The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-14 00:00:00

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ALARMING FIRE AT.;11.471"AL/-7_
BATH, JUNE 12.—At a late hour last rifiel .ert _=• -43
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an extensive and alarming nature, and wh • • .wo txre.
caused fears to be entertained for the safistP -
nificent Abbey Church of this city, broke out upon the
premises of Mr. Long, silk-mercer, &c., within a short
distance from that venerable edifice.
The alarm was
first given at a little past twelve o'clock, and was quickly
spread throughout the city. The firemen of the different
insurance companies, the police and other officers, were
promptly on the spot. A crowd consisting of some
thousands of persons was speedily collected around the
building. The fire spread with amazing rapidity, and
seemed to defy the efforts used to subdue it. The
flames, which broke forth in all directions, threatened
the safety of the adjacent premises, and at one time it
was thought by many scarcely possible to preserve those
of Messrs. Shaw and Beale, the woodwork and paint of
which were charred and blistered by the heat. Had
these premises caught, the destruction must have been
extensive, as the stock of Messrs. Shaw and Beak is
highly valuable. Large flakes of burning embers flew
about in all directions, descending on the roofs of the
houses, and many an anxious eye was directed to the
noble towers of the Abbey, brightly illuminated as they
w.re by the fire, in the fear lest some of them might
ignite that time-hallowed and holy pile. The exertions
of the firemen and neighbours were unceasing, but the
conflagration could not be subdued until Mr. Long's pre-
mises, with the whole or nearly the whole of his valuable
stock, was destroyed. The extent of the damage has not
transpired, but it cannot fail to have been very con-
siderable.

MR. WYLD AND THE BRITISH
MUSEUM.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Permit me to call your attention to the recent
decisions at the police-office, Bow-street, upon certain
cases arising out of the Copyright Act, and upon the
injurious effect such decisions must have upon the ad-
vancement of art and literature. Under the old Copy-
right Act the trustees of the British Museum claimed a
copy of all books and maps, and both authors and pub-
lishers were content to supply them. Under the new
Act, the trustees claim copies of every book, map, or
publication which may differ in the slightest degree from
the original publication, and, as it was decided by the
magistrate in Mr. Smith's case, every addition to the
original publication, if it were only the crossing of a t,
or the dotting of an i, entitles the trustees of the British
Museum to another copy of the work, and the counsel
for the trustees stated it to be their determination to
enforce their claim; unfortunately the Act of Parliament
allows of no appeal from the magistrate's decision.
If such, Sir, be the future conduct of the trustees, it
is fraught with oppression to every author and publisher
in Great Britain. Upon the publication of maps this
decision will act as a bar to future improvement. Maps
are printed in very small quantities, and slight altera-
tions are made upon the plates each time the maps are
printed; if the intepretation of the law b', the magistrate
be a correct one, the trustees of the British Museum will
be entitled to 50 or 100 copies of many maps every year;
whatever may be the literal reading of the Act of Par-
liament, such could never have been the intention of its
turners.
The case decided on Friday, relating to my " Popular
Atlas," is a very important one. This work consists of
a republication of maps heretofore published ; the British
Museum has been supplied with the previous publica-
tion, but they contend that the publication of the maps
in the serial form entitles them to other copies. If such
be the interpretation of the law the British Museum
will soon be too small to contain the myriads of amended
works, either books or maps, which the trustees will be-
come possessed of, and the effect of this decision must
be to stop the issue of works in a cheap form, and to
prevent imprbvements in maps and corrections of books.
Should the slightest alteration (one word only) be made
in the re-issue, and the publisher omit to !send the
amended work, he will be subjected to informations at
the public police-offices, to fines, and the enforcement of
costs. lam sure, Sir, that I have only to excite public
attention to this oppressive law through the instrumen-
tality of your columns to obtain either its modification
or repeal.—l have the honour to be, Sir,
Your obedient servant,
JAMES WYLD,
Geographer to the Queen and Ibis Royal
Highness Prince Albert.

THE MURDER AT BIRKENHEAD. —BIRKENHEAD,
SATURDAY.—The coroner's inquest relating to the murder of
Thomas Finnigan, whose body was found in the Morpeth
Dock, was concluded yesterday at the Adelphi Hotel. It
will be remembered that on the night he was last seen alive
he had been to the festival of some club at Tranmera. Se-
veral days after, his corpse was discovered in the dock, a
handkerchief was found stuffed half way down his throat,
the side of his head lacerated, and the trousers pockets turned
out as if they had been rifled. A man of the name of James
Silk was taken into custody on suspicion of being concerned
in the murder. Mr. Vaughan, the surgeon, who examined
the body, gave it as his opinion that death had been caused
by suffocation. On the resumption of the proceedings the
Coroner informed the jury that the magistrates had directed
the capture of Ann Tobin, a young female, on suspicion of
being implicated with the man Silk in the murder. A great
mass of evidence was taken; and although it left no doubt
of the unfortunate young man being murdered, it did not
tend to criminate the parties in custody.. At a late hour the
coroner summed up the evidence, and the jury, after an
hour's consultation, returned a verdict of " Wilful murder
against some person or persons unknown."
MURDER BY ADMINISTERING POISON. CAR-
LISLE, SATURDAY MORNING.—The greatest excitement
prevails in this city, consequent on the discovery of a mur-
der committed under somewhat revolting circumstances,

the unhappy victim being sacrificed by means of arsenic
being mixed in her food. The particulars are thus de-
scribed :—On the 29th of last month Mrs. Mary Thompson,
the wife of a millwright and engineer in Union •street, Bot-
chergate, died after several days' intense suffering. Her
death being attended with some suspicion, notice was ssnt to
the coroner, who summoned a jury, and on their meeting the
inquiry was adjourned to enable Dr. Elliott and Mr. Dior.
tinier, surgeons, to make a chemical analysis of the contents
of the untortunate woman's stomach. tor. Elliott and Mr.
Mortimer, surgeons, deposed to having detected fifty-one
grains of arsenic in he stomach of the deceased, which was
the cause of death. They also analysed a white powder
found by the police irethe deceased's husband's pocket, It
was arsenic. The husband is in custody. They likewise
found arsenic mixed in oatmeal in the house. Several wit-
nesses spoke of having heard the deceased complain of the
conduct of the prisoner in consequence of his cohabiting with
another woman. The inquest was adjourned.
FRENCH FLOUR.—Several arrivals of flour have
taken place within these last few days from France, of which
the following were from the port of Havre :—the George
brought 492 barrels; the Burtens, 740 barrels ; the John and
Mary, 650 barrels; the Britannia, 842 barrels; the James
Watt, 457 barrels ; the Columbine, 100 barrels ' • and the
Betsy, from the same place, the large quantity of 1,400 bar-
rels of the article, the produce and manufacture of France.
INTREPID CONDUCT. —On Thursday, during the
Ome that a company of the Royal Sappers and Miners were
practising under command of Lieutenant James Liddell,
Royal Engineers, in forming bridges with pontoons, at St.
Mary's Creek, an alarm was raised that two soldiers were
drowning. Lieutenant Liddell went to the spot, threw off
his sash and sword, and plunged into the water with his
uniform on, and after some difficulty succeeded in bringing
one of the men to the shore, and two artillerymen also dived
after the otber•man, whom they fortunately caught just as
he was sinking for the last time. They brought him ashore
and laid hint on the grass. Both the men appeared nearly
dead. They were removed to the barracks, and attended
by the medical officers of the corps. Their names are Thomas
Birt and John Masters; they are attached to No. 4 company.
The names of the two men who assisted in saving one man
are John Brady and William Somers. They also belong
to the No. 4 company of Artillery. Lieutenant LiddeD.
and the two artillerymen deserve the notice of the Humane
Society for their intrepid conduct in saving two live-- The
creek is not only very deep, but it is very danger-,,us, owing
i to the numerous eddies, which have proved fatal to expert
swimmers; and in consequence of the great number of
lives lost every summer by parties bathing, the com-
mandant last year issued an order forbidding soldiers bathing
in that place.
On Saturday, Mr. Duncombe, solicitor to the Pro-
tection Society, appeared at Bow-street Police-court, before
Mr. Henry, to claim protection for an hotel, according to the
Act of Parliament, under peculiar circumstances. lie stated
that the house in question was the Exeter'Hall Hotel, in the
Strand, the proprietorship of which had been disposed of
before the last licensing day ; and on the sth of March, ap-
plication was made to Mr. Jardine to grant protection, He
did so; and on the Special Sessions a renewal was refused
by the Magistrates, against which refusal the proprietor ap-
pealed at the Quarter Sessions, and then the license was
granted, the Magistrates declaring they had been imposed
upon by misrepresentations to the prejudice of the parties cons
cerned. The original license was granted on the distinct un-
derstanding with the Court that the house was not
to be opened as a gin-shop, and the same li-
cense having existed up to the month of March,
' but upon Mr. Nix applying for a renewal of the
license (he having held it for a considerable number of
years, and it being his intention to transfer it to Messrs.
Walker and Cousens) it was refused, which gave rise to the
appeal before mentioned, and on the 4th of .Iqay it was re-
newed, the Magistrates haring emphatically declared they
had been deceived. Such were the grounds upon which be
(Mr. Duncombe) appeared before the Court, with the protec.
tion granted by Mr. Jardine in his pocket, for a renewal of
the same. Mr. Henry said be considered that the case was
of a very peculiar nature, the grounds stated being, In his
opinion, quite sufficient for the parties to the protection
sought for • at the same time, it would be proper to give
' notice to the officer in the usual way, as some months had
elapsed since the inquiries were made which induced Mr.
Jardine to grant the protection on a former occasion. Mr,
Duncombe assured the Court that the gentlemen seeking to
have the transfer made to them were persons, to his know-
ledge, of the highest respectability, and upon that point no
hesitation was necessary. Mr. Henry then ordered the trans-
fer to be granted.

DEATH FROM MORPHIA..—On Saturday Mr. Wak-
ley, M.P., held an inquest in the Middlesex Hospital, on
Mary Anne Moody, aged 33. Mr. Code, house physician,
stated that the deceased was brought to the hospital the pre-
vious day, quite insensible from the effects of morphia. He
applied the stomach pump and galvanic battery ineffectually,
as she gradually sunk, and died in an hour after her admis-
sion. He understood that she had taken five grains of
morphia, which were equal to an ounce of laudanum, and
sufficient to destroy life. The deceased, who had been an
out ;patient, was allowed a small quantity of lau_dtaenrumof,
thead-
ministered in a mixture. Miss Perkins, daughter
proprietor of the Hope, John-street,
Tottenham-court-road,
early in the
house
deposed that the deceased came intfowater,
into which she
morning, and asked for a glass 0_
a glass of gin..
After• whichben she was taken to the hospital.
poured half the contents of hepshheiaslupdrdodenulcNe.db.:ahme
ethdernowhsady_.
and ultimately insensible,
but whether the act was intentional r otherwise, there was
Verdict—" Deceased kffledwherseyb,
san overdose of morphia,
no evidence to show."
We are sorry to hear that the celebrated dauseuse,
Medemoiselle Lucille Grahn, has been for some days con-
fined to her room, by an inflammation of the left foot, which
has prevented her from appearing at her Majesty's Theatre ;
but we understand that she is now much better, and will
shortly resume her professional avocations.
PARISH OF ST. PANCRAS.—The first of the ecclesi-
astical districts into which it is proposed to divide this
extensive parish has been formed. It is termed the "Gray's
Inn district," and the Rev. R. Allen, MA., has been ap-
pointed to the incumbency, on the nomination of the Rev.
'Thomas Dale, M.A., the Vim.