Star.
London, England, 1824-06-29 00:00:00

=Nommim=
GREA t FIRE.

EDINBURGH, JUNE
A most destructive fire broke out yesterday in the
lower story of a tenement, occupied by Mr.Gunn, spirit
dealer, at the head of the Royal Bank Close, who had
the day before removed most part of his furniture, for
the purpose of getting the front of his shop brought
forward to the piazzas. The immediate cause of the
fire does not seem to be ascertained. Of course the
report generally circulated that it was occasioned by
some persons throwing a glass of spirits in the fire is
unfounded, the house being at the time uninhabited.—
The alarm was given a little before one o'clock, and the
fire engines were promptly upon the spot; but, from
the quantity of panneling and other timber work in the
building, the flames spread rapidly, and the house in
which the fire had originated, with the one behind it,
were burnt down in three hours, while two other tene-
ments adjoining, the one leading into the Parliament-
square, and the other on the East side, within the
square, had also caught fire. It was hoped that the
former of these would be partially saved, but the flames
have completely gutted the building, and the other
house exhibits an almost equally ruinous spectacle. The
Weekly Gironide's publishing office, Mr. Sutherland's
bo.)kbinding shop, the Pitcairn Insurance office, and
several old established writing-chambers, were in the
premise, which have been consumed.
The extensive premises of Messrs. Bell and Bradfute were at one
period in the most imminentdanger, one of their windows, conti-
guous to the house where the Ore originated having been in flames,
and some books ignited, when Mr. Smith, bookbinder, having for-
tumtelygot access, immediately removed part of the stock, and thus
prevented the flames extending through the premises. Mr. Smith
also roomed several Individuals who were asleep in their own apart-
ments, and who otherwise would all probability have perished.
Another young man, named Waded', generously and heroically
made his way to the third Boer of the horse first in flames, end was
the mesas of rescuing a whit family from a miserable death.—
There were 'therein Malec ports el the eatendve tenement who
were awakened by the rapidly weed* laws, and several of them
had great dillkuky he draft tilde mope, and securing at the
same time the safety of their beellies, biding. in some caves,
infant children. With the esespdes of a town dicer, who was
scorched by the Ere, and one or two Individuals slightly bruised,
we believe no personal injury was sustained. There are rumours
current of " one or two persons mbar& bet we believe they are
unfounded. Messrs. Syme, Tak, and Co. Mr. Budge, of John's
Colfee-bosse, bir Brash, spirit dealer, Mr. Ferguson, tobactuoist,
and Mr. Nelson, bookseller, were fortunate in getting the greater
part of their stocks removed ; and the books and papers of several
writing and other ogees were dee sewed. We have heard of
lesupeees ea the property to the easeet or shout 14,0001. and no
desk there met he mem Mho* not *early to the mutant of
the law
• novel apparatus, belseglng to the Sun Fire Office, was of great
with! as the High-etreet, le embling the firemen to throw water
into the upper la sof on. of the homes. It consists of three lad-
ders, of the height of dew ordleary stories, stretched out at the
bottom in the form of a triangle, and bound together at the top, on
whisk is fixed a platform capable of holding two men, and fenced
reeled by an iron railing, thus giving the firemen an excellent and
co-needing position, front which they can direct the pipes of the
eeillee with the is, wo
-ate 111111111•1111111 preornasett 'at:Witte atom the Sun
Company purchased one by way of experiment, and to ea-
the ingenuity of the inventor; and the eminent service
ids it rendered op Thursday morning will, we have no doubt, in-
duce the other Insurance Computes to follow their example.
During the whole of yesterday the High-street, op.
posite to the destroyed tenements, was completely
' ,I..cked up by the crowd ; and those whose business led'
them to the Parliament House, or Castle-hill, found it
most expeditious for them to make their approach by
the Old Assembly Close. The mob was excluded from
the Parliament Square, to which, however, the Gentle-
men attending the Courts of Law obtained access. To-
wards the east side of the square, military parties, in
undress] were working the fire-engines, where pipes,
playing from the roof of St. Giles's Church, and the ad-
joining houses, occasionally discharged thezr.selves on
the head of some unfortunate limb of the law, whose
zeal for the public safety had decoyed him from under
the snug roof of Mother Justice into imprudent proxi-
mity with the man of water. On the outskirts of the
military appeared a numerous deputation from the
adjoining Courts of Law, headed by eminent Coun-•
sel in their gowns and wigs. On the outside of these
again stood a motley assemblage of old men, women,
and children, who were guarding their little wrecks of
furniture, which had been deposited, or rather flung,
under the piazzas ' • and never was there seen before,
at the doors of a Hall of Justice, such an assem-1
Mage of odds and ends as garnished the piazza of our
Parliament House—beds and baskets,chairs and cradles,
books and barrels, spits and pokers, pictures and papers,
flower-pots and other pots, shock-dogs and Rbbies,l
petticoats and breeches, lined the whole front of the
edifice, with the exception of one narrow passage by
which the brethren, within and without the walls of
Court, reported to each other, from time to time, the
state of affairi in their respective territories. Here sat
an Irish lady protecting her property, more effectually
than all the men of Rights about her could have done;
there stood a toans-woman laying the case of her par-
lout table, which had eloped with five gold guineas in
its custody, before three celebrated Counsel. In one
corner the maiden of some ancient spinstress basted to
deposit her mistress's china equipage in a bunker, in
which duty she was assisted by a parcel of W. S.'s ; in
another, a parcel of ragged urchins sought to hide
themselves from the approach of an Advocate, " least
the Minister in white breeks," as they called him, should
put them in gaol. The loss sustained is very great,
from the greater number of the sufferers having
neglected the precaution of insurance. •
The following ,odes has been Issued :
Old Church, Parliament-square.
" In consequence et the calamitous flee which took place yester-
day morning, a considerable part of the stork of Messrs. Bell and
Bradfute, booksellers. was lodged in the Old Church ; and as it
has been found impossible to make the necessary arrangements for
its removal for some days, the blagktrates, Ministers, and Ekseon,
have agreed that Dirties Service dolt net Sake place ist this Church next
Lord's Day. June 25, 1824."

It is said that suitable residences have been prepared
at Dieppe for the Wag et Pls. aied Rapt Fanily, pea air baying
been advised with the bore of inapreosing his tdasarres bevitb.
Upwards of 3,540 children are educated by the chari-
ties connected with the Established Church in Liverpool.
Sin THOMAS Ptcran.—An immense cairn is about to
be etected in South Wales, by subscription, to the me-
mory of this heroic Chief. Upwards of 11,300 are al-
ready put down.

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T , ARMY.
TM (Heenan the A MAO 14.1arld Of Ught Dra.
pne ).which moody arniced at Retailed from Ipswich,
will, It Is lasadoretasti keep the vound on tEe day ef the Grand
CavArf &Aiwa' lioundow.
The lid (va' the Cjeeett's Royal) .1 Foot will, en the
arrival of the 31st (Huntingdonshtr Regiment of Infantry at
Portsmouth from Dahlia, march to Chatham.
The Bth Dragoon Guards landed at Liverpool on Fridays from
Dublin.
A detachment of Recruits marched from the Recruiting Depart-
oleawt,igrtes:ndUStors on Friday Last, for Potumouth and the Isle
The first troop of the Sib Regiment of Dragoons left Ballintobe
ea Friday the lath inst. for Dundalk. They are to be replaced b
the celebrated 10th Hussars. y
The first regiment of Ayrshire Yeomanry Cavalry. commanded
by Colonel Caawruna, assembled at Ayr on Wednesday% for six
days training and exercise.—They muster very fully.
IR consequence of further economical arrangements in the Staff
of the Army, the office of Brigade Major to the Glasgow District
ceased on the 24th instant.
MILITARY Amovitaney Thxzza.—The Officers of the &coed
Royal Tower Hamlets Regiment, held their ant:ust meeting at the
Green Man, Bethnal-green, on the 26th inst. when they partook of
at excellent dinner, and circulated Air. Newman's best wines very
freely till a late hour. Many good songs were sung, and loyal
toasts and sentiments drank upon the occasion, and the day being
particularly fine, &treat concourse of people assembled on the Green.
The band of that Regiment, among whom are some of the finest
musicians in England. considerably added to the joyous gaiety of
the scene by their numerous martial airs, particularly by the match.
less excellent, of their key buglemen.
RIFLE PRACTICE.
A detachment of the Yager of the Honourable Artillery Com-
pany will march early tomorrow morning, from London, and
proceed to the New Practice-ground of the Royal Artifiery,be d
Woolwich*. for the purpose of rifle practice, at veryddsedd
ranges. It is a remarkable fast, that although the rile pa has
been for a considerable time smelt more in use in almost every ether
country than in England, particularly in America, German
Switzerland. it has been brought to a greater degree of
le this country than in any other, owing partly to the supetbrity of
ear manufactories, and the very extraordinary pain Nish have
been taken by the professors and admiren of the whales et py-
jamas, here. to bring it to that perfection.
Way often, who ban seen a great deal Of service in the
unnarke above mentioned (amongst whom was the late Lord
Cranium), have repeatedly declared, when witnessing the vas.
tics of English Riflemen. that they never had seen such omen
shoot*/ at stub long distances. There is, perhaps, no subject se
Babb to exaggeration as shooting at a mark. be writer of elk
beard an officer declare it to be usual for American Riflemen to hit
a dollar six times in succession, at three hundred yards, and yet a
dollar at that distance is not visible to one eye in a hundred, if to
any. It is supposed that the Rifle Brigade, and the Yager* of the
Honourable Artillery Company have brought the practice el rile
shooting to the greatest perfection in this country; and if at esty
time any part of that brigade, now actively engaged on duty in Ire•
land, should happen to be near Londe" it would afford a good op-
portunity for a trial of skill between that gallant corps and the
Yager of the Hon. Artillery Company, which could not but be
highly interesting to the admirers of the science of projecttTe..

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