Page:Volume 3 1840.pdf/9

Fire in Breeds Yard - Fire at Rocklands Cannings Residence

As stated in chapter XXIII, some of the cargo saved from the wreck of the French schooner August was deposited in Breed's warehouse, and in connection therewith, was one of the greatest fires that had occurred for many years The goods so deposited consisted of brandy and wine, and for the purpose of getting some of this, it was believed that a Hastings map, who shall be nameless, tapped a cask, and by accident set it or some other portion of the stores, in a blaze. This occurred on the night of the 10th of March, and such was the illumination afforded by the conflagration that in a short time hundreds of people were attracted to the spot. I happened to be with some friends that night at a house near the East hill, and seeing the lurid glare which lighted up the air at about half an hour before midnight, I proceeded, with a rush of people, to ascertain the cause. On arriving by a short cut at the scene, I found the St. Clement's fire-engine preparing to play upon the burning mass, While, at imminent risk of their lives, four men (Page, Hermitage, Craig and Miller) had already rescued three or four casks of wine from the flames. The first engine was soon followed by another from the belfry of St. Clement’s church, and water being obtainable from the Bourne stream and other sources, no time was lost in getting both engines into action. Such, however, was the inflammable nature of the material which fed the fire that the latter defied all the efforts which were made to subdue it, and at about two hours after midnight the roof of the large building fell in with a terrific crash. An effort was then made to prevent the flames spreading to the adjoining buildings, and this being successful, the fire was finally subdued at about four o’clock. The building was what was called the London warehouse, and consisted of several floors. On the ground floor were the wine and brandy from the wreck - nine puncheons of the former and six casks of the latter - all of which were consumed except the two or three casks which were first removed as stated. On the upper floors were 41 quarters of wheat belonging to Mr. F. Barry, of Rye, all destroyed; 10 bales of bacon, very much damaged, belonging to Mr. Stubberfield, of St. Leonards; 10 sacks of flour, 5 of which were saved, belonging to Mr. Crisford, of Fairlight; twenty qrs. of oats, all destroyed; much canvas and rope; stores of cheese, butter, soap, raisins, brimstone and saltpetre, all consumed; and a plaquantity of furniture, books, jewelry, &c.. the property of the Misses Fitton, late of the Croft, and nearly all lost. The building was insured, but the contents were not.

Except the wholesale burnings and sackings by the French in the fourteenth century, it does not appear that Hastings had ever had a special notoriety for great fires; and when one reflects that even within the present century the greater portion of the house and other property of Hastings was constructed of wood — not a little of which is still existent — the wonder is that the fires were so few and so unimportant. The year 1840 was, however, somewhat exceptional for its alarms of fire although, fortunately for the owners of the property, the results bore no such serious aspect as that which was presented at Breeds’s Yard. On the 4th of September, a cottage on Mr. Milward’s estate called Rocklands caught fire, and before any assistance could be rendered from the town the cottage was burnt to the ground. It may be mentioned in passing that before "The Rocklands" — or more properly Rockland’s Farm — got into possession of the Milwards it was the property of a yeoman of the name of Cleaver. an ancestor of the writer. It may be further stated that the cottage at Rocklands, which was pleasantly situated and had a magnificent view of the sea, was a favourite retreat of the Right Hon. George Canning in the early part of the present century. This celebrated statesman having died in 1827 — the very year in which he became Premier, and just as he had reached the summit of his ambition. Had Royalty itself departed, the bulk of the Hastings people could not have displayed a more genuine feeling of sympathy. On the 16th of August, flags were hoisted half-mast high, and most of the shops had each a shutter up in token of respect to the departed statesman. He succeeded in forming a Liberal Administration during the preceding month of April, and was enthusiastically supported by a majority of the House of Commons, but in the House of Lords he had to struggle against a determined majority, among which were his former colleagues, Wellington Peel, Eldon, and others. This, it was said, had a perceptible effect on Canning’s sensitive temperament, and being attacked by an inflammatory disease he quickly succumbed to the malady, and died on the 8th of August, at the age of 58 years.

In 1832, on the 2nd of May, a colossal bronze statue of the statesman was erected in Palace Yard, Westminster, which (the style of dress excepted) is said to be an excellent likeness. It is placed on a granite pedestal bearing the name as here represented.

It was in the same month that Canning assumed the reins of Government that Mr. Joseph Planta — an opponent of the Canning Administration — took the seat of Mr. Lushington as a Representative of Hastings.

He arrived in company with Mr. Orme, jun., at the Swan Hotel on the 19th of April, and after taking some refreshment with the Mayor (F. North, Esq.), and other members of the Corporation, proceeded with them to the Town Hall, where he was at once nominated an elected. J. G. Shorter was his proposer and Walter Crouch was his seconder. Mr. Planta on that occasion acknowledged his obligations to the Jurats and Freemen in a short speech, saying how much he was attached to our glorious Constitution, and explaining how he had been employed in the Public Service since he was 16 years of age. He had been, he said, an occasional resident at Fairlight Place for six years past.

And now, as Fairlight Place is a little beyond the Rocklands, which was the occasional residence of Canning, and which has led me to this digression, I will go forward again to the year 1840, and to the subject of fires, on which I was dilating. It is somewhat coincidental that the next alarm of fire was at the residence of one of our Parliamentary Representatives for that year. Mr. and Mrs. Hollond arrived at their residence, Allegria, St. Leonards, on the 10th of August, and at two o’clock on the 22nd of October, following, when Mr. Hollond was returning from a party, to his amazement, he discovered the interior of his house on fire. An alarm was given, the policemen sprang their rattles, people awoke from their slumbers, and the engines were got out; but before they were put into action, the servants and others, with the abundance of water on the premises, succeeded in quenching the flames ere they had got a fierce hold of the building. The cause was afterwards ascertained to be a too close proximity of over heated flues to the drawing-room.

The next case of fire was of a personal nature, and is worthy of being recorded as showing how a probable fatal result was averted by judicious action prompted by what is called presence of mind. On the 18th of December, Mr. Smith, landlord of the King’s Head, was alarmed while sitting at tea by the screams of a servant, who he saw was running out of doors enveloped in flames. He immediately threw her down and covered her over with the large doormat, which had the effect of smothering the flames. Her clothes had ignited while taking off a pot of boiling fat which ran over and caused a great blaze. The poor girl recovered in a short time without any serious injury, although but for the promptitude of her master she would probably have been burnt to death.

As a kindred topic to the loyalty to the British throne as it manifested itself in Hastings daring the year 1840, when the Queen was married, it may be mentioned that he who was, destined to be the head of French Imperialism resided during a portion of that same year in a humble dwelling at Hastings. Prince Louis. Napoleon, (afterwards Napoleon III.) under the assumed name of Col. Elliott, occupied Pelham Cottage from the 18th to the 31st of March. This cottage was the property of Mr. Thomas Ross (father of Alderman Ross), and was more familiarly known as "Ross’s Cottage," he having built the same, while holding the position of master-gunner, on a site leased from the Ordnance Board, between Government House and Pelham place. At the time Prince Louis was sojourning as an exile in Mr. Ross’s house, his temporary domicile was confronted by Mr. Barry's "Old Warm Baths," which only made way for improvements thirteen years later, and whose wheel-pump, with its daily "clackety-clack" might have been regarded by the "Man of Destiny" as symbolical of that turn of the wheel which was to transform a Col. Elliott into an Emperor of the French. It was the cruel irony or the curious coincidence of events which, many years later, brought the Empress and her son as exiles back to the spot where the husband and father had been an exile previous to his advancement to the gorgeous sceptre of an empire. True, it was not the identical house, but it was at the Marine Hotel, separated only by a partition wall from Mr. Ross’s house, now known as Pelham Cottage.

I have said that the cottage in question was built by the father of Alderman Ross, and I may also say, in passing, that the latter gentleman commenced his public life at the period of which I am writing. It was on the 17th of August, 1840, that Mr. Thos. Ross was elected a Town Councillor of Hastings in the room of Mr. Bayley, and after that time Mr, Ross has had the distinguished honour of being Mayor five times for the chief of the so-called Five Ports, whose claims and charters; both as an official and an archaeologist, he persistently upheld. Mr. Ross was an energetic Liberal; and in juxtaposition with his election may be put the election of Mr. Alderman Smith, as a Conservative Mayor, against the Liberal candidate, Mr. F. North; the votes being respectively 12 and 6. Another item of political significance is that Howard Elphinstone, who succeeded to the baronetage of his father, six years later, and who represented Hastings from 1835 to 1837, and Lewes from 1841 to 1847, was called to the Bar in Lincoln’s Inn, some time in the month of May, 1840.

And now, having drifted once more into politics, it may be opportune to bring some other characters upon the political chess-board. There was probably no event of the year which caused greater excitement than the trial at the Sussex Spring Assizes of Harman versus Planta. This took place at Lewes on the 18th of March, 1840, and was very fully reported at the time in most of the county journals. To give even a comprehensive resumé of this trial would occupy a great deal of space, but I will endeavour to give as much perspicuity as possible in the following summarized account.

Mr. Serjeant Shee and Mr. James were for the plaintiff, and Mr. Serjeant Channell, Mr. Petersdorff, and Mr. Peacock for the defendant.

In opening the case, Mr. Serjt. Shee stated that the plaintiff was a publican at Hastings, and the defendant was a gentleman of fortune, a Privy-Councillor, and a Member of Parliament, residing at Fairlight place. The action was to recover £24 6s. 6d. laid out during an election. Mr. Planta represented Hastings before the passing of the Reform Bill, and having opposed that measure, as a Tory, he failed to obtain a renewal of his constituents' confidence when he presented himself to them in 1832; but at the approach of the General Election of 1837, Mr. Planta,who had still a large party in the borough devoted to their King and Church, felt a renewed anxiety to represent Hastings.

During the previous contest, Mr. Harman — who it would be proved was well versed in electioneering tactics — took as decided a part in Reform principles as Mr. Planta did in opposing them, Mr. Planta knew that he had but little chance of obtaining the object of his ambition unless Harman could be induced to think better of Conservative principles than he had previously done. Accordingly, before Mr. Planta ventured to offer himself again, measures (which he Serjt. Shee could not lay before the jury) had been taken to ascertain upon what conditions the assistance of Mr. Harman could be obtained. On the 16th of February, 1837, Mr. Planta arrived in Hastings and took up his quarters at the Marine Hotel, Mr. Harman at the time being a resident of St. Leonards. Planta’s first object was to seek for Harman, and before daylight on the next morning, Mr. Amoore was on his way to St. Leonards to arrange an interview between Harman and Planta. The latter received the former with open arms. He (Serjt. Shee) would not say that the one embraced the other, but no visit had ever given Mr. Planta so great a pleasure. Before entering into any arrangement, Harman told Planta that he could only support him on the promise that he would make no attempt to alter the provisions of the Reform Bill. So desirous was Planta of conciliating his, new-found friend Harman that "The Bill, the whole Bill, and nothing but the Bill" was at once admitted into Planta’s Conservative politics. There was also to be no parson on Mr. Planta’s committee; and the jury would therefore judge of the value set upon Harman’s assistance when they were told that the Church was also to be thrown overboard.

As to the Reform Bill, said the Rt. Hon. candidate, it has been sanctioned by the King and the country, and I shall do nothing to disturb it; and, then, as to other points, I know I am in good hands, and you will do with me what you like. Harman then received instructions to commence preliminaries for the approaching election, and when he (Serjt. Shee) told the jury that this action was brought for the sum of £24 6s, 6d. — not as remuneration, but for moneys actually paid out of pocket in consequence of that retainer, they would say it was the smallest bill ever sent into either a successful or unsuccessful candidate. Day and night, from Feb. to July, 1837, Harman was constantly engaged in furthering Mr. Planta’s object. Of the value of Harman’s assistance they would be able to judge from the correspondence, some of which he (Serjt. Shee) would submit for their edification and amazement.

Serjt. Shee then read the following letter: —

Dear Mr. Harman,—Forgive this intrusion, and particularly on this day. Can you send by bearer two, or one poll-book? Yours very faithfully,

— J. Planta,
Sunday, Feb. 19, 1837.”

Then said the advocate - If Planta could be found writing to Harman in those familiar terms, could there be any doubt that the books had been bought for Planta? The first item in the account was for 45 register books. It might not be possible to prove Planta’s authority for the purchase of every one of these, but was it decent for the successful candidate of a respectable borough to put his agent to the proof of a paltry item of £5 10s? He (Serjt. Shee) would show the increasing intimacy between the Liberal elector and the high Tory candidate by reading another letter. - {{Quote|Edlin’s Hotel Tuesday evening. —
Dear Mr, Harman,
—Pray just consider this case which has occurred to me since I saw you. Suppose that Mr. Elphinstone, instead of a general dissolution, which he announced to us, means an individual acceptance of the Chiltern Hundreds, and a single vacancy, How shall we stand then, and where will our numerous pink votes be? And if we lose -