The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-01-10
THE DYNAMITE PLOT.
Further Disclosures About Thomas
and Hts Crime.

Further Disclosures About Thomas
and Hts Crime.
Correspondence of the London Tlmes.l
BERLIN, December 22-To make as
surance doubly sure, Thomas, the assassin,
after his arrival at Bremen, opened the
murderous chest, took out the mechsn
ism, and sent it to clock-naker to be
cleaned and tested. The opinion is ad-
vanced BY those who saw it on the occa-
sion, that the assassin over-reached him
self in not telling those who constructed
and repaired the clock that the works
were intended to be wound up. The
hammer, it appears, was SO delicately
poised that any rude handling of the
chest must have brought 1t down even be-
fore tie spring was sufficiently unwound
to lit the lever and let it fall again.
Hence it is possible that on the chest be-
ing thrown from the wagon explosion
was caused, not directly by the concus-
sion of frozen crystals, US has been hith-
erto assumed. but indirectly, by the ham
mer leaping over the check and acting
premat1rely upon the igniting apparatus.
The board upon which the mechanism
was placed is but slightly injured, and
has been handed to the magistrates. 1t
consists of five layers of wood, exactly
fitting and strongly connected with
each other by screws. the model
of the clock, too, is in pos
session of the authorities. The deib-
Grafton with which the assassin set to
work may be gathered from the fact that
he procured the materials for the commis
sion of his crime in very different local
tiles. He bought the explosive material
in America and either conveyed it to
Germany as passengers luggage, or else
had it sent alter him-a point on which
some doubt seems to have arisen. He
had the model of his pernlcious clock
manufactured after his own drawings at
Vienna, ordered the clock at Bernburg,
and got the metal case wooden chest at
Dresden.
How SUSPICION FELL UPON THOMAS.
The first suspicion that Thomas was
implicated in the accident arose from his
being locked up in cabin. Had he
been only discovered bleeding and with
no very visible traces of being wounded
by bullet, he would have been mistaken
for q victim of the catastrophe, and car
ried to the hospital with the rest But
the circumstances of locking himself in
before resorting to the revolver at once
directed special attention, and caused his
wound to be thoroughly probed and in
vestigated. When the medical men
discovered the bullet in his head search
was made for the pistol, which was found
in dark corner, under the sofa on which
he had lain. But even then the surmises
of the magistrates, who were immediate
ly informed Of the circumstances, did
not 90 beyond assuming that the intend
ing suicide had been guilty of conveying
combustibles without due care and an
nouncement of the fact. the questions
put to him were answered in such
contradictory way that regular exam
nation was resorted to, which elected
the result already told. No attempt was
made TO remove the bullet, as this might
have fastened the death and precluded
the chance Of further disclosures. He
seems to have shot himself in the cheek,
pointing the pis.ol upwards so as to aim
at the brain; but rs the ball did not
penetrate beyond the back of the eye,
either he did not point well or the
weapon was one oi those Ineffective play
things but too frequently bought and
sold under the deceptive name Of fire.
arms.
A NITRo-GLYCERINE CONVENTION PRO.
POSED.
The disaster has caused general hunt
for explosive stores all over the country.
Three ships with dynamite cargoes lying
off Harburg, in the frozen river Elbe,
had to turn out their fiery cargoes with
out moments loss Of time. No less
than LOO chQsts-enough TO heave up
the earth-were carried TO hollow
in the hills some seven miles from
the city. There they will remain
buried until returning spring allows
the ships TO continue their voyage. The
inhabitants Of the fortress of Mindcn, too,
have sent in a petition requesting that
two hundrcd-weight of the dangerous
stuff deposited in the earth-worKs IN the
immediate vicinity of their city be re-
moved forthwith. Their petition will,
no doubt, be attended to, ana fresh rcgu-
lations issued to control the manu-
facture, storing and sale Of explosives.
1t is, however, obvious that, unless
the more civilized and indus
trial countries unite in these prccaution-
AIRY measures, the citizens of all will be
exposed to the perils of suffering for the
omission OF one. Where u few pounds
suffice to work such terrible havoc, this
is consideration which should not be
lost sight of. Surely, after the harm
done by American glyccrine in Germany,
it ought not to be too sangulne to hope
that nitro glycerine convention will be
shortly concluded between the two States,
Hanhx mud knnLey