THE FIRES OF 1875.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume III, Issue 155, 21 April 1876, Page 15

THE FIRES OF 1875.

The ' Boston Post, 3 referring to the number of fires in the United States aud Canada last year, quotes valuable statistics from the ' Insurance Chronicle,' at the same time adding many interesting facts itself : — " The fire record of the last year has been made up, and is spread out in its startling proportions in the ' Insurance Chronicle.' The value of all the property buried was $86,325,035, of which amount 143,631,700 was covered by insurance. Most people, therefore, would be apt to say that about half was dead loss to the owners. It was all dead loss to the country ; just that amount taken away from its resources — jmt so much to be replaced after its destruction. The actual fact is not changed, because the loss is distributtd instead of falling upon individuals. Such a ravage of the common resources or common wealth as the destruction of over $86,000,000 in a single year implies, deserves the serious consideration of the public economist, as it certainly cannot be omitted from any just estimate of the country's condition and ability. Where so much is to be restored •very year to the stock of the country's accumulated capital, an equal amount of additional prosperity is, of course, to be deducted. It appears that $55,373,900 amount of loss was caused by the burning of " specials," for which the insurance companies paid the sum of $28,052,890. The greatest losses occurred in October, and the lightest in March and September, the record showing $12,953,095 in the former, and $4,095,400 and $4,876,750 respectively in the latter months. The tables of results, month by montb, with " special " riiks will furnish food for wide reflection. There were 337 hotels burned, 261 saw-mills, 168 liquor stores, 133 drug stores, 126 restaurants, 119 livery stables, 107 furniture factories, 96 machine shops, 78 flouring mills, 83 planing mills, 78 carpenter shops, 73 blacksmith shops, 75 churches, 74 lumber yards, 72 public halls, 51 each of tanneries, woollen mills, and newspaper ofiices ; 48 printing offices, about the same number of cotton mills, cooper shops and carriage factories, 36 breweries, and 1 celluloid factory, the only one in the country. The table is vouched for as the completest yet prepared, and its value will be correspondingly great. Special hazards receive a special lesson from this exhibit, which is, that it is not possible to offer or accept any rates which »re not related to the great body of risks taken throughout the country, and which do not enter into the average that rules the whole business as a central principle. But with or without insurance, it needs to be impressed upon the common mind that evetything which is burned up is destroyed for all the uses to which it originally owed its existence. If this idea, once fairly received and comprehended, would operate to secure a more active caution everywhere, so that fires would become much less common »nd far less destructive after breaking out, it would yield an almost incalculable public benefit by preserving resources which are now all but thoughtlessly thrown away."