Antwerp has been greatly injured by an explosion. With insane
carelessness, M. Corvilain, who had a contract for altering Belgian cartridges, was allowed to erect his works within the city, and close to huge depots of petroleum con.. taining sixty thousand barrels of oil. A small accident or two attracted no attention ; but on the afternoon of Friday week, when fifty millions of cartridges were in the establishment, a terrible explosion slaughtered the workpeople, injured the docks, set fire to the petroleum warehouses, and broke nearly all the windows in the city. The fire covered an area of two acres, and raged furiously for many hours, but the scene was fortunately isolated from the dwelling-houses. It is admitted that 150 people have been killed and 300 injured ; but the officials make great efforts to minirsise the disaster, and it is known that the loss of life is greatly understated. The cost in money is not yet calculated, but it must be very large, and for some hours it was feared that all the shipping in the docks would catch fire, burning fragments falling upon them after the great explosion, and as each remaining parcel of cartridges went off. It is calculated that the buildings contained in all 500,000 lb. of powder, of which, however, two-thirds was lying loose, and the shattering effect was therefore diminished. M. Corvilain suspects incendiarism, but that is probably to excuse his agents' carelessness, as incendiaries would have selected a different hour, in order to spare the workgirls, and, moreover, have an objection to act as their own executioners.
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