With regard to the Fire Brigade staff, few will be surprised to hear that' the present staff is fully occupied with the increasing amount of work, and additions to the permanent staff may be found advisable if not absolutely necessary in the near future. It mry not be generally known that the Companies have for some time been below strength. The full strength is bout eighty, but it stood for some time at seventy, and since the outbreak of war, there have been further depletions in the ranks to the extent of about twenty men. The claims of the Fire Brigade have annarently been overlooked im the Volunteer recruiting boom, but when the need for men becomes known, doubtless a sufficient' number of volunteers will offer themselves for this very popular service.
Tt may be added that extremely
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.