The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-07 00:00:00

OFFICIAL REPORT.

" Friday, Sept. 6, 2 A.M.
" A fire broke out at No. 12, Flagon-row, Deptford,
in the premises occupied by Mr. Parks, butcher. Cause
of fire unknown. There was gas in the building. House
burned down. Stock in trade, utensils, and furniture
destroyed. Contents insured in the Sun Fire-office. The
building unknown whether or not it is insured.
" No. 13, Flagon-row, J. Turner, tailor—First floor
burned out, roof consumed, the rest of premises and stock
in trade and furniture severely injured by fire, water, and
hasty removal. Uninsured.
" N 0.14, Flagon-row, Mr. W. Cherry, stationer—Roof
of building damaged. Stock and furniture uninsured.
" No. 11, Flagon-row, Mr. Nelson, cheesemonger—
Roof burned off of building. The first floor consumed
and the rest of premises extensively damaged, and con-
tents by removals. Uninsured.
" No. 47 (opposite), Mr. Newnham, private—Front
damaged by fire. Insured in the Licensed Victuallers'
Office.

" No. 48, Mr. A. Rowswell, umbrella maker—Front
of premises injured by heat, and furniture by removal.
Stock not insured, but the builling is in the Kent Office.
" No. 49, Mr. B. Sligh, the William IV. Tavern—Front
of premises scorched. Building and stock insured in the
Kent Fire-office.

The fire was extinguished by firemen and police.
Water one hour late. Engines attending—one dockyard,
,wo brigade, and the West of England one."

IMPORTANT SALE OF THE
SOMERLEYTON ESTATE.
This extensive and valuable property was brought
to the hammer by Mr. W. W. Simpson last week, at
the Mart, London, pursuant to the directions of the
Lord Sydney Godolphin Osborne, and, as might have
been expected, there was an attendance which corn.
pletely filled the large room. The sale opened with
great spirit and competition, and the result was as
follows :
Lot. I. The Somerleyton Hall Estate, comprising
several farms, with two advowsons and cxten•
sive manorial property, bought In at (but
which has since been sold to J. M. Pete, E5q.).E86,000
2. A Freehold Estate, in the parish of South-
town, was sold to Mr. Hezekiah Martin, of
Southtown, for
a. Gorleston Ferry, the water passage over the
River Zare, at Southtown, was sold to Samuel
Palmer, Esq., of Yarmouth, for
4. A Freehold Property, situate at Lowestoft,
was sold to W. Everett, Esq., fur 250
5. The Advowson of Blundeston, with Flixton,
was bought in at 3,740
6. The Advowson of Carlton Colville was sold
to W. Andrews, Esq., of Romford, for 3,000
7. The Advowson of Lound was sold to Benja-
min Dowson, Esq., for 2,220
8. The Advowson of Bradwell was bought in at 4,000
9. The Advowson of Oulton (reserve)

8,800

Making a total of .

£112,650

At the conclusion of the sale, Mr. Simpson ex-
pressed his high gratification and thanks for the honour
done him by an attendance so numerous and respect.
able.

KOLLMAN'S RAILWAY LOCOMO-

TIME ENGINE.

The improvements Mr. Kollman contemplates by
this new locomotive are of great importance, and, if
tarred into effect, would contribute much to the safety
of railway passengers. These improvements include
the capability of traversing curves of any required
radius, with speed, diminution of friction, and in-
crease of safety; of ascending and descending inclines
of such gradients as have hitherto been deemed im-
practicable; of reducing very considerably the ex-
penditure in the original construction, and in the
maintenance and working of every department of the
system ; and of increasing materially the general
safety and comfort of passengers. The latter point
is certainly the most interesting to the public, for
though facility in ascending and descending inclines,
and the reduction of the expenses caused by
wear and tear, are matters of importance to'
the proprietors, safety is the great object of
the traveller. Mr. Kollman thus explains the
advantages to be gained in this respect by the
new plan—" The running off the line, to which, in
the present state of things, there is so frequent a ten-
dency, especially in curves of short radius, becomes
next to impossible. The reduction of the centre of
gravity to so low a position precludes the liability to
overturn ; whilst the attachment of the train through-
out its range to the guide rails by means of the hori-
zontal wheels, guarantees its security, unless the
whole machinery were disrupted and displaced. The
avoidance of that injurious and violent process of
grinding and sliding on the rails, inseparable from
the present defective state of things, involving as it
does the unnatural expedients of coning the sv heels,
and giving undue and more dangerous play in their
lateral range, must not be regarded as a trivial advan-
tage ; as by these means that oscillating. and vibratory
motion peculiarly distressing to most passengers,
especially to females, as well as productive of inju-
rious results to proprietors, is entirely removed, and
the carriages will be found to keeptheeoventeer rapid
rpoidf
their way without swerving or jolting, h"ev
the transit on the direct line, or on such a curve as
might call into action centrifugal force.

BLUNDERING LEGISLATION.--The Poor-law Amen-
dment
measureshaced ofhy the
young las tse ssion. All the
onhumanityeofthe Just
people,
Eng-
land, bestowed their talk and thei backed
tediousness on it night
after night, and yet, instead of ameliorating one alleged
Obnoxious law of the old Act, it fearfully and shamefully
aggravates it. The second clause enacts that any single
woman being pregnant, or having had an illegitimate
child, instead of going to the overseeer, is to go before
the magistrate, and he, satisfied of the trnth of her state-
ment, may make an order on the putative father for the
payment of two shillings and sixpence a week. So far
so well ; but then the woman must collect the money
herself from her seducer, and the said seducer may, by
serving her with notice, retrieve the case to the sessions,
and unless she can, at her own expense, confront him
there, he gets off scot free ! and she, what do you think?
—unless she then can herself support the child, she is to
be committed as a rogue and a vagabond. This throw-
ing the unfortunate and the vicious a second time in the
way of temptation struck the Bishop of Exeter, and Go-
vernment promised to amend it. His Worship the
Mayor and Mr. Rushton, who has given more attention
to the poor-law operations than any magistrate on the
bench, went to London to have it altered : and they
were told that it should be altered ; yet, in the hurry of
legislation, it remained to perplex overseers and puzzle
the magistrates.—Liverpool Journal