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Wellington Independent, Volume XXVII, Issue 3121, 11 February 1871, Page 2

We have much pleasure in reprinting elsewhere an account of the public recognition given by the people of Lyttelton J to the tire brigade, for tbeir services at ihe late disastrous fire. Such a public acknowledgment must bo gratifying to every volunteer in a fire brigade. Nor can we conceive anything more likely to cement society together than the grateful acknowledgment of the generous self-sacrificing spirit which animates these noble volunteers by the community at large, conveyed in a public manner through the highest civic authorities — the Mayors of Corporations. On such occasions the duties and responsibilities of a common citizenship are freely acknowledged by all classes of society. All for the moment realise that they are, or ought to be, iu some sense, members of a fire brigade. Not having the leisure, the physique, or the aptitude for training, the unenrolled volunteers of society seek to make up for "being noneffectives, by contributing by the weight of their influence in the social scale, and by the dignity of their public offices, no less than by their voluntary subscriptions, to the support and encouragment of a great public institution, in no country in the world we .believe (with a few exceptions) do the inhabitants of cities generally so cordially realise the common bonds of citizenship as in New Zealand. Those who voluntarily undertake arduous duties for the common good such as volunteers, and fire brigades, find in the public recognition of their services by the civic authorities and their fellow citizens such an encouragement and incitement to persevere in the indispensable training and practisings, that they arrive at a proficiency which surpasses that of similar bodies in the old world. It is a matter of notoriety, for instance, that New Zealand has volunteers that can triumphantly compare, both injdrill, shooting, and general efficiency, with any volunteers in the world, and it wouM appear from the remarks of Captain Harris, that she has ■ firemen equal to the best of the besttrained London fire brigades. It is not pleasant to have to confess that, in this recognition of the services of the volunteers and fire brigades, Wellington, the capital of the colon}', lags far behind. With respect to volunteering, we have expressed ourselves so recently on the apathy with which this great, this truly | national movement, is regarded, that we forbear for the present any further remarks. But with respect to our fire brigades, we wouid now speak boldly out. In a city built necessarily (as many think) of wood, the support of fire brigades seems so manifestly included in the great law of self-preserva-tion, that there is " something decidedly wrong" when their claims require to be pleaded. Yet, if we are correctly informed, both our fire brigades stand in need of a fuller recognition of their services at the hands of the public. Their income from voluntary subscriptions, supplemented by £150 from the Insurance Companies, is notoriously inadequate to their requirements. With respect to one company, we have been informed that the surplus with which they started in November last is all but expended, and if a fire were to occur to morrow, they would have to contribute out of their own pockets to pay the expenses that would necessarily be incurred. Every five, however insignificant, involves expense. Although the. brigade give their services gratuitously, horses have to be paid for the engine, and men have to be paid for working the pumps. Until the Corporation supply the city with water, these expensive charges must constantly recur. The question is, then, whether these are to be met out of a precarious or a settled fund. In either case, the money comes out of the pockets of the citizens. It seems to us that all that can be expected of a fire brigade, is to attend the practisings, and give their services at fires. They should not be expected to canvas for subscriptions. They should not bs called upon to incur any pecuniary loss. We think, therefore, it woiiM be wise for the Corporation to consider whether they should not follow the example of other New Zealand corporations, and provide our fire brigades with a place in which to hold their meetings, proper appliances for their work, and such a moderate subsidy as would free them from financial anxieties. But above all, they want, to use the words of a quaint humorist — not so much broth as broth erly recognition. We therefore call the attention of those citizens who may never have considered that fire brigades have any claim to their regard or support, to the noble example set them by the people of Christehureh and Lyttelton. Such encouragement not only induces numbers to join the brigade, but incites them to persevere iu the necessary drill. The sympathy of numbers striving to attain proficiency begets an esprit de corps which animates them still further to persevere till they attain excellence. "The labor we delight in, physics pain" and what at first was begun as a task from encouragement given from without, comes to be liked for its own sake, and regarded with a feeling of pardonable pride. Other cities are enthusiastic in these matters. Wellington is surely too apathetic.