The Sun.
London, England, 1850-01-28 00:00:00

TERRIFIC EXPLOSION OF GUN-

PO WDE
On Friday afternoon last, between four and five
o'clock, a man named Charles, in the employ of the
Ebbw Vale Company, was in charge of two of the
large iron carriages of that establishment, containing
about twenty toes of iron. He wished to remove
those carriages from a particular spot, at the Victoria
works, and desired one of the E)bw Vale engineers
to move them forward a little with his locomotive, in
order to place them upon the line for the upper works.
This was done; but the break which Charles placed
in the wheel to stay the motion thus given being slide
denly ?napped off, the two heavily-laden earrieges
started off, and were speedily careering at such
velocity as to be beyond all huinen control. Thus
left, the velocity attained by this vast weight on the
incline became most frightful ; and very great
apprehensions were naturally caused of the
destruction which would result to 11115 thing
which migh' chance to be on the line. As
this time a man named Williams, of Tydee, owner
of a small one-horse covered tram, in which his wife
usually rode with him on his journeys, was quietly
jogging along with sixty barrels of gunpowder piled
beneath his coverlid. He had reached Llanhilleth,
when suddenly in the distance be perceived the two
iron-laden carriages wildly thundering down. In a
second, apprehending the fearful state of the case,
and thanking Providence that the constant partner of
his journeys was not with him, he instantly slipped
out the pin that fastened the shafts to his tram, and
dashed down the declivity with his frightened horse,
just in time to avoid the destructive crash; for quick
as lightning the twenty tons of rail iron ran into his
car, and among his powder barrels, which, of course,
were smashed; whilst the crazy train was crushed and
comminuted beyond all carpentry skill. The collision"
caused some sparks of fire, and the matting around the
shattered powder casks speedily took fire, and then an
explosion, awfully grand, something perhaps like the
magazine display at Moultan, ensued : fifty-one bar-
rels having been blown into the air, shaking the
neighbouring houses, and frightening their tenants,
as if an earthquake had taken place; while the nar-
rowly -escaped Williams, who wished himself safely
back once more with his good wife at Tydee, stood
with his old horse looking on in terrible amazement,
until his hat being blown off his head by a shock, or
knocked off by a piece of his tram wheels, he consi-
dered it high time to decamp. Very fortunately, in-
deed, no lite was lost, nor greater damage done than
the destruction of the powder and the haulier's tram,
We understand that the Monmouthshire Railway and
Canal Company have just received from the manufac-
turers an air-tight powder carriage, which comes op-
portunely to replace the old vehicle of Williams,
which had hitherto been used for the purpese.
[We have heard that for the loss which poor
Williams has suffered he will be fully compensated
by the Ebbw Vale Company.] —3fonmetithskire
Merlin..

RAILWAY SHARE ad AR ii.ETS
LIVER?OOL, JAN. 26.
STOCK ExcuANGE.—The market was rather dull to-day,
and prices rather lower. The transactions were as fullow :
East Lancashire, 103/—Lancashire and Yorkshire, Consol.
Fifths, 71/1 dis. London and North-Western, 1161-4
Ditto, New Quarters, p. Midland, 45 c. Di!to,
Halves, 23/4 dis.—Newcastle and Carlisle, B—North Union
(A.), 232—Shrewsbury and Chester (N. W. M.), 121,4
Ditto (Oswestry and Chester), 1014 dis.—York, Newcastle,
and Berwick (G. N. E. Purchase), 6 per cent. till 1850,
5 die. Dutch and Rhenish. 5% dis.
_ _

BIRIIIINHAM, JAN. 26.
STOCK EXCHANGE.—The share market was very dull to-
day ; the prices of the principal lines, however, remain firm
at advanced rates, but in some descriptions of local stock
the tendency has been downwards. South Stafferdshires
were quoted at 31. 13s. 9d. dis., and Shrewsbury and Birming-
ham (A), at 71. lls 3d. dis. North Statfordshires were
done at 91. 18s. 9d. die.
YORK, JAN. 25.
STOCK EXCHANGE.—The transactions to-day were as
follow : Great Northern, 7—Ditto, Halves (B.), guaranteed
6 per cent. 4%---York, Newcastle. and Berwick (G. N. E.
Purchase), 3—York and North Midland, Preference, 6.