The Sun.
London, England, 1836-01-13 00:00:00

ORIGIN OF THE FIRE.

A private meeting was held yesterday, and continued to-
day, in presence of Justice Lownds and Colonel Murray,
for the purpose of investigating the origin of the late devas-
tating fire in our city. A number of the merchants whose
stores were in the vicinity of the commencement of the
conflagration were examined, together with the clerks and
others in their employ, and two or three watchmen who
were in the neighbourhood at the time.

The depositions of these persons amounted to nothing
further, than that the fire commenced in the upper part of
the store of Comstock and Andrews, though, perhaps, not
in the part occupied by them. It was averred by one or
two of the clerks employed in the neighbouring stores, that
the flames were seen jawing from the second and fifth
stories at the same time, while others asserted that they
came first from the fourth story ; and one of the watch-
men stated, that he saw the fire at first coming from • a
small space in the roof. A clerk of Edward Kellogg, 139,
Pearl-street, deposed that he heard a report like a cannon,
and directly afterwards a cry of " Fire F' He ran out of
Mr. Kellogg's store, where he was busy at the time, and
saw the flames bursting from the upper windows of Com-
stock and Andrews's store. He immediately ran back and
secured his own books and papers ; and by the time he
had accomplished this the whole building where the fire had
commenced, was in flames.

Mr. Badcock, who occupied the upper part of the
building in which Messrs. Comstock and Andrews's store
is situated, left the premises about dark, and stated that
the flue leading from below was very hot, and that he
spoke to his clerk, who accompanied him, of the circum-
stance. The clerk, however, said that this was commonly
the case ; but that the heat on that occasion might be
greater than usual, owing to 'the extreme coldness of the
day, and the large fire consequently required in the grate.
A mass. of other testimony was adduced, which tended
to show that this disastrous event was no doubt owing to
accident, from which the most careful cannot at any time
consider themselves exempt.
( From the Daily Advertiser of Dec. 24.)
The ruins of the fire present a scene as busy and ani-
mated, though of a somewhat different character, as the
streets themselves did before the catastrophe took place.
Crowds of visitors, consisting, in many instances, of the
sufferers themselves, with their wives and families, con,
stantly passing back and forth ; multitudes of mechanics
and labourers, using their best endeavours to restore order
and regularity where now exists the wildest confusion ; and
numbers of miserable half-clad wretches of both sexes, dig-
ging among the yet heated bricks and rubbish, frequently
at the imminent danger of their lives, and often fighting, and
contending eagerly for what cannot possibly be of ony uke,

afford to the spectator who may be transiently passing a
spectacle highly curious and instructive.

ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.

The House resumed the consideration of the petition
from sundry inhabitants of the town of Wrentham, in Mas-
sachusetts, praying the abolition of slavery and the slave
4-he cliAnct of Columbia,
trade
'rhe motion to r7ject the' petition still pending,
Mr. Owens, after some re'!_tivitks" with a view to reconcile
the conflicting opinions of the Aferdiiag on the subject of
the disposition of this and similar petition§, moved to lay
the petition and all motions respecting it on the table, stat-
ing, that if it prevailed, he should offer the following resolu-
tions :

Resolved, That in the opinion of this House, the ques-
tion of the abolition of slavery in the district of Columbia
ought not to be entertained by Congress.
" And be it further resolved, That in case any peti-
tions praying the abolition of slavery in the district of
Columbia, be - hereafter presented, it is the deliberate
opinion of this House that the same ought to be laid on
the table without ;Tading:"
Aff, Owens express.l the hope that the resolutions
would be accepted by the gentleman f:orn South Carolina,
in lieu of his motion to reject the petition.
Mr. Hammond was eery sorry, he said, tha..4.' he could
not accept the proposition, and he hoped the gen:lie:Pan
from Georgia would withdraw his motion.
Some observations were made by Mr. Mercer, of Vir-
ginia, upon the point of order, as to the effect of a vote
to lay upon the table a motion for reconsideration ; and
The Speaker having stated his present views of that
point of order, and indicated a disposition hereafter more
maturely to consider it,
Mr. WISE proposed to amend the first resolution by ad-
,
ding, " Because Congress has no power to legislate on it
under the Constitution of the United States ;" and to
amend the second by striking out all after the word " Re-
solved," and inserting, " That this House will not receive
any future memorials on that subject," adding that, with
these modifications, he would vote for the resolutions.
Mr. OWENS declined the acceptance of the amendments
as modifleations of his resolutions.
The question being taken on the motion to lay the peti-
tion, and all the motions relating to it on the table, it was
decided as follows :—Yeas, 140—Nays, 76. So the peti-
tion and all the motions depending thereon were ordered to
lie upon the table.
Mr. OWENS moved that the rule of the House be sus-
pended, in order to allow him to offer the resolutions he had
already indicated to the House ; on which he asked for the
yeas and nays ; and they were ordered.
The question being taken, it was decided in the negative,
as follows :—Yeas, 100—Nays, 115. So the House re-
fused to suspend the rule. Two-thirds of the members
present would have been necessary to carry that question.
TEXAS.—The Mexican Government of San Patnco has
been obliged to surrender to a small party of Texians,
which took the place after a severe action, in which the
Mexicans suffered considerable loss. But the most inte-
resting and cheering intelligence from Texas is the com-
plete organization of the Provisional Government ! The
delegates to the general consultation assembled at San Filipe
on the 3d of November, and proceeded to adopt on the
Bth the Bill of Rights, and also a plan of Government.
In conformity with this plan, a Governor, Lieutenant-Go-
vernor, and a General Council were elected from among
the members of the consultation. The followinc, persons
were named and compose now the Government, de facto, of
Texas :—For Governor, Henry Smith ; for Lieutenant:-
Governor, J. W. Robinson.
[Here follows a list of the General Council, which con-
tains some Spanish, but a majority of Anglo-American
names.)
SALES AT THE STOCK EXCHANGE, DEC. 23.-200 shares
United States Bank, 1 1.2 i.