The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-12 00:00:00

THE L 'llTi L FIRE IN f+l(.)2';`ll.l
PUBLIC MEETING IN THE CITY.
A pulflie meeting, umve.ned by the Lord Mayor, at
the request of Eereral of the merchants in tho City of
London, was bell yesterday at the Mansion-house,
for the purpese of centributing• to the relief of those
who have sufft-red by the Lte fearful conflagration iu
luntreal—the Right Hon. the Lerd MI,; or presid-
ing- Although there was not a large attendance, yet
amongst those pres-mt were several E4.ntlemen whose
names stand very high in the commercial world.
~Amongst them we observed—Alexander Gillespie,
L` q., Charles Mills, Esq., R. C. L B-van,
Baron Liont-1 Rothschild M.P. Edmund Gurn,y,
Esl t.ithe Governor of the Bank of England, P. Roit,
B Odveira, Esq, M.P., John Dillon,ni":l. John Bradberrr, Esq., Wm. Leaf, Esq., Nettle-
G'uld, Esq., H. Carter. Esq , W. Chapman, E,q.,
file, Brooking Esq., G. Peabody, Esq , Robert Gil-
tPe'lun., & q., the Rev. A. D. Carnpnall of Mon-
real,s"ev- T. Binney Robert Harrison, Esq., Mr.
ntler- Sheriff Hepwood,
Sampson Copeslake,
Till° LORD MAYOR, in opening the proceedings,
'4"' be felt confident that the great city of London,
and indeed the country generally, sympathised with
those who bad suffered by that calamity which had
lately befallen the people of Montreal. The British
Public he knew would heartily respond to the appeal
which would be that day made to them on behalf .of •
ty"iffering humanity in one of our distant colonies.
Jue begged to remind those of his fellow-countrymen
who felt for the suffarings of the inhabitants of Mon-
treal, that their aid should be extended to them at
once, in order that the poor sufferers might be pre-
pared against the approach of the severe weather with
Which Montreal was visited towards the close of the
Year. He had received letters from Mr. Masterman,
M.P., Mr. P. S. Butler, M.P., and Mr. Baring, ex-
pressive of their sympathy with the object for which
the meeting had been called, and apologising for their
absence.

Mr. GILLESFIE, of the firm of Gillespie, Moffatt,
and Co., moved the first resolution, which expressed
the deep regret of those present at the late fire in
Montreal. He thanked the Lord Mayor for the kind
manner in which he had granted the use of the hall
in which they were assembled for the promotion of
this most humane object. His Lordship's kind.
tees would tend much to confirm that feeling
towards the mother country which he was happy to
lay at present existed in the colony of Canada. Some
idea of the fearful extent of the misfortune which had
befallen Montreal might be formed when he stated
that 10,000, or one-fifth of the inhabitants of the
city, had been thrown out of employment by the late
fire. Surely that fact of itself would be sufficient to
induce the people of this country to contribute largely
towards the relief of the unfortunate sufferers in Mon-
treal, As the meeting might expect him to enter
into some details, he begged to say that the fire broke
out on the morning of Thursday, the Bth of July, in
...the district of St. Lawrence, which was a suburb of
Montreal, in which district the houses were, for the
Most part composed of wood. The weather for some
days previously had been excessively hot, and the
wooden houses had consequently become very dry and
lafiemenable. At the time that the fire broke out there
Was a strong breeze, which fanned the flames to such
a height that it became impossible to suppress them.
The fire broke out in the neighbourhood of the Ge-
neral Hospital, one of the most important and hand-
some buildings in Montreal. The richest as well as
the poorest inhabitants of the city laboured together,
and successfully, for the preserve, ion of that building.
a eYe-witness said that the flames had the appear-
oflace a cataraet, and that all attempts to resist their
progress_ were unavailing. The fire commenced at nine
11 Thursday morning and continued till five or six
that evening, when it was hoped that it had ceased.
Many of the inhabitants, however, were apprehensive
that the flames would burst forth with renewed IA-
Rour that night ; and unfortunately their apprehen-
se'ons were well founded, for about eight o'clock the
°llre broke forth again in a wooden building in Dal•
sie's-square in which resided some of the most
r
title entered
inhebitants of Montreal, and in a short
ruyle entered the suburb of Quebec. It continued its
f.s4,7,ages in that extensive suburb until 11 o'clock the
burnt morning, when it might be said to have
.. itself out. The Montreal Patriot newspaper es-
the number of tenements destroyed by fire at
"4
I and the pecuniary loss at 500,0001. Tne great
the of that loss would unfortunately fall upon
poorer portion of the inhabitants. Thousands of
tr‘aeln had to pass the night in the fields. The Mon-
el Herald corroborated that statement. Some
ple said why did not the sufferers insure ? whilst
others said that the insurance offices were very heavy
,enutfterers. The latter statement was quite correct ;
nit was not so much from the late fire as from
that which occurred in the month of June last that
the insurance offices had suffered. The fire of
'tune
tnek
p
greater
in the mercantile part of the city ;
fi Ta in question occurred in that district the
cons° u Part of which was actually uninsurable, in
Re ba•elle° of the erections being chiefly wooden.
ieved that the insurers and the insured in
Montreal•whichhad suffered much by the dreadful fires
had broken out in Montreal during the present
,year.
last The
ay the majority of the people who had suffered
fire were French labourers. A large
por-
tion of the sufferers were Roman Catholics. He did
not mention the latter circumstance from any desire
to lessen the sympathy of the people of this country.
--(Hear, hear.) He stated that they were Roman
Catholics in order to induce Roman Catholics to alle-
viate their suffering'; and he rejoiced that he and the
other stanch Protestants of this country were now
afforded an opportunity of showing to the world that
they would not allow any difference of creed to come
between them and the sacred claims of charity, and
the cry of suffering humanity,,—(Hear, hear.) He
hoped that by their conduct that day they would
prove that they were indeed followers of that Blessed
Lord who went about doing good, and were anxious,
on all occasions, to act in accordance with the apos-
tolic injunction to do good as they bad opportunity.
Mr. MILLS, of the firm of Glyn, Halifax, and Co.,
seconded the resolution. He felt that, under the
circumstances which had been detailed to the meet-
ing, it would be unnece'sary to make any lengthened
aPpeal to London or to England in behalf of the suf-
ferers of Montreal. Ten thousand of our fellow-
sUbjects had been rendered houseless. Of their pecu-
liar claim to our sympathies many in that meeting
blurt be aware. The parents of many of those suf-
ferers resided in this kingdom, and they all looked
With affectionate interest to the mother country, from
Whom the greet political convulsions of the last few
Years had happily not released them.—(Hear, hear.)
The rich had insured themselves, but the poor could
resort to no such such remedy. All that the poor
could do was to appeal to their richer brethren whom
God had blessed with more wealth Such appeals
had
t ever been responded to in this country. He was
filadent that England would on this occasion cheer-
" 37 maintain her proud character of being the fore-
tt to relieve suffering humanity.— (Cheers.)
The
resolution was unanimously carried.
The
roma of
G°vE the BANK OF FN GLAND moved
the next
aid resolution, the effect of which was, that any
which
1 • Ifcould off ,rd to the sufferers
rnest n, _ rea itself a e
sofferitessarily be but temporary, and that their
Peopl gif this
would ever
appealed to the sympathies of the
°that Englishmen
, country. He was sure ng
ever
ties of th.ir°B ready to sympathise with the calami-
the world tbefellowecountrymen in whatever part of
sent meeting Yvi:ighe hypen to be. Thoutgh_orthseupchrea-
lprpose as this tLerut thinly attended,eeess tyy
i yet
an over-
!owing' attend there eAlwi asno
wens required was to form
lauc_ornmittee to whom thatb,.
might forward their
bseeiption. the pu
he felt coafi-
dent, wo ,en The appeal now made,
Ulu be responded to in the same generous
ha tilanner
hoped Which similar appeals ever had been, and
try. , ever would be, responded to in this coun-
('lleara.) He should indeed be ashamed of his
12,f x,.(47countrs men if he found that, whilst the people
w York had forwarded aid to the sufferers of
men
n're4ll Englishmen allowed their fellow-subjects
n caner, b
lief. Ree to suffer without contributing to their re-
teed e a
w'ls glad that a meeting had been called in
u• nts for this objectsoon after that fearful visi-
toe which so .
• double the
leagti;
0 bad destroyed a district
Oxford-street.
lrnn L. Roviscniseconded the resoles-
LD, M.P.,
lib,rai'-ne British public, he was sure, would respond
trihut•lS' end generously to this appeal We bad con-
.
frota
eel liberally to the aid of those who had suffered
eon;°,flagrations in Hamburgh and other places on
queen inent; and surely when the subjects of our
desi_e. suffered by fire—when those with whom we
Bid ti to maintain a close connexion needed similar
ja we would not be to th • etr,) deaf their appeal.—(Hear,
Are Every one must know what fearful suffering
tio entailed upon a population--in fact, fl
town 'was the most frigOtful calamity a con egra
awn• Letone, then, that, could befall
, •every
the relief of our suffering f 1 -
Tb e low-eubjects.
e resolution was agreed to.
O:tr• BEVAN, banker, moved that a subscription b
tts'fed for the sufferers, and that the bankers of the
Antopolis ba requested to receive such subscriptions!
ii;_'ollg as this country heartily responded to such calls
it Were made upon her, he felt confident God's bless-
itg_wigould rest with her.—(Hear, hear.) He believed
our duty and our interest to respond to such
to• `t` He felt particularly heppy in being permitted
eo "(a part in that rneetio• conv•-ned as it had been
' prornni" b ' • r •
Joriiy of • 81/ ,ortptionS to cut,tring people, the
Whom were Roman Catholics.—(Hear, hear.)
▪ was very strongly opposed to the doctrines of the
-"c loan Catholic
l'thich he had 4 s, fact, on the list occasion on
tagainst those doctrines, on
that platform, he declaimed
naselt if he allocvtreldnehsl but he should be ashamed of
14in from ersor 14 PrOtk•BtantiSM to prevent
towards aP Ro.nang the Christian duty of charity
(eneers \Vie:llan Catb.iie fellow-creature.—
t4tiOn as. had been people suffere dap,m such a visi-
fa described h
Lat we were bound