ABORTIVE ATTEMPT

Wairarapa Times-Age, 4 March 1940, Page 3

ABORTIVE ATTEMPT

| ALLEGED INCENDIARISM IN CHRISTCHURCH PREPARATIONS TO BURN CHURCH HOUSE. ARREST MADE BY DETECTIVES. (Yly Telegraph—Press Association J CHRISTCHURCH. March 2. A planned and determined effort, to set fire to a big building in the city at some time last night had its sequel this morning, when an arrest was made by detectives, following on (he discovery by a caretaker of numerous bundles of kerosene-soaked paper strewn over the office floors of the building. The building was Church House, the three-storeyed structure in which the Diocesan Synod and Church Property Trustees have their headquarters, while private business concerns also have offices there. The caretaker of the building discovered on his arrival that a determined effort at incendiarism had been made. The floors of some offices on both the first and second floors had been soaked in kerosene and numerous bundles of papers soaked with kerosene had been left on the floors and passages. Fire had been started in three places, but only one. where linoleum had been badly burned over a small area, appeared to have started properly. In the other two places, the flames appeared to have gone out very shortly after being lit. without doing any damage. t/'

Detectives were quickly on the job. an arrest being made before noon by Detective Stewart and Acting-Detec-tive Ward, acting under Detective-Ser-geant McClung.