The Sun.
London, England, 1870-10-13 00:00:00

When presiding at a lecture delivered by Dr. Cumming
on "The Infallible Pope," the Mayor of Liverpool stated
that he had received an anonymous letter, finding fault
with him for agreeing to act as chairman. The writer
denounced Dr. Cumming, and said that Alderman Hub-
back would be more in his place in presiding over one of
Dr. Lankester's lectures, seeing that Liverpool was one
of the most unhealthy towns in the kingdom. His Wor-
ship said he simply presided as president of the Young
Men's Christian Association. He was not informed what
the subject of the lecture would be, but he would ask the
writer of the letter, or anyone who held the same views
why should they na have a lecture on the infallibility of
the Pope? The same subject was discussed for
months in Rome—and why should it not be
discussed in Liverpool ? To give offence to
any of the people of Liverpool by presiding
at that lecture was the furthest from his desire. What
was an Englishman's liberty? It was to discuss all sub-
jects. The man who wrote that letter could be no Eng-
lishman. He did not wish to raise a howl, as the writer
called it, against the Roman Catholics, amongst whom he
had many friends and greatly respected them. It was not
the individuals, but the system he objected to. He could
only add after this explanation that he hoped through the
lecture which Dr. Cummine, was about to give to receive
instruction upon a subject which did not interest Liver-
pool alone, but England, and he might say the world.
Dr. Cumming, after referring to the courtesy with which
he had been treated by eminent Roman Catholics, went
on to say that if he used a single word which gave offence
to members of that communion he would readily recall it,
and he should feel that he was unworthy of addressing a
highly cultivated audience if he was to use lan-
guage of vituperation or violence towards any
section of his fellow - countrymen. Protestants
might be most uncompromising, and yet not in
the least degree uncharitable ; they might con-
demn error, and pray for, respect, and sympathise
with its victims, whoever they might be. Before
the declaration of the dogma of infallibility was made, he
expressed his conviction that if prophesy was intelligible,
the judgment and retribution of Heaven would be brought
down upon those who had taken part in it. No sooner had
the Pope declared himself infallible than Austria, long the
dungeon of Europe, and the guardian of the Pope when
none else could be found to take that responsible relation,
shocked at the Pope's assumption of deity, had torn the
concordat between the Pope and his kingdom into
shreds; and having renounced the Papal juris-
diction in Austria, root and branch, had established
by law freedom of worship, of the press, and education.
Similar liberty was also now enjoyed in Spain. Such
were the sequences, he would not presume to say the con-
sequences, of the dogma. Dr. Cumming then entered
into arguments drawn both from Scripture and history
against the infallibility of the Pope, and said that the
Pope having assumed the attribute of deity, he believed
that judgment had begun and would spread over the
whole earth, and that we were entering upon an era in
which everything would be tried as by fire, and that
nothing would stand except that which was founded upon
God's Word.

TERRIBLE CONFLAGRATION IN HATiI'ON
GARDEN.
ESTIMATED DAMAGE OVER £20,000.

The most extensive, and at the same time alarming, fire
that has taken place in the neighbourhood of Hatton
Garden happened about 4 o'clock yesterday morning, and
for several hours raged with the greatest fury, destroying
property roughly estimated in value at £20,000. The
premises in which the disaster commenced belonged to
Mr. G. Eaton, a looking-glass manufacturer, situate in

Cross-street, immediately facing the Tuns Tavern, Hatton
Garden, and extending backwards as far as Saffron Hill.
The principal building in front was about 60 feet wide,
and contained five floors, including the basement, and
was adjoined on the western side by the extensive pre-
mises belonging to Mr. Broad, a jeweller and Mr. Algar,
printer, which separated the New Jerusalem Church from
the blazing pile. The fire was discovered by Police-
constable Kilby, 31 G, who, in passing down a gateway
running about midway of the front workshops, noticed
that one of the back workshops was in flames. He at once
sounded the usual alarm, and in the course of a few
minutes Mr. Superintendent Fidge and Inspectors Dunn
and Bryant arrived with a powerful body of police.
The engines attended as quickly as possible, but by that
time the flames had extended from the back warehouse
into the silver rooms, and from thence into the main
workshops, and show rooms in front. At the same time
the fire had a most threatening appearance ; the
houses in Saffron-bill were cracking with the intense heat,
and the inmates consisting of men, women, and children
were rushing about the street, almost naked. In less
than an hour the roof fell, and then the flooring of the next
storey tell igniting the works below. Ddring the whole of
that time, the salvage corps were engaged in covering
over and removing the most costly gilded goods before
the heated water had time to reach them. Notwith-
standing that every thing was done that could be, the
fire could not be entirely extinguished until nearly 10
o'clock. The whole of Mr. Eaton's premises, with the
exception of one of the show-rooms in the ground floor
has been destroyed, and the adjoining premises damaged
by water.