The Sun.
London, England, 1840-10-06 00:00:00

First engineer, per calendar month ...... 2 10
Second engineer, per calendar. month 1 10
i 0
'Fi:ird engineer: per calendar month

THE FIREAT -1-iEVONPORT

DOCKYARD.

(LATEST PARTICULARS )
The Second Edition of the Devani)ort Telegraph
published on Saturday morning, says—Wo stop the
press to announce that a discovery was last night made
which tends greatly to increase the suspicions that the
late fire was the work of soma diabolical incendiary or
incendiaries. It appears that the officers of the yard, as
usual, previous to the close of the working hours last
night, visited the St. Gearge, 120,
lying in the north
dock, and reported her " all safe and clear." A short
time after the men had left the yard, scroe:police officers
went on board, and at the bottom of the hold, on the
ballast, they discovered a heaplif combustible materials,
consisting of pitch, tar, oakum,' candle ends, &c., and
made a report accordingly.
.This morning an investiga-
tion took place, when the carpenter of the ship said he
had himself pulled out the stuff from under the timbers,
and left it where it was found. If this were the case,
the inspecting officers must,have overlooked the heap,
which is rather extraordinary, though not impossible, as
the hold is dark, and the quantity not very large. The
eircutnstance is, however, involved in much mystery.
We have reason to believe that the amount of the
loss will not exceed the estimate first named (200,000/.) ;
but any calculation of this sort must be chiefly conjec-
tural, depending on the value set on the ships injured
or destroyed. The repairs required for the Minden are
roughly estimated 15,000/. The' Talavera was an old
ship, having been built in 1818, but still serviceable, and
could net, be replaced under 70,000/. .The Imogene
Might be worth 25,0001. The two roofs cost about
10,0001. each. The valic 'of the timber, stores,
and tools . consumed or'-,`' damaged has not yet
been aseOrtained, but is estimated at: 40,000/. The
remaining 30,0901.; it is stiPposeli, will hardly cover
the loss sustained by the desttuction of the gallery,
the different sheds and officea, -and the injury done to
the docks. The most serious consideration in the,
present 'itiqcs of affairs is the tOleipat in equipping the
re ii,c'ents required ,flii-tlietket:' tkeWituedtion
of the docks and necessary conveniences for carrying on
the work will occupy much time. Meanwhile the urgency
of the public service is great, and the Admiralty are
anxious that everything should be in a forward state.
The most active exertions are, therefore, making to clear
away the rubbish and prepare the docks for receiving
ships.

DEVONPORT, SUNDAY.

The inquiry before the Admiralty Solicitor is *ill
proceeding, and is conducted with great industry and
care. Suspicion attaches to two foreigners, whose con-
duct appears, to say the least of it, to have been rather
extraordinary, and whose objects and motions are in-
volved in much mystery. To solve that mystery is at
present the chief aim of the Dockyard authorities, and,
as I understand, they have made same progress towards
that end. It appears that two strangers, the one a
Swiss, the other a Frenchman, had, for some time
previous to the tire in the Dockyard, been frequently
seen both in Devonport and Plymouth. They were
always in Davenport during the day, and at night
they generally entered a cab, and were driven to
Plymouth, being generally set down in one of the pub-
lic streets, and never at an hotel. Their meals were
always eaten in the same inn in Devonport ; but it is
not where they slept. They
were known,s.‘.ei I d a
dressed, I mf
sseda,pain informed,
redejerything they had liberally,.
and generally employed the same cab and driver, to
take them from this place to Plymouth. It does not
appear that they had any business in either town, and
what object they had in taking up their residence in
this vicinity is unknown to every one. They, however,
left Devonport on the Saturday evening before the fire
broke out in the arsenal ; and the person who drove
them to Plymouth was examined at very considerable
length on Saturday by Mr. Eastlake, the local Admi-
ralty solicitor. The evidence of the cabman was to the
following effect. The two strangers, one of them carry-
ing a large bag, got hastily into his vehicle, and ordered
hint to drive to Plymouth. On the way the driver ob-
served that they laughed and talked much more
than was usual with them, and appeared to be in
remarkably high spirits, as if delighted with some-
thing they had done. They were put down at. the
place where they had been in the hab:t of alighting,
and it appears that they then entered another cab.
and were driven to a 'village a fear" Miles •beyond
Plymouth, -on the London road, and called. Crabtree;
Beyond that they have not yet been traced,. and what
has become -of them no one knOsrs." " T haV'e,- indeed,
heard this morning, that-on the-Sunday after the fire
hid been got under one of them entered the small inn in
Devonport, which they had been in the habit of fre-
quenting previously, and appeared so much excited and
alarmed, that the landlord " suspected lie had stolen
::omething." One of the stranrers, and I believe the
Swiss, spoke English fluently, and the other but imper-
fectly. Toe}' were both young, rather neatly dressed,
and one of them wore a gold pin in his cravat, and seve-
ral rings upon his fingers. The same person who in-
formed-- me that oae of those strangers returned
to Dtstaip-ore- art- 'the n'clak after the fire,
also told -me he had ascertained that they had at-
tempted -to borrow some money from a person in :the
ina,,end bp!d offered the ,finger„ ringa . aft aec ty, tbO
"roan:- pawnbroker had, lot& op,
sen' notice to the' irtiekY'erirfhat cgokoe,,
thing 7 tca communicate of iniportattee My informant.
supposes that this communication may have reference to
the rings, and that the strangers may, have: pawne&
them, not finding it possible to raise money en them
from their landlord. At present I can only-vouch for
the facts that two foreigners are suspected by the au--
thorities of having fired the dockyard, that the cabman
who drove them from Devonport to Plymouth on Satur-
day night week was examined on Saturday last (yester-
day) in the arsenal, and that his testimony has con-
firmed and strengthened the suspicions v hich before ex--
aged. What more strongly convinces me that I have
given you accurately the effect of the ceotnan's evi
dence is, an observation made to me by an official per-
son, who is perfectly acquainted-with every part of the
evidence taken since the commencement of the investi-
gation. He knew my connexion with The Time3.'
and, although he prudently refused to give
me any information of importance, he observed
Your paper made a most extraordinary prophecy some
time ego." I did not understand what he alluded to at
the time, and I had not an opportunity of asking him
for an explanation. The story of the foreigners, how-
ever, has, I believe, afforded me a key •to the meaning
of his remark. I now understand bins to have alluded
to a communication you received from Paris and pub-
lished some weeks ago of certain foreigners having pro-
posed to the French Government to destroy the English
dock-yards. The gentleman 1 alluded to, must have
known on whom the suspicions of the dock-yard au-
thorities rested, and I ain new persuaded he tnust
have had the conduct of the foreigners I have
mentioned in his mind when he made the remark I
have quoted. Your Paris intelligence seems, indeed, to
be cont4rnel in a very extraordinary manner by the in-
vestigation going on here, and if it be true that the Ad-
ratty score made acquainted with the diabolical proposa
taking no one measure of
rhsattothdeesrtercoeyntthfiereE English s h
kindledarsenals,
b y aaansidoiriteliiintuls
greater care
evgiegrdenaett and grave will be the responsibility which
oiiifayprf'ordLo:ords have incurred in
coincidence precaution to
betwixtguitrd againstyou r c
ot Ityti
ou threatenednniiciremarkable,ea rt
ei,:nsso
is to be
danger,ffarrom
Parisl'he
gone;at
anldNento oyes
frattet;:auetlllts sttealov,beefl
nehtt.hos er
ssLieunfilairssectsitettitolg nighttiale twenty
additional
sen-
tries
were posted in different parts of the arsenal, and
two watchmen, as in old and better times, were sent on
board every vessel in the yard. It would have been
wiser never to have reduced the number of soldiers and
watchmen ; but it is some consolation to know that the
expensive lesson which the recent conflagration- taught
Ls not been entirely lost upon the Government.—
Correspondent of the notes.