THE DECENT FIRE IN LAWRENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14702, 9 December 1909, Page 8

THE DECENT FIRE IN LAWRENCE.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—The paragraph in your Monday's issue about tho fire in Lawrence on Saturday morning hardly sots out the real facie. I am quite satisfied tho lire originated in the okl building adjoining Übin Fooi's laundry and shop, owned by me. This is the fourth time fires liavo broken out in this old building, and nothing is moro patent than that it was per the medium of this building. that the attempts wero made to bum out and ruin Chin. Fooi. If the last fire originated in Chin Fooi's, as is suggested by your paragraph, how ia it that it took such a hold of tho old building adjoining, which had been guttod so often, and practically made u cowplcto wreck of it on this (the fourth} occasion? I understand that the police have a theory that the fire originated in Ohin Fooi's laur/Irv probably through careJc&s'iwss, and from there spread to tho old building adjoining; but it is easy to set up such theories to cover a, lack of vigilance on tho part of thoso who are supposed to keep an ey® on the party guilty of these dastardly attempts to _ ruin an unfortunate and inoffensive Chinaman. Any disinterested person who takes (ho trouble to survey the surroundings ran sec plainly that it was through the old building that this attempt wag inadc to drive Chin Fooi out of house and home, I am i heavy loser by the fire, as the insurance company some time ago cancelled my policy on account of tho repeated attempts made to destroy tho oid building adjoining my property. I would thank you to give publicity to my theory of the origin of the fire which has dono me, as well as Chin Fooi, so much injury. —I am, etc., Hugh Bruce. Lawrence, December 7.

-Ohma is the greatest snuff-taking country of tli-s world, and thero is a 'snuff «>nrP(w!S 0 , t3l( » r e t ' M . l fancy price of £200,000 a pound, which is handed round at the great banquets. Its high valuo comes ui this way The rich Chinamen buy the bulk of their snuff from Portugal where there are families owning private old-timo recipes, who soil their snuff Thin O M, rv P° und tothe Chinese. I hen tho Chinaman keeps it many years and the legal rate of interest being 32 S an TheVr thcoretical . vako soon M hShU f ! npSI2 Ca i rrj ' 14 1,1 beautiful .bottles of porcelain and agate, miracles art, which are worth from half a sovereign to £200 each. a the-pLv, f- , fICWS ln whlt ar « called No* Th«' ineS J?Pa "' ? mi Hl ° Wcst I » dics ' caSl « i l>lnCS ' a , ,08s ' S um K'ant of ai!a . (^ l5 > ""IT IS, iUK ' tropical ferns Ino7f Ti l° wholc "P a flnnnllft i [ a!T ' V ." 1 e splendour perhaps un* oquallcd elsewhere in the world. From the ivl™ until th| -' |a st <W o f My m 50 to ICO tons of (lowers aro shipped ! 0 1 ''n'-anco every week from (lie "flower arms, oven the humbled of which is a Sight worth travelling miles to see. — J.ho Whistling Girl and the Crowing ilen looked at each other anil burst out laughing. "We'll show 'cm!" they exclaimed as with ono voice, and then, with their heads in the air. they marched in, past any number of girls who couldn't whistle and hons that couldn't crow, and signed for tho variety stage at £50 a week. Time.; change, and what was a very sound proverb yesterd.-,v may have beixmie, by the progress of events, quite nonsense today.