The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-22 00:00:00

ST. CLEMENTS DANES.

A most unruly and turbulent meeting took
place last night of the parishioners of Sr. Clements
Danes, in the Vestry-room of that parish, the Rev.' Mr.
Gurney, the Hector of the parish, presiding; The object
of the meeting, whieh was most numerously attended,
the Vestry-room being actually tratittned, was to elect a
Vestry-Keeper. Two pee,sons only were candidates for
the office, but the tiaction seemed to be considered
a matter of 'a° small importance in the parish,
and the feelings of the parishioners seemed to run
high on the subject. Shortly after' the commence-
ment of the meeting, it was quite apparent that the pre-
ponderance of those present was in firrour of the candi-
date of the name of Norman, whose claims to the office
were stated to be, " that he kept the ' George's' Tavern
and Hotel, Strand; had been housekeeper and rate-payer
nineteen year e, at rentals of upwards of 300/. per anuutn,
and centribeted about 700/. towards the parochial rates ;
that he is sixty years of age, a widower, with five
daughters, three of whom are entirely dependent on
him ; that he has lost in business considerable sums of
money, the earnings of his younger days ; that he is
now bodily afflicted and totally reduced in circumstances,
and therefore seeks, through your kindness, to be placed
in that situation which will relieve his state of mind, and
save him and his family from destitution." The other
candidate was Miss Marshall, who was the daughter of
the late vestry-keeper.
Mr. GODFREY, in opening the business of the meeting,
adverted in rather severe terms t' some statements that
had appeared in the Observer Newspaper, and deprecated
the course that had been pursued by Mr. Dowling, the
Editor of Beira Life in London.
The two candidates were proposed amidst the greatest
uproar and confusion, and several gentlemen who at-
tempted to address the meeting on behalf of the candi-
dates, met with a similar reception. After considerable
tumult, a show of hands was taken, and declared to be
greatly in favour of Mr. Norman. A poll was then
demanded on behalf of Miss Marshall, which being agreed
to, was ordered to take place on Monday and Tuesday next.
Mr. BOWLING, in rising to propose a vote of thanks to
the Rev. and Worthy Chairman, trusted that as he had
been personally alluded to, he should be allowed to say a
few words. lie had, in the course of the evening, been
called the Editor of Bek'.c Life in London, and also a
scribikr. He acknowledged both the soft impeachments.
In the former character he trusted he could. not be
accused of haring done anything injurious to the
morals of the people—(Cheers)---and by that of a
scribbler, which he had been for forty years, he had been
enabled to bring up and educate a numerous family,
with benefit to them, and, he hoped, with honour to
himself.—(Great cheering.) As one of the Guardians
of the parish, he had been always against the renewal of
the office of vestry-keeper, cousidcring it an unneces-
sary burthea on the parish: The meeting, however, had
determined that the office should be continued ; and, as
they were to pay the piper, of course they had the right
to say who should play the pipes.—(Great laughter.) .
The vote of thanks having been seconded, and the
Rev. and worthy Chairman having returned thanks, the
meeting separated shortly before ten o'clock.
The poll will be proceeded with on Monday and Tues-
day next.

TOTAL DESTRUCTION cf DERBY

TOWN-HALL.

A melancholy duty devolves upon us, and we stop the
press in order t, perform it. The noble pile erected in
the Market-place is the year 1828. and which, we be-
lieve, cost somewh^re about 12,0001., is now in ruins, and
the site whereon, yesterday, stood a building at once an
ornament and an honour to the town, presents to the eye
a scene of desolation.

Some time after two o'clock this morning we were
disturbed from our slumbers by the cry of fire, the ring-
ing of bells, the whirling of rattles, and the general din
of voices as people rushed towards the scene of devasta-
tion. On arriving at the Market-place we found his Wor-
ship the Mayor, several Aldermen, and some trades-
men and mechanics, but at this time the number of
people congregated was not great. The necessary steps
were being taken to get the town engines in play, but
this was attended with some difficulty, owing partly to a
deficiency of water, partly to a want of buckets, and
want of organisation on the part of those assembled.
Post-horses were despatched for the I)arley engine, and
Captain Finlayson (of the North Midland Railway)
was in attendance with the Company's engine.
By this time the concourse of people had be-
come very dense, and a better system of organisation
had been arranged; but still the management was very
defective, and the people appeared to be so paralyzed that
the great majority of them stood :transfixed to the spot,
gazing intensely on the volumes •of smoke and flames
which were extending with fearful rapidity.
Several of the engines were planted in front of the
Hall, and others at the back, and they continued to play
as long and as frequently, an they could obtain supplies of
water, but without the slightest effect.
About four o'clock the roof began to give way, and the
flames were terrific. The sky, fur miles round, presented
a lurid glare, and illuminated the faces of the vast assem-
blage. The crashing of glass, the falling of the beams
and rafters, the loud hoarse cries of the enginemen for
" water, water," and the shouts of the people as they
echoed the command, combined to render the scene
awfully interesting.
Between four and five the wind veered to the North,
and a tremendous snow storm came on. At this time
the roof was rapidly falling in, and the body of the Hall
(which had just been refitted and undergone considerable
alterations at an expense of 5001. or 6001.) was soon
enveloped in flames, which burst from the windows, both
front and back, furiously, and defied all attempts to sub-
due them. The ceiling of the lofty lonic portico gave
way, and the burning materials fell crashing upon the
rusticated basement. The cry for " water" still re-
•sounded on every side, but, alas ! the supplies were
nearly exhausted, and the fire had now got so com-
pletely a-head that all attempts to stop its progress were
futile. The •Hall floor broke through, and the rooms on
the ground-floor were next in full blaze, the entire
building presenting to the eye one dense mass of flame.
By six o'clock the fire became exhausted, and as daylight
approached nothing but the bare walls were to be seen.

-We regret to state that all the records have perished
in the flames ; but the Chamberlain's account books,
which were deposited in an iron safe, are preserved.
The Revising Barristers' documents have also been de-
stroyed.
The building was ensured to the amount of 5,0001. in
the Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire Assurance Office ;
but this 'ill fall far short of the amount of the injury
done, which R•e have heard computed at 10,0001. or
12,00 CL

We are glad to state that the disaster, which it has
been our unpleasant office to record, has been unattended
with loss of life.—Derby Reporter of Thursday.

Shenstone's precocious fondness for reading was
so great, that to tisfy this craving for a fresh supply of
books, his mother often wrapped up a piece of wood in
the shape of a book, and put it under his pillow, to induce
sleep for the night, and gain time to supply the little
student's demands for the morrow.

PAISLEY.--On Thursday night last, the greater
part of thv Tiircad Factory, Gordoo's-lane, beionging
to Messrs. Glen and Anderson, was destroyed by fire.
The calamity throws about eighty persons out of employ-
rn,nt. The premises were insur:d in two offices—the one
English, the other Scotch.—Ayr Observer.
The Times says, " Lord Lyndhurst is the first
Envitshman Is lin has received the seals three times from
his Sovereign. Lord Lyndhurst is not an Englishman.
He is an American, burn at Boston, where his sisters
yet reside. 'His father, Copley, the painter, left Boston
when the troubles commenced, and brought his family
with him to Enthind.—Cheltenham Examiner.
NORWICH, OCT. 20.—A meeting is about to
be held in St. Andrew's Hail, to take into consideration
the existing distress. The distress in this city is dread-
ful, in consequence of the war price of provisions. It is
now quite out of the power of many of the middling
clus,es of society to obtain a sufficiency of food ; to say
nothing of the miserable and destitute poor.

An itinerant vender of playbills was run over
on Monday evening, in the Strand. He was running by
the side of a carriage, holding up his play-bills to the
window, when his foot slipped, and he fell completely
under the vehicle, and one of the hind-wheels passed
over his body. The gentleman who was in the carriage,
on being infixmed of the accident, gave his•foottnan a
sovereign to give the poor boy, with strict directions to
see him safely conducted to the hospital.
Two TO ONS.—It appears that, by the census
returns for the parish of Llangain, there are 117 males
and 226 fetnah,s.— Weigh Paper.
APPROACHING LAW CHANGES.—It iS Cur-
rently reported in the professional circles, that Lord
Lyndhurst will relinquish the seals at the commence-
ment of January Term, and that Sir W. Follett, the
Solicitor-General, will be his successor. In connexion
with this arrangement, it is said that Lord .Abinger will
at the same time vacate the Chiefship of the Exchequer,
and that Sir F. Pollock. will be his successor therein.
A large importation of game cocks from Bristol,
have arrived to the Marquis of Waterford, Curvaghtnore.
—Dublin Pest.

DEATH FROM COLD.—Tuesday, the sth inst.,
was an extremely bad day in the Highlands, particularly
in the range of the Grampians. On the morning_ of that
day, a number of shearers, returning from the harvest in
Strathmore, were overtaken by the
thetrhuesto violencemiithewioldfstobne
the south side of the Dee.
wind and rain, and the den:de
I ralemistid which
long,heichcoi• withoutered
the
hills, they last their way, and
knoe•ing
hills.ere
Cold,they w
wet, hegoing, a mattl-,dng
fatigue,the almost
trackless I
gee,
and we regret to
se-
verely tried the stoutest of l
say that one w oman, Isabel wife of Alexander
Stewart, fell a victim to the i them
1 1 ; ;
She travelled on,near the top of the
al,),cy of the weather.
u hin
Firmont, NS hen beccitiiingutcb spirit, tillluiteexhausted, she sunk tinder
the cold and fatigue. Her daughter
in company, did all they possibly could womanrilcy
animate her, but all their efforts roved to strengthen
and the otherrthen ;led
then attempted to carry her along in hopes of reaching;them
some human habitation ; and a man who was wit,
cbaurtried the poor woman on his back for several miles,.
perceiving her getting worse, and finding heuselt
unable to proceed farther with her, he was obliged to
put her down. One party then hastened to seek assist-
ance, while her daughter, and others, remained with the
dying woman, to render all the assistance they could.
They placed • part of their own clothes on her, but
nothing they could do would warm or invigorate her
perishing frame. It must have been a great trial to the
poor girl to stand by and see her mother perishing with
cold, and yet unable to render the least assistance. At
last a horse and cart were brought to their assistance,
but, ere then, nature was exhausted, and she had not
been many minutes placed in the cart when the last feeble
life gave way, and sreptoms of animation
were long gone ere they were able to reach home.—
Scotch Pupa.