Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1879.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 636, 26 February 1879, Page 2

Poverty Bay Herald AND East Coast News Letter. PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1879.

In our issue of last evening, we published a code of bye-laws, framed in accordance with clause 342 of the " Municipal Corporation Act, 1876." The powers held by the Borough Council, under this clause, are very considerable, and before they are made to become force of law, require to be well discussed and thought out. The first clause of Bye-Law, No 14 will, if passed enact, " That from and after the coming into force of this law, it shall not be lavf al to use in the erection of buildings, or the construction of walls and foundations any material other than stone, brick, concrete, or iron, within the following limits of the . Borough of Gisborne, viz. , both aides of Gladstoneroad, from its junction with Read's Quay to Grey-street, and to a depth of not less than two-and-a-half chains on either side." It will not be necessaiy for its to state that, as a general rule, a building constructed of stone, concrete or iron is a greater safeguard against fire than one built of wood ; but it must not be forgotten that buildings of stone and brick have been subjected to conflagration in the towns and cities of the Colony, quite as frequently as those built of wood. In almost all cases a fire occurs inside and not outside of a building, and when once a large body of fire accumulates within walls, no matter of what material, it is difficult to prevent its spi*eading to buildings adjoining, and so extending through an entire block. The walls of the Bank of New Zealand were constructed of solid brick- work ; yet a small shop in flames, like that of Mr. Adams, was sufficient to utterly destroy the timber work inside and render the brick work instable. In Auckland, in Christchurch, and in Dunedin the most destructive fires have been in erections of stone and brick. Therefore, these materials cannot be said to compose fire-proof buildings. The argument in favour of non-inflammable materials being used for shops, stores, and dwellings, is that the insurance upon them would be taken at a veiy much lower rate.

This is quite true, but then it cuts in another way. A building of wood, which costs £500, would, if constructed of stone or brick, cost £1,500, and however great the reduction made for this class of bui 1 dings by insurance companies, the increased value of the property to be covered would tell on the insurance against the reduction made in the risk. People living in small towns, doing a business only in pi*oportion to population, cannot, unless in exceptional cases, afford to build of brick and stone. Iron walls and fronts make a building in extremes of heat and cold almost uninhabitable, and no one cares to live inside of iron walls. We, however, quite agree with the enactment contained in Clause 2 of the Bye-law. This says " That it shall not be lawful to use shingles or other combustible material for the roofing of any new buildintr, or the repairing or renewing the roof of any old building within the following limits, viz : — "All that portion of the Borough of Gisborne, commencing on the intersection of the Town Boundary (near Adair's New Wharf) with the Turanganui River ; thence following the Turanganui and Taruheru Rivers to the intersection of Roebuck Road ; thence along said road to the intersection of Aberdeen Road ; thence along Aberdeen Road to its intersection with Herbert Road ; thence alonsr Herbert Road to its junction with Gladstone Road.; thence along Gladstone Road to its junction with Roebuck Road ; then along Roebuck Road to the Town Boundary ; thence along said B»undary to the commencing point. " There will be few, we think, will dispute the wisdom of this bye-law. The great fire which occurred in Gisborae, some fourteen months ago, would not have happened had the Masonic Hotel been roofed with iron or slate. The old dry shingles lodged a few sparks flying from a distance, when with an hour, a valuable block of business premises was lying in ashes. We hope clause 2 will be enforced without a dissentient voice ; but we cannot wish to see such a sweeping change made at once, as that 1 all new buildings, however, small or large, shall, under foi'ce of law, be constructed of such costly materials as those named in the first clause. Fires will occur in spite of all precautions. Those who have the local Government of large towns and cities know this, and they endeavor to meet such contingencies by providing ample appliances for extinguishing a fire when one occurs. The people of Gisbome must pursue the same course to the extent of their means. Without this is done, neither brick, nor stone, nor iron, will act as a preventive.