The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1888. FIRES AT PUBLIC BUILDING

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2007, 7 December 1888, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit FRIDAY, DECEMBER 7, 1888. FIRES AT PUBLIC BUILDING

Recently the Government has been peculiarly unfortunate m the matter of fires at public institutions, the losses at Sunnyside and Rotorua alone totalling up to at least £15,000. Then not so very long ago there was the disastrous conflagration at the Wellington PostOffice building, to restore which will cost some £15,000. Besidesthese there have been other smaller losses, and from time to time we hear or read complaints against the Government for not taking the same course i as "tKaf" taken" by air prudent private property- owners, viz., that of providing ogainef loosen of tjiis kind by insuring m some of the many Fire Insurance Offices doing business m the colony. But those who find fault m this way forget that tho Government is m a widely different position to the owners of private property, having buildings of all sorts and descriptions scattered about m all parts of the colony, and of such number and value that to insure all ugainst fire would mean an annual expenditure which would represent no insignificant item m the annual vote of ways and mean®. Indeed we are m a position to say upon the very best of all authority that calculations have been made which prove that it pays the colony far better to be its own insurer tb.an to insure with the different offices. It has been ascertained that during the past ten years, including 1 the fires above alluded to, tbe total loss of Government propeaty by fire is covered by the sum of £50,000, while at the lowest rates of risk which have been offered by the Insurance Companies a general insurance of Government property would have cost nof; less than from £15,000 to £17,000 per annum, or a total for the term of from £150,000 to £170,000. This being so it is obvious that the colony can better asord to defray the cost of rebuilding than to prevent the necessity of doing co at its own charges by insuring all its public buildings.