NEARLY 7000 LIVES LOST IN 135 YEARS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1734, 7 January 1888, Page 3

NEARLY 7000 LIVES LOST IN 135 YEARS

The aggregate loss of ilfe by the destmetion of places of amusrmant has been appalling, aa shown by tha returns gathered b> the French Statistical buciety, and Dublished m the early part rf iaat year. During the period covered by these returns — which embraced the whole olvlHsed world and Included 135 yearß - 632 theatres had been destroyed by fire, and the number of victims was 6 573, or au aversga of forty-eight a year, which, when the vast number of playgoers is taken into account, does not seem a very enormous saorißcial tribute to the god of pleasure. But the average does not represent the tiue sine of the case, for the sum total of lives annually lost haß progressed uniform'y (with the exception of the year 1845, whan 1670 perished with the theatre at Cauton), till it rp»oherf &a high as 1217 for tho decade of 1870 80. Moreover, of the 632 ihreatres, notevor than 174 wpr* burned during the five years frotu 1881 to 1885 inclaeive. It is true, of course, that the number of theatres uad thoee a t nding them has of late years tremoudously increased, and co to a certain extmt has the care wbioh provides agalost fire and loss of H f e ; but the latter boars no sort of proportion to the former, whereas it «hould bo at least equivalent.