The Express.
London, England, 1853-12-19 00:00:00

SEVEN FIRES IN ONE NIGHT.

The firemen of the London Brigade and West of
England oaks were actively engaged from five o'clock p.m.
of Saturday until past five o'clock yesterday morning, there
I being during that period no fewer than seven fires, at
which they had to give their assistance.
The first of these disasters occurred at the London Club-
house, 71, Jertayn.street, St. Jameer, and was caused by
the heat from one of) the grates igniting; the girders sud
fl borings of the first floor. At one time the safety of the
whole building was threatened ; and, es it was, the damage
done was very considerable.
Another fire, and which was nearly attended with fatal
unsequences to several persons, broke out in premises in
the occupation of Mr. A. Wright, liaendraper and mattress
'maker, No. 34, Seymour-street, Easton- square. The fire
was discovered by a policeman, end it was with some diffi-
fishy that the inmates, who were al in bed, were aroused,
Of IMO enabled to make their escspe. The stores on the
bamoseut were quite destroyed, and the staircase leading
es the warehouse was partially burnt. Fortunately, Mr.
Waled was insured is the County Fire-office.
• third fire, which was attended with great destruction
of valuable property, took place at the Homerton Colour
Works, belonging to Messrs. Berger and Sons. The fismes
originated in the Prussian blue stove, in which many hun-
dred pounds' worth of that commodity was undergoing the
process of drying. In spite of every exertion, the building
In which the misfortune commenced, and which was about
GO feet wide by 40 deep, was burned out, the roof destroyed,
I and the valuable con.ents consumed. The evaporatuig-
house adjoining was else damaged by fire, water, and
breakage. The total bee is very considerable, and it is un-
derstood that the firm was not insured.
A fire also happened at the Twickenham Paper Mills,
the property of Messrs. Healey and Co., situate on 'Twicken-
ham common, about two miles from the Richmond Railway
terminus. It commenced in a long store-house,
used as the : drying depte for millhoards. A
despatch was immediately sent to town fur as-
sistance, but when the firemen arrived they found that
their services were not required. The store bad been burnt
down, but the workmen had succeeded in confining the
flames to that part of the premises. The firm, it was under.
stood,were not insured. Thisuccident was likewise caused by
the overheating of a stove.
Another fire happened in the premises of Mr. E isthouse,
No. 4, Anestreet, Rut India-road, Poplar. It was caused
by a spark flying from the grata upon a horse of clothes.
The loss was great. The sufferer was not insured.
A fire also broke out at No. 1.5, Great Chapetstreet, Ox-
ford street, the property of Mrs. Sarah Day. Here likewise
much damage was done, and the owner was uninsured.
Lastly, a fire happened in tite neighbourhood of Blooms-
bury-square, but the damage done was only of a trifling
character.

CWM DARREN MINE MEETING.—There was a
meettag of the Corm Barren adventurers on Saturday. Mr.
Blake'ley in the chair. The accounts were read, which
stated that the balance in favour of the mine was
4571. 17s. fid. Mr. Schofield said that no report was
prepared, but their prospects were highly encouraging, and
he had no doubt but the fonds now in hand would carry
them on a considersble time longer. From the cap'ain's
report, it appeared that the fresh machinery had been
added to the pit •“irk, so as to fully develop the mine.
The engine shalt was down about 9 fathoms below the
20 Whom level, and had passed through a lode varying
from 4to 8 feet wide, and during the last 3or 4 feet, in
sinking, the same tad much improved, being in the west-
ern end, and for nearly the whole length of the shaft, a
good mashy, of silver lead for about 3 feet wide, worth
from 12/ to 141. a fathom, and of a promising character.
The ore appeared to be dipping east, 4 or 5 feet in a fathom.
Tne lode was compete, of quartz, copper, and lead ore.
Only the north part of the lode had been taken down, and
was worth 201. a fathom for copper ore, and for lead ore
121 per fathom. At the end of the week they would have
2001. worth of ore on surface, about 1401. ce which wee
ready for market. A long and angry discussion took place
as to the appointment of Mr. T. P. Thomas as secretary, in
which Mr. Stride, Mr. Bromfield, Mr. Conquest. Mr.
Tripp, and ethers, took part, and which finally terminated
by Mr. Thomas being elected secretary by a large majo-
rity of those present. The meeting then separated.

THE PRESTON STRIKE.

- • -

l'aissow, Du. 17.

We have now arrived at the sixteenth week of the
strike and the twelfth of the lock-out, and still it is im•
possible to say when the present contention is likely to be
brought to a close. It is said that the committee of the
Masters' Association met on Thursday last, but the remit
of their deliberations has not been made public. There
seems to be little, if any increase, in the number of appli-
cants for work at the closed mills ; in fact, the registration
of the names of those seeking employment is scarcely ever
mentioned. The reports show that this week there has
spin been a large increase in the number of persons re-
lieved by the various committees. The income, however,
has more than kept pace with the increased demands on
the funds. Subjoined is a return of the numb': of persons
relieved, together with the coat

_
No. relieved. Amount.
Power-loom weavers' committee.. 10,079 .. £1,915 1 0
Spinners and self-actors' committee 2,787 566 12
Cud-room hands' committee 1,903 258 12 3
Throstle spinners' committee .... 43 .. 70 10
Tape machine sierra' committee .. 60 31 8 6
Power-loomoverlookers'committee 190 .. 6G 3 0

16,402 .. £2,9013 7 9

Last week the number relieved was 14,972, and the cost
2,8201.85. Front this it will be seen that the increase this
week in the number of hands receiving relief has been 530,
and the amount paid 871. 19s. 31. This sum disbursed by

the respective committees lime the COM
strike now amounts to close upon 30,000/.

of thip

As an illustration of the condition to which some of the
unemployed an reduced, it may be recorded that ate meet-
ing of spine. re held in the Temperance Ball lut night, an
operative named Giles Uowarth, in seconding a resolution
pledging those present to " stand firm for ten per cent.
and a strict 'Whereunto their union," nude the following
statement:—" There is suffering (said he) in the town of
Preston, and such suffering as few have any idea about.
1 myself know a family who have visited a slaughter-house
regularly and fetched blood and used it, without having
anything like groats or bread to mix with it. There is also
'anther man who has been without food uatil he has been
seen picking the bits out from the wash that was put by
for pigs. These statements are not made at random ; they
are the result of observation ; and (added the speaker) they
bland the manufacturers of Freston with infamy."

The weekly meeting held in the Orchard this afternoon
was as large and as enthusiastic as any that his taken place
since the commencement of the strike. Yuma ten to twelve

thousand of the unemployed were present; Mr. Wadding-
ton, of Preston, presided.

THE TURN-OUTS OF LANCASHIRE AND THE

LABOUR TES7'.

A special meeting of the Baud of Guardians for
the Hulingden Union, Lancashire, was held on Friday
evening, in the Town-hall, Haslingdon, for the purpose of
meeting Mr. H. B. Yarnell, poor-law inspector for the
district. The union includes, amongst other townships,
those of Bacup, Accrington, and Hadingden, where a large

number of persona have recently been in the receipt of
relief, consequent upon the "lock outs."
Mr. FARNALL, having alluded to the state and prospectai
of the district, said the guardians must know, a.: men of
business, th►t they were not in a very satisfactory position
as regarded the labouring classa—that the state of affairs
in China and Turkey was not such as to warrant the hope
that the mills would soon be in full work again. The
result would be that there would be a large number
of men with " long families," and short earnings, ihsuf-
. . .

(iciest to maintain those families,—who had no savings
to fall back upon, and who were compelled to apply
for relief, almost immediately their wages fell abort.
Such persons got and would get relief, and it was perfectly
right they should. But whether a man applied for relief
from either of these canoes, or from his own idleness or dis-
solute habits, the guardians of the Haslateen Union had
no test that they could offer him, in the shape of work.
lie wished the HuNiigata board to pass a resolution to
adopt a test in case of any emergency ; and, although many
objections might be started, he could not avoid suggesting
that he knew no plan that could be so easily adopted as
setting men to work upon land, and that he thought
digging, whether well or ill, was the most facile and best
test fur any large number of able•bolied men who might
apply for relief. It was no use to talk of a workhouse test
in this lIIIiOD, for there was no workhouse that could be
offered.

The CUAIRMAN said that it was morally impossible, for
the guardians to find a labour•test fur those who applied
for relief under such circumstances as had recently existed.
Mr. FAuNALL said that the difficulties in the way of find-
ieg a labour-test for able-bodied men, wholly out of work,
bad been so many times got over, that the guardians ought
not to recognise such a word as " impossible" in connem.
ion with it. No legislature could recognise the principle
of able-bodied men receiving parochial relief without work-
ing in return. At Manchester recently, he:noticed that
Mr. G. Cowell, the agitator connected with the Preston
dispute, absolutely plumed himself upon the principle on
which the guardians of the lia.lingden Union bad relieved
the men in Bacup, who were locked out b. cause they
wanted to beat the marten in detail by subscribing for the
men in Preston. But he wished to confine himself to the
principle with which he had started—that it was opposed
to the interests of the community at large, that able bodied
men should be relieved without being subjected to a
labour test.

The CLRILL said that no such amount of relief had ever
been given as was stated by Cowell.
Mr. AtTIIN said that strikes or lock-outs did not occur
oftener than once in about eight years; and the pressure
upon the rates recently had only listed a month. Ordina-
rily there were very few, if any, able-bodied paupers on the
books; and he thought it was very questionable whether
the board ought to ►uy land, or set up any other machinery
as a teat, which would be useless for seven years and eleven
months out of eight years.
The Cauroure said that they never professed to carry
out the letter of the law, or an order of the Poor-law
Board in that union—they could not do it. As Mr. Far-
nall had laid his case before them, they had better pus a
resolution either that they never intended to find a labour-
test, or that they would do it.
Mr. FA*NLLL said that the board bed better not say that
they "never intended" to find a test. He only wished
them to pass a resolution that they would do so in any lu-
ture emergency, so that it might be known that the guar.
diens did not mean to make the rates a fund for agitation to
fall back upon. . . .

Mr. BROOM thought that the benefit of having • test
would be that partite would seek relief from friends, er
resort to funds they might have at command, rather than
throw themselves upon the rates. He would move that the
guardians resolve to take the matter into consideration.
Ur. FARNALL said he had endeavoured to avoid thrust-
ing the law into the face of the guardians, but he must
now tell them that relief to able-bodied persons, without a
test, was illegal. Be still hoped that • resolution would be
paned, as he had suggested.
After • good deal of further conversation,
Mr. HINRY HAWOILTII moved " that relief be admi-
nistered se hitherto."
The resolution wee seconded; and after the chairmen
bad remarked that he " wished some one would lock out
the poor•law comminionen, for they could do better
wit►out them," it was unan:momly agreed to.
Mr. FARNALL sail there now remained nothing for him
to say but that he hoped the clerk would press upon the
guardians that all relief to able-bodied paupers wholly out
of work, without a test, was ill. gal : if any such relief was
granted, the remedy would remain with the auditor.
The CILAIRMAN sharply reproved the clerk fir not giving
him notice of the recent meeting in Manchester, to petition
for the abolition of the poor-law board; and Mr. Brooks,
the vice-chairman, having taken the vacated chair, a vote
of thanks to Mr. Farnall, for the kindly manner in which
he had submitted his suggestion to the board, was unani-
mously agreed to, and bristly acknowledged.
The proceedings then terminated.

COLLEGE OF PRECEPTORS.—EXAMINATION OF
PUPILS —A csrrespondent says :—" On Friday last. Dec.
10, was held, at their rooms, the first examination of 00. ct
pupils from various schools in connexion with the coil,/
when there were awarded certificates of the first cls,o, to
Washington Lovegrove, from Montpelier•house, Brichtm ;
Charles Evans, Oxford-house, Chelsea. Second ci „
George Oxley, James Wrhb, Thomas Sarel, Henry C.rser, I
James Brown, Frank Allen, John Turner. Osturtl-howc,
Chelsea. Third class: Charles 'Baker, William EV til4,
Alfred Brown, Elfnunii Turccr, Charles Todd, 114 nry
I Hayward, James Gsrnell, Richard Bloomfield, Alex
Smith, Walter Pitt, Osford house, Chelsea; Charles 11l in-
dell, George Playfair,William Pratt, Henry 0 wcn,W
Crowe, Thomas Cutler, Arnold-house, Hammenmetn."
LANCASHIRE AND YORKSHIRE ItalLwAY.—The
directors of this company have just visited Fleetwood, with
the reported intention of establisoing extensive dock accom
I modation in connezi.n with their lane at that port.