The National Register.
London, England, 1823-01-19 00:00:00

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Hamm) Iftitr...-=on &atm* night, about nine
o'clock, a fire broke out at the farm called Black-
thorn, the property of Benjamin Fincham, Esq. in
the occupation of Mr. John Elsey, about a mile from
Diss. The family retired to rest, with the excep-
tion of a servant, who perceived a light in the yard,
and alarmed her master. At this time the neat.
house was entirely consumed, in which were four •
heifers and three calves, none of which cotdd be
extricated, and being tied up, they all perished in -
the flames. The first object of Mr. Elsey was to
save the family, and the children were carried in
blankets to a neighbouring house; but not before
the tire communicated with the thatch if his dwell-
ing.—Many hundreds of people arrived at the dread-
ful scene from various parts of the country, and
from l)iss with fire engines ; but the ponds being
frozen, it was very difficult to obtain water, and
the dwelling-house, with other buildings, soon bz-
came a nrey to the devouring element. A harp •
standing near was uninjured. Every effort wit
made, and the greater part of the furniture was
'eyed, but dreadful to relate, these exertions were
attended by a fatal catastrophe. In the midst of
the confusion a chimney fell with a horrid crash, •
.killed two men upon the spot, and broke the limbs
of several others. So distressing-a scene has not
been witnessed in that part of the country for many
years. The men who lost their lives were John k ••
Gerdiner, a carpenter, who leaves a disConsolate
wife near her accouchent, and four small children :
and Wm. Tipple, a single man, by trade a brush--
maker, who died instantly, his head being coat.
pletely smashed and his limbs broken. J.l3rowning,
u carpenter, had his left arm and right thigh dread-
fully fractured ; It. Parr, the sexton of the parish,
who has the management of the engines, had one
leg broken, and the other frozen ; and a young .
man named Slack is terribly injured. Many others; ,
were severely bruised, and from there being several
hats left near the ruins, it was supposed the owners."
were buried underneath ; but we beli• ye they have -
since been found, having run away from fright set
the moment of the last catastrophe. The scene of :
'llistres.s has drawn many hundreds from various-.:
quarters to be spectators of that dwelling which
once afforded peace, security, and happiness to its
occupier; but, alas! is now truly a picture of
wretchedness. What adds to the horror of this
frightful calamity is, that there are doubts whether
it was not occasioned by the devilish act of an in- -
cendiary, although as Mr. Elsey had been into the
neat-house with a light, it is pss,ible that a spark
might have fallen ; yet he is confident that he did
not open the !anthem which he carried. Mr. Elsey
is a very industrious farmer, and a man highly re-
spected. The property was none of it insured.—
h'oranch Courier.
A primary school, on the plan of mutual instruc- -
tion, had been established at Boulogne-sur-Mer, in
1819, under the auspices, of the Sub-Prefect M.
Herman, at present Prefect of Lands. All the ma-
gistrates and functionaries, without exception, the
servants of government, and the most opulent in-
habitants of the town, to the number of 144, con-
tributed by subscription to defray the expense of
establishing this school, and of supporting it.—This •
school, which has recently received an augmentation
of 20n scholars, has just been suppressed by a de-
' ciaion of the Univer.ity, which, however, it is
hoped, will be repealed at least, if it is not the
result of a retrogade movement in the method of
teaching, which it is difficult to suppose.
The Methodists in the Wesleyan connexion, at
Diu, had their annual musical meeting, fur the be.
l'netit of their charity school, on Monday se'nnight;
Several amateur performers from Suffolk attended,
accompanied by a strong land; an organ, the pre- •
perty of a gentleman ut Itedgruve, was brought for
the occasion, which was admirably played by Mr.
Lambert, Of Bury; and sone well-selected pieces of
sacred music and clioruss4s were performed, to the
general satisfaction of a genteel and numerous com-
pany. Amongst the gentlemen who severally ad-
dressed the meeting in behalf of the institution were
the Rev. W. Ward, the Rev. W. Wilkes, the Rey..
W. W. Simpson, &c.
We gave some time ago un account of a landing
on Porto Iticu by u party of Bucanicrs, together
with a proclamation, issued at the time when, having
but just set foot on an obscure corner of the island,
they impudently constituted it a republic. The re-
sult of the enterprise, which we learn by letters of
the 20411 of November from Havannah, is such as
might have been expected. La Torre, the Governor
of the island, who haul early and secret intelligence
of their proceedings, marched down one morning to
the spot they occupied, anal with a force of only 100
men, succeeded in capturing the whole party. It
appears that they hail seine partiaans in the interior
of the island, but who had been detected through
the vigilance of the Governor, and the whole were
to be brought to trial.
The Rev. F. Franekliu, of Attleborough, has re-
duced his tithes within the last two years from :;0 to.
35 per cent. which has !Oven general satiofactiou.
amongst his purishiooets.

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