CHRISTCHURCH FIRES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13674, 15 February 1908, Page 7

CHRISTCHURCH FIRES.

PECULIAR CIRCUMSTANCES. HALF-CASTE NEGRO ARRESTED. PROPOSED FIRE POLICE CORPS. [Bit TELEGEAI'H.— ASSOCIATION.] CnaiSTcnt'^cifi. friday. . The city's experience last night leaves no room for doubt that incendiaries are at work in .Christehurch... .The -&s>■ that : six fires, so closely resembling one another in general character, should occur in one even.* ing ; § strong evidence of incendiarism, hut the: facts collected by the police and the fire brigade go further still. A man was seen running away from Mr, V. Harris' premises just as the fire' was first noticed. No one went in pursuit, the only observer, an employee of, the United Service Hotel, being more" intent on giving the alarm. A man was also seen rummaging among the rubbish at the back of the Al Hotel, by Andrews' shop, just before an outbreak of fire was discovered there. He also made off. ■ •'; .'•■ ;: -'. It is stated that one of the men suspected with the .outrages, a half-caste negro, was seen in the vicinity immediately i before four of the six fires this morning. '■'■ The half-caste was detained by the police, pending an investigation of all the circumstances and a search is being made for the man or men with whom he has been associated. Tho suspected man is understood to bail from .Wellington, but has been in Canterbury for some time. The police are disposed to regard the acts of incendiarism as stupid jokes rather than as serious attempts to start big fires. .They have warned the proprietors of hotels in the city, however, to keep a. watchful eye on such danger points as open yards and right-of-ways.

The fare brigade men toko a more serious viow of the position. "Itis no joke to the brigade," said Superintendent Smith to a Star reporter this morning. "We have been kept on the - jump ever since the big fire, and you have to remember that we have only two permanent men, the rest are volunteers. I have two men working all the time repairing hose, and last night the firemen got very little rest at all. The people who insist on keeping their rubbish exposed are'as much to blame as anyone." . Even the big fire itself, it is pointed out, wits first discovered just inside a door down a right-of-way. The outbreak at the Cafe De Paris last night was a double one, two fires being discovered in the back portion of the premises within ten minutes of each other.

Mr. J. F. Griereon to-day visited the Mayor, and suggested that a meeting of citizens might be called to consider the advisableness of forming a volunteer fire police corps, as was done once before in Christchinch, when a. body of 200 men. were sworn in to deal primarily with an outbreak of incendiarism. The Mayor has promised to consider the matter.

The half-caste who has 1 been arrested, has been identified as one of three men who asked Mr. Andrews for a match shortly before the fire was discovered at the back of the Al Hotel. .