The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1883-11-03

IN intense agony. None OF the passengers
were hurt.
DYNAMITE EXPLOSION IN LONDON.
England mus. soon begin to think there
is serious meaning in the recent declara-
ton Of the fiery C'DOnovan Rosa, that iii
! England does not surrender Ireland to the
government Of the Irish people the city OF
London VIII be in ashes before long" On
| Tuesday night diabolical attempt was
made TO destroy the Underground Railway
in London with the lives of scores of pas
sengers. A number of people, largely from
the country, had just left the fishery eyhl-
bition and taken the underground railroad
tor home at the Praed Station. There were
four second class cars IN the tram filed
with passengers and they had proceeded
about 10 yards when fearful explosion
occurred, with the noise of artillery. Two
OF the carriages were shattered. The heavy
woodwork OF the roof, beams and floor was
pulverized. From every window and door,
way every particle Of wood had dlsap.
pcaret. The sleepers on the line were re
duced to matchwood The lndentation on
the side Of the tunnel showed the concen-
irated force Of the explosion. The tunnel
there was not destroyed, but deep hole
was eXcavated IN the roadbed The BRICK
wall was blown out and the gas-pipes and
telegraph were broken. The refreshment
saloon was wrecked, and the windows Of
the other rooms of the station.
Some forty or fifty persons were more or
less dangerously injured, though strange
as 1t appears, nobody was killed.
Almost simultaneously with this Praed
street affair, another violent explosion in
the underground railroad occurred between
ChariDg Cross and Westminster stations, a
mile and half away. There were no cars
on the track at the time at this place and
no other damage was done than to SKATER
the windows and to wreck the signalling
station. In both cases all the gas lights
were put out and the tunnel left IN total
darkness.
The London papers do not hesitate to
attribute the explosions to the Fenlans.
The Duty Telegraph said next morning:
Fresh agents of destruction are at work
in the metropolis. Nothing could be more
lnhuman or detes,able. Two such Incl
dents occurring almost at the same mo-
ment several miles asunder point dis
tinctly to a plot having for Its abject
wholesale ASSASSINATION" And the DailY
Necs says: ut is quite impossible to
avoid the conclusion that the mysterious
explosions were caused by foul play, and
1t IS quite needless to say that the outrage
Is attributed 10 the IRISH"
Cooler heads, however, who have exam.
med the matter more. dlspasslonately, are
greatly inclined to doubt the theory of
Fenan or IRISH machinatlons There he's
been no signs of rockets or dynamite or
cartridges found at
either place. Then the entrances to the
railway tunnels are always watched, and
no ono is allowed to pass the
platforms TO walk along the tracks
This would make it impossible for
any one 10 have deposited explosives along
the road.bed, although, of course, an infer.
nal machine might be dropped from the
windows of passing train, but this would
involve the "tiend" himself who dropped 1t
in the destruction The simple matter is,
that despite the ventllators along Tie road
1t is notorious that the tunnel of the under
ground companies is continually filled
with gases, which are occasionally present
IN such quantities as to be almost sitting,
and it is not thought improbable that an
accumulation of gas In the recesses along
the line may have ignited with the dsas-
trous results already known. Then each
carriage of an underground train has ex
tending along the roo, from end To end, a
metal reservoir which is charged at mod
erately high pressure with Illuminating
gas, and the explosion Is not unreasonably
attributed by many solely TO the gas tanks
HInIN SWTNTnN'S D.p,st, E,o,y ~, on,