The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-04 00:00:00

THE SUN,

ROCHESTER DIOCESAN FEMALE TRAIN- I
ING INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTION.
On Wednesday the foundation stone of this institu-
tion was laid by the Bishop of Rochester. The Eastern
Counties Rail way ran special trains to and from Shore-
ditch to Bishop Stortford. The proceedings com-
menced with Divine service in Bishops Stortford
Church, and after an impressive discourse had
been preached by the Reverend J. Br&MStOl2 from
the 3d chapter of Collosians, 17th verse, a pro-
cession was formed to Bramble-hill, about a mile to
the eastward, where the intended building will be
erected. The procession was formed in the following
order :—The National School children, the Church-
wardens, the High School and Masters, Mr. Harle
bearing the silver trowel and velvet cushion, on the
former of which was inscribed, " ' Feed my lambs,'
John xxi., verse 15. This trowel was presented to
the Hon. and Right Rev. George Lord Bishop of
Rochester, by the inhabitants of Bishops Stortford,
Herts., on the occasion of his laying the foundation-
stone of the Diocesan Training Institution for School-
mistresses, at Hockerell, near Bishops Stortford, on
the 2d of truly, A.D. 1851." Next cams the archi-
tect and f,uilder, bearing the mallet, levels, and plate,
on which was engraved—" The foundation-stone
of this institution for the industrial training of
sixty schoolmistresses in the diocese of Rochester
was laid by the Right Rev. G. Murray, D.D.,
lord bishop of the diocese, on Wednesday, July
2, 1851, with many prayers to God that
His blessing may prosper the work thus commenced."
The Bishop and Archdeacon Burney followed, after
which the clergy and gentry brought up the rear.
Psalms were chaunted as the procession moved
through the town. Upon reaching the intended
site, the bishop, kneeling, offered up several
prayers, and on receiving the trowel he expressed
his thanks for the honour the inhabitants had
canferred on him by selecting him to take
so prominent a part in the proceedings, and
sincerely hoped the anticipations which they bad
formed would, by the blessings of God, be realised.
The stone was then lowered, and the ceremony ter-
minated. The intended building has been designed
by Mr. Clarke, of Stratford-place. It is in
the Elizabethan or Tudor style of architecture,
composed of brick with Bath stone borders
to the doors, windows, &c., and has a
chequered front, similar to the great ball in
Lincoln's-inn and the buildings of Hampton
Court Palace. The extreme elevation will be 43
feet, length 220 feet, and depth 156 feet. It com-
prises an infant school, dining hall, matron's apart-
men's, &c., and will cover an area of 21 acres. The
estimated cost is 9,000 L, towards
,which the National
Society have subscribed 600/., and with the Govern-
ment grant the subscriptions amount to 4,5001. A
further sum of 441. 12s. 3d. was collected yesterday
at the church door.

THE DETAINER DETAINED.
A few days ago a mechanic in one of the dis-
tricts of Ayrshire, who was rich in ingenuity, pre-
paring to emigrate, found a little obstacle in the revi-
val of an ancient dispute about the division of some
trialb• however, having got his machinery in motion
he commenced " sitting on a rail" as far as Greenock,
when eo his annoyance he found the vessel did not
sail for a couple of days, and on the second he got
a post-haste advice, that if he did not eail instantly tie
might probably be persuaded not to sail at all, by rea-
son of the determination of hi 3 friend, who, with a war-
rant, intended to see whether he might not be dispond to
come aehore again and reason the matter. Chest; and
family on board and passago paid, this wa3 a serious
and sudden slap at him in the hour of his extremity.
However, SI he had always depended more upon his
head then his heels heretofore, he stuck to the scat of
the reasoning powers to the last; and stepping into
the Greenock police-office next morning, he told u sen-
sible honest-like tale of how he had come down the coun-
try and intended to cross to Helensburgh, but before he
could return, same night, a weak friend, whom he de-
scribed, and whom he intended to place in safe keeping.
might arrive,and that he would take it a great favour that
the officers would take charge of him till he should i eturn
from Helensburgh. He told them the train he would
probably arrive by, and that he always carried what
he believed to be a warrant, having for years been
uniler the hallucination that somebody owed him
201. The bait took • our emigrant dropped down
the river, and sailed for the land of liberty the same
afternoon, while his out-witted creditor, detected
at once on stepping out of the train, was the
more decidedly believed to be all he had been re•
presented the more indignantly he repelled the insinua-
tions of the police, and the more loudly he vowed ven-
geance. When the last steamer arrived from Helens-
burgh that night without a cleineant for the captive, the
scales fill from the eyes of the police ; but ere this the
anchor had been weighed, and the 6. mart" man had
pieced twenty knots of a different king between himself
and his friend.—Ayr Advertiser.

NOVEL EXPERIMENT.-EXYL,OSION AT
TUIRTY MILES' RANGE.

On Wednesday a series of extraordinary experiments
were pen/brand at the Gutta Percha Company's works, I
Wharf-road, City-road, calculated to show the immense
distance or long range at which explosion can be pro-
duced by the galvanic battery, by which the electric
spark is propelled along c pper wires, insulated by a
covering of gutta percha, of a similar construction to
that used for the sub-marine telegraph. Much to the'
surprise of the spectators, the instantaneous ignition and
explosion of several charges of gunpowder was produced
through a length of no less than thirty miles of wire; the,
respective coils forming this length being from 500 to
700 yards each, were immersed in the water of the
Regent's Canal, and attached to a barge moored off the
company's premises. The wire use'd for this purpose
was what is called No. 16 gauge, entirely enveloped in
gotta percha, and the only parts not entire!), under
water were the small pertions necessary for connecting
the coils; the perfection of the whole arrangement, and
the itssulating properties of gotta pereha being rendered
apparent by the magical rapidity of the explo.ions, and
the facility with which the connexion could be severed.
The discovery of this novel long range is attributable to
Mr. Statham, the managing director, while experiment-
ing upon heating platina wire for mining purposes, and
the experiments of Wednesday show that not only can
this novel mode of blasting be applied to mining but also
to warlike purposes, and that distance is no object, as it
could be equally effected with any length of wire, pro-
vided it were perfectly insulated. The experiments, it
is understood, will shortly be repeated in the presence of
high military authorities and scientific gentlemen.

DISEASES OF INTEMPERANCE.
At a meeting of the Statistical Society of London, held
on the 16th of June, the Right Hon. Lord Overstone
President, in the chair, a paper was read by Mr. F. G.
P. Nelson, on the " Rate of Mortality among Persons of
Intemperate Habits." Mr. Neison commenced his paper
by explaining that the primary reason for collecting the
data then brought forward, was to apply the results to
life assurance eperations, and he had consequently only
included well marked cases of intemperance, and nut
brought into his observations mere occasional drinkers,
or what is termed generous or "free livers." Through-
out the whole of the tables the mortality shown was
frightfully high. In the 6111•5 years of life, to which
the observation extended, 357 deaths had taken place;
but if these lives had been subject to the same rate of
mortality as the general population of England and
Wales, the number of deaths would have been 110 only,
or less than one-third. Some curious results were
shown in the influence of the different kinds of drink on
the duration of life; beer drinkers averaging 21.7 years,
spirit drinkers 161, and those who drank both spirits
and beer indiscriminately 16.1 years. These results,
however, were not more curious than those connected
with the different classes of persons. The average du-
ration of life after the commencement of intemperate
habits among mechanics, working and labouring men,
was 18 years; traders, dealers, and merchants, 17; pro-
fessional men and gentlemen, 15; and females, 14 years
only. But perhaps the most curious circumstance dis-
closed was the remarkable similarity between the pre-
vortion of crime in the sexes to the proportion of deaths
from asQgned causes of intemperance. It was shown
NI the tendency to crime in the male sex is nearly
five times greater than that of the female, or Moro
strictly, in the relation of 336 to 1,581, while the ratio
of deaths to the population from assigned intemperate
causes at the age of 20 and upwards, are in the relation
of 8.011 to 36,769—a
most remarkable agreement, the
difference
being under 2 per cent—Builder.

---_____
FREINCH RA IL WA Y TRAFFIC.
The following are the bat returns of the gross re-
ceipts of the principal French RailwaP :
NoRTHERN.
291,1 I lf. ; goods 12rxi June IS to June 24: Passengers,
473,810 f.
RonEN......prora' 1,1699 E; total, .
96,312 f.; goods, 81,41je' 15 to ~„
June 21 . Passengers,
HANRE.—From -1.“..; total, 177,71nr
June
38,409 f.; goods, 37,135 f 15 to June 21 : Passengers,
ORLEANS.—From Juns Is to dune 22 :
'1 tqtal 75,544 f.
92,047 K ; goods, 109,402 f • Passengers,
BORDEAUX.—From Jun..' tirll, 201,449 f.
41,46 a,.; goods, 43 633 f,;
VIERZON —From Jun 16 at•llBl,l,Cl2f.
tot." it° Juno 22: Passengers,
36,933 f.; goods, 39,762 E; total, A ,%22 : passengers,
BOULOGNEiI.—rom June 16 to Juts
14.972 f.; total, 47.5:71'2'
32,575 K; goody, Passengers,
NAIITES.—From June 14 to Jun, 20 : p
23,096 f.; eoods, 20.407 f.; total, 43,503 f. -B•B2engerS,
STRASBURG —llOlll June 18 to Juno 24; p ,5,,,
104.773; good,, 67,228 f. total, 172 001 f. a --17`Zers,
MoNTEßEAu.—FromJune 11 to June 17 : Passenry
zer,‘
11.831 K ; goods, 13,7151'. ; total, 25,546 f.
MARSEILLES.—FromJuno 11 to June 17: Passengers,
44.026 f.; goods, 22,255 f.; total, 66,284 f.
LYONS. —From June 8 to June 14 : Passengers,
220,624 f.; goods, 53,285 f.; total, 273,909 f.
CHARTREs.—From June 9 to June 15: Passengers,
28,477 f.; goods. 17,073 F.; total, 45,550 f.

STOCK-171-TRADE.—The Act 3d and 4th Vie., c.
83, Continuing the examption of inhabitants from liability,
to be rated as such in respect of stock-in-trade, or other pro-
perty, to the read' of the poor, is proposed by Mr. Bouverie
and Sir George Grey to be continued till the Ist October,
18.52. The Bill authorising the continuation has been printed.
Barns'? CLIPPERS.—We may notice the quick
e"ato of the, new brig Everton, Captain John Ditchburn,
by Mr. it Williamson this year at Harringion,
which has just completed her passage to Earbadoes and hack
to silty
-a:378. Captain D. writes in the most flattering
terms of his vessel, and states that, although for some time
he met with cross winds, he passed every vessel in his track.
acquet,

A BOY TWELVE YEARS OLD COM-
MITTED FOR WILFUL MURDER.
On Thursday an inquest was held at the King's
Head Hotel, Horsham, touching the death of Wm.
Gibson, aged 14 years. The first witness, Lucy
Jenkins, deposed to seeing deceased and a boy, John
Payne, walking up the Church-causeway on the
evening of the 14th June. She sat at work, but hear-
ing a cry looked up, and saw Gibson crying, and he
said " you've done—you've done it, look here." Just
at this time Mr. Killick, who lives just opposite, came
out and asked what was the matter, when Gibson said
" Payne has stabbed me with a knife." She heard no
struggling between them, she only heard the cry.
Did not see any knife.—Robert Killick deposed to
saying to Payne, " Why did you stab him (Gib-
son) ?" and Payne replied, "because he hit me on
the side of the head with his fist." Gibson denied
having hit him at all. Saw blood running from
Gibson's side. Didn't see a knife at all. The boys
then parted, and each went in the direction of their
homes. Mr. James Winkworth, surgeon, from a
post mortem examination made that morning, stated
that there could be no possible doubt that deceased
bad died from the effect of a wound given with a
pocket-knife. William Stedman, the magistrate's
clerk, deposed to taking deceased's dying statement
on oath. It was that he was walking up the Church
causeway when he saw Payne sharpening a knife on
a stone. After having passed Payne about six
feet, be looked round and saw Payne coming after
him with a knife in his hand, which he immediately
thrust into his right side. A man looked out of a
window on the causeway at the time and told Payne
he would be either hanged or transported. He (Gib-
son) had never had any quarrel with Payne; neither
did he say or do an thing to Payne previous to his
stabbing him. The jury returned a verdict of " Wil-
ful Murder against John Payne," adding that they
were of opinion ttat the act was committed with the
smallest possible premeditation. Payne was after-
wards brought before the magistrates and committed
to take his trial for wilful murder at the Sussex Sum-
mer Assizes.—Brighton Guardian.

SEABORNE MAILS.
[147 signifies that the mails are sent freak the General Post-ofdas
by the night—and SI by the morning—dispatch.]

When made up in From what when
PLACES. GeneralPost-ofilce port die- due.
London. patched.
A.merica (by Brit. pkt.)N,July 4 .. Liverpool.. July 6
America (by U.S. pkt.) NJuly 8 .. Liverpool July 9
America (by U.S. pkt.) 31'July 16 .. Southampt. Ju ylO
Africa (West coast)• • Nll4th of the month Plymouth July 3
Alexandria* • • ...... Nll9th & 30th of mo. Dover .. July 18
Belgium • . NiDally Dover .. Daily
Brrzil .. • .. 1119th of the month ISouthampt. July 12
ilucnos Ayres • • .. 31;90 of the month Southampt. July 12
CaliforrJa(viaChagres) M. ld & 17th of month[Southampt. July 5
Cape of Good Hope N[l4th of month 'Plymouth.. Ju y 3
Constantinople* .... :7th 17th 27th of mo Dover .. July 10
C,entral America .. 31:2d & 17th of mon. ;Southampt. July 5
Channel Isles .. NIMon., Wed., & FrLlSouthampt. Tn. Th.S a
Chili . 31,17 th of the month ISouthampt. July 20
France & N Twic:i. daily .. .. Dover .. Twicedaily
Greece* • • .. N 7th 17 th 27th elm I Dover .. July 10
Hamburgh N'Tuesday & Friday ;London .. Tues. Sat.
Holland .. • • .. M Wednes. & Satur.lLondon Moa.Thrt
Honduras . N 17th of the moothlSouthampt. July 20
Ireland M & N Twice daily i Holyhead •. 1 wicedaily
India(via Southamp.) M 20th of the month Southaropt. July 43
India (via Marseilles) N 7 tit& 24th ofmonth, Dover • • July 16
Mediterranean (via I
Southampton) .. M2Oth of the monthlSouthampt. July 23
"Aediterranean (via I
Marseilles) N 7th& 24th of month Dover • • July 16
Mexico M 2d of the month.. iSouthampt.lJuly 5
Nlclelra M 9th of the month Southampt.i July 12
Malta'..• • N 7th ,17 th,190,27th1l Dover July 10
CI &30th of month
Naples* N sth 15th 25th ofmo Dover .. July 12
Papal States* N sth 15th 25th of mo!Dover .. July 12
Peninsular.. • • .. M 7th 17th 27th of mol Southampt. July 6
Peru .. M 17th ut the month Isouthamet. [July 20
Tuscany* N sth 15th 2.5 th of mo Dover .. !July 12
,Vest Indies 17th of the month ISonthani pt. 'July 40

qest Indies (qxcept
Ilavanna & Nassau) M 2d of the msnth

* The mails to those c ountrles thus marl;
Frenei packet Marseilles.
CALIVOILNIA.—MaiIs to and from California
are now despatched and due by every Ameri4

ISoutharept. !July 5
ed (*) are conveyed b;

La, via the United States
Lean packet.

THE GREAT FLUE AT SAN FRANCISCO.
(From the New York Herald.)
SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, MAY 15.—Another
of those devastating calamities which have so often
attacked this city has laid in ashes all the best-built,
most densely inhabited and business portions of this
city since the departure of the last steamer. On the
4th of May, 1850, about three o'clock in the morning,
a fire was discovered which, before it was extin-
guished, destroyed a great portion of the city. Three
times between that and the 3d of May, 1851, did de-
structive fires again and again destroy the results of
energy and perseverance hitherto unparalleled in the
annals of the world. On the night of the 3d of
May, at 11 o'clock, a small shanty, about 12 feet by
20, was discovered to be on fire. By 7 o'clock on
Sunday morning, the 4th of May, more than one-
half of the city lay in smoking ruins, and buildings
and property were destroyed more than equalling
in extent and value all that the four great fires
(besides the lesser ones) which had occurred
within a twelvemonth had consumed. To at-
tempt to describe the appearance of the city
while enveloped in this terrible conflagration, or
the aspect of the smoking ruins when the de-
vastation was complete, or the feelings of those whose
breasts were filled with hope the previous evening,
and whose fortunes were destroyed in a few hours,
would be a hopeless task. Frame-buildings burned
like tinder ; iron houses curled up like sheets of paper
before a fire; brick buildings, with iron shutters and
doors, gave way and crumbled into ruins. Of scores
of buildings supposed to be fireproof, within the limits
of the burnt district, not a dozen remain, and it seems
as if they were preserved by a miracle. Such was the
fierceness of the flames that they leaped across streets
100 teat wide, and ignited the buildings as if they
were made of touch wood. And when the fury of the
flames was exhausted, they were extinguished in as
improbable a manner as they had ravaged. They
destroyed one end of a wooden building and went out,
leaving the remainder standing. To tear down
buildings was useless. They might begin a block,
but before the first building was demolished the
flames had reached them. To blow them up seemed
equally unserviceable—the flames crossed the gap thus
made as if it were nothing.
I forward to you, accompanying this, a map show-
ing the burnt district, which, with the explanations
accompanying it, will enable readers to understand
better the accounts you may publish respecting this
great catastrophe. The loss is incalculable. You
will find the various newspapers estimate it at from
7,000,000 to 20,000,000 dollars. I think the latter

estimate will be much nearer the truth than the
former. The list of losses which you will find in the
newspapers is entirely fallacious, and give no good
data upon which to make any calculations. The loss in
the destruction of buildings and goods on the ground,
bounded by the Plaza on the west, Clay-street on the
south, Montgomery-street on the east, and Wash-
ington-street on the north, can be readily summed
up to exceed 2,000,000 dolls., and this is one block
only out of more than 20. In the two bonded ware-
houses which were destroyed, one in California-street
end the other in Clay-street, there were more than
2,000 tons of merchandise stored. The value of
this merchandise alone was between 400,000 dolls.
and 500,000 dolls. Then it must be considered
that every store in the city almost had a full
stock of goods, and many more were destroyed
than were saved, in consequence of the rapidity with
which the flames spread, and the unexpected direc-
tions which they took. Hundreds of persons who
were rich on Saturday night had nothing but the
clothes in which they stood on Sunday morning.
Multitudes of persons did not save a paper ; and, alas !
numbers lost their lives. In one store, at the corner
of Montgomery and Sacramento streets, no less than
six met a fiery death. Some four or five, whose
names are unknown, are known to have perished in
the burning streets, and some are believed to have pe-
rished in burning buildings, whose fate will never be
known on earth save by conjecture, when they are
never heard of again.
But the most wonderful part of the history of this
fire is the energy and perserverance displayed by the
citizens here. The language does not contain words
sufficient to describe or commend their courage and
determination. Four times destroyed by fire, and four
times rebuilt, this, the fifth catastrophe, is as far from
disheartening them as the first. In forty-eight hours
after the fire buildings were erected and business was
transacted over the still smoking ruins. On this,
the eleventh day since the fire (including two Sun-
days), there are nearly 400 buildings erected or in
progress of erection in the burnt district, most of
them being completed and occupied. I hazard nothing
in saying that in 60 days the whole district will be
again covered with buildings. Nearly all of those
buildings, it is true, are of wood ; but wherever there
was a brick building previously preparations are
made to rebuild with such additional securities
against fire as they have learned by the
recent calamity, and in some cases larger
buildings than the previous ones are being
erected. Including the building being erected out-
side the boundaries of the fire, fully 600 buildings are
erected or being built since the fire. It is perfectly
astounding. It must be seen to be believed. I had no
conception of what could or would be done prior to
this. My experience has been very varied. I have
been in different countries, climates, states, and
cities, but have never seen anything like what I have
seen here. New York has suffered by fires, but
extentßrraono and
nothing coin
New York
would
of that city
emiee-ostreet, from
'hide should compare in proportion to the
population
parison to San Francisco. A fire in
North to East
u sweep away the
th this lastinv,Siatnh
whole city below
would be thought,
him who should prophecy all its vast population, in the reat metropolis,
'-tiver. And what
here is a matter of
re-
built (in eany mannPer)C7l that so much would be ecapital, skill, and resources, of
In the conflagration all the AnAuealwy3
60 days ? The prophecy
great fire in 12 months. course,
newspaper-offices
ctehsev,fi,efrthe
Picayune, Couriet:
destroyed except that of the California. The
Pacific News,
Herald, Balance,

LONDON,

True Standard offices—all were destroyed totally, ex-
cept the News, ilerald, and Balance, which saved a
portion of their materials. The Pacific News, by
obtaining from San Jose some materials which it had
there, and the Herald, with what it saved, have since
re-appeared. The others have not yet done so, and
there is no prospect of their immediate resumption.
In the first place, there are no offices to be pur-
chased, except one inferior and incomplete one, for
which an extravagant price is demanded, and, in the
second place, the rates for' work have been so much
reduced that the prices paid for composition (d dolls.
per 1,000 ems) have not only absorbed all the income
of the office, but in some cases run them in debt con-
siderably. The fact is, the printers here have been
killing the goose which laid the golden eggs, so that
there is not now employment for one-half the number
that there was before the fire.
The fire has very much unsettled the market for
all descriptions of goods, and sales at present are
made at very variable rates, depending mach on ac-
tual need. The speculative feeling is slight. What
there is, is in favour of a rise in most articles. }lour
cannot be expected to rise in consequence of the large
stocks, very little of that article having been destroyed
by the fire, as it was principally in store, in
vessels in the harbour, and in large brick stores, be-
longing to the flour company at Benicia. It will
probably be some time before the market becomes
settled again, so as to be quoted with certainty. We
hear of sales of limited quantities of the same article
changing hands at a difference of from 20 to 30 per
cent. on the same day, and this makes quotations very
unreliable.

I am prevented from sending to you my usual
statisical account of the commerce, &c., of this port,
by the confusion into which everything has been
thrown by the destruction of the Custom-house in the
fire. Mr. Hopkins, the assistant•collector, and some
others were near losing their lives in the burning
building while endeavouring to save some of the papers
and bunks.

By way of a change this morning, about eight
o'clock, we had a very sensible shock of an earth-
quake, which shook nearly all the houses in town. It
lasted but two or three seconds.