New-York daily tribune., 1861-08-27
BURNING OF THE BALTIMORE COUNTY
COURTHOUSE.
nun wnRK Op AZ INCENDIARY.

Corre.ponIence Of TIE Baltimore American.
AT sp early hour of Saturday our citizens were
thrown into 81 nense state Of excitement by the an.
nouncemsnt that the COar H0gse ,cas FIRE and II
was true. The Clerks Department had been fired
dur.op Friday night and almOet everything that was
m iI !, now charred, backeued aud useless mass.
TIE aud records are all destroyed or the pieces that
are saved are ~ much dsgured 20 DO Of very little
vslae. The judicial records and papers Of every de-
s,iptiou left there for record sre sso burned. BY
the greatest exerOne the fire was confined 70 the two
roome comprisng the Clerks Department, although
alI the papers and furniture iu the Sheriff Registers
and other Office were removed, as Il was thought by
All that everything IL the building would be destroyed
Now aa to the Ori.in Of the fire. The condition Of
the BUILDING itself is prmd t0ce evidence OF che pres.
ence Of an iAeesdiayV. The north door bears Tie
mark OF four aager-boles bored there from the out
sJe. bot the door being lined the insde with iron
Mate, the scouHcre!s failed of obtaining entrance
in ths way. They then tore out the transom over the
doo- ard by breaking the sash ara glass tached tue
iuside or passage wA running through the building.
Tbey then sprul ihe iron door OF the Clork Office,
and rassad che wooden one by boring aud saving
around tbe lock. The books were then gathered in
piler n both rooms sno fired Ills 10 shown by The
large Eclca bnIned Ia the nOOr rs wen as O the Dt-
o. cinders there.
Their. IL bat ono opinion expressed 70 the object
az the ceudary and that is that il was dOpe by some
one VINO ia largely interested IN rome sut, the papers
relating ~ which were IL the once, ana tOoA tnls
,lan for dc slroying theu OF course yet no clue
hgs been hsd to the perpetrators Of the outrage. and
no susIcion rerts upon sDy one The marks upon the
building shOW that two sze of sugers were used and
a small or circular saw.
This III necessarily greatly disarrsnge the affairs Of
the coanty Thoss who ought to know say that the
iudica records cannot be replaced, and that ~ regards
The land records Commissioners viii have 10 be az
pointed before whom paries will have to prove the
acis thoy had ia the odce and that all this viii have
10 be- authorized By legislative ensctment.
This is al that II known now. send IT, IN order
that il may be 10 your Evenings Edition. will try
10 have YOU more suCcinc account for Monday morn
ing am requested however, 10 call the attention Of
tie police to the fact that whoever fired the building
ct his hand by breaking out the trsnsom, the marks
OF blood are plan n several places. Yours, c. c.
We learu Mr. Cacman, the Clerk, has recovered the
index book in which tbe of the various parties
having deeds recorded in the Office with other facts,
are entered This will render the task Of putting mat
tars straight much easier than at irst Anticipated
The incendiary used lighted candle, with which he
se on IRE the papers in number OF the drawers and
closes IN addition papers piled ia the center Of
the room. The damage 10 the building viii be about
$500 and is covered by policies in the Mutual Insur-
ance Companies OF Baltimore, Montgomery ,and Hart
ford Eouulie..