THE STEAM FIRE ENGINE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1704, 5 November 1887, Page 2

THE STEAM FIRE ENGINE.

TO THE EDITOR, Fir, — 1 looked ar the sun and put two | tnd two together, and it la very patent hat if thoßß ratepayers, who are advene to the B >nugh Coancil procuring a steam fire engine, don't do eotnethlng la tho matter, the steam fire engine will be ■ > reality before they know where they are. It o '.n btj very easily seen from the discussion on the sabjqot which took plaot m the ,0 >a<-cil iaat Monday night, that a majority of the Councillors are In favor of it and those who are striving most hard to get the engine lire the very pertons who will be moat benefited. I need not point oat the reason why some ratepayer! *ra so anxious for this fire engine and nhe Inaurance Company's 25 par cent redaction. Where It would oare me ft few shillings it would save some a hundred pounds, — that is supposing the -.engine would be of any service to me at all ( whioh it would not. nor would it be to. two-thirds of the ratepayers, I would like to say that the expenses In reipict to the maintenance, viz., fuel, oil, oare* taker, eto. , would be very heavy, ai steam would have to be kept np night and day. We should all be rated to oovee this expenditure — the man who was saving ft few shillings and the man who wai saving a hundred poucds. I wonder wbloh of the two men would make moat out of the transaction. It looks to me as if I should be rated to kept the steam fire engine m Al oondition m order that tboie who have large premised to insure should be able to do so at a 'reduoed figure, I should loae my few shillings, gained by the 25 per cent raduotlon, In being taxed for the maintenance of the laid steam fire engine. In conclusion, I would like to ask what good would a iteam fire engine have been m Ashburton daring the last 12 months, or for the last 10 years fof the matter of that. As far ai I can remember there has been only one fire at whioh it would have been more service* able than the engine already owned by the Borough— that was the fire at Oookson's stables. I beg to state lam not going to enter into a controversy on the subject, I meie'y, as au objeotor to the steam fire engine m tuto t took up my pen m hopes that it would fetch some one more able to wake the ratepayers up to what was being done. lam, etc, Light Iksubanob.