The Invercargill Fatality.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXI, Issue 5421, 17 July 1901, Page 2

The Invercargill Fatality.

United Preiss Association—By Eleotrio Telegraph Invkroar»i__, July 17 Tne ii quest in cuui.toiion with the fire; works fatality waß resumed today, when the orp'nter who made the socket for the sigta rookat gave evidence. He deposed that Captain MoGilvray wanted him to bore a 2tn hole through a rail, but as he had not a suitable augur, he mads a substitute, at the captain'fi suggestion, by nailing two battens on a 4 x 2 upright forming a square box to hold 'the rocket , Tha timber of the platform new bore cuts with pieces of metal in them, caused by the explosion. He gave no one permission t* discharge fireworks

This afternoon Ghas Reid, *eeond officer of the Monowai, detailed the correct met hod ff using ship's signal rockets, and said the firing in any other way was extremely dan* gerous. Sergeant M»jor Wall, instructor on war office explosives, described the rocket Among other things it contained a quantity of gutta perch*, three nances of gunpowder, and two ounces of guncotton. When the guncotton exploded the iron cylinder would be blown into fragments, He did not regard the socket used in this case as safe. It Was not strong enough to withstand the explosion of gunpowder in the base of the rocket, while its shape rendered it dangerous. He would expect if the rocket were fired out of such a box that, the r powder, instead of forcing the rocket upwuido, would exeit its force on the box. Guncotton was four and a half times stronger than powder, and if tha signal exploded near the ground he would expect to find fragments of metal casing near byi Tha gunpowder produced had not deteriorated. Accidents of the kind might happen without negligenoe in the bands of experts. A socket two inches Fq_*re on the inside for a rocket three quarter inch in diameter was not safe, The inquest was not cono'uded tod#y.