, 1865-03-03

OlPuS "A WV ""SHAHO VI @HO P0h
pose.
The ancient Romans, we are told by Suetoni-
US, maintained bands of trained fremen called
matricularii, whose duty it was to e%xtinguish
fire, aud there were also fremen IN all the pro-
vincial towns. Petronius mentions their cut
ting away with axes, and throwing water from
buckets at fires. To the ancients who lived
near 1000 years ago we are indebted for the
modern manual engine, which was invented by
Ctesibius, of Alexandra, an engineer of that
city, who lived in the 165 Olympiad, or about
1000 years BIC. His pupil, Hero, Of the same
city, describes one 10 his "Spiritalia," which
had metal cylinders-metallic pistons-spindle
valves, with guards to prevent their opening
too far-a goose neck, formed by a kind of swi-
vel joj1t-some,hiog like a union or coupling
screw-.he application Of an air yesse-two
pumps forcing the water through one pipe-2nd
one lever to work both pumps all these are
features, some or all Of which have been reviv-
ed and brought forward In modern times as
great improvements or inventions.
1t would be tedious, would take too much time
and be foreign to my present purpose, to give a
consecutive account Of the differ ent laws, ordI-
nances, rules, and regulations, made from these
times for extinguishing or controlling fires, but
they will be found fully treated Of in a new
work on the subject shortly to be published;
therefore I propose to commence with what
has been done to protect London since the
Great Fire in 1866. The enormous destruction
of property by this tremendous confagratIon
seems to have convinced the Government aud
city authorities of the imperative necessity tor
some we'll regulated means and appliance tor
the controlling Of fires, and Acts Of Parliament
and Common Council were passed to obtain
them. The city was divided into four districts,
each of the twelve companies and aldermen
were to provide themselves with brlzon cyrln-
ges, leather buckets, ladders, pickaxe5, Shovels'
&c. and, to obtain the water required for the
engines and squirts pumps were ordered to De
placed in all wells, and fire plugs IN several
main pipes belonging to the New River and
Thames Water Works.
In the official report or account Of the Great
Fire, dated Whitehall, September 8tb, 1866,
it is remarked that "this lamentable fire IN a
short time became too big to be managed by
any engines" thus showing that some appnra-
tus besides the hand sqnirts must have been in
use. These hand-squirts were worked by three
men, one on each side to hold and direct, and
one on the piston-rod to force the water out,
Just the same sort Of thing as was used some
1900 years before
In 170S, the 6th year of Queen Anne, it was
enacted that leach parish shall keep q large
engine and a hand engine, and a leathern pipe
or socket of the same size as the plug or FIRE
cock (of the water mains) that the socket may
be put into the pipe to convey the water clear
to the cDgine,' under a penalty of ten pounds.
1t also provided that the first person WHO ar
rived with a parish engine to extinguish q fire
was entitled to 30s reward the second, 20s.
and the third, 1Os. provided the engines were
in good order, with a socket or hose Or leather
pipe" This Act, with the usual characteristic
of English Acts of Parliament contained no
provision or regulation for the payment of the
expenses of working these engines at fires, nor
did it impose any obligation on each parish to
take the engines to a fire therefore, if the
engines and required appliances were provided
by each parish, the Act would be duly compli-
ed with, and they need not be used at all, but
kept locked up, if it pleased the parish authori-
ties to do so, without in any way contraven1ng
the provision of it-a fine example of the legls-
lative wisdom Of the Solons Of the 18th century
In 1909, the owners and keepers of "other
large engines" (not parish engines) were en-
titled to the same reward upon arriving with
them and assisting in extiDguishing a fire. In
the same year, an Act was passed by which 1T
was enacted. THAT every servant by whose
negligence or carelessness a fire should be occa-
s;onad chould forfa;t Ono. or. In default, be