THE BREMEBHAVEN EXPLOSION.

Wanganui Herald, Volume X, Issue 2729, 14 March 1876, Page 2

THE BREMEBHAVEN EXPLOSION.

The Times Berlin correspondent lias an interesting letter on the Bremerhaven explosion. We give the following 1 : — ; "By degrees further particulars of the wholesale murder at Bremerhaven are brought to lijiht. I have »spoken to a gentleman who met Thomas, repeatclly at Dresden. He lived in a pleasant villa as a person ot independent means, and with his amiable wife and fine family of children was very popular in the large American colony of the Saxon •capital. Of late, however, his means began to fail, and he and his were put to the greatest stt aits. In this dilemma he seems to have conceived the diabolical idea of mending his broken fortunes by a profitable crime, which, .however unprecedented in' its actrpcity, should neither involve | x outlay, nor admit of detection. As a former merchant ?aptain who had made a fortune by running the blockade during the War af Secession, he hit upon a_plan of murder ai sea. The crime probably was the more congenial to him, as there' is reason to believe' that during his daring trips between Havannah and Charleston his illicit transactions were not confined to the mere smuggling of arms and ainunition. At least it would be inconceivable why a man supposed to be connected with a • great New York firm should have changed his name after the war from Alexander to Thomas, had he not Doen guilty of blacker deeds than what was sure to be condoned upon the restoration of peace. Last summer he undertook one of .his frequent trips to America, leaving his wife in straightened circumstances at Dresden. On his return he brought »vith him the dynamite that whs to bring grist to the mill, and incidentally launch hundreds into eternity. Havingprocured the principal material for his crime on the other side of the ocean, he ordered the minor appliances in the neighbourhood of his Dresden residence. A Dresden locksmith, at his sugges tion, constructed two irou chests of a j

peculiar shape. One ot these, about ten inehf-s high, was like an ordinary money box, but the lid had a hole of a finger's width. The second chest contained four zinc boxes placed on the top of one another, each about five inches square. The uppermost box had a conical lid with a strong iron ring to it, apparently intended for suspension. ■ These boxes were made in August. In September he ordered another specimen, of the second model on a somewhat larger scale, sending the smaller box to the locksmith as a pattern. The larger specimen was delivered towards the end of September, arid the smaller one remaining with ■ the locksmith has just been handed by the honest artisan to tho Dresden police. All three boxes were enclosed in solid wooden* cases fitting exactly, except at the bottom, where there was room for something else to be packed. The larger one seems to liave been that which has eventually obtained such dreadful notorieiy.. It was several feet high, of conical shape, and weighed 2 c\rt. This weight being; far too heavy for the igniting mechanism and the quantity of dynamite that can havo been possiblj contained in 'the chest, it is assumed that to add to the effect of the explosion the empty space at the bottom ' was filled with bars of solid iron. The igniting mechanism,to judge from evidence., collected by the police, and willing-ly contributed by all who have worked for the asbsssin'> was placed in a board in tho middle of the chest, having two of the four zinc JboV.es over,it and two under it. In thisjboard there was a hole through which the hammer of the igniting- mechanism was to strike upon the, lid of the third 3 b'ox, and blow up the dynamite by concussion. Probably this lid had been specially adapted to the purpose by the assassin, who seems to have devoted considerable tinift and thought to perfecting witll his own hands the appliances whose' l'oug-li shell he had made by artisans. As to the igniting- mechanism itself, I liave told you that the woiks were those of a common clock.constructed of very solid material, and provided with a hammer which was to strike but one sing-le blovr every ten days. This hammer, to do its work effectually, weighed 301 b., and when tested by the assassin, upon the delivery of the mechanism, smashed'the veneer of a mahogany table to shivers. Another requisite of the clock was that notwithstanding its uncommon power it should not tick in the least. 'All these demands having- been fully satisfied by Mr Fuolis, the clockmaker,the assassin was so delighted with the article suppled that, declaring it superior to what had been bargained for, he paid'l2p- thalers instead of the 100 thalors agreed upon. The pattern upon which the clock was made in still in possession of Mr Fuchs, and has been placed... by him at the disposal ot the magistrates ."

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