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

EXPLOSION AT IVETVCASTLE.

About four o'clock yesterday afternoon a terrifie explo-
don occurred on the Town-moor, Newcastle. This event
Irew the town and district into a state of intense alarm.
l'he act was at once referred to Fenianism. It seems that
[nspector Amos and Sub-Inspector Wallace, of the New
astle police, last night received information that a
luantity of nitro-glycerine was stored in a cellar in the
White Swan-yard, in the Cloth-market, immediately be-
aind 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
lanisters, in baskets packed in straw, and they
immediately sought the owner of it, in order to have it
.-emoved to a place of safety. They found him at his
place of business, and represented the matter to him. He
;aid that he would have it sent back to the person who
zonsigned it to him, and, in company with the officers, he
tried the railway company, but they refused to carry it.
An application was then made to Mr. Nesham, who has a
i•unpowrler store, to have it put into a magazine, but he
also refused t 3 take it. The case was then represented
to the magistrates, who, upon consultation, gave instruc-
tions to have it destroyed. The Sheriff of Newcastle
(Mr. John Mawson) is a well-known practical chemist,
and the police applied to him as to the best
method of dealing with this deadly liquid. After
:onsulting with other chemists, he advised that it
should be buried in some of the creeps or crevices of
some old pit workings in the neighbourhood ; but while
these discussions had 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, just
over the Council Chamber. This being discovered, a
policeman was immediately sent to watch it, and between
two and three in the afternoon a cart was brought and
the canisters were put into it andtaken to the Town-moor.
The Sheriff and Mr. Bryson, the town surveyor, with
Sub-Inspector Wallace and a policeman named Donald
Bain, accompanied the cart to the Town-moor. They found
a crevice or creep near to the Cholera Hospital, into
which the liquid from the nine canisters was poured ; but
after this was completed it was found that a quantity
of crystallised matter was adhering to the bottoms
of three of the canisters. The Sheriff then in-
structed Wallace to put some earth over the liquid
that had been poured into the crevice, and ordered the
other men to bury the three crystallised canisters in the
earth at some distance off. While Wallace was shovelling
the earth into the crevice he was startled by a frightful
explosion in the direction where the men had gone, and,
running to the scene, he found that a sad catastrophe had
occurred. The three canisters had exploded. Donald Bain,
the policeglan, was nearly blown to pieces, and dead ; Shot-
ton and Appleby, two carters, were also killed ; Mr. Bryson
was dreadfully mangled about the face and apparently
dying, and the Sheriff was shockingly hurt. A boy named
Samuel Wadley was lying in a hole dreadfully injured.
Mawson, Bryson, and Wadley were taken with all despatch
to the infirmary, and the bodies of the other three were re-
moved to the Cholera Hospital. Bryson has a compound
fracture of the thigh and other injuries, and is not likely
to recover. The Sheriff is very much hurt about the face,
and likely to lose his eyes, but his case is hopeful.
Wadley is very seriously injured. The magistrates have
been sitting at the police-court making an investigation.
There is no abatement of alarm, as the public mind cannot
be disabused of the belief that the explosion has something
to do with Fenianism.