Enquiry into the Recent Fire at Waituna.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 60, 5 September 1894, Page 2

Enquiry into the Recent Fire at Waituna.

An enquiry into tlie cause of the recent fire which destroyed the premises erected at Waituna for an hotel, ami used as an accommodation house and store by Mrs Millard, was held at Vl r P. Doyle's boarding house, Waituna, yesterday before Mr G M. nelson, J P., who acted iv place of Mr Linton coroner, that gentleman being agent of an insurance company interested. The following jury were sworn : — J Walhs (foreman), J J. Williamson, E. Wualley, G. O. Hare, J. C. Hare, C Beuseniann. C nstahle Tuohy conducted the enquiry. Mr Sandilands appeared for the Imperial Insurance Company and Mr J. Prior for the lessee, Mrs Millard. Bridget .*. illard was sworn and deposed : Was the wife of Albert Millard, storekeeper and hoardinghouse keeper ; was in the Wanganui dis trict 11 or 12 years; left Fordell about two years ago to go to Ohingaiti ; carried on store and boardingbouse there for about fifteen months ; did not take any goods from Fordell to Ohingaiti ; while there bought several hundred pounds worth of furniture and goods ; bought the furniture ia Wanganui ; took pictures and valu ablos to Ohingaiti ; had one chest of drawers which was taken from. For dell ; the stretchers cu«t 7s or 8s each ; had other articles of furniture, including about a dozen chairs and three bedsteads ; had about a dozen stretchers from Wanganui ; also, the same number of mattrasses which cost 9s each ; two towel horses, which coat about 7a 6d each ; About six or seven toilet sets, costing from 9s 6d to 14s ; also, four or five dressing tables, and same number of washstanda ; may have got other articles from Wanganui but could not remember what they were ; went to Halcombe from Ohingaiti between nine and twelve months ago ; did not hold a public sale at Ohingaiti before leaving, but sold privately ; sold everything in the shop ; kept the best of the furniture and sold some rough stretchers which were made on the premises ; Burke removed from Ohingaiti one waggon load of furniture ; did not remember whether there were only two iron bedsteads, 6 or 8 boxes containing bedding, crock cry, and sundries, 6 stretchers and 6 chairs, as stated in the telegram put in by Constable Tuohy from Constable Leary ; did not th,ink she took away any bedsteads other than those mentioned in the telegram ; bought fur niture in Halcombe ; purchased a hoardinghouse in Halcombe from Mr Schmidt; paid £125 for it; started business there as storekeeper and boarding - housekeeper ; bought from Schmidt 8 or 9 wooden bedsteads and bedding ; these were a seperate purchase ; paid £14 odd for one 10% including five or six chairs, dining room table, and other small articles ; held an auction sale about the middle of May before leaving Halcombe; Mr Curr was the auctioneer ; had purchased the lease of the Waituua Htore about a fortnight previous from Mr 0. A. Lovell ; the lease was to run four of five years ; was to pay £6 per month rent to Mr Elkington ; paid Mr Lovell £20 cash for goodwill ; have paid no rent up to the present ; Mr Elkington had agreed to fence the whole of the leased land ; received a letter from Mr Richmond, who was acting for Mr Elkington, relative to ' the rent ; on receipt of letter sent for Mr Richmond and told him witness would see him as soon as she recovered from illness ; did not receive a letter from Mr Elkington previous to the , last fire ; there was a letter sent by Mr Elkington but it was not for witness ; previous to coming to Waituna from Halcombe sold a dining room table, four bunks,, three or four chaff mattrasses, some saucepans, buckets, and boiler ; bought from Mrs Lovell two or three dozen glasses for 14s, sewing machine £2 10s or £3, and about 14s more worth of candlesticks and other things privately, an,d not through Mr Montague; also, other articles of glassware amounting to about 235 ; bought from Mr Lovell, thiough Mr Montague, a purchase amounting to £6 or £7 ; £5 would cover all the pictures in the house except the two enlarged photos, which cost £5 10s each ; these were bought while in Fordell about 5 or 6 years ago from a Wellington firm; the furniture at Waituua was insured for £100 in witness' name, with Norris and Ashcroft, of Hunterville, agents for the Imperial office ; took no store goods from Ohiqgaiti to, Halcombe ; stocked the store at Halcombe with goods \ the first order was from MeArthur and Co. for between £400 and £500 worth of goods ; the ord«» caoie at one time ; the goods consist d of drapery, boots, saddlery; the drapery might come to £200; received two cases of boots and four or five gents' saddlos and bridles, girths, straps, etc , the second order was for drapery, and oueu's clothing, amounting to £25 ; tb« thir 1 order might consist of men's and boys' suits and boots to the value of about £50 ; there were two, three, or four small orders vary ing from £16 to £30; paid between £300 and £400 to McArthur and Co. while at Halcombe ; still owes them about Ll7o;' after paying Schmidt LI 25 had about another LIOO in money in the bouse and in the bank. (Jhas. Carr, deposed : Knew Mrs Millard, for whom he held an auction sale of goods on May 16th, at Halcombo ; should say that the balance of goods unsold was, roughly, \?orth a»>out £3cj, In reply to Mr Prior : Was selling drapery, a few pieces of oilcloth ; did not sell groceries or furniture ; there were ISO or 200 lots, and could see Mrs Millard's friends were bidding against legitimate buyers and witness stopped the sale ; the sale realised £10 odd, out of which there was £4 or £5 worth bought in by friends ; personally did not examine stock to take inventory \ did not inspect stock after the sale. To JVfr Sandilands ; djd nqt see any saddles, bridles, bits, or boots j *'dod,gers" were issued to advertise the sale, which Mrs Millard would not allow to be advertised in newspapers. C. Halcombe corroborated Mr Carr's evidence ; made an inventory of the goods while the sale was going on ; tho inventory was made from a list handed to him by someone connected with the business ; thought the value of the goods unsold would be from £30 to £35. To Mr Prior : The sale toqk place in two front routtjs of tbo buU^ip^ ' \

one of which wattfevutuiiiiy t!>tJ "*•**''« ; could not say if there were other goods on the premises besides those offered for sale; the; principal article* submitted were dress pieces; did hot know whether the list he had was destroyed or not; the lots all round might have averaged 4s a lot at auction ; shirting and drapery were the articles mostly sold ; the goods would have made a fair show where the drapery was ; there were vacant places for groceries ; a lot more stuff could have been put in the room where the drapery was. To Mr Sandilands: Mrs Millard was at the sale ; f rom the tendency of Mrs Millard's remarks understood that she was not satisfied with the prices realised. '., ;r '.. "■■■ ;.;/ -.'\J : H.^ „A In reply to Constable Tuohy : Mr Sherwill was District Manager for tb« Phoenix Fire Office,. :%^;wifaesßfwas working in hia ofißce; the Ph<fenix office had a risk of £?50; on jipv»ll f s; boardinghouse, at Waituna, in favor of W. F. Elkington; the polu^/jtasi not now in force ; it was cancelled on August 13th in consequence of a J fire on August Ist; saw Mr Elkington himself when the policy was cancelled ; heard on the 2 1st of August that the building was destroyed on the 20th ; the Phoenix had a risk of £150 on the furniture, in favor of O. A. Lovelljmd then transfered by him to Mr Montague, of Palmerston; this policy, he believed, was cancelled on the same day; the office returned to Mr Montague the unexpired portion «Ethe it j; premium; this business was dpncT by his brother in Palmerston ; at fdate of second fire Phoenix office bad vno risk on building ; had no notification until the day the policies were cancelled that there, were other risks on the premises j this information was N not received from the persons concerned, other than his brother, E. Halcombe, who was in Mr Sherwill's office, at Palmerston. - To Mr . Prior : did not hear of the first fire until the day the policies were ? cancelled, which step was taken through hearingof the fire; received instructions to cancel from his brother ; ; remembered time when the insurance on the furniture' was effected ; Mr ; Sherwill inspected the furniture prior to insuring ; two-thirds or a little more is usually the percentage of value insured. : , ; >r: E. Goodbehere, deposed : Sinew Mrs Millard, who called at his office, Feilding, in June and said that she wanted an insurance on her stock ond furniture at Waituna ; Mrs Millard then said she bad some; good furniture, and a heavy stock of goods and wanted to insure for £400 on stock and £100 on the furniture ; she wanted it insured as soon as possible ; wrote to her after second interview and, from enquirie8 } told her she had better get insured in some other office. ,-., ; ; ;^ ; (Left Sitting.) .