The New York herald., 1872-07-06
NEW YORK HERALD SATURDAY JULY g. ls72-TRIPLE SHEET

received such transitory impetus from the
owner of the Rob Roy, who padded or carried
his boat all over the rivers of Europe, is
one peculiarly fitted to American pleasure
hunters. There is 80 much to be learned in
almost every State of the Union which could
be acquired by q canoe trip that it is some
what wonderful our dashing youth do not take
leaf from the HERALD's notebook and set of
in canoe squadrons over our rivers and lakes,
to inform themselves and humanity. and find
fun and adventure in the exhilarating exercise.
Constantinople Again Visited by . Ter
rible Fire-The Flames stin Raging,
and from Local Causes, as In Chi
cago.
telegram from Constantnople, forwarded
to us through London yesterday, reports the
sad fact of the occurrence and rapid progress
of most serious and extensive fire in the
Turkish capital The exact date of the origin
of the visitation is not given in the despatch,
but we are informed that at the moment when
it's contents were written in the English me-
tropolis, on the 9Th instant, the flames were
still raging, and that one thousand houses,
situated in the poorer quarters of CONSTANT
nople and the suburb of Scutari, had been
destroyed The news statement did not indi-
cate that the fire was by any means under con-
troll at the moment of date, and the vagueness
of the conclusion, coupled with the
first knowledge Of the disastrous xe-
atty, produced a feeling Of deep alarm,
with sense of sincere sorrow, in England, as
its publication in the columns Of the HERALD
to-day will bring sentiment Of unqualified
regret to the minds Of the people of the United
States, steady and fast friends of Turkey, of
it's inhabitants and their fortunes. Ancient
Stamboul has gloried and suffered very much
in its history 1t has seen its Christian churches
from that of st. Irene downward, defled; its
native mosques made desolate at times; its
grand columns frequently broken and as fire.
quently rebuilt. Its people have been called
on to bless the banner of the Crescent, notwith-
standing the fact that the majority of them were
convinced in their inmost hearts that it was
being borne forward as q "pale, disastrous
planet to inspire fanaticism, to war against
the advance march of the civilizations of the
world In all this Stamboul was, and has been,
and perhaps yet is, magnificent, if not exactly
great Herr rulers have ignored, perhaps, in con-
sequence of her greatness, neglected the observ-
ance and enforcement of many, of most, indeed,
Of the minor disciplinary rules Of society, Of the
laws which go to render individual households
careful and healthy, and hence render the
amalgamated considerations of o city popu-
lation secure as may be against the occurrence
of accident, and healthy as may be under tn 9
influences of q well regulated system of
hygiene. Poor little shanties built of wood
have been permitted to multiply in the very
centre and along the outskirts Of Constanti-
nople. The most petty dealings in the traffic
of the most dangerously inAammable articles
have been permitted if not encouraged by the
subordinate officials. The introduction of the
American system for the extinguishment of
fires has been discouraged and the offers of
our citizens to supply first class engines for
use in moments of such danger almost tabooed
Scutan is q town of Asia Minor, and
stands on the Bosphorus, Immediately op-
posite Constantinople, of which it is COM
monty spoken Of as o suburb. It is one of
those mean, contemplate places which mar
the beauty of the loveliest portion of this
lower world. Its destruction ought to give
no cause of sorrow were it not for the fact
that some thousands will thereby be rendered
homeless. To many Of the Eastern cities it
would be natural to conclude that fire would
be gain, were it not for the fact that the
opportunity for improvement in the work Of
reconstruction is always lost, the new buildings
being almost invariably more wretched than
their predecessors 1t is only few years
since large portion of Constantinople,
in the neighborhood of Pera, on the
Golden Horn, was destroyed by fire; but
no one has yet told us that this neighborhood
has been improved by the work of reconstruc-
ton. The time may come when Constanti-
nople reconstructed will realize the dreams
and the ambitions of the Great Constantine;
but that time is not yet.
In connection with the sad facts incident to
Constantinople to-day and its nestlings Of aged
and almost tnder-dry dwellings it is abso-
lutely necessary to recall the memory Of the
Chicago fire disaster with ourselves-as trivial
cause of origin, in Mrs. O'Leary's log-shed
COW stall, and its terrible consequences-if only
to again warn the American people and our
city authorities everywhere Of the danger of
permitting wooden shanties to cucumber and
disfgure large Cities to jeopardize the lives of
the populations of our great towns, and, in
fact and truth, to render industry timid, and
thus contract the operations Of capital in con-
sequence of the very heavy risks which are in
CURED both by the insurer and insured in bona
.6de cases of precaution, while it opens, at the
Same moment, q source Of temptation and o
door for attempts at the commission of fraud