GREAT FIRE IN TAY STREET.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 66, 31 October 1864, Page 2

GREAT FIRE IN TAY STREET.

■-+— Invercargill, while .we write, is experiencing her second Great Fiee, and the destruction of her property to the amount of thousands upon thousands &£ pounds sterling. Is this second costly lesson to go unheeded bye, aud not arouse the inhabitants, the town, one and all of us, to the absolute necessity — nay, the almost sacred duty — of maintaining an efficient fire brigade ? In all truth, this morning's ruins go for very little, if we yet stand idle. Just before going to press,' at three o'clock, the dreadful cry of " fire !" was heard resounding in the stilly morning air, and in a very short space of time the whole town was alive with excitement and fear. Towards Tay-street, the memorable scene of our first great conflagration, all eyes were turned, for there, the heavens were lit up with a glare which too truly testified to the ferocity of the flames which were there raging. Arrived at the scene, we discovered the flames issuing from that building in Tay-street, recently occupied by Messrs. Clarke Bros., and more recently by Mr. Moses. This building adjoined the splendid newly-built premises! of Mr. ' Kenneth M'lvor, and was only separated from the dispensary of Messrs, Hatch and Hayes , by a right-of-way of some 12 or 14 feet. To attempt to limit the ravages of the fire to the building in which it originated would have been fruitless, and it was not attempted. The premises of Messrs. Hatch and Hayes, how- ; ever, demanded the most serious attention, and with the persevering efforts of the police force, assisted by as many of the inhabitants as could conveniently get access, a continuous pour of water was applied to til© walls exposed to the intense heat, and after over an hour's struggle, the. progress of the flames was finally arrested in this direction. Not so, however, with the premises of Mr. M'lvor. By half-past three the whole of this splendid pile of buildings was one mass of flames, and at four o'clock, the whole had disappeared, with the exception of the bearing piles. ' The most serious alarm was now felt for the safety of the whole of Deveronstreet, because to save the intervening buildings, viz., the house lately occupied by Dr G-rigor, the Globe Hotel, only lately erected, and the shop and dwelling house of Mr. G-oodwillie, was utterly hopeless. So all the furniture and goods in every shop and house were removed by the willing efforts of — by this timehundreds of our commiserating citizens. Great fears were likewise felt for Mr. M'lvor's dwelling house, behind his pre T . mises, bnt as we write the fire nearest this ; place is waning in intensity, so that its safety is almost certain. The water which is being constantly poured upon it will . likewise . tend to , preserve it. After the shop of Mr. Goodwillie caught fire, attention of course was instantly directed to the Deveronstreet houses. The large, stores of Me3srs. Cochran, Granger, and Black wood were in imminent danger, but there being a pretty wide right-of-way, the efforts "made on its behalf were successful, so far as at present known. Here the limits -of theatre appeared to be arrived at, although had there been the slightest breath of wind ' blowing at the time all human efforts would have been unavailing, in our present circumstances, to have saved the whole of this portion 6f Tay and Deyeron streets. The inhabitants on the . opposite sides of both' streets were' oW served talcing the necessary precautions' to avert the fire from crossing. ,-..• : Of course, we cannot at present pretend to estimate the damage done, but inasmuch as goods to a heavy money value were said to be stored in Mr. M'lvor's premises, the loss incurred in this^ one building must be enormous. ; • Great-praise is due to the Police 3?6ree, r directed in person by Mr. ■ Commissioner, Weldon, for their great arid; persevering exertions this morning. To the inhabitants, too; rtnapks .are -also due .for their efforts to save ? the property of their fel-low-citizens. ■; - Lasfc'of all, to the sufferers, the"warm sympathy of every .one is this day-given.! , .;.-. „.,-■ ■.• .'-tn .-■.- ;>•: „;-_. .<...--..^ So far as we, have yet learned, no accident nor loss of life has occurred, and- the origin of the fire is yet a mystery. ,- '-In our next issue we shall add fuller details. ■

' A summoned meeting of the members of the Loyal Shamrock,. Eose, and Thistle Lodge, ] M. U.I. 0.0. F., vrilltalfc place this evening, at . eight o'clock, in the Lodge Room, Esk-atreet. A meeting of gentlemen in favor of the formation of a Southland Cavalry -Corps, was held on • Saturday afternoon, in the Southland Olub Hotel. » J,»,CArey,Sßq.,vai««»UedtQtiUoQhair« Acfaowaton

ensued on the most desirable mean* for organising,, the corps, when, 'it -was s agreed that a memorial -~ ', | , should be got up~and^ signed by all those n\ fevor v % |^ of the movementV for s the. purpose of being for- - warded to His Excellency' the Governor, and praying that their services might be accepted. A sub-committee was appointed to draw up a code of rules, to be submitted to the next general meeting. Tfao meeting- -was in iavoy of at OHCB appomting'adrilTinstructor,' bu6 'it -was finally determined to let the" matter stand over still the feeling of the out-lying distrcts had been tested. From the' manner in which the movement is' being j " carried out, we hope soon to chronicle, the fint sdrill meeting of our volunteer cavalry corps. The weeldy meeting of the Local' Committee, ia connection with the New Zealand' Exhibition, will be held a's usual this afternoon at four o' clock-in - * the office of His Honor the Superintendent. A* the meeting last week lapsed for want of aquorum, it is to be hoped that -will bo a good attendance there to-day ; and the more especially since thft , time at the disposal of the Committee in connection with this most important matter is Meeting rapidly past. As the specified time for holding a local Exhibition 'in Southland 'ia co near.! at hand, we would wish lo impress on intending exhibitors the desirability of forwarding their articles to the Secretary, at the Government buildings, without further delay. The Nelson Examiner pays the following grace- " ful tribute to the memory of Mrs. Hobhouse, thd wife of the Bishop of Nelson : — " A gloom haa been cast over the town by the death of Mrs. Hobliousc, wife of the Bishop of Nelson, which took place yesterday morning at about five o'clock. Mrs. Hobhouse had been alarmingly ill several days previously, but the symptoms which afforded the most grave apprehensions to her friends had t subsided, and she had, on Monday, given birth to a still-born child in apparent safety. She spent the night peacefully and awoke refreshed, but shortly after waking was seized with a suffocating spasm, which proved fatal within a few minutes. ■The immediate cause of her death was disease of the heart, brought to a crisis by child-birth. Mrs. Hoblioase was -universally beloved and respected m our Those who called her friend, knew not whether most to admire her sweet and gracious bearing, her constant, unobtrusive kindness and consideration for everyone but herself, her bright intellect, her tranquil r wisdom^ |her catholic charity, or her earnest faith. She was, humanly speaking, the perfect Christian ' lady, and -leaves ' behind, among aTwide circle.of sorrowful friends, a precious image that time can never efface." The Pastoral Times (Victoria) says :— " Upwards hof alf a million of sheep will "be skorn this season "within thirty-five mile 9 of Deniliquin. Wo expect from this to have 1,250,000 pounds weight, Or r ~ 4,166 1 bales of washed wool, which will occupy "297 bullock drays to convey it to the Echuca railway." Mr. Torrens, v.riting from London, on July 26, to a friend in Adelaide, says :—" On Thursday last the South Australian Real Property Act, as adapted for Ireland, was introduced into the House of Commons by the Honorable Colonel Herbert, . (formerly Secretary for Ireland,) _ the JRiglit; Honorable W. Monson;".; 1 and Sir Coleman V O'Loghlen. It has been ordered to bo printed for circulation among members, and for their consideration during the recess." This is the first instance in which colonial legislation, has been adopted in the mother country. r • ' ' "" * x ' The Lytteltan Time's',' in advocating tha meeting of the Creneral Assembly, prefaces an ably written 1 article, with the following pertinent remarks : — " The South musfc take in hand the management of public affaLrs._Thi^_is the decision jit jrhich all settlers in this Island have arrived within the la3tfew months. It will not do any longer to " pay and be silent." The bowmay,be bent too far; the most^ wonderful patience may be too severely tried. TZren easy-going ' Canterbury settlers may be roused to call to account a Government that is leading them. on the road to ruin, lhe meeting to be held in Christchurch to-morrow night will come to ft unanimous decision as to the necessity for a meeting of the General Assembly. Other Southern Provinces will make the same demand ; and we cannob suppose that, under the circumstances, cither Sir George Grey or his advisers, if he has any, will venture any longer to deny to . the people of New Zealand their constitutional* rights. Although it is true that in 1863^ an ap- ; propriation was made to' meet expenses for 'two years, this appropriation cannot be supposed to justify the adoption of a new policy without consulting the representatives of the people. To raise money under tke Act of 1863, and to spend it after the fiasco, of 1864,_i3 analogqu^o^obtaiuing and spending money, under false pretences. The Assembly must be called. ' The Otago Daily Times says :— " Wednesday, the 9fch November, -being the birthday of His Boyal ,- # Highness the Prince, of Wales, the members of ' the Order of Foresters intend honoring the occasion by a pic-nic excursion- to the' Heads, for which purpose the steamer Bruce ha 3 baen chartered."* In reference* to this,^is it -possible that our citizens, after their recent holiday-keep-ing, will feel disposed to devote another day to general rejoicing ? "What Ao they 'say to &nolh<»i? trip to the Makarewa? Of course the railway cannot any more be had for free excursions, but doubtles* , a successful pleasure party would avail themselves of ]the opportunity of thus honoring the birthday of our future King. It would be curious, too, in the after history of the province, to look back to the fact that the Srafc traffic receipts on the opening of our railway system, were drawn on this auspicious occasion. ' ' Beautifully executed stereoscopic views of the triumphal arch, recently erected over Esk-street, may be inspected at the photographic rooms; of Mr. Ross, in the Arcade. < Those .who wish to possess some souvenir of the opening day of the railway, could not do better than become possessed of one of these -elegant specimens of the arfc. ' - '"" { f ~~~ The Army and Jfnvy Gazette does not approvV^ of the recent awards of the Victoria Cross in New^C^ Zealand, -and complains that the standard of the order has been lowered and widely departed from. It says : — " The last oiieer -wiio received it is well known for his courage, but we submit that an ordinary exhibition of courage does not entitle a man to the Victoria Cross.-or'an act of humanity, or the display of presence o£ mind. P«* rate Yosper tells us how he and the officer in, question were reconnoitering a party of New Zealand savages, when a party , ot\ them who had been reconnoitering Yoip«» v and bis. companion much mow $oi9ntia«lly wl

closely, sprang up from the fern and rushed upon them. Did the Paladians " charge" them" ?' No! They very properly turned and" jbde away; :Doii; Quixote, Amadia de Gteiul, Philip Sidney, Baysas — any knight, fictitious or real,' would have given either of them the accolade. But Vosper in his flight was thrown from his-hprsel, ;The jofficer: missed him, turned round, caught Vosper's horse, helped Vosper to mount," and then rode away •with him again. .' Fifty painted warriors,! as the late Mr. Wright would say, were, whooping and firing at them when r this-, took place. They were very near, Vosper says, butit is'evident they were too far off either; to shoot Vosper or his horse or hia saver. * The Maoris are pretty good shots at short distances. They were 'so near,' that Vosper and his saver had to ride to get away. Pray, how far, can any one tell' us, might that have been ?. If a horae doea nob move, 1b is nob a remarkably rapid means of locomotion. No doubt ; the colonel whose 5 deeds are set forth in the. ' Gazette,' merited the V.C., but we demur to the. caption of the warrant, and object to the bestowal of such a distinction on the grounds set forth by private Vosper, of the Colonial Defence Force." Saturday was marked by the occurrence ; of one of the severest gales which have been experienced here for ] sometime past. We are glad ;to state, however, that no lives have been sacrificed ; but the damage done to property has been considerable. Early in the morning the strong nor'-wester blowing set the bush on the Gf-overnment reserve at the north end of the town in a blaze, which, so far as can be ascertained, was originated by a tree which had been smouldering for some time previously. At ten o'clock, the gale not: abating the least, the fire ttssumedalarming dimensions and spread before the breeze with great rapidity. Its proximity to town, likewise, aroused the liveliest apprehensions of impending danger, which was greatly enhanced \>y the dh'eotion in "which, the wind was blowing. It became a matter of serious moment, too, with the occupants of the tents and houses along the reserve ; but the continued ravages of the fire left them no alternative but to prepare for the worst. They accordingly set about removing their goods and chattels to sections which had been cleared of bush, and then directed their attention to pouring bucketfuls of water on the buildings themselves to ensure their safety. Despite all their efforts, however, one large tent caught fire and had to be destroyed at onco. By three o'clock in the afternoon the fire had travelled nearly half a mile — the tall pine trees sending on the wings of tho breeze from the one to the other sparks of fire with great rapidity. A great number of the trees being dead, or partially 80, trie fire liad nothing to sto,^ its progress and as the burning embers fell amongst the dry scrub, on tho ground, the whole bush quickly became a mass of fire and •moke. The police were early on the scene, to render assistance, accompanied by Mr. Commissioner Weldon. As the Clinton Mill tramway was reached a fortunate lull took place, followed by an equally fortunate change of wind into a more westerly direction. This had the effect of nearly allaying all apprehension for the safety of town property, although during the previous part of the day, sparks had been carried to the very doors of some of the houses, and even over a3 far as the Cricket Ground itself. The house of our worthy letter-carrier, W. Steel, had a very narrow esoape, but, thanks to the efforts of the police, the danger was successfully, though with great tronble, averted. All his furniture being removed to an open section, water was poured continuously upon the building, and this, with the cutting and clearing away of a portionof the timber adjoining, eventually saved the house from the flames. Similar precautions had to be resorted to to save the house of Mr. Campbell. Several more families were preparing for the approach of the fire, and had removed their furniture ; but, as we before stated, the wind sent the flame 3in another direction, and partially reassured them. We learn that one person sustained a fracture of her leg in the excitement of the occasion, and that two moTe had been severely burnt ; but of these latter we have ascertained nothing positive or authentic. As the fire was now progressing towards the sawmills, the police took the precaution to warn the people, but as the evening wore on the gale died away to a great extent, so that they were comparatively safe for a time. The scene throughout the day, and especially in the evening, was a very impressive one, and the extremely rapid manner in which the flames run up and down the trees, and spread from the one to tho other, accompanied by bright towering flames, lit up a scene of great beauty, which, was greatly enhanced by the dark background of the sombre pine trees around. The greatest praise is due to the constabulary for their watchful anxiety for the safety of the live 3 and pioperty of the inhabitants, and when one views the scene of the fire, with the numerous habitations around, he is struck with wonder at tho narrow escape which many have had. Rain at last, however, quieted the gale, and as the continuous shower fell the people had the satisfaction of knowing that they might retire to rest with comparative security from danger. The alarm which has been occasioned them, however, may occur again, and it'is to be hoped that some rigorous precautionary measures will be taken to guard against future danger of the like nature. A fire so near the town will always be an object' of terror to the inhabitants, and the high winds which 'so frequently - prevail here increase tenfold the chance of a serious conflagration in the town itself.