The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-23 00:00:00

EXPLOSION at the GUNMAKERS'
COMPANY'S "'ROOF HOUSE.
Considerable alarm was created in the neightourhood
of \Vhitechapel Church, on Saturday morning, between
"ix and seven o'clock, by an explosion of a fearful cha-
rade taring place at the Proof-house of the Gun-
makers' Company, situate on the south side of Church-
lane, in the above vicinity, which, in addition to de-
stroy;ng much property, narrowly involved a melan-
choly loss of life.
From inquiries instituted on the spot, shortly after the
occurrence, it appears that several of the workmen
were engaged in the workshop in a line with the street,
and immediately under the magazine, charging musket,
barrels with powder, for the purpose of proving them.
A lad named Oldsham was so employed at a bench
against the front brick wall, when it is supposed that in
loading a barrel something brittle was amongst the pow-
der, and which causing ignition instantly fired. On the
several benches were small vessels containing powder,
and which at the same moment exploded, causing a
shock of a, very alarming description.
The whole range of windows were literally blown ont,
frames and all, into a spacious yard in the centre of the
pernises, and the whole of the glass in the immediate
neighbourhood broken. The interior of the workshops
also suffered, and the only miracle is that it did not ex-
ploit: the magazine ; if such had happened, as there was
stored a great quantity of powder therein, the greatest
injury must have been effected. The escape of those
employed in that part of the works where the explcsior
occurred had been most providential. They managed t!
make their way into the yard, Oldshaw being the only
one injured, he having one of his fingers completely
blown off, and otherwise hurt. Ho was promptly
removed to the - London Hospital, where he now
lies in a very unfavourable state. The_ police, on
hearing the report, instantly forwarded intelligence of
the fact to the brigade at Weilclose-square, and in a bri-f
time a party of firemen arrived. The premi-es,
ever, had net taken fire, therefore their services
not recittirec,l, beyond extinguishing a few spar
here and there laid. The dwellin,g-heuse of
waod, the manager of the prett-house, which adjo
has suffered much from the shock, and the whole
pe.rty is said not to be insured. The works, standi
they do in a principal thoroughfare, and alino&
heart of the Inetrepoill, ought to be xi...moved to
tli4t:..nt par:.

:s

BATTLE OF THE GAUGE

The" battle of the gauges," which was fought in the. House o
Commons on Friday night, has ended in the temporary triumph
the broad, and the disecentiture of the narrow; but the real com-
parative merits of the two seem to be still as undecided as the
lawyers and the engineers, who reap all the profit of the coolest,
could possibly desire. It is certainly very desirable that one ere.
form gauge should be established upon all the lines of railway
throughout the kingdom, for, however skilfully the operation may
be performed, there must be both delay and risk in shifting pas-
sengers and goods, by " lifting the carriage off the waggon, or
lifting the carriage, waggon and all, on to a truck suited to another
gauge,"—a feat which, we are told by Sir Thomas Wilde, there
can easily be art apparatus for accomplishing. It nevertheless does
appear very necessary that before the " battle of the gauges" can
be finally decided by the complete victory of either, some under.
standing should be come to as to which is really to be preferred ; but
this appears to be a point that will not be very easily settled. As
far as can be ascertained from the evidence of the engineers—
no two of whom agreed in their opinion when examined on the
subject before the Parliamentary Committee—the question of the
gauges is not yet ripe for solution ; and we are told by Mr.
Shaw, the chairman, that though he examined every engineer on
that particular point, not one would commit himself to a posi-
tive opinion as to what would now be the best width of gauge."
It is evident, therefore, that it would be highly premature to begin
tearing up existing rails for the sake of uniformity, when the plan
adopted might turn out ultimately to be uniformly wrong; for
though the paving people do occasionally amuse themselves by
alternating between wood and stone in the great metropolitan
thoroughfares—now indulging their fancy for one and now giving
a turn to the other, so that the city is kept constantly in a state
of semi.blockade--it would be much too expensive and inconvenient
a game to be carried on with reference to railroads. The great diM.
culty appears to be, how we are to get at the superiority of one
gauge over the other, for the engineers will give no opinion
at all; and when we rush to General Presley for relief from our
perplexity we are left in greater bewilderment than before, for he
recommends "splitting the difference " between the broad and
narrow gauges; a suggestion which, if it is to have any weight at
all, must be unfavourable to both of them. He proposes to let the
gauges meet each other half way the broad gauge drawing itself
le a little, and the narrow gauge making a slight advance towards
its competitor ; so that, by the broad giving a few inches arid the
narrow taking something less than an ell, they might both come to
the same point without sacrificing the principle of either. How
this important question of the gauges is to be treated we hardly
know, but we are told that experience is the only test by which it
can be settled. Experience, we are afraid, when used with refe-
rence to the safety of any principle applied to railroad travelling, is
only another word for the returns cf killed and wounded. We had
rather that the engineers could have made up their minds about
the respective merits of the broad and narrow gauges
without waiting for a table of the victims of each, and then
striking a balance in favour of the one that has been attended with
the smaller number of accidents. We must, however, do both the
gauges the justice to say, that we think the matter would be des.
tined to remain very long undecided if the sort of tables to which
we have alluded were waited for, inasmuch as either may be secure
with care and proper management; to the absence of which, in
some degree, nearly every railway casualty that occurs may now be
attributed. There is either a screw loose in some of the rails, to a
waggon with four wheels has been placed among others with six,
or the luggage van has been too light, or something has occurred
quite irrespective of the width of the gauges, the uniformity of
which Is perhaps not so indispensable to safety as it is desirable for
the sake of convenience. We have little remark to make on the
debate of Friday night, which was hardly conducted with that calm.
ness which bespeaks the perfect disinterestedness of these who me
about to cote; and by the confusion which interrupted every one who
rose to speak, it was evident that most of the Hon. Members pr