The Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1879.

Temuka Leader, Volume 2, Issue 148, 24 May 1879, Page 2

The Temuka Leader. SATURDAY, MAY 24, 1879.

Tim inquest over the burning of a thmshing machine at Winchester belonging to Mr Mein in April last deserves more than a passing notice. In the first place a certain party’s horse (Mr Mein’s) wore shoes nl licit, when walked over the ground, ioft similar marks to that left after the fire by some horse. Scores of horses might leave similar marks, and bo it ■ br/ rvnd that, a horse leaving the machine

! : u; hm-.-.o ov.-.r rfii- wmiio Uwk iuhi-jn. <>.' tr> . ‘its.*: ought n.i£ to be I i?c same ; I. is evidence in this insfiuc-r., in our oi'i"i"U, is therefore wort des-a The witness Taylor, on wiioiu hangs the qm-s----tiou of whether a horse lm< 1 visited the machine at all, said lie hoard a horse coming- from the direction of the Kakahu. We may inform our readers that the road referred to is one of four which cross each other nearly at right angles, the Winchester Hotel being at the junction on the west side. Taylor’s house, on the cast side, is about a chain from the road. Taylor saw;, while in bed, and as from his evidence,'’ apparently asleep, he heard a horse come from the direction of; the Kakahu. Now we would like to know how Taylor could make himself so sure whether the horse came from the Kakahu or the Orari. Where ho had slept js two to three chains from where the Kakahu road joins the Main South road, yet this witness seems so acute a hearer that ho discerned, even when sleeping, that the horse came from Kakahu/: Few would be prepared to trust so much to their ears even when waking as to swear that a horse two to three chains oil was coming from any certain point of the four roads, more especially as between the Orari road and the Kakahu road. The evidence of (his witness (had Mr Mein been wise enough to empKy counsel to watch the case) could, in our opinion, have been very easily smashed to pieces. We comment thus upon the evidence because a case of suspicion was made out by it fastening blame on the owner of the machine who "had insured the same in the usual way. As regards the negotiation for insuring there is nothing in the evidence to show any hurry or even the least anxiety for insuring, on the contrary, it is seen by the evidence of Mr Sims, that a letter was sent by Mr Mein not to insure, while the referees, Captain Cain and Messrs Russell, Ritchie and Co., gave it as their written opinion that their was good value for the sums named, and recommended the proposal to be accepted. It is to be regretted that Mr Mein did not take some steps for his own protection. However anxious we may bo, and none can feel stronger the wish that the guilty parties in fire-raising should be brought to justice, yet we are as careful that blame should not be fastened on an innocent man, and it is for this reason that we have commented upon the case as we have done. As the Coroner truly sahl there was a horse, but who rode this horse'? The horse referred to as Mr Mein’s the owner says was in his paddock that night, and that ho could prove that ho himself was in his own house that night ; if this is so it would be well for Mr Mein to take steps to clear himself. It is possible, even hinted at, that some one took the horse fiom the paddock, and that some one, thinking to do Mr Mein a good or a bad turn—we are not prepared to say which —rode the horse, set fire to the machine, and returned back again with it to the paddock, as indeed it is rumored that some one was seen going back to the Kakahu with that horse early on the morning of the lire. This is a serious matter, and we feel it to be our duty to carefully consider it, seeing that Mr Mein was not given -an opportunity of explaining several of the points raised. There is another matter in connection with this case of fire-raising. Wo must condemn the inquisitorial procedure of the insurance agent, and we must object to taking the public money in order to hold an inquest to put any insurance company in a position to refuse payment of a lost debt. It is becoming too common for insurance companies to try to get flaws in policies so as to prevent them from drawing cheques on their account. We have no sympathy with agencies in this matter. We arc most anxious to put down incendiarism, but it is chiefly because of the danger it brings to the life of the leagues. Public journals are not paid to protect insurance companies. Every lire almost brings scores of new insurers, and why should these companies expect to bo exempt from loss any more than trades ? If a stop is not put to this raking up of all the correspondence that passes between an insurer and the insured in order to pick a hole, it will entail the employing of a solicitor in any case when a man pays a premium. If this goes on there will bo little safety in insuring property of any sort —better be done with insurance companies altogether’. The case of the fire at Winchester, if held fertile benefit of an insurance company, should have been held at that company’s expense, not that of the colony.