ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS

Evening Star, Issue 16196, 18 August 1916, Page 4

ACCIDENTS AND DEATHS

An jnqutst was held on the body of P. Kerr, a linesman on the Lake Coleridge electrical supply works, who was electrocuted at Tat I'apu Dairy Factory while working with an 11,000-volt wire. The evidence showed that* Kerr was worlanp with a dead line some sft under a live cable-carrying 11, COO volts. He stood ur>, bringing his bead in connection with, t.iio live- wire. A verdict of accidental, death wae returned. The Coroner added a rider that the Public Works Department should consider the possibility of making some contrivance which would minimise the danger for men who were working near live wires. Mr L. Birks (Government electrical engineer) express's! the <!cpartnieiit'B appreciation of the plucky act of Robert Jeal, a fellow-linesman, in* pulling Kerr away from the live wire. Jcal ran a considerable rif-k. and if the shock had not b?«n such, a .severe one he would probably have saved Kerr's life.

RANGATIRA'S CARGO

UNIQUE POSITION DISCLOSED

CHARGES TO CONSIGNEES

BASED ON MARKET VALUE TO-DAY.

CONSIGNEES PROTEST.

A special meeting of the Dunedin Chamher of Commerce and of consignees interested -was held this, morning to consider the unique position which haa arisen -with tho arrival per the Waiwera of good* salved fro:n the Rangatira, which grounded near Cape Town in March. The- position, against which emphatic protests wore raised by the big meeting, appears to bo (m a sentence) that the snipping company desire to collect a levy from conrigno<* amounting to 50 per cent, on the market value of the goods landed, instead of (wi i?, usual) upon tM invoice value and freight, plus 10 per cent. Mr Geo. Fen-wick, prr*.ident of "the chamber, was in tho chair, and on his suggestion Mr IT. I/. Tnph-y, chairman or the Underwriters' Awsoointien, was invited to attend.

Mi' Fenwick merely introduced tho mutter, referring to tho position us fin's vnique in tho history of underwriMn;/,, and suggesting that after tho dtwncm'ori a, committee should ho set up to Invfsithvatn the whole position and report t<> a luu-.r meeting. He called upon tho <:omdjtni<;<-o to explain the situation. Mr T. Somerville said that they we really present to get information.. Tho legal aspect assumed considerably proportions.-, he took it, and there was nlfio the question of iisaga. Tho Chairman replied that ho understood that the, insurance law on the subject was clear—that tho shipping company wero ii-it-liin their rights, and the insurance companies would l>e within their rights in seeing that the "general average" struck should bo struck on the present value of tho goods in Dunedin.

Mr* H. L. Tapley endorsed this, and mado an explanation at some length. Ho said that this n.15 a position that had not occurred before in. the history of commerce. Ths wreck had unfortunately happened ab this time when goods of all kind had-.appreciated in value. It had happened, too, unfortunately, that tho cost of salving these goods at Cape Town had been very heavy. The salvage company collected 33i ; per cent., and there were additional charges, cuc-h as landing and transhipment charges, so that the " general average" people had to collect 50 per cent, in order to "ensuro that they would get sufficient funds to pay the charges incurred in sending 1 this cargo forward. He know that many ,of those present could not understand why it was that these salvage charges (they were not general average charges) were assessed by the shipping company on tho present "landed market value of the goods. They naturally thought that the ordinary practice would be adopted of collecting the general average charge on the invoice value plus 10 pet cent. But in this case the goods had increased in value considerably,' and t>3 meeting could take his assurance that the insurance companies who had v-o foot tho bill had looked carefully into the matter and there way no question but the general average charge was collectable on the liutded market value. If a man had good* insured for £IOO ai;d the value was £l5O, the underwriters would reimburse him to tho extent of his policy, but he would have to pay the balance of the uninsured value himself. It applied in the other way, where goods had been assessed <tt their damaged value. If they were insured for £SOO and iheir value was now only £SO, tho shipping company could only collect the general average on the £SO, and the underwriter had to make good ths balance.

Mr H. K. Wilkinson asked if the 0 insurance companies proposed to pay the lots of interest to importers. They were keeping the importers out of their*money for a coi.s'derable time. One importer stated that he had £1,200 worth of goods in the vessel, and he had been paid 50 per cent, by tho insurance company quite a time ago. , Mr Tapley replied that insurance companies did not pav interest on claims of this kind. Mr E. C. Hazlett: Is the Rangafira a total lose? Mr Tapley • I have no advice, but I believe she ifi breaking up. Mr Hazlett: Then, if any of the shippers think it wiso they can abandon the goods at the wharf, and demand payment from tho insurance companies. Mr Tapley replied that a certain time was allowed for notice of abandonment That time, he thought, -was past. Notice of abandonment could hardly be given for goods that were sound. No doubt"shippers had the right if the goods were not worth paying this- 50 per cent. on. Then they would be sold by the fihipping company on behalf of all concerned, and payment could he obtained at the insured value from the underwriters.

The Chairman said that in the very extraordinary circumstances he did not think the insurance companies should take, up tho attitude thev were.

Mr Walter Gow said that th<J position the insurance companies took up was an improper one. Either tho ship was abandoned or sho was not abandoned. Apparently she was abandoned, because the Salvage Association took possession and undertook salvage. They did not undertake it at the instaneo of the- consignees, and now that they had got the. good's and landed them here they might, "have the right to sell them instead of handing them over to tho consignees, but. thc-v had no right to insist upon tho consignees over at an increased, valuation. r l hat was equivalent to compelling the consignees to pay for part of the loss! They must hand the 'goods over nt the price at which they were coming, or jell the goods themselves and pav" the full amount of the policies to the merchants. Mr Tapley said that consignees -wer* Warning the. insurance companies, when the shipping companies had taken the responsibility. The insurance companies were not- getting any benefit, out of it. Mr Gow said the insurance companies had taken possession of the goods and salved them, which constituted" abandonment. Now they presented thorn to the consignees to save loss for themselves, and they expected the consignees to make up part of the losp.

.Mr Hazlett: Who put it into the hands •or the salvage people?

Mr Tapley : The shmownera and tho underwriters jointly. Thev were acting in your interests. ' b

.Mr Gow: If it, wa , s on i lc ,] la ]f 0 f t i, e ship and tho freight, whv was it not a "general average"? Mr Tapley : It would have been a "c n n. ra.l average if the ship had been *?tvcd. As she was not, it can oniv be called a salvage charge.

Mr Gow: ]f, amounts, then, to this: that after the shipping comnanv and the insurance companies have spent a lot of money 0 n (he salvage of tho ship, the money spent, on it is charged tctally against the cargo.

Mr J. Cray said tho genorn.l avora.-re was not one of 50 per cent., but of 60 or i'O per cent,, on the invoice value of the goods.

Mr Farquharson (manager of the National .Mortgage, tho agents for the vessel) said that the whole point was that those who salved tho cargo were, entitled to a charge on the salved value, and th/>y stipnlated that they must' pet Ihes'o charges on the salved value of the carjro at the destination, less the freight incurred in taking it there. Tfc was evident, then, that tho shipping owners could not have done other than they had done. The whole basis of general average was that certain expenses were, incurred for the benefit of all concerned. The. best arrangements had been made to salve the cargo. These efforts were made in the interests of all. and the charges had to be met. It must be recognised that, a; the markets had gone, the goods were under-insured, ajid the consignee had to pay to the extent he was not covered by insurance. Tho Chairman reiterated the point that no doubt a considerable portion of the expense was incurred in salving the ship, and the consignees were being asked to foot the bill for that attempt. The ship was escaping any share. Mr Farquharson said the ship was not escaping any liability. After considerable further discussion a committee was efr~'-""'~ 1 the nxattsr and report early to aJiother

meeting. The personnel of tho committee is: Messrs W. Gow, E. C. Hewlett, Bernstein, H. K. Wilkinson, A. Paterson, T. Somerville, and J. B. Waters.