FIRES IN WOOL SHIPS.

Press, Volume LXIII, Issue 12593, 8 September 1906, Page 5

FIRES IN WOOL SHIPS.

THE ROYAL COMMISSION.

FOURTH DAYS PROCEEDINGS.

The Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the causes of fires on wool ships resumed its sittings in the Provincial Council Chambers yesterday. Dr. McArthur, S.M., presided, the other Commissioners being Mr W. G. Foster and Captain Blackburne.

John McArthur, station owner, Aniuri, stated that shearers nowadays were co particular that they would not shear wot sheep, and he did not think that ehcarers were ever compelled to do so against their trill. If there was a dispute as to whether sheep were fit to shear, the matter was settled by a conference between a shearers' representative and the 6hed manager. Witness had no experience of heating in wool. It would be to the advantage of the wool scourer to use damp wool it he was paid by weight. He had had no complaints about wet wool. Witness had heard of cas<js where, when the last day of a shearing contract arrived, the shearers had another, job waiting, and the owner was also anxious to finish, the sheep had been shorn even though there was considerable doubt as to whether tlhe fleece was not too wet for shearing. Last season was very wet, mid so was the season before, and it was very difficult to dry wool.

Robert Wilson Hood, Hanmor, said that he had had experience of wool catcliing fire by spontaneous combustion. About 187fi witness, was cartimg wool in Central Ot.ngo, near Cromwell. It had been a very wet season, and the ilolynmix was in flood. Some of the stations had finished shearing before they got their wool away, as they could not cross the river. There was no room in the sheds for a lot of the wool, and it v.-as stacked outride till the shearing was finished, being tfien put back in the *>hed-: and taken away when the river went down. Witness- loaded up the last load of wool on a Saturday afternoon, and on Sunday ho want on across the river below Cromwell, and camped at night. Ho had an ordinary cart, and the bales were exposed. Tho ni#ht seemed very hot, and ho could not sleep on the wool, as ho usually did. Next day ho went further on, and soon after starting he noticed the wool smoking. ' On examining it he found that some of the bales were on fire. No water was available in the dam lower down, and tho blaze was coming out of the bales. Witness cut the ropee, and allowed the bales to scatter on the road. Out of the thirtyfour bales in the cart only seven were left, the others being reduced to ashes just as if they had been wood. The cart was also destroyed, and the whole thing lasted less than forty minutes. The balee contained the best class wool.

"William Henry Atkins, foreman fellmonger to the Christchurch Meat Company, said he had beard that some of the company's wool was damaged in the recent fires. The bales were reported to be heated in the centre, but he did not know whether the centre i was burned. They contained pieces 1 and pelt washings. Witness described the p"roces3 of scouring, amd said that he was positive that in the frequent washings the strength of the lime and chemicals used would completely disappear. Lately the Railway Department had complained that witness was not putting enough bales in each truck! and since then he had been stacking the- bales oax their sides in tho L waegons, and 18 on their ends and 0 more on tbeir sides on top in the LA waggons. Witness's only experience of heated wool was in connection with wet wool stacked outside.

. William NichoUs, wool buyer, wool scourer, and follmonger, said he had known, scoured wool to lose 301b a bale on thoV voyage Home, the weight of a bale baing 3501b. This wool was caked, and was marked "country damaged" in the catalogues., Hβ was positive that the heat that was caused by ! dampness would produce fine in the i pack. Ho did not think there -was • any danger in dumping eliped wool. The appointment of ,an inspector at the port of shipping would be a very good steg, and the expense involved % would readily be met by shippers. Last season the effort to catch boats had led sometimes to wool being shipped when not sufficiently dry. Fulbert Aston Archer, agent for l>algety and Co., Ltd., and representative iof the Shaw, Savill and Albion Ship- ! ping Co., stated that he had nothing to I add to the evidence already given by i his storemen. I Isaac Gibbs, general manager of the I New Zealand Shipping Co., said that he I oould not supplement the evidence , given by the employees of his firm. .' I Joseph James Kinsey, agent for tho Federal-Houlder-Shire line, stated that he had no additional evidence to offer.

William Devenish Mea res, manager of the Alliance Assurance Company, I placed before the Commission extracts > from reports made in.London on fires lon board ships. Witness stated that I during the last ten years there had ' been forty-eight fires on veseele trading between New Zealand and the United ; Kingdom and 'America, six of these , being on ships trading to and from J America. Some of them were, of course, j not serious outbreaks. During the i past ten years there had been ten fires lon vessels carrying flax. He hoped ; the Commission would recommend that 1 both tow and flax should be covered up i before shipment. Witness made several j suggestions as to providing means of I escape by which lives might be saved when fires broke out on ships at sea. Edmund George JBtaveley, manager of the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Company, said that lie had no doubt aa to the thorough experience of any of the Company's storemen, and he would coneider their evidence reliable. The ap--1 pointment of, an inspector at each of the big ports would be a. check in *iie ehipment of wet wool, but it would not .be an absolute deterrent. Ho did not j think that growers would appreciate f any extra charge being imposed on them through the appointment of an inspector. Buyers were more particular to examine wool from small growers than from larger ones. Wetness was one element that caused this greater care, but the latter wee chiefly due to the lack of classification fin small growers' lots. j Small growers might, in ignorance, send in wet wool in their anxiety to catch the market. Wool absorbed moisture or gave it out again according to the state of the atmosphere, and the weight of a bale in the store varied from day to day. Thomas Spete Sibbald, formerly a fellmonger and wool scourer, said that he used to detect heat in baled wool by putting an iron rod down through it. He had to b© especially careful when baling sliped wool in the- winter time. !Ho was referring to sun-dried wool. Witness had eeen a. bluish vapour exuding from wool, but liad never seen it actually on fir©. The Commission then adjourned until 10.30 this morning.