New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1850-07-13
THE PHILADELPHIA FIRE.
RsI,sf meetings

Ia
NJ - ~ the CITY, and the Mayor OF the Northern
r ;hsrt;ss. public meeting was held yesterday al
..~roon NJ o'clock, in Independence square, 70
tske steps for the relief Of the many sufferers oy
The recent calamitous FIRE with which our CITY mas
been visited. Although not large, the meeting
hebly respectable and there was genera So ~.
of sadness and detection visible. caused oy INC 10
tional and local disasters which weigh so nes'Hy
upon the general public mind. .,,.ss 10
The accession which drew the nsemoiaBo w
gether was of itself melancholy enough o 49,
eloom upon the hearts and coun1ensnces VI ." re-
present; but it was rendered douoy W ~ va
mournine anti In which the rostrum was sIIayeuS
Co.. The memory ofthe iustrious Chief whom DeaIn
has torn so rudey and 90 suddenly from Dis Psrei
nal nost At the head Of the national councis. tne
national Gag. half hidden by a ven OF mourning,
smoke In silent bat eloquent tones OF .no uopei.ou
hero who 90 often bore it triumPhanty upon 'ne
wave OF victory. A.. rono, ,ook the
So "a csIl,d The meeting 10 order. He briefly
In, In spnropriste terms, stated the object OF the
.s.embjase, and added that the case was urgent,
The details Of the suffering are very affecting, he
remarked To say nothing Of the loss OF life, and
the large number Of persons injured by the explo-
sion, there are many families who on Tuesday
morning were happy and comfortable In the midst
of their cheerful homes, who are now desolate,
houseless, homeless, destitute. In this hour OF
misery il becomes us to be generous and humane
to lend q helping hand TO the,suffering, and to
act according to the dictates OF Christian benevo-
Iepce. He concluded by moving that William
Rawle, ESQ. take the chair, which was unani'
mously agreed to.
Districts and two persons from each township IN
the County of Philadelphia, were appointed to So
hcit contributions for the relief Of the poor who
have suffered by the FIRE, and then committee oil
twenty-five persons was appointed TO receive the
rnlla nd than
as their necessities may require.
The following letter from Professor j. b.
RoGIRs Of the University Of Pennsylvania, on the
explosivenes Of saltpeter, was then read by Al
derman Elkinton, who said that In consequence OF
the excitement which existed relative 10 the ex-
plosion, and the dreadful consequences, he had ad
dressed letter TO Professor r. soliciting bis Cpl
MON
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA, July II, 1850;
Dear sn reply 10 EiIpss Of
beg leave to state that IN my opinion Is no oy 'seg
ii ali explosives indeed that may be heated to any tenn
heat Of few degrees below redness it merely mel.
ps as one Of the produeis Of Ills change 0Ty9tS gas
which syou know, stands Prtemn,ens among NOSE sup
stances ordinarily considered essential TO combuson al
though itself not combustlble
on account OF the large quantity Of this element (ox
ygep) which sspeer contains and the facility with which
kimpar IL to combusbe substances, such az charcoal,
sulphur &C. that this sslts extensively used In The man
nfacare Of gunpowder and other dehsgrating mixtures
Thus It would appear that satpeter though mol ,oasn
already iRnited combusble matter greatly accelerate
the rapidly Of the combustion.
9se prouucu OF such combustion consist for the most
part Of gaseous matter, which rapidly evolved In great
quantity from the contact at high temperature OF large
mass q material In contracted space OF unaef any con-
force lie escape with expansive violence, which might be
sudden 10 amount to what Is called to an explosion
called upon TO lament the conditions admitted Of such an
explanation existed not entirely unprepared to de-
eide an most respectfully yGqB5' ROGERS.
A resolution inquiring into the expediency Of
prohibiting the storage of large quantities Of Salt
peter hsnceiorth was offered and adopted; but aft
erward reconsidered and laid on the table.
DIR. Chaloner then introduced resolution, which
was adopted, requesting the Rectors and Pastors
of the Churches in the City and County OF Phladel-
phia to take up collections for the benefit Of the suf
isrers, on Sunday, the l4th inst
The following gentlemen were a ointed as the
Committee Of Twenty-Five, DeioIe alluded to -
Nessrs William Deal Joel Jones, William Wilkin-
con, Joseph w amer, Isaac Parrish, VIM. D. Kelly,
Samuel jeanes, John c. Da Costa, Henry ID. Phil
Up,. Peter A. Keysef, Daniel 8. Beideman, Robert
r. Christy, Daniel L. Miller, Jr. Peter Williamson,
Samusl Msga-gee, A. ID. Chaloner, VIM. Z. sharp
less, Chss Evans Banner Thomas, Godfrey Metz
kerr James Goodman, Peter Fritz Charles Keen,
Edward Duff, John NJ. Ogden, Henry L. Benner,
sterne HUMPHREYS, William Henry Rawle, VIM.
Niohuals, Thomas b. Florence.
Incidents Of the ConaagratIon.
Among the thousands Of thrilling and narrowing
incidents that marke ed the awful calamity Of Tues
day, we have heard OF none more horrible to con-
template than this. Mr. A. j. Derbyshire. OF the
City Councils, one of the worst sufferers who
made a most wonderful escape at the time Of the
explosion, upon reaching his house on the west
side OF Front-street below Vine. Immediately af
ter the flames began to make fearful progress, IL
teraly stumbled over four frightful corpses at his
threshold one OF whch-that of a child-so char
red that the arm dropped off when handled. Going
into The yard preparatory to moving biz furniture
out the back way, he was Mortified to find pro.
strste man, with bis clothes blazing on him, gasp
ing and begging for water.
his sistera were relieving the sufferer by throw
ing buckets Of water over him TO extnguish tne
burning clothing. The ladies' heard the man fall
into the yard, and there was no way OF accounting
for his being there other than that he was hur co
into the air by the explosion, and blown over the
roof of the house. His spine was fractured, and
his lers broken. Mr. Derbyshire placed him il
the hands OF some men to be conveyed to the Hos
pital. Whether he ever reached there Is moi
known. He may have subsequently persisted in
the flames.
Items of the Disaster.
No additional bodies have been recovered from
the ruins.
The funeral Of Thomas Donohue, one Of the vic
tins Of the calamity, took place yesterday
morning.