The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-02 00:00:00

THE SUNK, LONDON, TUESDAY EVEINING, JANUARY 2, lE€6.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—This Day.

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MARLBOROUGH-S TREET.
A SURGEON CHARGED WITH BEIN DRUNK AND FURI-
OUSLY DRIVING.-Mr. Edwin Alexander, surgeon, of Hyde
Park-terrace, was charged before Mr. Tyrwhitt with being
drunk and furiously driving a horse and phaeton in Picca-
dilly, to the danger of the passengers.
Police-constable Thomas Kaywood, 212 B, said that
about half-past twelve the previous night, or rather that
morning, he saw the defendant driving a horse and
phaeton from Knightsbridge towards Piccadilly. A minute
afterwards he heard a smash, and on crossing the road
found the defendant, who had been thrown out of his
phaeton, being carried to the St. George's Hospital. Two
females had also been thrown out of the phaeton, and were
taken to the same hospital, and he believed ono of them
was so much injured that she was obliged to remain there.
In answer to Mr. Tyrwhitt the constable said the de-
fendant was drunk.

Tho defendant (who seemed to have met with some in-
jury to his back) said it was simply an ordinary accident.
There had been no reckless driving. He had a friend with
him, and she was trying to take the reins from him while
he was driving and he was trying to keep them, and be-
tween them they got on a post.
_ _ _

Mr. Tyrwhitt said it was impossible to pass over an
offence of the sort, so dangerous not only to the persons
themselves but to the public. He should fine the de-
fendant 205.; or, in default, seven days' imprisonment.
The fine was paid.

GREAT FIRE.

Yesterday a disastrous fire occurred in the Lon-
don and St. Katherine Docks, destroying in a few
hours bonded commodities of incalculable value,
stored in an immense pile of warehouses, and a great
part of the building which contained them. By a
singular coincidence the calamity, one of the most
destructive of the kind that has happened for some
years, took place on the very day on which the
whole London Fire Brigade; with all its material,
was handed over to the Metropolitan Board of
Works, under the provisions of a recent Act of
Parliament. The damage done to the building alone
in which the fire originated is estimated at from
£lO,OOO to £12,000, but that is small in comparison
with the value of the materials, principally jute,
which have perished. Strange to say, so recently
as the end of October last, a fire broke out in a
warehouse in the same pile of buildings stored with
jute, large quantities of which commodity it con-
sumed, and did damage to the structure itself to the
amount of about £4,000.
The particular stack of warehouses in which the
fire of yesterday originated lined the whole one side
of the eastern basin of the docks, with a frontage
towards it, and the back overlooking East Smithfield,
which lies between the upper end of Ratcliff Highway
and the Mint. The building has six stories, and in it
were vast masses of valuable goods ; but chiefly tal-
low and jute, in bond, the tallow being stored in the
lower floors and vaults, and the jute, which is an ex-
tremely inflammable substance, on the floors above.
The fire occurred in the upper part of what are
called the F and II warehouses, which con-
tained, besides jute, large quantities of kindred ma-
terials kn own as coir-yarn,Manilla hemp, and Italian
tow. It was first discovered about 11 o'clock in the
morning, and shortly afterwards nearly the whole
of the London Fire Brigade were on their way to
the spot from various parts, the alarm having been
first carried to the head-quarters of the Brigade in
Watlin-street, and thence telegraphed to all the
subsidiary stations. The large steam floating en-
gine usually moored off Southwark-bridge was also
speedily under way and making towards the scene,
Captain Shaw, the chief of the brigade, personally
directing the brigade's operations. Besides the float-
ing engine there were eight land steamers, and
altogether about 70 or 80 men. By the time they
arrived and got to work the fire was raging furi-
ously. It had then spread to the fourth and fifth
floors and to the sixth or attic story, and appeared
to be working downwards. At first for a conside-
rable time the great difficulty with which Captain
Shaw and his men had to contend lay in the dense
volumes of smoke which the burning jute emitted.
They were driven back again and again, but always
returned to the charge, taking advantage of the
momentary intervals in which the clouds cleared
away to point their hose in the directions in which
it was most wanted. Conspicuous among the officers
and servants of the company who rendered aid in
the emergency was Mr. Collett, one of their secre-
taries,who worked with commendable zeal through-
out the whole day, and often at great peril to him-
self. Mr. Graves, the company's superintendent,
and Mr. Stephens, their clerk of works, also did
signal service in directing the removal of valuable
materials to places of safety and in other respects.
The available hands at the disposal of the company
on the occasion, mostly warehousemen, were like-
wise greatly reinforced by the men of Messrs. Cubitt
and Co., the builders, now engaged in restoring the
warehouse in the docks destroyed in the fire in Oct.
last, about 70 in number, headed by their foreman,
Alfred Bush. With this combination of men and
appliances the fire was eventually brought under
control, but not until it had raged upwards of six
hours and destroyed nearly the whole of the com-
modities stored in the three upper floors, and very
seriously damaged those in the third, wholly con-
suming at the same time the roof and the upper
part of the building. The pile of warehouses in
which it originated was divided into a number of
bays, each about 90 feet by 50 feet, separated by
strong party walls, running from basement to roof,
and communicating on each floor by fireproof iron
doors. Of two of these bays the three upper floors
have been entirely destroyed, with the roof, and
present now only a mass of blackened walls, ready
to topple over.

In what particular floor, or how the fire origi-
nated, is at present a mystery, but the circumstance
of its following so closely upon that of October last,
and in spite of all the precautions enjoined by the

company upon their workmen in the treatment o:

a material so intensely inflammable as jute, has be.
gun already to excite suspicion. Until these two,
happening so near to each other, a fire had been 0-

rare occurrence. The use of gas, we believe, is un-
known in the London and St. Katharine's Docks
in warehouses appropriated to the storage of similar
commodities, and every other kind of artificial light,
except such as is carried M the hand and locked, is
prohibited. The necessary work is all done in day-
light, the men employed in the warehouses com-

mencing operations at half-past Bin the morning at
this time of year, and le.aving off at 4, and the
greatest care being enforced. At half-past 7 last
evening a telegraphic message was received by
Captain Shaw, at the chief station in Watling-street,
that the fire had extended to another warehouse, and
fresh exertions were made to-prevent its spreading.
At that time almost the whole of the available men
and engines of the brigade from the various stations
were engaged in watching and extinguishing the fire
at the docks, and the West-end of the town was in
peril, more or less, so far as any adequate assistance
could have been rendered by the firemen in extin-
guishing a fire had it occurred in that part of the
metropolis.

As the evening advanced, the fire, which had
broken out anew, continued to acquire fresh vigour,
in spite of the efforts of the firemen to restrain it,
reinforced though they were as far as practicable.
At intervals the flames were shooting high into the
air, and lighting up the whole eastern part of Lon-
don. The night was fine,and moonlight besides, and
numbers of people, attracted by the spectacle, had
congregated upon the bridges and near the docks.
There was a light breeze, and' fortunately from the
south-west, away from the shipping both in the
docks and on the Thames, which was therefore in no
danger. Captain Shaw, who had been superintend-
ing the operations of the brigade during the whole
day, and had suffered much, especially from inhaling
smoke, returned to the spot in the evening with as
many more men as he could muster, on receiving the
message that the fire had broken out afresh, and
continued to direct their energies. Long after mid-
night the fire was still raging, and had the appear-
ance of lasting through the night.
LATEST PARTICULARS —THIS DAY.

Tuesday Morning.
The fire still continues to burn with unabated

fury. The whole of the seven floors of the eastern
division of the D warehouse are one mass of black-
ened and burning merchandise. The calamity has
been greatly increased, from the fact that the fire
has penetrated the lowest floors in which thousand
of tons of Russian tallow were stored. At two
o'clock this afternoon no less than seven 'land
steam engines and the great river float were
throwing torrents of water, on the burning
warehouse but with little apparent effect. The fire
has made a clean sweep from the middle compart-
ment of the D warehouse to the extreme end of the
eastern compartment, and not a vestige except the
upright walls remain standing. The flow of the
melted tallow from the lower warehouse is extraor-
dinary, and many of the firemen are now standing
half way up their legs in the hot oil and fat that is
rushing in streams from the burning premises across
the pathway of the dock into the river. A great num-
ber of men are now engaged in endeavouring
to keep flowing the hot stream of fat in one direc-
tion, but frequently their efforts failed, as it con-
tinued to rush forth in uncontrollable quantities.
The surface of the water in the large basins in the
dock presents an extraordinary appearance from its
being covered with tallow eight or nine inches in
thickness. The whole of the vessels within the
inclosure have the appearance of being frost-bound—
the cooled tallow on the surface of the water giving
it all the appearance of old and discouloured ice.
The effluvia arising from the burning tallow, oil,
and jute, is at times nearly over-powering; but
notwihstanding this the firemen gallantly maintain

their position in front of the conflagration with
undaunted courage. At a short distance from the
burning warehouse, although the brave fellows had
been at work the: whole of the night, we saw a
party of men at work at one of the manual engines,
all of whom were singing as they were working,
standing at the time in eight inches of hot tallow.
The safety of the tobacco warehouse, which
directly faces the E warehouse, seems quite assured,
the only possibility being the extension of the fire
towards the western end of the warehouse, and
this circumstance, fortunately, seems highly im-
probable, and the extension building is built in
three compartments, the western end is so com-
pletely cut off from the middle and eastern that no
fears as to that eventuality are entertained.

For some hundreds of yards the footway of the
dock in the direction of 'the conflagration is a perfect
river of palm oil water, and the only way of
strangers reaching the scene of destruction is by
walking along a plank about 10 inches wide, the
slightest deviation from which plunges the unlucky
voyager nearly up to his knees in the costly mix-
ture.

The police have throughout the whole of .the
conflagration acted with the greatest discretion.
The following is a copy of Captain Shaw's official
report of the damage, up to one o'clock this day,
already done :
" January 1, 1866.—A fire broke out in the St.
Katherine's Docks, the property of the St. Kathe-
rine's Dock Company. The cause of fire unknown.
Insurances unknown at present.

" DAMAGES.

" Warehouses of D. Stack, containing hemp,
jute, coir, tallow, &c. F, H, and I divisions and
attics burned out and roof off. The third, fourth,
and fifth floors severely damaged by fire, and the
remaining floors and contents by water.

" K division, warehouses burned out from the
roof to the first floor, and the remainder likely to
be destroyed. Fire still burning."
There is no doubt but the official report of the
damage will have to be amended, as it is impossible
to tell how long the fire may last.

Naval and Military Intelligence.

The Minotaur, iron frigate, had her fires lit yes-
,erday morning, preparatory to steaming out of
Portsmouth harbour for Spithead and Portland, on
her experimental gun-carriage testing cruise. Sud-
denly, however, on the steam reaching about 121 b.
pressure in the boilers, one of the condensers was
discovered to be seriously cracked. Steam was then
let down, and, for some days at least, the Minotaur
cruise must be deferred. Let the damage be less or
greater than is now anticipated, it is not improbable
that the Minotaur may now be despatched on this
cruise at all, as with the accident to one condenser
an examination will necessarily follow into the con-
dition of both, and this may lead to the substitution
of another vessel, especially as there happens to be
a very suitable one in the Bellerophon, Capt.E.Tat-
ham, ordered round to Portsmouth from the Med-
way to complete her trials of speed at the measured
mile in Stoke's Bay. The accident to the Minotaur's
condenser is just one of those accidents likely to oc-
cur to a ship's machinery which no ordinary precau--
tions would apparently have prevented, and for
which, therefore, no person or department can now
well be blamed. In addition to the three 12i-ton
guns mounted on their competitive carriages, the
Minotaur has also received since our notice of the
ship, with the guns and carriages, in The Sun of the
12th ult., one 6k-ton 7in. rifled wrought-iron muzzle
loading gun, mounted on ,a wooden carriage and
slide of the ordinary Admiralty pattern, for experi-
mental firing. A report upon it will be drawn up by
Capt. A. C. Key, C. 8., altogether independent of
his report on the Competitive 12k-ton competitive
gun-carriages. This 6b--ton gun is the weapon
known a short time since as the Frederick gun, we
presume as a compliment to Rear-Admiral Frederick.
It is, however, in fact, the Woolwich manufactured
wrought iron coil gun fitted with a seven-inch steel
tube, rifled on what is known as the Woolwich
system. It has been adopted by the Admiralty as
the gun of minimum calibre for the broadsides
of our ironclads under the new system of arma-
ment, as the 123--ton gun is at present fixed
upon as the maximum weight for broadsides. In
accordance- with these arrangements the Warrior
will carry 32 of the 6f-ton guns, but none of
the 12f-ton guns ; the Royal Alfred her formid-
able complement of ten of 12i- tons and four of
12i- tons. The Minotaur, according to present
arrangements, will only carry four of the 14-
ton guns on her broadsides, the remainder of her
armament being composed of the 6i-ton guns. This
apparent disproportion between the armaments of
the converted wooden ship Royal Alfred and the
massively iron-built Minotaur is owing to the fact
that the broadside ports of the latter are only built
to carry four of the larger guns, the remainder
having been constructed for the smaller, and a re-
construction of the ports could only now be effected
at immense cost and sacrifice of time.
The Salamis, paddlewheel despatch vessel, Com-
mander F. G. Suttie, was formally paid out of com-
mission yesterday at Portsmouth, and immediately
recommissioned by Commander Suttie for service in
China and Japan. All the officers belonging to
the Salamis in her late commission have volunteered
to continue on board under their old commander,
and accompany him to China. They will conse-
quently be reappointed to their ship.
The Scorpion, 4, turret-ship, Capt. Commerell,
V.C., was paid out of commission at Portsmouth
yesterday, and entered afterwards upon the Reserve
list for alterations, repairs, and refit at the hands of
the dockyard authorities. The estimated sum re-
quired for the work is said to be very large.
The Dart, 5, screw gunvessel, Commander
Richards, recently arrived at Portsmouth from the
West Coast of Africa, was yesterday dismasted
alongside the dockyard, and will be paid out of
commission the sth inst.
Her Majesty's paddle-wheel steam vessel Vivid,
Commander Timothy Sulivan, tender to the flag-
ship Fisgard at Woolwich, was yesterday ordered
by an Admiralty telegram to prepare for special
service. In pursuance of further instructions
Commander Sulivan sailed in the evening for Os-
tend under orders to await the. arrival there of the
Prince and Princess Hohenlohe-Langenburg and
suite, who are expected to embark on the sth inst.

and sail for Dover, on a visit to her Majesty at
Windsor Castle.
The screw steam frigate Galatea, 26, Captain R.
Maguire, which left Halifax on Dec. 11, arrived in
Plymouth Sound on Sunday evening. She embarked
at Port Royal, on Nov. 19, 350 officers and men,
being the left wing of the 17th Regiment, called at
Bermuda on Dec. 6, left on the 12th, and arrived at
Halifax on the 15th, where the 17th was disem-
barked. She then embarked for England the crew
of the Bulldog, with several naval prisoners, inva-
lids, and others, including Mr. Starling, late assist.-
paymaster of the Duncan, sentenced by court mar-
tial to be dismissed the service and imprisoned for
embezzlement of mess-money. On the passage home

the frigate encountered very heavy gales, veering
.10M south-west to north-west. On Dec. 21 her
'oreyard went in two pieces, and several of her sails

were blown away in succession. Heavy seas broke

over the ship and carried away a quarter-boat. Dur-

ing the whole gale her screw was on deck repairing,
and she was hove to under fore and main storm try-

sails. On Saturday, at 9 p.m., when about 18 miles
from the Lizard Point, before sighting it the wind
freshened, and the ship was put under fore and main

close-reefed topsails; at 4 a.m. the maintopsail was

blown away by a squall.

The crew of the Galatea

will probably be paid off at Devonport. She left at

Jamaica the Duncan, Wolverine, Fawn, Cordelia,
Sphinx, Niger, and Lily; at Barba does, the Buzzard;
at Bermuda, the Aurora ; and at Halifax, the
Pylades.

His Netherlands Majesty's screw steamer De Wa-
tergens, Commander Essher, of 6 gun,i, 115 men,
and 289-horse power, from the Texel for the East

Indies, put into num' outh on Saturday a fternoon,
owing to stress of weather, partial leak, anc; several
of the crew invalided, She had encounter& most
severe weather in the Channel, and had been at sea
ten days.

Orders have been received at Chatham-gaTrison
directing 67 non-commissioned officers and gunnerft