ORIGIN Of INCIPIENT FIRE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 715, 14 January 1910, Page 5

ORIGIN Of INCIPIENT FIRE.

■—} " DRAPER ARRESTED. ''.(Bs 1 ..Teleeraph.—Press .Association.) Alickiahd,. January ,13. . .;. An ! inquiry' was held to-davby the . City Coroner 1 (Mr.;T.';Gresham), into ;the. ;■ oiroumstances" bonnected with' in iicipi-; ' 6nt"fire ,that-.occUVred .in Queen ; Street on the night of November 19, in the shoj "of Falkland James MaoFarlane,;. draper, ; of , Queen. Street; • 'The inqtiiry.:was,'held without a jury. •• ;V Maol'arlane ;'was' t the ; first v.; witness examined. Statements made -by; him to ; the. .detectives were rend .and,' confirmed,by ! witness. : These : stated 'that-;USs^sticlt' and-'fittings:were.insured in' tho Victoria. Insurance . Office for Vi!looo.VSinee.vjurie , last ho had; notitaken.stock, :but 'he; valr. ued it.^at'£Bso. •'.Hist'business at tho Aimo Of; the' fire was not ■ paying,', and he had spoken ,to' an . agent! about<i selling" out. He'had'Bdught an assignedistqekat Hamilton (valued at>61100) ;for about JBBOO or .; .£9OO, and tho insurance on thia was in the . .Official-Assignee's, name;',-:A'fbe'.ec-curred, and . tntness; got no insurance money oii; this. was^not'in finanoial '• difficulties. : ; With'; regard'' to ;theYlast ;fire; witness' stated that;,on November 19, he 1 left'his premises, at 6 p.m., havihg looked ,up everything. 6afely. 110 returned .to , the shop about,'B;:a!m. r oh ,: November. 20. Some'. sheets 'of,.brown 5 paper, .were ing. up at tho foot of the stairs, I 'and,; so far las ;he;'Oould :'se&,;,4olhe. of that had been used to start a fire' with, Some ■ lcero-. . sene. and; methylated ..which,were kept in., a back room, had been used on : ,the; fire,,; and the'; staircase wall smclled . of kerosene. There .Was nothing 'missing from ;the shop,.; andr nothing/.was..v-:dis-tnrbea.. 'After the fire. he. had carried on .! business 'until; about; the : !middle : v of vDeV icember, ;.when he sold, out to Mr. -Porter, . of Newton, for. 13s. in tho «£< The sum: paid was somewhere about ,: He. ; estimatedthat,: in '.the''interim, -;he ", ; had' sold about .£IOO worth of stodc,- and had also replaced stock to- a 'certain extent, . but, not to.. the'- value of I what hey; had sold.;; Ho still retained the fittings (valued at about;: ;£100)( . and suras also paying rent for. the premises.. He.,had sold'out at .a considerable loss.--';- . The coroner found that Ma'cFarlane did wilfully attempt .to set fire to tho building with , intent to' defraud' ;tlie Victoria Insurance Company.. . JlacfarlaneV was subsequently ' arrested . .on a charge of .wilfully; setting fife to, the ■ premises. - He was forihally charged' be- . :tore -tho t magistratp, and :; i'Gm&naed on bail;until : Friday.,