ATTEMPT TO DESTROY LONDON BRIDGE.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 1949, 3 January 1885, Page 4

ATTEMPT TO DESTROY LONDON BRIDGE.

Tiik attempt to destroy London Bridge with dynamite is the mo^t diabolical in intention as happily it is one of the most futile in effect, of all the exploits of those blackheaitcd scoundrels w hostdesigns against society foun quite a fea tuie of the present age. The attempt utteily failed, is almost all simil.ll attempts luxe failed, piobably though the perpetratois of the outrage being tot illy lgnount of the properties of the mateiial tliey employed ; and the noble budge R-maius unni)uied by an explosion the shocU of which was felt eight miles But if it had succeeded ! Not onl> would a vast amount of public property have been wasted, not only would th< traflie of the busiest highway in the world have been stopped, but the ruins of tho biiilgc might easily hive blocked up the river, and cau-ed incil culalile loss. Anything hko a complete intt-nuption of the tide way at London Bridge would inevitably produce the most disastious results, for all the low Iving parts of the metropolis would be flooded, and the crowded quarters neai the liver tendered for the time uninhabitable It is impossible, in fact, to realise fully what the lesnlts would be of an ex plosion powerful enough to convert Lon don Bridge into a dam by shaking its btones from their foundations and tumb ling them in a pell mcll mass across the stream. Foi tunately such an operation is practically impossible ; but it is not for want of the wish to do it, that it was not actually done on Sunday night. The idea, we need haidly nay, is by no means original. London Bridge is one of the most ancient institutions in England. No one seems to know w hen the bridge was first built, bnt there are abuudant historical records of it for nearly 700 years, and it is a remarkable thing that in all times of disorder during that long period, the notion of destroying the biidge has occurred to the mind of the public enemy. In 12G4 the rebel Dk Montfort made straight for London Bridge, but though In* defeated the royal forces, commanded by Hknry in person, he shiank from committing an outrage which would have alienated the populace from him In 1450, Jack Cadk and his lagamuitins got possession of the bridge, which was then <i stieet of fi-ie houses, and drove the citizens out, sacked their dwellings, and made all prep.uation3 for demolishing the whole structuie. Tins circumstance is refoired to several times in SnvKhsrEvnh. In " Henry VI," the messenger, flying to the King, criesJack Cade hath gotten London Bndpe ; The citizens fly and foisakc their houses ; The ra<-cil people, thirsting after prey, Join vutli the traitor, and they jointly swear To spoil the city and your royal court. Later on, when the citizens take refuge in the Tower, Lord Scvlus, the Governor, ask* • — I low now ? Is Jack Cade slain ? No, my lord, nor likely to be slain, for theyhavo won the bridgo, killing nil thoic that withstand them. And finally, in that cclebiatcd scene where Jack. Cadk, intoxicated with pride and success, scats himself on London etonc and declares himself Lord Mm TiMKii, only to bj di3tiubed by the news of the approach of the King's forces :—: — Dick— My lord, there's an army gathered together in ttmith f icld. Ov.uk— Come, then let-, go and fight with them. But tir«.t go and set London Bridge on fire; and if you cvn, bum down the Tower, too. The sequel is well known. The lcbels were defeated, and a few days later Jack's bead was stuck on a pike on London Bridge, where in those days the heads of traitors were commonly exposed to the multitude. In 1477 Faloonbridgk actually set fire to the bridge ; but it was not destroyed ; and in Sir Thomas Wyatt'i rebellion against Queen Mary in 1j.)4, it again came veiy nigh to destruction, but again escaped, mainly, no doubt, thiotitrh the extteme difficulty of seriously injuring so large and substantial a stiucture. Thebudijp at that time consisted of a sort of viaduct acioss tho rivei, built of nnesive itone, si.xty f'-et high, and forty feet wide, pieiced by nineteen pointed arches, with a dtavvbudgc in tl.e middle, and protected by ciioi moua p. era of timber. Tlieie was a di>ep fall at the bridge at low tide, but at high tide large vessels could pass through the drawbudge, and small vessels under the at dies As we have said, there were line houses on each >ide of the load the whole way across the bridge, and in the middle there was a handsome church. In the Fiie of London in 1(JG8 the houses were burnt, but the bridge remained intact. The old bridge, which had so many historical associations, was pnlltJ down in I£>32, the pre sent bridge having been completed in the ptevious year. The new bridge was built not so much to meet the demands of the road tiafh'c as for the sake of improv ing the river w ny. Instead of nineteen narrow aichos, it has only five, namely, two of 130 feet, two of HO fret, and one splendid central span of 132 feet. The consequences of this change were Hinefold. The navigation of the river was made perfectly safe and easy .it all hours, the danger of floods was reduced to a minimum, and finally, the increased rapidity of the ebb and flow put an end to what was common enough before, the fiee/ing over of the river in exceptionally haul winters. New London Bridge cost £1,458,311. It canies daily '20,000 vehicles and more than 100,000 foot passengers, and the enhanced impoitance which it has given to the river ti.ule is beyond all estimation. London Biidge has survived during tho most turbulent times in the annals of England, and it would indeed have been a sorry end if it had succumbed to a box of dynamite chopped in the night by some sneaking bound of an Ameiiean Fenian. — Weekly Press.

Mhv who Always uo to the Hall. — r.apcrhan^crs. Foou that Cannot nh, Eatkn. — Tlie " chops " of tlio Channel. M D. and I> D.— The eldest Mini Fair])j,'l)t (icuciviiii; :i vi^it fioni the Rtv. Dr iSunilicc) —*' Won't you ask the doctor how ho is, Ernie ?" Kriiic (whose rccollec, tions of " <loctois' aie vivirl but unplcapnnt)—" Not me ! Don't like doctors ; they don't f,'ivo you anything nice. And if )<n\ wantto know how lam, doctor, look (putting out liis tongue ) There ! I don't want no Ix'ahtly physio, do I?' 1 [Consternation, and accelerated exit of Ernie.]

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