Star.
London, England, 1825-06-24 00:00:00

A VILLAGE DESTNOYED BY FIRE.

Monday • afternoon last, between two and three
o'clock, a most destructive fire broke out in the village
of Honiton Clyst, about four rai'es from Exeter, on the
Great London Road. It commenced at the corner on
the right-hand side of the road, going in from Exeter
(either at a baker's or blacksmith's shop); and, spread-
ing with the rapidity of wild-fire up the village, cleared
as it went on both sides of the road as far as the Par.
sonage house—having, in the short space of about three
hours, reduced nearly the whole village to ashes.-
-By the arrival of the fire•engines, the Parsonage-
house, and the few remaining cottages, of this almost
devoted village, were saved. Unfortunately, when the
fire broke out, nearly the whole of the inhabitants
were absent at their labour in the fields,. and many
of them at a great distance. The alaryn was great,
and the distress of the peasantry who returned, and
saw their smiling cottages a heap of ruins, may be
'readily conceived ; but even this feeling gave way for
anxiety for their familie., who had been scattered ; nor
was it until nine o'clock at n;ght, that the number of
persons missing was seduced to two; these were -an
aged female, and a man of the name of Ashford, 70
years old, who had perished in the &Mts. From
32 to Silt houses, all inhabited, were destroyed by the
awful conflagration. The Gentlemen and Farmers in
the neighb aihood opened their houses and barns to
shelter the sufferers, and we trust a ;subscription will
be opened for their relief.

PREROGATIVE COURT, JUNE 23.
ELLIS V. ELLIS AND OTHERS.
This is an amicable suit, instituted by the Executors
appointed to "a paper made by William Ellis, Esq. ft r-
merly of Park-street, Grosvenor-square, and latterly
of• Paddington. The property of the testator• at his
death consisted of funded property to the amount of
80,000/. The question for the Court was, whether this
paper was a valid instrument or not? In the latter cafe
the deceased must be pronounced to have died intestate.
This, however, will make no difference, as by the paper
propounded he has left the whole of it among his six
children, who, being his nbat of kin, will also be
entitled under the statute of distribution, in the event
of the Court pronouncing him to have died intestate.
It appeared the deceased, in 1809, married a Lady
with whom he received a considerable fortune, and
in consideration of the same, covenanted to secure to her,
in the event of survivorship, an income cf 15001. per ann.
The following year he executed the paper now pro-
pounded, which is headed, " Instructions for my Will."
By it he bequeaths his wife 15001. a-year, and also his
house and furniture in Park-street. The rest of his
property, consisting of an estate in Demerara and money
in the funds, he bequeaths to his eldest brother in trust,
the interest to be applied to the education of his chil-
dren (if he should have any by this marriage), and the.
principal to be divided equally among them on•their
atta'ning the age of twenty-one. In the event of having
no issue by this marriage, or of their dying in their
infancy, the property to devolve upon his brother.
The testator died in July, 1824, but in the interim a
material altetation took place. His wife died, leaving
him a widower with six children. His estate and house
had been disposed of, and the money invested in the
funds, and he himself, in the year 1819, had been pro-
nounced, by a commission de lunatic() inguirendo, to be
in an insane state, and continued so up to the time of
.his death. In opposition to this paper, it was contended
that the purposes to which it referred bad many of
them lapsed; and that the nature of his property, and
the state of his family, had so materially altered, that it
could not be supposed he meant this paper to be operative.
Sir J. Ntcuocc thought, under all the circumstances of the ease,
he ought to admft the paper to proof.—lt was admitted accordingly.

Accounts from Russia state, that fourteen thousand
worknwn are employed is digging the Canal, which Is to unite the
Niemar with the Wiudau.
The collections made at Moscow, for the sufferers by
the inundations at St. Petenburgb, amount in an to 408,406 rubles.
The number of Births ha Moscow, in 1824, was 13,127 ; thu of
Deaths, 9364, (all of the Greek Church.) There arc 386 Greek
Ckurches in Moscow.

Princess ANNA. GOLAZIN, who accompanied Madame
KRUDIMIL last summer to the Crimea, has purchased lands to the
value of 60,000 rubies, in the southern mountains of that peninsula,
and has settled there with the attendants of Madame KZUDIDILL

It is remarkable that the Scrip of every Foreign
Loan at present in circulation, even of those raised for Govern-
ments of good credit, Is at a discount.
By the arrival of a veisel at Marseilles, from St.
Thomas, we learn that there had been a tremendous fire at that
Colony, which bad destroyed half the town, and led to the arrest
of 150 persons of colour.
M4D Doos.—The Lien MAYOR has caused large
placards to be posted in various parts of the City, de-
siring the owners of dogs, not to suffer them to go about
without being muzzled. Similar orders have been
issued by the Magistrate's of Bow-street. ~
Henry Savoy, and other convicts, are ordered to be
conveyed forthwith from Bristol, on board the hulks,
preparatory to transportation to New Sobth Wales.
DRZADFUL ACCIDINT.---Yestetday evening, Mr.
Fxtinnineirs, a broker, residing at Chelsea, was unfortunately
killed by the overturning of a coach near Battersea Bridge;
coachman also being suddenly thrown from his box, was so severely
&injured that he is not expected so survive.