THE FIRE AT DUNEDIN.

Southland Times, Issue 654, 8 April 1867, Page 2

THE FIRE AT DUNEDIN.

(From the Dunedin " Evening Star.") It is needless for us to reprint all the facts which have already appeared in print concerning the dreadful disaster of last night. With the limited space at our command, we prefer to give our readers such additional information as we have been able to gather. To obtain this, no inconsiderable amount of enquiry hajs been necessary, inasmuch as the only parties who could possibly afford reliable information as to their estimated losses were necessarily difficult to find. During the whole of. the, day the scene of the fire has been surrounded by hundreds of spectators, some attracted by curiosity, but the majority being more or less evidently interested in the discovery of the 'whereabouts of either their own or their friends' property, removed during the excitement, and lost sight of. So far as we have seen, we believe that the utmost care has been taken of everything valuable, and from what we have learnt to-day we. would wish to. re-assure many; who failing to at once discover their j property, believe it to be utterly lost. For instance, the slates of a billiard table, certainly not very portable articles, were carried all the way from Mr West's music shop to the Shamrock Hotel ; and we believe that tbe prevailing desire to remove everything as far as possible from the fire has, in many cases, only temporarily deprived those unfortunates who were burnt out of their property. Considerable anxiety has been expressed to learn the losses occasioned by the disaster, and also to what extent the respective parties concerned were protected by the local Insurance Companies. A meeting of the agents of the various companies took place at noon to-day, at the office of Mr A. Hill Jack, the agent for the Victorian Fire and Life and Marine Insurance Company, and to that gentleman's courtesy we are indebted for the following particulars, which we be- ! lieve describe, as near as may be, the whole of the insurances effected, or otherwise: — The Octagon Hotel. Building owner, "W". Meluish, Liverpool, London and Globe, £750. The stock &c, owner, J. Harding, nil. Jago and Co. Octagon Timber Yard. Stock, nil. Law, Somner and Co., seedsmen; Building, the Eoyal, £500. Stock, Eoyal, £700, and London and Lancashire, £500. J. M'Neil Simpson. ' The building insured by the trustees in Johnstone's estate in the Victorian Company, £300. The stock ... &c, by the tenant* in - the Otago for £200. Estimated loss, £500. A. and '£. Burt. The building, for £200, and the stock for £900, both in the New Zealand Company.. Grarret and Co. The building, in the New Zealand Co., for £150. " : . f ; , Herbert, Haynes and Co. The building, in the Liverpool, London^ and Globe, £500, and in the Eoyal, £500. The stock, in the Australasian, £1000; tbe Royal, £1500; the Otago, £500; and the Victorian, £500. r • : ; ■J 7 Peterson and M'Leod, The building, in the New Zealand, £900} in thA Imperial, £600 [ and in the Boral, £250. The itook, in ths New gteaUsi, £300 j in

the Liverpool, London,;a6id (Gfiobe, £750 ; in the Royal, £250 ; and in the Otago, £500. V:;- i '- r\- r^-- : : :V- : ,. Messrs Patersbn and iM'LeqjL also owned the adjoining; buildings,; occupied by Gj E; i West and Mr De^Maus. The px&b shop is -insured in the Imperial for and' it and the latter^ are. j also jointly insured in the Eoyal for £300. Messrs Paterson and M'Leod's stock is insured in the Liverpool, London,. and Globe for £750, in the New. Zealand for £300, the Eoyal for £250, and the Otago for £500; but we learn from them that"* ijtaeir stock, which has been augmented by purchases- within the last day or two';" exceeded] in'ivahie; « their insurance by about, £2spQ v „ r ,. . - „,,,,..,* | Mr "West was f - insured in the' Australasian Company for £1,000; but, notwithstanding all his pianpfprtes and most , valuable 1 musical' instruments are sup- ' posed to have been saved, the loss he will suffer in his stock of music and. books is „ Roughly Estimated 'at £2,000. ' I Mr^amesßeid, chemist, had his stock, \fhich he values at £750, insured in the ]^oyal for £250. The building was uninsured.- -; :••-:!",:■::. .:■"..■ .• ' ■ ■-„..'■% ..-■ • The.Theatre.Epyal, the property 'of Mr' P. Barker, was uninsured. V 1 The Criterion Hotel, belonging to the same owner, was insured as follows : — The building, in the New Zealand for £800 ; Liverpool, London, and Globe for £1,000 ; the Victorian, £250 ; the Otago, £250 ; the Imperial, £500. The stock wjas insured in the first named company :h for £400. ;, , , „, i The small Boarding House attached to the Hotel round the corner in Moray Place, and the shop occupied by Mr Johnson, the plumber,: both the property of Mr Wilkie, were insured in the Otago for £300, and in the Australasian for £200. ; Mr Johnson, who estimates his loss 'at about £200, was not insured. ; Mr "Wilson's ironmonger's shop, where undoubtedly the fire broke out, belonged, to, Mr Meluish, and was insured in the Liverpool, London, and Globe, for £300. The stock was insured in the Victoria, for £800 ; and in the Australian Alliance for £500. Qn. the easterly side of Princes-street,, the" losses have : been sustained more by damage caused by the intense heat than by actual destruction by fire. The South '>■ Australian Hotel and adjoining shops: are insured in the Otago for £1700, of which amount, £700 has recently been re-insured by the Company in the Victorian Co., and probably_ less than £100 " will replace the windows, and renovate the exterior of the buildings. The tenant of the hotel, Mr CM. Ware, estimates his loss, through hurried "removal of stock, ; &c, at £30, but he is not insured. Messrs Culleri and Key, who occupy one of the adjoining shops, have* a : stock ' of i about £1400 or £1500 worth of furniture, and they calculate that, through r the blistering of the polish and other damage caused by the heat, it has deteriorated about thirty per cent in value. They are insured in the Victoria for £1000, ; : : , ' r ; Mr.C. Begg, whose; music warehouse was entirely destroyed, had his buildinginsured in the Northern for £250 ; but we are sorry to add that his stock, including a valuable organ,; was entirely uninsured. , The .adjoining buildings, occupied by Messrs Scahlan Bros!, were uninsured, but the: stock "; is protected by the 'New Zealand. Company, to the extent j of £300 The building, formerly used as the Town Board offices, and vacant, is insured in the Eoyal for £400. . , .", . . -, ; Messrs ; "W. Gregg arid Co-s store is ■ insured iri : the Eoyal for £300, whilst the stock hasibeen covered to the extent of £500 , in the New Zealand ; and £600 in ■}. ■. the Eoyal. . ;. ;: . ; , The" "Building . occupied by Messrs; Schnack arid' Co. was insured in the Australasian for £350, but the stock iri trade was not insured. ; ' Mr "W. Sinclair's shop was insured iri :> the Liverpool, London, and Globe for" £400; and the stock, most of which was . saved, for £400 in the Eoyal, and £200. , in the Australian. " The two shops occupied by Dr Crawford and Mr !F.' Tofield respectively, the property of Mr John Logan, were insured for £450. Dr Crawford's stock was insured in the Victorian for £250, and Mr ; Tofield's for £200. On the nprthern side of Moray place, opposite the Criterion Hotel, considerable; damage was done to the shop tenanted by Mr Webb, oil arid colorman. '" The building is not insured,but the stock, tp the extent of £150, and the furniture, ; v £50, are insured in the New. -Zealand l Company. The adjoining premises, op- < cupied by Mr Low, saddler, are also ; injured/but we could learn nothing con-" \ cerning the loss, which, however, is iin- - : insured, : l -v- r -~- ■'■/- - ; vj Amongst the various incidents ., connected with the fire, which we s have heard recited, the follbwirig is : w6rihy of note,namely, that Messrs "W. Gregg arii Co., only completed their priricipal insurance : late yesterday afternoon. - i