Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-11-26

| building to building. All party walls must
be corbeled out so that the cornces and
cutters shall be completely separated; and all
| timbers entering into the party walls must he
| separated by four inches OF masonry between
| their ends. The construction OF any party or
partition walls uponiwooden supports, and the
use of timber in the walls where brick or stone
are commonly used-that is, the building OF
STRAW" walls are prohibited. No person shall
build the rear or party walls of a building one
at a time, but shall carry them up together,
tying them FIRMLY. All walls must be tied to-
gether as a building goes up, and all floor
beams and timbers used must be ironed to-
| gether. The building of MansaId roofs of more
| than one story in height is prohibited unless
| constructed of fire proof material throughout.
| All parts of all buildings which are more than
| forty-fve feet above the level of the sidewalk
| must be made of or covered with non-comhus
tible material; and the roofs of all buildings
which exceed fifty-fve feet above the level of
| the sidewalk must be constructed of iron or
nOn-combustible material.
Provision is also made for the proper placing
| of furnaces and other heating apparatus in
| buildings and the building of boiler and engine
| rooms, for which now there is absolutely no
| provision oflaw. Boiler and engine rooms must
| be fire proof throughout and cut off from the
| remainder of the buildings in which they are
| placed bv iron doors. 1t is also provided that
stores and stOrehouseS shall have shutters and
| doors of fire proof material at the rear. In
| buildings where the operatives are employed
| above the second story, some means Of escape
on an occasion of fire must be provided; and in
| tenement houses, where the lower story is ocCu-
| pied as a store, the lower hail partition must be
built of brick, so that in case OF fire in the store
means ofext for those living above may not be
| cut off.
The only change in the provisions of the eX-
| isting law for the building of dwelling houses,
| is to prohibit the building of eight.inch walls
atJ
| The inspector OF buildings is authorized and in
structed to examine the plans OF proposed build
| ings before issuing permits TO build them, and
arbitration is provided for should any question
| arise between the Inspector owner or architect.
AT one Of the committee meetings to-day,
| Hon. VIM. Gray, for the Boston citizens COM
mittee, urged the passage of an act providing
| that the governor shall appoint commission
| of three engineers to investigate and report
| comprehensive plan of drainage for the city at
| a distance of ten miles around, giving the
grades that will be required TO carry the same
| into effect THIS he considered more important
than any other matter to be presented this
session.
| Inathe house to-day Mr.. Quincy submitted an
| order providing for the Incorporation OF certain
foot notes Of reference in the stereotype plates
| of the general statutes to be reproduced in place
of those destroyed by the burning of the state
| printing office. The bill to incorporate the Bos'
| ton merchants exchange, with capital stock
| of S20OO,O00, was passed to a third reading.
| Mr.. Abbott of Maiden, who thinks the insurance
| business needs radical revision, offered BILL
| which was referred, to prevent combinations Of
| insurance companies in the matter OF rates. A
| bill to relieve the state printers, who were burnt
| out by the fire, by advancing money or work,
| was referred TO the finance committee.
There are those who believe the state can
afford to assure property holders at one half the
average rates demanded by the char
tered companies, and that these low
| rates will ordinarily be a fruitful source
| of revenue. Consequently an order look
| ing to an inquiry into this matter was sub
| mitted and rele red to-day in the house. The
insurance committee reported ineXpedent 10
establish by law geographical limit Of fire
| RISKS. There was an amusing discussion started
| by the irrepreSslblc Mr. Newell of Boston, who
| took umbrage at the way the senate had treated
| the order offered by him IN relation to mutual
| insurance companies. The senate non-concurred
in the action of the house in referring to the
| committee. Mr.. Newell "pitched into" the COM
| mittec, and alter remarks by MeSSrs. TOwne,
| Bacon, Barnard, Stanwood, Fisher and Wins
| low, the house stood by its former action, 102 to
| 40
The Old South matter grows rather interest
| ing in committee. The nine trustees of the Old
| South church property, the five deacons, and
pastor of the church, with nearly all the active
| church membeoS, are in favor oil the lease OF
the building to the government. On the sup
| position, probably, that the Old South people
cannot manage their property in the best man
ner, some of the other Congregational ministers
of Boston and vicinity have taken the matter
| INTO their own hands, and have appointed Rev.
| Dr.'s Means and Webb to go up to the great
| and general court and demonstrate against the
| lease.
But for Thanksgiving it would be possible to
reach final adjournment this week 1t
| will probably be effected next week. Both
| branches adjourned till P, NJ, tomorrow.