THE- BIG FIRE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1515, 10 August 1912, Page 11

THE- BIG FIRE.

ASHES STILL SMOULDEEIKG. TYPE OF JIB. E, M'NAB'S BOOK DESTROYED. Blue smoke was still curling up lazilj? from the great piles of lj'ack debris within the four stark walla of Messrs. AVhitcomlje and Tombs' fire-ravagcrt building yeslerdn.r. Nearly half the ceiling of the shop lias caved in now, and great piles of half-burnt hales of paper from the first floor- are mingled with the damaged machines, blackeiwil timbers, and mounds of ashes—all that is loft of the three top floors. A cable message from Sydney yesterday stated that .Mr. Robert M'Nnb had, arrived there with the prcofs of his latest Ijook, which was being printed by Messrs. Whitcombe and Tombs, whose premises had been destroyed by fire. Inquiry elicited the fact that all the type matter in connection with Mrt M'N'ab's book had been destroyed in the fire, but it could be readily re-set from the proofs in Mr. M'Jvab's possession, so that the loss was confined to the metal and the cost of setting. Messrs. IVhitoombc and Tombs are losing no time in establishing a now printing-house. The firm has secured the three floors of the brick building recently vacated by the Empire Packing Company, on the corner of Featherston and Johnston Streets, and has already made a start to overtake thi>. work on order when the fire occurred. Printing machines are being set up on the ground floor (which is of concrete), and a ruling machino is being erected on tho floor above. A supply of type, cases, galleys, and other appurtenances of the trade were at once in town, and- nine men were engaged iii hand-setting yesterday. By the middle of next week it is expected that the printing department will be ablo to cope with a good deal of the work common to printing-housea. Mr. Beauchamp-Platts has been appointed adjuster of insurances by the coiumitteo set up by tho various insurance companies concerned.

Regarding the safely of the walls, Mr. W. Morton (city engineer) states that so far all he has done is to satisfy himself that there is no .immediate danger. He states that thfc northern wall is the one most affe'eted, and the top part of it at any rate'will have to come do mi. So far he could not say whether it would be necessary for the whole of the wall to come down, but it would certainly have to come away as far down as the level of the roof of the Commercial Hotel. In the exposed part at tho back it was cracked for some distance down. , Tho walls could not very, well bo thoroughly examined until the mess inside the building was cleared away.