FIRES.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1723, 14 April 1913, Page 4

FIRES.

— At about noon yesterday a fire broke out in houso 1 88 Tasman Street,' a dwelling occupied by Mr. John Dailies, brassfounder. Only about .CIO worth of damago was done, and till causo of the outbreak is not known. Tho house was in-f sured in, the Phoenix Company for .£BOO and Vie furniture in the South British Company for ,£350. Word was received in the oity yosteiv day of a (ire by which Mr. W. H Field's residence at Waikam;e was d& stroyed. Mr. Field's loss will bo a Bert ous one, as it is understood there wai practically no insurance oil tho property.

Tho Public Works Department is putting in hand tho work of improving the Mads which give access to tho Trciifhnm railway station. A quaint story of the flood is told by a resident of Gore. There are . a few Chinese gardeners in that town, and ther suffered with the rest, for oil tho "luck tho Chinaman is supposed to enjoy. After tho flood a citizen found at the gate of 1 one of the gardeners some vegetables and ginger. Ho carried them to their owner, who refused to lake them. "Not my vegetables, not my ginger. They yours, 101 l tnko them." It was explained to him that the stuff was purposely placed outside by the Chinaman himself, who believed. in aecordnnco with tho laws of Mcuu or Confucius or Yuan Shi-Kai, that somebody would take it, and thereby incur the fato of having to save their owner from tho next flood or from nil oven greater calamity in another world than this. Tho gentleman who tolls this story observed that the Chinese are for all that not ouite found in their faitii in wellplaceu vegetables and ginger, fir some of them aro going to make sure'of not being caught in the next Gere Hood by tha simple process of clearing out.