The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-02 00:00:00

FIRES IN LONDON, 1843.
Yesterday, at a meeting of the directors of the principal
surance Companies, composing the committee of the
endon Fire Establishment, held at the chief station in
'atling-street, Mr. Braidwoed, the superintendent
of the brigade force, made his annual report of the fires
that have occurred in the metropolis and its suburbs
during the past year. The report, which is extrewely
voluminous and interesting, commences by etaling that
the fires in 1843, as compared with the • previous year,
kave decreased by twenty ; the average, however, for
the last ten years shows an increase of sixty-two. The
number of fires and alarms which have happened from
January 1 to December 31, 1843,- at 'which the engines
of the establishment have been called into operation,
amounts to 901. It further mentions that the tires by
which premises were totally destroyed number twenty-
nine, buildings considerably damaged 231, ditto slightly
489, chimneys eighty-three, and false alarms seventy-
nine. Total 901. It also appears that large fires, pro-
videntially, have not been so extensive and numerous as
those that have occurred in previous years. Mr. Braid-
wood observes, that the following mere attended with the
most serious loss of property :—On the night of the 16th
of January, the two large floor-cloth manufactories of
Me;ssrs. J. Rolls and Gunstone, situated in the Old Kent-
road, were totally consumed, tegether with two dwelling-
houses. It will be recollected that some surprise was mani-
fested at the great height which the fire attained, which he
attributes to the factories being almost entirely com-
posed of wood, and the great delay that arose in getting
a supply of water after several of the engines Lad arrived.
The next took place on the 10th of July at Mark's, the
extensive marine-store dealer's, in Leicester-place,
Greenwich, and the great fire at Topping's Wharf, on
the morning of the 19th of the same month, which, it
will be remembered, destroyed four warehouses, besides
St. Olave's Church and Watson's Telegraph. The ex-
tent of this conflagration be accounts for by the fire
breaking cut in an oil warehouse having no party-wags,
and an inefficiency of water. It will be recollected, that
the church eas sacrificed in orders to preserve property
which otherwise would have been destroyed to the
amount of 400,000/. The report thus details the fires
that occurred At the turpentine distillery, nether-
!lithe, in January; at the Golden Lion, Bexley-heath, in
June ; on the 15th of July, at Pinchin and Johnson'o
oil-works, St. George's-in the-East ;at Dewberry's, the
chemist's, in Fetter-lane, where five lives were lost, on
the 19th of August; the three that fidlewed in rapid
succession on the night of the 14th and morning of the
15th of September, at Limehousr, ‘l'apping, and West-
minster; the fatal lire in St. Martin's court in October—
three lives lost; and, lastly, those at the candle ma-
nufactory in Paradise-street, Lambeth. and Brainah's
engineering factory at Pimlico, daring the last month."
01 the 29 large tires which are noticed at the com-
mencement of the Report., the number of buildings
consumed thereby amounts to 40. Further on it men-
tions the difKrent trades at which fires have occurred
and their causes. There are a great number of them,
however, marked unknown, and it is too strongly be-
lieved that the principal part of them have been occa-
sioned by ixcendiaries. 280 in private houses, chiefly
caused by bed and eindow-curtains igniting through
neglect of domestics, 39 lodging-houses, 30 licensed
victuallers, 23 coffee-shops, 20 woollen and silk mercers,
23 sale-shops, 20 cabinet makers, 5 public buildings, 10
bakers, 7 'heifer manufactories, and 3 ships. A large
number, however, are described to have originated in
offices, sheds, &c. The chief causes are stated to kie
carelessness of servants, and defects in stoves and flues.
The number of fires that have taken place since the for-
mation of the establishment in 1832 up to the present
time amounts to 6,523. The Report then concludes by
observing that the most valuable assistance has been,
on all occasions, rendered by the police at the above
conflagrations.

THE INDIA MAILS.— SOUTHAMPTON, JAN.
The Oriental Company's steam-ship Oriental, Captain
Soy, left this p,,rt to-day fur Alexandria, with the mails
for Egypt, India, and China, consisting of 80 boxes and
7 bags, also upwards of 100 passengers, and a large
freight of Manchester goods, so large as to compel her
to leave several tons behind for the next boat. The
Peninsular packet Lady Mary Woad, which mired here
on Saturday evening, has brought from Gibraltar the
damaged shaft of the Great Liverpool, which has been
forwarded to Scotland to be rejoined, and it is expected
to be in readiness to be taken out in the Iberia on the
10th. The Peninsular Company's beat Royal Tar is
taking in cargo at the East India Docks, and will sail
on the 10th for Constantinople, &c. She has been
obliged to take down the saloon and berths, to enable
her to receive all her goods. The Royal West India
mail-packet Teviot, Captain Allen, will leave here to-
morrow with the mails for the West Indies, South Ame-
rica, &c. All her berths are engaged. She has also
860 bottles of quicksilver.
THE LIGHT GOLD COlNAGE.—Yesterday the
order in Council issued by her Majeity on the 2d day of
October last on the light gold currency, came into opera-
tion, which commands " that light sovereigns of less
weight than 5 pennyweights 21 grains, and every gold
half-sovereign of less weight than 2 pennyweights 13
grains and one-eighth, shall not be allowed to be cur-
rent, and shall be cut, broke, and defaced by all Govern-
ment employes and officers, receivers of the public re-
venue, so that they be no longer circulated." The Go-
vernor and Company of the Bank of England have
given notice that on and after this day, the 2d of
January, they will receive gold coin below the legal
current weight in amounts of not less than 51., at the
rate of 31. 17s. Cid. per ounce ; and further that at the
respective branch banks of the Bank of England it will
be received in like amounts at the rate of 3L 17s. sd. per
ounce, being, after deducting the charges of transmission
to London, equal to the, above price of 31' 17s. 6id. per
ounce.—N.B. The above, after deducting the expenses of
converting the light gold coin into bullion, will be equal
to the price paid by the Bank for their gold bars—viz.,
31. 17s. 9d. per -ounce standard. The employes at the
Royal Mint have been busily engaged for some time in
striking off the new coinage for the Bank of England, so
that no inconvenience may be felt by the public in ex-
changing their light gold. The applications yesterday
were very numerous, when the old ones were defaced by
the clerks as they received them.
DECLINE OF THE DRAMA.—(From the New York
Morning Herald.)—The result of our own experience and
observation during our late tour in England, and also in
this city since our return, quite convinces us of the decline
of the drama. During the last week Macready,
both
hdssiadres
acknow-
ledged to be the greatest artist in the line, has been play-
ing
empty, t three
cold,c
cheerless,
r ifez
inhospitablehundred . dollar
h o a
s eAs drnael al
gt
this
vocalists
ldi houses.sr
drama on oa inl
whilst the rentg musicians and.
It
taiks ivnegrythezdtehnotutshaantdiathned tEwnog. thousand dollars a night.e
of the Atlantic is on its last legs. And it is also very
clear that this state of decrepitude has been the result as
much, if not more, from the want of the machinery to
keep it up, as from the change in the public taste.
We regret to hear that the venerable Earl of Lons-
dale is suffering from severe indisposition.

7

DEATH FROM ILL-TREATMENT.
SUDDIIRY.—This town and neighbourhocti bare, dur-
ing the past week, been in the greatest state of excite-
ment, in consequeric, r of a rumour that a boy, 13 y9ars of
age, named Joseph Cl!trk, late in the employ of Mr.
Simon Vial!, of .Alidtiletonll, a short distance from
the town, had come to his death in consequence of blows
and kicks inflicted by his master. Mr. Viall is a re-
spectable farmer, occupying, it is said, 700 acres of land.
The poor boy expired at his father's house, in Cross-
street, All Saints, Sudbury, on Sunday, the 24th ult.
his father is an agricultural labourer, in the employ of
Mr.Viall. The investigation was carried on for four days,
and at the conclusion on Friday the jury retired at a quar-
ter-past five, and after consulting an hour and a half, re-
turned the following verdict :--" The jury, after fear
days careful investigation, are unanimously of opinion
that Joseph Clark, deceased, on whom this intl./est h2s
been hehi, came by his death from a kick or blow given
him by Simon Viall, cf Middleton-hall, in the county of
Essex ; and that the jury return a verdict of manslaughter
against the aforesaid Simon \Tian." A rumour Las just
reached us, that Mr. Viall has absconded.---/pwvich
Express.

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
CITY, MoNLIAY EVENING.
TIMES. —A n important correspondence has taken
place between the Committee of Spanish AmeriCan
bondholders and Messrs. Lizardi and Ce., the Mexican
rgents. The Committee protest against Messrs. Lizardi
retaining the sum of 11,=5/. ss. 11d,, out of the money
remitted for dividends, as commission due to them from
the Mexican Government, contending, that, according to
the agreement of September, 1837, they were authorised
to appropriate it to dividends atone. They, therefore,
request to know whether it is Messrs. Lizsrdi's intention
to restore the sum to the dividend account ; and put
another question, of no less importance, asking what re-
mittances have come to hand since the payment of the
half dividend on the October coupon, and whether Messrs.
Liiardi are prepared to complete the payment of the
coupon at once. To this application, which is dated
Dec. 28, they have received the following reply :
" 26, Austin-friars, Dec. aO, 1343.
"Sir,—We have received your letter of the 28th inst.,
and are unable to reply to the questions therein contained
until we reecho further information from Mexico, espe-
cially as regards the distribution of the funds in hand,
and such as we may receive henceforward, for account of
the Mexican Government, as to whether the said funds
shall be appropriated to the payment of the remainln;
half of the dividend for October, 1843, or that for April,
1844. " We remain, &e.
" F. DE LiZARDI and CO.
"Per pro. JOHN F. BACON.
" G. R. Rubinson, Esq."
By this correspondence it appears that the wholeaffair
of the Mexican stock remains in a complete state of ob-
scurity. There are no means of obtaining an undisputed
estimate of the funds now in this country available fur
the purposes of the dividends, with the additional cir-
cumstance, that we are left in the dark as to the particu-
lar dividend to which the available funds (whatever they
may be) will be appropriated.
a most buoyant a
SUN.—TheFunds, both home and foreign, closed with
ppearance, almost everything being
higher than in the morning. There was a purchase for
the Court of Chancery of 10,000/. Reduced Three-itud-a-
Half per Cents. Consols were last marked 97 to k.
Spanish Bonds touched 22i a for the Actives, and 31
to k for the Three per Cents. Mexican rose also to 89k t.
The Committee of Spanish American Bondholders have
received a communication from Messrs. Lizardi to the
effect that they await further instructions as to the dis-
posal of the funds in hand ; and also as to whether they
shall give up their claim to the 11,000/. in dispute. This,
however, was not generally known in the market, or it
might have made them go lower.
In Railway Shares the advance of the morning .was in
several instances carried still further, as a reference to
closing prices will serve to show.