The Sun.
London, England, 1846-08-04 00:00:00

SUGAR DUTIES BILL.

Tho report of the resolutions was brought up, and the
Bill was read a first time. _

The House then adjourned at Half-past One.

THE STORM ON SATURDAY.
The following additional particulars were obtained yester-
day:—
THE ITALIAN OPERA-HOUSE.—Whilst the storm was
raging, the hail fell with such violence upon the various sky-
lights on the roof, that nearly every square of glass was
broken. Fortunately plenty of assistance was in the house,
and the rain as it fell through was quickly baled away. The
damage done is, therefore, not nearly so great as might have
been expected. Yesterday tarpaulings and canvass were
placed over the broken windows to keep the rain and dust
out. The Opera Colonnade, it will be remembered, was
lighted by means of eighteen fancy circular lanterns, which
I contained in the whole many hundred squares of glass.
Upon inspecting the Arcade yesterday, it was found that
nearly every pane of glass was shivered to atoms. The va-
rious tradesmen of the place had also the whole of their sky-
lights demolished, and their shops covered with water.
THE REFORM CLUB-HOUSE.—Throughout the whole of
Sunday and yesterday, one of Mr. Merryweather's fire en-
giues was engaged pumping out the water which had entered
this large building. Towards the latter part of the evening
the men succeeded in getting the house free. At one time
the water was nearly ten feet deep.
BURFORD'S PANORAMA, LEICESTER-SQUARE.—At this esta-
blishment not fewer than 10,000 squares of glass were de-
molished, and the rain poured in such bodies that the place
was completely inundated. Owing, however, to the Pano-
rama being painted in oil colours, it sustained no damage.
Had it been done in what is termed destemper, the whole of
the painting would have been rendered worthless. By great
exertion the building was thoroughly dried, and opened as
usual to the public yesterday.
SAVILLE-HOUSE, LEICESTER-SQUARE.—The greater por-
tion of the skylights over the exhibition-rooms were broken,
and the lower part of the premises completely inundated
with water. The water rose several feet in Mr. Smith's wine
shades on the basement, and did great mischief.
THE ADELAIDE GALLERY.—NearIy the whole of the beau-
tiful stained glass windows on the roof of this establish-
ment, under which the daugerreotype portraits were:taken
by M. Claudet, are broken. The skylights in the other
portions of the gallery are likewise demolished. The damage
done to the adjoining property in the Lowther-arcade is very
considerable.

I-lUNGERFORD-MARKET.—The damage done to the glass-
work in this market is most extensive. There is scarcely a
whole pane left in any of the skylights. Nearly all the
tradesmen in the lower market had their goods either
washed away or greatly damaged,
THE WESTERN EXCHANGE.—It is impossible to tell the
exact damage done at this building. Besides the injury to
the premises, the stall-holders had their fancy goods washed
down, and in many instances the whole of the articles were
spoiled. It is feared that the lose to the stall-holders alone
will exceed 1,500/.
THE PCBLIC RECORD OFFICE.—A number of men were
employed the whole of yesterday and the preceding day in
baling out the water that had accumulated in the Public Re-
cord•ofl'ice, Carlton side. From the great care that was
taken in removing the records, it is believed that not one
document has suffered more than from being completely
saturated with water.

ST. MARTIN'S -COURT.—Messrs. Hills and Mills, woollen-
drapers, at the corner of St. Martin's-court, had 150 squares
of glass in their warehouse demolished.
SOll0-SQUARE.—Besides the mischief done in the imme-
diate vicinity of Soho-square, already noticed in this jour-
nal, the premises of Messrs. Cross and Blackwell, her Ma-
jesty's oilmen, were extensively damaged in consequence of
the skylights breaking.
CovENT-o.s.nnEs.--That portion of the Bedford Conserva-
tory in the occupation of Mr. Bunny, florist, has about
three-fourths of the panes of glass broken. About the same
extent of damage is done to the other conservatory, occupied
by Messrs. Ewart and Co.

The damage done by the storm on Saturday to the gar-
dens of the Royal Botanic Society in the Regent's• park has
been much exaggerated. The whole damage amounts only
to a portion of the mould from some of the flower-beds being
washed on to the gravel walks. In the new conservatory,
which covers 15,000 feet of ground, not a single pane is
cracked, although many of the fragments of ice picked up
in the gardens measured above an inch in length, and were
of irregular angular forms. On the other hand, the fall of
rain has been of infinite service, filling the lake to overflow,
and changing the grass, which by the constant wear of nume-
rous visitors, aided by the dry weather, had become brown,
to its usual healthy colour.
Amongst other damage at the west end of the town, the
Waterloo Hotel, Jermyn-street, seems to have suffered
severely, having had two entire windows of beautifully
figured glass entirely destroyed, every pane being broken,
together with other glass, upwards of 100 panes in number.
Such was the force of the storm, and size of the hailstones,
that the skylights were entirely destroyed, before any means
could be resorted to for their preservation.
Prxmco.—The amount of property destroyed and damaged
in the neighbourhood of Pimlico is most extensive. Many
of the houses in the vicinity of the great common sewer were
completely deluged, and it was not until late yesterday after-
noon that the water was pumped out.
At Dr. Aldis's, in Chester-square, the skylight at the top
of the house was broken ; a double skylight over the library
broken ; and after a carpet was thrown over to protect it,
the force of the hailstones was powerful enough to break
several panes of glass. Many more windows were broken,
and the hailstones projected a long way into the rooms.
WOOD-STREET, CITY.—The silk-mercers and riband mer-
chants in Wood-street, City, have sustained great damage by
the storm. The skylights at Messrs. Brettle and Son's were
broken, and an immense damage was done to the stock in
trade by the bursting of a water-spout over the roof.
ITOLBORN.—From an examination made there is little
doubt that the fall of the two houses, noticed in this journal
yesterday, was occasioned by the rain having undermined
the foundations. _

OXFORD-STREET.—It is quite impossible to state the exact
damage done in the neighbourhood of Oxford-street. Nearly
every street, lane, and square were visited with equal
severity. In Gee's-court the whole of the houses were com-
pletely inundated for some time, and it is reported that a
child was drowned whilst left alone in its cradle. The re-
porter, however, was unable to ascertain with certainty
whether or not such was the case. The furniture of the re-
sidents was most severely injured by the water.
BRIXTON, CLAPIIAM, AND WANDSWORTH Rom).—The
scene that presented itself yesterday in these districts it is
impossible accurately to describe. For upwards of a mile
and a half down the Wandsworth-road, nearly every pane
of glass in the south fronts of the houses is demolished.
Incredible as it may appear, there were to be seen scattered
on the ground many cart loads of broken glass. Mr. Chandler,
the celebrated camellia japonica grower, has the whole of his
extensive conservatories shivered, and the damage to his
plants is incalculable. It is estimated that 600/. will not re-
place the glass broken. Mr. Merryweather, the engine-
maker, of Long-acre, had the whole of the sky-lights in his
house at Vauxhall demolished, and the furniture saturated
with water. In the Clapham-road, Tulse-hill, and Brixton-
road, a similar scene of desolation presented itself. The Pro-
prietary Grammar School at Stockwell had an immense
number of squares of glass shattered. The total loss of glass
on the Surrey side of the river alone, it is believed, will amount
to several thousand pounds. The damage at the Nine Elms
terminus alone will extend to many hundred pounds. At
Tulse-hill every square of glass is riddled.
NEWINGTON.—In the district of St. Andrew's-road and
Ilorsemonger-lane the houses and roadways were overflowed,
and throughout Sunday and yesterday morning men were
engaged pumping the rain out of the basement floors of the
several buildings. The damage done to property is most
extensive.

CAMBERWELL—ProbabIy in no part was the hail felt with
greater severity than in the Camberwell New-road. One
gentleman took the pains to examine the size of the hail-
stones, and he found that there were not fewer than five or
six different sizes, some nearly as large as walnuts, and other
as small as peas. The principal damage done has been to
the glass and plants in the market gardens.
NorriliGHAAL—On Saturday evening last an awful thun-
der-storm, accompanied with heavy rain, visited the town of
Nottingham and its neighbourhood. As early as five o'clock
in the afternoon, the lightning began to play, and in two
hours the whole atmosphere became enveloped in thick dark
clouds. Occasionally peals of heavy thunder were heard,
and flash after flash of sheet, and sometimes forked, lightning
succeeded, indicating that a storm of no ordinary description
was discharging itself in the heavens. From half-past eight
till midnight the horizon, on all sides, was one continued
glare; but during a whole hour, commencing at half-past
nine o'clock, the storm raged with unparalleled violence.
The inhabitants throughont the town became terrified as the
rain descended in heavy torrents, the lightnings played in-
cessantly, and the thunders continued one heavy and ap-
palling roar, as though the elements had been let loose, and
were waging fierce war with each other. So frightful and
terrific a storm for so long a period has not been experienced
in Nottingham for many years. Apprehensions of the most
fearful cbaracter were entertained, as the forked lightning
constantly dashed through the air, but little or no damage
was done either to the inhabitants or the buildings. This was
not the case in some of the surrounding villages where the
storm raged with unabated fury for as long a period as in
Nottingham. At Nuttall, four miles distant, a fire-ball fell
upon a large straw stack in the farm-yard belonging to
Mr. Joseph Faulconbridge, and, although all the villagers
turned out, took every bucket and vessel capable of holding
water, the whole was soon destroyed ; and, had not the
wind suddenly changed, the other stacks, a very large num•
ber, would have been destroyed. A messenger on horseback
was dispatched to Nottingham for the engines, where he ar-
rived at a quarter-past 12, but on the town-engine reaching
Nuttall the fire had burnt itself out. At Bulwell, a mile or
two to the east of Nuttall, the storm was equally severe, and
considerable damage was done. At half-past nine o'clock, in
the midst of the heaviest of the thunder and lightning, three
half-bred horses, the property of Mr. Charles Allcock, were
observed to be galloping wildly round a field in the occupa-
tion of that gentleman ; and the next morning they were
found dead, in the centre of the close. They were valuable
animals, being worth not less than 1001. The electric fluid
had seized their carcases, riven part of the flesh from their
bodies, and passed into the ground, making five round deep
holes. I have this day (Sunday) been scouring the sur-
rounding country, and find that no serious injury, beyond
what I have described above, occurred from this terrific
storm, except slight damage to a few crops of standing corn,
which, being over-ripe, had some of the grain beaten out.
All the country people appear to have been much terrified,
and many of them state, that they passed the greater part
of the night on their knees, being apprehensive that the
day of judgment, with all its promised horrors, was really
commencing.

EAST WElDON.—Between six and seven o'clock on Satur-
day evening, a tremendous hurricane of wind, accompanied
by torrents of rain and hail, ushered in the storm. This
was shortly followed by incessant peals of thunder and
sheets of vivid lightning. The atmosphere was so obscured
that it was impossible to distinguish objects a few yards
distant. The destruction of property in the neighbourhood
is great, scarcely a house but has windows broken, and
in many instances the roofs demolished. For miles
round torrents of water were seen rushing along the
slopes, carrying away sheaves of corn, sheep, and pigs,
numbers of which were drowned. One farmer in the neigh-
bourhood has lost from 20 to 30 sheep and two young colts,
and many others, too numerous to specify, have sustained
severe losses. One of the most complete scenes of destruc-
tion of property ever witnessed through the effect of a storm
in this country is to be seen at the residence of Mr. J. P.
Collingford, of Harewood Lodge, Mount Wilford. The
house, which stands upon an eminence, seems to have sus-
tained the brunt of one of the most violent gusts of the tem-
pest. The mansion being of an octangular form was much
exposed to the violence of the storm, numerous windows
being dashed in, frames and all, the torrents of rain and hail
completely drenching the carpets, furniture, &c. To show
the force of the hurricane, an extremely old and choice
painting, which hung against the library wall, opposite a
window, was split by the hailstones, which were of an un-
usual size and hardness. Two stacks of chimney were either
blown down or struck by the lightning, and in their fall
carried away a large portion of the wall from the upper part
of the house, whence the mass of material fell on the coach-
house, completely shattering a travelling carriage within
the building. The extensive range of conservatories,
greenhouses, &c., are nearly all demolished, not the glass
merely, but the entire framework swept away. The wind
likewise blew down the gardener's cottage, the straw roof of
which was carried to a distance of 30 yards over the garden-
wall. Great dani,ge is done to the standing corn in the
neighbourhood, which is beaten down by the hail. On Sun-