea Irv-
ing been at an earls. period abandoned, the upper story re-
mained without the weight intended to steady it, and was,
therefore, more isobject to the action of the wind. The
south 1.1,k was reduced in height last year, when it was
added to the refreahmeut department, and it was in the con-
templati.o of the directors to du the mme by the other. It
impairs that the wind must have brat taken the upper pert
, of the block, and that this in its fall brought down the ail.
, joining corridor hot as the accident happened after the
clewing of the building, no precise particulars are known as
to the manlier of its occurreoce."

During all ThunaLoy the wind blew over the hills at Nor-
wood with extraordinary fierceness full That
the trout of
the pastes, facing towards London. That it was more
violent here than in other suburban distrieta is evidenced
by the broken branches of trees, the palings, and even
rirdeis walls blown down in the neighbourhood. But,
although the premium of the gale upon the whole surface
of the palace must have amounted in the aggregate to
several thousand tons, not the smallest perceptible effect
wee produced upon it, and Dot • single pane of glass
was broken. All *basil well, till about half-
past 7 o'clock on Thursday night, when, during
one of the fearful gusts which then swept over
the bill. some men in the carpenters' room heard a little
crashing a glees and iron, and immediately no out on to
the terrace garden. In another minute, with an appalling
crash, the huge tower fell over among some trees, and lay
Asmara into millions of fragments ou the ground. lo the
course of two or three minutes Inure the rest of the wing
went, by 30 or 40 yarda at a time, till a total length of
about IIU yards strewed the earth, • mere mass of splinters
of glass, wood, and iron. Anything more complete than
the destruction it would be difficult to imagine. The en-
pearasce of the ruin rather suggests that every part of the
building ha. been carefully broken into small pieces
than that it has been merely blown down. A tremen-
dous explosion could not possibly have ,shattered
the piece more effectually. The woodwork is all in
mall Ores, the east iron columns are broken up like glass,
and the tie rods twisted and tors into every shape. For.
torely, there was nothing in this wing but the empty
pre mad at the late poultry show, and a number of garden
rata ; all these, of course, are more or less destroyed. As
far as sr be judged from the way in which the ruins have
fallen, it would seem that the corner column nearest the
railway must have had to sustain the thrust exercised upon
it by the other columns yielding to the force of the gale.
As the wind came in gusts, it if supposed the tower must
have oscillated to such • degree as to force the corner
column, on which the =ln strain came, out of its
perpendicular, when, of course, it rapped at once.
It -was no doubt the breaking of this which the
carpenters first heard, and ran out on to the
terrace, when the tower, thus deprived et its main
support, fell instantly before the next blast. It is • great
ma i. however. of the strength of the structure, that when
the rest of the wing was thus weakened and broken by the
fall of the tower, it was not instantly overthrown also.
It stood for several minutes, and only fell piece by piece as
the wind swept down upon it with almost the force of •
harriers. The strength of either of these wings, however,
is sat to be compared with the enormous strength and COM.
Callwith which the main building is put together.
of rebuild* the north wing, it is stated, would
Net amount to more than 6,U001., but as lately it was never
red far anything but the poultry shows, which can just
as well be held in the south wing, it is DOS probable that
it will be rebuslt at ail.