The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-27 00:00:00

DESTRUCTIVE FIRES.

lOa Saturday morning a fire broke ott in the Louse
' of a Mr. Lavell, an extensive pork butcher, residirg iri
High-street, Camberwell, and nearly opposite the Mother
Red Cap. During the whole day, an] especially at
night, the family had been exceedingly busy, and about
twelve o'clock they retired to rest, and from the fatigue
of business soon went to sleep. Shortly after one o'clock
as the constable who was on duty, belonging to the P di-
vision, was passing the house he saw a great body of light
issuing from one of the rooms, which induced him to go
into the road, when be discovered the place was in flames.
He instantly alarmed the inmates when other police con-
stables came to his assistance. The parish engine was
procured, but by this time the flames began to burn
with great fury, and placed the inmates, in a most perilous
position. A little boy, about seven years of age, the son
of Mr. Lavell, in the confusion was forgotten, and when
he was looked after and recollected he was still in bed,
it was found impossible to enter the house; fortunately
a ladder was procured, and the poor little fellow was got
out at the window, and thus escaped a most painful and
agonising death. By this time the Southwark-bridge-
road, Waterloo-road, West of England, and other en-
gines reached the scene of destruction, but, in conse
quence of the want of water, only the Waterloo-road
and West of England engines could be put into opera-
tion, and it was then found impossible to save the pre-
mises. By four o'clock the whole was one mass of ruins.
The loss of property is estimated at about 1,0001. or 1,2001.
Scarcely bad the various engines from the above fire
reached their respective stations, when they were (-tilled
to a furious fire raging in the extensive manufactory of
Messrs. Bryan and Sons, patent japan leather-dressers,
&c., Dacre-strcet, Broadway, Westminster. Surrounded
as the extensive premises were, by a dense and thickly
populated neighbourhood, the utmost alarm prevailed
amongst the inhabitants in consequence of the inflam-
mable nature of the property on fire. The manufactory,
which is divided into several departments for the carry-
ing on the various branches of the trade, occupies
a very extensive area, while that portion in which
the process of varnishing and making the leather
impervious to the weather is performed stands at
the further point of the building, and it was in that
part the fire was discovered. From it being Christmas
morning a great number of persons were about,
and information reached the stations in the course
of a few minutes ; the Horselerry-road, Waterloo-road,
West of England, Chandos-street, and County, were soon
upon the spot, followed in rapid succession by the more
distant ones. The portion in which the fire originated
was, however, reduced to a heap of ruins. The loss is
estimated at 2,000/. The loss will fall upon the Messrs.
Bryan, as this part of the building and stock was unin-
sured, the fire-offices refusing to effect a policy oa ac-
count of the dangerous nature of the stock ; the other
parts of the building, as well as stock, are insured in the
County Eire-office.
Between eight and nine o'clock, as the horses were
about to be put to the diTirent engines, for the pur-
pose of leaving the scene of destruction, a mounted
messenger arrived, stating that the whole of the ex-
tensive premises known as the Eagle Saw Mills, Old
brompton, were in one body of flame. The informa-
tion appeared to astonish every fireman pre sent, and
upon turning the horses heads round, those attached
to the Waterloo-road engine took fright, and started
off at a most tremendous speed up as far as
Charing-cross,-where they were stopped. Upon the
arrival of the firemen at Old Brompton, the information
was discovered to be unfortunately too true. The entire
pile, about a hundred feet in depth, and between forty
and fifty in width, were enveloped in one body of fire.
Unfortunately, as at the two previous fires, no water
could be obtained for some time after the arrival of the
various engines of the London Fire Establishment, and
the consequence was, the devouring element consumed
everything that stood in its way. Directly after the out-
break Messrs. Pye and his partner, the proprietors,
were upon the spot, giving by their information every
facility to stop the progress of the fire, but without ef-
fect. The place being full of timber rendered the heat
nearly insupportable, and when water was procured it
was with difficulty that the firemen could approach suf-
ficiently near to play upon two cottages which joined
the mill?, one of which was saved, but the other, used
as a couuting-house, was very much damaged.

AN ARMY OF DESOLATION.

It gives us'great pleasure to find that the manufac•

. _ _.., .....---
turcrs of this populous section of the kingdom are fast
opening their eyes to the power—the tremendous power
—which they possess, and which they can wield at
pleasure, in their conflict with their despisers and con-
temners for justice. •

The visitation of the houses of the poor of this bo-
rough bas brought many important facts to light. In
the 2,965 houses visited, containing 3,162 families and
15,823 individuals, 1,150 families belong to rural pa-
rishes ; and if we estimate the houses not visited to con-
tain a proportionate number, deducting about a thou-
sand families, who (from occupancy of property of
sufficient rental) have obtained settlements, we find that
of the ten thousand families in this borough, above
three thousand have claims for maintenance upon the
I estates of those whose commercial restrictions and
plundering exactions have filled our once-happy homes
with destitution ! The announcement of the above
startling fact, at tie meet:log at the Corn Exchange,
Manchester, on Thursday last, created an extraordinary
sensation ; and every deputy present seemed to say to
himself, " This is a point which we have all ovrlooked
except the people at Stockport ;" and the proposition
to send an army of desolation to eat up the rent of the
landowners was received w:th tremendous cheering.
Taking into consideration the whole of the unem-
ployed and partially employed work-people of this
borough, it cannot be less than about equal to the whole
labour of above four thousand families, or one thousand
families too many for the quantity of employment, even
though the whole of the three thousand families, which
belong to the landowners, were sent back to their kind
benefactors.

The rural districts want no labourers, for they, much
as we have relieved them in this respect, are still over-
stocked. They have no remunerative employment to
give to those whom the bread-taxers may compel our
manufacturers to send back to them. Therefore, all
that we send them must be kept out of their poor-rates ;
and we find, on inquiry, that every family of five persons
will consume the rent of about twenty-five acres of land!
The three thousand families of this borough would eat
up the rental of 75,000 acres ; and the 50,000 families,
which might be sent from Lancashire alone, would ab-
sorb the whole rental of tracts of land equal in extent to
several small counties

If what we have heard be true, and we have no rea-
son to doubt the correctness of our information, some
manufacturers have already begun to seriously entertain
the idea of clearing their estates (their manufactories),
and we have heard of one, not irony miles oft', who has
given notice to quit his service to every family belonging
to certain districts.

We again warn the landowner not to push things to
extremities, and above, all, let them beware of OU4
"ARMY OF DEsoLATioN-r—Stockport Chronicle.

NAVAL INTELLIGENCE.

PORTSMOUTH. FRIDAY.—Her Majesty's ship Power-
ful, 84, Captain M. Seymour, with the flag of Admiral
Sir F. Ommaney, arrived here yesterday, from the Me-
diterranean. She came last from Plymouth, having
been compelled to put in there in consequence of the
wind being unfavourable. She will go into. harbour to
be paid off in a few days.
Her Majesty's ship Heroine, • 10, Lieut.-Commander
T. D. Ster4art, sailed for she westward yesterday
morning's _ _ _ •
_ _

Her Ntaje'sty's ship Pantaloon, TO,' Lieutenant-Com-
mander C: H. Lapidge, went out. of harbour on Wednes-
day, and will sail for the coast of Africa as soon as the
wind will permit.
Her Majesty's troop-ship Athol), Master-Commander
C. B. Bellamy, sailed yesterday tbr the West Indies,
with a detachment, :consisting of 60 rank and, file, and
several officers of the 92d Regiment, under the command
of Lieutenant-Colonel* M'Donald. She will put into
Cork on her passage, where she will embark additional
troops, being detachments of the 33d, 47th, and 81st
Regiments.
Her Majesty's ship Dido, 20, Captain the Hon. H.
Keppel, was to have sailed yesterday, but has been de-
tained by contrary winds. She is bound to China.

.....
A detachment ;f the 59th --"Regiment, destined fir Ja-
maica, will embark on board the Numa transport this
day, which will sail as soon as the wind will permit.
Her Majesty's ship Hazard, 18, Commander C. Bell,
all a-taunt, and will go out of harbour in a day or two.
Her Majesty's ship President, 50, Captain W. Brough-
ton, is expected here every day from South America,
her Majesty's ship Dublin, 50, Captain J. Tucker, having
left this port to relieve her the latter end of last August.
Her Majesty's ship Vindictive, 50, Captain J. T. Ni-
cholas, is getting ready for sea with all possible despatch,
and will, it is expected, go out of harbour on the Ist
of January.
Ships at Spithead.—Her Majesty's ship Powerful,
84 ; Dido, 20 ; Pantaloon, 10 ; Snakc,l6 ; and the Numa
transport.
Ships in Harbour.—filer Majesty's ships St. Vin-
cent, 120 ; Victory, 104 ; Queen, 110 ; Vindictive, 50 ;
Warspite, 50 ; Excellent (gunnery ship) ; Hazard, 18 ;
and Royal George yacht.

DISTRESSING Loss OF LIFE IN TIIE HUM-
BER.—On Friday morning last a distressing loss of life
occurred on the other side of the t iver, near New Hol-
land. The schooner Stoarbridge was coming up, having
a boat in tow, when the painter giving way by which ,it
lost, threw himself over !lie
the Captain, Jeremiah Smi th,
anxious to prevent• its being
was attached to the vessel,
stern of the vessel into the boat, but unfortunately alight
ing with his back on the gunwale, he was stunned :arid
fell into the- water; the boat drifting away at the same
time, his own crew were deprived of the power to as sist
him, and after hanging by the broken painter attached
to the drifting boat, until seemingly exhausted, he s ink
to rise no more. It is lamentable to add that Mrs. Snlith
was on board the vessel, and consequently a spectator of
her husband's melancholy death. A light sloop fmm
Goole was going down the river, with the wind in her
favour, at the moment of the catastrophe, and although
passing within twenty or thirty yards, those on bo and
were deaf to the hail of the schooner and the cries of the
crew to save their Captain.—Hull Advertiser.

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