The Express.
London, England, 1858-03-30 00:00:00

OBEAT FIRE AT MANCHESTER.

Early yesterday morning, about three o'clock, the
cotton-spinning and doubling mill of MOMS. Lewis and
Edward Williams, of Minaholl-atreet, Manchester, was dis-
covered to be on lire. Meows. L. and E. Williams have two
mills, the one fronting to Minahull-street, and a new one,
branching from it at right angles, at the back, in Upton-
street, London-road. The first is an old one, very lofty,
having eight stories besides the attic, and about 46 to 60
yards long. It wee lighted by 120 windows in the front and
120 windows at the back, and the fire wan first noticed by the
driver of • hackney ooach in London-road, who saw the
flames through the backwindows of the third story,
inUptan-
street. Early notice was given to Mr. Rose, chief superin-
tendent of the fire brigade, who was in front of the mill in •
very short spice of time with fire-engtcee. The latter, how-
ever, were unnecessary. There was abundance of water
at a high presenre from the street mains on all
sides of the mill, and by merely attaching Bose
to these mains • force of water equal to about
six tons per minute was showering urn the blaring
By
la brief period of time from the arnval of the police.
By this time the fire had spread most alarmingly, and very
soon afterwards the roof of the building fell in. The floors
of this, as of all old mills, were well saturated with oil from
the machinery, and any attempt to check the flames was soon
seen to be utterly hopeless. Floor after floor, each with its
heavy load of machinery, gave way with crashes that
threatened to carry with them the whole fabric ; and at
about 20 minutes to five o'clock, when the fire bad attained
its fiercest glow, a large portion of the wall fronting towards
Minshull-street, fell outwards. In the yard before this front
of the mill was a large gasometer, and the house of the ma-
nager, together with • building several story/ high, in
which the process of mixing the cotton was carried on. The
part of the millfallhig outwards crushed the gasometer, and an
explosion resulted which augmented the destructive force of
Unties. The wall that fellupon the gasometer wasBo feet high.,
anci its fall the buildings in the yard were ignited and
partially destroyed. So great a mass of fire has not been
witnessed in Manchester for many years u the burning of
this mill presented during • period of nearly three hours,
the flames blazing up to an immense height, and carrying
showers of sparks with them that threatened the safety of
valuable property in many directions; yet the firemen
battled with the destroying element bravely from a staircase!
between this mill and the new one, playing upon each of the !
floors from this point with much perseverance, though
unable to get the mastery. Yet they were fortunately able
to stave the new mill, and the valuable mill also of Messrs.
Baxley and Vernon, in close proximity. A good
deal of cottage and other property, much jeoparlied
by the fire, wss also saved. It wan after 7 o'clock in the
morning before any large portion of the firemen could be
relieved of the severe duty imposed on them and by that
time the old mill was completely gutted, the Upton-street
wall and ends, pierced with their numerous openings for
windows, being nearly all that was left standing, and pre.
seating • somewhat picturesque but dangerous ruin. There
walls, in fact, will have to be speedily removed, as • very
alight wind would endanger them, and might produce serious
mischief on surrounding property. The entire lose, it is
feared, will not be leas than 20,0001., but Messrs. Williams
have insurances on the two mills to nearly 30,000/. in the
Atlas, Royal Exchange, Liverpool and London, Manchester
and West of England odic**. The mfll bad not Leen at
work since Saturday at 2 o'clock, and the origin of the fire is
not known. Nearly 300 work-people are thrown out of em-
ploy by the destruction of this property.

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE NEAR Buay.—About 8 o'clock
on Saturday morning the large warehouse belonging to the
Bast Lancashire Railway Company, at Brook-bottoras,about
three miles from Bary, was discovered to be on fire. The
warehouse is in the oscupation of John Robinson Kay, Esq.,
sad was used for the storage of cotton goods. It is stated to
hays contained at the tame 200 bales of cotton, 200 bags of
cotton waste, and 18,000 pieces of calico; the whole of which
were destroyed, or so much injured either by fire or water,
or both, as to be rendered comparatively worthless. !unbent
ball an hour after the discovery of the fire, the fire-engine
belonging to Messrs. Bothwell and Grundy, of Limefield,
and that of Messrs. Hampton and Co., of Summering; were
an the spot, and were supplied with water front the force-
pumps and pipes on the premises; but such was the violence
of the flames, that it was found impoasible to save the pro-
perty, and the fire was not thoroughly eubdned until 2 o'clock
in the afternoon. The building was completely gutted, the
shell alone remaining. The origin of tte tire la unknown.
The damage to the building and goods, Be., is estimated at
about 10,0001.; bat this, it is said, was partly covered by
insurance. The insurance, however, so far ma we can learn,
was only in the Manchester Office, and to the extent of
3,0001.; so that the loss to the ownes, it is supposed, will be
little short of 7,0001.
FIRE AT MILLWALL.—Last night, shortly after
nine o'clock, a fire happened in a timber-yard at
Poplar. When the discovery was made by some of the
neighbours the flames had seized on some deals and other
woods standing in the yard. The offices being near the fire
speedily lapped round them, and broke through the windows
of a number of small houses on either side of the timber-yard.
The engines soon arrived, but, in spite of the exertions of
the firemen, they were unable to get the Mimes subdued until
the stock in the timber-yard was totally destroyed, the offices
smionaly damaged, and several other houses and their con-
tents injured by water. The kw will fell upon the Anchor
and the Sun fire-offices. The origin of the fire is unknown

THE LATE FATAL Fiat IN BISHOPSOATE-
anorr.—The adjourned inquest on this fire was held
yesterday. After the examination of some of the occupants
of the house, all of whom declared their entire ignorance of
the origin of the fire, the inquiry was still further
adjourned.
EXTRAORDINARY AFFAIR.—A case is now under-
going investigation, by the authorities at Fort William,
which has created a very painful feeling in the district. The
wife of Captain Ronald Macdonald, late of the 92nd High-
landers, died on the 28th of October last, and was buried an
the 4th of November in the burying-ground of the Moy
family at Kilchyrel, attended by her own relatives and those
of her husband. In the month of FeMuary, at the dead of
night, Mrs. Macdonald's brother, Mr. Donald Stewart,
tacksman of Anohindaul, who was residing in the same
house with Captain Macdonald, went with a number of his
shepherds to the buying-ground, and, without the
knowledge of his hentherdn-law, removed from its
place, beside her husband's ancemora, the body of his
sister, depositing it in another pert of the church-
yard. The motives for this extraordinary proceeding will,
no doubt, be ascertained when the case has been investigated
by the authorities; hot at present the only way of amounting
for It seems to be in the fact that, whilst the Macdonald+ of
Moy are Roman cathollos, Mr. Stewart is a convert to the
Free Church, and he could not bear the idea of his sister
lying in the same grave with Roman catholic'. The outrage
was discovered shortly after it was perpetrated, and the case
has been put into the bands of Mr. Maclaren.—/imarseu
Cburifr.