ANOTHER EIRE IN NELSON.

DESTRUCTION OF THE OLD WINDMILL.

A iittm beforo 9 o'clock yesterday morning, tho old windmill, in lower Trafalgar-street, occupied by Mr. gcott, carpenter and builder, as a carpenter's shop, was discovered to be. on fire. When the fire-bell ra ni*, the flames were seen bursting from all the windows of the central tower, which like the rest of the buildiHg, was of wood. The lower: part of the structure, from which the tower arose, was still intact, add before the fire reached it time was allpwed for the men to save a great portion of their tools, and also some of the wood work which was in the under part of the building. The wind, which was blowing strongly from tho South-east fiercely funnel the flame, and within little more than half-an-hoiir from the time the fire-bell rang, the buildin* was consumed. Fortunately, there was no houae otiW lee-side of the fire, and the adjacent buildings, which were to windward, and only a few feei apart from the burning windmill, were by the efforts of the fire brfcatfe, and the steady application of water from, the engines, saved from destruction. The tower fell m about twenty minutes after the fire was discovered ; and so thoroughly was it consumed by reason of the force of the wind, that only a few erubers were left to foil into the burning mass below. A number of people assisted in removing timber out of the rench of tho fervent heat which the fire threw out; but, considering the large number of persons present, far fewer engaged in the warm work than under the circumstances might fairly have been expected. ' *' , The origin of the fire is we think not far to seek. Adjoining, and within ton or twelve feet of the roof of what was the basement storey of tho windmill, stands the steam-engine shed, tho chimney of which,—an iron pipe—is only a few feet above the level of the roof of the lower storey of the windmill. It is most probable that a spark from the chimney settled on the shingles of the roof or the side of the tower, and was fanned into flames by the fierce wind which was then blowing, and which soon set the whole edifice, as dry as tinder from the late hot weather, in flames. Mr. Scott was insured in the New Zealand Insurance Company for £800 j the damage will be about £300. The destruction of the windmill causes the loss of ff hot has long been a well-known landmark, and a picturesque object in almost every view of Nelson. "We would direct attention of those in authority to another chimney of the same kind, attached to a Bleam-engine, in Upper Bridge-street. In case of danger it is a'mistake to be actuated by false delicacy, and therefore, we do not hesitate to name Avery Brothers' turning establishment. The fires of such engines are generally fed with shavings, turnings, 4c?, and from these, especially in high winds and with the creat draughts which they occasion, live sparks are carried a considerable distance, with an effect of which no doubt we have had an example this morning. Had a spark from Mr. Avery's engine set an adjoining house in a blaze, where, with the high wind now blowing would the flames have stopped ? There is a close compact set of buildings all the vray down Bridge-street, and with such possibilities it is necessary that some authority should be exercised. Whose business is it to see to these things ? It must be either that of the Board of Works or the Provincial Government; and one or other of these bodies ought |o look to it.