THE ONUS ON ENGINEERS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 624, 29 September 1909, Page 4

THE ONUS ON ENGINEERS.

, : ——*- ■ CASE OF THE RARAWA. ■ • »Utf vTolegrapb--Prris - 4»soclaUon I ' ' ' _ Auckland, September 27. , The inquiry into the accident'in the Rarawa s engine-room resulted in three of the en-pneertaAt->p . M'lndoe (chief)i"A. W. ■ Price (Becontjßeginald Smallbone (third)— beingto' pay the costs of the inquiry. •V}® the opinion tt.hjt tho a*, cident fes.,a: serious one, arid ma'dc*an important. the';r?'delegation of duties ini tuo engine-room. 'liwthis'.caso a greaser.^£3..loft to turn all the epeka ■ off on ruesda^Anight,.-nttU « fireman; was . instructed to get;;steam- up on Thursday 1 morning. No ongineMcanio on till 8 a-.m.-foiir hours aftor steams nad.f.beeii.'got up by tho fireman. No ono noticed- that the top boiler' skincock had never been turned on. Tho Court found that the acoident was duo to shortness of water in the boiler,'duo to tho closing, of the skincock; that, the chief, engineer ivas responsible for tho bnd system in the; engine-room; anil that all three had failed to show thorough and earnest appreciation of their duties, and been lax in not verifying the state of the water ill the boilers. Thoy had. relied too implicitly on tho firemon to attend to the turning on and oil' of tho cockfj and other duties. The engineers wore . accordingly ordered ■to pay tho costs of tho inquiry.