New Hampshire Statesman

GREAT FIRE IN BOSTON.

It is our melancholy duty to record one of the most destructive fires which has occurred in this city for many years. About half past ten o'clock on Thursday night, fire was discovered in a store occupied by the Inspector General of Fish, in Doane, near State street, which being an old wooden building, became immediately ignited, and communicated the fire to some shops of Mechanics adjacent. In a very short time the destructive element spread in various directions with a fury which appeared to defy all efforts to contract it and penetrate through many partition walls of the best built brick stores.

The wind at North was not very strong, but owing to the narrowness of the avenues in that commercial part of the City--the continuity of the buildings, the intensity of the heat of the combustibles in several of the shops and stores which first took fire, a scantiness of water, and other causes, all exertions of the citizens who were early at the fire, to arrest the destruction were for a long time completely baffled, and the principal part of the elegant stores in Central-street many on the East side of Kilby street, and on Liberty-square to the Commercial Coffee House, including five on State, and four on Broad-street were wholly destroyed. Many of the occupants of the stores, relying on the fire proof of their buildings, were not in haste to remove their property, till too late to effect it in safety. Much, however, was saved, and the efforts made in its preservation by the trucks, carts &c, which in some instances blocked up the streets, very considerably retarded the operations, and interrupted the arrangements of the firewards and enginemen to prescribe limits to the destruction. The streets, courts, and houses for a considerable distance around the scene of conflagration, were filled with valuable goods, foreign products, and American manufactures; and a number of the military corps, with praise worthy alacrity, assembled in arms, to guard the preserved property of their suffering fellow citizens. The extent of the loss by this calamity has not been ascertained. Calculations on such losses are frequently wild. Those most to be relied on do not make them exceed 500,000 dollars, including the buildings. It is thought that such improvement may be made in a new allotment of the vacant land, as to realize to the owners a larger sum than they valued it at, buildings and all. Many of the sufferers were fully insured, and others partially so; the claims on the Insurance Offices, it is said, will amount to 200,000. Many of the Stores were considerably gutted before the fire took them. We remarked, that the extensive stock of domestic manufactures in the store occupied by Messrs Richards & Seaver, was saved, in good order. We have taken some pains to collect the following account of the sufferers.

OCCUPANTS, &C. ON STATE-STREET.

Francis Whitney, W. India goods, No. 99. -Johnson & Sewell, the chambers. Hastings & Marsh, Paints and Dye Stuffs, No 87. Samuel Thaxter & Son. Mathematical Instrument Makers. No. 89. Payson Perrin & Co. Iron store Asa Ward, Dry Goods, No. 93. Gedney King, Mathematical Instrument maker. No. 95.

ON KILBY STREET.

Clark & Sears, dry goods. No. 22. C. & C. F. Adams dry goods. No. 20. T D Broadhead, chambers. Fox & Bixby, English goods, No. 24. Daniel Stone, chambers. Thomas Dennie, jr. English goods. Skinner & Dun, domestic manufactures, No. 28. Joseph Leeds & Co. English goods. No. 32.-S. A. Walker & Co. chambers. Richards & Seaver, dry goods. No. 31. Jacob Peabody & Co. Auctioneers. Stephen Thayer. hard ware, No. 42. Benjamin Dow, domestic goods, chambers.

ON LIBERTY SQUARE.

Scudder & Park, hard ware, No. 1. Ephraim Lock, Auctioneer, No. 2. Michael Roulstone, glazier. Joshua Hanlin, oyster shop, J. B. Bannister, tinman. Joseph L. Cunningham, Auctioneer. Jeremiah Smallidge, painter John Evans, grocer. Mrs. Mary R. Hilliard, dwelling-house. Widow Rachel Reed, dwelling-house. Gibson and Lewis. boarding-house. John Hooton, sail loft, Samuel Smalledge, carpenter. Joseph Clark, pump and block maker. Two ten-feet buildings by Spurr and Bancroft. These were in the rear of the square.

ON BROAD-STREET.

Mitchell & Freeman, crockery ware. No 23.--Sewall Williams & Co. dry goods. S. H. Norris, English goods.-L. P. Grosvenor, dry goods, chambers. Daniel Appleton, English dry goods.

ON CENTRAL-STREET.

Samuel Sumner, crockery Ware, No. 2. William Whitney, English goods V.a d & Snelling, dry goods. J. Snelling, jun. dry goods. Richard I Ward. do. chambers. Dexter & Almy, domestic goods. Phineas Foster, English goods. Bean & Blake, domestic goods. S. R. Miller & Co. domestic goods. George & T. Searle, German goods. Josiah Dow, merchant broker, dry goods John Rodgers, domestic goods. George Fairfield, auctioneer.-James Lee, chambers. Brigham Waldo & Shaw, English goods-B. Grant, chambers Wm. H. Ward, dry goods. In Hinkley's Buildings. Fessenden Clark, dry goods. Parks & Child, chambers. Hubbard & Gookenough and Lyman Tiffany chambers. G. P. & W. Bangs & Co. dry goods, Dwight F. Faulkner, chambers.
Henry Purket occupied by him for an office as Inspector General of Fish.

Wells and Basset, Inspectors of Pork and Beef.

Buttrick & Patch, Compting-room. — Spurr & Bancroft. do.

Little & Edes, cooper's shop. Loring W. Gross, carpenter's do.

Sylvander Bowker, blacksmith do.

Two ten feet buildings occupied by Payson & Perrin, and Hastings & March.

The stores, &c. occupied by the above were entirely destroyed. Many others were much injured, and from a still larger number all the goods &c. were removed.

There can be no doubt of the fire having originated in the Fish Inspection Store, and we have ascertained that there had been no fire nor lamp in after 5 o'clock on Wednesday afternoon; and further, that Mr. Kidder, Mr. Punkett's Clerk, was in the store between meetings on Thursday, when all was safe, and no appearance or smell of anything like fire, or spontaneous combustion.

After the fire had raged nearly five hours, the utmost efforts of the citizens of Boston, were necessary to prevent the fire from passing Kilby Street; the Stores on the west side being frequently on fire; and the wind carrying the flames directly towards them. The east wall of Store, No. 83, in State-street, owned by Mr. Farley, under Providence, stopped the progress of the flames in that direction.

This wall presented a barrier of solid masonry, extending 70 feet from State to Doane street, being two and a half bricks thick: and built, as we learn, many years since by the most faithful mason, Mr. Henry Blaney. Had the fire passed westerly of this point, it would have been hardly possible to save Kilby street: in which case we shudder to think of the additional extent the calamity must have had.

The real estate destroyed was estimated in the last tax valuation at over $80,000 dollars and was owned, we learn, among others, by Israel Thorndike, Andrew Brimmer, Ward N. Boylston, Samuel Gore, John F. Loring, Benjamin Bussey, David Hinkley, Charles R. Codman, John Dorr, John Brazer, Samuel Appleton, Michael Roulstone, David Sears, Edward A. Williams, Joseph Coolidge, jun. Daniel D. Rogers, Wm. Brown, Samuel R. Miller, Samuel Parkman, John Swett, Daniel Parkman, Edward Blanchard, Mary Hammett, Rachel Reed, Mary R. Hilliard, Samuel Wheelwright, Enoch Cook, Joshua Hamlin, Samuel Bridge, David W. Child, David S. Greenough, Elisha Doane, Benjamin Adams, Elisha Parks, Samuel Browne, John W. Boott, Wm. and John Davis, and the heirs of John Grey, James Lamb, and William Clough.

The fatigue and anxiety, incident to an exposed situation during the late calamity, must be our apology for omissions and errors.

Centinel.

NUMBER OF BUILDINGS BURNT: