, 1865-03-03

fence, punishable by death.
From this time a period OF nearly one hun
dred years elapsed, viz, to 1903, without any
really efficient system for protecting the metro
polls from fire being brought forward, or any
thing being done. except a little "tinkering'' BY
Acts of Parliament, in relation to parish en-
gines, &c. In 1903, however, Sir Fred. Nor
ton Eden, the then chairman Of the Globe In
surance Office, attempted to form a fire engine
establishment, for the protection of life and pro-
perty from loss by fire. He proposed that each
Office should furnish 20 fremen, that all mat
ter8 relating to appointments of fremen, and the
business connected with the proposed establish
nent, should be managed by an Engine Com
mittee and that each Office should pay an equal
contribution towards the expenses of the esta-
blishment. BY the end Of the year, Sir Frede-
rick was convinced Of the time not being yet
come, by finding that only one Office, out of all
the number, namely, the AHas, could be got to
j)in him consequently he gave up the attempt.
About the year 1925, a union simjlar to that
proposed by Sir T. NJ. Eden II years before,
was formed by the Sun, Union, and Royal Er-
change, who PLACED all their engines and men
under one superintendent and some time after
wards they were lined by the Atlas and Pheni1.
Ga the 18t Jan 1888, the London Fire Engine
Establishment was formed, by ten of the 1nsur-
anco Companies united, with the view Of re due
ing the separate expenses Of each Office, and
giving mutual assistance at fires. These ten
Offices were the alliance, Atlas, Globe, Imperial.
London assurance, Protector, Royal Exchange,
Sun, Union and Westminster, and thus, after
the lapse Of q quarter of a century, was The sys-
tenn proposed 10y Sr T. NJ. Eden carried into
practice, chiefly through the exertions OF Mr..
IL Forde, a leading Director of the Sun Fire
Office, and it consisted Of so men and 10 sta
tons, Up t0'tbj7 period the engines and plan:
of individual Office, aud those belonging to p4-
ri8hes, and some Of the large private firms, were
the only means available for use 10 case Of fire;
and at the present moment there exists no pub,
lie means for this purpose, w being as it seems
content to rely on private enterprise for that
protection whioh it is the bounden duty Of the
public, and the public only, to supply it being
a matter Of vital Importance to the public, indi-
vidually and collectively, that such means be
provided and maint2iaed in tue highest state Of
efficiency.
The protection obtained from the existence Of
parish engines is Of tue most Intellectual charac-
ter, though there are some notable exceptions.
such as St. AIMS, Soho, Hackney, I~slingtoD.
aud a few others, for we fnd, from the evidence
given by Sir Richard Mayne before the Select
Committee Of the House of Commons in 1862
on Fires in the Metropolis, that they are
mostly at cllUTCAeS ana warehouses;, unQeT
the charga Of bea3es or private persons, who
are paid a tr,ding sum by the parochial authori-
ties. At great fires they are quite inefficient,
and at triaios fires they are not wanted. There
are % parishes in London who are bound by
the old law to keep two engines iu each parish,
if they do it, it is no doubt done in an inefectu-
al Manner We also learn from the same
evidence, that of the engines for which engine
keepers and small rents are paid, one is said to
be bricked up bebinda blacksmith's shop and
If a fire happened where its services were re-
CURED, part of the wall Of the house would
have to be pulled down to get the engine out,
and a man is paid for looking at it occasionally
possibly with the view of seeing it does not run
away of its own accord.
Sometimes a parish engine may DO seen run
ming express to a fire, at the rate Of about a
mile and a-balf an hour, pulled and pushed by
half a dozen poor old worn out fellows from the
workbouse, escorted by a crowd of all the little
~ragamufins Of the neighbourhood, and in such
a state of perfect order and efficiency, that
when arrived at the fire it cannot be put to
work this has actually happened under my
own notice.
ITO be continued.