St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1885-01-29
Dynamite Explosion in London
Parliament Buildings Shaken.

Dynamite Explosion in London.
Parliament Buildings Shaken
Three serious dynamite explosions,
the most successful that have yet been
perpetrated in London, occurred there
Saturday afternoon. The first one took
place mt 2.I0 in the crypt of Westmin-
ster hall and was followed in few
seconds by another explosion IN the
Strangers gallery of the House of Com
mons. The entire city was thrown in
to Il state of frenzied excitement and
immense crowds assembled in the vi
entity of the parliament buildings. The
force of the explosion was tremendous,
shaking the houses for many blocks
around
The third explosion was in the Tow
er. At the moment the famous old
building was crowded with visitors,
but their number was greatly eXagger-
atsd by rumor. causing an intense ex-
element. Up to 4 o'clock sixteen PEG
pie were officially reported to have
been injured, but none MORALLY. The
attack was made on that portion of the
building known AS the ''Whitc Tower
The visitors were moving about i'll all
directions The structure was badly
wrecked by the conclusion. All the
injured persons were visitors. They
were promptly removed and cared for.
The rest of the people in the building
later scattered through the city and
circulated reports of the occurrence
which Increased public anxiety and
the excitement grew ten-fOld.
As soon as the nature of the eXplO-
sion was realized the police et1ectuaily
barred all egress from the Tower and
grounds. Every person was detained
and subjected to Il searching and rigid
examination, upon the theory that the
attack was made by some person or
persons inside the structure.
The ruins show that the explosive
was operated from point somewhere
OH the inner bastiOn OF on the esplan-
AIDE, IL fact which rendered the action
of the police in placing their embargo
upon all egress from the Tower
grounds excellently well judged. For
tunately only few persons had left the
grounds before these measures We're
carried out. Then extra guards were
posted about the walls. The Tower
explosion was heard for miles up and
down the Thames.
The fact that Il portion of the White
Tower was used as IN arsenal and fire.
quently contained large quantities Of
ammunition made public Indignation
the more terrible. 4 large number of
children were among the visitors ut
the time of the explosion and many Of
these little ones had their faces ana
hands iacerated by the broken glass
and flying spliDters.
The stories of the injuries to chill
drsn reused the immense crowds of
people to a condition past restraint.
Ia tremendous Volumes Of sound the
crowd yelled frantically, Lynch the
williams :" "Roast the fiends :" Colonel
MOiendie, chief Inspector ofeXplosives,
said the ingredients used were nitro
gEycerine compounds, precisely similar
to those used in the previous Outrages
in the city.
The explosion in the tower WAS on
the second floor. Three floors were
entirely wrecked and the explosion
damaged many hundred stands of arms
that were in the part of the building
employed us an arsenal. Lord Chelms-
ford and General Milman took charge
of the inspection OF the damaged struc
ture.
The entire police force of the city
was put on duty as soon rs the out
RACES occurred, aud bodies of troops in
and about London were placed under
arms. Patrols were sent out and STA
toned everywhere in close proximity
to each other, and cordOus of officers
were drawn mp around every public
building. ....
The damage done to Westminster
hall is much greater than was at first
suspected. 1t has been shown that IL
large quantity of explosive matter was
placed inside the great ornamental
gates leading into the crypt, and they
were blown clear off their hinges and
thrown to the ground. All the win
dOws Oh the north and south side of
the immense building were blown to
atoms. The coDcussiOn shook down
from tle oak roof OF the hall the accu-
mulaUed SCOT of centuries.
Immediately before the report was
heard, lady visitor who was alone
and was about to enter the buildings
beckoned to Policeman Cole aud when
he went to her she called his attention
to u package lying upon the steps out
side the crypt. The policeman picked
it up careiessiy, not suspecting any
thing and went with it out into West
munster Hall. He had no sooner
reached the hall than the package ex-
plcdsd. He was knocked down and
injured SO seriously that he will prob
ably die. Constable Cox is also not
expected to live"
The explosion in the Strangers Gal
lery OF the House OF Commons was far
more destructive than the first. The
lobby of the House Of Commons was
completely demolished, the force of
the attack being SO great that a man
300 yards from the scene was Knocked
down. la the interior Of the House of
Commons and on it's floor the only
seat damaged by the conclusion, curl
ously enough, was the seat usually Oc-
cupied by MIR. Gladstone. 1t was bad
ly broken. A small chip was also torn
from the speakers chair. The visitors
fed in great confusion and many Ia
dies and children were injured in the
crush. AS Saturday was an open day
for visitors, the crowd present was un
usually large. The western extremity
of the House is total wreck. All tire
woodwork on that part of the building
used by tho Peers was shattered, and "A
wide hole was made thr ough the floor.
Public Opinion.