INCENDIARISM AT AKAROA.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 639, 29 August 1882, Page 2

INCENDIARISM AT AKAROA.

ATTEMPTED DESTRUCTION OP THREE HOTELS.

WAEOKERLE'S HOTEL COMPLETELY DESTROYED.

On Monday morning some incendiary or incendiaries committed one of the most atrocious acts ever perpetrated. In cold blood the fiend, or these fiends, in human shape, heaped a mass of gorae, saturated with keroeene, against the walls of thiee hotels'in tho borough,-anil, regardless of the fact that there were women and child' T"n sleeping in the upper storeys, set them on fire. Whoever he or they were, they were thoroughly acquainted with the place and its customs. Sunday night, or rather Monday morning, was selected—the i.ight of all others when the fewest people are about, and the time, 2 a.m., was the very hour when the constable, who-retires at i a # m., would be off the beat. There is a considerable distance between the hotels, though all are in the main street, and yet it nppe r.-i they were all set on lire within a few minutes of ea -!i other. This was, no doubt, to so dietr.ujt attention that the destruction of one, at least, might bo assured. The attempt was hut too successful, Mr i3aylt j y, of Wsieckerle's Hotel, suffering very hbavily. though in tho other cases the insurance will cover all damage. It is a queer coincidence that in all three cases an invalid stopping in the house gavo tho , alarm. We shudder to think what the results might have been, but for the timely discovery in e-ioh case. The police have no clue whatever to the discovery of the criminal or criminals. Not a soul was seen in the streets by anybody, and the one who heard anything was Mr Dench, at Waeckerle'a Hotel, and he unluckily, thinking Mr B.iyley was stirring, took no steps to ascertain the truth. Some people hold the idea that it is the work of a fanatic, who, in his blind fury against the liquor traffic, resolved to destroy the hotels, regardless of the consequences; but no one brings an atom of proof forward. An enquiry will be held, and it is to be hoped that then something will be elicited. We append all the information we lwve been us yet able to gather on ihe subject. .BttUOE'S HOTEL. James McNae, a border at Grange's Hotel where he h is been stopping for his health, was lying awake in a bedroom at the north end of the house with the window fronting Mr Garwood'e yauK and heard whit ha thought was the sound of a fire.crackling shortly after 2 a.m. He immediately loft his hedroom and came down to the'back verndah calling out "Mr Grange, Mrs Grange, there is a fire somewhere." Mr Gtango ran o't nnd seeing tho glare coming from the yard between his prom's < mid Mr Girvod's. thought it was Mr GnrwiO'l's store ami c-dled nut to- Mrs' Grange ." Ma, here is MrG-arwood'sNioro on lire." LJe thought that the place iould not be saved, the gliiie seemed so gre-t, and they at once began to move the l'ornituro out of the house. Mr Gran, c, however. ■ determined to make a second try to ex inguish the flames,, thinking that if the roof were lifted so that water could he poured b- ,- tween tho weather boards and lining, the place might still be saved. This wad at last accomplished and tho first bucket'of water had such an effect that Mr Grange and his son Beverly went :o work with a will to get tho flumes under. Mr Staples who had been to \v:ikeup Messrs Garwood and their, neighbours then returned. He had an axe with him ami the flames were then speetli y extinguished. It was a most wonderful escape. The material with which the house had been set on fire must have been piled up in the corner against the weatherboards, and saturated with kerosene. The flames had reached the upper storey, and any one looking at the burnt side of the house must marvel at the fre having been extinguished. It was lucky indeed that Mr. Garwood's two tanks, which hold 400 gallons each, were close at hand, as without the abundant and handy supply of w.iter nothing could have been done. Ten minutes after the fire was got under it started ng;iiri,nnd the weatherboard had to be cut away with an axe before it could I o reached, as it was between the weatherboards nitil lining' The building is insured in the' Liverpool and London and Globe for HBO0 f and a piano and billiard table for £200 -in the Ujfipn. The total damage done is estimttP;at fully £50. Mr Grange tells us that- ifr'J. Staples, and also Messrs F. Aiming,'. H. Libeau, 0. Brown, and 11. Ferris, were indefatigable, audit \v.-is in a , great measure to their assistance the safety .of the building is due. THE CRITERION HOTEL. Mr C. A. Rich tells us that the baby woke Mrs Rich about 2.20 a.m., and she noticed smoke in the room. Her bedroom is exactly over tho liillinrd-room. and the smoke seemed to have come up through the wainscotting. She woke Mr Kiel), who was sleeping in one of the front rooms, and he went downstairs at once, and heard the fire crackling in the billiard-room. Thinking it was inside, he went in, but found the fire coining in from the outside, at the corner of the passage behind. The flames had a good hold, and were reaching up to the second storey, And he thinks that it was the second pin Us that stopped the draught and saved the house. He raised the house, and, witli the assistance of tho boarders, extinguished the flames. He found a mass of gorse, saturated with kerosene, had been- placed under the house, and it was from ttiat the flames proceeded. The weatherboards were cut through to get to the fire, the lath and plaster having prevented the fire taking hold. It is about a foot from the ground to the joists under which the fire had been made. Tne. fire broke out a second time, but was soon got under, The fire was got under boiore publiiuilarm was given, the proprietor ami the boirders doing, all the work themselves, Mr Adams helping. Besides Mr and. alis liiuli, six children, Mrs Warne, the two servants, and the mm, Mjssrd Hombersley, G-. Taylor, F.

O'Neill, J. Hart, and Townscnd wore sleeping in the house. As tliey were all up--8 airs, (here is little doubt that liad Mrs Ilich- not hern roused by the. child, the house might have been burnt down, and several of the people sleeping there with it The house is insured in the Colonial for £600. The children were sent up to Mrs O'Brien'fi, in Balguerie street, at the first alarm, and it was Mr O'Brien who roused out many of the citizens, including Constable Scott, who did good service in calling out fire in such stentorian tones that the whole of the town near where he gave the alarm, awoke. It was about twenty minutes past two when Mr Citron called Sergeant Willis with the news of the fire, who went to BayleyV, where he found that all hope of saving the place was gone. A number of gorse sticks are in the possession of the poli , . c, which were taken from under the Criterion and Bruce's Hotels. The sticks have been saturated with koroFene. It is almost needless to ■say thit an enquiry will he held. BAYLEY'S HOTEL. It was evident that the fire at Bayley 1 s ■was the most important, and it was in that direction tlie police pr ceeded. Scott broke open the doors, and under the direction of the sergeant, tnc things wore removed from the burning building with a care that would do credit to larger communities, for very few of them were broken, though many were very fragile. The following is the narrative, as far as we can gather, of the burning of Bnyley's Hotel : Mr Henry Dene]', a gentleman staying at Bayley's, said lie went to bed aliout '10.30 p.m. on Saturday night. Mr Dench thought it not much after 12 p.m. He. was suffering from illness that keeps him awake (rheumatism and a dislocated wrist) •and he slept very lightly, dozing off now and again. At what he supposes a little past midnight he was laying awake, and ■heard what he supposed to be footsteps round a- out the building. It sounded like people walking on the verandah floor, and then came a noise like chairs being shifted about. He came to the conclusion that Mr B<iyley had been roused *out by a visitor from the country and paid no attention. Shortly after he ■fancied he smelt smoke, and imagined Mr Bayley must be lighting a fire because some one was ill, and that the smoke was coming into the room from below. After a short interval lie began to fancy the :smoke was coming too strong to come from an ordinary fire, and that something was burning, so be got up to see. On ■opening the bedroom door and going on to the head of the staircase he found the «outh end of the house full of smoke. Me returned to the room, packed up hie things nnd made for the stairs. The smoke was ■then so thick he had great difficulty in finding the stairs. At last he got partly <lown, and on doing so found all wns ■clear below, the smoke being confined to the upper part of the house. During the lime this was happening Mr Dunuh kept •calling for Mr Bay.ey to show him out fancying tlint he was* up all the time. On .getting t6 the back door Mr Dench found it was locked,, atid unlocked it and went •out. Ju»t'otitsido Mr D rich met Mr Buy Icy with only his shirt, and trousers on. lie had heard Mr Denrh's cries, and I'een to tbe other end of the house and seen it w/ih on lire. Mr Baj'hy got a bucket of water and rim with it, hue the tfire had t-iich a big hold tlint it wns impossible to stop it. The Chinamen were ?w '<t once mid did .-ill tiiey could to help Mr Bnyley, but in vain. Mr Dench was particularly struck with the admirable way ill which the three celestials helped, nnd also with the conduct of Mr Hahn. who got astride the roof of the cotf nge to the south of the house, nnd by means of wet blanket.-! and untiling exertions ■managed lo keep the ru\v of buildings from going in spite of the flames that ■occa>ioiinlly aetuilly licked the sides of the house on which he wns stationed. Though entreated by his wife to come ■down and save the piano from bis own house, which is the third from the hotel, he refused to stir, and , by liis energy and pluck undoubtedly, saved the whole row ■of buildings. It is Mr Dnnch's opinion that the house was set on fire by some person or persons who got in off the front •verandah into the sitting room. He or they were very clumsy, in»ki;:g as much noise as Mr Bayley does in cleaning out the room on an ordinary morning, chairs 'being shifted as if there were no necessity for concealment. Mr Dench drew the conclusion that it was the work of a madman, for that no sane p( rson would teke. so few precautions in the execution of such a crime.

% Mrs Bay'ey when elie had been roused from her sleep ran in her b ire feet and •told Mr Halm, and then flew back and took the child out of bed. Though only in her night dress, and as we before stated, with bare feet, she felt nothing of the -cold. Too fright and excitement curried .her thro'igh, and we are glad to say she was nothing the worse yesterday. The wind wae easterly and blew the flames towards Mr Buy ley's cottages, to the •southward of the house, and they had n ■narrow escape. Mr Bayley was awoke b} r hearing Mr Dench call out, and got up to : see what was the matter. As his bedToom was at the northern end of the house, opposite to that where the fire occurred there was no smoke in the room. He went out into the yard and saw the (lames, .and-called to Mrs Bayley to get him a bucket of water, but there was no hone of checking it as it had too firm a hold, and so lie called for help. Mr Bayley ran to Mr Hahn and called him out, and the Chinamen came at once, and to use Mr Bayley'a words " worked like tigers." In a few minutes the police and public assembled, and they all worked as hard as they could to snve what was possible of tho furniture. They succeeded in getting out a good deal and a few cases of spirits, E)tit of course the great majority fed the flames. Six hogsheads of beer, five quartor casks of wine and spirits and 'AQ enses of bottled stuff went, as well as the saddlery and a mass of other materials too numerous to particularise. Tho piano was saved, but some of the books were burnt; and everything upstairs. Where all worked so well it is invidious to particularise, but we may Bpecitdly mention Mr Hargreaves, who saved all the pictures and pier glass, Mr Daly nml his son Kartin,and MrKbodes, the brothers Hewitt, nnd Messrs Alfred Scott, Lacosto and others who also worked veiy bard. The police' too were untiling in iheir eit'orts to save as much as poa-ible, Tho Insurances are'on the Liverpool, and London ami Globe., They w<. , re £400 on ti ;i;>w>;

and £200 on the stuck ::;••! •••.•■ rr.ip; apparel. The loss in excess to • iic I ; .-

eurance is chliir.atwl by the owner at ii 1,200. Waeckerlc'a hotel is an

historic hotel, [t was erected by Mr Waeckerle in ISGO and was called by him the Hotel de France. He occupied it himself till 1874, when lie retired in favour of his goi: in law, Mr Bayley.' It was a quaint pretty looking building and must have been noticed I y all visitors on entering , the town and it was of course the great house for all the old residents fFOtn the bays. It had unde r gone extensive repairs, Mr Bay ley sparing no trouble and expense. It was only insured fo? £400. the etock being covered by a policy of £200, nothing; like its value. The actual loss must be nearly £1,200. Tuesday, 2 a.m. Nothing , further hns transpired, no clue whatever to the perpetrators oi the cListatdly crime Ixjing yet discovered. There is a very general uneasiness, no one feeling quite safe.