THE Thames Advertiser. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1874.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1856, 4 July 1874, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. SATURDAY, JULY 4, 1874.

There has been another' fireiu Auckland, in the centre i.of oae of the best blocks of la, i Q iieea-stre,e.t, and.it'originated.like nearly all the previous fires in that city, ia a very mysterious manner, and was in all human, •probability; the: work .of an incendiary... But .fortunately tbie speading of the fire was arrestsd by. a private water' 'supply '. belonging;;' to ;; Messrs Thornton, ainitb, and Firth, whose premises are close by, and by the incom-bustible-nature of, the ■ buildings. But, the same thing may again 'occur 'Within a month in a block of buildings,; where., there private watoivisupply, and ; what, will"result"'? "V ."...' ;: . ;,;'. ~'%!, \"Since the commencement "of the career of Cyrus Haley, Auckland has achieved an unenviable' 1 notoriety for conflagrations, and' has l<mg fcoen ik

terror to the insurance companies. 11l thecaseof the great majority of fires .there.; it has never been doubted, or pewed that thev arose^tbrough'incendiarism, but still,the citizens cannot to take decided'& and:yigorous measures to;f>ufc:/d6wn;;the. evil, nor can they be induced to provide' _proper .means and facilities for arresting the spread of fire when once it_ breaks out. The condition of the City of Auckland in respect to a water supply is, as we have frequently pointed out,-a disgrace to the province,to the city, and to every resident ia Auckland. But the citizens are theinselves solely to blame for."this.conditioa of affairs, and if they, cannot ;b,e roused from their apathy and indifference in any other way, it would be wise and judicious on the part of the insurance companies : t0: decline all risk for a time within the'limits of the'city .'boundary. The place is really becoming too warm for them to accept, risks, in it, and they should withdraw from business until a plentiful supply of water is prpyided. % ;; ITo c atop" ! iricerldiarUnii 'or' • ratherfo' check ij;, and reduce, the. crime,.to,the 'gesb thatj the reoeucly made by us of hanging a few of the worst;! niiscrea'hts,]whebu'theicases.a"t , e clearly arid distinctly brought home to the offenders, is about the best;'•? policy that could be adopted, and the only one, in our estimation; which is likely to have any lading effect. The Auckland inceridiarie's-have la'tely'selected the best class of buildings in the city to operate upon, and seem to be influenced by only one feeling—the destruction of valuable, property. , "With them there, is no squeamish sentimentality, they do riot even cpmmitj'jeviijthalj ;good may come" through the improvement of the city, for lately they have left staudiug old; ; and shajties.-.wjiich,-are fast falling to pieces, and haveset in a blaze. The arm of the law has been'uVable' J they seem to hesitate at nothing. ,'Sp far there has been no loss 'of''human life, but we. have no reason to hope that it would be>spared if it stood in the way;of the fire 'raisers. I The first thing to be done is for the authorities f ta^e(v^pepisiV^aiid vTeitraordinary measures to discover the perpetrators of the crimes lately committed in .Auckland j_ and to make, such an example of the scoundrels as'will act.as a warning to others. In the the law might be changed, : giving power-' ft eerltence of death. in aggravated- cases. If this is n'ot done, we fear..that, erelong some of the people in the city" of Auckland will b'e burnt to death in their beds by the scouhdrels who nowdHfes6:'iKe r place'.i)i

TJhe fourth session meat of New Zealand was opened in Wellington with thg.jas.ual formalities yesterday afternooni' His Excellency's left Wellington under the impression that speech .will be found' inifulbin'=ourLlt'elegraphic columns. There were forty-eight 1 niembersof both Houses in attendance.His Excellency's remarks arelpfa_prac-. tical and less formal nature than we have been accustomed to on such occasions in years past, and the Assembly may be congratulated on<the f ;The speech opeus' with some very loyal remarks on the marriage of the Duke of Edinburgh/ and intimate's that an address of congratulation to be forwarded, to, her Majesty will be brqught befdre'tliem.' Since'the ! AV^tnbly' was" last prorogued his. Excellency has made himself acquainted by personalvisits with the circumstances, progress, and great natural resources of the colony v j Jn jljstnctsjwherej ftatiy.ejand Europeans are mingled his Excellency is pleased to observe " gratifying Bi'gns of mutual confidence and even of regard.'-'--On the subject of-immigra-tjon it was intimated that papers will lie'laid before the Assembly, from which members would gather all the circumstances 7 : in' ''connection Syitli< the selection and passages of immigrants. Mr Tlios. Russell is complimented on the succpssful'iriegotiation'ofi'tbe h'e\v mail service, the contract terms of which Will be laid before the Assembly. The approval of''New South Wale's'' 5 to the agreement for establishing telegraphic communication between the colonies has been received, and his Excellency hjopes measures will be taken to promote a. step, so important to this.colony. The peaceful.. relations with the natives form the subject of further; .congratulations. - Of ■-course- ■'! estimates framed with due regard to economy" will be laid before the House of Representatives. . It is satisfactory to hear from his Excellency that'there has been "a'' very' 'Considerable' increase in the revenue of the colony, sufficient, in fact, to warrant the. continuance of great public works''and ! immigration. The success of the Government system of, life assurance and annuities 'is andi J his '-Excellency's 'advisers' will submit to the Assembly a measure providing for a : distribution,of ..profits to policy-holders. Measures providing; for an. additional -electoral tion, and for guarding against difficulties arising from jdifferenceSjOf. opinion between'two braricnes~' of "the legisla'ture are to be introduced. There is also an intimation that through pressure of "public business the session is to be confined to urgent matters only.. [ The Premier introduced a bill for the abolition t of imprisonment for.debt, which it "was"' uWerstood 'the" prominent member of the Opposition, Mr T. B. Gillies, intended.,to bring for-, wa\'d. : ';The''biir'was "rea'd'a ! The Premier also, apologised for the dbsence of the x Hou. Donald McLean, on his Australian tour, and said he left under, thejimprpssion t the: House not meet before the' 16th July. ' A batch of papers,, having been f.received from the Government, >and the ;usual sessional committees.hUproposed, the House adjourned, until Tuesday. , r;