The Sun.
London, England, 1838-01-16 00:00:00

FIRE AT ST. PETERSBURG.

DESTRUCTION OF THE WINTER PALACE.
ST. PETERSBUROII, DEC. 30.--The imperial winter palace,
the residence of our sovereigns, which was built by Count
Rastrelli, at the beginning of the reign of the Empress Eliza-
beth, and consequently nearly a century old, has been
destroyed by a fire which broke out suddenly in the interior
of the buiiding at a late hour last night, and spread with such
rapidity and fury that it defeated all our efforts made to arrest
its progress, which were directed by his imperial Majesty in
person, but were extremely difficult from the severe cold, the
thermometer being at 22 degrees by Reaumur's thermometer
below the freezing point (nearly 30 degrees below freezing
point, or 28 degrees below zero of Farenheit.) It has not
yet been possible to ascertain the original cause of this cala-
mity which has befallen our beloved Monarch just on his re
turn from a long. and fatiguing journey to this resilience of
his ancestors. The fire is still burning, and at the moment
of my writing, that part of the palace is in flames which con-
tains the apartments of the Emperor, the Empress, and his
august family, which is opposite the Admiralty and the boule-
vards. Immediately on the breaking out of the fire the impe-
rial family retired to the palace of her imperial Majesty.
The imperial hermitage, that repositary of the rarest and
most costly treasures of art, the loss of which would be irre-
parable, is, at present, wholly untouched, and it is hoped,
with the Divine assistance, that it will be preserved, and,
perhaps, also the side next to the million.
For this week past the winter has been very severs, the
cold has been 42 degrees Reaumur, but the communication
with the interior is very difficult for want of snow.

His Majesty the Emperor of Russia has promoted seven
rear-admirals to the rank of vice-admirals, and five captains
of the first class to that of rear-admirals.

The journals of to-day give no accounts of the fire at the
Imperial winter palace.

THE BANK OF IRELAND-THE

CHARTER.

As the re-assembling of the Houses approach, the public
anxiety increases, to ascertain how the, Reform Ministers will
deal with this question. This charter, giving exclusive, and
indeed regal power to fifteen irresponsible persons, was one of
those Tory jobs of the dark ages that could not, even amongst
the Tories of the present day, find sympathy or defenders—at
least we think not, taking our impressions from their repeated
declarations of readiness to correct " proved abuses." We
have over and over again demonstrated this Bank to be the
greatest job of modern times. We have proved that it i 3 no
bank, as far as commerce and Irish trade are concerned—in
fact, nothing better than a huge Savings' Bank. We have
exhibited in figures, from its own returns, that it holds eleven
millions of sterling money, of which immense sum seven mil-
lions belong to the people of Ireland, in the shape of deposits
and circulation, fur which this Bank Corporation gives not one
shilling of interest. We have proved also, from its own ab-
stracts, that-it locks'up uselessly, as respects commerce, in the
funds, eight millions and a half of three vast and natural re-
sources of Ireland, and that for trading purposes but two and
oae half millions of the funds placed at its disposal are per-
mitted to flow in the channels of trade over the face of the
whole country—that in Dublin, the centre, at least the natural
centre, of Irish trade, but 5.0,000/. a week in " bills and
!owns" are discounted for the public, of which nearly the half
are required by the fifteen Directors themselves, most of whstm
arc traders of the largest class, requiring hundreds of thou-
sands each to carry on their immense operations—that the ex-
clusive charter, which existed for half a century and expired
on the first of this present month, prohibited all associations of
merchants consisting of more than six persons from embarking
in the trade or business of banking, unless in a contraband
,m,fadnente,tr —that the common law of recovery
as in the case of the Royal
Baoh. for iostance. Yes, in-teed, you raay borrow from such
.a bank, composed as it is of the most respectable individuals,
and you may refuse payment of the debt, for it is the "law."
Gracious Heaven ! do we live again its the days of the penal
laws, when the son could rob the father by " law," and
th
Protestant debtor refused " by law" his just debt to hist Ca-
tholic creditor ? Are we, indeed, living in the ninete. nth
century, and in the fifth year of a Reform Minis:ry, and does
Lord Mulgrave still inherit Dublin Castle, and More
OTerrall the Treasury Chamber of Whitehall? Even so
it is. We are writing a sad reality—we are recording in.
credible things against this monstrous nuis ince, and yet wts
are permitted by our brethren of the broad sheet to stand
alone, with the exception of the Register, which copies our
articles. Ali !. gold, gold, thou art a sovereign master.
Here we alone stand at the press, tile organ of that op-
pressed and over-charged public, waging war against this
collosus of abuse; and thought we have proved that it is the
greatest enemy of commerce, inasmuch as it prevents by its
exclusive charter the establishment of other Compauh-s, which
would, as in Scotland, give security and permanence to the
currency, while they stimulated and sustained national
W
en-
terprise and undertakings.
While we have proved that it is
the grossest of jobs, costing the nation for the last twenty yea.s.
36T,010100111.gah-3:ar for interest on a loan." More than the said
loan could be borrowed for by the Finance Minister of the day
taonYt the satisfaction thatilsvfiatchetiinohiat
our
remarks, yet,
we are paying them four and a half per cent., for three
millions Irish, when, in fact, it could be borrowed at three.
period in the London market ; and that
ore,
s pso.(e),f.vp,s‘
rruofeushtle d(2:
fnadltl
letexhteepstue,
dbtellidtch
sga
sst,hheaan,i,ntel
fl
Ininetountc.,i.the7
odmi.
o
vast corporation, that our contemporaries at the press, with the
exception of the Register, fly from the contest, and leave us
alone Cs fight the nionster. Oh !we are sick of your canting,
your mock liberal writers. When the hour for exertion arrive s
ol
hark how they hide their tiny lights under bushels. No mutts r
—be the glory all our own as the danger--this citadel of luooo-
- fall, and we shall have the satisfac-
tion The banquet and other pressing matter to- night forb:ds us
space—but all in good time.— The Pilot.

The new year festivities at Dupliu Cnbtle, the seat
of the Earl of Kinnotil, in Perthshire, have been overcast with
4loom by the death of Lady Rowley, wife of Admiral Si:-
Charles Rowley, Bart., mother of the Countess, who expired
in Manchester square, after a severe 'linen ; Lady Rowley
:urrovoke,
Esq., o
youngesti‘•edherfiev
\l Ha
(laughter,
Cheshiregfhter
,thela.dy of Peter Langford

. • ,
Lord King has been distributing his bounty to tie
poorer daises on his extensive estates in Surrey. His Lore-
,hip employs the whole' of the labouring classes in the vicinity
)f Oakharn in improving his park, and has distributed to ezn-h
man warm clothing, and 200 stone of beef among the nrecs-
sitous poor of the parish.