The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-16 00:00:00

THE FIRE IN CONSTANTINOPLE.

Latest accounts from Constantinople realise the
worst anticipations regarding the loss of life and
destruction of property at the great fire in that city,
and in the vastness of the calamity the whole extent
of evil wrought will in all probability never be fully
known. The details, as they have come to us, how-
ever, are sufficiently harrowing. Upwards
of a thousand dead bodies have already been
discovered, and 2,400 are said to be missing.
From seven to eight thousand houses have been re-
duced to ruins, an equal number of families rendered
houseless and homeless, and the amount of property
estimated to have been destroyed is over five
millions in value. k faint idea of the desolation
may be gathered from the fact that it covers not less
than two square wiles. Some of the tales of woo
related are most pitiful, especially with regard to the
burning of little children, one instance being recorded
where twelve poor little orphans in an Armenian school
perished in the flames. The destruction of the
palace of the British Embassy is said to have been
through bad management, neither the engines nor
the apparatus attached being in working order. Out
of all this misery, however, comes the one redeeming
feature, that nothing could exceed the generous
efforts of the Moslem people to mitigate the suffer"
ings of their Christian brethren.

THE WEATHER ON THE CONTINENT.

As in England, the long period of dry weather is
beginning to cause serious apprehensions on the
continent. The critical time at which moisture is
required for the nourishment of the vines and wheat
is almost passed, and in the majority of the French
and German towns no " gentle rain" has fallen.
The prolonged drought in the North of France has
caused the ears of barley and wheat to shrivel up,
and the straw this year will be only about half its
usual length. Skilled agriculturists, moreover,
fear that much of the grain crops have
been baked at their roots. The potatoes
have not yet suffered to any extent, but the turnips
have been visited by a plague of midges, brought
into existence by the heat, which are eating up the
crop everywhere. On pasture grounds not a fresh-
looking blade of grass shews above the ground, and
old hay has assumed a fabulous price in the market.
These remarks chiefly apply to the centre and
northern portions of France. In the south things
have been different. In the departments of the
Bouches-du-Rhone, Vaucluse, Ildrault, and Alpes-
Maritimes, showers have fallen within the past fe'
days. The same change in the weather has also taken
place in Western Italy. In these favoured places
hopes are still cherished that all growing crops may
yet be saved. Curious to say the harvest in Austria
and Hungary, according to the report of the Austrian
Minister of Commerce, is not threatened with any
blight whatever. The weather has been satisfactory,
and in Galicia and Bohemia, the yield promised 10
even said to be such as may lead to a very large
export trade.

M. OLIVIER'S OPINIONS.
The Paris correspondent of the Independance Beige
says that M. Olivier begins to recognise the mistaßo
he has made in oscillating from the Left to the
Right, instead of relying on the Left Centre, and 111
case of necessity on the Left. He has expressed JJIOI
self in this fashion to Prince Napoleon, and an:
nounced his determination of resuming more liberal
ways. Ho even added that he would procure I'o
amnesty for the offences of the press.

THE ST. GOTHARD RAILWAY.
st
The Paris papers are commenting upon the gre
enterprise of a railway across the Gothard Pass, and
the question is to be discussed in the Corps Legis-
latif as to how far the interests of France null b°
affected by an independent communication between
Prussia and Italy. The French Government hag en'
deavoured to allay these fears by publishing state;
ments in the Agence Havas and the semi-official
journals. There seems no reason to apprehend any
serious consequences to the peace of Europe from the
construction of this line, while its importance asregardf;
commercial interests is very great. The proposea
line is to run through Swiss territory, but as the
expenses of its construction will be heavy, those collo'
tries which will benefit by its working are to guaran-
tee the funds necessary for the project. The Swiss
Minister at Berlin has been empowered to sign a
convention with Count Bismarck, by which ,0
North German Confederation grants a subvention a'
ten million francs to the St. Gothard Railway. 111:
French Government appear to have felt that Oise
question, being one of public right, gave them no calla
for interference, except so far as the neutrality
Switzerland was concerned.

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