The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 1877.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 139, 14 June 1877, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JUNE 14, 1877.

In the Auckland Herald of Saturday there appeared the following telegram from its Dunedin correspondent : — " There was a panic of fire at the Princess Theatre last night. Towards the close of the burlesque some foolish person, misled by a trial in the wings of the blue fire necessary to proper realisation of the final scene, raised an alarm of fire, which had the effect of causing a stampede on the part of many persons, whose wits seem to have deserted them. The assurances of those on the stage that there was no cause for the slightest fear were for a little utterly disregarded, and in the stalls there was a most inconsiderate rush made for the doors. Upstairs some ladies fainted, but there was no difficulty experienced in leaving the house by those who desired to get out. As soon as the alarm I was given, some persons, aware of that means of escape, pressed against the doors marked 'fire escape/- leading from the back of the pit into High-street, which immediately opened, and the majority of those who left the pit and stalls found easy means of egress by this way. In about five ninutes order was restored and the burlesque proceeded with." We have not quoted the above merely as an item of news to be read to-day and forgotten to-morrow, but because it affords an excellent opportunity for calling attention to the entire absence of any means of escape, in the eventof fire, from the buildings used as places of amusement in STelson. In many towns in the colony the Municipal bodies have taken action under aub-section 12 of Section 349 of the "Municipal Corporations Act, 1876," which provides that the Council may make by-lawa "to secure the proper ventilation of all buildings for public meetings, theatres, music halls, dancing halls, and other places of public performance or amusement, and to compel the use of proper precautions against fire, and proper means for extinguishing fires therein, and sufficient means of ingres and egress from such buildings." Nothing of the kind has been done here, and we ask any one of the hundreds who were packed in the Odd-Fellows' Hall on the evenings of Friday and Monday last what would have been the effect of a fire breaking out or even the

alarm of fire being raised on either of those two occasions. The loss of life that must inevitably have occurred in the panic tb.aV would have ensued is something frightful to contemplate. The main entrance is a door, at the most five feet in, width, and this in the event of such a calamity would at once be choked by .the stream of living beings that would pour down from the gallery and meet at the door the crowd attempting to escape from the body of the hall. Besides this door there is one other small one near the stage, and these two are the sole mean3 of egress. A mere panic caused even by a false alarm would probably result in many being trodden under foot and suffocated, a fire in the burning to death of scores, if not of hundreds. And this frightful danger might be easily averted by a large doorway being made on each side of the building, which, if the necessity arose, could be at once thrown open, thus offering every facility for escape, while the mere knowledge of their being there would go far to allay a panic and prevent a stampede such as that which occurred in the Dunedih Theatre, and must have ended fatally had it not been for the "fire-escape" i doors. The Masonic Hall would be more difficult to deal with, owing to the contiguity of buildings on both sides. That, however, is a matter for the consideration of the proprietors. It is clearly the duty of the City Council, mth the Dunedin example before their eyes, to at o*ice take action under the section of the Act which we have quoted, and thus to do away withthe.possibilifcyofsuchafearful.sacrificeof life as must, inevitably take place in our public halls in the event of a fire breaking out or a panic arising at a time when a large audience is assembled.

A man named John Palmer was yesterday brought into town by Constable Knapp on a charge of lunacy, and after examination by two medical men was committed to the Asylum of which he has been before an inmate, but was discharged a short time ago. He had become dangerous, and was chasing his mother with an American axe when he was fortunately arrested by Codstable Knapp. • Capt. Lightfoot, of the Nelson Eire Brigade, yesterday received from the Nelson Insurance Companies Association a cheque for £100, being the Association'scontribution for the year towards the support of the Brigade. Accompanying the cheque was the following resolution :— " That the amount contributed by the Association to the Fire Brigade for the current year be £100, and in future a sum equal to the contributions of the public to the Brigade in the preceding year (exclusive of Government or Municipal contributions) but not exceeding on the whole £100." As this is the time of year at which the public are usually invited to subscribe towarda the maintenance of the Brigade it may be well to mention that even by the exercise of the most rigid economy the annual expenditure of the Brigade (which now includes the Port branch) cannot possibly be reduced below £225. Towards this the City Council has contributed £25, and the Insurance Companies £ 100, so that it is absolutely necessary if the Brigade ia to maintain its present efficiency that the public should subscribe £100.

The man who laughs ia the fortunate Individual who sleeps soundly, for whom " good digestion waits on appetite," and whose nerves never trouble him. Happy he or she who is thus trebly blessed. When refreshing slumbers fail to visit your pillow, when your food tortures instead of benefiting you, when a sudden noise or the least excitement sets your nerves in a tremor, it is high time that you resorted to a remedy. You will certainly find it in Udodpho Wolfb's Schiedam Aeomatio Schnapps. — Adrt.