THE EXPLOSION AT WESTMINSTER.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1093, 11 May 1883, Page 4

THE EXPLOSION AT WESTMINSTER.

( Star's Loudon Correspondent.) You know the Home Rule party loudiv disavow any connection with •ei’her the Fenians or the various secret assassintSiion .•sirc.'nsties. It nevertheless almost invariably happens that, imme--diately after a scene in the House of 'Commons in which the Irishmen are ■worsted, some appalling tragedy eventual es. H course the Home Rulers 'tliemse’ves pretend to he as greatly shocked about the affair as anyone. In the first place it would hardly be sab* to exhibit open jubilation over a public catastrophe; and, in the second, •dissimulation comes natural to men of the Parnell, Biggar, and Redmond type. Now, on the evening of Marcii 14 a matter of much significance to ■•the Irish party came before the House •of Commons. Mr Gladstone, in fact, ■was asked to amend the Land A ct, which occupied so much valuable time (last session ; but instead of meekly •a‘quiescing, the Premier gave a clear, ’unqualified, and unhesitating refusal. ‘This seriously angered the Loud 'Leaguers, who, after openly warning the Government that to dec ine to listen to their proposals would lie to •still further mster feelings of hatred •and revenge, left the House. Next might a desperate blow was struck, •which might (but. foe the mismanagement that almost invariably seems to attend these outrages) have taken our grand old Premier’s life. As m\self ;and a friend chanced to be unpleasantly near the scene of the catastrophe at •the time, I can tell you better than •most correspondents what residents at Westminster felt. It was nine o’clock, ;and a tine frosty might. On the .embankment the electric lights seemed to be burning with unusual brilliance, and over at •the House members had just commenced to re assemble in "large numbers after dinner. We (i,e., your correspondent and hisj friend), were • sitting in our chambers—oa .'floor of one of the great buildings which face Palace Yard—and preparing to enjoy the postprandial cigar. I held an unlighted “cabana” in ray hand, and had just commenced to apply :a match, when suddenly a sh ck—so severe that it shook the massive sixstorey building like an aspen, and Sung me forcibly back against the wall—startled us. For an instant, 1 thought the foundations had given way and we were about to expeiience, practically, a repetition of the Bradford catastrophe. The noise was like -a. very terrible fhundoiclap, eiad the .concussion so severe that not a whole, pain of glass could be found in any building for half a-mile round Finding, however, our own place uninjured, ’Save for broken windows, we promptly huddled on coats and hats, and rushed •out into the street to discover what had hj ippened. The gas lamps were mostly burning still, and the unruffled ■exterior of the Houses of Parliament showed nothing fearful could have eventuated in that direction. No ; the explosion evidently came from the Whitehall side, and timber, regardless •of the pavements being covered inches •deep with broken glass, crowds from all quarters seemed to be flocking. Happily the authorities were equal to the emorg-mey. Within a few minutes 70 constat* es hadd’awn strongly round the block which the explosion wrecked, •'xtra sentries and iiolicc also guarded the Houses of Parliament and Ministers’ residences, for it was remembered the Irish had threatened j to blow up half a dozen places in | London at once, and news even then •arrived of an abortive attempt to fire the Timet office which rumor declared had also taken place that evening.

As nothing definite could be discovered outside, I betook myself to the lobby of the Rouse of Commons, add there learnt, some actual facts. The block of 'Government buildings, which divvies Whitehall from St Janie’s Pmk covers an immense area of ground, and includes th < Rome Office, Local Govcrnme t Board, India Office, Treasury, eta, as well as sundry Ministerial residences end reception rooms. The buildings i are founded at the Westminster end by Charles street, and at the Whitehall end by Downing street. This unquestionably was what the assassin who caused the exp'osiou did His idea was to drop the keg of dynamite with its clockwork fuse into the area immediately beneath the Premier’s dining-room. Most people know the usual dinner-hour in London society is eight, so that nine (when the infernal machine exp oded) Mr Gladstone might reasonably be expected to be there. This programme eventuated exactly as arranged, with the single exception that the villain providentially took the wrong turning, and instead of killing a houseful of people merely wrecked the offices of the Local Government Board, which a-e not in use at present. Downing street hardly suffered at all, the hundred yards of solid masonry between it and Charles street effectually deadening the concussion. In the oppo site direction, however, the damage to property is considerable. The value ot the glass broken alone comes to more than L 4 000, several clubs with large bow-windows being serious sufierers in this respect. The Government offbr a reward of Ll,OtiO for the apprehension of the culprits, and peop.e will naturally be very un comfortable till they are discovered.