The daily gazette., 1883-10-31
LONDON BADLY SCARED.
TWO EXPLOSIONS IN RAILWAY
TUNNELS.
A PASSENGER TRAIN DEMOLISHED
The wounded and ShriskIng Passengers
Carried from One Station to Another
More Than Forty Persons Injured.
LPhlIadelphia Press sneci.I. !


Philadelphia Press specisl.
LONDON, Oct. 31-2.30 a. m.--London
had startling sensation last night. Two
| explot ions took place almost ostsimultaneously
and two tunnels of the underground railway
iell. In one many people were injured, In
the other great damage was caused.
The widest rumors are afoat. The Eng
lish papers do net hesitate 10 attribute the
explosions to Fenians. The Daily Telegraph
says this morning:
! STRONG DENUNcIATIoN.
| Fresh agents of destruction are appar-
emily at work in the metropolis. Nothing
could be more inhuman or detestabIe. Two
such incidents ring almost at the same
moment, several miles asunder point dis
! tinctly to plot having for its object whole
sale assassination"
THE EXPLOSIONS DESCRIBED.
A few minutes after number of pas-
| sengers were waiting at Charing Cross Sta
| ton. The platform was blockaded with
persons going to the Fisheries Exhibition,
| which closes to-day. There was much good
natured jostling and confusion. Suddenly
| violent shock was felt. The Great West
ern train had just left the Westminster
platform.
TIE ooNbUoToR's STORY.
The conductor, who was on the point of
outGIluE VAIL was AiUlObb thrown TO the
ground, and describes the reports as OF q
discharge of artillery.
At Westminster, the windows of the signal
box were completely shivered. At Charing
Cross low, booming noise was heard, and
the glass in the roof suddenly fell.
THE SCENES IN THE TUNNEL.
On visiting the tunnel it was found that
the rails had been untouched, but the bal
| last had been disarranged. The signal tel
egraph wires had been torn down. Part of
the masonry in the tunnel was thrown in
| ruins on the permanent ways. Volumes OF
black smoke poured out of the tunnel.
AT THE PRAED STREET STATION.
A few minutes after the Westminster ex-
| plosion the crowds waiting on the platform
OF the Praed street Station, adjoining the
| Paddington terminus of the Great Western
Railway, were thrown into panic by q tire
mendous report, apparently a few var 3 dis
tant. The windows of the refreshment
room were shivered to atoms. The young
woman behind the bar shrieked and tainted.
There was general stampede to the street
above, where in an instant thousand peo-
pie had collected.
PLEAsURE-sERKERs TERRIFIED.
A train had arrived at Praed street from
the Mansion House few minutes before 8
O'Clock. Many passengers and people from
| the country had been spending the day at
the Fisheries Exposition. The train had
| scarcely entered the tunnel, by way of the
Eigeware Road, when 3 Ie explosion came,
There was loud noise, like the firing of
cannon. and then sudden darkness.
THE HORROR OF SUDDEN DARKNESS.
All the lamps were extinguished. There
was breaking OF glass, and splinters feN "
in all directions. Then came the shrieks of
tha yROI1Dda1 nd ,1F M
stricken tain rushed through the darkness
to the station. BY aid of the guards and
other passengers, many were carried up
stairs TO the main road, and taken to ST.
Mary's Hospital. Others walked to the dis
pensaries and chemists shops. The rest
were badly frightened, but finished their
journey in cabs.
THE ENGINEERS RxAMINArIeN.
The first surmise was that an explosion of
gas had occurred, The chief engineer ex
amtned the wreck. Two third-cass car
riages were shattered. The heavy wood
work OF the roof beams and floor were pull
verified. From every window and doorway
every particle of lightwood had disappeared.
There were no signs OF gas explosion, and.
moreover, the cylinders had been already
burning II hours, ani were now nearly
empty.
AN INTERNAL MACHINE SUSPECTED.
1t was then suggested that foul air had
collected in the tunnel and had exploded by
contact with an inilammable substance. bur
the officials finally decided that the disaster
was caused by an internal machine. The
sleepers on the line were reduced to match
wood. The indentations inside of the tun-
mel showed the concentrated force of the ex-
plosior. A line right across the arch indi-
Gated the direction which the explosive
travelled.
DYNAMITE CARTRIDGES FOUND.
Four rockets Or dynamite cal trIdges are
said to have been found near the spot. The
D,t;ly Ne,Os says:
at is quite impossible to avoid the con-
clusion that the mysterious explosions were
caused by foul play, and it is quite needless
10 say that the outrage is attributed to
the Irish"
DAvITT's MARROW escape.
Fortunately for Michael Davitt, who was
.lecturlng In st. James Hall, the news of
the explosions were slow in getting abroad.
The great hall was packed with a demon
strative crowd, largely Irish, and deafening
cheers greeted the oratar as be denounced
Lord Salisbury and declared that ssprivate
right In land was public robbery of the ma
tion."
Had London known what had happened
In the Underground Railway the eonse-
quences might have been serious.
- -e~-Ss-
mod" Cassidy Escapes.
Ned" Cassidy was started for New Castle
on the O'Clock train, yesterday afternoon,
handcuifed o"Aeky"Dugan ard Joe Dubois
the trio being in charge of Officer Pierson.