THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1894. TEMUKA FIRE BRIGADE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2722, 9 October 1894, Page 2

THE Temuka Leader. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1894. TEMUKA FIRE BRIGADE.

The relations between the Temuka Town Board and the Temuka Volunteer Fire Brigade are somewhat strained, if not altogether rent asunder. The position is this ; The captain had an undertaking from the absent chairman of the Town Board that expenses incurred $t fires in hiring men to assist at pumping would bv defrayed by the board. This point was to our own knowledge discussed at a meeting of the board and unanimously agreed to. The brigade was to hire men, and the Jtown board was to pay. No one ever objected to this plan until the last meeting, and the expenses incurred at the fire in the Royal Hotel were paid agreeably to this understanding. At tha last meeting of the board, however, the fot was raised that it was not right to authorise another body to expend money unless the heard had control over such expenditure. This looks plausible on the surface, but when examined critically it will be found to be delnsiye nonsense. Certainly it is right that the board should | control the expenditure of the funds i entrusted to its core where such control I is possible, but th ; s i< not on an occasion of a fire. First of all, the board cannot be said to control expenditure unless the amount is voted at one of its meetings. How can the board do that ! Are tho, members gifted with prrroycnif. faculties,! so that at every meeting they will be able to tell what fires will occur during the mouth and know exactly what sum to vote for that purpose ! They tiro very clover, no doubt, but wo shall not concede to them the gift of prevision without exhaustive proof of its possession. It is true the board could call a special meeting to vote a sum for extinguishing a fire, but the process would bo rather slow. Clause 11 of section 30 of tho Town Districts Act lays down the law for calling a special meeting. Tho chairman, or three members of the board, should in

writing requisition the clerk to call a special meeting; then the clerk should give o each member seven clear days’ notice of such a meeting before it could be legally held. In this way, of course, a .special meeting could be held, and authority given to hire men, seven clear days after the ringing of the' firebell but what would the fire bo doing in the meantime. The members, of course, will say that this is ridiculous, but the answer is it is the law. They cannot control the expenditure of money except by a vote taken at a meeting of the board, and to take such a vote is impossible in the case of a fire. The contention of the board, therefore, as regards expenditure on fires is ridiculous, because it is impossible, except in the way it has been hitherto exercised. The board can control such expenditure only through the captain of the Fire Brigade, who is de facto an officer of the board, and who might legitimately be entrusted with discretionary power to do the best he could under the circumstances. Nor should the captain be closely restricted under such circumstances. He ought to be vested with plenary powers to do as he sees fit, for all depends upon immediate and decisive action. The fire will not wait; the captain has not time to count up every penny he is to spend, and on the principle that “ a stitch in time saves nine,” so a little spent in arresting a fire may save thousands, and we feel certain the ratepayers do not grudge what is spent on such occasions. That being so, the board had no right to decline paying the expenses of the brigade at its last meeting. It ought to have paid that at any rate, even if it was found desirable to make fresh arrangements. The refusal to do so has led to very undesirable complications, as will be seen by the correspondence which appears elsewhere, but we must also say that the brigade’s action was hasty. The precipitancy of the brigade in throwing up the sponge before the ratepayers knew anything of the dispute cannot be commended. The brigade before taking such an extreme step ought to have sued the board for the |sutn due. We are perfectly satisfied judgment would be given in their favor. There is no reason why it should not, The board, through its chairman, authorised the captain of the fire brigade to employ men to assist in pumping at fires, and undertook to pay expenses thus incurred. A fire took place in the Royal Hotel, and the expenses were paid, thus establishing a precedent. On the strength of the authority thus given and ratified, the captain of the fire brigade employed men as usual at the late fire, but the board declined to pay. There can be very little doubt that the debt could be recovered in a court of law, and if the brigade sued the board they would have the sympathy of the whole town with them. The refusal of the chairman of the town board to guarantee a single sixpence in the event of a fire was certainly irritating, but not sufficient to justify desertion. People who went to bed on Saturday night believing that they slept under the protection of the fire brigade will not at all feel very much obliged to them. They ought to remember that they owed to the public some consideration. The best thing the fire brigade can do now is to withdraw their resignation. If the board refuses topay, then suefor the money at once. We have heard it said that the new board is not responsible for the acts of the old board. This is bush law with a vengeance. If this were so the new board could repudiate the liabilities of the old board, but the argument would cut another way. If the new board need not pay the debts of the old board, then of course those who owed money to the old board need not pay the new board. The thing is nonsense. Change in membership does not make the slightest difference as regards incurred liabilities. We are extremely sorry for what has occurred, and we believe the whole town regret it also. The brigade was a very good one, and had rendered excellent service in the two late fires, and the parsimonious manner in which they have been treated is not at all creditable. Let it be remembered that the members of the brigade do not receive pay when they attend fires. It is not on members themselves that the expense is incurred, but on men who are hired to assist in pumping and who are paid one shilling and six pence per hour. Now we think that instead of this cheese-pareing the brigade ought to be paid for work done at a fire, and we feel sure ratepayers would not object to it. Putting aside the hardships and risk to life and limb which they run, they give their time to the public and the public has a right to pay for it. In other places fire brigades are paid, and certainly it is only right that they should be compensated for their labor. Some five years ago the board passed a resolution to give £25 a year to ♦he brigade towards its maintenance. To this the r^a<^e was entitled, but as they did not want they did not ask for it, and we are told ?QVCtal years subscription is still due to then!. We think the public ought to take the matter up and insist on the right being done. A statement of the 'euift* pajd to the brigade appears elsewnere,but what cleauod the wells, bought hose, and found other necessary appliances I Before passing judgment on this we must wait for the brigade’s account of the expenditure.