The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1867.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 266, 8 November 1867, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1867.

-*—■*—»—■— ■Mi > wm ■ ■■■'■"'■■' " '■ '■ ■— ■ — *■—■■—■■— ■*■**■— wmm mm — m DISASTROUS FIRE. Nelson was last night visited hy the ■most, calamitous fire which has yet occurred in this city. A few minutes before 8 o'clock, the alarm hells rang out, and it having heen speedily discovered that the . Bceue of the' fire was theMnsonicHotel, an old wooden building at the junction of Hardy and Trafalgar-streets, the rebuildin<>' of it wliich had some time since beeu determined upon, a panic ran through the city,- the extreme danger to which property on either side of this particular locality was exposed being immediately apparent. These apprehensions were still further corroborated by the rapid progress made by the flamps,which rapidly cousume'd the very inflammable old building, and quickly extended, their ravages to the Bank Hotel (Mr Everett'^) on the Hardy6treet side, aud to the adjoining premises in Trafalgar-stteet, belonging to Mr Josephs, and only very recently erected by him. Within a very short space of time the fire had gained such an ascendancy that all the efforts of both the engiue of the Fire Brigade nnd that of.the Liverpool, London, and Globe Company seemed quite unavailing to stay its progress; and their efforts were rendered still more nugatory by the fact that for tho first quarter of an hour the supply of water was most meagre, and indeed throughout the night was quite insufficient to meet the exigencies of the caoe. Happily enough time intervened between the discovery of the fire aud the ignition of the west wing of the Bank Hotel, to enable the inmates to remove the greater portion of their effects,with avery large amount of the furniture aud stock, •and in this work they were most energetically aided by their friends, who worked right loyally to ensure, as far as was possible, the preservation of property. Meanwhile serious fears were entertained for the safety of the buildings on the opposite side of Hardy-street, including Mr Stanton's Store, and various other shops and offices, and indeed their destruction at one time seemed almost inevitable, for the buildings were smokiti«r, and nothing but the unremitting application of showers of water upon the roofs aud fronts prevented their taking tire. In the meantime the flame? were making rapid progress down Trafalgar-street, and the shop and extensive premises of Mr. Milner, draper, with those of Mr Barnes, outfitter, Mr Johns, pastrycook, Mr J. C. Phillips, storekeeper. Messrs ltentonl Brothers, storekeepers, and the shop and large warehouses of Messrs Black, Campbell, and Black successively became one mass of blazing ruins. On reaching the last-mentioned building, which contained a very valuable stock, considerable i fears, not unmixed with curiosity, were felt for A the safety of the large and handsome store erected \\ only a short time since by Messrs. Buxton and 1 1 Co., inasmuch as it was felt that this building I \ was the only barrier which could prevent. the cxi) tension of the conflagration throughout the entire ] ; block, and also because it was anticipated, and not X \ without reason, that the substantial character of \ I the building, which is entirely of brick, would be \ I satisfactorily tested by the exceeding fierce flam" .\1 to which It was exposed. The preservation of S ] this "store, and by consequence the staying of the if farther progress of the fire, was lowing to the ff parapet whica rises about four feet above the If roof of the building, and which, being formed en- | tirely of brick, presented no material which could ) be ignited by the masses of flame which soared to J its very strnmit. The fire, baffled in this direction, then made its way round to the back of the store, where lay some large wooden storeß, belonging to Messss Boston & Co., containing a quantity of gboeralniercbandise, with a large parcel ofkeroaSoe oil and gunpowder, the latter of which was tomnmlpds&y won after tbe alarm was, gtveo. jTbe tn-fihtram *•*■**" ooateato of Ob-ate stores 'excited

■ji iipi. iu—a— — taaa— — wtatw**" iwwln— imiiKb ira^wag— bbm fresh fears for the adjacent premises belonging to Mr Lightband and others, and it was deemed ■ advisable to pull down the office occupied by Mr Donald Sinclair, which determination, combined with the energetic efforts of those ' who were working the little engine, under Mr James Wilkie, effectually put a stop to the conflagration in that direction. For some time it was confidently hoped that the Union Bank of Australia, an exceedingly, massive brick building with a slated roof, would, like Messrs Buxton & Co.'s store, have presented an effectual obstruction to the progress of the flames in Hardy-street; but this hope proved to be unfounded. For though the strong brick walls of the building effectually withstood the intensely fierce flames whicii proceeded from the Bank Hotel, and which were now rendered still more furious by the ignition of the spirits in its cellars, it was speedily discovered that the projecting cor -ice of the bank/which, by the exercise of a most false economy,- had been constructed of . wood, now* afforded literally a ' coin o' vantage' to the flames. This soon ignited, and the fate of ' the bank-office was speedily sealed. The massive panelled ceiling soon fell in, and the internal fittings of the office and back parlor were all destroyed in an incredibly short space of time, whilst nothing but the energetic efforts of Messrs Lightfoot and E. Snow with others, at very considerable peril to themselves, saved the adjoining dwelling house from the same calamitous end, by pouring water incessantly on its roof, and thus prevented its ignition. The fire | was thus stayed, but the bank office continued to ! blaze for hours, and was at length gutted, the | massive walls still remaining almost intact, and i proving how different its fate might have been | had similar foresight been observed in its construction to that wliich had tended to produce such different results at Messrs Buxtons store. We hear that the bank books and papers are all put into the strong mom at the close of business every day. and it is almost certain that they are safe. The manager has, however, determined not to open the safes till all fear of firs has ended. The business of the bank, as will be seen from an advertisement, is now conducted in that part of the building which formerly constituted the private apartments of the manager. • Of the probable origin of the fire it is impossible at present to offer any conjecture. It is believed to have originated in a bedroom on the upper story of the Masonic Hotel, but by what means it was caused is shrouded in mystery, and looking to sundry suspicious eircum -stances, we cannot but hope that the enquiry into its cause will be of the most searching and unflinching character. We must not conclude without offering- our tribute of praise to the members of the Fire Brigade, who exerted themseves with much judgment throughout the night, and to tiie people generally, who assisted in removing propert3 r . and in rendering other aid. with a hearty sympathy which was quite refreshing. The following are the amounts in which the various sufferers were insured : — Union Bank of Australia: Imperial Company, . Mr D. Moore, Agent.— 3oo' I on the building, 3500/ on the bank and dwellinghouse, 400/ on the fittings, 400/ on fences and outhouses-, total 7500/. Bank Hotel. Mr Everett: London, Liverpool. and Globe, Messrs N. Edwards .*•!• Co., Agents.— 9oo/ on building, 450/ on stock; Victoria, Mr T. li. Fisher, Agent— soo/ on building; New Zealand, Messrs Curtis Brothers, Agents— soql on building. 300/ on furniture; 2650/. Masonic Hotel, Mr Trimble: New Zealand.— 900/ by Mr Field, on buildimr, 250/ on stock and 550/ on furniture by Mr Trimble-, 1700. Mr Thomas Milner: London, Liverpool, and Globe. — 1000/ on building, 50n/ on stock; Victoria — 500/ on stock; London and Lancashire, Messrs J. Uentley & Co., Agents— soo/; 2500. Messrs Black. Camphell, and Black: London. Liverpool, and Globe. — 600/ on building, 1500/ on stock ; Victoria— soo/ on back store ; London and Lancashire— sooZ; New Zealano — 1000/ on stock ; 4100/. Messrs Rentoul Brothers: London, Liverpool, and Globe.— 6oo/ on buiUing*, 3 ' I on stock; London and Lancashire — 500/; 1400/. Messrs Buxton & Co.: Victoria.— looo/ on the new store. Mr Johns: London,. Liverpool, and Globe. — 500/ on building; Victoria— lso/ on stock and furniture; 650/. Mr J. C. Phillips: Imperial.— 6oo/ on stock. Mr Donald Sinclair : London, Liverpool, and Globe, 25/ on building, 75/ on papers; 100/. Mr Stanton was also insured in the London, Liverpool, and Globe Company.