On the night of the 27th of April, a fire
broke out in Charleston, South Carolina, which destroyed 1,300 buildings, and property esti- mated at five millions of dollars, including a new and splendid hotel, the new theatre, three churches, many of the handsomest houses, and an immense stock of merchandise. The tire commenced in a paint. shop at the corner of Beresford Street, on the western side of King Street,—precisely the part of Charleston where, from the value of the merchandise stored there, and the narrowness of the streets, it was cer. lain to do more damage than in any other. It is supposed that pro. perty worth about two millions of dollars was insured.
About two hundred persons lost their lives on the 25th of April, by the explosion of the boilers in a steam-bout called the Moselle, a; Cincinnati, Ohio. The explosion was occasioned by the misconduct of the Captain, who "detained " all the steam he could make, in order to leave the wharf at a rapid rate. The boat was shivered to splinter', and the mutilation of the bodies of the passengers, cast about in all directions and to great distances, was dreadful.
The American papers contain accounts of two other steam-boat accidents; by one of which a hundred persons lost their lives, by the other only one person was killed. In both instances extreme careless. ness caused the disaster.
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