The Sun.
London, England, 1852-09-13 00:00:00

1//7
,‘/

(r.
,
reprehensible enough ; what the motives of thatZ le,el
conduct may have been, we will not inquire—fcr it `ekko
is neither the point at issue, nor busiem of rem. In
Mr. Webster's first statetee nt resposit:itt; Loboy, it s• tss
that
t 1
tbhee islands in
that he represented it as probable
i
by Benjamin
Finding, as soon as this most unguarded and unfortu-
nate assumption was made public, that it was not only
untenable, but even ludicrous and discreditable, Mr.
Webster hastened to frame a new statement, in which
he modified his original position, retaining, however,
all that was possible of what he had first said. He
made no confession of error. On the contrary, his
second statement was so worded as almost to induce
the reader to imagine that this must have been
what was advanced in the outset, and that the
public had misunderstood Mr. Wehster's proposi-
tion. Benjamiti Morrel was pgkin in,4r.tion.-1; the
year 1823 was again the date to vv!-:ich retmence
was made; the word " discovery " vvna reiaiwd ;
and the difference was rri2rely- this, Iliac the
discovery was now alleged to have r,ferr<,;-Icf.,, not to
the existence of the islands themselves, but to the
guano with which they were covered, an4l wbieb con-
sticute3 their only soil. We may remark in passing,
that it the reader hes any doubt, as to what Mr.
Webster really said at first, it will be e‘enroved by re-
ferring to the original letter, which has not been
denied, and in which Benjamin Morref 3 supposed
trover is distinctly represented as a discovery of these
islands themselves. But gi-e Mr. Webster the full
benefit of his amended ple,A, and is stil! amounts to
nothing. Grant that Berjamin Morrel was the first
to find that there was guano on the Lobos Islands—
though we believe that there will be about as little
difficulty in showing that he was not the discoverer
of what the islands contained as in showing that he
was not the discoverer of the islands—grant, how-
ever, that the assumption is a fact—grant that Benja-
min Morrel first noticed the guano of Lobos; does
not the property of whatever treasure nature may
have bestowed on the land belong to the owners of
the land ? And, therefore, is not the question still
exactly what it was before—Who is the rightful pro- •
prietor of the Lobos Islands ? Supporse that Morrel
bad discovered a certain valuable grass or grain,
hitherto unknown and therefore neelected, in an
island belonging to Prance or England, would that
discovery transfer to the United States the right of
ownership in such an island, or even in the particular
production thus brought to light ? The point to as-
certain is simply, who are the rightful sovereigns or
proprietors of the islands of Lobos ? That once
settled, you know, of course, to whom belongs its
natural treasures. In this instance the treasures in
dispute are far more completely identified with the
land than would be trees or plants, for guano is the
very soil itself, and the only existing soil of Lobos.
The islands have neither wood nor water; the sub-
stratum of them is nothing but slate ; or a species of
flaky rock, as nearly as possible on a level with the
Pacific;
fic
piles; an
of
and they are lifted out of the waves solely
countless generationsguazmo,f Iga
ull, aonnd yneoro,bdye;p, oasnidted bypen-
guin, and buzzard. Guano not only makes the value of
the islands, but also makes the islands, which, but
for that substance, would scarcely be more than a
collection of shoal-rocks to be carefully avoided by
the mariner. As to the knowledge of these islands,
it is, as we showed on
aeanadrrsewbcheeinfothreoctchaesiodna,tesoomfeß3eono.
years old, and there are maps and charts which were
published at least 160 y
jamin Morrel's voyage,
clear representation of the
sterc.or
acnoenotnanbaa
ndkuse
and
beds of Lobos. The Peruvians, then, knew these
islands well, and knew that their
coutit'ry had inhe-
rited them from Spain. That they knew
oniim,
substance was of which these isles:
were
ve it what that
also certain, if they knew what guano isc . and with
is
p a n
that they are familiar, for they h
elsewherel. in
profusion, and have used it habitually from time
memorial. Besides, we must not forget one
distinction, that the knowledge of the value of a
pos-
session is not ownership, and, therefore, still less
would it confer the right of ownership to be the first
to discover the value of another's treasure. If
you discover that a ring which your neighbour
wears is diamond, while he imagines it to be paste,
you are not justified in tearing it off his finger, and
claiming it as thenceforth your own , nor would you
be so justified in appropriating it, were it lying neg-
lected on his table, and had he even disdained to use
it, through ignorance of its real worth. If; as soon as
that neighbour became aware of its value, he declared
that he would keep it, he would do only what he had
a right to do. Now, it requires no great penetration
to perceive that what Mr. Webster last advances is at
best and at MOB', merely, that a citizen of the Uaited
States was the first to discover that certain Peruvian
islands are more valuable than the Peruvians who
owned them were aware. The Peruvians may reply
—" You have, even if we grant all your assumptions,
merely shown us that we were richer than we ima-
gined. But poor or rich, those islands are not your
discovery, but that of your fathers ; not your pro-
perty, but our own, ever since we were a nation.
Does everything belong to you which you discover to
be valuable ?"

~rii~

FIRES AND LOSS OF LIFE.
Yesterday morning (Sunday) a fire of a very seri-
ous character broke out in one of the large ware-
houses numbered 30 in Louden- wall, occupied con-
j ointly by Messrs. Brown and Co., the extensive
drysalters ; Messrs. Gibbins, Brothers, varnish ma-
nufacturers ; Mr. Thomas Tarn, carpet weaver;
Messrs. Springfield and Co., silk merchants; and
Messrs. Dobson and Co., ale and porter merchants.
The premises, which had a frontage of sixty feet,
were almost as deep, and four floors in height. At
the time of toe outbreak there were in Messrs. Gib-
bins's stores upwards of 4,000 gallons of prepared
varnish, besides an immense stock of other articles,
almost of as inflammable a character. In Messrs.
Springfields' warehouse w:s a stock of silk, roughly
valued at 2,000/, while Messrs. Brown's compart-
ments were filled with nearly every description of
goods used in their business. The top floor was
used by Mr. Tarn as a factory, and was fitted up
with sixteen large looms filled with yarn for weavingT
carpets, and other valuable pieces of machinery,
discovery appears to have been made by some h The
per-
sons living in one of the back streets, whose atten-
tioner was directed by an unusual body of smoke hover-
ing over the building. In a brief
Society's escapes attended, followed period the Ro al
y the enginesy of
the London brigade from IVhitecros.s..stree, Watling-
square stations, as ll as that o
jefill.rYneds-
er the direction of Mr.we Superinten-
f
tshtre street,
parish.and
dent Braid wood and Mr. Pogo, the chief officer of the
district A, the whole of the engines present were set
to work, and it was then
be extinguished in the expected that the fire would
course of a very few
was not minutes,
and before much dam
Unfor-
tunately such age could be done.
the case for while the firem,n
were actively employed
inpumping the water the
flames rushed through
one of the windows
at the back,
a distance of several feet. The draught thus given
by the broken window caused the destructive element
to extend almost with the rapidity of electricity, and,
hiving travelled up the staircase, it took complete
possession of the second floor, by Messrs. usedGib-
bins as one of their warehouses. Fortunately the
principal stock of varnish and other inflammable
articles was not in that part of the premises, but,
that so large___ a etock was
uinpotnhelNgirt.oußnrdaitidowooro, dhfie
nadtinOgn" sent off for
.the assis-
Holborn, and Chandos-street
assis-
tance of his engines in the Southwark. bridge-road,
Farringdon-streteht,e
time this extra aid arrived the
stations.
flames bad ascended*BY to the staircase, and were working
f the official report of the damage done into Mr. Tarns carpet manufactory. Subjoined is a
copy 0
Sept. 12, half-past 12 A.M.—Called by a
6, Sunday,
"..
stranger
to a fire at No. 30, London-wall, City, which
,
did the following aamage :—Messrs. Brown and Co.,
drysalters.—First floor—The counting-house burnt
out, and contents of warehouse adjoining seriously
damaged by fire and water. The stock in trade, &c.,
l
not insured. The cause of fire unknown. The build-
ing is the property of the Mercers' Company, and "a
supposed to be insured in the Royal Exchange Fire-
office.burnt Engines that attended, seven of the brigade
manidsetsh, that
do f
the
ee parish.fire
was e
xGt
iansg uwasish
e the pre-
the London establishment. Messrs. Gibbins
and Co.,
varnish makers and oilmen—ground and
the second floor nearly burnt out. i
_second floors,
tnsurance not
known. Mr. Thomas Tarn, care
—stock and machinery seriously pd Maker, top floor
water, and rest of building amaged by fire and
Legal and Commercial Fire- also'office. Insured
in
the
field and Co., silk merchants
floor —stock of raw silk l warehouse on the second
fire, water, &c,
considerably damaged by
Insurance not known. Messrs.
Dobson and Co., basement,
bottle ale and porter
merchants—stock damaged by water, &c. Insurance
unknown."
Yesterday f a ternoon, about 20 minutes to 2 o'clock,
a most destructive fire, caused by an ignition and ex-
plosion f
o gas, and attended with loss of life, took
place at the house of Mr. White, linendraper and
hosier, 65, Middlesex-street, Somers-town. It ap-
pears that about the time in question the servant girl
went into the shop with a candle, and the gas, which
it is believed had been improperly turned off on
Saturday night and filled the place, at once ignited
and exploded, setting fire to the combustible stock
and premises. So rapid were the flames that the
ulM,:ir lodgers, who were seated at their dinner at
the time, had great difficulty in effecting their es-
cape by the windows. On the second floor lived a man
named Balbam, with his wife and four children. Some
of them were thrown from the windows and caught
by the police, a large body of the S division, nu-
der the orders of Inspector Champneys, being
speedily on the spot from the new station-house
in Platt-street. 'The poor man Balham, having
lowered his wife, clung for some time to the window-
' sill, with, as he thought, the last child in his arms,
' until arrangements were made below to catch him