The Sun.
London, England, 1845-05-29 00:00:00

SOUTH MIDLAND or NORT HAMP-
TON AND LEICESTER RAILWAY.
The following statement with respect to the proposed South
Midland or Northampton and Leicester Railway, will be found
interesting to our readers :
The line will commence either at the London and Birming-
ham Railway, at a point between Roade and Blisworth, or at
the Northampton station of the branch to Peterborough, and
proceed by Market Harborough to the Midland Railway, near
the town of Leicester, with a short branch to the Leicester and
Swannington Railway, effecting a saving of nearly seven miles
between London and Nottingham, Derby, Sheffield, Leeds,
and the North of England,.
In connexion with the Sheffield and Chesterfield, and Ere-
wash Valley lines, it will prove the shortest practicable line to
Sheffield, and will very considerably lessen the distance between
London and York, enabling the existing Companies more suc-
cessfully to compete for that traffic, which must otherwise be
diverted to the eastern lines.

It will also avoid the Kileby and Weedon Tunnels on the
Birmingham Railway, and the stoppage at Rugby, which will
hereafter be considerably lengthened by the junction of the
Trent Valley, and Rugby and Oxford lines, at the station, al-
lowing of better arrangements being made for the accom-
modation of the Oxford and southern traffic, which would still
pass over that part of the Midlands line, between Leicester and
Rugby. Indeed, the Committee believe that this undertaking
will be found advantageous to both the London and Birming-
ham, and Midland Companies, for the follorsing reasons :-
Ist, As a means of preserving a large portion of the Shef-
field, Leeds, and York traffic, making it self-evident that
whatever profit may be taken from the Companies between
Leicester and Rugby, and Rugby and Blisworth, it will be re-
turned tenfold by that from the northern disAict.
2d, It will, by effecting a saving of nearly three miles more
between Leicester and London than the Bedford and Leicester
project, deprive that Company of any grounds for an infringe-
ment on the vested interests of the present lines.
As a source of profit to the shareholders, it holds out the
following advantages :—By its junction with the Leicester and
Swannington Railway, it will open the coal and mineral parts
of Leicestershire and Derbyshire to the agricultural district
around Market Harborough, and to the town of Northampton,
reducing the price of these articles most considerably (in cor-
roboration of which it may be remarked, that the Union Canal
have, since this line was projected, reduced the prices of car-
riage to Harborough ), while, in connexion with the Erewash
Valley line, it will effect so great a saving in expense of car-
riage, as to enable a much larger quantity of coal to be sent
from this, and the coal district around Claycross, to London.

THE LATE DREADFUL FIRE AT
RAGGETT'S HOTEL.

LOSS OF FIVE LIVES.
The following additional facts, collected from statements made
by the Earl of Huntingdon and other survivors, leave no doubt as
to the origin of the fire, and that five persons at least, viz., Mrs.
John Round, the lady of the Hon. Member for Mallon, Essex;
Mr. Raggett, sen , the proprietor of the hotel; his daughter, Miss
Raggett, aged 27; Mrs. Jones, a nurse in the service of the Earl
of Huntingdon ; and a servant woman, have perished by the sad
occurrence.
It appears that the hotel (which is a very capacious one) was at
the time of the outbreak completely occupied by families, chiefly
from the country. The Earl and Countess of Huntingdon, with
their infant son, Lord Hastings, occupied the front drawing-room
on the first floor, and the corresponding rooms above for their ser-
vants, Mrs. Jones and the nursemaid, &c. The back drawing-
Am was occupied by Mrs. John Rould and her daughter (who
Lad only arrived there late on Monday afternoon from Brighton, to
fl presented at Court on Tuesday), and they had also a sitting
room and other apartments on the second floor. Another suite of
apartments on the drawing-room floor were occupied by Mr.
Richard Poer King and his sister; and beneath these were apart-
ments in the occupation of Lord Louth, the Hon. Col. Bouverie,
and other gentlemen ; the remainder of the building being de-
voted by Mr. Raggett to his own family and domestics, and those
of the families staying at the hotel.
Singular as it may appear, when the fire was first discovered, the
hotel had not been closed for the night. Mr. Raggett and his
daughter retired to rest shortly before twelve o'clock, as did the
servants, with the exception of the head waiter and the cook, who,
as well as Mr. Raggett, jun., were sitting up for those inmates who
had not then returned home. Mrs. Round and her daughter had
been to the St. James's Theatre to see the French plays, and the
Earl and Countess of Huntingdon to the Opera. Mrs. Round and
her daughter came home a few minutes after twelve, and retired to
her sitting-room, on the second floor, to partake of supper. They
had scarcely sat down when the head waiter, who had seen Miss
King whilst going up stairs entering her bed-room at the back of
the first floor, and who had again descended, was alarmed
.by
hearing screams of fire. On rushing up to the first floor land-
ing he met Miss King coming down in a distracted state, ex-
claiming that her bed-room was in flames, and that she feared
she had set fire to the bed-curtains. He found the whole
room in a blaze, and entrance impossible from the dense
smoke that issued from it. The screams had attracted
the attention of the inmates, and on his rushing up
the second.floor stairs he saw Mrs. Round on the land.
ing in the same dress in which she had arrived from
the theatre. He told her the house was on fire, and to make her
escape. He ran down stairs, supposing the lady to be following
him, and saw no more of her. Miss Round states that she was
with her mother at this time, and either from the smoke or fright
the lady fell on the stairs, but at the same moment a man caught
her up, saying he would save her ; and seeing her, as she sup-
posed safe, she ran back into the apartment occupied by her attend-
ant, but was unable to proceed down stairs, on account of the in.
tensity of the heat and smoke. She and Miss Raggett again went
back to the front room, and opened the window; and when the
fire.escape arrived the fire was coming into the apartment. Miss
Raggett was the first to go out, but did so before the conductor
`could get up, and fell on to the pavement and was killed. Miss
Round then got out, with her attendant, and effected their escape.
A minute or two before this occurrence a painful sight was wit-
nessed by the crowds which had already assembled. A poor fel-
low servant to Mr. King, was seen to make his appearance at an
adjoining window of the second floor to that from which Miss
Raggett fell. The flames were in the apartment, and in the hope
of immediate assistance, he got outside, and clung to the window-
sill for several minutes. The flames bursting through the win.
dow burnt his hands so dreadfully that he let go his hold, and fortu.
nately fell into the balcony, from which he ultimately managed,
with difficulty, to scramble into the street. About three or four
minutes prior to the cries of fire being raised, Lord Huntingdon
had arrived home, and his Lordship states that he had scarcely
put his hat down when he was startled by the alarm. His first
impulse was to ruts to the room where his son and servants were.
Mrs. Jones, the nurse, had heard the al(rm, and was preparing to
dress the child, but his Lordship snatched his son from her arms,
and with the Countess ran out of the house, telling her to follow
him. He believed else did so, but returned for some article, and
must afterwards have mistaken the staircase, and got into one of the
back rooms, and out of the window, from the position in which
her body was found. The person whom Miss Round saw on the
landing with her mother is supposed to be Mr. Raggett, sen. , from
the fact that the remains of the two bodies, when discovered on
Tuesday, were found close together,
The rapidity and intensity of the fire may be accounted for from
the fact that the whole of the apartments were wainscoted, and
that there was three times as much wood in the building as is usual
in modern houses. Although, therefore, there were ten engines
in attcndance within half an hour of the outbreak, and a plentiful
supply of water, the whole building, with the singular exception
of the sitting-room of Mrs. Round, which remains with the supper:•
things still standing en the table uninjured and untouched, was in
flames.

The first body discovered was that of the unfortunate woman
Mrs. Jones, about three o'clock, by Mr. Inspector Aggs, of the
.0
division,' and some of the firemen, lying in a state of nudity,, and
dreadfully burned about the head, face,and 'arms, on the top of some
leads in the rear 'of the premises and over the kitchen. She had
evidently dropped from one of the second-floor windows. She had
also a frightful wound on her head, but her body was imme-
diately identified by Lord Huntingdon. The ruins were not suffi-
ciently cool to commence a search for the other bodies supposed to
be there until ten o'clock, when, at the earnest request of Colonel
Boucher, Colonel Rolt, and other relatives of' Mrs. Round, some
of the brigade...were induced to enter, and, after a short search,
they found what are supposed to be the remains of Mrs. Round,
lying on a part of the burnt flooring of the first floor, and close to
them the remains of another person, supposed to he those of Mr.
Raggett. They presented a truly horrifying spectacle, scarcely
anything but the mere trunks remaining. They were placed In
shells, and conveyed to the workhouse of St. 'George's, Hanover.
square, in Mount.street, as was also that of Mrs. Jones. Miss Rag-
gett was conveyed to No. 8, Dover-street, exactly opposite the
hotel, where she died almost immediately after.
It appears that the Countess of Huntingdon has lost the whole
of bet jewels, the estimated value of which -his Lordship stated
on Tuesday to be as much as 3,0001. ; and those of the unfortunate
Mrs. Round and her daughter, which they intended to have worn
yesterday at the Drawing room, are estimated at a much larger
sum, in addition to the plate. Mr. King, who is a merchant from
Bristol, had, in one of his apartments, a large and valuable chest
of plate, supposed to be destroyed(

_ .
Mrs. Round's family had, up-to the discovery of:the bodies, enter-
tained a hope that the unfortunate lady had escaped.
Her Majesty had herself witnessed the progress of the flames
from the Palace, and a messenger was at an early hour sent to
inquire into the extent of the damage.

In the report made on Tuesday by Mr. Braidwood, he attributes
the rapid progress of the fire to the fact that the whole of the doors
were thrown open, and thus a free current of air tended to in-
crease the flames. The inquest on the bodies is expected to take
place this evening.

A singular circumstance in connexion with this shocking affair
occurred on Tuesday afternoon, about two o'clock. Lord Hunting-
don came to Inspector Aggs and asked if it was safe to enter the
drawing-room on the first floor, as he remembered that in his
flight he had left a ♦aluable gold watch on the mantelpiece. He
was referred to the firemen, one of whom his Lordship accom-
panied up the ladder and through the window into the apartment,
and shortly after returned, having found the watch in the fender,
partially melted.

Prior to taking apartments at Raggett's Hotel, on Monday even-
ing, Mrs. Round and her daughter applied at Mivart's, but that
establishment was full.

Too much praise cannot be given to the police, under Superin.
tendent Beresford and Inspector Aggs, for the efficient aid they
afforded the firemen in their arduous and dangerous duties ; and it
is also a gratifying fact to mention, that Lord George Cavendish,
the Hon. Charles Cavendish, and several other noblemen, during
the raging of the fire, exerted themselves vigorously, in the cause
of humanity.

The loss of property is estimated at little short of 30,0001.

LAW INTELLIGENCE

9NDARIES' COURT,Maa 28.
(Before Mr. Secondary POTTER.)
BEGRIE V. RAWLINGS.
This was an action brought to recover the balance of an attor-
ney's Bill. The defendant is a broker in Bethnal.green.
Mr. BEGBIE stated the case. In 1839 he was sent for to the
office of Messrs. Smith, of Furnival's Inn, and introduced to the
defendant, and requested to defend an action brought against him
by a Mr. Babbington, Messrs. Smith's business being principally
confined to Chancery suits. The action was settled, and
defendant paid 21. to him on account of costs, and frequently,
both before and after the commencement of the present
action, promised to pay. The action was commenced in
1843, and judgment obtained against the defendant, which, how-
ever, was set aside, on an affidvit that there was a bona fide defence.
Defendant, however, was to pay costs, and he (Mr. Begbie)
accepted 41. on account, the then attorney for defendant
urging him not to proceed with the action, as de-
fendant was very poor. The proceedings were then stopped, but
a short time since, after the passing of the Act for the abolition of
irnprisonmect for debts under 204, the defendant's attorney
called, and said that if the 41. was returned the proceedings
should drop—if not, they would force him to go on with the
action. This course had been adopted, and plaintiff therefore
came before the jury contrary to his own desire, and whichever
way the verdict went he must be the loser, as defendant had no
property which could be taken in execution.
The defence was that the retainer of plaintiff was by Mr. Smith,
and that it was a common practice for one attorney to employ
another as his agent, and also that plaintiff had consented to take
costs out of pocket, and which amounted only to 13s. 6d.
The jury then gave a verdict for the plaintiff for the balance as
taxed by the Master.

SE,

On Saturday afternoon the King of the French,
with several members of the Royal Family, took an excursion in
the yacht round the islands at Neuilly. In the evening their
Majesties received the Ministers of Sweden and Wurtemburg, the
Marquises de Rumigny and de Lagrange, Counts de Montalivet,
Portalis, de Murat, and de Montesquieu, General Pernety, and M.
de Girardin.