The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-14 00:00:00

TATTERSALL'S-SATURDAY.

The room was opened for the de:patch of business
•
relative to the transactions on the recent events at Crox- I
ton Park and Epsom ; in the course of the afternoon
a considerable sum of money changed hands.
When speculation was ressuigmueisduaint
tbaeuedamime
pinouttawuot otor
efforts for some time past to
three
ou
tic
wne
qtt ahunsi
:ad sufficiently
ce sensation.rta i e
fr
uphold Fly-by-Night for the Two Thousand and the
Derby, so strong a current of opposition set in against
him to•day that he was forced back to 8 to 1 for the f
former event, and to 14 to 1 for the latter, and there ap-
peared to be little hope of his reaching again the points
from which he had been driven. Yellow Jack, mean-
while, went rapidly ahead. After 6 to 4 had been taken
to a good deal of money, he toucbed at evens, and several
hundreds were then invested on him. At the close,
however, 110 to 100 was repeatedly offered on the field.
Pot to Rico received good support at 5 to 1.
Even money and 5 to 4 was betted on Cannobie for
the Burwell Handicap,-and from Bto 1 for the Derby h•
sprang to 5 to 1 taken ; 17 to 2 was taken to 50/. about .1
him for the two events.
At 4 to 1 and
higher 2 the
oddswould have
total outla on
bWentworthbeen taken
wasoa fully
50Ul
t
7 to
theCLOSING PRICES.
BURWELL HANDICAP.
asm. ;
Even and 5 to 4 on Cannobie (taken)
5 to 1 agst Cock of the North (taken)
THE TWO THOUSAND.
11 to 10 agst Yellow Jack (taken)
5 to 1 agst Porto Rico (taken freely)
Bto 1 agst Fly-by-Night (oared)
100 to 6 agst Peter Wilkins (taken)
CHESTER CUP.
14 to 1 agst Yorkshire Grey (taken)
7to 1 agst Hospitality (take 8 to 1)
THE DERBY.
7 to 2 agst Wentworth (taken)
sto 1 agst Cannobie (taken)
10 to 1 agst Ellington (taken and offered)
100 to 6 agstt Rogorto R :co erthorpe
(taken) ken)
20 to 1a P
50 to 1 agst Sugar Plum (taken)
2to 1 agst Wentworth and Cannobie, coupled
(taken)

c
GREAT STRIKE OF LANARKSHIRE COLLIERS.--In con
sequence of a resolution on the part of the coal masters
of tc mhi
tee colliersen thas 8 prevailed
1 samen'
. per day—viz.,
from
reduce dsu
sa. to
tot the w4a.--greatages ex
the workmen, and meetings attended by several thou.
sands have been held this week in the various mining
distr cts in Lanarkshire. On Thursday a meeting at-
tended by 5,000 men was held at the Govan Colliery,
near Glasgow, and resolutions were passedT
not to work
excepting at the old rate of ss. per day, the men alleging
that the price of iron, for the smelting of which the pro-
duce of the pits is principally used, fully justifies the
former rate of- wages. In the meantime fully 14,000
men are on strike in what is termed the Glasgow dis-
trtc t, and, though hitherto the men have been peaceable,
much uneasiness exists as to the result. 'lt is expected
that in the beginning of next week the strike will-extend
to the counties of Renfrew and Ayr. Very few piiiistill
opntinn® at work at the old wages of si, per day.

r: }

. -

The claim of-the electoral body of this Country to-the
protection of the ballot in the discharge-of their coitsti
tutional duty of "freely and indifferently".electing their
representatives in Parliament, will be again brought, by
Mr. H. Berkeley, M.P.., before the House of Commons,
on Tue,daY, 29th April inst. No one acquainted with
',the state of public feeling in their constituencies can fail
:to be aware that Abe ballot is the measure of reform, in
the progress of which the greatest interest is felt by the
electors. In prospect•of another division' on the qnes-
tion, which maybe the last ciuring..the.present Parha-
ment, it will be inter<sting to trace the history of the
ballot during: the four parlianients of the-present reign.
In the first Parliament elected ia 1837, the adoption of
the, ballot was moved .by Mr. Grote, on the 15th of
February, 1838, when there divided—Ayes, 198 ; noes,
315. In 1839, Mr. Grote renewed his motion ;on this
. occasion a greater number voted for the ballot than in
any other division either before or Since that time. The
ayes were, 216 ; the noes, 333. _ _ _

The effect of.the great number of supporters obtakned
by Mr. Grote was to induce Lords Melbourne and Lord
John Russell to make the balloten open question in the
Cabinet, one-of its ablest supporters, ' Mr. Macaulay,
being made Secretary of War. In. the Parliament of
1841 the Tories obtained a large .tnajority, the numbers
of the supporters of the ballot ofeouree was diminished;
Mr. Grote had retired from Parliament, and the atten-
tion and energies of the people were absorbed in the free-
rracle struggle. Under these eireeenstances the ballot
was only once mooted in ti at Parliament, viz , in 1842,
weer) the ayes were 157, the noes 240.
In. the Parliament elected isi 1-847 the ballot was
brought yearly before the House of Commons by Mr. H.
Berkeley, the numbers being as follows :--1848, ayes,
86 ; noes, 81.. I.B49;_ayeti, 85
.vtOsor, 136. 1850, ayes,
121 ; noes, 176. 1851, artorZUvitle, 50. 1852, ayes,
144 ; noes, 246.
On two occasions it will be seen'Mr. Berkeley obtained
a majority, but in each case at too late a period to allow
of further progress being made with the measure, though
in 1843 a bill was 'prepared, brought in, and read a first
time. The effect of thee reiterated discussions was to
increase the number of the supporters of the ballot in the
Parlament elected 41852, notwithstanding that elec-
tion took rlace under the auspices of "Beresford, Flew-
ker, and Frail." Shortly after the general election, the
" Society for Promoting the A !option ef the Ballot,"
was established. .This body have especially attended to
r-ecuring the preience at the divisions on Mr. Berkeley's
annual motion of members favourable to the measure.
The result of these circumstance have been an increase
in the number of Mr. Berkeley's supporters on each di-
vision during the present Parliament compared with the
divisions fr-in 1847 to 1852. The following are the
numbers :-1853, ayes 172, noes 232 ; 1854, ayes 157,
noes 194 ; 1855, ayes 166, noes 217. Altogether 229
members of the present Parliament have in the atreie
three. divi-ions voted for the ballot, but the ayes have
never attained the same number as in 1839, viz., 216.
Had each of these members been gas he ought to have
been) pre-ent at any one of the three divisions, the ayes
'night have beau carried beyond the maximum attained
in 1839.

A Tory organ speaks with triumph of "the perceptible
decrease in the followers of Grote and Bentham since the
question was first mooted," and congratulates its readers
on the fact "that a proposition only once supported
under any circumstances by 200 members cannot be
considered as having come practically before the coun-
try for its trial." The friends of the ballot should there-
tore use every exertion to secure the attendance at the
ceining division of 200 members at least, Let them bear
in mind the effects which followed the division of 1839,
and as the success then attained is not lost, for the bal-
lot is an op, n question in the present Cabinet, let them
by as powerful a display as possible of their Parliamen-
tary strength induce Lord Palmerston to act with
iegar I to the ballot as he has acted on the Church-rate
question. The friends of religious liberty, by bringing
the pressure from without to bear through the House of
Commons on the Ministry, have in three years converted
a majority of 48 against Church-iate abelition into a
majority of 43 in its favour. The materials and means
for securing a similar triumph for the ballot are the
same, and equally within the pOwer of its friends.; and
the cause of freedom of election is surely as worthy a
persevering and arduous struggle as the cause of freedom
of conscience.

TEftg FEMALE CONVICTS UNDER SEN-
TANCE OF DEATH IN SEW GATE.

The two unhappy women, Elizabeth Ann Harris and
Celeetina Sumner, who were convicted on Wednesday
and Thursday, the former of the murder of her children
by drowning, and the latter of the murder of her child
by cutting its throat, and whose cases excited so painful
an interest upon the trial, were removed immediately
atter Lao sentence was- pronoamsed-to separate rooms ow
the female side, of the orison, where they will remain
until their ultimate fate decided upon by the Govern-
ment. A female turnkey is in the room with each pri-
soner the whole of the day, and at night two women sit
up with them. It has been already stated that there is
no condemned cell, as it .was commonly termed, and
0 mvicts who are under sentence of death are now spared
the misery-of being confined in the gloomy receptacle-
formerly appropriated t ) that purpose for the abort
period of their existence prior to the carrying out of the
fatal sentence. They are now placed in a comfortable
aeartment, where they have the advantage of light and
warmth ; and no reasonable privilege likely to soothe
them in their melancholy position is dented them. Both
the unhappy women, although they were very much ex-
cited during their trial (particularly the woman Harris),
have since become much more composed ; but the woman
Harris appears more fully impressed with her awful posi-
tion than the other prisoner. The Rev. Mr. Dais, the
chaplain of the gaol, has been in c,eastant attendance
upon thee., and Miss Frazer, a benevolent lady, eh°
devotes her attention to the select: of the wretched in-
mates of this place of woe, has also been frequently with
the prisoners, and her religious exhortations have appa-
rently had effect upon Celestina Sumner. She is stated
to be only 24 years old in the calendar, but is it appears
two years older ; even according to this she must have
brought the unhappy child whose lire she destroyed into-
t're world when she was little more than 15 years old.
She affects to believe that there.is no intention of carry-
ing out the sentence of death, and she has stated that
she expects to be sent to a lunatic asylum, and that
after she has been confined there a few months, she shall
be set at liberty. But the authorities of the prison, as
well as the medical officers, are of opinion that there is
,not the least ground for supposing that her mind is in
any way di..turbed. The prisoner appears to have re-
ceived a good education, and it is said that she is re-
spectably connected. A very fearful impression prevail&
upon the subject of the paterni•y of l sr child, which ,t is
not necessary more particularly to allude to. The woman
Harris is only 25. years old, and she appears to have
received very little education, being scarcely able to
read. It is now several years since a woman was exe-
cuted at Newgate, the' last being a girl named Browning,
for the murder of an old woman in Westminster, with
the object of getting possession of what she believed to
be a Bank of England note, but which, after she had
committed the dreadful crime, turned out to be a note of
the Bank of "Elegance," and utterly worthless. It is
understood that a petition for a commutation of the sen-
tence is in course o. preparation, and it is almost need-
less to add that the authorities of the prison earnestly
hope it may have effect, and that they may all be.spared
from the performance of the distressing duty that will
devolve upon them should they have to carry the law
into effect.

TURKISH GUARANTEED LOAN.

DEPUTATION TO M. MUSURUS.

On Saturday morning, pursuant to appointment, a
deputation of the holders of Turkish guaranteed bonds
waited upon the Ottoman minister, at his residence,
Bryansteae-square, to submit to his Excellency's atten-
tion a proposition for the registration of the bonds. The
deputation consisted of Mr. Oliveira, M.P., Mr. Crau-
ford, M.P., Mr. Ralli, and Mr. H. Toogood, and was
received by his Excellency with !mob courtesy.
Mr. OLIVEIRA explained the object of the deputation,
and stated the result of his interrogation of the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, who had alleged that the ques-
tion was one in which the English Government could not
interfere, but which they would sanction c ,uld any ar-
rangement he entered into for the purpose with the
Porte and the Bank of England. He had since applied to
the Governor of the Bank, from whom he read a letter,
stating that the Bank was prepared to consider any plan
which the Ottoman Minister might submit to his Go-
vernment for effecting the object in view. Mr. Oliveira,
who stated that Mr. Scott, MT-) Mr. Hutt, M.P.,
Mr. Luce M.P., Mr. Curt's, and Mr. Uzielli had ex-
pressed their approval of his suggestion, an l then read
a letter from Mr. Hutchinson, chair nan of the Stock
Exchange, regretting his absence, and recommending
the conversion, at the option of the holders, of the bon
into registered transferable stook, which would have the
effect of greatly raising its value in the market, and of
the desirability of which he quoted a striking instance.
The hon. member explained fully how the registration
of the bonds would operate in their favour as a security.
Mr. ItiLLI then addressed the Minister, and observed
that he was a holder of the bonds to the amount of
25,0001., and bought them to keep, not as a speculation ;
consequently the registration would be in his case very
desirable.
His Excellency, who speaks English with great
fluency, listened with marked attention to the state-
ments of Mr. Oliveira, and after putting several ques-
tions, which were responded to by Mr. Craufurd, oh•
served that the proposition undoubtedly tended to give
additional security to the holders of the bonds, and
'promised that he would take immediate steps to com-
municate with the Porte, as well as with the Governor
of the Bank of England, on the subject.
The deputation, after thanking his Excellency, then
withdrew, much satisfied with the result of their inter-
view.

CSTETAL -PALACE.—FIVZ SHILLING DAY, APRIL 12.
—Admissions on payment, 217 ; ditto by Men tickets,
2,581 total viiiters, 2,878.

rr,-! -• "'

" • t • 14 , • • -11 , • t.

Last night a fire Of a terrific nature, the reflection of
which must, have been seen throughout every portion of
the metropolis, and many parts of the county of Surrey
'---broke out in. the station of the' London and South-
Western Qoppany, situated at Vauihall, and near to
:her kajesty'e private station., •
- Thoflames, it appears, were first peicei'ved by Mi. In-
:spector Parker, one of the officials at. 'Waterloo teraiinus,
who,- having been sent to see a gentleman at thoVauxliall
station, was in the act of ascending the staircase on the
down line, -when he noticed that the fire--was burning
-the paper and canvas wall leading to the offices of Messrs.
Mandslay. '
Animmediate alarm of fire was raised, and every one
went to the assistance of those previously on the plat-
form; but without being able to do the least good, inas•
muck as the fire travelled with the rapidity of electricity,
seizing upon the whole of the offices, then extending
to the ticket depots, and finally seizing upon the roof of
the station, and, burning both upwards and downwards,
it assumed such aformidahle aspect as_to convince every
one that the station was doomed to be wholly destroyed,
and it was questionable whether any of the buildings
that adjoined-it could escape. '
A teieg,raphiC message. was, therefore, at once des-
patched to the Waterloo terminus, conveying the un-
welcome intelligence of the disaster, and at the same
time men were sent down the line to stop. any train ap,
preaching London, in order to prevent
,accidents. The
latter was fortunately accomplished, but some hundreds
of excursionists and others were put to great inconve-
nience,. as they were unable to get nearer town than the
Clapham and Nine Elms Stations.
The Southampton exeursiou train which left London
in the morning conveyed nearly 700
_persons, who, of
coarse, would have:to. walk or provide their own CAA:.
veyance from the Nine Ellis station to London.
Information having reached the terminus the engines-
of the brigade and the West of England were called, but
the flames having shown such a lurid glare in the horizon
the engines hat started bef ire the messengers had time
to reach them, a d having been guided to the place by
the light in the air only the firemen at once went to work
in a manner for which they are proverbial on similar oc-
casions.

The moment the plugs of the Lambeth, Vauxhall, and
Southwark Companies mains were drawn a sufficient
supply of water was obtained to set the engines of Price's
ca.ndleworks, Messrs. Burnett's and Hodge's distillery,
to work, as well as that of the West of England Office,
and many of the London Brigade.
The 'Station, however, standing upon the top of the
line, and being built of wood, aud the wind blowing stiffly
off the river Thames, the conflagration continued to pro-
gress, and at length commenced to attack the houses on
the south side of the property, and by 11 o'clock sundry
portions of the timber roof gave way and fell with a great
crash, portions being hurled into the middle of the per-
manent way and other parts falling at the feet of the fire-
men ; but in spite of their most strenuous labours not
the least impression could be made upon the violence of
the flames. The men, however, under the admirable
directions of their superior officers, Messrs. Henderson,
Connorton, Holloway, Flemming,' and several others,
stood to their posts ; but, even at the time this account
was written—l 2 o'clock—although all danger of any
further extension of mischief was over, the fire was far
from being entirely extinguished. By that period the
whole of the, stati,m, booking-offices, warehouses, 4lcc.,
were reduced to ruins, nut even the wooden walls of the
railway company remaining. _ _ _

The moment the news was received at the Waterloo
terminus, Mr. Crombie, the secretary ; Mr. Young, the
superintendent of the terminus ; Mr. Godson, and seve-
ral other officials hastened to the spot and gave the
ueces-tary ini-tructions as to what was best to be done to
preve.it occident., and by so doing not a single person
was injured.
The mail bags were taken by one of Mr. Barwick's
vans and deposited at the Nine-elms station, and they
left the place in sufficient time to be delivered in the
country at the usual hour this day. Of course nothing
could pass up or down the line between Waterloo and
'Vauxhall last, night.; bnt owing to the permanent way
not being damaged by the fire to any extent, the line
will be sufficiently cleared and repaired during the night
to allow the trains to run as usual this day.
To give anything like an idea of the incoavepience oc-
casioned at the London terminus would he next to an
impossibility ; every cab, omnibus, and other vehicle on
the platform and the stands in the open streets were
taken away. The public houses, instead of being over-
crowded, were completely deserted, and business might
be fairly stated to have become for a time suspended.
A crowd, roughly estimated at at least 50,000 persons,
lined the roads leading to the-fire, they having been
drawn from various parts of the metropolis by the re-
flexion, but were kept out of danger by the polies of the
A, L, and M divisions, under the personal directions
Superintendents Walker (A), Evans (L), Branford (M),
and a host of inspectors.
Up to the time this account was written we did not
bear of any one having met with a fatal accident, neither
c.,uld it be ascertained whether the station was insured
or njt.

OFFICIAL REPORT.
The following is the official report of this melancholy
occurrence :

TO THE EDITOR OP THE SUN.

Sunday, April 13, 12 p.m.
Sir,—l regret to have to announce that. the buildings
of the Vauxhall station of the SJuth•Western Railway
Company have been this evening entirely destroyed by
fire, fortunately without 10-s of life or personal injury.
I have the satisfaction to state that, after a careful exa•
urination, tie permanent way has been found to be unin-
jured ; and the only inconvenience therefore, to the pub-
lic will be the temporary cessation of the ,t,,pping of any
trains at the Vauxhall station until necessary accommo-
dation can be provided•—l am, sirs, yours, &c.,
L. CROMBIE, Secretary.

ALARM OF FIRE AT DRURY-LANE

THEATRE.

Early yesterday morning there was an alarm of fire at
Drury-lane Theatre which arose under the following cir-
cumstances : It appears that at the conclusion of the per-
fermances on Saturday night, the committee of the theatre,
according to previous arrangement, arrived upon the
stage for the purpose of witne,sing some experiments
with Phillips's patent fire annihilators, in order to test
their applicability in case of fire occurring within
the building. Mr. Curtis, the secretary of the An-
nihilator Company, some of his men, and a number of
machines were taken upon the stage, while the hands
employed in the theatre were in other p.rts o' the
house, to be ready to assist in case anytime; should
arise to demand their services. Tne perf oenances
commenced with a trial between the patent hand-
pump, such as is used by the fire brigade, and one or two
small annilLihtors, to see which could most quickly ex-
tinguish the lights burning in the battens over the stage.
These battens are about 40 feet high, and have each a
great number of perforations to allow the gas to escape
so as to iPuminate the top of the stage and "borders."
Three firemen, named Samuel Girrard, John Jones, and
J. Webster, were engaged working the band pumps and
d scharging water over the gas jets to ascertain which
would most effectually extinguish the flame. The water
from the pumps fur Borne time appeared to prove of
greater advantage than the small annihilating machines,
when it was proposed by Mr. Curtis, the secretary, that
one of the larger machines, drawn upon two wheels,
should he tried. This was accordingly done, and the
cat riage having been placed near the centre of the stage,
a large iron funnel, 15 feet in length, was attached for
the purpose of assisting the vapour to reach the gas
burning in the battens. The signal having been given,
the man in charge of the annihilator broke the bottle
containing the acid, which ignited the composition, and
the vapour commenced to escape, but in a few seconds
the fennel, through which the gas generated in the ma-
chine was passing, blew off, and was prsjected up to the
flies and lodged under the bridge of the stage io a heated
state. At the same time the cap or lid of the annihilator
was blown off, which knocked down the man having
charge of the apparatus, and passed by him to a distance
of 35 feet. The machine then threw up such a vast body
of fire that every one in the theatre apprehended its en-
tire destruction. Fortunately the firemen had taken the
precaution to have their engines placed upon the stage
and charged with water, and they were therefore en-
abled without the least delay to render assistance. So
great was the concussion caused by the explosion that
another annihilator standing on the stage rolled away,
and having broken the iron and glass of five of the floats
it fell into the orchestra, demolishing one of the music-
stands and upsetting the seats. This so alarmed the com-
mittee that they rushed out into the street, and a cry of
" fire " was at once given, which caused the engines to
arrive in the course of a few minutes. The firemen core
nected with the theatre, however, managed to get the
fire subdued, and before any great damage was done,
the only part that was burnt through the surface of the
wmalwork being a beam under the bridge of the first
tier of the flies. The man who had charge of the ma-
chine was severely burnt by the force of steam that
escaped when the explosion took place. Mr. Tucker,
the master carpenter, was also burnt in his hands by the
rush of steam. A man named Watson was likewise
badly burnt, and was taken by Lyons, the gasman, to
the hospital, but was soon enabled to return home.
to the precise cause of the explosion nothing positive
could be ascertained, bat it is supposed that the lid or
top of the machine could not have been properly rivetted
as the machines are invariably strong enough to bear
the force of the charge they contain.

COMMUTATION OF S)INTENCR.—WaII and Carr, the two
men left at Liverpool* to be hanged for the murder of a
seaman by strangulation, have had their sentence com-
muted to transportation for life.
CALCRAFT THE EXECUTIONER.—On Saturday the
aldermen forming the ga.il committee held a meeting at
the Guildhall, which Caleraft, the public hangman, at.
tended, to explain his conduct at the execution of Bons-
field. The meeting was strictly private, but it is under-
stood that CalcrAtt's services are to be retained, and that
he le to have an alsiets3o.
•

1: 7. .. iL,

Oa Friday a meting of the boArd was held in No. 1
Committee room, Guildhall—Mr. President Thwaites in
the chair.

, SOUTHWAYM IMPROVEMENT.
A deputation from St. Saviour's and Christ Church,
Southwark, presented a memorial advocating the con-
struction of a new line of street from High-street, South-
wark,-to Starnford-3treet, stating that such an improve-
ment was, o i various ground, the .one-which ought first
to engage the attention of the board, and for the carrying
out of which a such of 85,900/. was in hand.
The subject has already been twice publicly discussed
at board ineetingq and Mr. Apsley Pellat, M.P., who
accompanied the deputation, and other gentlemen stated
that they had come before the board that day at the
particular instigation of Sir B. Hall, who bad inti-
mated his desire that a plan approved by the board
should be submitted to him before the end of .June,
because, if the works were not completed
before 1860, the 85,000/. would be no longer applicable
to such a purpose. The right hon. baronet had likewise
given the deputation to understand that, in case a plan
recommended by the board was presented to him of
which he could approve, be would support in the House
of Commons the application for the Act of Parliament.