The Sun.
London, England, 1849-11-29 00:00:00

FIRE AND LOSS OF LIFE

Last evening (Wednesday), shortly before five
o'clock, a fire, involving a considerable destruction of
property, and the loss of one, if not more lives, broke
out on the premises of Mr. Sullivan, lodging•house
keeper, &c., carrying on business in Great Wild•
street, between Orange and Lincoln-courts, Lincoln's
:nn-fields. The premises in question were of consi-
derable extent, and were bounded on either side by
the houses in the two courts above mentioned. One
of the police-constables of the F division in passing
the building perceived smoke pouring forth from the
upper part of the premises. This satisfied the officer
that fire was raging within, and in the course of a fe w
minutes engines from Messrs. Combe and Delafield's
brewery, the parish, London Brigade, and West of
England Company, arrived. The firemen then found
the whole of the upper portion of Mr. Sullivan's pro-
perty in a blaze of light, and strong fears were enter-
tained lest the houses in the courts on either side of
the one on fire should become ignited. At this
period the residents of the numerous contiguous houses
were running to and fro in a state of partial frenzy,
and were taking shelter in the buildings in front
and back of those o❑ fire, and at the same time a cry
was raised that an elderly man was in the house then
in flames. Everything was done by the crowd
assembled to make him sensible of his impending
danger, but without effect. The engines of the
brewery, London Brigade, and West of England,
were worked with full vigour, and water was scattered
into the midst of the fire, but, notwithstanding, the
work of destruction continued, and it was not until
past nine o'clock that the fire could be extinguished,
and not until the upper part of Mr. Sullivan's premises
was completely destroyed. As soon as the place was
sufficiently cooled for the firemen to enter they
ascended, by means of scaling ladders, to the upper
part of the house destroyed, and after searching for
some time, they at length found the lifeless body of
the poor man who was missing. He was lying on
his face on the second-floor, and from the contortion
of the features, it was quite clear that the unfortunate
man had died front suffocation. His name, it is
understood, was James Oliver, and it is stated that
he was a pensioner in the Royal Navy. A shell was
immediately procured, and the body was placed
therein, and removed to the workhouse, where it
awaits a coroner's inquest. Respecting the origin of
the fire, nothing that can be depended upon could be
ascertained.

LONDON AND SOUTH-WESTERN

RAILWAY.
A special general meeting of the proprietors of
stock and shares in this company took place yesterday
_ ..

at the Nine Elms Station, Vauxhall, for the Purpose of

enabling the proprietors to determine upon the pro.
priety of making application to Parliament in the en-
suing session for an extension of the time for carrying
out the powers of the London-bridge Extension Act

of 1846:
Mr. Chaplin, M.P., took the chair shortly after
one o'clock.
The CHAIRMAN having stated the object of the
meeting,
A resolution was moved to the effect that
the directors should be empowered to give
the usual notice of their intention to apply
to Parliament next session for an extension
of the time for carrying out the London-bridge
Extension Act.

Mr. KAY, of Manchester moved, and Mr. WALKER
of the same place, seconded the following resolution :
" That it is at present inexpedient to apply to Par-
liament for an extension of the powers of the London-
bridge Extension Act, 1846, it being the opinion of this
meeting that the capital accounts of the company should be
closed without further delay ; the liabilities of the com-
pany ascertained and stated by the directors in their
next half-yearly report; and that the future energies of
the directors should bo entirely devoted to developing
the traffic resources of the company on its different lines
and branches, and to introducing and enforcing the most
rigid economy in every department of the company's
works and affairs."
After a long and stormy discussion the amendment
was carried by a large majority amid the most en•.

Lhusiastic cheering.
The result of carrying the amendment is, that the
proprietors determine not to extend the line from
the Waterloo-road to London-bridge.
Mr. Sergeant GAZELEE then proceeded to propose
the following resolution :
That the directors be requested not to attend the
meeting of delegates in Palace•yard, and that a petition
be presented to Parliament in favour of a Government
audit."
Lord MORLEY, a director, said it appeared to him
that a very grave and serious charge having been
made against the board, the meeting are bound to
appoint a committee of inquiry.
Mr. Sergeant GAZELEE thought the meeting had
better first discuss the audit queation.—(Hear, hear.)
He had received from all parts of the country letters
remonstrating against the conduct of the self-elected
delegates who had met in Palace-yard.—(Hear,
hear.) lie could not adequately confess his sense of
the indelicacy of those proceedings. Thank God, the
eyes of the country were open to the deeds of railway
directors and Parliamentary lawyers—(Cheers)—and
they could no longer be deceived by efforts to cast all
the blame of the past on that unfortunate, and as he
really believed, injured man, Mr. Hudson.—(Great
laughter.) Another hole-and-corner meeting was to
take place on the 3d of December, and it was to that
meeting that his resolution related.
The resolution having been seconded, •
Mr. llEnes said, that even if the propositions of the
delegates would afford a fair security, they would
clearly never obtain the sanction of public opinion in
raising the value of railway property in the mar-
ket.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BOYER said his experience during the last
twelve months had convinced him that a Government
audit would not alone afford sufficient protection.—
(Hear, hear.) He was not in favour of such an audit.
—(flear, hear.) At the same time he agreed with
Mr. Sergeant Gazelee in respect to the proceedings
in Palace-yard.—(Cheers.) It was simply a meeting
of directors, and the cloven foot crept out in nearly
every proceeding. By one resolution it was provided
that the auditors should report, not to the shareholders,
but to the directors. The effect of that would
• be, that if the report were favourable to the board it
would be submitted to the proprietors , if unfavour-
able, it would be cushioned.—(Hear, hear.) The
19 6th resolution was unjust, the Bth simply ridiculous.
ss. His opinion was that the proper course was to ask
3 Parliament for increased powers for the investiga-
tion of their own; affairs.—(Loud cheers.) He
114 then proposed a series of resolutions ; the first con-
demning the Bill agreed to at the Palace-yard meeting
es as not adapted to the end in view, and the next de-
claring that in any Act which might be passed
ample provision should be made to enable share-
IN holders to make a more minute investigation into
their own affairs than had hitherto been practicable.
Od The other resolutions were in accordance with the
foregoing. He concluded by urging the proprietors
to dismiss from their minds the delusion, that if they
had a Government audit, they might go to sleep.
They must exercise their rights with vigilance, or by
and bye they would have no property to protect.
Mr. KAY observed that the resolution passed in
Palace-yard provided that the accounts presented to
half-yearly meetings should be final. He strongly
objected to any such provision. At a recent London
and North-Western meeting the reports were issued
damp from the press to the proprietors assembled.
The principle involved in the resolution was contrary
to that acted upon in all the great banking house and
mercantile firms of London. He believed that, in the
house of which Mr. Glyn was a member, any error
exceeding 1001. might be taken into consideration
after the accounts had been passed.
Mr. HALL, magistrate of Bow-street, was decidedly
in favour of a Government audit, and equally in favour
of conferring increased powers on proprietors.
Mr. REED (a director), was against this active
interference of a Government auditor, because it was
founded on the very unsound principle of Government
meddling with private affairs.—(Cries of " No, no,"
and " Hear, hear.") He would propose the following
resolution :
" That a committee be appointed to examine the
question of audit, and to recommend in a report to
the shareholders the plan they may deem best for
procuring and establishsng an effective audit, and
also such measures as they may think are essential to
the protection of the interests of the shareholders."
Mr. TITE observed, that when the capital account
was closed, as it soon would be, all the auditing would
have reference to two or three hundred thousand pounds
of revenue. Was it to be believed that such business-
like men as their present auditors were incompetent
to discharge that duty ?
The CHAIRMAN had received a nearly equal number
of letters for and against the Government audit.
Mr. BIRCHAM, the company's solicitor, having been
asked to declare whether the audit question, not hav-
ing been included in the advertisement, any resolution
on the subject would be legal, declared that no reso •
lution for practical purposes would be legal, but that
it was open to the meeting to make any expression of
opinion.
After some further discussion, Mr. Sergeant Gaze-
lee's resolution was put, and the Chairman declared it
to have been lost.
Mr. Reed's resolution was then carried unanimously.
The following are the names of the committee :
Mr. Hall, Mr. Sergeant Gazelee, Mr. Locke, Mr.
Helps, Mr. Hoys, Mr. Baker, with power to add one
to their number.
The meeting was about to separate, when
The CIJAIRMAN reminded Hon. Proprietors that they
had not yet appointed a committee to investigate the
charges brought against the directors, and called upon
Mr- Sergeant Gazelee, as the originator of those
charges, to propose an investigation.
On the meeting exhibiting an indisposition to en-
tertain the question,
The CHAIRINIAN put it_to those present (many pro-