The Sun.
London, England, 1866-01-11 00:00:00

THIS DAY.

One of the greatest snow storms that the metro-
polis has been visited with for the last 12 or 14
years occurred this morning. At about 20 minutes
past 4 o'clock this morning the snow first began to
fall, and very shortly after it descended with re-
markable thickness and rapidity, the flakes being
of an extraordinary size. The wind blew strongly
from N.E., and by 7 o'clock the snow covered the
ground to the depth of six inches, but in places
where the wind had carried it into wreaths it was
over a foot in depth.

The neighbourhood of Highgate and Hampstead
was'heavily visited, and for some time it was doubt-
ful whether the ordinary traffic of the public vehicles
could be attempted. However, with the greatest
difficulty the omnibuses were enabled to arrive in
town, although the roads in many places were
nearly up to the axle-tree in snow. At Finchley
the roads were quite impassable.
In the Camberwell-road, from a gauge taken,
the snow was seven inches deep ; at Dulwich, near
the Greyhound, it was 1. feet deep, and near the
Forest-hill Station it was an inch deeper. Vehicles
coming from the direction of the Crystal Palace
were with difficulty enabled to descend the hills, but
those waiting to proceed upwards wore completely
blocked up by the depth of snow on the ground,
andmany of the stately trees planted in the district
were so loaded with snow that ever and anon large
limbs were forced off the parent stem and fell into
the highway, to the dangerof killing any one passing
by. In the neighbourhood of Hailesmere and Egham,
as well as Datchet, through which parts of the
country the South Western Railway traverses, the
storm was very severe. In some places the water
was up to the fire-boxes, and the rain that had
accumulated in such quantities actually forced its
way through the bottom of cabs and other vehicles.
The wind, setting dead from the east, told consi-
derably against the trains, not only on this line but
also upon nearly every other one running out of
London.

The different electric telegraph companies will be
great losers by the violence of the storm, as the
wires have in many places been torn, twisted,
and disengaged from their supports and rendered
utterly and entirely useless. In the New-
road, Southampton-row, Holborn, Drury-lane, and
Strand, the wires were hopelessly entangled, and
were to be seen hanging in the most grotesque shapes
and forms, more resembling gigantic specimens of
Pharoah's serpents than the straight metallic
lines through which, every minute of the day, flash
messages of life and death, fortune and ruin. In
Parliament-street the wires of some of the tele-
graphs had actually to be removed from the public
road before the thousands of cabs and omnibuses
to the different railway stations at Pimlico could
proceed on their journey. At the corner of
Bridge-street, Westminster, the scene presented by
the electric wires was extraordinary, as they hung
in such a variety of shapes that it would be as easy
to describe the indescribable varieties of the kalei-
doscope as to convey a correct idea of the scene pre-
sented high above the housetops in this great tho-
roughfare. The sight was peculiar, and such pro-
bably as will never he seen again.

Towards 12 o'clock a rapid thaw set in, and now
the roads, in place of being obstructed by the snow,
are converted almost into rivers. The public foot-
ways are in a deplorable condition, very little atten-
tion being paid to the clause in the new police act
for the cleansing of the pavement.

Serious Charge against a Tradesman.

--- ------..

On Monday the Hereford magistrates were occu-
pied for several hours in investigating a charge
against Robert Atkinson, a young man who has for
some time past carried on business as a grocer and
provision dealer, in Broad-street, of having, during
the night of the 29th ult., wilfully set fire to the
premises in his occupation. An elderly woman
named Atkinson (the widow of Robert Atkinson's
father) was also included in the charge, as she was
the only other person in the house at the time of
the fire. Owing to the prompt arrival of the engines,
and the judicious course taken by the superintendent
of police, the fire was extinguished without doing
much damage. Had it been otherwise it is fearful
to contemplate the destruction of property that must
have occurred, with probably the loss of life, as the
cellar—in which the fire broke out—of Atkinson's
house runs partly under the premises of Messrs.
Duggan and Chave, chemists and druggists, much
of whose stock is of course of an inflammable nature.
After the fire had been extinguished, the superin-
tendent thought it prudent to take possession of
Atkinson's cellar, and on subsequently making a
careful examination he discovered a condition of
things which raised a strong presumption that the
fire was not accidental. The contents of the cellar
were of a kind that would readily burn, viz., faggots,
boxes of wood, lucifer matches, candles, &c. ; but
the strangest part of the matter was that these
articles, with various others, formed a succession of
tiers, into which lucifer matches, greased strips of
wood, candles, a bottle containing paraffin oil, &c.,
seems to have been systematically introduced. The
superintendent gave evidence at length in support
of the prosecution, and produced a model of the
contents of the cellar in the condition in which he
had found them ; and he was supported by a man
named Elland, who has had great experience in Lon-
don fires, and who expressed a strong opinion that the
contents of the cellar had been wilfully fired in two
or three sparate places. It was also proved that
some few months ago the prisoner, Robt. Atkinson,
had applied to the legal agent for the Scottish
Union Fire-office to insure his stock and furniture
for £l,OOO ; that the order was taken, and the
policy actually made out ; but that subsequently
the agent doubted the propriety of the insurance
being carried out, upon which a district inspector
of the office, who had formerly been in the grocery
trade, was sent to examine Atkinson's stock. His
opinion was that the value of the stock did not
much exceed £lOO, and that the policy which had
been made out was therefore cancelled. After this
Atkinson applied to the agent of the Westminster
Fire-office, with whom he had an existing policy for
£lOO, to increase the amount to £5OO, and this
order was executed and the policy in force at the
time of the fire. It was further proved that the
value of the stock was much the same now as at the
time of its inspection by the district officer of the
Scottish Union, the only notable change being some
addition to the stock of bacon. At the close of the
inquiry the magistrates 'committed both prisoners
for trial at the next assizes, but consented to take
bail for the female, for whom much commiseration
is felt, as she is believed to be wholly innocent.
Mr. Gwynne James appeared for the prosecution,
and Mr. Gwillim for the defence, the court and its
prcinccts being crowded throughout the day, the
excitement at the atrocious act charged against the
male prisoner being very great.

TIIE GLASGOW CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND THE
CURRENCY QUESTION. —The Glasgow Chamber of Com-
merce, at its annual meeting on Monday (Mr. Alexander
Ronaldson presiding), entered upon the consideration of a
memorial to the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the subject
of banking and currency, drawn up by a committee ap-
pointed by the directors. The memorial refers to the Act
of 1844, the enactments and restrictions imposed by which
are spoken of as having been highly injurious to trading and
commercial interests, and as producing and aggravating to
an extent previously unknown frequent, extreme, and
sudden fluctuations in the rate of discount. In conclusion,
the memorialists strongly recommend :that all exclusive
privileges and restrictions on issue and banking should
be repealed, and that while the State should strictly
regulate the weight, purity, and fineness of the sove-
reign, the issue of bank notes, payable in gold on de-
mand, should be left entirely free. The adoption of the
memorial was moved by Mr. Henry Dunlop, seconded by
Mr. William Kidston. Mr. Bolton moved as an amend-
ment, "That while cordially concurring iu the opinion of
tho committee that the business of banking should be left
entirely freo and unrestricted, the Chamber repudiate the
doctrine asserted in the proposed memorial, to the effect
that the right of free banking necessarily involves the right
of free issue; as at once untrue in fact, fallacious in prin-
ciple, and certain to prove pernicious in its consequences."
Mr. Walter Paterson seconded the amendment. A show of
hands was taken, when the motion was carried by a large
majority.