The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-01 00:00:00

DESTRUCTIVE FIRE AND PRO-
BABLE LOSS OF LIFE.
This morning, shortly after twelve o'clock, a most
serious fire broke out upon the premises, situate 25,
Cow Cross street, West Smithfield, occupied by Mr.
J. Smith, a tinplate-worker, and seven or eight other
families. The flames originated in the first-floor front,
tenanted by a Mrs. Pemberton. It appears that while the
occupier was standing at the street-door talking to a
friend, an alarm was raised by a person that the premises
were on fire. Without loss of time the party rushed up
stairs, when a most distressing scene presented itself;
the bed on which his child was sleeping was completely
enveloped in flames, and it was with the greatest difficulty
that the child could be rescued; as it was, it was most
severely burnt about the body. The mother, in running
out of the room with her offspring, came in contact with
one of the windows, and was most severely cut about the
face. The child was quickly removed to S.t. Bar-
tholomew's Hospital, where its injuries were dressed.
The street-door of the burning house having
been left open, it caused the flames to be draughted
up the staircase with the greatest impetuosity, and very
speedily they had obtained the complete possession
of the floor in which they commenced. There being
about eight or nine separate families in the premises, it
is impossible to describe the numerous expedients the
inmates were forced to resort to to save their lives. Some
ran down stairs, others threw their children out of
window, but they were caught in the arms of the popu-
lace below. It is, however, to be feared that a poor
bed-ridden female, who slept on the third floor, has
perished, as no tidings of her escape could be gleaned.
The several brigade engines, with Mr. Superintendent
Braidwood, were early in arriving, as were also those of
engine, the p a
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New
River Company yielded an abundant supply of water,
from which the engines were worked with full vigour
until the firemen had obtained the complete mastery over
the flames. Before they had succeeded in that endeavour,
lodgers c
the greater portion of the premises, nearly sixty feet
deep, were gutted, and the furniture of the numerous
rocentisohunamdoefdo.l.l The origin of the disaster could not
tbeeapecounted for. Two escapes of the Royal Society for
buth thero Protection
obtained nfrom
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strongwere
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them to
be of any assistance.

THE ARMY.
ROYAL ARTILLERY, WooLwien.—Captains W. F.
Williams, C. IL de Rog, Collingwood Dixon, and the
Hon. R. C. H. Spencer, have been promoted to the rank
of majors, in consideration of their services in Syria.
By order of the Master-General the following officers
have been posted to the undermentioned companies:
they are all second lieutenants who have recently joined
from the Royal Military Academy :—E. C. H. Dyneley
to Captain T. C. Robes company, 2cl battalion, Bth
company;F.H.B.
company, Ist battalion, 4th company; J. Godby to Major
G. T. Rowland's company, 9th battalion, 4th company;
D. G. Green to Captain H. Stow's company, 6th battalion,
7th company; P. F. Miller to Captain P. Penn's com-
pany, Sd battalion, 4th company; W. W. Barry to Major
W. C. Anderson's company, Ist battalion, 2d company;
J. T. Orme to Brigade-Major Cuppage's company, 9th
battalion, 7th company; G. H. Colombo to Captain
R. J. Dacre's company, sth battalion, 2d company ;. G.
W. D. Hay to Captain J. Low's company, 7th battalion,
2d company ; T. H. Harding to Captain W. H. Picker-
ing's company, 3d battalion, Ist company ; P. D. Mar-
gesson to Captain C. H. Barnaby's company, 7th batta-
lion, 3d company ; J. F. D'Arley Street to Major W.
Furneause's company, 2d battalion, sth company ; and
A. M. Calvert to Major R. Palmer's company, 9th bat-
talion, sth company.
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opor-f
ROYAL ENGINEERI3.-11 is expected that Lieutenant
Simmons. C. s t
as
eine
tPja.?m H Fort
ificn
Lynn will succeed Captain J. St. V. Whitmore as Ad-
jutant at Chatham, and that Captain Whitmore will be
stationed at Sheerness.

The office of Commanding Royal Engineer at Wool-
wich, vacant by the retirement of Lieutenant-Colonel
Barney, will be held by Brigade-Major Sandham until
the arrival of Sir George Gipps, late Governor of New
South Wales, which will not be until late in July. Cap-
tain J. F. A. Symonds has been promoted to the rank of
Brevet-Major.

THE FOREIGN MAILS.
POST-OFFICE NOTICE.
The following notice relative to the departure and ar-
rival of the foreign mails was on Saturday affixed at
the chief office, St. Martin's-la-Grand :
"THE INDIA, &c., MAILS, rid SOIIMADIPTON.—The
next mail for Gibraltar, Malta, Greece, the lonian
Islands, Egypt, India, China,.&c.,viii Southampton, will
be dispatched from hence on the morning of the 3d of
June (Wednesday).
" The Tagus will convey the Gibraltar, &c., mails as
above.

" INDIA, &C. (OVERLAND) MAILS, Vitt MARSEILLES.--
The next mails for the Mediterranean, Egypt, India; and
China, via Marseilles, will be dispatched from hence on
the morning of the Bth of June.
" THE PENINSULAR MAILS.—The Madrid arrived on
the 26th instant ; the Pacha due on June 7.
" WEST INDIES, &C., MAILS.—The next mails for the
British Colonies in the West Indies (except Honduras
and Bermuda), the Foreign Colonies (except Havannah),
Mexico, Venezuela, and Madeira, will be dispatched
from hence on the morning of the 2d of June (to-
morrow).
" The Severn will convey the above mai/sTrom South-
ampton. The next mails due on the 7th of June by the
Te
"SYDNEY (NEW SOUTH WALF:s).—The next mails
for Sydney, New South Wales, will be dispatched from
hence on the evening of the Ist of June (this evening).
" The Trafalgar, with the above mails, will sail from
Gravesend.
" MADEIRA, -BRAZILS, AND BUENOS AYnES.—The
next mails will be dispatched from hence on the evening
of the 2d of June (to-morrow).
" Her Majesty's brig Seagull, with the above mails of
the 2d of June, will sail from Falmouth.
" (From August to January inclusive, the packet
touches at Pernambuco on her outward passage to Rio
Janeiro, and the other six months on her homeward.)
Her Majesty's brig Penguin arrived on the 29th of May
" AMERICA, &C.—The next mails for British North
America, Bermuda, and United States; will be dis-
patched from hence on the evening of the 3d of June
(Wednesday).