The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1870-06-22


supply the following details Of the origin, progress
and ravages Of the great IRE in Constannople. me
main facts OF the visitation have been ALREADY re-
ported to the HERALD BY kilograms forwarded by
way OF London and through the Atlantic cable,
from the Turkish capita:-
Fire in Pera-Its Spread aud the Conse.
Quences.
from the London Globe, June 7-Evening
We announced in our special edition last night the
destruction BY fire Of the - Sf t tS S aes
give some description OF the piace-the Frank quar-
ter Of ConstantinOple the district Of diplomatic resi-
the Tae steep and narrow street rising from the
squalor OF the Galata watersde and thanked In It's
meanness is relieved by occasional splendor, has
long been one Of the regular haunts Of the tourist.
dominates the lOwly habattons around 1t, and has
always been upheld by our cOuntrymen as the great
zion" Of Psra Its spleIdor Is at an emo from ore
O'Clock in the day to near midnight has destroyed
| the palace Of the great English Elchi and we know
There was a strong wind, the names spread with
rapidity and, besides the British Embassy, there
sulates, the NaOum theatre, the palace OF the Ar
menian Patriarch, many churches mosques and sew.
era thousand houses and shops III the finest part OF
| Pera"
few means OF tightening such blow as mas now
| fallen on the population. Many own the houses In
| when they live and In which they carry on their
business, the house and Its contents forming oren
| Pera in this matter is certainly better or than
b.ambOul since there Is good deal Of stone IN us
constructions but even in Pera fire RACES as 1t sell
! dom does In Western city. The quarter where the
cOnllagratiOn chiefly ragged contains the most valu,
for Improvement there is indeed room. great
/ deal has been done for Pera during the last lew
years. Gas was introduced in 1885, and the innaot-
ants longer obliged TO pick their way over the
fanged stones OF the streets by the light OF their
little paper lanterns. New and spacious houses
L..v~ h.,ilt uhnnn Ia On
the lower class OF buildings must gradually be SUI
| perseded by more ambitious structures But like
most cities which have been laid out on no regular
/ PLAN but have grown up by the simple process OF
people building their houses as and where suited
pera @ very atogefSer the
/ calamity would be great, but the opening for the
architect and the sanitary reformer would not DO
Whatever may happen in Pera, we doubt whether
the British Embassy will be restored II its desruc
| ton be complete. No one connected with the En-
bassy Is injured, and though the members have lost
their personal effects the archives and plate are
saved This building Is described as completely
Thus has pershed one Of the most pretentlous and
costly buildings that have ever been erected ior tne
COnstantlnope Is great parsonage. 1t has always
been thought necessary that at that focus OF dpo-
matte rivalry the British sovereign should have
personal representative entitled 10 personal inter
views with the Ottoman ruler. Not less has 1t been
the tradition that he should be princey in his estab-
shment, after the fashion which imposes on Orien-
| tails and on occldentals likewise This theory has
| Vi
| the British ambassador. Many sovereign has not
grander house his head. Size. strength, solid
ty were Its aspect, severe ana gaunt tnougn inns
| have been burnt 1t had a treproof look about 1t
| that might make one fancy the attaches looking
coolly on the cOnnagration from their windows as
II they and their belonging and the archives -
were In vertabe diplomatic safe. No one knows
more, future ambassadors win nave to content
| themselves with more modest residence. The
ambassador has also excellent house at Tnerapla,
on the Bosphorus, where the Embassy usually goes
| TO reside about this time OF the year.
It was IN the tremendous confagraton wncn de.
ago that the last British Embassy was DESTROYED.
That fire also swept away numbers Of the old wooden
houses, and made way Tor the new city OF our time.
1t was on the "a or August, 1881 that fire began
| in house beyond the Great Burying-ground at a
1carried the sparks, and the houses, dry as finder
| under the summer sun, took fire In every direc-
was building standing by itself; but nothing could
resist the force of the flames which were rolled
against the palace from the wooden houses around:
Ii totally destroyed, and then the fire spread
| into the body Of the town. The French, Russian and
Prussan Embassies, all first class houses, were de.
| strOy ed, and, indeed every European Mission In
Pera except the Austrian. The number OF persons
who were made homeless was 10000 The British
| and Russian Embassies rose from their aSneS more
| magnificent than ever
| The latter remains; ours Is gone.
| WOODEN HOUsEs-FATALIsM AND wEALTH-LAZINESs
| AND LITTLE WATER.
| from the London Telegraph, June 8.
| ** In STEAMBOAT and iss suburbs tue residents
?
scarcely give themselves the trouble to stir till the
''hOOdOodies" knock at the wicket and mention the
fact that ''next door Is already alight' Fut0ltSm
ana qooode,a houses nave made Constantinople sc
often the prey or the devOnring element that pru
dent Turk expects to be burned twice thrice II
the course OF his existence, and acquires the sala
mandrine capacity Of not greatly caring about It.
Nevertheless, we must not forget that fire burns
| fatalists and ruins Turks completely Other
| peoples and there can be little doubt that very
terrible aud exceptional catastrophe has occurred IL
the European quarter OF the Ottoman capital.
| early on the morning OF Sunday last; for the cleo
trio wire nowadays .'makes the whole world kin :
and we were informed OF this disaster before the
flames were eXtnguished just as yesterday they
wired us q message from Simla in India, which bea
T Monday morning. our Ambassador sent intellgenc,
that an immense fire had laid that suburb in ashes
vast number OF ssa saveg M
. ceDt the archives and plate Later we learned tina
; the flames ragged all day long on Sunday, being
| famed by strong wnd and that spreading with
: Irresistible rapidly they had swept away severa
thousands Of the wooden shops and houses upon the
! inevitable Victims the English Embassy, the Amerl
csS and Portuguese Consuiates the Naoum Theatre
ths Armenian IS..arcn's Palace along with church
e esy Is qssa S1 to G be- very great dd ~
. | sons have been killed and wounded; nor were the
flames extinguished at the date Of the second tele
gram No doubt as 1t is reported the scene in PERI
, Is 0heartrendng;" large portion Of the Frankish
quarter must be lying in asnes; thousands Of poor
must be not only homeless, but suddenly plunged
into universal poverty and despair. We suppose
that in Pera and STEAMBOAT there has occurred
no such fire as the present since the great conhaga
ton OF the I'd OF August 1881, when $4,000 people
were rendered houseless and old Pera was all but
, utterly annhilated. The Pera made familiar to SO
many eyes by the Crimean war was the half-nedged
ana rather dirty phoenix which rose from the ashes
of that great bonfire. The Embassy House just con
sumed sprang also from the ruins OF that pr0dtgous
blaze, and not only did it cost 100000 TO build, but
it has been like a running sore ever since in est
mates for "repairs and improvements 1t Is IAN
| Ill fire which rOasts no mans chestnuts." as Turks
| say and the British taxpayer, with Mr. Ayrton to
back him up may secretly rejoice that the nevertO-
be-fnshed palace OF the English Eichee Is gone to
| Jehannum' at last.
| CAUSES.
One main cause of these disastrous occurrences at
COnsantinope is, as everybody knows. the practice
| OF building houses OF wood. The Turk Is lazy to
| degree almost unimaglnabe In our busy West. He
/ haa of fine nuarrleS StamhOul. but he