THE GREAT FIRE AT ST. PETERSBURG.

New Zealander, Volume XVIII, Issue 1719, 30 August 1862, Page 4

THE GREAT FIRE AT ST. PETERSBURG.

[From the »Euro P ..n Telegrams announce a terrible fire , , * burg. Large warehouse, and .hops, acres have been destroyed, including ft* *** and Stebukme markets and the M;,- A P ts % interiors mansion. The direction tected the bank. The loss, according to, J is little less than a million sirrlm*k hoped that this will prove to be dma.er is supposed to be the work ofiS 4 thePoAcc Gazette of the 12th publishS® s ** ordinance, of which the following JJV* provisions;-‘‘All persons foun | f e incendiary substances shall be tried wift 1 ? * by the military tribunals. ExaminingS*S having been appointed ad hoc. Each city receives & military governor Sd'c' have been placed at the disposal of the 22** houses have been burned down. NaSf have been made. Subscriptions have t We have since received detailed the «t range events which have b -en recentfyfc* « S ‘- P , e ! e s ßbur g- The fires, writes . cafe 4 * of the 11 tb, are not the result of ihe suntm?^ dassef•- he prombial im P ru dence jjj ; If ,he "lightest reliance can be r.laeed , opinion, fire has been systematically SfWj* quarters ofat. Petersburg to overawe .he G 6te ! J°“' and force the mhabitan.s on towards lh* nOT*' Intion. Of the two part.es the Governing i frightened into concessions, and the peo D | f J. attitude of attack. Should their intrigue, fe £■ by circumstances, the members of the mb? • would not object to heading active mutiny iS terrors of the next conflagration. Can it kl , that their reformatory attempts in snch t cJ , u be materially a.sisted by the firelocks aid ~(3 the troops? Report says thev would. Aiaa/taf they have a'ready shown that the di-saiisfactionriS semi-hberated serfs may be turned to adnata-,.'' If any doubt could exist a. to the csuseTtU. fires, it would be removed by the fact that therLT. always been predicted by flying sheets, distnbuW one knows how:— 118

“ Flying sheets have been found in jb* itrw. sUting the locality to be next sacrificed, i»d fcttf, day for the grand spectacle. In each of tW cl* the Httrocious promise was faithfully kep>, the fact of its being given did not instance beyond the circle of the police aid other authorities. The old weird love of fin* as a mean rf pasaive r-si-tfince has been re-awakened ia the Rtusian mind. Unable to fight the enemy jo open leli they are bent upon visiting his camp with in though their own homes may be involved ia tk destruction/’ Here is an account of the scene which tookolaca* the 10th H W “ Uut the grandest conflagration of all. and »hkh shows a more malicious intent than all the oihm occurred, the day before yesterday in one of thwe magnificent quarters artificially called into life city of hovels, and hardly to be equalled in anv of the capitals of the earth. At one and the a«m« tune was seen the fearful spectacle of half-a-dozen glgmtc structures flaming to the heavens, with fifty or mv other buildings of minor pretensions surrounding the blaring nucleus with a ring of attendant fires. Th» Bank, the Ministry of the Interior, the Minify of Public Engagement (Education), the Corpsdei Paget, a neighbouring palace, are burnt; and with than dozens of private dwellings, splendid tnmiions sod shops, so thickly studding that quarter of the turn. The incessant endeavours of the brigade, misted by the exertions of the soldiery, have been, however, successful in preserving the greater portion ot the bank, where, I believe, no materia! damage hits been done. Worse luck befel the two ministerial building*, some of thri* wings being emire'y consumed, to.etkr with the official papers stow*d away in tbeir recesses. As all busine-s in the emphe is conducted through tho Ministry of the Interior, the loss in this respect is one seriously affecting the fortune of thousands ineray part of the state, their cases having to be laid sgtin before the central office previous to any decision being passed. Heaven knows how many wretched culprit! will have to stay in prison; how many orphans till have to be bereft of their rights; how many rew* plaints overlooked, wrongs unredressed, and hearts falling in default of justice !” The effect of all this on commerce is shown by* letter published in the Birmingham Daily Gazette u 6t. Petersburg, 12th Jane, 186t “ I have written to your shipping agents in Hall, to send you back the goods you have forwarded,ss 1 will not Irt any goods come, under present circumstances, here. ** As you will, without doubt, have learnt ere this, the town here has been fired in different places eight days since, and on Monday one of the largest mercantile houses here was totally burnt down. At present all commerce is at a standstill, and a gre*t deal of mercantile property has been consumed. The persons for whom your goods were intended have had properly destroyed in this manner, and therefore it is not prudent to deliver your goods which have 10 snite shortly.” _