When William IV. Was King by John Ashton

Author:John Ashton [Ashton, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, New Age, History, Fiction & Literature
ISBN: 9781465632777
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Published: 2019-09-15T04:00:00+00:00

By the Budget of July 25th, the House Tax, which was imposed in 1695, was repealed, as was also the stamp duty on almanacks, which had existed since 1710.

The talk of the year was, undoubtedly, the burning of both Houses of Parliament on the evening of October 16th, caused by the overheating of a flue whilst some workmen were burning a quantity of old Exchequer tallies. The following account is taken from the Annual Register.

"The two Houses of Parliament, with nearly all their various offices, the old Painted Chamber, associated with a thousand historical reminiscences, the libraries of the two houses, etc., all fell a prey to a destructive fire, which broke out about half-past six o'clock in the evening. The flames suddenly burst forth near the entrances of the two houses, and immediately burnt with a fury almost unparalleled. In less than half an hour from the first discovery of the flames, the whole interior of the building from the ground floor to the roof presented, through the numerous windows with which it was studded, one entire mass of fire. Thousands of persons instantly assembled, the engines were in attendance, the police and soldiery on the spot, and every exertion was made to save the public papers and other important documents, vast quantities of which were conveyed to a place of safety, although many were unfortunately consumed.

"All attempts to save the House of Lords proving abortive, the firemen directed their attention wholly towards the House of Commons, and to the preservation of Westminster Hall. The wind, which previous to this time had blown from the south, at eight o'clock veered somewhat towards the west, thus throwing the flames immediately upon the House of Commons, the angle of which, abutting upon the House of Lords, caught fire; and, notwithstanding the utmost exertions of the firemen, assisted by the military, the roof ignited, and fell in with a tremendous crash, accompanied with an immense volume of flame and smoke, and emitting in every direction millions of sparks and flakes of fire. This appearance, combined with the sound, resembling the report of a piece of heavy ordnance, induced the assembled multitude to believe that an explosion of gunpowder had taken place.

"The flames now took a different direction; but the danger to the Hall appeared more imminent than ever. From the House of Commons the fire appeared to retrograde, as well as to advance, and, whilst the Speaker's house (which was partially burnt) was placed in jeopardy on the one side, the range of Committee-rooms, situate immediately over the members' entrance to the House of Commons, opposite to Henry VII. chapel, appeared to be entirely enveloped by the devouring element. A dense black column of smoke issued from the roof of this part of the building, which was almost immediately followed by a large column of flame, and the south end of the wall was therefore at this time encompassed by burning edifices. At this period several engines were introduced into the Hall, and an immense quantity of water was distributed over every part of the building.

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