SUSPICIOUS FIRES

New Zealand Times, Volume XLII, Issue 9610, 16 March 1917, Page 5

SUSPICIOUS FIRES

DESTRUCTION OF SAWMILLS SUGGESTED ENEMY INFLUENCE AT WORK.

Press Association. AUCKLAND, March 15. Seven fires have occurred within five months in sawmills in tho Auckland provincial district, resulting in almost every instance in the complete destruction of plants and stocks of timber. The mills concerned are;— October 16th—White Pine Company of Now Zealand, Naumai. October 20th—Gibbons, Tangowhine. December 2nd —Bagnall Bros, and Co., Auckland. January sth—Edis and Burnand, Hamilton. January 12th—Leaf, Mangaturoto. February 20th—Woodscy Allen’s mills Dargaville. March 10th—Northern Timber Company, Huntly. A suggestive and even suspicious circumstance is that in every instance tho mill was engaged either in the manufacture of butter-boxes or tho production of timber for tho purpose. At present the export of butter for troops is a matter of so much importance that tho coincidence has given riso to speculation as to whether there may not be a conspiracy engineered by enemy agencies for the interruption of supplies. Tho origin of all tho fires is mysterious, but it is a remarkable fact that in several instances tho outbreak occurred within an hour or so after tho suspension of work for tho day.