The Express.
London, England, 1861-06-17 00:00:00

r GREAT DESTEIWTION OP PROPERTY.
( rum DAY.)
This (Monday) morning three fires occurred in
the metropolis atten.l,l with • considerable loss of pro-
P,rtY• 4 hie tire bad: i'lare in the extensive mansion belong-
ing to John I Ecketi4on, Ea+ 3:1, Upper Brook-street,
I iroavenor.apiare. The huildings in this street. incite!.
Mg the basement, are Ave tlOOl.l blab, and adjoining the
use iu which the Me commenced, was the town reeideneo
of Lord Cran worth. and on the other side the nsausion
behingitiz m It. II Vale Walpole. The police mounted the
stairs amt brought down the resident* with nothing on
I eyoual 'heir light clothes. Tile brigade by mounting the
ea-apes were enable.' to throw the water upon the principal
seat of the tire. and thereby prevented its further exteusion,
but they a. re unal.le to get the games extauguishol
until Mr. Dickeneon's premises woresearly deatroyel. The
loss is very heavy, soil will fall upon the Atlas Fire.offlce.
The two adjoining ne •ns have likewise received consider-
able damage by heat, breakage, removal of furniture, sod
water.

Another fire hap;wneil about the same time in the pre.
miss" of Zr. Wade. a grocer, earning on Mbomou at .No.
3, Little l'isitstoy.street, thdilti••.9itarti. This fire was
well nigh atterelot with the sacrifice of seven human beings.
rpm Comitietor itiddilson rewhing the premises with
his machine he found four children, two inns Tutuila, and
a hurtle, at the floor, scrwming frantically, and at
the same time the smoke WAS ascending in such volumes
that they were unable to come downstairs, the cellars and
shop being in flames. The conductor happily Cue-
ceeded in saving the whole of the endangered persons. The
pester portion of the premises was destroyed, including the
stock is trede, awl some ilstuage done to the premises of
Mews. Mita awl Winning, No. 36, Great Crown-court.
The origin of this lire is likewise enveloped in obscurity.
It in unicwwn whether the sufferers were Insured or not.
The other fare took place this morning in thy premises
belonging to Mr. Sheen, an nntiertat.cr, situate at No. 63,
Church-lane, Whitochapel, the lower part being occupied by
a cork-cutter. The firemen eventually succeeded in ex-
tinguishing the flames, I,ut not he 140 the premises Wee
nmirly di sit royed,atel most part of the roof was burned off. The
orgm of this tire is also unknown. Mr. Sheen was insured
in the flutel.in-liand Fire Office. Some damage has also
hew, done to the stuck is trade belonging to Mr. G. Gregory,
No. 61. Insured in the Royal Exchange.

TERRIFIC PIRG IN MANCHESTER.

£lOO,OOO DAMAGE.

One of the greatest fires which has taken piece in
Manchester for many years past occurred on Saturday
night, when the premises of Messrs. Parr, Curtis, mid
Madeley were fiesta eyed, and damage done to the extent of
between RAMO/. to 120,000/. Messrs. Parr, Curtis, and
Madeley are the largest self-acting mule manufacturer, ha
the kingdom, perhaps, and they employed poles' than 1,180
workpeople. This fire will conaequeutly have • malt ilia.
suitrous effect, in put it will throw this number of bands
out of employment, at leant for some time to come. The
premises of the firm, which ate called the Meals
Works, aro situated in Chapelatreet, Ancoats, and some
idea of their extent may be gained when we state that
they covered en area of 10,000 square yards, or two wren
of land. The main building, which was used as the manu-
factory, and which had the principal troll to Chapel-
street, was eight storeys high, each storey having 24 win-
dows in the front. Behind the insiti building there was a
yard 10 or 12 yards wide, and running jarallel with the main
building there were erected • number of joiners' and other
workshops, and at each end of these shops there was a wing
which joined the mail building. This portion of the building
was fi mar storeys high. Adjoining the works at the end uoarest
to Aticeata-lane, and only separated by a court of a few
yards wide, there is a cotton mill, the property of Messrs.
Parr, Curtis, and Madeley, which is at present worked by
Messrs. Ifs worth and Co. This building is three storeys high,
and as twelve windows long, and six deep. On the oppo-
site side of Chapel-street to that on which thiamin works
are situated there is a range of brick buildings two stoma
high, which also belong to Mears. Parr, Curtis, and
Madeley, and thole are used as the moulding shops. Be-
hind the chief works there a numbsr of narrow streets
filled with cottages, in which many of the hands employed
in the works reside. The main building, we may state, was
erected in 1415, and we believe we aro right in stating
that it was not constructed upon the fire-proof prieciple.
About a quarter to 6 o'clock on Saturday night informa-
tion was conveyed to the Town's Yard that the extensive
works we have 41s-scribal were iiu tire. When Mr. Rune gut
to the works in Chapel-street lie (mead an engine from the
Pollard-street station had already arrived, and that the men
were playing a jet on the eat end of the mill whore the
joiners' and smiths shops were situated. The whole of the
joiners' shops, or the four-storey building, were in Hamm.
These flames bail extended all along one side to the wing.
at each end, and a strong east wind which was blowing
carried the dallies across tho yard to the body of the main
Mukling. The sixth, seventh, and eighth storeys were soon
exposed to the fierce fury of the dames, and the heat thrown
out was mo.t intense. In the meantime the fire progressed
elan the weet wing, and exceeded into the main building,
on the fourth, fifth. and sixth storeys. The floors of the
various storeys were saturated with oil. In the joiners
steps there was large quantity of wood, and owing to the
wind, the tire *prowl with lightning-like rapidity. From
what we have stated, it will lie seen that the difficulties
which Mr. Roan hail to contend with were quite great
enough, Leta difficulty of another kind beset him, which
fortunately he has rarely had to encounter. On his arrival
he found • large number of the men who had been tan.
plowed at the works present, and some of these persons
were in a very excited state. A number of them had en-
tered the main building and fortunately succeeded in saving
tho books, awl then they began to throw pieces of iron,
Re., out of the windows itehacriminately, to the great
danger of Mr. Rose awl his men. In fact one piece at iron
thrown out of • WilialOW struck Mr. Rose on the bead,
and hail it not been for his hat breaking the fame of I
the blow, the coosequeneee to him might have been
very Serious. Mr. Hoeg desired the nien to desist, end to
leave the msnagement of the fire to himself wad the fire
They, however, refused, surrounded Mr. Rose,
a laid hold of him, and he had to use something like rude
physical three to free himself from their grope Almot this
time, one of the workmen, named Oarney, who hail
been in the main body of the building, performed • perilous
awl daring feet, hut not without accident to himself. Ile
had been engaged oa the third stony in throwing thiNs
out of the window, soil hearing pert of the root of the
fear-Storey building bellini him fall in with a loud crash, he
thought hin.self in imminent danger, and at once leapt out
el use of the windows into Chanel-et-Feet. The poor
fellow had ono of his legs broken, and was conveyed to
the Royal !afire:wry, where lie is at present an in-patient.
Whoa the whole huddle; became a perfect mass of
flame the sight was something awfully grand; but the
Ire caused great constern itiou iu the neiglibmirhuod,
especially to those who resi fed iu the cottages situated
in the small streets at the husk of the works. In the
various rooms of the buildings destroyed there were 300
taus of metal being used iu the pieces& of manufacture, and
If we estimate the stationary mschniery at the same weight,
we believe we shall be pretty near the mark. Al the fire
progresael, the floors of the various rooms, being thus hea-
vily weighted, kept giviog w.iy iu .u.eession with tremen-
dons crashes, rod some of the walla fell in, damaging the
cottage property behind couselerthly. In Portugalatreet,
throe cettagee, occupied by Robert .‘nastroug, Thaw. Row.
and, and Polder, were cousiderably dam wed. Itierael
keeps a wall provisinu ate ip, awl seeing the (Luger in
wiiieh he and his family were, they fled in fear from the
house. In .1-qalon-street the backyard* of twelve cottages
were filled with debris, and the back rooms and the kitchens
were smashed in. The people removed their furniture
oat of each of the cottages in a great state of oonstereatios,
and yesterday the cottages were all lucked up, bring con-
sidered unsafe, and the poor unfortunate tenants lad to find
a home where they could. These cottages. we bolero, are
the property of Mr. Rimpane, of Store.street. The large
chimney connected with Ile works escaped uninjured, and
acted as a screen to • public-house in Asisletioitreei, the
Menclosteruad Birmingham Railway 'revere. In Fletcher-
street there are fear cottages, and the roof of one, occupied
by a man named Kennedy, was destroyed. Mr. Deny, of
I iltllistro..:treet, we are intomied, owns this property. In
Mn. 4 Court, which also adjoins the back part of the works,
the tensiita took alarm, and removed their furniture out of
the houses; but the property escaped uninjured. The fire
ranched its greatest height at 8 o'clock, but it was not until
12 o'clock that it was ei.tirely eubiltual. Mr. Rose then
withdrew a ',petiole of his force, mind left • body of men
playing four jets on the smoulderiug ruins all night.
As we have stated, the damage done by the fire at the
mediae of Messrs. Parr, Curtis, and Madeley, is estimated
at from 100,000/. to 120.004 : eel we regret to have to
add that the firm are only insured to the extent of 40,000/.
The urigM of the fire is unknown ; but it is believed is lump
commenced in the paint shop, over the joiners' shops, at
that end of the building nearest to London-nod.

BAST ANGLIAN RAILWAYS CO.VPANY.
(THIS DAY.)

An extraordinary general meeting of proprietors
was held to-day at the Londm Tavern, under the Whern-
clitfe Act, to consoler the provisions of two bills now before
barliansent in which the company are interested, " •
ill for making a railway front Lyon to Hunstantoe, and •
bill authorising the construction of • railway from
the Norwich and Spalding Railway at Sutton-bridge to the
East Anglian Itailwsy at King's Lynn, and fur other pur-
poses." Mr. S. SIIMON, the chairman of the company,
; and, having stated the progress of the Hun-
stantou bill iu parliament, and announced the withdrawal
of the opposition to it, together with the approval of the
Eastern Counties shareholders at their Wharucliffe meet-
ing, called upon the solicitor to read the clauses.
This having been done, • resolution involving the assent
of the shareholders was proposed, seconded, and earned
unauimously.
The Ctimitnast having first described the Kate 01 the
proposed line, and explained that it was part of • larger
scheme which hod been thrown out with the exception of
I ~,,t port betw,en Mutton Bridge and Lynn. stated that the
atterstion would redact the subscription the East Anglian
Cowpony towards this project from 100,0001. to 00,0001.,