The Sun.
London, England, 1817-12-08 00:00:00

THE THEATRE.

-Thc part of Richard the Third. was again as-
sumed by Mr. FISHER at Drury-Lane Theatre on
Saturday, and he fully justified the favourable
opinions which his previous performance of
this character ha'd excited. He entered into its
spirit,. and vtas full of bustle and vigour. His
race is capable of varied expression, and therefore
we advise him, when he repeats this character,
to-divest himself of a sort of sarcastic smile, which
seems to he the effect of 44bit, and which appents
sometimes when the passages regnire a differect
-expression. His pause on recovering from the ef-
fects of his,dream was much too long, but his
errors were very few and very trifling, and sink
to nothing in comparison with his general
.met
He had evidently some enemies in the house, but
'heir feeble and ill-directed hostility only served
to draw forth a liberal and zealous support fro.m
t Ire audience in genera-1.

• CORN-EXCHANGE, DEC.,..---WC had a middling
,apply of lk heat this morning from Essex and
Kt-nt,• line samples of which being in demand,
Sabi at an advante of from 2s. to 3s. per quarter„
but there is no amendment in ordinary ; 'Fine
-Barley is 2s. per quarter dearer ; Fine Malt sup-
.•orts its price ; Grey Pease have declined 2s. per
quarter ; Boiling. Pease and Oats sold on the same
terms as this day week ; in other articles there is
no alteration.

DREADFUL FIRES IN NEWFOUNDLAND.

Saturday afternotitt arrived at Portsmouth his
Majesty's sloop Pike, Captain BuctiAN, from St.
J Newloututland, in eleven days, leaving
there the Sir Francis Drake (Vice-Admiral PtcF.-
mottE), Captain Bowtuu ; Tamar, Capt. Toxmt ;
Egeria, Captain Itowt..Ev ; and the Fly, Captain
.IiALD'xIN.---She brings accounts of two most de-
ructivefires at St John's, which destroyed one
half the houses, and the principal part of the pro-
perty in the town. The consequences to the poorer
part of
.the population, in the ensuing whiter,.
were contemplated with the most painful feelings.
Its Excellency-Vice-Admiral PICKMORE issued a
Proclamation on the Bth November, stating, that,
it had been rept esented to him., that in- conse-
quence of the extensive destruction caused by. the
late disastrous fire, among the principal store-
houses and depositories of provisions intended for
.Jhe winter snpply of tile inhabitants of this town,
an alarming scarcity may ensue at a season of the
year when -it will he iniposNible to obtain an ade-
quate relief; he thought fit to impose a temporary
embargo upon the export of provisions front the
port of St. John's until the extent vi the evil
could be ascertained, and such measures adopted
as the exigencies of the-case May require.' The
following are the particulars from the Royal Ga-
zette and the Mercantile Journal, which have been
received ;;--

(From the Royal Gazette. November 18.)
DEsraucTivE FIRE.

'' Painful anti :liflit:nit is the t,,sk which de-
volves upon us of recording the truly distressing
fire with - which this ill-fated to,vu was again
visited 'on Friday night, the 7th instant. The
flames were titst dist*,vered ab,int half-past ten
issniugfiorn an uninhabited Ilituse, about
forty yard, trout the Royal Gazette Office, in trout
of Mr, William B. Thomas's dwelling, and in ten
minutes communicated to the 'surrounding build-
ings ; by this time the inhabitants hail assembled,
but the engines, with their milted efforts, scented
of little use in checking this all-devouring ele-
ment, whirl) now began to assume rn appearance
that •truck every beholder with terror and dismay.
In the centre of the town, between tkVO StleelS
not exeeeding 20 feet in width, all exertion was
unavailing to stem the current of conflagration ;
the flames spread in everysdireetion with the ra-
piditY of lightning, • until about six o'clock. on
Saturday mottling., when the exertions of the
more respectable part of the community. aided by
the army and navy, sitcceeded in arresting its
p ogress at the King's Wharf. To give an ade-
quate description of the awful, we had almost said
terrible grandeur of he scene, ‘se confess our in-
andity. The glaring splent:our of the flames dis-
sipated the dat knass, of ,he•night, and discovered
the misery in which' we were placesi. Immense
volumes of sun ke majts,irally above the
buildings, at once obscured the dazzling blaze of
light, and reflected it back 'again
,on the earth.
ilVhen the morning dawned such a scene of deso-
lation presented itself as perhaps very few of the
spectators ever before witnessed, and such as we
sincerely hope they never tmq behold again ;. a
space or' ground extending. nearly 'a quarter of a
mile in length, and three hundred yards in breadth,
was cleared of tkle' honsei-which stood thereon.
Ftolll . tS.e Dissenting Meeting- house to the'
Chnrch-yard, on the west side ; all the buildings
from rie Court-house to the north-east boundary
of Crt foal's premises (noth inclusive) on the
eact side Duck wortb-sireet ; from the corner of
Church Hcii to %rut Findlay's' on, die upper side,
and trim J.. and 11. Brine's shop to the King's-
Wharf on•the lower side of Wraer-stre'et,
hie the stores and wharfs, were reduced to ashes,

and wit,' them the greater part of a very large
stock of prbvisions with which they were stored.
" The pro,2tes.iif the conflagration and its
melancholy &fleets were indicuried by the sinoak-
ing ashes; white chininies, standing like trees
bared of their verdure by the fury of the lightning,
denoted its power. On the countenances of each
sufterer we heield delineated, in the most une-
quivocal characters, either the violence of iieute
feeliog, or the dreadful stitputaction of extreme
grief. What rendered it more truly distressing
is, that-most of those who suffered so severely in
the fire of the 11 th of February, 1816, are Jgain
involved in the distress which we now attempt to
describe—in that calamity, many respectable in-
dividuals lost their all, and are again reduced to
a similar. situation; without shelter or covering,
ar thii advanced season of the year. IVinter, is
approaching—a long, dreary,-Newfoundland win-
ter-,-and the prospects before us ate gloomy in
the extreme; but we will not-distress our readers
by dwelling longer on this melancholy topic. We
do, however, most sincerely hope that efficient
measures will be speedily devised; and promptly
executed, to save -us from a repetition 'of the
scenes of last winter. Amongst the causes of
distress, not, one has produced in our minds more
powerful'effects, or more unpleasant feelings, than
the awful, we may say alarming depravity, mani-
fested in the extensive depredations committed
during the horrors and confusion of the *fit, by
wretches totally devoid of all religious feeling—
of all sense of moral obligation. We Cannot tin-
body our thonghts 'on this subject—such) crimes.
bid defiance to expression ; they could only pro-
ceed from the conjunction of the Most brutal.
apathy and diabolical rejoicing in the.misery of
°theirs. We hope the penetrating eye of justice
will detect these hardened ; .we are sure
that her arm can never inflict more deserving
punishment. than is due to such infamous tnis-
creants. Notting now, under any pretence, can
he offered in extenuation; 'since, places are ap-
pointed for the reception of such goods as may.
not he in the possession or under the controui
of its lawful owners.

" So tar as we have been able to ascertain, 13
mercantile establishments, and among -them the
extensive Concerns- ot Hart, Robbinson, and-Co. ;
Hunters and Co. ; Teter
.Henderson (late Jas
Machraire and Cu.); •Bullet's, Job, and Cross;
Parker, Cheever, and Co. ; Wm; B. 1 somas ;
Att wood and Haynes ; Peter'Le Messurier, and
at least 135 dwelling-houses, occupied by no,
less than 1100 persons, have been consumed ; and
it is calculated that the amount of property .de-
stroyed cannot be less than from tour to five hun-
dred thousand pounds. Of th, awful calamity
which the 7th of November brought upon us we

have given but a fant deFeription—more, how-
ever, we cannot •at tempt ; our 1-C
quite no ap.alney for this—they will readily be-
lieve.that such are the potiverfid emotions vi,•,ich
agitate our minds that we cannot say all that • e
would—we are confused whenever we revert to
the painful subject, and. feet unable to attain any
thing like perspicuity- iu the expression of our
thoughts. 'Those who witnessed the awit:l 'sight
can never forget it ; most vivid will be the recol-
lection 'even to their latest day.
"To those who were not spectators, we despair
of.giving any thing like an-accurate _conception.
‘lre have,not had a fire, Init a conflagraiion
dreadful; and, considering our peculiarly distress-
ing circumstances, we should scarcely be wrong in
adding, an miheard-of Conflagration ! In conse-
quence of a Proclamation issued by his Excellency
the Governor, all vessels and boats are prevented
from leaving this port till the quantity of provi-
sions in the town be ascertained ; this, we arcirt
hopes, will have the good effect of securing to the
community whatever may be yet remaining, _but
that itselc, with the additicri of what is expected,
will not, we apprehend, be near F tiffiCient -to sup-
ply onr wants till our navigation opens in thse
spring,rof the year. In addition, owing to the
the
quantity of fuel consumed, there is a scarcity of
that valuable article: The major part of
.our
printing materials having been de,troved, the
Proprietor of the Mercantile Journal hiss, . with
great kindness, offered us the use of his types,
&c,"

(From I,lte Afercantite Jout-nal, Nov. 21.)

" ANOTHER CALAMITOUS AND DISTRESSING FIRE.

" About half-past three o'clock this morning,
just as we were about to put nor paper to press,,
we were alarmed by a signal for lire ; and we have
now the paintul task to tecord, atter so short a
lapse of time, another extensive and distressing
conflagration.
i" It appears that the fire,was observed in the
premises of Messrs Huic, s-lieed, and Co. its
Water-street, and soon extended its ravages to the.
westward, as far as the house of Mr. Benj. Bow-
ring, on the upper side, and the store of Mr.
Rebt. Nevins, on the lower side, where, by very
powerful exertions, it was stopped in its westerly
direction, but con! in tied. advancing east weid until
half-past 9 o'clock, by ,which time it had burnt the
,premises of Mr. James Chit, where great exer-
tions were required, and were happily-exerted, to
save tile premises of Messrs. Perkins and WitMr,
upon which depended the safety of the whole range
of [looses on the Church Hills on the upper side,
and the stores of Messrs. Trimmingharns and Co.
on the lower side, just where the late fire %vas
stopped'in its progress westward ; all of which
buildings narrowly escaped on the 7alt inst. Tints
a great part- of the western half of the town,
which we contemplated as a slither for the then,
distressed, is lain in ashes, and many families
have to lament and feel the, painftd- distress of a
second time being burnt out of their dwellings .in
the short space of fourteen days—by what means
many of them will find. sh,lter the approaching
winter, we are at a loss to conjecture, shoularfrey
even be fortunate enough. to have the means of
purchasing necessaries.
" In this hasty account we cannot enter fully
into - particulars, nor Can we at, this short notice
pretend to 'est mate the aggregate Amount of the
damage done : the very extensive stores and dwel-
hng of Messrs Conninginone, Bell, and Co. and
those of Mc-o.s iI ate, it eel: root Co. Ryan and
Solis, Mr Robert Nevins, Mr. Janies Chu, Mr.
John Burke, ..and several other mercantile esta=
bliSiimetos, have talleti a sacrifice to the devour-
ing flames ; the dwelling-house, shop.. &c
Nevins • were preserved.
" Ton much praise cannot be bestowed on the
navy, military, and an immense nuniber of the re-
spectable inhalin-ants,' for their united exertions
io stopping the fire,, whose effor is were directed,
and supported,, by the Civil Authorities ;•i• the -
Clergy; partictdarly the Rev. Either Fi zgerld ;
and although we could mention intmerous other
hig,dy deserving, yet in justice 11 its
merit we are cOnstrained.to notice him partien.
.
'4l Various conjectures are afloat as to the cause
of this disaster, but we %rill not at present-hazard
an opinion. We have .great cootidenee that the
Proclamation of his Excellency the Governor, and
the decisive measures' adopted by the Civil Au-
thorities, relative to depredations committed on.
the property of sufferers in the late fire, will have .
the effect of preventing, iu a great degree, similar
atrocities Gil the present occa•;,;ta "

CITY PRISONS.—The .1to•y tor the City of
London, previously to . their disc:ll-at ge on Satin.-
_
dm, evening, made the followittg presentment in
the Court at the Old Bailey : •
" They could not, they said, possibly separate without ex-
pressing their high Sense of the admirable arrangements
which exist in Newgwe and the Giltspur-street Compter, for
the, security and good order of those pri,ons. They -Wand the
inmates in general in a healthy state, and there were no com-
plaints amongst them except that for an additional simply of
coals,- the present allowance being represented as insufficient
for cooking the victuals. There was also an allusion made by
the prisoners as to a slight want of cavyring and Matting ;
and the dory regretted to state, t.1%-it in a few instanses they
' noticed persons who were nearly in a state of nakedbess.
" The Grand jury had further to lament the delay that had
taken place in reporting the,cases of unfortunate persons ca-
pitally convicted to the proper authority, an evil they trusted
would be remedied.
." Finally, they could not but highly approve the "plan
which had been adopted if) separating the ionic itonithe fe-
male prisoners in.Newgate; nor conld they omit the expres-
sion of their approbation •of the Institution of a S.eciety com-
posed of women who hropically came forward to re-
store the morals and avert the ruin of the sex.
" The Court having th,dillied the Gran) .Ivry for the zea-
lous discharge of their several duties, discharged them."

nittni
At the Grove, Stanrnore, ,Po the 4th instant, the Lad y of
Charles Poole Esq. of a timlghter.

DIED.

. On Saturday evening, at his house at Norwood,. Air. James
Lawson, of Dove-cOnft, Lombard-street, mci:d 52 He was
only taken ill -on ThtirAay of a complaint in the wipeiripe, or
gitinsy, and died within 4S hours of the fist attack, ie.tving a.
disconsolate widow and eight children. He was a Citittlen.ian.
connected with this Journal ; and while in tb discharge ut
what may be called the professional, duties eiiich devolved
upon him, he ever ,disphyrd the most excitlltlary zeal, indus-
try, and fidelity; hegained also by his:• private conduct the
warmest and most sincere affection of those 01:o hail long;
acted with hint. His loss will be deeply felt and long regret-
ted. His eldest °son will succeed- hint in the management of
his various concern, both in town and country, to whom all
Correspondents will, as usual,';ipply, and in whom they will
find the same activity and attention whith clistiliguished the
very estimable pareut.—(Timet)