A correspondent of the Times calls for further precautions against
fire, and produces tables showing that while the losses by fire in a few civilised States amount to nearly £63,000,000 a year, those of the United Kingdom alone exceed £9,000,000. The public, again, pay £7,000,000 a year to the Companies for insurance, which distributes their losses, but does not prevent fires. These, indeed, increase rapidly, the average of the fires in the ten years ending 1860 having been 977 ; while in the ten ending 1880 it was 1,795. He declares it to be useless to trust the Companies, as heavy fires bring them new business ; and if fires were prevented, they would have nothing to do. His object is to obtain a more liberal grant for Captain Shaw's Brigade, and apart from his statistics, there is no doubt the Brigade is starved. It should be allowed to grow at least as fast as London, if not, indeed, as fast as its rental.
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