The Express.
London, England, 1850-09-10 00:00:00

CANADA.

Data from Montreal are to August 20. A destruc-
tive Are broke out on the night of the 29rd, de-
stroying 800,000 dollars worth of property. l'he
Montreal .ilerald has the following account of tho
disaster:
The Are oommeacedoes the premises of Mr. Shepherd, livery-
iienbis.k.." in Grog-attires, and, is a ve.ry raw =Metes,
spread, with incoeseivable timidity, among the wooden
Whom serretandmg his yard. lit • few minoms more Mr.
Do Chimers Valet of est stone booms, forming the coma.
of Craig and St. Urban streets, were in a ht se, the inmates
Living handy time tA, wasps with their lies, end Mating
the .ge•som•bulk of their kronen and other property a
prey to the devouring element. Tree fine, sided by a brisk
*vest, role raged with feerful 'merry, end hid, in ball an
hour, extended slung Craig-street to the blein-street of the
St. Laarsom Scheibe, and u 3 the Maine,reet end St.
Cheeks Boveresmie street to Vitra-atm. t. on teeth sides of
them streets-4er Toing in imposers M' de Cr satarsbl...-k
of beildieee, Mr. Mriertostes bindery, MeMePherson's music
eon, Mr Mosel plumber and machinist eetabilltiment, and
many other valuable properties on Craig and St. Charles
Borrontmfe atzerms. On reacting the Main—trt et up wLieb, as
far se Vine street, it extended on both tide', the scene was
Most appalliog these eh o hod r...moved their furniture to that
legality, seeing how ineff e t•••• i•of .res to save
ft, were, with red-übl. d I fiket, gags bt all am its rinsing
what was mat prtfiribeet on Mars; men,
wows, and children, who bad bindle escaped with their
Bess sad with no coverings beyond their riaticdreesee, were
distractedly resider about in search of shelter. Some suc-
ceeded pia' i g their tuesiture and geed. in catty on the
Champ de Mere. but we regret to say, the great majority of
the stiff I, at their ail—not only o h t they had been
forced to ehancioa in their hour a, but what they had, in the
lint instartele, removed to the houses of their neisteboare„ in
the hope that the cord wetter, would not reach them.
Aber derrtyirg. on St. Cherie.; B.rrominee,serret, the
hoaxes oceupied by Mr. OIL lee, Mr. Smith, Mr. Price, Mr.
Shashi, Mr. X. I:y, Mn. Me Orr g r, Mr. IleysieWa, sad
their aeighhouts on either side the aunt, the tire spread to
Vitrretteot, and is lees thee half an hi tie the s hole prop. fly
on both Bids tf the main street from Vi•re to Ctenestreett,
wne one uninterrupted hi sng mass. The residroes of the
mayor, at the Carnet of Craig and the main area, being de.
melted end of at stone, with a tin rout and iron abetter',
was 111,1 f • saved by the 'seniors of the 6-ernes, of all the
surrounding houses. N• bantam p wet cou:d now foretell
how far the risks element might ex•ecd, the neighborhood
belay surrounded with wind. it building.. Oa the snivel
of the military, after consultation with the mayor and ma-
glstrstee, at was decided and the only hope or westing it,
progress was by blowing up v ith prinpierder acme of
the intervening house.. By thi. titre the fire
bed resch,d St. D. neniqueetreet, end friday b,.th
sides of this street, in the Tease of the I,re,
were reduced to ashes. One of tier ci,y couneilkn,
Dr. Hell, now took upon himself the teeponsibiliry of
luthorieng Captsin Wright, of the royal artiday, to blow
up the range of brick buildings in Pere. ult'—lene, in a line
with St. Gabriel-tame, and thus, it putoi We. to prevent the
farther extension of the tire to the ter word. TO* how-
ever, hoot some mistaanegement, we believe, M arranging
the Itise, was not so promptly effected as the crcurestancis
&man .e.d. and before the building was laid I .w, the wind
hating: aubsid. d, the eat flag/ration was happily arrested by
the enema...es. of the Omura. _ . .

We Mlle's that abut one hundre I bow.% ham been
utterly dostroyed, begirt., many partially totaled aid ten-
dered temporarily noinhahiteole. Tau., oundreds of nut
fellew•cilsens are, in on. right, rendered houn less; many
among theca deprived of their all—of the foul's of years of
industry and frugality-.sod, neettreardy. apts.', for the
time being at le et, upon the beneaolence and charity of
their m,,re forturat.• fellow-eritinens Nt a taw of the suf-
ferers, we ,re infollb• rt, are atnorn I 1.00 woes an rb.
cently bumf out is Grillnt,wn It would he an insult to
the people of Montreal ,0 doubt that num sips will be
adopted for their rel.. I. L t the only, sod magistnras act
with promptitude sod 14t- reli.y, ar.d they reed haw no
miegivieg, not* andf,.g the vurnees of the calamity
and the general ,ieprrotion • f the thins, of being se promptly
and liberally trip dtded to he tb. fr constitnesta.
In ounclue.on (adds the Hera* mutate to caplet.' a
hop* that these repeated dimities will out be without effect
in reusing the energies ot our citizens, and coneiseing them
of the abortlute neet.ti'y of eadrieli abandoning the use of
shingles in r.cflng their houses. It is to this Natty-wise
and pound-U*ll.h practice that the eat nsion of the Are on
Friday ni‘ht must be mainly a.tri need; and we foal that
we cannot ton of•ra or too urgently demount,* the *lntim:-
once of it. tan long as it is perm', red in, we can newt have

any security th fires, viltielt under other circumstances
could he easily confined within the limits of the building in
which %toy break out, will not extend from roof to ',of
until the entire city tall a victim to the improvi feel tconomy
ut those who, to oyes few shillie.gs on the c et of then/ build.
legs, persevere in the wet of this daugerioe materiel. The
wind was not violent en Fsiday night, ahhoush satfiefently
strong to carry the Manors ehinsiles to consist. r.bie distances
from the fire, and, coo- quently, to derma. d the most watch-
HI ed all within its binge. The shields roof of a
hots& in St. Gabriel street, next to Dr. Id•Culluctes, wan re-
peatedly on firs, and but tur the constant applimition of water,
by persons stationed en the root, the wIl• le saighboarbeoc
would have heist endaneived. %Ve understand that but for
the quantity of seater oast& d from Mr. ti crib's large teak,
for the supply of hie baths, it would have been impossible to
hays prevented the extension of the cor.fi diatom arras
Craig-street, and the eon-quest tiestructtee nt the valuable
range cf houses there greeted. This di fi.iancy In the supply
of water is au evil that, we truer, the &leporello& will loss au
tia• in haying effectually temadied.