The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-03 00:00:00

THURSDAY EVENING,

THE GREAT FIRE AT SAN FRANCISCO. I
(From the .New York Herald.)
SAN FRAINCISCio, I'HUII,DAS, MAI 43. er
of thi.se devastating calamities which Have so often
attacked this city f as hid in ashes all the best-built,
most densely inhabited and business portions of this
city since the tit parture 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 abutters 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 feet wide, and ignited the buildings as if they
were made of touchwood. 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 newspapera 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,
bJunded 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 teen 20. In the two bonded ware-
houses which were destroyed, one in California-street
and 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 5C0,000 dolls. Then it must be considered
that every store in the city almost had a full
stock of goods, and many more were destroy ed
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 anti Sacramento streets, no less thae
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 building., 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
nothing in comparison to San Francisco. A fire in
New York which should compare in proportion to the
extent and population of that city with this last in San
Francisco would sweep away the whole city below
Broome-street, from North to East River. And what
would be thought, even in the great metropolis, with
all its vast population, capital, skill, and resources, of
him who should prophecy that so much would be re-
built (in any manner) in 60 days ? The prophecy
here is a matter of course. And yet this is the fifth
great fire in 12 months.
In the confl /ration all the newspaper-offices were
destroyed except that of the Alta California. The
Pacific .News, Picayune, Courier, Herald, Balance,
True Standard offices—all were destroyed totally, ex-
cept the News, Herald, and Balance, which saved a
portion of their materials. The Pacific News, by
obtaining from San Jose some materials which it ban
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 inf-rior and incomplete one, for
which au extravagant price is demanded, and, in the
second place, the tastes for work have been so much
reduced that the prices paid for composition ( 2 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 fur 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 much on ac-
tual need. The speculative feeling is slight. What
there is, is in favour of a rise in most articles. flour
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 B -nicia. 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. o❑ the same day, and this makes quotations very
unreliable.

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

By way of a change this morning, about eight
o'cloek 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.

MELANCNOLT AND FATAL ACCIDENT.—LOCKER-
BIE, JUNE 30.--A mournful accident, which has thrown an
universal gloom over our village, occurred this afternoon.
Mr Joseph Bryden, late farmer of Halldykes, but residing
here since Whitsunday, accompanied by a friend, went over
to the river Annan to bathe, about six o'clock r.ar. No
very correct account has yet reached us, but it would ap-
pear that Mr. Bryden soon after getting into the pool—a
very deep one— situated two or three hundred yards above
Shillahill Bridge, got beyond his depth, and, not being an
expert swimmer, immediately began to struggle and cry for
assistance. His friend, we believe, made two or three
praiseworthy efforts to save him, but failed ; the conse-
quence was that fully an hour eli.psed before he was got out,
when life was quite extinct. Mr. Bryden, from his quiet
and unobtrusive manners, was highly respected in the dis-
trict.—Perthshire Courier.

PARISH OF Sr. OLAVF, SOUTHWARK.--Yegerday
the children of the St. Olave's Girls' Charity School, in
Southwark, had the gratification, through the liberality of
Mr. Ex-Sheriff Pilcher, who is one of the oldest parishioners,
to enjoy a visit to the Exhibition of the Arts and Industry
of all Nations. The children, 50 in number, were conveyed
to the Exhibition in two vans, accompanied by Mr Filcher,
jun., and the members of the school committee and parish
officers, and their visit to this great national spectacle will
doubtless make a lasting impression on the minds of those
poor girls.