The Express.
London, England, 1867-07-04 00:00:00

-- -
DESTRUCTIVE FIRE NEAR PRESTON.

The Preston Herald, in a special edition, gives an
account of a destructive fire which occurred yesterday
morning at the mill of Messrs. William Baahall and
Co.. Farington :—" There were about 900 operatives
employed at the works, and on returning from
breakfast they betook themselves to their respec-
tive rooms. The mill was five storeys high, and
shortly after the machinery had been set in motion a
spinner in the top story of the east portion observed a
speck of fire at one end of his mule. He turned round
for the purpose of obtaining something to extinguish it,
but on looking again the fire had spread the full length of
his carriage, and he instantly raised an alarm. Buckets
were placed in each room, and these being full of water,
were promptly made use of, the workpeople acting in
a most praiseworthy manner. A couple of engines that
were kept on the premises were brought out, and a fire
escape at one side of the building was used to give
the men the opportunity of playing on the flames. A
donkey engine was also set in motion, but the fire spread
rapidly, and messengers were despatched for assistance
to Mr. Dewhurst's mill at Cuerdeo, and to the Preston
Fire Brigade Station. About 10 o'clock two engines
arrived from the former place, and ball an hour later one
from Preston. Every effort was made to check the p
of the fire, but the flames were aided by a strong winrl=
the east, and the safety of the east end was soon despaired
of. Floor after floor gave way spinning mules were
broken, large iron shafts twisted in various ways, pon-
derous iron supports were thrown down, and that
portion of the mill became a complete wreck. Between the
east and west portions were the engines, and after much
exertion these were considered safe. The roof of the west
end, however, became ignited, the beams supporting the first
floor were soon burned through, and despite the continued
jets of water that were thrown on the flames, the whole of the
rooms were quickly burned through, and the machinery
rendered entirely useless. Fortunately, a large weaving
shed, a mixing room, and a warehouse which are built
at very short distances from the mill proper—were not
much damaged. The wall luckily fell in a westerly direc-
tion—if it had fallen eastward it would have caused
very serious damage to the weaving shed. Another
wall fell on the joiners' shop and damaged the roof.
Some of the operatives' clothes were burned, and six men
have lost their watches. It is said that since the com-
mencement of the cotton panic there had been 100,000/.
spent in improved machinery, Ac., and the loss by the
present fire is roughly estimated at 150,0001. The pre-
mises are insured in the Sun, the Imperial, the Man-
chester, and other offices, but we have not learned to what
amount. It is believed that the fire was caused by
friction."

LICESSILD VICTUALL3IIB' SCHOOL.—The sixty-
first anniversary festival of this charity was celebrated
yesterday by a dinner at the Crystal Palace, under the
presidency of Mr. Money Wigram, jun., supported by Mr.
Locke, M.P., Mr. M'Cullagh Torreno, M.P. Mr. T.
Chambers, M.P., Mr. H. Lewis, M.P., Mr. A. Else, M.P.,
&c. The progress made by this institution during the last
six years, according to the report, is considered highly
satisfactory, although the subscriptions to the school for
the past year have rather fallen short. These subscrip-
tions amounted to 3,531 f. 4s. With the view of extending
the sphere of usefulness of the institution the governor and
committee recently came to a resolution to admit the whole
of the approved candidates, 36 in number, without the usual
election by the general body of subscribers, making the
number on the establishment 175. The children were in-
troduced after dinner, occupying a considerable portion of
the orchestral amphitheatre, and some verses appropriate
to the occasion were recited by senior boys of the school,
and specimens were given, vocal and instrumental, of their
general musical acquirements. The chairman, in proposing
the toast of the evening, bore testimony, from close per-
sonal observation, to the superior arrangements and
management of the school, and only regretted the inability
of the committee to carry out their desire to raise the
number of the inmates at once to 200, which might easily
be done • for the licensed victuallers of the metropolis, NI
compared with the rest of the trade, do not now contri-
bute one-half of the sum requisite for the maintenance of
the institution. The subscription list announced exceeded
2,000 guineas.
A writer in a New York paper says :—" In com-
parison with the number of trips made over the ocean—
and this the roughest and most merciless of all oceans,
with but one group of islands in it, the Azores, and these
from 500 to 700 miles soithward of your route—the ship-
wrecks are as one to 700, and the losses of life as one to
12,000 ; better than your chances on shore against casualty
and disease. Let your abiding fear be of sea-sickness,
which is the most wretched of all transient visitations, but
in its result a benefit better than any abstinence. Eighty
people out of 100 get sick. With half of these sea-sickness
lasts all the voyage. It is a nauseous headache, making
food contemptible and advice insulting."