THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 80, 4 April 1874, Page 2

THE WEEK.

We have experienced a rather rude, avpakening.froai our dream of fanciedf . security from .the- .^ravages of fic|^ Hitherto, timely notice has been usually given of an attack by the dreaded enemy, or it haß so happened that where the flames have secured a good hold, before the arrival if the brigade, the building in which they broke out : has either been isolated or hemmed in on both sides by stone or brick walls supporting slate roofs. But on Wednesday last the attack was made uuder different circumstances. The fire burned for a long time unnoticed, and the buildings on either side were, one of them wood, and the other partly brick, end partly wood with a shingle roof, The consequences ,we, all know. Thousands of pounds have gone, where the loss might have been limited to hundreds. Ilad the parti-wall between .Mr Wymond's and Mr Phillips' stores been carried up a few feet higher the probability is that the larger establishment would not havo been sacrificed; had the alarm been given ten minutes earlier the almost certainity is that it would have heen saved. Why the discovery was not made sooner was a mystery. lam told that the glare was seen from a distant part of the town fully a quarter of an hour beforo the bell rung; that he who saw it from thence watched it growing redder and redder, he being unfler the impression that it arose from the burning of rubbish on oneof the surrounding hills, for such wos its appearance from his point of view, and that after keeping his eyes on it for nearly len minutes he at last became convinced that it was something more serious than he at first considered , and that he consequently aroused his family, some of whom had nearly arrived at the scene of the fire, half a mile distant from their home before the alarm was sounded. We must arrive at one of two conclusions, either that our night-watchers are not sufficiently on the olort or that they are not numerous enough. I rather incline to the latter opinion. At all events, the evidence at the inquest of the police who were on duty nigbt that will .be interesting. A question for the consideration of the Municipal Corporation, when we get it, will probably arise out of this fire, namely, whether it will: not be advisable to render compulsory the erection of parapet brick or stone walls between bouses hereafter to.be built in the more thickly populated parts of the town. When will people learn to be rational at fires and not to give way too- much to the excitement of the moment? At present, when Jones sees Kobinson's premises on fire, he at once rushes into tbe neighboring house occupied by his friend Smith, runs up stairs, and with the best of intentions, and in the kindliest manner possible, proceeds to throw looking glasses, crockery, delicate pieces of cabinet work, and other articles of an equally fragile nature out of the windows, to tbe certain deslruc(ion of the goods so treated, and the imminent danger of less zealous individuals in the street below. He then perhaps sees in one corner of a room a chest of drawers, which is valued as a family relic, and has for years been jealously guarded against even the possibility of a scratch. It measures, say, five feet in height by four in depth, whereas the staircase is only three feet in width, but that does not matter, so down it goes smashing the balusters in its passage, and defining upon its own face several problems of anything but mathematical nicety. Having done as much damage as lies in his power, Jones learcs that the building he has entered and gutted with so much energy is not. likely to be burned, and he then places acurb on his zeal, refrains from inflicting any further injury upon the property of his friepd Smith, whom he has laid under so great an obligation to himself by the interest he has displayed in the welfare of his furniture, and mixes in the crowd outside with the selfsatisfied air of a man who feels that as an Englishman he has acted up to the maxim of the great Nelson, and on that day or nigbt as the case may be, has done his duty. Volunteering is rife in our midst just now. Could it not be so arranged that the members of the various corps might be formed into something like a fire police, and co rendered of real : service ? Their discipline is excellent, why not turn it to account in battling with an enemy and his camp followers, to whose attacks we are liable at any moment? Jones acting on his own account is not a desirable ally in the event of a fire. Many Joneses working under a recognised head might be made extremely useful. , . .' I see letters in the Canterbury papers complaining that the newly arrived immigrants when they leave the barracks are unable to find house accommodation in Christchurch. I am sorry to say that empty houses are not so scarce here, but what I hear very frequently asked, What is to be done with immigrants upon arrival here? We have no barracks, and up to the present .time, there are no signs of any being constructed. Our immigrants should be here in about four months' time, and knowing, as we all do, how difficult it is to get anything in the shape of house building done just now, it surely is high time that the work was commenced. -' '' • Our volunteers' have determined to follow the example of vbluuteers in other parts of the world, and to make themselves generally, uncomfortable at Easter time, sq they hive gbntf with baggage wagons, and' music, and guns^

to Richmond, where they hove taken up their quarters in tents. A night attack, a church parade, and a review are eorneof the items on programme, and on .Monday evening the campaign., will be brought to a close, and our weather-beuten warriors will once more sleep between brick or wooden walls. F.