THE CAFE CECIL FIRE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 719, 19 January 1910, Page 8

THE CAFE CECIL FIRE.

INQDIRY AND YERDICT. ; "A DELIBERATE ATTEMPT.", BY SOME PEKSON OS, PEBSONS , .■'■'.':■'•.■'■'; / UNKNOWN. :" v ' .'■ '.'' '_ .: (By Telceraph,—Press AssbciatlonJ .' ';'■'■■■.... -~ CbristchuTch, Jaauary 18. /The inquiry; into - the firo at .the Cafe Cecil-buildings early oritthe morning of January 4 was resumed.to-day before Mr. Bishop, SM., and a.jury, of six.. ...In'his evidence, George Neugescirwinder, proprietor bf,Cafe Cecil, said'he Valued his stock 'aid /fittings .at from J61300 to ■£1500.";-.. The furniture was / insured 'at and the stock ' at ,£IOO. -',He; had been' doing well in business, but before the fire had- received, notice : to leave., He had a ten years'-lease of ,thef, premises, and no :reason'-.had' bean., given. -for-the notice 'to quit.'--'Tie lease,; he,'was ,toldi was .an/invalid one;'»He was giving up business in those premises in consequence of the notice to quit../ -';., : .'.--. ; ...,,.-,.,,;/.'■:

~;Clirjstiana Mearns, dentist's assistant, . employed by H. D. Whitehouse, in Hereford Street, saidsho was sleeping oi'the premises on the;night of January 3, and her, room overlooked the Cafe Cecil buildings.: At 2 aim. she was awakened by a fire in the building,-arid rang up theibrigado. About August last an attempt had been made -to burn ; doivn the building now occupied by /.Whiteiouse,, which,- she understood. was part/of .the same .estate as,the Cafe buildings;/- ■' /."../, William Collie, partner in .the Cafe Cecil business,, said that'' the '■' leased was fiomP. J. (Grace, of' Wellington. Tie rent was £ZQ lis. M. per month,„and the Vent was.always, paid in '.advance.:' The business was very profitable, and had had a substantial bank credit.;, On" January 1 he left for Mosgiel, and heard of the.fire while''ho/was-in! Dunedin: •'.. ;No motor' spirits, or kerosene were /.kept", in .lis • premises./.,/:' -/; •■■'■■;'■■, ■'...'.-..;•• . >- ; :■'■"'■ ..'-'. • ; -Alfred Faux/liftman at the, Cafe, 6tated that :.'ho; was employed-, by; tie owner.of the building, ana had been; in.his present position for,, about fourteen -months. ; No-' body slept pn'the: premises. On the, night of January 3 he,turned alLthe lights,put after, leaving -Neugeseiminder's. bicycle in: thp■ lift,; according .to custom. , He- slammed the door'when'he left-.the-building,-; and /as'; far : as he knew ■ Neugeschwinder. was tho.only person,'remaining './oh:- tho premises..; He knew nothing,about/the tin of benzine and boots! found-on,the'prem-ises.;./-:! . .-:"'/ ',',',.;• '//'//"■:■;/-,.•.,'.-.;,://-

.;Bva'.Hamilton,/'dentist's'.assistant, '.'in . the .employ? of'. ; ;Mr.-Goy'en,y said ,Goyen' ; left shortly before 'Christmas "on a holi-. day-trip...to; BunedinV.:: She: was 'the. last in the- building- on December,3o..to;let in two men, who were doing -some cleaning, work.,- The . men left in the .after-, noon and she ' then. locked up, ' leaving everything safe and 'intact.-- She did 'not. Return, .unffl, January - -4, after! the,'fire,' and found, that'some of the furniture had .been removed, from one room to "another.' She -knew."nothing:of the .tin ,of motor, , spirits.dr the box; and thp knives found s on-.'the premises, aiter/.the fire. : The ar- : tides..were: not,there when- she. left, on December 30.'',Tho.holes-in:the door and in ■ the .wallsi of-, Goyen's.: room: were' also made after, she:had;left on':December. 30. , ; Superintendent :Erck's;; Statement/ . Superintendent ■'Ihxk,:.'of.'..the:.Christchitrch Jfiro Brigade,- saidxwhen ■ the brigade arrived', the ■ buter;' door y was'. found' to:bo, locked, ;and,.was'forcbd!open;:;The .fire .was iin-.tho outer"'V'waiting-room'-', of the pT-emises. occupied by; King and Goyeh, and,was between 6omo; ; articles of-furni-ture; which.; had'been soaked. ; . with '.petrol' or. benzine. _' A' bicycle .lamp,':still 'alight,, was if bund', in-one. of '.the;' rooms,: "also'.ia'. tin of motor.- spirifa'and anj';empty.'box in which tho tin had been parried., ;Tho holes;had been,bored through the wait-ing-room; door ;to' allow, the door/ to be opened. 1 In his .opinion,';,'a 'deliberate attempt. had been mado.' to; set. fire: to ■' tho building.' r 'V.; .;,, ';'..>■' ;■;■, ,'■'■'-.■","•:' •''.. ': V. .GoyeK dentist,'- stated that on '■ December ; 23 '.last ,'he ; -wont'-' to.-Duh-edin.lfor.; a "holiday.-" He?' returned■ . on January i.: He.'had no knowledge;bf tho .origin, of ,the : fire.; ,His furniture and instruments were insured for .£2OO, but their valued was''weir,over :'' ' Bichard.Raines, King, dentist,' said he left. Chrisfthurch''before Christmas, and returned; on. January A. , ■ His,.furniture' and. instruments were insured-, for;' £3oo, and; he valued them at about' .£soo.■' " .Herman VLewis, "of-.Wellington, ' stated that'in; Angust, 1906, he had agreed';to advance;!?. ; J.. Grace,' .£BOOO Vat-'B'. per ."cent 0n.,, the building aiid other, -properties. Grace left. New Zealand, .la'stiiyear,, and he, had;-previously: entered;- into "-agree'ments with Collie rand '.'Co; aid "Goyen .for leases, of their - rooms.'v.v'Jrace -'collected- the rents,:'a'nd' apportioned rates, and , ; when,. Grace- left- he ' (witness),' .'as moregagee m possession, hadr, collected rents.,. . He; ■ had ■,' never, foreclosed, • for K, h . a « hoped -to'get.'his ,i money, back, ,but; he .would have,- to' do .sbmethin"' before long; Ho had had "to ■ pay ground rent, and other expenses,."and';the -total mdebtedaKs :to,;him'.was "about .£13,000. The; ground rent,was J31250 a year, and insurance mo.:i :As ;it;-stood' at-.-piesent me security .was not'.a good one.'; „■

r.--:He 'ha^p^iaW>the ; :gobdwiri : of ; ; the lease :from,C;r.C.'Sommers; and *had paid bommers £lsoo iu.cash arid '.£2ooo' worth of.: Empire .Hotel'; shares.' :' Th o shares TOiF^.M.'Par,, but. now .had' fallen in value, a There was also ■ ground"-'rent ,to P a ?;,.'At present the revenue; from .the building -jas just -about meeting >exd P™fs- : ; The-lift -had been improperly ■ used,, and ,was .giving a lot of, trouble and, an consequence of .breaches 'of/.tho lease he, had decided-to,give. Collie.,aid h \*% h f B ,i to • ' : He : not: think he had told .anybody, he was losing 41000 a n year,.on.tto ;: ..buiiding, i He:;,could not say :what his exact' 'loss-, was. He was the person: who had control of : the building. Sommers..had.:no, interest -in the property, and never had. "After the fire companies, who had insurances cancelled v „tho;, policies, but ..he 'had-since' made arrangements foi\'. reinsuring.; the property. -, He '-.did > not the policies had..beenCconcelled. i.The build! nLl^i''-J- red ■ forV the h^iK M -^ O WW ' but there. was a condition, that no:more than;43soo iiT surance, ■ should, be -'.placed 'oh InT> D ro gerty. - builo^'should - P he destroyed.ij.would'haveTto. .according jto -the 'lease; could .not -berrebuilt :for the -amount of tho insurance - money. The rentals » ■ £1600 » year.:; According, to. the lease the nw; building 'to. in tbe event of-fire would have' to be of a valul of .not less than 44000.: ,'■- :■ '" : 'S Harris, 6on ; of-Maurice HarnV a lease of the property- held bv Johii lei he property to Sommers;owho i?l9M' relet to,K; J.. Grace, of ..Wellington. , Somniers's original Wwas'for 38 jS ' f;J; ■ G ffi ca - through: Herman Lewis. The ground ; rent- payable- by a /,i n tte ' a e tt /|teet properties ...totalled year. The Cafe Cecil .buildings had been insured for 47000, and had'cost from; 48000 t0.49000 to-erect cciUd only, account ;for the ; cancellation of the policies that there had been, three out breaks of fire in the building. If: the building were, destroyed, .Grac? would'. be theman who;.would have to rebuild .'

auestion by the' Maflistrate. J ;The Magistrate: Can,you suggest' any, reason why!: it-, should be profitable to .burn this place-down?V; ; -, ■ ■'; : Witness:-Nobody.interested in the property if the .building were destroyed,. Some, of the. tenants 'might benent.....lf.:the■ place had : been 'burnt down.while insurances were off, Maurice Harris.would be called on to rebuild. ■ . Edward.-John,.Hides,':.jeweller, ■■'■said he .rented, a shop.in Cafe... Cecil . buildings originally from Grace, but afterwards re-' ceived notice tb pay: rent: to the agent.of Herman Lewis;,mortgagee. Ho paid 428 a month for. tho premises, but had so far failed to, get, : the :lease',.signed,, and for the: last four months had not paid his rent,, with tho object of 'inducing, the owner to sign a lease. . Ho did not-know .why the.leaso had not been;signed. His stbek was.insured for 43000, but he-had received" no: : notice. ;that\tho policy was • to ;be cancelled. ;.■:-.', ,:,;.■' ,:. ' Charles.C. Sommers said, ho first started business in 1880, bri the site'of the .present Cafe Cecil building.'■ He, afterwards purchased.a lease, of the property, which included tho building -fronting Hereford : Str'eet, from:Mauricf Harris. „He paid notliing for ' the. lease,' which .he sold ;'to Herman Lewis in 190G for 41500 in' cash, and .£2OOO wortfciOf'Enrpire/Hotel Bharea,

Wellington. , Before selling to lewis, he had sold the lease for .£I6OO and bought it back again for j£l7oo. The transfer .of the lease was made out to P. J. Grace. Ho repurchased the lease of the Hereford Street block from Herman Lewis in 1908, for which he paid .£2OOO worth of Empire Hotel shares, and he held,the property until May, 1909. Ho had no.keys belonging to the Cafe Cecil building. On the night of the fire he was at home in bed. He could give no reason why an attempt should be made to burn the building down." V . ■ ••• ■ ■-. ' .

Evidence regarding insurances was given by '• clerks in the offices that 'held. risks on "the building. One statid that the insurance money would have been paid to Brough ton's trustees and Maurice Harris. In some cases it was stated tlie policies had'.'• been cancelled, either the first or second day.after a fire. One olerk stated that his" office cancelled the' policy on account,of the risk of. incendiarism.. ';.:,

j;A Detective's Evidence. Detective Eade' said that last. August a'i fire. took place in - the Hereford', Street premises; part of the . same',property, and there;wtis also a fire in the right-of-way leading from the' Hereford Street building. '.::.' :.;'-■ ■:...': • Detective Bishop: -You remember some 12 or: 18;imonths ago receiving .word' that an" attempt was', likely '■ to be made to burn down the building?, -.'. ,

Witness: Yes.'. The.warning came from a firm of solicitors in Wellington. .; And the building was. watched' for- a considerable period by the police?— Yes. And W attempt was made?— No.' ; ..Continuing, witness said a close watch had .been kept on the building since the last attempt. .:-....:.;.. ... i In'repty. to the .magistrate, Detective Bishop said that since the inquiry was first "adjourned,: every effort had been made by .the police to probe the matter, but up to,. the ' present without result. The information from Wellington was followed up, and the.'.reason given by : the solicitors .''was that difficulty., was being experienced in properly running the build? ing, and f they. .were, afraid that It' might be,-burned down .'before'' the . insurances were secured.' -i . :,'..-. }"■;.■:'<

Herman;. Lewi- said.- that : Mr. Dalziel,' bf;"Pmdla'y,. Balziel, and Co'./ Wellington, -had j.told . him, there 'was , difficul§ , in; getting^tho l .place .covered, and'.he was afraid' soni'e dissatisfied party might.set ■ fire.. to' th>»'. building..-..' Lewis , added: that there, had: been Va good deal: of ..local jealousy <rver the-building, ,because it had been, iput-.'-np'. ,by. a Wellingtori architect and a:jWelhngton;owner.,. • Constablo Carney : said he was on the High Streat;beat.on-:the noghtVof the fire.: He triedthe doors of.the building at midnight, aiid..fo'und ; them locked.-.He visited the;premises. at frequent intervals afterwards; ..and'saw,nobody about. , At' about, 2.20 a.m. he noticed ,a light in the window.. ;''■ '..-',V.- „ '-..' ;.. ?:.,.:^

: .This concluded- the,evidence. ',',', ■"',' The 1 Magistrate's Remarks.. "The magistrate said it seemed to him a matter:of very, great .regret thabso.reck-.-less and■' impudent -an attempt to, destroy the. building and- property, or a number ofpeople should not have been sheeted home to. some,; person., or persons. "As, it: was, there, was,no evidence of any person having sufficieat. uiferest. in the. property to burn- thejiplaco down. He would direct the jury's.attention to,oine point,.namely, that. the. ad:;' must have been 1 perpetrated by somebody .who, had .habitual, access, to' the: place. 'pointed .to. 'that. The outside;.'doors were untouched, - and i must have'jbeen entered by some person having .complete . access ' to'-. the', building.' to. a certain, extent,, .but .beyond that it'-seemed..to l him: it ■ {was impcissiblo, to go.. He,, therefore, regretted, arid, the jury, would regret with him,■ the.'nejrativo nature of. the 'inquiry. Still, such,inquiries vfere.,always:useful,, however negative.the'result;might be, because they..jshowed/,people, that any. act of fire-raisiri;j\would-be subjected-to l the. closest, and searching: inquiry. 'He did .riot tbinlc-the jury<would'attach very much:' importance to the .'suggestion, thrown, out '{by Herman .Lewis that ever since the building :was>put. up,attempts, had been made to burn it down for business rea50n5;;'..',..:,...-.' ~ ~;• ,;'■■ . v ..• | Herman Lewis: No. : .': . The Magistrate: If I didir't imdeistand that,from yihr'l'.don't unaerstand English.' I don't' want, .to ; suggest, anything not, strictly,.fair,,or just, and .if I mis'undersbjodyou I;am:pexfeotly'wiUiiig'to pnc'it right|j;,':; '■;■:•■-.'. ■■:_■■-! ■..-,■<■,. ■.-■•; ,_:■ ;' Herman liewis: Three attempts bo burn the. buildingl down, seams ■ very . straneo. doesn't it?: ; su;/; ,;■.\:'.,.'.- ~: ~„ . ; .The Magistrate,:.Xou.suggest.th'at local people: wantei to burn.; down .this phice because; it vtas"'owned',-and l erected ■ byI people.,o,ntside..;Christch'urch;'..,■' ';' -'.: v,;,-:,' ; :.^-, : ,:,,i;jj.The, Verdict/::':'X:': ; ,,';,v, : ' After., a; ehcirt retirement the jury re-' turned a' verdict..that; there''.had .been a deliberate attempt.,-made- to, burn , down the, High Stniet Chambers.by:some perIson or jpersoiis unknown, ;A. rider' was ..added; conuheiding, the-practieai:;acti6n of Miss- Meaihs in: so: promptly giving. the alarm to (the fire brigade. ■■~''' '/■".'■