The Sun.
London, England, 1864-10-19 00:00:00

The Powde:

so that the passage of the copper barrows, each with
their two barrels of powder, is incessant, yet still
there is no noise. The barrows wove silently, and
the men, in their soft shoes, seem to glide over the
polished woodwork without a sound. Not a word is
spoken, and the dry creaking of the barrels in the
magazines, as they are moved from tier to tier, come
with a sound which is here almost noise. Occasion-
ally, as some less full than others are lifted down, one
can hear the dry hissing rattle of the grains as they
turn over, but this, and the actual creaking of the
somewhat thin barrels, and the soft rumble of the
trucks taking them away, is all that can be distin-
guished. Outside, on the wharf, one can hear the
sound of gentle hammering, with occasional words
of direction, but within the magazines themselves
all is as quiet, and almost as dark as night. There
is a regularity, a method, and an evidence of careful
supervision everywhere, which insensibly imparts a
feeliog of perfect security even in the gloomiest of
the high, narrow passages which wind among the
stacks of powder.
The external aspect of these magazines, with their
lean-to roofs and stable-looking architecture, gives
no idea of their real features of construction. To nee
a familiar image, each magazine is constructed like
two railway arches, which are built of the strength
called bomb proof, and afterwards covered over with
the sloping roof and walls with which all acquainted
with the river are so familiar. There are five of these
buildings, and each is fitted to allow the storage of
44 " lots" of 200 barrels in each lot, with two end
lots of 400 barrels, making the contents of each
magazine 10,400 barrels, or 62,000 barrels in the
whole five. Sometimes this quantity has been ex-
ceeded by 2,000 or 3,000 barrels being stored in the
passages between the "lots" or bins, but it is always
sought to avoid this if possible. As a general rule
there is never mere than 52,000 barrels nor less than
42,000. The latter quantity only is now in store.
Though we speak of them as five magazines, yet in
reality all five are one. There is not more than 50ft
between each wall, and all are kept with open end
and side doors during the day, except during the
time the workmen are at dinner, when the thickly-
plated double copper doors are closed, and the keys
resigned to Mr Cleeve, who alone of all the staff can
enter the magazine at any hour of the day or
night. Every lot or bin is numbered with the even
numbers on one side, the odd on the other, and each
lot contains solely the sample of one manufacture,
whether private or Government, with the maker's
name and date of its reception, and the letters
"L. G.," "L. G. R," and "E. 1t.," denoting
large grain for common powder, large grain
rifle for rifled guns, and "E. R." for the best
kinds used only for Enfield rifles.
Thus, so perfect is the system of storing that at
any hour of the day or night the exact bins or lots
can be found by the powder men, and either stored
away or taken out for shipment. In fact the magae
zines are generally so dark that daylight makes but
little difference in the gloom of their interior, and
during the Crimean war, when the demand for
powder was loud and urgent, the powder-men in
relays worked night and day through the darkest
winter nights—as a matter of course without lights,
bat, what is not a matter of course, without ever
making a single mistake as to the "lots" and quali-
ties ordered for shipment. In some of the gloomiest
parts of the magazine a piece of copper framed in
wood, like a hand mirror, and tinned over so as to
reflect a light upon the name and number of the
barrels, is kept for use, but it is a mere formal piece
of magazine furniture, and seldom called into requi-
sition, so well do the men know the exact position
of each barrel, It is almost needless to say that no
lights or iron work of any kind are ever allowed to
approach even the outer walls which enclose the
magazine building, and the most jealous scrutiny
is maintained to see that not an atom of dust comes
into the stores. The brickwork of the massive
arches is lined with pegged boarding, which fits
like cabinet work, to guard againit the falling of a
grain of dirt from the masonry. Incessantly are men
employed in sweeping and sprinkling the wooden
tramways not only inside the magazine, but on all
the wooden paths around it. A careful examination
of the refuse thus brought together by the brooms
only shows a fluffy kind of mixture almost entirely
composed of hair off the blankets used, or wool
from the workmen's dresses. Of dust, in the ordie
nary acceptation of the term, there is scarcely a
trace, and of powder, or of anything which could be
supposed to resemble it, there is absolutely nothing.
The b.trrels are never rolled, but are wheeled in bar.
rows, as we have said, two at a time. A leaky pow-
der barrel is almost unknown at Purfleet, so rare is
its occurrence, though some of the barrels have been
in use since 1808 and 1813. When it does happen
that a barrel leaks it is never placed in the maga-
zine, but at once removed in a hide to the examining
house, and its contents changed to a new barrel.
There can be no question, however, but that all
powder barrels are made too slight, and that a law
which will render it compulsory to have powder
barrels water tight would at once do away with
more than half the chances of accident from powder,
especially when in transit from port to port or from
mills to magazines. The great rules at Purfleet are,
first, that nothing but powder is admitted to the
magazines—that is to say, that portfires, rockets,
shells, &o. are excluded with as much vigilance as
if they were lights. The second rule is, that no
powder, not even half an ounce, is ever left out of
the magazines ; the third, that nothing is ever done
in a magazine but to lift in powder and lift it out
again. To attempt to open or cooper a cask in the
magazine, which Messrs Curtis and Harvey's work-
men speaks of as being done habitually by them,
would at Purfleet lead to instant and final dismissal.
It is impossible to condemn this practice of working
in the magazines too strongly. In one important
respect, however, Purfleet has departed from its safe
and wholesome rule of not admitting anything but
powder to its magazines. Quarter-barrels and half-
barrels of rifle ball-cartridges are now often stored
there. Considering that it is still a doubtful guess
tion whether the greased cartridges do not heat
when kept long in store, this deviation from the old
rule seems at least to be questionable as regards its
safety, In face of the gigantic issues at stake in
case of an accident at Purfleet, would it not be more
wise to avoid even a suspicion of calamity by storing
the cartridges elsewhere ? For the rest, as far as
general precautions are concerned, nothing seems
to be neglected. The alarm-bell is rung when there
is any appearance of thunder in the air, that the
doors and all the apertures of the magazines may
be closed at once. This precaution is a wise one,
though it would savour much more of precaution in
its real sense if the antiquated lightning conductors
which now cover each low-lying magazine were at
once removed from the buildings themselves and
placed higher on poles around them. During the
night the watchmen have to admit the guard out-
side the magazine each hour, and the sentries them-
selves have to strike each quarter hour of their
watch upon large bells, so that any want of vigi-
lance in this respect is so easily discovered that it
becomes almost impossible. In'faet, as regards the
magazines the care which is taken of them leaves
nothing to be suggested nor nothing to be desired,
except, perhaps, that they were further away from
London.
Bet the Purfleet magazines have to be regarded
from three points of view—first, as a place for the
transhipment, of powder to and fro; and, thirdly, as
a place for testing powder. These are its three great
working aspects as regards the Government, though
as regards thn general public there is still another
view to be taken of the whole, which is Purfleet as
a place of safety. Looking only at Purfleet as a
mere place of storage for powder, there is no doubt
that it is safe enough. As far as its storage is con-
cerned there seems no chance of accident unless from
" unavoidable calamity." What that calamity would
be to England our readers may guess by bearing in
mind that less than 50 tons exploded at Etith, end
that Purflcet, as a rule, stores 2,300 tons. As a
place for testing powder, Purfleet, with its tre-
mendous magszines of explosives, seems objection-
able. Government cannot manufacture much morn
than half the powder it requires at 'Waltham
Abbey, and has therefore to buy at the rate of some
23,000 or 30,000 barrels a year from private firms.
All this powder, whether from private houses or
Waltham, is tested for cleanness, strength, and ab-
sorption of moisture at Purfleet, the private firms
being allowed to be 5 per cent, under the Govern-

see.