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THE FIRE IN GRENFELL-STREET.
This serious catastrophe originated, as we mentioned yes-
terday, in a shed at the back of Mr. Sismey's warehouse—
the last but one to the westward of those destroyed, and is
supposed to have arisen from the ashes of a tobacco-pipe.
Had the store been open and a supply of water at hand,
the fire might have been extinguishea before much mischief
was done ; but the difficulty of reaching the roof, and the
want of a few buckets of water allowed the flames to run
over the dry shingles, and it was very soon seen that the
stack of buildings could not possibly be saved.
The early efforts of the Cornwall Company's efegine were
very judiciously directed to the houses on the opposite side
of Grenfell-street, of which all have shingle roofs, and one
is entirely of wood. These were Boon deluged with water,
and the hose was then turned with great effeot upon the
blazing stack of warehouses. Meanwhile, the Police
engine was pUying upon them from the eastern side, and
Messrs. Crawford's from the south-west They were all
well manned, the first by the Company's regular servants
and a number hired at the moment; the -second by the.
Police and Military; and the third by its owners' men —
thoroughly well drilled-r-and by a boat of efficient vo
lunteers. . . '
The buildings to the northward were in considerable
danger, from the flakes of fire falling upon the ahinglea;
The back part of Messrs. Elder's roof caught fire several
times, and was extinguished by the exertions of Mr; John
Gurr, the storeman, to whom the greatest credit is due.
Bad those extensive premises been destroyed, the loss would
have been great, and would have fallen chiefly, we under
stand, upon the Cornwall, the Imperial, the Alliance, and
the Mutual Insurance Offices. '
The supply of water was not nearly so huge as it ought
to hav e been— only 20 out of about 50 carts having been in
attendance. The men who rendered their assistance will, v '
we are informed, be liberally paid by the Insurance Com
panies. . ? ,
We regret to find that Sergeant- Major Lamb, of the
Police, received some injuries in his attempt to clear the
goods from one of the stores.
We have not been able to ascertain with any degree of
correctness the total value of the property destroyed. The .
outer walls are standing, and do not appear to have bus-.
tained material injury ; but tbe whole of the roofs, JloorB,
and other woodwork is destroyed. They were mostly filled
with merchandise, chiefly consisting of grain, flour, bran,
and drapery. There was also a quantity of bottled beer,
and some furniture — the bitter of which was wholly con
sumed. About 400 bags of flour were saved, and 300 bags
of grain, bran, rice, and mustard. These with a large
quantity of sundries were taken into a shed, at Messrs.
Elder's, by the storeman already mentioned, with the as
sistance of two men in the same employ, named James
Macmann and Peter Fraser, who were indefatigable in their
exertions.
We believe that about half the buildings were protected
by insurance, and some portion of the goods. Besides
the salvage we have mentioned, 100 casks of bottled beer
were rolled out into the street, whence a portion of them are
said to have mysteriously disappeared.
It .is supposed that the entire loss will be fully £10,000 ;
but we doubt, as we have already Baid, whether this has
been correctly ascertained. . ; '
During the fire the houses along the western. Bide of
Gawler- place, and the back premises of Messrs. Carruthere,
Rundle-street, were in the most imminent danger, and
were only preserved by the untiring care of the inhabitants.
Had the roofs of the old chapel and school-room ignited,
which several times seemed probable, the others could hardly
have escaped; and in that case a very little wind would
bave cleared Rundle-street to the eastward, or carried the
flames westward into tbe heart of tbe city.
EXTENSIVE SALE OF REAL PROPERTY. — The following
are the particulars of the sale at Messrs. Solomon's
Auction Mart, on Monday, of the property then belonging
to Mr. E. Solomon, as, previously advertised: — 10 houses
in Weymouth-street, sold to Mr. Ralph Raphael for £2,600 ;
4 unfinished houses adjoining the above, sold to Mr. Daniel
Brady for £320; piece of land, 196 by 70, in Weymouth
street, purchased by Messrs. M. and S. Marks, at £2 7s. 6d.
per foot, total, £465 10s. ; allotment in Light-square, 35 by
65, sold to Mr. John Bullock at £2 per foot, total £70;
allotment of 70 feet frontage to Light-square, sold to Mr.
John Gaskell at £3 2s. 6d, total £218 15s.; two brick
houses in Hindley-street west, sold to Mr. F. S. Beck for
£630 ; allotment of land at the rear of the Norfolk Arms,
Rundle street, sold to Mr. Robert Stuckey £185 ; a section
of land on the Goolwa, subject to a right of purchase by
the tenant in possession, sold to Mr. Beck for £95 ; sec
tion No. 404, at Yatala, containing 77 acres, purchased by
Mr. Thomas Hoskins for £217 ; allotment of hind at the
rear of acre No. 58, Hindley-street, sold to Mr. C. Robin
for £105; section containing 18 acres, at Port Adelaide,
sold to Mr. C. Kobin for £65 ; 320 acres of land on the
River Hastings, New South Wales, sold to Mr. Francis
Rially for £330. 187 shares in the Royal Mining Company
were sold as follow, viz., 100 shares at 11s. each, and the
remaining 87 at 10s. each; total £98 10s. Section 854,
at Willunga, containing 80 acres, was purchased by Mr. C.
Robin, at £2 Is. per acre; total £164. The total amount
of the property sold wa? £5,551 15s. The Auction Mart
and the Royal Hotel a Ijoining were bought in at £4,500.
The Victoria Theatre and the Temple Tavern were bought
in at £5,000.
Native Police. — A dozen powerful natives,
chiefly of the Moorundee tribe, have been selected to be
sent to the Port Lincoln District to act as Mounted Police.
Grporal Cusack takes charge of the party. We have oftea
been surprised that Ibe plan of employing Native Police in
the outer districts has not been more extensively adopted
by our Government. It htta answered well in the other
colonies. *
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