by the Magistrates, and by the six following Insurance Companies, viz., the Edinburgh Friendly, the Caledonian, the North British, the Hercules, the Scottish Union Insurance Companies, and the Insurance Company of Scotland, each of whom agreed to contribute a sum of L.200 sterling,-thus making up the L.1400 requisite for the outfit of the establishment; ;* whilst the town agreed to give an annual subscription of L.50, and the above companies, with various others, whose names are appended to this report, agreed to pay an annual subscription of L.20, L.10, and L.5 respectively, making up, in whole, an annual subscription of L.335 sterling, equal to two-thirds of the calculated annual expense. These calculations of expenditure, and arrangements with the Magistrates and Insurance Companies, having been reported to the Board, and that, by consequence, an annual expenditure of from L.150 to L.200 sterling only would be requisite on their part, the Commissioners came to the resolu tion, that, in the meantime, they would consent to take the charge of the establishment upon themselves, though under the reservation of full power to abandon it, should the subscriptions of the Insurance Companies be withdrawn or diminished, or the extra expense be found to exceed what the Board might consider proper to be defrayed by the public. They therefore vested full powers in the Committee to proceed with the formation of the establishment; and it remains to state the measures which have been adopted under these powers, and the results that have been produced. I.—IN RESPECT OF THE EQUIPMENT of the Establishment, The Committee have purchased for the establishment three new engines of a large size, requiring twenty men each for their proper working. They have also procured five portable engines, which have been found of most essential service in the early extinguishing of fires, before reaching a height which would have rendered the use of large engines indispensable; and they have farther purchased six small hand-engines, which may be easily transported and carried into any room or closet on fire, and have been found highly beneficial for the speedy extinguishment of fires, which, had they not been kept down by their early use and timeous application, might have proved destructive to the building in which the fire originated. They have furnished these engines with a complete set of hose, screws, and apparatus; such as coupling-joints, water-buckets, * It is proper likewise to mention, that the Sun Fire Office, at same time, agreed to hand over their fire-engine and apparatus to the establishment, which they considered to be nearly equivalent to a similar subscription, though it has not proved so; the engine having been found to be almost completely worked out and inefficient. suction-tubs, hatchets, saws, ladders, &c. ; and they have established water-carts for the service of the engines, which are kept uniformly filled with water, and ready for immediate use, in case of an emergency. The expense of this portion of the outfit, the details of which are fully given in the General Statement of the Income and Expenditure of the Establishment, made up by the Accountant for the Board, and which is now laid upon their table for the inspection of all concerned, amounts to L.1475 5 10 But in addition to this expense, the Committee, under the sanction of the Board, have established a regular corps of firemen, who have been provided with the requisite clothing and appointments, at an expense They have partly purchased, fitted up, and paired engine-houses, at a cost of And they have incurred various miscellaneous disbursements for models, reports by tradesmen of skill, ticket-boards for firemen, printing regulations for their conduct on duty, adver tisements, freight of engines from London, &c. amounting to of re The particulars of the whole of these payments will be seen in the General Statement prepared by the Accountant before referred to; and the expenditure on the mere articles absolutely necessary for the original outfit of the establishment thus amounts to a sum of 191 5 1 325 3 8 179 0 91 L.2170 15 4 Exceeding the subscriptions obtained for these purposes by L.770:15: 44. Nor is this the whole expense, even as applicable to the article of original outfit, now under consideration; for, in addition to the above, the Board have been subjected to a very heavy expenditure for the article of fire-cocks, not originally contemplated by them. By the terms of the Water Company's Act, they were bound to establish fire-plugs at convenient places, for the supply of water; but after consulting with their Engineer, and other persons of skill, it was found that plugs were quite inadequate to the proper purposes; on which account, fire-cocks were very strongly recommended, as being greatly preferable in every respect, and affording, in many situations, the means of subduing fires even without the aid of the engines. The Committee had various meetings with the Committee appointed by the Water Company, with the view of getting them to substitute fire-cocks in lieu of the plugs H they were bound to furnish in terms of their act; but their endeavours to obtain this alteration from the Water Company were unsuccessful, as all that Company would agree to do was, to pay a sum of L.2, 2s. for each fire-cock which might be set up by the Police, in lieu of the fire-plugs which might have been demanded from them. The Committee, under the deep impression of the necessity of providing properly against the recurrence of such extensive fires as the town had been alarmed by in the year 1824, found themselves reluctantly obliged to acquiesce in the terms proposed by the Water Company; and they have accordingly repaired such old fire-cocks as previously existed, and established ninety-six new ones in various parts of the city, at an expense of L.1265:5:1, from which, however, they have to deduct the allowance obtained from the Water Company of two guineas each, amounting to L.201, 12s., leaving an expenditure on this article alone of L.1063: 13:1. Eight of the old fire-cocks required to be replaced by new ones, which has been done at the expense of the Police; and a demand has been made upon the Water Company for the L.2, 2s. applicable to each of them, which at present they have declined to pay, though it is expected the demand will be ultimately complied with. II.-IN RESPECT OF THE ANNUAL EXPENSE OF THE ESTA BLISHMENT. The permanent expense on this establishment, for the two years it has now been in operation, has been as follows, viz. 1. Salaries to Master of Engines and to his As L.169 14 0 5. Rent and repair of engine-houses, 103 17 4 22 4 0 47 6 6 L.1450 1 10 Thus, the expenditure of the establishment for the two years it has now been in operation has amounted to L.1450 sterling, being nearly L.500 above the estimate calculated at the time of entering upon the arrangement; and it requires to be mentioned, that during the first year the salary to the master of engines was paid only at the rate of L.50, whilst, from the circumstance of his time and attention being found necessary to be almost exclusively devoted to the establishment, it behoved to be increased to L.100 for the second year; and the aid of an assistant, at a wage of 18s. per week, was found indispensable for keeping the articles of the establishment in proper repair and condition for use. The number of firemen, likewise, has only been progressively increased to its present strength: and under all these views, it is considered by the Committee, that the annual expense of the establishment. cannot amount to less than L.800 sterling, at which sum it has been calculated in framing the estimates for the current year. The number of fires which have occurred during the two years the establishment has been in operation has been 128; of these 15 were extensive, 28 were serious at their first appearance, but were speedily reduced after the arrival of the engines, and 85 were of minor importance, easily subdued by the firemen with the use of the smaller engines, though one, at least, of the large ones was generally brought to the spot in case of necessity. Some of these have been what may be styled false alarms, arising from foul chimneys, where individuals have raised the cry of fire, and brought engines to the spot, without any adequate necessity, but in consequence of which expense has been, in every case, unavoidably thrown upon the establishment. The strength of the establishment, so far as not already fully detailed, consists of a master of engines, an assistant, four headmen, four overseers, sixteen pipemen, and fifty-six firemen. The duties of the master of engines are various; as, besides his duty upon occasions of fire, he inspects the engines and apparatus connected with them, and is responsible for their being at all times in good order and condition when required. He musters the men for exercise at such times as may be considered necessary, either for their instruction, or the trial of the engines and hose; and he has the general superintendence of the fire-cocks, besides many subordinate duties, into the detail of which it is unnecessary to enter. duties of the assistant are of an operative decription. He has to take down and clean the engines after being used, to make and repair the hose, to clean and oil them properly after being used, to look after the fire-cocks, and generally to attend to and repair the whole implements and apparatus of the esta 9 The blishment, that they may be at all times fit for service. The four headmen have the charge of the engines and apparatus in their respective districts; and it is their duty to report to the master when any repairs or new apparatus become requisite, they being held responsible for the engines being in a proper working condition at all times. It is their duty to call out the firemen in their respective bounds upon an alarm being given, to see they are properly equipped, and to repair with their engines and apparatus to the fire with the utmost expedition. The duties of the overseers are of a similar description; and they have a particular charge of the engines on occasions of fire, when it may be requisite for the master and headmen to be absent inspecting the premises in which the fire may be, so as to ascertain to what point the operations for subduing it may be most efficiently directed. The duties of the firemen are, strict discipline, sobriety, expedition in turning out upon alarm, and obedience to the orders which may be issued to them. it A set of regulations has been framed, and sanctioned by the authority of the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Sheriff, with the view of enforcing these duties; and the Committee have much satisfaction in stating to the Board, that under a very minute personal inspection, by many of them individually, upon occasions of fire, they have every reason to be pleased with the conduct of the whole individuals belonging to the establishment. In particular, they consider it due to Mr Braidwood, the master of engines, to report, that he has not only shown the most indefatigable zeal, assiduity, and attention, in forwarding the views of the Committee, for procuring the outfit of the establishment, and in placing and keeping in the best possible order; but, upon all occasions of fire, his steady coolness, self-possession, good judgment, and intrepidity, have been most marked and deserving of approbation. The appointment of an assistant to the master has been of very recent date, and was suggested in consequence of the heavy expenses which came upon the Committee, in getting trifling repairs executed upon the engines, hose and apparatus; some portions of which are necessarily injured more or less upon every occasion of a turn-out. From the experience they have had, they have reason to be satisfied with the conduct and attention of James M'Donald, who has been employed by them in that department; and they are of opinion that his being retained in his situation will, upon the whole, be a saving of expense to the establishment, and will give greater security for the engines and apparatus being kept at all times in proper order. With the general conduct of the other members of the esta |