The Republican journal., 1874-11-12
The Great Explosion In London.


carry disease as we'll as danger III other |
forms through great towns-have recently
attracted discussion and the discussion
will be terribly emphasized by the explo
sion of yesterday. At about 5 A. NJ a
train OF six light barges, OF which the first
was steamer, left the City wharf OF the
Grand junction Canal Company, in the
City road. Next after the steamer, the
Ready, was the tly-boat Jane, whose steer
er or captain was named Boswell. Next
to her was the Dee, the steerer Edwards;
and next the Tilbury, whose steerer was
Charles BaXton of Loughborough, in the
country of Leicester The Tilbury was
followed by the Limehouse, steerer Ed
ward Hail. and by the Hawksbury, steerer
Blower The Jane had little gunpow-
der on board;n the Tilbury's lading is
thus described by the company: The
cargo consisted chiefly of sugar and other
miscellaneous articles, such as nuts, straw
boards, coffee and some two or three bar
reis of petroleum, and about five tons Of
gunpowder." 1t is stated to be common
practice to send gunpowder and petroleum
in one and the same barge. Most of the
gunpowder was in barrels, but there was
one box which was probably filled either
with powder in canister or in TASKS. When
the Tilbury with her intlammable freight
was under the North-gate bridge which
spans the Regents Canal. making a way
from the Outer Circle in Regents Park to
the Regent spark road, she blew up. \
few minutes before five in the morning
most people in town heard between sleep
ing and waking the sound OF an explosion
1t was heard and felt at Chislehurst Ber-
mOnsdey and Peckham-rye, as we'll as in
the central districts The conclusion was
felt on the high ground beyond Primrose
hill, along Haver-stock-hill and up at
Hampstead. All along the northeastern
side of the high road up Haverstock-hill
about one house in every six or seven has
lost pane OF glass. A pane was broken
on Hampstead-green. and one or two
others in the neighborhood Of Fleetroad
AT Enfield it was thought to be an explo-
sion of the rifle factory or at the W altman
Abbey mills. At Woolwich, where they
are used to these occurrences, people sup
posed that magazine in the marshes had
exploded. The shock was felt as far as
Gravesend, and at Aveley in Essex. In
the northwest, tor a radius of two miles,
it was accompanied With the shiverng OF
glass in the windows or Oh the walls The
glass Of the retreshment room at the St.
Pancras station is destroyed In the closer
neighborhood OF the explosion beds rocked
10 and tro, doors and shutters We're burst
open plaster fell from ceilings, furniture
was shaken, broken, and piled together in
the middle of the room, and at distance
Of mile from the Regent's-park people
rushed as they We're into the streets, lest
what they took to be an earthquake should
make of their houses their graves
In house quite near, an aillng lady and
| oh for- IL, M, l.,
TO a friends in their panic 1t is no won
der, for this house is completely Quilted as
if by fire. In the garden Of 1t a great
piece Of torn and twisted iron from the
bridge has been cast, the stable has been
stripped OF its roof, and the coachman
sleeping in the upper story narrowly es-
capped with his life. The great curbstones
which fringe the towing path of the canal
were thrown up into the road Pieces OF
clay Were hurled by the force Of the con
cussion out of the canal bed over the three
stored house, against the ivy-clad wall
OF the outbuilding behind, and into the
room where the coachman was sleep
ing chimney on the roof is N a peri
lous position, and threatens to add to
the destruction by falling into the house.
This IS one OF the worst cases, but the
Baptist College, close at hand, and the
houses for many hundreds OF wards and
IN many streets have suffered similarly
ar down Albany street the houses We're
pltted with broken windows; in streets
like John street, close by, sashes and all
are blown out, shop fronts DESTROYED with
the shutters or III spite OF them Doors
and furniture ale turned into torn and
shattered planks Clocks, ornaments and
looking glasses have OF course suffered
Heavy coach-hOuse doors firmly secured
with large iron bolts and locks. have
been burst open. A wall with iron rail
ings on it was blown down for about six
ty yards Trees on the canal bank were
uprooted,. and their branches blown to
long distances In the Geological Gardens
the glass is broken in the elephant-house,
The monkeys appear to have successfully
avoided the falling glass The giraffes
were found huddled together in great
fear The Glands and one little deer, re-
Gently presented to the Gardens, have
suffered, as from their panic. AT the main
entrance pane of glass was blown into
the room where the attendant stands, and
driven into door with a force which
would have severely injured the usual
occupant OF the room il the hour had
been later. Fortunately the plate-glass
| before the reptiles was not injured. But
about a score of the society's birds escap-
ed, their cages broken, and $500 is the
GLACIERS bill which the society anticipates
The cages Of the beasts were fortunately
unimpaired in efficiency Mr.. Bartlett.
superintendent OF the gardens, lives on
the spot, and he heard the conclusion.
He tried to light his gas, but there was
no gas in the pipes 1t was at first dark
! l,11t IN, H. IL
by a great blaze, and other persons also
were directed to the spot by the blaze OF
fire. The petroleum and sugar must be
Men going to work at Fulham saw dit
fcrent sight-a great ball of smoke rising
in the air and bursting, they said into a
flame.
At the bridge the smoke was at first too
dense TOR anything to be seen. but when
it cleared the bridge was observed to be
entirely destroyed. A main OF gas and
another of water crossed the canal with
the bridge. The gas caught fire and shot
out a great tongue of flame above the
stream. Beside it the water from the main
came pouring into the canal The tele
graph wires also crossed by the bridge.
Of course, communication was cut Off
The boats were about twenty-three wards
long, and they were attached to each
other by about twenty yards of rope. 1t
is probably due to this distance that only
one boat besides the Tilbury sank. That
was the boat next behind her, the Lime
house, under steerer Hall The Tilbury ex-
ploded under the bridge, and it is connect
ured that a spark from the steamer, kept
by the bridge from rising and so being
carried far away, fell upon her and caused
ignition. A pipe-light may, of course.
l have done the damage. There is an ac
count, depending upon hearsay evidence
twice removed, to the effect that before
the explosion the Tilbury was observed to
be tuning and smoking, and her crew to
be making Intellectual efforts to extingush
the combustion