THE ATTEMPT TO BLOW UP THE WINTER PALACE.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 71, 30 April 1880, Page 3

THE ATTEMPT TO BLOW UP THE WINTER PALACE.

The St. Petersburg correspondent of the Daily Telegraph -writes :— " I have obtained permission co visit the scene of the catastrophe in the "Winter Palace. Although much has been done to repair the damage the signs of destruction still visible bear -witness to the terrible force of the explosion. Tfce cellar in which the explosion took

place iii situated about the centre of tliat part of the Pubico which faei-'S tbe Admiralty buildings, and to thr* leffc of tlie main entvt'iice known as tho Htoltykovsky Porch. This portion of the Palace- is of very slight, df|>!h, iind is tr.iver-.cd in overy storey by wide corridor*, on either yi'ln nf j wliioh .no sin.-dl iii'm tii.'jnie. '•* h<- .' Whole Of til*' P.d.iCt'. liUii(";ili!'s ■.;(■••! d round a hi rge y.-ml .-.oispj nine )pi..,.n!.J feet across, and upon which the !• mperor's private dining room looks out. Both the cellar in, which the dynamite exploded and the floor above, where the guard-room was situated, are vaulted, and of remarkably stiong structure, whilst the whole lace of the building looking into the yra'd is full of windows of immense height and width. The vaulted ceilings and the size ofthe windows undoubtedly saved the whole building from destruction. The force of the explosion when arrested by the massive masonry, expended itself in the large courtyard, and there is probably not a single whole pane of glass left in the windows | of the tbree sides which look into it. In the dining-room the parquet flooring is slightly lifted up and damaged,, and the shock further caused the plaster of the ceiling to fall, otherwise this apartment, which was the one aimed at, remains intact. When the explosion took place the Emperor had jusfc entered au apartment adjoining the dining-room, which it was intended to blow up. The Czar was accompanied by the Duchess of Edinburgh, the Prince of Bulgaria, and Prince Alexander of Hesse. It was whilst the Imperial party were delaying in the ante-room over the sakourski — which precedes all Russian dinners— that the dynamite was fired. It appears, however, that, even had the Imperial family been in the din-ing-room tbey would not have suffered any real danger. The floor was severely shaken, glasses knocked over and windows broken, but that was all. A large number of arrests have beeu made, and many innocent people have fallen victims to the panic which seized the authorities. One of the cavalry regiments is always under arms, and as soon as the signal of alarm was given by wire from the Palace the men were turned out in hot haste ; ball cartridges were hurriedly served oul, and, without a moment's loss of time the men galloped off, The fastenings of the cartouche cases are very awkward and hence but few were properly closed. At the speed of the gallop many cartridges were jerked out and the streets were strewed with these explosives. As soon as traffic was resumed many of tbem went off. under the wheels of carriages and droskies, and the police, and bystanders, ignorant of what was really occurring, began to arrest the unlucky occupants of the vehicles, who were accused of discharging firearms in the street. One young lady of position was seized at the instance of a high and well-known official in the Foreign Office, who in his panic imagined and declared that he had seen her fire a revolver at the captaiu of a fire brigade who was passing." Portions of a letter from Prince Alexander of Hesse to his wife, dated St Petersburg, the 18th instant, in which the former gives an account of the explosion in the Winter Palace, have been published. The Prince says : — " I was received at the railway station by all the sons of the Emperor, and by the Prince of Bulgaria, and was thence conducted to the Winter Palace. The Emperor awaited me at the staircase. We were proceeding through a large corridor to his Majesty's apartments, j when suddenly a fesrfui detonation was heard. The flooring was raised as by an earthquake, the gas lamps were extinguished, and we were left in total darkness. At the same time a horrible dust and the smell of gunpowder or dynamite filled the corridor. Some one shouted to us that the chandelier had fallen down in the saloon where the table was laid for the dinner of the Imperial family. I hastened thither with the Czarewitch and the GrandrDuke Vladimir, while Count Adelsburg, in doubt as to what might happen next, held back the Emperor. We found all the windows broken and the walls in ruins. There was no longer any doubt that a mine had exploded under the saloon. The dinnor hour had been delayed for half an hour by my airival, and it was owing to this that the Imperial family had not yet assembled in the dining hall," The Times St Petersburg correspandent tells us what took place at the funeral of the ten unfortunate soldiers killed by the explosion in the Whiter Palace. The Grand Duke Constantino, his son, and most of the high officials, as well as a large number of troops, representing every regiment of the Guards in St. Petersburg, followed in the cortege. The day before the Emperor, with his three sons, attended mass for the dead soldiers, and took the opportunity of again thanking the officers of the Findland Guards for the wonderful discipline which their men had shown on the evening of the 17th. Pointing to the ten white coffins on the floor of the church, his Imperial Majesty remarked, with great emotion in his voice, that tbey reminded him of the late campaign. His Majesty then visited the wounded men in the hospital for the fourth or fifth time since the explosion, and talked some time with- the sufferers. General Qourko issued another order