The Sun.
London, England, 1834-10-17 00:00:00

CURRAGII OCTOBER MEETING.

FIRST DAY.
Sweepstakes of 30 sovs., ft. T. Y. C.
Mr. Watts's The Colonel 1
Mr. Flood's Zero
Kirwan Stakes of 50 sovs., h. ft. Red Post.
Colonel Westenra's Thump
Mr. Hunter's Lupin
Mr. Watts's Rush

Five others started.
Sweepstakes of 100 sous. each, and the gold whip. Four miles.
Mr. Disney's Skylark
Mr. Hobson's Lady Elizabeth
Lord Portarlington's Shamrock
Sweepstakes of 25 goys., 15 ft., for two yrs. o.d. T. Y.C.
Lord Milltown's Argirio
Mr. Kelly's Curlew 2
Mr. Finucane's c. by Giles
Two other matches were fixed for yesterday, but, owing to the
wetness of the day, they did not come off.

HUNTING APPOINTMENTS.
The King's Stag Hounds meet on Monday, at Ascot Race
Course; Friday, at Broom Hill Hut
The Eve•ham Harriers, Saturday, at Mornington ; Tuesday, at
Shinhill ; Thursday, at Bishampton ; Saturday, at Sedgeberrow—
at half-past 10.
The Kingston Harriers, Saturday, at Litton Hill— at 8.
The Thanot Harriers, Mondays, at Monekton Sea Mark ; Wed-
nesdays, at Minster Mills ; Fridays, at Nash Court Hill—at 10.
Mr. Greenhill's Hounds, Monday, at the Fox and Goose, Brent;
Wednesday, at the Kennel.
Mr. Hall's Hounds, Tuesday, at Stourton Inn; Thersday,t
Witham Park ; Saturday, at Monk Wood.
The Cadbury Harriers, Tuesday, at Sparkfield Bridge ; Friday,
at Ansford Park.
The Devizes Harriers, Tuesday, at Haskings Pennings; Wednes•
day, at Edgington ; Saturday, at Worton—at 11.
Mr. Meynell's Hounds meet on Monday at Sudbury Coppice;
Thursday, at Bretby Park ; Saturday, at Rough Park—half-past 10
The York and Amsty Hounds, Saturday, atWhirley—half-past 10
The Brighton Harriers, Mondays, at Patcham ; Wednesdays, at
the Race Course ; Fridays, at the Dyke—at 11.
The Brookside Hounds, Mondays, at Newmarket Hill ; Fridays.
at Telscombe Tve—at 10.

Sir Charles Scudamore, M.D. has arrived inWin2.%
pole-street, from Buxton.
'The Earl of Pembroke has returned to Fenton's
Hotel, from Brighton. His Lordship has engaged a superb
hotel in the Place Vendome at Paris, whither the domestics,
with the horses, carriages, &c., are gone.
Sir Robert Peel and his lady and eldest daughter,
intend to make a continental tour of three months ; they wero
expected to leave Calais yesterday, for Paris, whence, after a
short stay, they will visit Italy and Switzerland. At Florence
they will meet Sir Henry and Lady Floyd, and they will make
some stay at Rome. The Right Hon. Baronet shipped two
carriages at the Customhouse, on board the Lord-Melville, but
he has taken few servants with him. His establishments at
Drayton Park, in Staffordshire, and in Privy Gardens, hav
not been diminished. It is the first continental trip Sir Re •
bert has taken since his marriage with his lady, sister to sir
Henry Floyd.
The Duke of Sussex, on leaving Newstead Abbe's,.
the seat of his friend Colonel Wildman, proceeds on his annua 1
visiting tour to the Earl of Lichfield, at Shugborough ; Lord
and Lady Dinorben, at Kinmell Park, near St. Asaph; and
Mr. and Lady Anne Coke, at Holkhtun Hall. His Roya!
Highness, however, will not be able to join the shooting
parties.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURN A. LS.

We this day record with unfeigned regret the de-
struction by fire of the two Houses of Parliament, and
most of the large and magnificent ranges of offices
and buildings connected with them. This lamentable
conflagration commenced between the hours of six and
seven last night. Since receiving the various reports,
the substance of which our readers will find in another
column, we have had an opportunity of seeing in per-
son the greater part of the ravages of the devouring
element. From the most accurate information we could
collect, it is most probable that the fire was purely ac-
cidental, and originated in some neglect or accident of
the workmen employed in making alterations in the
Library of the Lords, and who had just left their
work in that part of the building. We will shortly
state the extent of destruction we personally
witnessed. The ouses of Lords and Commons
are utterly destroy with the library rooms of the
ll
former, and, we be me, of the latter. The com-
mon report is, that the large and valuable collections
of books, with some exceptions, of the Commons were
consumed. Fortunately, in consequence of the altera-
tions of the library rooms of the House of Lords, the
books had been recently removed into the large com-
mittee-room of the Lords fronting the Thames ; they
are entirely saved, and have only suffered such loss or
injury as may have been caused by their being moved
into the adjacent yard. A consicierable 'portion of the
offices and rooms, together with the Painted Chamber
(of Conference) of the Lords, is wholly gutted by the
fire ; but the Journal-offices of the Lords, and their
records, were quite safe early this morning, with every
probability of security. The houses of Mr. Ley, and
the intermediate habitations of the principal officers
of Parliament, situated between the Lord; Journal-
olliee and the Speaker's house, were completely burned
between the hours of nine and eleven. ' Much of the
furniture, and a great portion of the books, in this ex-
tensive pile of buildings, were saved, and stored in the
gardens. About ten o'clock, it became evident that
the Speaker's house would speedily fall a sacrifice to
the flames. The valuable library of the Speaker,
chiefly, we believe, public property, was soon, and
with tolerable safety, removed into the
.garden and
covered with carpets and bedding ; but we fear that
some portion of the books remained in a room
near the large library. The furniture was -nearly
all removed, and the pictures safely deposited at
the furthest extremity of the terrace facing the
Thames. At a late hour the house was only
partially gutted—those rooms with the large
gothic windows looking on the water, and the
wing immediately adjoining, were completely destroyed.
The greatest exertions were made to save the ancient
and venerable Hall of Westminster, and we should
think they will continue to prove successful, as down
to the time of our going to press the roof and building,
and also the vane, were untouched by the fire. The con-
flagration ultimately extended all round the new front
buildings of the Lords, utterly consuming the rooms of
the Lord Chancellor, Mr. Courtnay, and other offices
ranging round to Haves's coffee-house. The latter
premises also are wholl destroyed. The fire in that
part of its devastathig progress, ultimately appeared
to centre in Mr. Bellamy's kitchens and upper stories,
and nothing but the bare walls are apparent from the
view in Old Palace-yard-street, opposite the Chapel of
Henry the Seventh. Our last view of that part of
the range of building presented the Committee-room,
mider Bellamy's kitchen, in a complete blaze, and ex-
tending some way backwards towards thohdjoining Com-
mittee-rooms on the stone-staircase. The two stories
of Committee-rooms on the stone-staircase are not in-
jured. = Upeta. the time of our going to press, the
Courts of Law, including those of the Chancery, were
quite safe ; but it is evident that so . vast a Mass' of
ignited materials, comprising large ranges of rooms
and galleries, was little operated upon by the almost
useless, but unremitting, exertions of the firemen and'
troops working the engines. The general opinion
appeared to be, that the quantity of water available
was altogether insufficient ; but we must add, that
the instances are extremely rare of any large public
buildings being saved, when once the fire has gained
a strong ascendancy. We fear that the records of
the House of Commons have most severely suffered,
if not been entirely destroyed ; but the state of the_
large stores of public bills and papers in the area cel-
lars could not be ascertained. They are, in all proba-
bility, wholly lost. It was stated to us by one of the
officers of the House of Lords that the rooms of Mr.
Dorrington and the offices of the Commons' Journal
Department were utterly consumed : for the accuracy
of this information we cannot vouch ; but from the
state of the intermediate buildingi, we entertain but
little doubt of the fact. The damage in the immediate
proximity of the entrance from the passages adjoining
the door-way into Westminster-hall cannot be ascer-
tained. However extensive and deeply to be re-
gretted the loss of the papers and 'MS. records of
the Commons, it will be satisfactory .to the public
to state, on the authority of high, official persons,
that the public service will sustain—no irretrievable
loss, or permanent inconvenience. ' The Commons'
Library, if consumed, may be replaced : the boobs
were numerous and valuable, but chiefly works of re-
fersnce, and not of any rarity, though time was neces-
sarily occupied in their collection. We have not learned
the fate of the long gallery ; but we should think that
it had also formed part of the interior fire, though some
doubt .was expressed on the subject. Of the state of
the upper rooms leading to the Strangers' Gallery of
the Commons, little was known, and as little of the
gallery and rooms leading from the smoking-room into
Bellamy's kitchen. But, more or less, all these parts
of the House must have suffered. A more wide-spread-
ing or imposing fire was never witnessed in the Metro-
polis. The associations connected with the ancient
Chapel of St. Stephen's and the House of Lords, every
apartment of which recalls some great historical
event—the vivid view of the rapid flames as they
rolled round this large frontage of public build-
ings driven by the shifting wind—the glare of the
towering flames, the volumes of smoke which mixed
with the raging element—the repeated, crashes of the
falling, roofs, all combined to impress the crowds who
attended' the fire with feelings never to be forgotten.
In the midst of this striking scene, the Chapel of Henry
the Seventh and -Westminster Abbey appeared enve-
loped in flames ; and the reflection of the fire on the
turrets, and delicate tracery of the architecture of the
Chapel, produced a singular effect. The view of the
Thames was not less remarkable. The river and bridges
were covered with people, large parties contemplating
the awful scene, and the water, like a mirror, reflecting
the glare of the conflagration. The pecuniary loss to
the. nation cannot yet be ascertained : it was estimated
at upwards of 200,0001. in the cost of the publicbuild-
ings alone. Lord Melbourne, Lr,rd Althorp, Lord Auck-
land, 'Lord Hill, the Attorney-General; and several
members of the Government were present from an
early hour. . Mr. Sutton, the Speaker's son, arrived
about eight o'clock, and, we believe, was the only
member of his family in town. The police success-
fully kept the crowds from all interference with the
engines. But too much credit cannot be given, to the
various bodies of troops who worked the engines, as-
sisted in removing the great mass Of property, arid
aided the firemen in most indefatigable exertions to
extinguish the flames. Indeed, to their judiciously-
combined and continued efforts the preservation of
Westminster-hall and the Courts of Law was entirely
owing. FIVE o'CLocK.—We have just returned from
witnessing the scene of conflagration. We may now
say with confidence that Westminster Hall and the
Courts of Law are completely saved.' The fire is so
far got under, that it will not now extend beyond the
buildings where it has raged.--Morning Chronicle.
London was yesterday evening thrown into the
greatest consternation by one of the most destructive
fires that has occurred for many years, and which for
a considerable period seemed to threaten with total de-
struction, not the habitations merely of private indivi-
duals, net one or more public buildings of great im-
portance to the community at large, but a whole dis-
trict of the metropolis, and that the district whiCh
includes within its boundaries the 'Houses of Parlia-
ment ; the Courts of Law ; the greater part of the
offices of Government ; the venerable and magnificent
Hall which has been the scene of the most august of
our national festivals, and the most important of our
judicial proceedings for many ages ; and last, not least,
that stupendous monument of the taste, the magnifi-