The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-27 00:00:00

STROPHE. ILATEST INTELLIGEN
SOUTH.CE FRO2II
211 E

On Monday four bodies were rescued from the
ruins of the house which fell on Sunday morning,
and three more at 3 o'clock on Tuesday morning, in
all 29 lives ascertained to be lost. It is quite cer-
tain that others are still beneath the rubbish. When
the work of excavation was discontinued on Sunday
night it was resolved to pull down the back wall
and tall gables before continuing the search for
those entombed. Nearly all Monday was spent in
dragging down the back wall with ropes, and in
attempting to pull down the eastern gable the pile
of chimneys of this gable, rising nearly 40 feet
above the adjoining building, and to an extreme
height of 85 feet, was only partially brought down
when, shortly before 5 o'clock, it was found neces-
sary to suspend operations owing to the darkness.
At intervals in the afternoon the labour of exhu-
mation was proceeded with, and all night also it
was carried on. Two of the bodies found only had
been identified—namely, Mrs.Mackay, aged 80, and
John Sutherland, her grandchild, who were found in
bed together. The bodies were all mutilated, and
some of them were so much crushed that death
seemed to have been immediate. A dog and a cat
were rescued alive, and a linnet in its cage, which
had been left upon the wall as the house fell, was
saved by a fireman, who mounted a long ladder to
reach it. From the testimony of survivors it
would seem that the noise of creaking timbers
was heard for six or eight minutes before the
house fell en masse. One man describes it as
like the rumbling of gravel, another like a railway
engine passing through the house. A whole family
of nine, named Baxter, escaped, the father driving
them before him into the staircase almost naked,
and himself, coming last, had to jump over the
opening chasm, The staircase was common both to
the front and back tenement, and did not fall.
Another family named Macdonald, of seven, lost
two of their number, boys, who were forgotten in
the first moments of flight and could not afterwards
be rescued ; they are still in the ruins. A family
named Irvine were all lost except one child, who
was afterwards rescued by the firemen. Several
other families had a divided fate, some being pre-
served, others crushed in the ruins. Nearly all the
bodies extricated have been persons found in bed,
indicating that most of those awake escaped. In
one or two cases persons who, after the first moment
of alarm, went back to recover property, perished.
An investigation is in progress as to the cause of
the accident, but according to the system followed
in Scotland it is privately conducted.

TD'S DAY'S MARKETS.

CORN EXCHANGE.

Fresh up to this morning's market the arrivals of Eng-
lish wheat were very small. The trade, however, was in a
sluggish state, yet no further change took place in prices,
compared with Monday.

The supply of foreign wheat was moderately good, and
sales progressed slowly in most descriptions, on former
terms.
Floating cargoes of grain were in fair request, and the
quotations were steadily maintained.
Barley, the supply of which was moderately extensive,
sold heavily, at Monday's decline in its value.
Malt moved off slowly, at late rates. _ _

Good and fine oats changed hands steadily, at full prices
but inferior qualities were in slow request, at Monday's

reduction.

The demand for beans was far from active, at the late
fall in the quotations.

Peas sold slowly, at previous currencies.
Generally speaking, the flour trade was inactive, yel
prices were fairly supported.

ARRIVALS THIS WEEK.
Wheat. Barley. Malt. Oats. Flour.
Eng1i5h........ 510 1,300 730 1 250 1 540 sack
Irish .. GO . 1,,00 !
F0reign........ 8,590 3,410 . 7,000 i 500 sks.
2.110 brio.

CHARLESTON, OCT. 26.

The Confederate States Government, in concert
with the state authorities, has recommended to the
planters the following policy as to the cotton crop:-
1. To keep the cotton on the plantations, and to
burn it wherever the enemy may advance.
2. To forward cargoes of cotton for all vessels
which shall break the blockade laden with muni-
tions of war or other necessary stores.
The English steam ship Bermuda, which broke the
blockade at Savannah, is now loading in that port
a cargo of cotton for Liverpool.
The act of the Confederate Congress of July last,
permitting the export of cotton from the Confede-
rate sea ports, and only forbidding its export land•
ways into the Northern States, remains in full
force.

The blockade is utterly ineffective. On the Ist
of October the steamer Theodora ran out of this
port in broad day, through the southern channel,
and passing around and in full view of the Federal
blockading squadron, with colours flying, reentered
the port on the same day by the northern channel.
She was under command of Captain Peagrim, now
of Nashville. This has been done to demonstrate
the ineffectiveness of the blockake.

Ten days afterwards the same steamer left this
port for Cuba, having on board the new ministers to
England and France, Having landed them at Car-
denas, the Theodora proceeded to Havannah, and
returned safely into the port of Savannah with a
valuable cargo of arms. _

Yesterday: the 25th October, three ships from
Havannah, with valuable cargoes, ran the blockade
in safety, and entered the port of Savannah.

DEFENCES 01 NEW ORLEANS.

The following description of the defences of New
Orleans has reached us by the last mail :
"New Orleans, Oct. 25.

" The Mississippi is fortified so as to be impass-
able for any hostile fleet or flotilla. Forts Jackson
and St. Philip are armed with 170 heavy guns (68-
pounders, rifled by Bashley Britten, and received
from England). The navigation of the river is
stopped by a dam at about a quarter of a mile from
the above forts. No flotilla on earth could force
that dam in less than two hours, during which it
would be within short and cross range of 170 guns
of the largest calibre, many of which would be
served with red-hot ehot, numerous furnaces for
which have been erected in every fort and at every
battery.
" In a day or two we shall have ready two iron-
cased floating batteries. Their plates are 41 inches
thick, of the best"hanarnered iron, received from
England and France. Each iron-cased battery will
mount 20 68-pounders, placed so as to skim the
water, and strike the enemy's hull between wind
and water. We have an abundant supply of incen-
diary shells, cupola furnaces for molten iron, Con-
greve rockets, and fire-ships.
" Between New Orleans and the forts there is a
constant succession of earth works. At the plain
of Chalmette, near Janin's property, there are
redoubts armed with rifled cannon which have been
found to be effective at five miles' range. A ditch
30 f2et wide and 20 deep extends from the Missis-
sippi to La Cypriene.
" In forts St. Philip and Jackson there are 3,000
men, of whom a goodly portion are experienced
artillerymen and gunners who have served in the
navy.
" At New drleans itself we have 32,000 infantry,
and as many more quartered in the immediate
neighbourhood. In discipline and drill they are far
superior to the Northern levies. We have two very
able and active generals, who possess our entire
confidence—General Mansfield Lovell and Brigadier
General Ruggles. For commodore we have old
Hollins—a Nelson in his way.
" We are relay to give the Yankees a hot recep-
tion when they some. I write you in a very sedate,
though confident mood. Around me all are mad
with excitement and rage. Their only fear is that
Oho Luvu.k/vib way uuc appeaL. We have
made such extensive preparations to receive them
that it were vexatious if their ' invincible armada'
escaped the fate we have in store for it."

7ADIER.

SOUTHAMPTON, Tuesday.—This vessel, respect-
ing the performances of which on an ocean voyage
great interest has b'..?en felt in nautical and engineer-
ing circles, returned to this port last night from
Alexandra At the time of the Mooitan's launch
and run roman° Southampton, and also on occasion.
of her official trial at Stokes Bay, full descriptions
of the improvements and mechanical peculiarities
introduced in the machinery department, and of
the results of her performances, as far as they could
then be tested, were published in the San. One
of the most novel features is the smallness of her
horse-power as compared with her tonnage, and the
reduced size of her boilers, which are con-
structed on Mr. A. Lamb's patent, and which are
only about half the size of the tubular boilers
employed in ships of the Royal Navy for
the supply of steam to engines of the
same nominal horsepower. The effect of the prin.
ciple adopted in the Mooltan, if successful, will be
to materially reduce the 2onsumption of coal, and
hence to lessen the expenses and difficulties attend-
ant upon ocean steam navigation. It appears that
the most remarkable and successful results have
been accomplished in this respect during the recent
voyage of the Mooltan to and from Alexandria.
On the outward voyage Ehe was 268,1. hours under
way, running 2,951 miles, with an actual consump-
tion of 305 tons of coal, and coming home she was
286 hours under way, consuming 325 tons of coal.
The total quantity of coal consumed, therefore,
during a voyage of nearly 6,000 miles, has been 630
tons, against an expenditure of about 1,200 tons in
other ships of the same tonnage employed on this line.
This is a saving of very nearly half, while an average
speed has been maintained out and home of 10.61

nots. The average expenditure of coal per hour was
2,5741 b., and the average power taken by the in-
dicator every watch 1,230 horses. During the
voyage the Mooltan's draught of water was 19ft.
4in. ; average midship section at this draught,
558 ft. ; and average displacement at same, 3,335
tons. The boilers supplied abundance of steam at
201 b. ; surface condensers, average vacuum, 27! in.
These results must be very satisfactory to her
engine-builders, Messrs. Humphrys and Tennant,
and to the patentee of her boilers, and all others
concerned, while they are of vast importance to
every one interested in steamships. It is important
to observe that these results have been obtained
over a run of nearly 6,000 miles, with the ordinary
coal used by all the company's steamers, and with
the ship's own stokers ; and hence they should not
be compared with those obtained at the trial of a
ship at the measured mile, or on a few hours' work-
ing of her engines at moorings, because these short
trials are always made under the most favourable
circumstances, with picked coal of the best quality,
clean Ares, and stokers of the greatest skill.