THE Evening Star. PUBLISED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1880.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3634, 19 August 1880, Page 2

THE Evening Star. PUBLISED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. THURSDAY, AUGUST 19, 1880.

Not the least important of the many measures at present before Parliament is that intituled " The Fire Prevention and Fire Brigades Act," introduced by Mr E. J. Stevens, member for Christcburch. The Bill places the duty of extinguishing fires on municipal councils, and authorises them to maintain a force of firemen, proTide appliances for fire extinguishment, etc., out of the. municipal funds or by a fire rate not exceeding one penny in the £. Clause 16 provides as follows :~" Insusurance companies insuring from fire any property in any city or borough shall collectively pay pro rata annually to the City or Borough Council, by way of contribution towards the expenses of carrying this Act into effect, a sum not exceeding one-third of the entire cost incurred by the City or Borough Council for fire prevention purposes during the year, for fire prevention : Provided that the payment to be so made by the fire insurance companies, collectively as aforesaid, shall not exceed a rate of one and a-half per centum of the premiums received in respect of property in the city or borough during the year, less the amount of all reinsurances Ipaid biy them in respect of the property on whioh such premiums have been received.' 1 It is also provided in the succeeding clauses that the first payment shall be made on the last day of March next year, and that overdue contributions shall be esteemed specialty debts, and recovered accordingly. To the Council is entrusted the appointment of the superintendents and fire in • spectors, and these officers are endowed with great powers in the exercise of their, duties at fires; and any buildings damaged by orders of a fire Inspector will be deemed to be damaged by fire within the meaning of any polioy of insurance against fire, anything in such policy to the contrary notwithstanding. Clause 12 gives; Corporation power to enroll salvage corps, or fire • police, each member being sworn in before a Justice of the Peace, who at fires will have the powers of a constable. Provision is made under clause 14 for all hotels,: lodging-houses, etc., of two.or more stories being provided with fire-escapes, the amount of the penalty for non-compliance with the section being a sum not exceeding £20. Taken on the whole the measure is a very useful and necessary one, and the trifling defects existing in it as it now stands will doubtless be remedied before it becomes law.