OUR LOCAL FIRE BRIGADE AND HIGH INSURANCE RATES.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1051, 25 June 1883, Page 2

OUR LOCAL FIRE BRIGADE AND HIGH INSURANCE RATES.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—ln a letter signed a “Large •Insurer,” appearing in your Fritlay’s issue the writer, while urging some very cogent reasons against the exorbitant premiums agreed on by a coalition of- the insurance companies and now charged, ogives our rlocak %Fiß.l a i just meed of praise-for Iheir'promptness’itf turning out -and extinguishing what might have ■proved a serious and disastrous fire, j While agreeing with hipi so far that la Volunteer Brigade, seeing that their 'services are ; fehderfed free, sboaldifit least ’have' those services acknowledged when 'deserved,! itrnuat. be admitted-• that; puti ilpcal Fire.; Brigade, are not.so.efficient;as, ithey might ]be, not from want, of wiljingr, inesa to work _or sufficient time to, ; practice, hiit from want of eufficienFplant,.' Our Borough ' Council’s and ’apathy Is- not at'iall 'to be commended, 1 iespeciallydnrelation to ’the-application for; la small grant of money in. .aid-of: the Brigade j. if contrasted , with; the :praiseworthy way the Hawera Borough, iGouncil have supported the Fire Brigade irecently formed;'there, the : comparison,judging by the respective amounts of money granted in each case, does not reflect 'credit: on Patea or its Councillors. I think, Sir, the, Patea;,public, .have given the ’Brigsde more support than the ißorougli Council, and such should hardly |be the state of affairs, considering that it is specified by the Actthatit is the duty ;of the Borough Council to, see to the {extinguishing of fire themselves, 1 in the event of no Fire Brigadb'being If Patea tradespeople are,in earnest-and wish to bring effective pressure against the unjustifiable demands of fhe Insurance Companies and lessen their at present high premiums, then it is clear the Fire Brigade should be made as thoroughly efficient as it is possible- they can be. And if the Borough Council won’t move in the matter, then those most interested should take steps to urge upon them their duty, and by so doing_hring about some satisfactory and practical result, and prove by showing an interest in the usefulness of the Bngade thernselves, that they desire to encourage and induce individual members to take proper pride and interest in it. It has been rumoured that one or our worthy Councillors .has given it as ms opinion that the Patea T.F.B. “ only go in for practice for their own pleasure. If that gentleman wishes to prove Hie truth of his allegation, let him just try a good ten minutes at the pumps any night the Brigade is holding a wet practice, and if he does hot alter his peculiar notions about the pleasure to be derived from handling the heavy and cumbersome engine now in use, it won’t be:for want of being well winded.—l am, &c. Phoenix.