TIN OF GELIGNITE

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 267, 6 August 1932, Page 5

TIN OF GELIGNITE

Discovery on Steamer NEAR CAPTAIN’S CABIN Clumsy Time Mechanism By Telegraph.—Press Association. Christchurch, August 5. At eight o’clock this morning on the steamer Tees,-which is undergoing haul at Lyttelton, Captain W. Anderson found a large cigarette tin outride his cabin door on the bridge. It was crammed full of explosives, There was a device calculated to release a spr in» on the opening of the lid, but, althoug the captain opened it, there was no explosion, as the spring had been clumsily set. The tin was wrapped up and aadressed to him. Captain Anderson said that when he saw the tin he immediately picked it up, unwrapped the paper, and the lid, revealing the gelignite. Startled, he examined the bomb more closely, and found that the maker had contrived a cunning device to set it on by a movement of the lid. This improvised mechanism luckily failed to act. Apparently the trigger that was designed to release the spring was clumsily set. He put the tin and its dangerous contents aside, mounted guard over It, and summoned the police. , A detective was sent from the central Police Station to make investigations. ■ . ‘ . The tin . was of the large variety ot cigarette containers, to hold about 7o cigarettes. It was tightly packed with gelignite. . :■ The Tees, which is owned by the Westland Steamship Company of Greymouth, is the small vessel that has been in the Chatham Islands service, and has been laid up at Lyttelton for three months for overhaul. The crew was paid off in May. Before that a dispute occurred:between members of the crew, before sailing time on April 14. The crew waited on Captain Anderson and informed him they would not sail with one member of the crew. The owners said that the man. had given complete satisfaction. They would; not give way, and a deadlock resulted. This dispute was ■ subsequently settled and the Tees made that trip to the Chathams before being laid up.