The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-07 00:00:00

THE AT7 EMPT 70 13L0IV UP THE
DUNDEE MAGAZINE.

The Dundee Advertiser states that on W ednesday last,
about mid-day, it was discovered that a quantity of tow
had been placed close to the innermost door of the Dundee
Powder Magazine ; that the tow had been set on fire, its
smouldering embers remaining ; that -the door and floor,
both being of wood, were somewhat charred; but that,
providentially, the fire had not continued sufficiently long
to burn through the door, or communicate with the gun-
powder.

The magazine is a building of small size, and of the
form of an oblong. It is surrounded by a wall of the same•
shape, in the east and west ends of which there are door
ways. The distance of the walls from the magazine prope?
on the north and south sides is only some two yards, but
there is a greater space at the ends. The magazine propel
is entered from the east end by two doors. The first or
outer door enters into a passage, and before admission tc
the interior of the building is obtained a second door has
to be opened. As soon as anyone passes the second dog,
he has access to the powder, and it should be mentioned
that.there are generally from five to seven tons of this corn
bustible in the magazinr. The regulations under which
the magazine has been kept are these :—The key of thf
door in the west end of the wall was in the custody of th.
keeper of the magazine, Michael Waters, while the ke•
of the door in the east end was in charge of the sentry fo)
the time. The key of the outer door of the magazine wai
kept by the military, and the key of the inner door by the
keeper. . _

At noon, the keeper of the magazine called for the pur-
pose of taking away some powder. The sentry was informed
in the usual manner, and followed the keeper to the maga-
zine. About the subsequent proceedings there is some
difference of opinion. The military state them as follows :
The keeper, after passing through the door in the outer
wall, left the sentry, who next saw him inside the maga
zine, in company with a young man named Robert Gow.
When the sentry found that the keeper was able to gain
admittance to the magazine without the use of the min
tary key, which was considered indispensable, he thought
there was something wrong, called the guard, and had the
man taken to the orderly-room immediately, where, how.
ever, he was instantly released. The account of the cir-
cumstance given by the police differs materially from that
furnished by the soldiers. They state that the keeper
passed the sentry, who opened the east wall gate to him,
an I accompanied him to the entrance to the magazine. He
says he told the sentry that Robert Gow had gone by the
Lochee-road, and that he had therefore to open the west
gate to admit him. He was accordingly admitted, and Waters
states that all three— on the outer door of the magazine being
opened—saw the tow at the same moment. Waters sap
that he lifted the tow and put it in his cap, but scarcely
had he done so when the sentry ran away, called the guard,
and a scene such as we have described occurred. It is
alleged, however, that there weremore keys in use than there
ought to have been. As soon as the outside door of the
magazine was opened, a piece of tow rolled up was found
close to the foot of the inner door in a smouldering con-
dition. It had apparently lain for some time, as a
portion of the wooden floor between the two doors and
the foot of the inner door was charred. The
material was removed without the slightest delay, and the
matter was brought under the notice of Captain White.
An investigation was at once instituted, but it led to the
implication of no one. That the tow was placed where it
was found by some one who had the means of opening
the outside door of the magazine, there can be no doubt.
Had not the burning material been thus timeously noticed,
it is impossible to estimate the destruction of life and
property that would have ensued. We understand that
the matter is to be reported to the Sheriff, who, in all
probability, will ask the Procurator-Fiscal to inquire into
it.

A. correspondent of a provincial contemporary
states that our Government have just agreed, or are about
to agree, to a reduction in the postage between France
and England to 21, and to a reduction of the charge for
telegrams between England and India by £l.
The Dublin Mail states that the exact number of M.P.'s
who wished their names put down as desiring to attend
Mr. Disraeli's meeting was 230. The number of members
actually present reached to between no and 160. As to
the morale of the gathering, nothing could have been more
encouraging.

There is a paragraph in the Advertiser to the effect that
a small sec Lion of Conservatives, led by Lord Cranborne,
will co-operate with Mr. Gladstone in endeavouring to
oust the present Government. This is hardly probable.
Mr. Gladstone paid too dearly for Lord Cranborne's
alliance last year to again wish to act in concert with that
noble lord.

The Premier's letter to the morning papers must have
been received too late on Friday night to allow its
being made the subject of a leader. The Daily News,
however, devotes a short editorial to the subject. It finds
fault with both the manner and the matterof Mr. Disraeli's
famous Edinburgh speech. In most men that portion of it
which spoke of " educating " the Conservative party would
have been considered as something like a boast. Then as
to the matter of his claim. He specifies five points, but
his boast was broader than his enumeration. It was after
the Tory party had passed their Household Suffrage Bill
that Mr. Disraeli came forward to claim the position
of the educator of its members. Teachers do not
rush forward and claim the credit of having in-
structed people who behave ill or misuse their lessons.
Mr. Disraeli most distinctly took credit for having
prepared his party during seven years for the bill of last
session, and that bill has established household suffrage.
If the education he gave did not fulfil 'its end, why boast
of it? If it did, the educator intended that which it
effected. What Mr. Disraeli has now to gain by contest-
ing the substantial accuracy of Earl Russell's succinct
representation of his claim, our contemporary fails to per:
ceive. With respect to what the Premier says in his
letter as to what was " accomplished by the Act of 1867,"
the Daily-News denies that the Act is regarded as a final-
measure, and doubts whether, with the exception of Mr.
Disraeli, a single member of the Tory party looks upon it
as complete.
One of the Conservative weeklies intimates that should
it be found necessary at any future time to strengthen the
Ministerial ranks in the House of Lords by the elevation
of Mr. Hardy to the peerage, it might appear that, as
there is nobody in the House more specially qualified to
administer the Home Office than Mr. Hunt, the best
arrangement would be to transfer the right hon. gentle-
man to that position, and thus enable Sir Stafford North.
cote to succeed to the administration of the national
finances.

Mr. Disraeli's amended measure for the trial of election
petitions is more favourably viewed than was its prede-
cessor. The two extra judges would, when not occupied
with their ordinary duties, be able to attend the sittings
of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, or the
Court of Exchequer Chamber, and both of these tribunals
certainly require to be strengthened. The only difficulty
would be found in dealing expeditiously with the mass of
petitions which always flow in after a general election.
In 1865 more than 40 petitions were presented, affecting
the seats of 72 members. The Nottingham committee
alone sat 27 days.
Up to Friday night no order for the release of Mr.
Johnston from Downpatriek Prison had been received.
The Dublin Nail says that Mr. Johnston did not apply
for his own release, nor is it his intention to do so. The
same paper reports a great meeting of the Protestant
Defence Association, which has been held in Belfast, and
points to it as "showing that the gentry of Ulster are al-
earnestly resolved as the Protestant masses of that pro
vine to uphold the institutions of the country, and the
freedom curscl by tlieD4_o all classes,",