RUSTED WIRE

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 121, 26 May 1925, Page 3

RUSTED WIRE

THE AMERICAN ARTICLE

STRONGLY CRITICISED JJJ COURT.

There was some Tery pointed refer* ence to qualities of American -wire -when the case, John Barns and Co., Ltd., against the New Zealand Shipping Company, was continued at the Supreme Court before Mr. Justice Ostler and a; special jury o! twelve yesterday afternoon. Mr. M. Myers, K.C., and Mr."W. Perry represented the plaintiffs, and Mr. A..AY: Blair the defendants.

On the conclusion of the evidence for; the plaintiff, outlined in yesterday's "Post," Mr. Blair, opening for the defence, said the wire in question loaded in Canada when the place was covered in snow and ice. Twenty hours after leaving Louisberg the ship was free of ice, the warmer atmosphere having melted *-he ice. The frozen wire in the hold had collected moisture on thawing, and even with the four ventilators in the hold it had been impossible to prevent this A full hold could.not_be. ventilated like a court-room. Mr. Blair went on to state that since the war the clever Americans, in an attempt to beat the Britisher had gone out of their way to maintain a practice commenced in the war, that of wiping the wire with gauze. After the bath the wire was put .throuah an asbestos wiper, tho result being that most of the zinc was removed from it, and .the coating left on was not even sufficient to carry it over the journey to New Zealand l£ looked all right if it did make the journey in good order, but in reality tho poor New Zealand farmer came into a, mass of "adulterated rubbish." The company in this case objected to paying anyone for damage that was a natural result of poor protection on the wire and was really to be expected. The 'company did not / undertake that the wire would not rust on the way out but merely to take good care of it. ■ The ship could not be blamed in this instance, as it had been built for the rice trade, and had double the ventilation of most ships. : ■■■

The case was adjourned until to-day.