4 JULY 1846, Page 2

A terrible fire has destroyed great part of St. John's,,

New- foundland. It is estimated to have rendered twelve thousand persons houseless, and destroyed property worth a million sterling. In superficial extent it is second only to the fire of Quebec, and ex- ceeds that of Hamburg. British charity will not fail : but our North American friends ought surely to profit by these dreadful lessons, so far as to look to the structure of their houses. They seem to build up whole towns with lucifer-matches and fire-wood. Stone, or even plaster, may be expensive ; but nothing can equal the ruinous cost of these fire-floods.