Diss Family History Group

MORE DYNAMITE OUTRAGES
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ATTEMPTS TO BLOW UP THE HOUSE OF COMMONS,
WESTMINSTER HALL, AND THE TOWER.
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GREAT DAMAGE TO THE BUILDINGS.
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SEVERAL PERSONS SEVERELY WOUNDED.
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The Metropolis was on Saturday afternoon the scene of a series of dynamite outrages which, in boldness of plan and temerity of execution, exceed, anything of a similar kind since the 15th March, 1883, when the attempt was made upon the Office of the Local Government Board, in Whitehall. On this occasion the localities selected for the three explosions, were the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London. At both places, on Saturday, visitors are freely admitted under ordinary precautions, and this afforded the conspirators the opportunity they required of obtaining admission to the buildings selected beforehand for their purposes. That the explosions were deliberately planned is clear, from the fact that the one at the Tower took place as nearly as possible at 2 o'clock, while at Westminster there were two distinct explosions, the first of which happened at 8 minutes after two, and the second between four and five minutes later. The reports of the explosions were heard at great distances, and much alarm was created, especially as the rumour got abroad that several had been killed and some of the perpetrators arrested. Fortunately, however, it proved that although several persons were hurt, none of the injuries were fatal, and it is now hoped that all may recover.

The first of the explosions at Westminster took place in the grand old Hall, close to the entrance to the Crypt near St. Stephen's Steps, at the end of the building. It appears that just after two o'clock a small party of visitors were on their way from Westminster Hall down to the Crypt, entrance to which is obtained from a door on the extreme left, close to the steps, when one of them noticed a roll of cloth lying there, from which a strange smell came. The lady who observed it called the attention of a gentleman who was with her to it, and he immediately called out "Dynamite," and “Get up stairs as up quickly as you can," which they all did. In the meantime a policeman of the A Division, named Cole, who was on duty close by, had picked up the bundle and gone past the visitors with it into the Hall. As he arrived on the level he found it was very hot in his hands and heard a hissing noise coming from it, and, therefore, threw it down just outside the gates leading to the Crypt steps. As he did so there was a tremendous explosion, blowing a hole in the pavement nearly six feet in length by about half that amount in width, through which both Cole and another constable, named Cox, who had come to his assistance, fell. The next instant the Hall was filled with a cloud of dust, and pieces of broken glass flying in every direction, while the soot which had been the collection of centuries in the roof came to the ground. The party of ladies and gentlemen who had just come from the Crypt, together with one or two others in the vicinity, were hit by the splinters and stunned by the report, while their clothes were cut to pieces. Inspector Denning, who was on duty, at once went to the place to render assistance, together with the whole of the men at his disposal, at the same time sending for further help from the station in King Street, almost adjoining.

At this instant there was a second explosion, this time in the interior of the House of Commons. For a second everybody stood aghast, wondering what was to follow. But the consternation was merely momentary. The doors were promptly closed, the injured men being carried off to the Westminster Hospital, whilst all those in the interior of the building were, called upon to give an account of themselves. Then it was found that the Chamber of the House of Commons itself had been seriously damaged by a charge of dynamite which had been placed in the "Ayes" Division Lobby, which runs immediately under the gallery opposite the Speaker, in which the Peers, Foreign Ministers, Speaker's friends, and strangers are accommodated. Fortunately, there was no one in the House at the time, as the few visitors inside, together with the policeman on duty at the door, had hurried towards the Hall on hearing the first explosion. The entrance to the House itself is from the “Lobby” which was guarded by handsome swinging oak doors, with carved and glazed panels, similar to those leading into the House itself, and from which it was divided by a short passage way of some twenty feet. On either side, right and left, were the doorways of the "Aye” and "No" Division Lobbies, each of them in like character, and built in a screen of similar design. Entering the Division Lobbies, a door led into that portion of the House “under the clock," which, while actually inside the precincts, is, by a Parliamentary fiction, presumed to be outside. It is on the Government side here that Mr. Bradlaugh has been accustomed to sit, and it is here that the work of destruction has been the greatest. On the left hand of entering, or Government, side, just opposite to the stairway leading to the Peers' Gallery, in the Division Lobby already spoken of, was a flight of iron steps leading to the ventilating chamber below the House, whence the supply of hot air is regulated, and there is no doubt the charge of dynamite was. deposited close to this spot. When parties of visitors are being conducted through the House, there is a barrier across this particular spot, and nobody is supposed to be allowed to go there, but there would be little difficulty in either getting under the barrier and laying a small parcel down, or throwing it round the corner to the place where it undoubtedly exploded. The generally accepted theory is that both the outrages were carried out by women, or men dressed in women's clothes, as they would in all probability be less likely to be scrutinised, and would have better facilities for carrying a parcel or bag.

The official investigation into the affair was commenced on Sunday morning by Colonel Majendie, her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Explosives, who was assisted by Lieutenant Colonel Ford and Major Cundill. They began their work in Westminster Hall, from which everybody was rigidly excluded, except those having a right to be present. Here the damage is of a most extensive character. To begin with the exact place of the explosion, there is a hole in the pavement - where the stones are about four inches thick - of six feet in length and three in width, opening to the vaults and arches beneath. About ten feet away, in the direction of the door of the Crypt, two huge paving stones, each of some sixteen square feet, have been bodily blown up, and the same thing has happened to the ventilating gratings near, whilst along nearly the whole length of the Hall the stones are more or less displaced. A glance round the Hall shows the force of the explosive. From end to end scarce a pane of glass remains. The huge window over the entrance is demolished, with the exception of the smaller lights in the tracery of the upper part, the lead in which the diamond-shaped panels were held hanging down in festoons of most fantastic shape. The Hall itself is strewn with broken glass and soot an inch in depth, which has been brought down from the roof. Here and there, too, in the roof, were rifts, through which daylight could be seen, while the destruction had even gone so high as the lantern in the centre. The stained glass window at the top of St. Stephen's steps, which is always regarded by the guides as one of the glories of the place, does not from the floor of the Hall appear to be much injured, but a close examination shows it to be damaged. It was protected from the outside by a duplicate window of plain the glass, but the exhaustion of the air by explosion has drawn it out of all shape and broken many hundreds of the small in painted panes, though there will be no difficulty effecting a though restoration. In the corridor below it, which leads to rooms of Sir Erskine May, all the windows are destroyed, but in this case, although close alongside, they are all blown outwards into the street. The clock here has stopped at 2.8. So far as can be ascertained, there has been no real structural damage here.

Passing from Westminster Hall, there are but few signs of anything unusual, with the exception that here again a pane of glass is missing, until entering the "Lobby" from the Central Hall. Then the destruction comes fully into view. The glass in the telegraph and other offices round is nearly all broken, while one clock is stopped at 2.12. Another (that over the door leading into the House) has lost its hands; while that above the Library entrance is still going. But the House has no longer any doors, and the Speaker's chair at the upper end is plainly visible, while the entrance is blocked by a mass of fallen woodwork and glass, over which the spectator has scramble. Entering the doorway, it is plain that the spot where the explosion took place is on the left, as here everything is mixed up in one indescribable heap of smashed panelling and furniture. Below, a deep hole shows the underground apartments, while through the roof immediately above, which forms the floor of the Peers' and Distinguished Strangers' Gallery, are immense holes. The “Ayes” Lobby has all the windows blown completely out, and is blocked up with debris to an extent that makes it impassable, the huge screen of which the doorway formed a part being demolished. Here the clock has the face forced completely out and the works exposed. The massive stone doorway leading into the chamber itself - a splendid Gothic arch - has a number of stones misplaced, and will require to be entirely rebuilt. It is only, however, on getting inside the House itself that the full extent of the damage can be realised. To one standing in the centre of the apartment, it simply looks knocked to pieces. In the gallery forms have been thrown up and turned over, smashed almost to atoms, the screens dividing the various portions are torn down, and a large portion of the flooring is completely gone, leaving only the rafters, on which the debris rests. Under the Gallery, upon the Government side of the House, the whole of the screen behind the cross-benches, together with the latter, is entirely demolished, and nothing remains of them but a mixed heap of woodwork, leather, and shoddy stuffing. Hardly a seat directly opposite to the explosion has escaped without damage of some sort; here and there huge pieces of sharp wood, three and four feet in length, having penetrated through the seats. The Treasury Bench is very much knocked about, and immediately behind it the seat now usually occupied by Mr. Forster is cut to pieces. On the Opposition side of the House the back of the front seat is broken away, but the damage generally is not very great. The Speaker's Chair is ripped up in three or four places by splinters, and a small piece is knocked off the woodwork, while the framework of the cross seats just behind and under the Reporters' Gallery is seriously damaged. Here, too, is lying a cushion that was blown from the other end of the Chamber. Strange to say, but very few of the windows have been broken, with the exception of those in the roof, which are entirely destroyed. Close to the Treasury Bench lies a stout oak stanchion that formerly was near the doorway, and has been hurled the length of the place; while there is not a square foot of space where splintered wood or torn cushions are not lying about. Here, as in other places, the clock has stopped at 2.13. Amongst the curious facts to be mentioned is that the letter “V" of the "V.R." on the Prime Minister's box has been blown off, and that a small Irish harp, which formed one of the ornaments of the roof, fell down almost in the midst of the seats occupied by the Irish Members.

The perpetrators of the outrages had evidently arranged that all should occur as near as possible simultaneously. The explosion at the Tower of London happened exactly at two o' cloc - few minutes those at Westminster - and it is clear that the quantities of dynamite used in each case must have been about the same, though, from the strength of the building and the nature of its contents, the damage caused at the Tower is less serious than the wreckage in the House of Commons. The White Tower, which is the oldest portion of the fortress, is divided into three floors. On the ground floor a large number of small arms are kept. The first floor, called the Banqueting Hall, is also devoted to the storage of arms, and above is the ancient Council Chamber, now called the Horse Armoury, and containing the interesting collections of armour and weapons which form one of the principal sights of the Tower. It was in the Banqueting Room that the dynamite was deposited. Visitors obtain access to this floor through the ancient chapel, dedicated to St. John. Passing through the low doorway, one steps into an obscure corner of the room, which is full of stands that prevent those entering from being seen by the police or warders until they get into the main passage. One of these stands was placed at the distance of a few inches from the wall which divides the Chapel from the Banqueting Room, and it must have been behind this stand that the explosive was placed. Nothing could have been easier than for the criminal to carry out his plan unobserved. Although Saturday was a free day, there appear not to have been more than twenty or thirty people in this part of the building, and no one was standing near the corner where the explosion occurred. At the time mentioned - two o'clock - one of the police on duty saw a bright red flash, which was instantly followed by a terrific explosion, which wrecked most of the stands in the vicinity, tore a large jagged hole in the floor, shot up into the Horse Armoury, wrecking scores of the cases, and passed out through the skylights in the roof. Nearly every pane of glass in the Tower was broken, and from the outside the place bears the appearance of having suffered a bombardment. Several persons visiting the collections were cut by the showers of glass from the windows and cases, but happily none of the injuries were of a serious nature. Immediately upon hearing the explosion, Major General Milman, who is in command at the Tower, gave orders for the gates to be shut and extra sentries posted at various points, and instructions were also given that no one should be allowed to leave the place. In the meantime, it was discovered that the floor was on fire, and three engines at the Tower were at once set to work with such effect that there was no need for the services of Captain Shaw and a number of men of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade, who arrived a few minutes after the alarm was given. No doubt, the fire was caused by the ignition of a number of flags and banners which hung near the stand behind which the explosion took place. Of course the walls, which are here as much as sixteen feet thick, suffered no injured except that at the precise spot where the dynamite was deposited & small portion of the wall facing was blown away. The wreckage in the immediate vicinity was, as might be expected, enormous. How many rifles were in the stands upon which the full force of the explosion fell is not exactly known, as a number of the guns have lately been served out to Volunteer Regiments, but there would seem to be between one thousand and two thousand destroyed. As is common in such cases, the most singular effects were to be observed. From one stand half a notice board forbidding visitors to touch the arms was cleanly taken off, and not a weapon in the stand was injured. The next stand, however, was simply reduced to ruins, not a single gun being left in it, and a large number of the barrels were twisted and curved in a most extraordinary manner. In the Horse Armoury above the damage was still more extensive than downstairs. The wooden ceiling of the gallery over the spot where the dynamite exploded was torn into splinters and a hole forced through. The glass cases containing the collections of armour and ancient weapons of war were nearly all smashed, the glass being, indeed, reduced to powder. Some of the cases, however, had strangely enough escaped injury altogether, and the equestrian figures, being nearly all out of the line which the explosive wave took, were scarcely damaged at all. But the total destruction was very large, and it is to be feared that many of the most interesting features of the collection will prove to be irreparably spoiled. Extremely fortunate was it that the fire was at once got under control, or we might have to lament a loss infinitely greater than that which the criminal succeeded in perpetrating.

The injuries sustained by the persons who were near the place where the explosion occurred were but slight. Only five persons are reported to have been hurt. One of these, Miss Nunn, 19 years of age, was cut on the face by falling glass; and another girl, Lizzie, Ballan, 20, received several cuts on the Two boys, named Herbert George, eleven, and Ernest Stratton, twelve, were also bruised and cut, but all the patients were able to go home in the evening. A man, name unknown, was also slightly injured.

Upon inquiry at Westminster Hospital on Sunday night it was ascertained, that the constables, Cox and Cole, although they were dangerously injured, is not so critical as was at first supposed. They recovered consciousness on Sunday afternoon, and were reported to be making satisfactory progress. Mr. Superintendent Williamson, in company with Inspector Swanson and other officers, attended at the Hospital on Sunday, and took down the statements of the injured men. The authorities at Scotland Yard declined to make known the effect of them.

There is no truth in the report that in consequence of the explosion Parliament will be called together earlier than the date fixed for its meeting at the adjournment on the 6th of December.