Correspondence.

Lyttelton Times, Volume IX, Issue 544, 20 January 1858, Page 4

Correspondence.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Timet.

•^Sib, —I have on more than one occasion -endeavoured, through the medium of your columns, to impress on the public mind the -necessity of adopting some organised system for the preservation "of fife and property from .the ravages of-fire.

_ We have hitherto been extremely fortunate in escaping such calamines as the one which has so recently plunged some of our most respected fellow-townsmen in the deepest sorrow. This is the third fire-that has occurred since I have, .been in the colony, and the first attended with loss of life; but, Sir, how much more fear-ful-would have been the result had the wind been blowing as it was a few hours before. •Aniidst the' alarm and confusion, who could have stopped its progress P Our town, of whose advancement we.have some reason to be proud, wpuld, almost.inevitably, have been one,mass .ofblackened ruins!

. Messrs. Cookson, Bowler, and Co., the agents of the Liverpool and Loudon Insurance Com-

pany have, I believe, one, if not two fire engines in their possession; but at the present moment they are about as useful to the town as Robin- , son Crusoe's gold was to him on his desolate island. In the first place they aie not adapted for rapid conveyance to any part of the town. Secondly, they would be utterly useless any where but along the beach, from the absence of a water supply; and thirdly, they are private property, locked up in a private store, with no properly appointed person to fit them up, keep the gear in order, and direct the working of i them. I have spoken of engines in the plural number j there may be but one, but if there are twenty the obstacles to public utility are the same. The question then to be decided is,— Can these obstacles be removed t Intersected as this town is by galleys, I consider that every facility exists for the construction of reservoirs at an elevation sufficient to keep them free from pollution by town drainage, and to render them available to every house in the town; j tubes or ducts for conveying the water so col- f lected might easily be constructed of timber. I It is long since my remembrance that wooden j tubes were used as main water pipes in the J southern parts of London. j We have a building at the back of the Post I Office, once upon a time called the. Enginehouse. Why should it not be appropriated to < the use it was designed for ? Surely the engine or engines now in Messrs. Cookson <fc Bowler's possession might be made public property by subscription.

Lastly, How could we raise a fire brigade f I say, if by no other means, by conscription. Make it a law that every man from the age of 18 to 50 should serve so many nights in the year. Let those who are too idle, too timid, or too wealthy, provide a substitute at their own cost.

The organisation of such a body need be but simple; one permanent officer whose duty it should be to keep the ladders, buckets, engines, &c, &c, in proper working order, and to be on duly at the engine-house every night from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., would be all the staff required.

Let him be the inspector or sergeant, or any other title you may please to give him; responsible for his conduct to a committee, consisting of the justices of the peace and other influential persons in the district, who should have power to try him, dismiss him, or otherwise punish any flagrant breach of duty. Three other persons should keep watch with him, selected in their proper turn on the muster roll. I shall not trouble you with detailing their duties; the nature of them must be patent to every one, and maybe summed up in these words, "to obey all lawful commands."

The funds for'-''ca*fryhig-----«ai-~tt^^!!«!*^me should be provided either by voluntary subscription, or a local rate, and by such grants from the provincial revenue as might from time to time be deemed expedient and necessary. The loss which Mr. Gundry has sustained would pay the expenses of such a fire brigade for several years. Apologising for the length of my letter, I remain, Sic-., Jan. 18,1857. CENSORIOUS.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Time*.

Sis, —I should feel obliged if you would insert the following in your next number, that it may come under the notice of the proper authorities.

One evening this week, as I was returning home after dark, and driving in the middle of the Lower Lincoln-road, suddenly, just before coming to the bridge over the Heathcote, my horse, being unacquainted with the necessary deviation from the middle of the road, took me down a very tolerable descent into a gravel pit. If the horse had been going fast instead of walking a serious accident might have happened. It seems to me that, when it is necessary to make these excavations, or do any thinothat makes a road in any way unsafe, some fence, however temporary, should be put up before it is left at night. I remain,

Your obedient servant,

G. C. BEARD.

Henfield, Jan. 15,1858,