1. GREAT FIRE AT ST. KATHARINE'S DOCK.-A fire of a very destructive kind broke out at St. Katharine's Dock, making the third that has occurred in that great commercial shipping depot within the last few years. The flames raged with terrible fury during the whole day and up to late the next night, consuming part of two of the bonded warehouses, and destroying property to a large extent. The warehouses formed part of the letter H stack, occupying one-half of the north side of the docks, next to East Smithfield. The stack comprised some eight or ten letters of the alphabet, each five or six floors in height, all communicating by means of double iron folding-doors, the import basin of the dock, with its shipping, flanking its south side. The principal goods stored in these warehouses are spirits, tallow, palm oil, cotton, flax, jute, and other merchandise, to the extent of upwards of two millions in value. The warehouses had been open several hours, and labourers were on every floor, receiving goods raised from the quays and wheeling them through the entire length of the stack for storing, when people came running into the dock from the adjacent streets, with intelligence that one of the warehouses was on fire, and that they had seen the flames issuing from the roof. The police at the entrance gates regarded the information with suspicion, for to them there was no appearance even then of danger. But a few minutes, however, sufficed to convince them that a most dangerous fire had broken out in the warehouse letter F. The dock managers, with the superintendents, dock masters, and police officials, were immediately summoned to the spot, and several gangs of dock labourers were set to work with buckets to extinguish the fire. The class of goods stored on the A UorM floor in question consisted chiefly of coir fibre and bales of jute. There was an immense pile of these goods on the floor, and this was evidently all on fire, and sent forth such a blinding and suffocating smoke, that the labourers were compelled to beat a speedy retreat. The dock officers, finding it impossible to extinguish the flames, commenced securing all the iron doors, so as to shut off communication with the rest of the warehouses. This they effected with one exception,-that connecting the fifth floor of F warehouse with the same floor lettered H. The door was wide open, and several men attempted to reach it by crawling on their hands and knees; but they were soon overpowered by the smoke, and were dragged back almost insensible. The flames were now spreading furiously throughout the two uppermost floors of F warehouse, while the dense clouds of smoke which poured forth completely darkened the neighbourhood. The dock fire-engines were brought out the instant the alarm was given, and the company's engineer put full pressure on the hydrants throughout the docks, so that, when hose were affixed to them, very powerful jets of water were brought to bear upon the conflagration. Captain Shaw, the chief of the Metropolitan Fire Brigade-which force came into operation under the Act of Parliament on the first day of the year-heard of the outbreak about 11-40, and instantly summoned by telegraph nearly the whole of the engines and men to the spot, proceeding himself to the dock with a steam fire-engine from Watling-street. For hours the firemen laboured incessantly to get the flames under, and by five o'clock they managed to get the mastery over them; but about nine o'clock at night the flames broke out again in a fresh place, and were not subdued till the morning of the 3rd. On the 4th, the water of the import basin was covered with tallow and oil to a considerable thickness. The grease had flowed from the warehouse while on fire, and had run down the quay into the dock, spreading over the broad expanse of the basin, which presented the appearance of snow and ice upon the surface of the water. Labourers were engaged skimming the fat off and throwing it into barges. The quantity of tallow stored in the four warehouses that were on fire was between 2000 and 3000 casks, about 500 of which are believed to have been destroyed. The value varies from 351. to 401. per cask. Several hundred barrels of palm and cocoa-nut oil are included in the loss account, and the quantity of jute, flax, and coir fibre burnt was very great. It was estimated that 200,0007. would not cover the loss. The property was largely insured in several offices. The origin of the fire was unknown. Happily there was no loss of life. THE LOSS OF H.M.S."BULLDOG."-Her Majesty's paddle-sloop "Bulldog," 6, Captain Charles Wade, was, on the 23rd of October last, blown up, and quite destroyed, to avoid the possibility of her falling into the hands of the enemy, she having grounded fast on a spit of sand and coral while engaging the shore batteries and ships of the insurgent Haytians, in the harbour of Cape Haytien, in vindication of certain insults and outrages perpetrated against the British flag. Captain Wade, with his officers and men, was arraigned before a court-martial, assembled on board the "Royal Adelaide" guardship, in Hamoaze, Devonport, to answer for the loss of the ship. After hearing evidence, the Judge-Advocate announced that the court were of opinion that negligence was shown on the part of Captain Wade and Mr. Behenna, the acting master, in running the "Bulldog" ashore by allowing her to run within the marks laid out on the chart. The court were also of opinion that sufficient exertions were not subsequently made to get the ship off; also that the ship was prematurely destroyed. Captain Wade was therefore dismissed the ship and severely reprimanded, and Mr. Behenna was reprimanded. The court were also of opinion that Lieut. J. L. Way and Lieut. F. Rougemont had committed errors of judgment in agreeing in counselling with the captain to destroy the ship. The court could not however separate, after excepting the above officers, without expressing its full approbation of the very satisfactory conduct of the other officers and the crew under such disadvantageous circumstances. 3. DESTRUCTION OF CREWE HALL.-Crewe Hall, Cheshire, the seat of Lord Crewe, was destroyed by fire. It appeared that shortly after Lord Crewe and the visitors in the mansion had retired to rest, the attention of his Lordship was arrested by a strong smell of fire, and he rang for his valet, to whom he communicated his suspicions. The servants were aroused, and an examination was made of the premises, but the seat of the fire was not then discovered, and the domestics were about to retire, when, on a second alarm being raised, a fire was ascertained to be raging on the top part of the eastern wing. Messengers on horseback were instantly despatched to Crewe and Nantwich for assistance, and a telegram was forwarded to Chester, requesting the immediate help of the fire brigade from that city. Meanwhile two small engines, belonging to the Hall, were brought out, and attempts were made to arrest the flames, which, fanned by the strong breeze then blowing, quickly enveloped the eastern wing of the building, but from some unexplained cause they could not be used. It was supposed that in the excitement of the moment the means of turning on the water, which was communicated to the house from the lake, was overlooked, and consequently the fire continued its career of devastation entirely unchecked. At the moment that the telegram reached Chester, requesting the aid of the fire brigade, a portion of that body was engaged in attempting to extinguish a fire in a shop in Northgate-street, but with as little delay as possible Mr. Superintendent Goblet and a party of his men in charge of an engine started for the scene of the conflagration. Engines from Nantwich and one from the railway works at Crewe also arrived on the spot, but the latter was unable to render effective service until extra lengths of hose |