Hartley Neita, Contributor

For the past week, the Edna Manley statue of Paul Bogle has stood before the charred remains of the Morant Bay Courthouse in St. Thomas. In life, 142 years ago, he was hanged on the orders of Governor Edward Eyre at this site. Then he dangled limp from the end of a rope. Now he stands strong and defiant as if saying, "Fire can destroy my final shame, but my memory will remain visible for another thousand years".

This is the third time that fire has destroyed this historic building. Fires have also destroyed Blenheim in Hanover, the birthplace of National Hero Alexander Bustamante, and an early home of another National Hero, Norman Manley, at Roxborough in Manchester. Those have been restored. Another historical site which has been destroyed by fire is Old King's House in Spanish Town So, too, was the Rose Hall Great House in Montego Bay, until philanthropist John Rollins restored this magnificent mansion.

It is very difficult to save buildings from fire. Efforts can be made to prevent these fires, or at least control them. But the older buildings are the easier it is for fire or other disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes to destroy them.

A suggestion which has surfaced since the recent Morant Bay fire is that hydrants should be placed in close proximity to them (if there is a public water supply), and that these hydrants should be checked by the Fire Services regularly. In addition to hydrants, large tanks should be constructed adjacent to them, and also that indoor sprinklers should be installed which would be automated immediately the heat from fires is felt by sensors.

Tested from time to time

Some buildings in Jamaica do have these automatic sprinkling systems installed, and it would be comforting to know that these are tested from time to time.

And while on this subject of historical sites, a question which was regularly asked before the bypass around Spanish Town and Highway 2000 were constructed is what - if anything - will be done to restore Old King's House. Many attempts have been made, the most recent being a Restoration Committee set up by the last Governor and first Governor-General of Jamaica, Sir Kenneth Blackburne in the late 1950s, resulting in the establishment of a Folk Museum in the former stables at its rear.

The front wall of white-painted brick and freestone mined in the Hope River, St. Andrew, has stood above the square despite being rocked by numerous earthquakes and hurricanes. The original building was occupied by Jamaica's Governors until 1872 when the capital of Jamaica wastransferred from Spanish Town to Kingston. Afterwards it was used for Queen's College, Jamaica's first university. It was destroyed by fire in 1925 at which time it was used by the St. Catherine Parish Engineer of the Public Works Department as his residence.

On its steps the Governor of Jamaica read the proclamation of the abolition of slavery. There, too, Governor Eyre delivered his address suspending the constitution of Jamaica following the Morant Bay Rebellion. The pirate Calico Jack and his crew - including two women pirates, Mary Reade and Anne Bonney - were tried for piracy there, and it was also there that the Maroons of St. Thomas and Portland brought the head of 'Three Finger Jack' to collect their reward of 300 pounds sterling.