TERRIBLE CONFLAGRATION. A ROARING SEA OF FIRE. THE RUIN WROUGHT IN FOUR HOURS. ONLY TWO BUILDINGS LEFT IN SPOKANE.

LOSSES AMOUNT TO TEN MILLIONS. Sa>t Fkancisco, August 25. The full details of the great lire which swept clean the business district of Spokane Falls, VV. T., on Sunday night, August 4th, &how that the first leports received were not exaggerated. The number of blocks burned was thirty, aridcstimated loss Tho insurance is not lr.ore than one quarter of this turn. Nearly 1^600,000 is held by San Francisco insurance agencies, the Now Zealand Insurance Companies' lo&ses being — South British, £28,625 ; New Zealand, £2,400 ; Union, N.Z., €28,000.

THE BURNED DISTRICT comprises thirty blocks and embraces every buck businoss building in the city excopb the America Hotel and the Crescent block. It extends from tlio Northern Pacific's track on the south to the Spokane rivor on the north, and from Lincoln-street on the west to Washingtonstreet on the oast. Besides all the public and business buildings, the Northern Pacific depot and huge Ireight warehouse* , filled with valuable goods, were consumed. Being beyond the leach of the flames, the schools, churched, hospitals, and residences escaped, whilo by great eflorts the Hour and saw nulls were saved. It is claimed that the waterworks would have furnished a sufficient supply to quickly extinguish the flames had the demand for mons power been promptly responded to. The superintendent of the waterworks was away from town, and his assistants proved incompetent.

ORIGIN OF THE FIRE. The fire originated afc 6. 15 o'clock in the evening in' the roof of a lodging-house on Railroad Avenue, the third door west of Post-street. A dead calm prevailed at the time, and the spectators supposed the firemen would speedily bring the flames under control. This could have been done if proper precautions had been taken, bufc the superintendent of the waterworks was out of the city, and for some reason the

in on in chargo failed to re?p ond to the cal for more pressure. The heat created a current of air, and in less than half an hour the entire block of frame shops was envelopod in flames, and burning shinglos or other dobris lillod the air, igniting several adjacent blocks at the same time. Opposito the block in which the fire originated stood bhe Pacific Hotel, ono of the handsomest structures in tho Noithwest. It was soon in a bla/o and by that time a high wind prevailed from tho southwest, and it was evident the on tire business portion of tho city was. in danger. Mayor Furfch ordered that buildings bo

BLOWN UP WITH GIANT POWDER to check bho spread of the lire. This order was speedily pub into execution, and the explosions added to the reign ot torror. The picture was weird, grand and awful, as block after block yielded bo the f u rious llames. The sky was overcast with black clouds, and a strong wind sprang up from the northeast, fanning tho llamos furiously, while the upper current continued to carry the burning fragments in bho oppo&ito direction. The Grand Hotel in bho Frankfort block, the Windsor Hotel, the Washington block, the Eagle block, the Tull block, tho (.lushing building, the Fall-> City Opera-house, the Hyde block, all the banks and in fact evory hou&o on RailroadAvouue north to the river and from Lincoln street eabt to Washington -&bi eot, with theexception of a few buildings in the noitheabb corner, wei e totally destioyed. ISJeanwhilca sudden change in bho direction ot the wind carriod the tire southwatd, across Railroad A\cnuo, and destioycd the Northern Pacific passenger and fieight depots and sevcial cars. The li eight depot wa-> a mammoth stiucbure, and was tilled to the root with valuablo merchandise, very little of which was saved. Tho terrifying shrieks of a clo/.en locomotives, mingled with the roar of the tlamcs, the bursting ot cartlidges, the booming of giant powder, the hoai shouts of men and the piteous shrieks of women and children.

A RIVER OF FLAME. Looking upward a bioad and mighty vivor of flame seemed lined against the jetblack, sky. Occasionally the two opposing cunonts oE wind would meet, causing a whirlwind of lire that seemed to ponetiate the clouds as a pondeious screw, whilo whirlwinds danced about it« base, performing all sorts of fantastic gyrations. In this manner the appalling carnival of destruction continued until about 10 o'clock, when with a mighty crash the LLoward-sbieeb briHgc o\or the river went down. A boom of logs took fiio and burned for horns on the crystal r>urfaco of the river, and many times Hying pillais ot file ciossed the liver, igniting the mammoth lumber and Homing mills that line its banks, but by heroic eflorts its career was checked on the south side of the stream. Looking back the beholder witnessed

A SCENE OF DESOLATION that was fearful to contemplate. Fragrnontaiy portions of naked walls of what tour hours bcfoie wore magnificent sbiuctures of brick and granite stood like grim sentinels above the surface of a burning sea, and all was devastation and ruin. The burned district embraces thirty blocks besides the depots. The only brick business houses left standing aro the descent block and the Amciica Theatie. The schoolb, churches, colleges and hospital wore beyond the lines ot tho burned district and none were lost. The burned district extends from the Northern Pacific track to the river from south to north, and from Lincoln streeo to Washington street from west to east. This incluies many fine brick and &tone structures, seveial freight cars and the Northern Pacific donots and warehouses along the tracks, which runs east and west through the city.

ONLY 02s 1 E DEATH has boon heard of, the victim being Charles Davis, a civil engineer from Billings, M.T., who leaped fiom a second -storey window of the Arlington building, atthed only in his night clothes, and was shockingly mangled. He died next morning in great agony, bnt was conscious to the la>t. Sovoral others were severely injured.

HEBUILDINO THE CITY. The second day after fchc great Hi c opened bright and clear, and the greatest activity pre\ ailed among tlio tradesmen. Nobody wasted any time be^ ailing his loc-s, but all sot about tepairing their shattcted foi tunes with the gicate c t coinage and deto initiation, and already evoiy branch of business is represented in tents scattered over the burned diatiict.

SPOKANE FALLS. Spokane Fall.* is the thud city in m/c and population in Washington Territoiy, and its natural advantages, combined with the enberptise of its cibi/enb, ga\e it a more rapid growth dining the last \car than was enjoyed by eithci Tacomaor Seattle Natuic intended it for the t-itc of a great city, as, like Minneapolis and Rochester, it has a great wateilall by its very doois, capable of supplying power to scores of mills and factories. The total fall is 157 feet in a half mile, and tho water power ha.s been estimated at nearly 100,000 hoi^e-power. When the railroads came to Spokane Falls, capitalists were quick to see its advantages, and tho city was piactically built up in eighteen months. It jumped almost at a bound fiom a straggling village into a fullgiown city, with large business blocks of the most modern architecture, rinestieots and sidew alks, electric and motor street railways, tho clectiiu light, and all the other features ol a largo metropolitan city. It had tine hotels, which would have been a credit to any Eastern city of three times its population. In a word, it had everything metropolitan except a fire department and a good water service, and to the lack ol the&c essentials must be attributed the disaster which will check its growth for a good many months, but which cannot permanently aflect it. Spokane Falls is on tho Spokane River in Eastern Washington, in the midst of a great plateau in tho great Columbia Kivei ba.sin, in tho north eastern pait of the Teiritory, eighty-five miles south fiom the British Columbia lino and seventeen miles trora Idaho. The city is, 1,907 ieet above the sea, and is the natural contio of a Aasb aiea of rich agricultural land in a high state of cultivation, extending over 200 miles east and west.

Mr J. Ellis, an English member of the House of Common?, moved in the House on June 22nd as follows :—" That in the interests of humanity and of tho great lights oi property, and inasmuch as tho provisions of the present Land Acts are inadequate for the purpose, it is expedient that steps should bo taken without delay to ensure such competent, impartial, and conclusive arbitration between the two parties to the present agrarian strugglo in Ireland as will diminish the necessity lor evictions and the costly and humiliating employment of tho forces of the Crown thereat. " Mr liouqtree seconded the motion, and asked them why the Government did not take oITTO per cent, of the rents in Ireland, as they had done in the case of the Scotch crofters. Ireland (Mr Rountroo said) had too long been mado the battle ground for the riso and lull ot British Ministers.