INSURANCES £2,500. Cambridge, March 11.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 350, 13 March 1889, Page 5

INSURANCES £2,500. Cambridge, March 11.

Cambridge undoubtedly is in ashes, as I telegraphed you on Saturday.

The total number of buildings destroyed is, 16 shops, 3 dwelling-houses, 4 shanties, and horse bazaar. The fire started in Bates's saddlery store, the flames coming out through the roof. Ifc was first observed by Mr Allen, who had come over for a doctor, and some citizens who were going to stavb early for Te Aroha races. The wind blowing from the east carried the lire along the street and fortunately away from the east sido of the street, which was on fire twice, but was put out by Mr C. Richardson with a baby engine, while tho front of the house is scorched up, and will require renewing. Grea f » credit is duo to Messrs Dillon, MeGee, Nixon and Gemill, for assisting Mrs Bates and family out of the house at great risk to themselves. Bates's stole and btock were insured for £280. The loss over that is heavy. Mr Ward, chemist, lost all, and had no insurance. Mr Sargent, jeweller, had £300 on his stock, but saved nearly everything. His estimated loss is £50. Mr Bond, printer, had £200 on his house in the Norwich Union, and lost £100. His stock 13 covered in the Imperial, and his loss perhaps will be £20. Tho plant and machinery were insured for £250 in the Victoiia oilice, but are untouched. McNoish's buildings were insured for £150 and the billiard table for £50. The table was saved. Clements's three houses were insured for £250, but cost £900. Hewitt is insurec^for £650 on the Horse Bazaar in two offices. Two cottages ; the loss on these is known to be £550. Neal's store was insured. Hewitt has lost £50 on his stock, which is not insured but is all saved. Neal had £300 worth of stock in the store, which was &aved by the exertions of Messrs Henry Wilson Bull and his sons. Ho reckons that £30 will cover his loss. Sargeanb saved his jewellery by having a lire-proof vault and also a safe made byJ. and J. Taunton, ot Birmingham, in which jewellery of value, money, paper and gold and all business books wero kept. The whole contents were practically uninjured and the jewellery wholly so. Nearly everybody who suffers speaUs well of the assistance rendered by volunteers in saving goods, but had any brigade existed even without water tho loss would nob have been haif so serious. The pulling down of one or two small buildings might have saved tho horse- bazaar and other buildings, bub no one was present ha\ing any authority, so everything went. The total loss by insurance companies will not be less than £2,500, and lucky they arc to get off at that The property destroyed is estimated at £10,000. On Saturday nitjht some one set fire to the gorse near Tamahere Bridge, on the main road, and the engineer had to put men on for the safety of the bridge, there being a lot of dead stuff round tho approaches.

THE INSURANCES. The insurances on the buildings destroyed in this conflagration appear to be remarkably small, the risk having been considered so great that they were not undertaken except ab a very high premium. So far as we can ascertain the Insurance Companies are interested as follows : — The South British have no reliable information yet, but estimate their loss at £500. The New Zealand Company's loss is estimated at £400, or under. The National has £250 on Sat gent's jeweller shop and Kinkard's store, and the Norwich Union has £200 on Bond's stationery shop. The Northern Assurance has £300 on Buckland s horse bazaar, but of this sum £100 is re-insured with the South British. The Standard has £250 on an iron building, which is supposed to have escaped, not being mentioned in our list of casualties. The Victoria is inteiested to the extent of £300, part of which is on Sargeant's stock, the Equitable has £100 on Kinkard's stock and the Imperial £100 on Bond's stock. Neither the Colonial nor Union offices were interested.