Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1864-11-09
From the London Mechanics Magazine.
The ExnI0sion at Firth.


sion which ever occurred within our shores
The Mechanics Magazine, however, has
q higher ami infinitely more important
duty TO Ga fill than the mere catering OF
news for the masses Its pages will be
read by future generations, and we there
fore feel no hesitation in recording certain
particulars Of an event which has been the
absorbing topic for DAYS, and will bear an
interest far into the future 1t is to be
regretted that the details ofpast explosions,
and these have not been few, have not
been more carefully treasured up In a
readily accessible form than they have
been. Partieu ars of the kind possess 10
4aen Of science much more than a passing
interest, and it Is quite certain that our
magazines and powder factories can never
be readere even moderately safe, until
each individual cause which may lead d.
rectlv or indirectly to the Ignition OF gun
powder shall have received thorough,
calm. and searching Investigation at the
hands of men qralihed to deal WITH the
ackuow edced difficulties Of the subject
Accurate and reliable records Of the at
tendant circumstances of past explosions
are of the highest value. They act at
once as guides for the future, and afford
tho best of I'll evidence from which future
as 1t Is. such records scarcely have any
existence.
TIL, marshes mt Firth in one sense form
an extremely suitably locality fer the es-
tallislhhAnt Of magazine They are
lna1er~telv near tho metropolis. and vet
so far distant ,hat it is to the last degree
unlikely that any 5xploson. however tre-
mendous could materia " affect the we'll
heisIift t,egreat citv They are a 40 near
4 great shipping port, water carriage is
ALWAYS available ard in word. the site
holds out manv advantages, to the powder
merchant. Bnt it muSt be remembered
that the marshes are dangerously noar to
Noolwich and Plans cad. places whore
very large stores of Government powder
arc kent and as Car rs oar present knowl-
edge Of the effects Of combustion upOn ex-
plosives tells ANYTHING II teaches that there
Is nothing improbable in the notion that
an explosion at Erth might, if Sc ere
enough, heimme1iatcly followed by anofh-
er at Plumstead or even Wo0lwich Some
six wears ago the Messrs Hall & Co, of
hartford, erected magazine at the head
Of Erith-reach We understand that
good deal Of local opposition was brought
to bear at the time; nevertheless the
magazine was built and had been used
pe4nllrly mp to the moment Of the explo-
sion. Close bv stood another and older
structure of similar kind the property
5oftha Lowopd COMPANY They were very
imprudentlv situated close within the em-
blnkment or It'd wall of the Thames,
and from the dest ruction OF a section Of
this wal yerv disastrous consequences
would have followed but for the prompt
measures taken by the authorities Pow
der was ordinarily conveyed to and from
the stores NV means of ri or harges. usu-
" worked by two men and boy each.
ut abOut quarter to seven on the morn
ing Of the first ia Of October, two of these
harees lay In the stream. unloading pow
der brought from Favprshan. \ timber
stage running ont into the river formed
roadway along which the barres were
conveyed to the magazine in barrow5 fitted
with copper wheels The work was pro-
caeding satisfactorily " hen the exp osions
took place. Whether the work Of destruc
tinn- commenced in the hargcs or on shore
1--we Icannot say. The boats have disap-
peared, far the present at least, as cons
plete]y as though they had never existed.
'~Fhe second explosion, following almost in
simultaneously on the first effectualv de-
Strovea the magazines and the neiehboring
cottages. The unfortunntes in immediate
propinquitv have also gone to that and
from which there is no return. A ready
some sight or nine dcaths are recorded,
and It Is to he feared that the tale is not
ncark full The effects Of the exp 'osions
were n every way tremendous there Is
little donht that Jhev made themselves
plainly felt through a radius Of at least
fifty miles. The Consideration at Wool
witch was EXCESSIVE windows and doors
heinz blown in, and manv Of the inhahit-
ants suffering severe injuries in cOnse-
ducncH. while Mt a distance the general
impression existed that an earthquake had
pall rs Il passing visit. The destruction
has been So complete that there is lite
opportunity for scientific detail. and the
|, direction Of the DESTROYING force does not
ar ear to have varied sensib from radial
ines proceeding from the magazine ~ q
centre. One execution exists: the man
sion of Sir Culling Enrdlv, although verv
near, has suffered but little, gentle hill
intervcnin. between it and the seat Of the
explosion. which has apparently exercised
a PROTECTING influence
Strangely enough. the quantity Of pow
der eXpfodad is not accurately KNOWN
At one time the report got al ont that not
less than 10000 barrels had been i@nited.
We need scare ~ assure our readers that,
had tins been the case. not on oolwich,
but London would have been half DESTROY
ell. The Messrs. IIa state the quantity
at about seven hundred and fifty barre
IN the ,farIer magazine, and two hundred
IN the hargcs, bat tho amount in the small
r masazine = wholly unknown. The d.
strnction of toe books and PAPERS. and the
iameutable deaths Of those in charge, in
some measure account for this Ignorance
STU, under proper system. it Is not too
much to saw that particulars of every pound
of powder brought in and sen, out should
have been accuratei registered at the
chief Offices in Lombard and Fenchurch
/ streets. The fact that so much uncertain
t. exists 1pnn very import,tnt point, is
cry f3r-cyidence Of ax discipline some-
where. In all probahi ity, about one
thousand three hundred barrels Of powder
exp olel in all. or some sixty tunS 1t is
torrunarc that the explosion was in some
dsgrae divided. or the results might ha
been Vet more disastrous.
Our contemporary then proceeds to dis
cuSs the. cause of the explosion, AMI argues
that it M, ; have been from percussion or
spontaneous combustion.