The Sun.
London, England, 1851-02-28 00:00:00

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

HALF-PAST 10 P.M.—Several engines are still obliged
to be kept in constant operation. Owing to the various
floors being saturated with tallow the fire continues to
burs under the timbers left standing, and it is question-
able whether the firemen will be enabled to get it en-
tirely extinguished during the night. All danger of any
fresh outbreak, however, is at an end, Mr. Cuthbert
informed at) reporter that the disaster originated in the
following manner:—A copper charged with tallow in
the basement was so constructed that the steam arising
during the process of melting, could pass through an
aperture at the buck part of the brickwork, and be car-
ried away through the flue. By some means a portion
of the fat got upon some cinders, the moment the fire
touched them they blazed up, and the heat caused the
gas from the fat to generate very rabidly, so that a fierce
body of flame kept shooting forth. Mr. Cuthbert had
no doubt that he, with the assistance of his men, would
have been able to extinguish the flames, had it not been
for the effluvium emitted from the burning tallow. As
it was, they kept to their work, until most of them got
scalded or burnt about the hands, but the moment Mr.
Cuthbert saw the woodwork near the copper take fire
he desired his men to escape immediately. This they
did, and it was fortunate, for, had they remained two
minutes longer, they must have all lost their lives, the
greater part of the melting-house in that brief period
being covered with blazing fat. The firm do not believe
their loss to be so extensive as may generally be sup-
posed; they are of opinion that many casks of fat and
boxes of candle will be recovered from the several floors
only triflingly injured. Mr. Colf, the foreman of the B
district of Vie London brigade, is of quite a different opi-
nion; that officer informed the reporter that many of the
casks alluded to, as well as the floorings, had fallen into
the ground story; if so, very little property can be ex-
pected to be saved. Fortunately, Messrs. Cuthbert were
insured in the Imperial, Hand-in-Hand, Unioe, and se-
veral other Ere-offices.

LATEST PAR TICULARS.—(THIS DAY.)
The following is the official rf port of damage, &c.:—
PATERNOSTER-ROW.

Nos. 42, 43—Messrs. Cuthbert, tallow-melter, pry-
petty consutneti; insured in the Hand-in-Hand, Imperial,
and Union Fire-offt3es.

No. 46—Phelps and Sons, stw.ioners, furniture and
stock damaged by water and removal; insured in the
Sun office. First-floor front room, occupied by Mr.
Joy, bookseller, some damage to property; insurance
unknown. First-floor back room, belonging to Mr.
\Voollins, a bookseller, the same extent of damage; but
insured in the Sun Fire-office. Second fluor, March and
Co, pocket-book-makers, the same cimege; insurance
unknown. Third-fluor, occupied by Timbury and Sons,
engravers, same amount of damage; insureu in the Sun
office.
No. 46—Hitchcock and Rogers, linendrapers, serious
damage to stock by hasty removal; insurance unknown.
No. 4 Longman and Co., booksellers, contents
damaged by removal; insured in the Church of England
and other offices.

COURT OF COMMON COUNCIL.
Yest•:rday a Court was held for the dispatch of
husines3.
The REMEMBRA.NCEU having announced that amongst
the Bills just brought into Parliament was a Bill for the
removal of Smithfield-market, it was agreed that the said
Bill should be reterred to the Marketa' Improvement
Committee, and Mr. H. L. Taylor, the chairman of that
committee, promised that the best attention should be
paid to the project.
Mr. Pam-reps, the chairman of the Navigation and
Port of London Committee, brought up a report on the
reference respecting steam-boat landings at the Surrey
end of London-bridge.
The report, which relates to a great public conveni-
ence, stated that it was referred to the co.romittee to in-
quire and report whether it would be for the public con-
venience to afford accommodation for the embarking and
disembarking of passengers by steam-boats and other
vessels and boats at the east and west aides of the Surrey
end of London-bridge, and if the committee were of
opinion that such would be the case, that they pro-
cure and lay before the Court a plan or model, show.
ing how the same could be provided. The re-
port then proceeds—ln order to ascertain how
far public accommodation might be affected by the
question under consideration, we received the evidence
e,f several gentlemen who were in the habit of using the
railways the termini of which are at London-bridge, and
the steam-boats which call at the stairs at the Surrey
end of the bridge. We also had evidence before us by
other gentlemen and tradesmen of the neighbourhood,who
were constant witnesses of the difficulty and danger of
crossing the carriage way at the Surrey end of the
bridge from the particularly crowded state of that busy
thoroughfare. The directors and managers of the steam-
boats afforded us further information in respect of the
numbers who avail themselves of the line of communica-
tion to which our inquiries were directed. The concur-
rent testimony of all the parties who appeared before us
has satisfied your committee that it would be very highly
conducive to the public convenience if the accommoda-
tion adverted to by the reference were afforded. Your
committee then proceeded to consider the other points
embraced in the reference, which directed us to obtain a
plan for effecting the objects contemplated. We there-
fore instructed Mr. S. W. Leach, the engineer, to prepare
a plan which might be suited for the purpose, and inter-
fere as little with the navigation of the river as circum-
stances and due security would permit; and two plans
were accordingly submitted by that officer.
A plan was also submitted by Mr. Dawson, a member
of your Hon. Court. proposing an arched thoroughfare
through the abutment of the bridge, and under the road-
way from the upper landing, on the west stairs, to the
corresponding landing on the east stairs. Previously,
however, to agreeing upon the recommendation of any
plan your committee invited the attendance of Messrs.
Fenning, the occupiers of the wharf next below the
bridge to the east, who had communicated their anxiety
to be heard on the subject. These gentlemen attended
with their solicitor and inspected the various plans, and
the obj, ctions urged by them were duly entertained.
Your committee having carefully deliberated upon the
advantages and disadvantages of the respective plans,
have agreed to recommend as most suitable the one
hereunto annexed, the estimate of the cost of executing
which is 1,2201. At the same time your committee beg
to lay before the Court the suggested plan of Mr. Daw-
son, and to state their opinion that the same would be a
great public acconamodation; and if such a communica-
tion were made the platform and brow on the east stairs
would be rendered unnecessary.
Mr. PHILLIPS having moved that the report be
agreed to,

-Mr. H. L. TAYLOR said the accommodation might,
for what he knew, be a great public convenience, but he
disapproved the sudden expenditure of 1,2001. upon an
improvement which was as yet unintelligible, at the
same tune that the Court did not know how far it might
interfere with the interests of the tenants of the corpora-
tion in the I,cality.—(Hear, hear.) He moved as an
amendment, that the report be printed and circulated
amongst the members.

Mr. Deputy STACEY referred to the plan suggested by
Mr. Dawson, as likely, it carried into effect, to give im-
mense accommodation to the public independently of
the convenience afforded to the steamer passengers, at
the same time that it would present the advantage of
security to life and limb, which were constantly endan-
gered in the existing state of the traffic in the neigh-
bourhood of the bridge.—(Hear, hear.) He wished to
learn whether the plan proposed by Mr. Dawson was
practicable.
Mr. Dewson said the opening at the abutment sug-
gested to the Court would prove an accommodation of
the greatest importance, for the attempt to cross from
one side of tba street at the bottom of the bridge was
dangerous in the extreme, and he had known ladies to
be detained several minutes by the fear of being over-
whelmed by the ponderous and the rapid vehiclea which
never cease to pass in the busy hours of the day.—(Hear,
hear.) A professional friend of his estimated the ex-
pense at 800/, and no doubt the cost would ba a mere
trifle in comparison with the accommodation, which
would, in fact, obviate the necessity of putting the city
to the expense of a pier.
Mr. ANDERTON doubted that the person who esti•
mated the exi.ense at 8001., would uudertake to make it
for 1.000/.

Mr. Deputy HoLT placed implicit reliance upon the
judgement of the Navigation Committee, and agreed
with the report.

Mr. Deputy ()mum) did not approve of tlr. Dawson's
plan, and said that the danger incurred by ladies at
present in crossing the street was not likely to be so
great as the danger they would incur in making their
way through a dark and crowded passage, in which in-
sults might be very easily perpetrated.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BOWER saw no more difficulty in crossing Lon-
don-bridge than there was in crossing Cheapside and
other populuus neighbourhoods, and thought the Court
ought to take care how they incurred a large expense
merely for the benefit of steam companies.
Mr. BEXNUCH was afraid the project would increase
the number of nuisances in the vicinity of the bridge.
The report wac then, in accordance with Mr. H. L.
Taylor's amendment, ordered to be printed.