THE CANADIAN FIRE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XLII, Issue 12822, 14 April 1916, Page 7

THE CANADIAN FIRE.

OITAWA, February 5. Canada's House of Parliament is a ghastly smoking mass of ruins to-night, and seven persons are dead. Official Ottawa declares that the calamity was purely accidental in its origin. Unofficial Ottawa, however, is,, to say the least, sceptical in that connection. With the completion of the disaster, men are beginning to ask for reasons and causes, and their seeking will not be satisfied with the finding of official Ottawa. This scepticism is not confined entirely to the man in the street, or to the seeker alter sensation. It is /'entertained by many of the most responsible members of Parliament and by citizens who see in the great conflagration nothing of sensation, but only a great national tragedy and an almost irreparable loss. Colonel Sherwood, head of the Dominion police, and in the present instance of "official" Ottawa, expresses the belief that no enemy hand had any part in the disaster. Colonel Sherwood bases the belief upon examination of the men "under him, who were present at the time, and he is sincere in his belief. But the vast majority of the members of Parliament,, and especially of those who were caught in the chamber when the smoke clouds lolled in, believe that tne same influence which guided the iron thunderbolts which shattered the "Cloth Tower" at Ypres. and the cathedral at Rb.eims controlled the flames which seared and shattered the buildings on Parliament. Hill, and with about a similar effect.

The men who were probably closer at the commencement of the fire than any other official of the House were Constable Moore and i Constable Helmer. A blaze on the lower shelf of the second stand of papers was the first intimation. Constable Aloore grasped the extinguished which hung on the wall, and which he expected would be effective in extinguishing the flames. But the first squirt of the implement had the opposite effect. Thereafter the fire was beyond control, and the black clouds commenced to roll back the valiant fighter.-:. ••Jt was not to be computed in minuus." said Captain Tom Wallace, who w;i« in the chamber at the time. Between the time that the alarm was given ami tht- time when the corridors and chamber were urffit for a human being to lieu in was a matter of seconds. No man can tell me that that was ordinary smoke, or that that was an ordinary fire." Now, the extinguishers which are used in the Commons are tested and refilled from time to time with the right brand of extinguishing fluid, and the tests have shown that I hey can extinguish with ease a fire much greater than that which first appeared in the reading-room. But where the effect in the tests of the extinguisher is to put out files, the effect in the present case was that of pouring inflammable oil or gas upon the flames. There would seem to be some leasou then for the suspicion that in the present case the implements had been tampered with.

What should go down in liistovy as one of tiit- most memorable .sittings of the' House ol Comniuos ever held convened at three u'clock in the auditorium room of tin l Victoria National .Museum. For the fitst time since Confederation, Parliament assembled elsewhere than in. the ruined House of Commons chamber, the scene of so much history-making.

The promptitude with which j'arlianient prepared to continue its work, practically without interruption,, afforded, as Sir Robert Borden stated in his speech, a good example of Canadian spirit and determination to proceed with the work in hand, no matter what happens. On behalf of the Opposition, .Sir Wilfrid Lauiier voiced the same spirit- and determination in declaring that the niembeis of the Opposition weie prepared to proceed with the business "at once" if neces-

Speaker .Sevigny, who is much affected l>v the death of his two guests, appeared tvithout his robe of office and called the orders of the day in a broken voice. When .Sir Robert Borden rose an iinpiessiw silence prevailed. Speaking de-iib>-ralely and with some effort as one wiiu had undergone a heavy strain, he said that the House Was meeting under unusual circumstances and in the shadow of a great disaster, which had taken the life ol i.ne member of the House of Commons. Mr H. B. La>v, of Yarmouth. Only a few hours befoie the disaster occurred. Ah Law's voice had been heard within' the precincts of the chamber. Sir Robert next referred to the deaths of .Madame Moriu and .Madame Bray, ol Quebec, who were the guests of the Speaker. The Prime .Minister spoke in warm terms of praise of .). B. \\. La Plante, the assistant clerk of the House, who perished, and expressed deep regret for the deaths of Dominion Policeman Desjardins and other servants of the House who died owing to their efforts to save the lives of members. Three of these men who had been performing their duty to the best of their ability had been cut off by falling debris. ' ••The appalling suddenness of the event of Thursday night." the 'Premier went on to say* "had impressed upon every member the danger which they had esca|>ed. It was hard to realise the awful suddenness with which the smoke and (lames had filled the coiridors. •■As 1 proceeded down the corridors on my wav out," he said, "the flames and smoke were rolling down the corridors in a most appalling way. They appeared to be accompanied by short, sharp explosions. Manv members had narrow escapes, and I ani glad that the loss of life was so small."'