Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-01-30

+ Commons Itself Wulch hll JUS
been vacated by visitors. Ia the
excitement which followed nobody
thought ofnoting the time, but the
clock in the blouse OF Commons
stopped at 2,l3, and this, no doubt
marks the time OF the explosion
The report was terrific, and the
elegantly appointed chamber was
IN an instant dying fragments.
The explosion occurred under the
Peers gallery, in that part OF the
House known as the lobby, near
the seat which is occupied by Mr..
Gladstone, and this was badly
broken. \ small chip was also
torn from the Speakers chair. The
western side Of the House was to-
tally wrecked. Every window was
blown out, all the woodwork was
shattered, and "a wide hole was
made through the floor near Mr..
/ GladstOne's seat. The galleries
were wreuched from their POSI-
ton, and even the solid stOnewOrk
of the doorways was either pulyeriz-
ed or shifted from It's position. The
benches in the galleries were over
turned and many Of them broken,
and shower OF splinters filed the
room, which were projected with
such force against the leather
upholstered seats of the members
that they were torn and destroyed.
The glass roof was completely
shattered, and a heavy beam which
formed one of the supports to the
gallery, under which Mr.. Charles
Bradlaugh is accustomed to sit
when hevisits the House, was pro-
iected into the Speakers chair.
The lobby Of the House was al
most completely demolished. The
masonry decorations and sculpture
were utterly destroyed. One lady,
who was in the hail at the time, Is
reported as seriously wounded
but with this exception, so far as
is now known, there was no serious
injury inflicted upon anybody here.
Themain force of the explosion was
exerted on the side of the rooms
where the members of the govern
ment and their liberal followers
have seats. Had the Commons
been in session at least 200 lives
would have been sacrificed and
Mr.. GLADSTONE and several OF his
ministers would have been among
/ the number, while Mr.. Pdrncll and
his followers would PROBABLY have
escaped uninjurcd, as tlcy nave
/ lately been sitting on the opposite
side of the House among the con
servativcs, and the tory quarters
escaped almost undisturoed. Alter
/ the explosion there was a inghlen-
ed rush from the houses of Pdrlid-
ment. IN which a number of women
were severely bruised aud crush
cd. but fortunately nobody WAS
/ killed.
Remarkable force vas shown by
the explosion i'm We.tmintcr Hall
ina downward direction. Holes
were scooped i'm the ground large
enough to hold man. Into one of
the holes so formed policeman Cox
was violently thrown, and from %
he was extucatcd IN "a bruised ana
battered condition. The tao other
policemen who were near the scene
OF the explosion were NOT so serious
| ly hurt, but they were thoroughly
stunned by the force of the shock.
| The statues OF King William II
and of King George ", IN West
minister lIall,wcrc also overturned
I by the force OF the explosion. Ia
/ sprction of the locality Of the eX-
posion i'm the House OF Commons
shows that The flooring was driven
clear through to the basement. The
floors through the building are
Uttered with the debris Of broken
chandeliers. glass and other objects
of a fragile nature. The gas fix
lures were wrecked, and 10 was
| impossible for Col. Mojendie, chici
of the department OF explosives, to
continue his investigation for lack
Of proper illumination.
The locality of the explosion in
the House OF Commons is always
| in a deep shadow, being directly
under the gallery. The person VINO
deposited the dynamite WAS thus
much less likely TO attract notice
/ than in almost any other part oil
the house.
THE EXPLOSION AT TIE TOWER.
Ten minutes before the explosion
in Westminster Hall there was an
explosion in the Tower of London,
while it did not result in SO much
damage to property as that IN the
palace. placed an even larger mum
| bcrof lives ia jeopardy. Visitors
| to the Tower are admitted free on
| Saturday, and this afternoon there
was an unusually large crowd, in
which the women and children
formed large majority. Next to
the Bloody Tower, in which the
crown Jewels are exhibited, the
White Tower, the oldest part Of
the Notifications. was the principal
gathering place for tine visitors. In
this old d0nj0n, a largo part OF
which is now used as an armOry
for the storage OF Iili,s and ann
muniton. "a crowd had assembled
q at O'Clock. when loud report
/ was heard. and tie old tower trcm-
bled TO lis foundations. The cN-
plosion occurred on the second
. floor. i'm the OH council chamber,
} and fortunately the walls were SOLE
S id enough TO withstand the shock,
: or "A terrible loss OF life would have
e followed. As it was, every window
4 i'm the White Tower WAS blown ont,
0 and the broken glass scattered IN
4 all directions, cutting the faces OF
] children and women.
} The explosive compound was
, placed behind rack Of rifles, and
? the dynamite played IT'S maddeSi
, freak with the firearms. Many OF
3, them were twisted into the most
J.. eccentric shapes imaginable, and
II their dlstOrcd forms were scatter
d ed about the apartment in reckless
e confusion. All the glass and other
d fragile articles in the hall vert
n smashed out of all scmblance t.
Il their former shapes. y large holC
1t was crushed through the door at
e the spot where the dynamite lay