PORT TIPTON EXPLOSION.

Press, Volume LVIII, Issue 17414, 27 March 1922, Page 7

PORT TIPTON EXPLOSION.

ALLEGATIONS OF CARELESSNESS. JEW CthU—Pmi As»ocj*.tiou—Copyrifht.) (Australian uid N.Z. CiVlo Ajsociation.) LONDON, March 24. The case against Knowlcs and Chadwick.- in connexion with the Port Tipton explosion, is based on tho ground that tho Homo Office was - unaware that Knowles was going to break Tip cartridges. He had no permit to do so; and he had entirely noglected tho provisions of the Explosives Act. As the first witness was railed, a woman in the Court screamed. She had just been informed that her daughter, a victim of the explosion, had died. Astonishing revelations are being made in connexion with the explosion. The Chief Inspector of Explosives gave evidence that tho floor of tho shop was concrete, but was impregnated with gunpowder. The girls wore boots with nails in the soles. The atmosphere was permeated with dust from the powder. Other evidenco showed that there was no guard in front of the stove used for soldering purposes, and burning coke constantly dropped on the floor. At tho end of the day's work there would be in each box which the twentyfour girls used, thirty-six pounds of loose powder. A boy took this powder and put it into a neighbouring canal. [An explosion in a factory at Port Tipton, Staffs, on March 6th, killed and injured a number of girls* all in their 'teens, who were engaged in removing the contents of 160 tons of cartridges. Up to March 17th eighteen deaths had been, recorded, and there were many badly injured. Knowles, husband of the owner of the factory, and Chadwick, the manager, were arrested on charges of manslaughter.]