The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-07 00:00:00

10, Bolt-court, Fleet-street, April 30.
Sir,—l am directed by the sub-committee of the City
and Working-men's Garibaldi Committees to acknowledge
your letter of yesterday's date, giving full permission for the
holding of the proposed meeting on Primrose hill on Satur-
day next, on the subject of General Garibaldi's departure,
from England, and to state that the obtaining such permis-
sion was not the object with which I addressed my first note
to you, or for which the deputation referred to in that note
proposed to wait on you.
That deputation requested an interview with you under
the following circumstances, in reference to a question of
constitutional right and groat public interest.
Sir George Grey, the Home Secretary, having intimated
to the deputation, when it waited upon him, that the police,
in dispersing the former meeting last Saturday. had acted
under no orders given either by himself or Sir R. Mayne,
and that be regretted the meeting had mot been allowed to
proceed, the necessary conclusion appeared to be that no
future meeting of a similar description, in a similar locality,
would be interfered with ; but upon Mr Beales asking Sir
G. Grey if such was the case, the reply was to the effect
that the police would have power to stop any such meeting
unless your consent to its being held had been previously
obtained.

Under these circumstances, sir, the object of the deputa-
tion was to obtain from you a clear and distinct reply to the
following questions.

1. Whether you, as First Commissioner of her Majesty's
Works, &0., claim the right or power of preventing, with
the aid of the police, the holding of a meeting by the people,
on Primrose-hill, or in any of the parks, in exercise of
their constitutional right to meet for the peaceable discus-
sion of public grievances and other similar matters.

2. If you claim such right or power, then, upon what
grounds, under what Act of Parliament, or by what con-
struction of law, you claim such right or power, either on
the part of yourself or of the Commissioners of Police ?

I am requested, therefore, to ask you still to appoint a
day and hour for receiving the deputation on the subject,
unless you prefer answering the above questions in writing.
—I am, &c,, ROBERT HARTWELL,
Hon. Sec. of Working. men's Garibaldi Committee.
To the Right Hon. the First Commisssioner
of her Majesty's Works, &c.

May 3.
Sir,—I am directed by her
Majesty's Works, &C., to acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of yesterday's date, in which you inform him that a
Office
ehoef NFVirosrtksb&omc‘m, Sis.sWion"er of
deputation of the sub-committee of the City and Working-
men's Garibaldi Committees desire an interview in order to
ask him certain questions relating to the rights and powers
of his office, and as to Acts of Parliament or instructions of
law on which those rights and powers are founded; and I
am to state, in reply, that with all deference for the opinions
of the sub-committee, the First Commissioner of Works
cannot admit that it would be proper or expedient for him
to enter into discussion with that or any other deputations
upon the legal questions referred to.—l am, air, your
obedient servant,

ALFRED AUSTIN, Secretary,

Mr. It, Hartwell.

Serious Accident to the Fire Brigade,—
Shocking Death from Fright,

Yesterday morning, shortly after midnight, a fire occurred
at Norton-folgate, Bishopsgate-street, which nearly proved
fatal to several of the Fire Brigade. It originated from
some unknown cause on the premises, No. 11, occupied as
a beer shop, by Mr. J. Parr, a three-storey building. On
the alarm being raised the fire was found to be raging at the
As soon as the informatioa reached the
Brigade gapdpee r
Station om s .
in Bisho
back, and was making rapid progress up the staircase to
Psgate-street, the fact was tele-
graphed to Capt. Shaw, who called out all the engines from
some half-dozen stations for service. By the time the
theurc
earlier force reached the spot the fire had possession of the
whole of the back portion of the premises from the base-
ment to the roof, and there seemed little probability of any
part being saved. The firemen led their hose into the
burning premises and followed the fire up. Having scoured
it out from the basement they went up the staircase, and
eventually into all the rooms in the house, and succeeded
also some of " the duke's"
by those measures in getting the fire subdued,
Captain Shaw, Mr Bridges, and several other officers
amateurand m e n
firemen, (about
weren
inumber),asheard, and the next instant the
various
Parts of the premises ex-
tinguishing the remaining burning embers, when all of a
sudden a loud cracking w
whole of the back of the house fell with a heavy crash,
burying several of the men. Some escaped from the front
windows by a fire escape, which was placed against the
front of the house. Captain Shaw, Mr Bridges, and four or
five others who were is the shop, were partly covered in
dust, but sustained no injury, Two or three of the men
who were in the upper floors fell with them to the bottom,
and it was almost a miracle they were not killed. One
officer named Flinn, attached to Whitecross-street, was
buried underneath the ruins for nearly half an hour before
ho could be extricated, but was found not to be so much
injured as it first feared. Scene of the adjoining houses
sustained a great deal of damage—that of Mr W. Barker,
greengrocer, has the side wall and roof severely burnt, and
several houses in Cock-alley have their windows partly de- '
stroyed.

About an hour after the above outbreak another fire
broke out at No. 2, Castle-court, Lower Whitecross-street,
belonging to Mr Bray, let out in tenements. Each floor was
occupied by a family, and the excitement and terror among
the poor creatures when the place underneath them was
found to he on fire was very iainful. however, through the
prompt attendance of the fire escapes all the people were
saved. Everything they possessed was destroyed, for the
flames extended throughout every room in the house, and
subsequently part of the premises fell in. One poor crea-
ture, a young married woman, living with her husband and
two young children in adjoining house, died from fright at
the outbreak of the fire. She was in bed at the time, and
was awoke by the cries in the next house. Seeing the
flames issuing from the window, she gav4 a scream, end fell
back dead.

A third fire broke out about 4 o'clock in Queen's-square-
yard, Westminster, at some stabling of Mr Young, which
was burned down, and some damage was done to the fittings
and staircase of St, Peter's Chapel adjoining.