AUCKLAND FIRE BRIGADE ANNIVERSARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5395, 3 March 1879, Page 6

AUCKLAND FIRE BRIGADE ANNIVERSARY.

The anniversary of the Auckland Fir Brigade was held on Feb. 20. It took th form of a dinner at tlie Cook-street Hall the torch-light procession haviDg been dis pensed with on this oceaaion. His Worshi the Mayor (Mr. T. Peacock) occupied th chair, and was supported en his right b Superintendent Hughes, of the Aucltlan Fire Brigade, and Superintendent Mahon, c the JNewton Fire Brigade. Mr. Bashaa Secretary of the Grabamstown Fire Brigad< occupied the seat on the immediate left c the chairman, and Mr. S. H. Mattaews, ej Superintendeat of the Auckland Fir Brigade, occupied the vice-chair. Among! the other guests present were Messrs. Thorn] son, Fleming, and Buchanan, representing th City Council ; Mr. VV. Anderson, City Su: veyor; Mr. Superintendent Thomson an Mr. Sub-InspectorPardy, A.C.; Dr. Dawsor Mr. Irving, local manager of the Standar Insurance Company ; Mr. O. Mahon, Supe intendent of the Newton Fire Brigade Captain Butler, of the Salvage Corps, aud number of his men ; Mr. G-. Leahy, and number of others. The spread was elegantl laid, and duly appreciated, and after the r< moval o£ the cloth, the Chairman propose the toast of "The Queen, the Prince i Wales, a-id tte rest of the Royal Family, He also proposed the toast of " His Exce lency the Governor," and said although the had not yet the pleasure of seeing him, an although they were disappointed in ni being the first to welcome him to New Ze: land, he was sure that when he did oome the ■would give him a hearty welcome, and wis him every bucmbb in his new sphere,—Tl

Chairman then proposed the "Army, and Colonial Forces—Mr. Mahon responded for the Imperial branches of the service, I and Captain Anderson and Mr. Leahy, formerly a sergeant of Volunteers, for the Colonial Forces.—Captain Butler proposed t the toast of "The Mayor and City Council u of Auckland." He considered the present b Council had the full confidence of the B citizens, and although Auckland was J not the capital of the colony, it a was the leading city, and they _ had good reason to be proud of the position in which they were placed. From a fire- a man's point of view, he considered the Auckland water-supply the best in the colony. He also spoke of the efficiency of the Fire ( Brigade and Superintendent Hughes.—His i Worship the Mayor said he had to thank a them on behalf of himself and the Council 1 for the manner in which they had responded to the toast. He could assure them that it i was his sincere desire to discharge the dnties of his office for the benefit of all the ratepayers, and ho believed he might say the same for the other members of the Council. They were all actuated by a sincere desire to benefit the city. In regard to the fire department, he felt < sure the Council wonld give all the assist- i ance possible to further its efficiency, and they might safely calculate on receiving every assistance in carrying out their important < functions. —Mr. Fleming and Mr. Buchanan also replied on behalf of tho Council. —The Chairman then proposed the toast of "The Guests of the Evening.The Secretary read a telegraphic apology from the captain of the German war-ship Ariadne, dated from Taurauga, from Mr. _\V. Errington, Waterworks Engineer ; from E. Hollis, Superintendent of the Shortland Fire Brigade ; and Captain Murray, of H. M.S. Sapphire.—Dr. Dawson and Mr. \V. Auderson responded on behalf of the guests.—Foremau Knight proposed the toast of " The Insurance Companies." He regretted there were not more of them present, and commented on the necessity for increased appliances for tlie Brigade.—Mr. Irving (Standard Insurance Company) responded. He apologised for the absence of Mr. Pierce and Mr. Boardman, who were absent at Wellington, and for Mr. Johnson and Mr. Williams, who, in consequence of the "wreck of the Taupo, were busy forwarding stores and appliances. He complimented the Brigade highly on their efficiency, aufl said that although he had seen noarly every city exoeptTimbuctoo and Jerusalem, he had never seen fires more quickly extinguished than in Auckland.—The Chairman then proposed tho toast of the evening, "The Officers and Men of tho Aucklaud Fire Brigade, coupled with the name of their excellent Superintendent, Mr. Hughes." He referred to the former position of the brigade, when they were without a water supply, ftntl could only look on, or provoke derisive laughter. But now they had a good supply of water, and a well-equipped brigade able to combat any fire that might occur. The toast was drunk enthusias tically.—Mr. Suparintendent Hughes, in responding, thanked the chairman for the kindly manner in -which he had proposed the toast, and the company for the manner in which they responded. He spoke of the cheerful and ready service rendered by the brigade at all hours, day or night. He referred to the immediate loss of Foreman Ansell and Branchman Duggau, who were leaving the district; and, following up Foreman Knight's speech, he strongly adverted to the necessity for a hook-and-laddcr "carriage, for which he had been 4 i years agitating. He advocated tho formation of a fire police force, as in Christchurch, ia order to aid the police here to preserve property, and prevent interruption to the brigade. Ho also pointed out the necessity for having the Building Act carried out in its integrity, and said there were buildings in the city now which had been renewed, into which he would not, if a fire were raging, allow one of his men to enter. He recommended the appointment of an inspector of buildings, and returned thanks for the manner in which the toast was received. —"The Salvage Corps " was proposed by foreman Ansell, and responded to by Captain Butler, who proposed, "Our Brother Firemen, coupled with Superintendent Mahon and Secretary Basham," both of whom responded.—Foreman Knight proposed, in happy terms, "The Constabulary, coupled with Superintendent Thomson and Sub-Inspector Pardy," and they replied. —"The Mercantile Community" was proposed by Mr. Thomson, and responded to by the Vice-chairman and Mr. Buchanan. — "The Ladies," "The Press," and "The Host" followed in due course, and "The health of the Chairman" was proposed by Superintendent Hughes in eulogistic terms, aud responded to. This finished the programme, but other toasts followed, and the convivialities were carried on for some hours. We may add that songs were interspersed amongst the speeches in a very agreeable manner, and Superintendent Hughe3 recited "The ! Fire Rescue" with excellent effect.