The Sun.
London, England, 1864-01-25 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDO

The Suppression and Extinction of Fires.

A meeting of the members of the Inventors' In.
stitute was held on Thursday evening at 9, Can-
duit-street—Mr. Ashton in the chair.

Mr. KING, C.E., read a paper on the means and
appliances adopted for the suppression and extinc-
tion of fires, with a review of the steam fire-engines
at present in use. Mr. King, after referring to the
causes of fire, said beildings could not be made en-
tirely fire-proof, but they could be constructed with
a view of rendering them impervious to fire, so as
to resist and not assist fire. Many plans had been
proposed for increasing the extinguishing power of
water, but the result had been so small as to be
wholly unworthy of consideration, and all such
schemes were practically useless. Phillips's Fire
Annihilator was useful in contending with the ear-
liest stages of fires ; beyond that, when tried, it had
been found practically to fail. Having detailed the
improvements which had been made in fire-engines)
he contended that Hodges' fire observatory, con-
structed by himself, had been proved to be very
useful in deciding the exact neighbourhood of fires,
and so enabling Mr. Hodges' Brigade to arrive first
at the scene of the disaster. The advantage of the
high-pressure system of water in the pipes was ob-
vious, but to enable it to be universally adopted in
London the whole water system would require to be
re-modelled. In extinguishing fires the steam fire-
engines must hold a foremost place, not only in
consequence of the development of power, bat on
the ground of economy. He then treated the rise
and progress of steam fire-engines, giving some in-
teresting details as to the construction of steam
fire-engines at present in use. With reference to
the late trial of steam fire-engines at the Crystal
Palace, he observed that the programme for the
trial was all that the most scrupulous could desire,
had it been carried out. The committee did not
comply with the terms on which they asked the
exhibitors to work the engines, causing a very large

amount of confusion and dissatisfaction, and render-
ing the award of little or no importance es a test of
intrinsic value: Several of the committee showed

a marked partiality for certain descriptions of en

gines, and owing to the want of unanimity among
the members the result of the trial was unfortunately
of little comparative value. He concluded by ex-
pressing a hope that in fature volunteer fire brigades
would receive more encouragement.
A discussion ensued, in the course of which Mr.
Frederick Hodges observed that everything ought
to be done to increase the pressure of water. In
the day it should be kid on at about 60, and at
night at 80 degrees.
Mr. HANKEY, M.P., said a town lika London
should not depend upon private fire brigades. He
Should hail with great satisfaction the time when
the legislature, public, private, and volunteer enter-
prise went hand in hand in establishing an effective
fire brigade.

Mr. BADDELEY, C.E., thought it very desirable
that information should be obtained as to the causes
of fires, a number of which were put down to un-
known causes.

After some further discussion the proceedings
terminated with a vote of thanks to Mr. King for
his paper.

The Execution of Colonel Bechi.

Florence—as we learn from a letter from that city
—is mourning the loEs of Colonel Bechi, a Tuscan
officer, who has died in the cause of Poland. He
had fought under Charles Albert and Victor Em-
manuel, and appears to have been greatly beloved
by his countrymen. When taken by the Russians

in a skirmish in Poland, it seems that efforts were

made to obtai❑ his reprieve, but General Berg
peremptorily ordered his execution. He wes ac-
cordingly shot o❑ the 17th December. The night
before his execution, a number of Polish ladies were
allowed to remain with him in his cell. These ladies,

in a letter to Beehi's widow, say :—" On the last day
and night previous to his execution we were per-
mitted to remain in your husband's company. We
had OCCE' sion to admire the noblest of human beings,
whose tate we this day have to deplore es though
we mourned the Ic-is of a brother and friend. Pure
P 3 an angel was he ; notable for his misfortunes ; of
en imperturbable gentleness, which moved to pity
even his fierce gaolers ; indulgent towards others and
valorous ; sublime in his enthusiasm for the holy cause
of our liberty; a tender husband and loving father—

he appeared before us in the aspect of a being elevated
altogether above the common level of man. Your
photograph and that of your children, which had been
mislaid on the road, came this day to hand. He
therefore had jo3t time to take his leave of those be-

loved images once more. It was a terrible leave-
taking. We heard him say,' Poor Juliet, I am about
to leave you for ever. You will scan have to don
the raiment of the Polish women. How well the
dark clothing will suit the fair tressrs of my bright
haired girl. I leave to my boy and girl a stainless
and unblemished name--an heritage of honour un-
sullied, but nothing more. Poland will protect you,
and adopt you as her own.' After this he said that
he implored your forgiveness for having brought

such a terrible sorrow on your life. He subsequently
conversed at great length of yourself and his chil-
dren, and his courage never failed him save when
looking on your image and thinking of your
widowed desolation, and of his helpless fatherless
children. The story of that terrible night may only
be written in tears. During two hours he slept;
after the refreshment of rest he prayed. At eight
o'clock in the morning we received his blessing and

last farewell. He took his departure with a tran-
quil and courageous demeanour. Oa his way he
received continual ovations of triumph. At the
moment of his execution his voice was heard to cry
aloud, three times, Long life to Poland,' before he
fell prostrate pierced with bullets to the ground.
And now, what words can we make use of to
comfort you? What words, drawn from the
depths of the heart, would have the power to
soothe ? We can only blend our tears with
your©; we would invite you to join us in
prayer at the fcot of the cress, to pray, as your
husband died, before he departed from us, like a
Christian, a tine gentleman, and a brave Italian
such as he was. Bear up, therefore, as he did,
against this sad reverse; and may God in His
merr►cy help and protect you. We have this day
been to pray on his tomb, which we often intend to
visit; from the fresh laid gravel which covers it we
have gathered a handfal of earth, which we send
you. ' The earth,' as he said before he left us,
would rest lightly' o❑ his head. We shall endea-
vour to send you his military decorations, which are
at present in the hands of our Prince. Farewell.
A thousand times farewell, madam. May God pro•
teat you and your children for ever." On the night
preceding his death the brave Tuscan wrote as
follows to Madame Bechi :—" My peer Juliet,—
When you receive this letter your poor Lao will

be no more. Hs will have been shot by the
Russians. I bless you, together with my beloved
children. Death has no terrors for me. It is
hard, however, to die in a foreign country,
far away from all those whom I love, and un-
able to embrace them once more. You will
now soon be a widow. But I advise you not
to marry again, unless, indeed, you are led to
do so through consideration for the impe
rious interests of our children. Soon will those
children be orphans, and this through my fault.
May God have mercy upon my soul! I forgive all
my enemies with my whole heart. My Juliet, my
Guido, my dear Elisa, I shall see you no more.
Farewell, farewell! Er_ohrece Fanny, our mother,
Arthur, Massimo, Fanny's children, and your father,
and bid all kind friends a farewell for me. I die
because I have stood firmly at my post, when
nearly all the other chiefs had dispersed abroad. I
have given my blood for Poland. May Poland not
abandon my family to destitui ion: I send you a
lock of my hair, which is damp already with the
dew of death. I hope you will receive my watch,
my ring, and the locket I wear with your hair in it,
which I leave as an heirloom to my dear Guido, to-
gether with my military decorations. I have now
but three hours to live. Take coura;9;e, my Juliet ;
we shall doubtless meet in heaven. Meantime pray
for my soul. My lust thoughts are with God, and
with yourself. May the blessing of en innocent
' man bring you happiness. Farewell, farewell ; a
thousand and a thousand tender kissis to you, my
; dear Juliet, to my darling, children, and to all my
relations."