A disastrous fire occurred yesterday in the City. The large Chinese building within the Salt Gate, ocoupied as a barracks by the Anglo-Chinese contingent, enright fire about 1 p.m., and burned com: pletely to ground. The builds which was originally a Taoist temple, very inflammable, being old and having about it the immense quantity of woodwork usual in such structures, The wood, too, was extremely dry, owing to the long prevalence of fine weather; and to ada to the unfavourable conditions, a gale of wind was blowing.
The fire broke out in the quarters occupied by Major Watson, on the north side of the building. It was first. discovered in the ceiling of the dium, room, snd must apparently have been communicated from the chimney. This was built of brick, and had been used ly for several years; a Gre had indeed been burning in the room on] i day; and the only conjecture is that the igh wind must have shaken and somehow injured the chimney, leaving an orifice through which sparks' could escape. At any rate, shortly after the fire had been lighted, the ceiling in its imum neighbourhood was discovered to be on fire; and on tearing away the plaster Major Watson found the whole inten surface alight, Orders were at once to get underweigh the powerful fire engine which is kept on the premises, and to sound the bugle alarm to call in the soldiers. In this respect, however, also, the accident could hardly have happened more unfortunately. It was the day for changing guards, and the great majority of the men were absent from barracks, or going of returning. Even if all had been present, however, it scerne certain ab nothing could have availed to save building, though they might ha the contents; the golo, blow-i ide on which the fire originated, carried the flames from room to room with frightful rapidity; and it became a matter of urgency to yet out the powder, of which a largo quantity wan stored in the front section of the building. The knowledge that a quantity of ammunition was stored in the premises, not only kept by-standers from assisting, but frightened people in the neighbourhood into removing their furniture, The members of the Chinese Fire Brigade, tuo, who have long been jealous of the foreign ne, which en worked with efficiency that eclipsed their own efforts, many fires in the city and suburbs the same excuse to hold aloof. hind to be done by the fow soldiers who could be gathered at the moment, and it was done with an energy for which they deserve all credit, Under the direction tajer Watson—Qulouel Cuoke was absent at the time on an excursion up the river—a hole was knocked in the wall fronting the street, and the barrels of ponder wore rapidly' passed out and carried to a distance, till all were placed in The flames in the meantime had obtained complete mastery; it was evident, deed, within a quarter of an hour from their outbreak, that nothing could save the building; and even its contents had to be sacrificed to the supreme necessity of moving the powder, Lh ready. explained why there were few men on the premises at tie time of the outbreak, and all these had to be employed in' this urgent work. By the time that was done, all' hope of saving anything was gone.
Only a portion even of the muskets and accoutrements in the barrack room on the ground floor could be got out; and all those in store in the upper portion of the building were destroyed. A few things were saved from Major Watson's private quarters by two ge who chanced to be visiting him at the time of the accident but Colonel Cooke has lost absolutely everything except his safe and a box of papers which were very intelligently removed by his household servants. The fire engine which is kept in the bar-was, as T have said, got unde weigh at the outset; that attached to the Police Station in the foreign Settlement was run over at the first alarm; but before it could arrive the building was in a mass of flame, and all that the united efforts of the two engines could effect, was to prevent the flames spreading to the large temple joining. A great tree standing in the courtyard of this building, and whose branches somewhat overhang the barrack compound, caught fire, and #0 placed the temple itself, whose eaves are in contact with the trunk, minent danger, This was, however, happily averted by th efforts of the engines. But it was not till long after dark that these were uble to conse from their Inbours, in the persuasion that all further danger was over.
Any one who has ited a Chinese tefuple, and noticed the large wood and the great beams which support will be able to under-duration of th fingration, Fanned by the atr wind, the flames rvared and rioted amid the woud-work with a fierceness that nothing could control. Even the next morning, the lower layers of the heaps of fallen bricks were in some places red hot; and how intense had been the heat was show las barrels, and bayonets contorted almost into the shape of a cork-crow, that were lying amid the rui while the force of the stacked outside th tance of ral fortunate that t) tion was safely effect had this exploded it would have caused immense damage to the adjacent buildings, and even to the Confucian temple which stands at a short distance in front of the Barracks. The City authorities owe a debt of gr he officers and men whose energy a the trouble and expense such a disaster would have entailed. No one, happy iously hurt, Major Watson's hi badly burned i trying to tear down the burning ceiling Dut there ie no risk of permanent injury.
'7th November.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.