The Express.
London, England, 1852-06-28 00:00:00

THE lONIAN ISLANDS.

CORFU, JUNE Is.
The last week here has not been uneventful for so
small a place. The Parliament-house has been
burnt. The Legislative Assembly has met in a
temporary hall, has received the address of the Lord
High Commissioner, and debated upon the answer to
return to it.

The Parliament-house was a long narrow building
of one storey only, which formerly served as the
English protestant church. It was situated in the
best part of the town, at the corner of two of the
principal streets. One of the streets is narrow, the
houses being old and second rate. The other is
broad, the houses all being new and very large;
fortunately, the parliament house doers not immedi-
ately. join any other."At the back is an open space. At
one side, and at the Front, it forms part of the street,
at the lower side it is separated by a courtyard from
the adjoining houses. On Wednesday, the 9th of
June, some people were employed in cleansing it out
as the Assembly had been culled for the 12th. When
these people left, soon atter sunset, all appeared to
be safe. In one of the large houses opposite the
upper side of the building, Lord William Compton
(the captain of her Ma)jesty's ship Modeste,
which is at anchor in the harbour) lodges,
with Lady Williamand family. The weather being hot,
they slept with the windowsopen, and were awakened
by the room becoming full of smoke. The commis-
sariat offices are in the under part of the same
building, so that a sentinel is stationed before the
door, but he bad given 110 alarm. Lord Compton,
finding flames issuing from the windows of the Par-
liament-house, hurried to the street just as the roof
fell in. No one at that time appeared to be on the
alert ; the sentry had seen nothing, and it is supposed
he must have been asleep. However, the alarm was
given at last, the troops were called out with their
engines, and messengers were despatched to the
Modesto for assistance. To the credit of the navy I
must state that, although the ship was lying half
a mile from the shore, her men, with their fire-
engine, were the first on the ground, several minutes
before the military brought up the first of their
engines. Considerable delay was experienced before
water could be obtained, as no one appeared to know
the situation of the pipes, but at length several en-
gines came into play and the fire was got under, but
not until four bare walls were the sole remains of the
building. Fortunately the night was perfectly calm,
for had these been any wind in all probability a large
portion of the town must have been destroyed.
All sorts of stores were What the next day as to
the origin of the fire. Some said it was the work of
incendiaries, and the partisans of the government and
radical parties accused each other of the crime. How-
ever, no proof whatever could be found to substan-
tiate any such supposition.
On the 12th the parliament met in a large room
over one of the courts of justice. A message from
the Lord High Commissioner was read, and after
some formal business the Assembly adjourned for the ,1
purpose of having an answer preinred in committee.'
Tho message concludes thus:
His Excellency is satisfied that the Islands generally de-'
sire to see an end put to that vain and mis-
chievous agitation to which, for the last three
years, their real interests have been sacrificed. He
believes that the lonian people look to practical
things, and attach very little importance io many
of those abstract questions, by which so much of the time of
parliament has been occupied. He promises that nothing
shall be wetting on his part to bring the session to a satis-
factory issue by meeting all legitimate objections to the
measures proposed by the government in a fair and candid
spirit ; and he only requires in return such a respezt for the
law and for the political system under which these islands
are placed, and which it is his duty to maintain inviolate,
as will render possible that good understanding between
the three brunches of the legishr ure, which, under the
parliamentary system, is the first condition of practical
legislation.