The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-10-02 00:00:00

FOREIGN

AND COLONIAL MISCELLANY,

Louis Napoleon's stud of horses, which were seized at
Boulogne, were sold by auction there on Friday last. Some
of them, of well known pedigree, are on their way to Lon-
don, and two are entered to compete for the Kingsdown cup
of £lOO value.

MURDER OF A SERVANT.-Thr Gazelle de Liege states,
that a few days ago, an Englishman, named Rising, living at
Marche, had a violent altercation with his servant, and was
carried so far by his passion as to seize a knife, and plunge
it several times in the body of the victim. His wife and sis-
ter endeavoured to prevent him from committing this crime ;
but he was deaf to their entreaties, and the cries of the un-
fortunate man, who was so badly wounded as to expire the
next evening. Early in the morning, Rising had fled from
Marche, and had made his escape through Lige. He had
formerly travelled for the house of Stevens and Vander-
oerchem of Brussels. The unfortunate servant has left a
widow and two children.

The Havre Journal mentions the loss of the Cadiz packet
to Havannah, at the entrance of the old Bahama channel.
The date of the accident is not mentioned, but the letter
from Havannah which brought the news was written on the
20th ult. There were 80 passengers on hoard, of whom only
20 were saved by means of a ratt.—Galiptaisi's Messenger.
The king of the French has just conferred the order of the
Legion of Honour upon Capt. Plucket, of Dunkirk. It ap-
pears from the report of the services of this officer, who is
now 81 years of age, that during the late war, when he com-
manded a privateer, he destroyed 48 vessels of the enemy,
took 54 guns, made 500 prisoners, and received four wounds.
TEXAS.—An extract from the Courrier of Salverton, of
the 12th of August, announces that they had received an ac-
count from Matagorda, dated the 9th instant, stating that a
corps of 2500 Mexican and Cherokee Indians had invaded
Texas and burned the small towns of Vittoria, Dinnits. and
Luineville. A captain and a major had been killed, and the
wife of the former carried off.

DREADFUL FIRE AT DEVONPORT.
PARTIAL DESTRUCTION OF THE ROYAL NAVAL ARSENAL-

ALF A MILLION OF PROPERTY DESTROYED

(From (lee Deronport Telegraph.)
At half-past four this morning, (Sunday,) an alarm was
given to the superintendent of the dock-yard police, Lieut.
Williams, that the Talavera line-of-battle ship, in the North
Dock, was on fire. All hands were instantly on the spot,
with the engines ; but so terrific were the flames as to give
proof that the total destruction of the ship was to succeed.
The fire-bells were then rung, and the workmen, with the
military, called in. The tide was high, and plenty of water
consequently at hand ; but nothing appeared to subdue the
fury with which the fire extended southwards, the direction
in which the other docks and building-slips lay, as well as
the rigging-house, sail-loft, and all the store-houses. At a
quarter to five o'clock, the Talavera was one mass of
flame, which, communicating with the shed over head,
threatened to carry the fire to the extremity of the yard.
The Minden line of battle ship, lying at the stern of the
Talavera, which took fire a-head, at one time appeared in-
evitably doomed ; but the wind shifting a point, and by the
most strenuous exertions of the engines, the progress of the
flames astern was stopped ; but what appeared to be the cause
of the prevention of this danger only carried it in another
direction, as the roof of the shed adjoining took tire, and the
dense volumes of smoke for a time appeared to choke the
flame. Beneath this shed were kept the figure-heads of some
of the ships which, having borne the brunt of the battle, were
after the peace broken up ; and these slight remembrances of
their achievements were kept with a degree of pride. At the
eastern end hung the flag of our never-to-be-forgotten naval
hero, Nelson, under which he fought the battle of Tra-
falgar; and opposite, the flag of Lord Exmouth at the battle
of Algiers. An attempt was gallantly made by a young man
to save them, but the fire was too fierce, and the attempt was
given up for the safety of the party who made it. Speedily suc-
ceeding the firing of this shed,the one adjoining also took flame,
in which was the Imogene frigate. This was also completely
destroyed. To subdue the flames here appeared to be fruitless,
and an attempt was made to prevent a furtler extension by
playing the engines upon the building opposite, but without
success, and the whole range, together with a large pile of
timber under a shed, were in flames. Eight o'clock.—The
fire is still burning, but will now be confined merely to the
consumption of the timber and materials. The loss, at a
rough estimate, is said to be from £400,000 to £500,000 ;
this appears to be an extreme amount, 'out that the destruc-
tion is immense there can be no doubt. No account can yet
be collected as to the origin of the tire ; no party has been at
work on board the ship in which it originated for several
weeks ; at four o'clock there was nothing like fire seen, and
at half-past five the ship was in a flame fore and aft. The
strictest inquiry will no doubt be instituted as to the cause,
and, for the credit of the executive, it is to be hoped that no
want of caution from a false economy has led to this severe
national loss.