THE SHELLY BAY DISASTER

New Zealand Times, Volume LII, Issue 9275, 22 April 1891, Page 2

THE SHELLY BAY DISASTER

THE INQUEST CONCLUDED.

THE JURY’S VERDICT.

The inquest into tho Shelly Bay gun cotton explosion was-resumed yesterday morning at 9 o’clock in the Supreme Court Buildings, before Mr Robinson, District Coroner.

Sergeant-Major Gunn, re-called, stated, in reply to Mr Jellicoe, that tin copper was a better conductor of beat than tin.

The witness, addressing the Coroner, stated that as his rank as Sergeant-Major had been challenged, he produced the agreement between the Agent-General and the War Office, which referred to him as holding tho rank of Sergeant-Major in the Royal Engineers, The agreement was tho one under which he came out to the Colony, and the rank was similar to brevet rank with commissioned officers.

Petty Officer O. Gibson, re-called, said, in reply to Mr Jellicoe, that as storekeeper he had supplied Ross with some “tin-copper” cases under orders from Captain Falconer. This was about two months before the accident. Thera was no entry of this in his book. Captain S. C, Anderson, Defence Storekeeper, was called next. In reply to Mr Jellicoe, witness said he did not remember Captain Powell taking charge of the Auckland station, but his books would show. Believed Captain Powell’s immediate predecessor was Lieutenant Lodder. Thought there was an interval between the leaving of Lieutenant Lodder and the arrival of Captain Powell. The Chief Pettyofficer took charge in the meantime. He (witness) kept a record of the whole of the stores in the Colony, and had a record of stores handed over to Captain Powell at Auckland. Had not his books with him. Thirty primers came to the Colony from Sydney, and were received at Auckland, They weie sent from H.M.S. Nelson by the Wuihora. and received on April 25th, 1885. They were 2Jlb primers, and no other primers had been received in the Colony. Ten of these primers were sent to Wellington ; they were filled primers, and were sent to Wellington in November, 1830. They were expended by Colonel Bodham, at ThorndoH. The other primers remained at Auckland. The stations were supposed to bo inspected by Captain Falconer twice a year. He was expected to inspect the stores at the different stations. He (witness) had made a report in 18S9 with reference to the dangerous condition of the gun cotton at Shelly Bay. This was in 1889, and the report was made after he had heard complaints from the men at Shelly Bay as to the dangerous condition of the gun cotton. The report was at the Defence Office. All his reports were sent to Captain Falconer before being returned to the Defence Office.

Mr Cully here submitted that as the report did not refer to primers the evidence was not admissible.

Mr Jellicoe maintained that as the report was, he understood, with reference to the storage of gun cotton, the evidence %vas therefore admissible. He knew he would have this struggle, and wjs prepared foa* it. He would show later ou that the report was admissible. Mr Skerrett; I certainly shall not allow the matter to stop here,-and will myself call for the report. The Coroner : Unless Mr Jellicoe can show the report is relevant, the time of the Court is being wasted. Tfie^ report is out of witness’ hands, and the Minister’s authority will have to be attained. Mr Jellicoe : I cm show it is relevant, but will forego my application. Witness continuing ; 1 made a report calling attention to the fact that the gun cotton at Shelly Bay ought to have been placed under cover. The report also stated that Captain Falconer would be responsible for its safe storage. Had made no further reports regarding gun cotton. Cross-examined by Mr Skerrett; Captain Falconer had fitted up tho Auckland station upon his arrival in the Colony. He (witness) inspected all the stores of the Colony, but did not report on tho way the stations were kept. Stores under the control of the Defence office were not under the control of officers in charge of stations. There were twenty-five 500Ibs ground mines, marked “2,” sent over from Sydney. The SO primers were, he thought, sent over for these mines and not for extempore mines. Did not know the primers were ordered for any other purposes than the mines mentioned. By Mr Gully : The ten primers were sent to Wellington and expended‘under Colonel Bodham. None of the primers with “ pickle bottle” tops were handed over to Captain Falconer, The eight service primers now at Auckland were the only ones remaining in the Colony. By Mr Jellicoe : Did not know who gave the order for the primers from Sydney. Knew nothing about them till they arrived in the Colony. Edwin Henry Bradford, Government Armourer, was next called. In reply to Mr Jellicoe he stated it was oart of his work to solder. Had taken a bolt out of a fire and found the tin on it at 700 degrees. In his opinion the tin cou d not be melted off, but the bolt itself would be melted. If a bolt was heated in an ordinary forge its heat was bound to be lessened in its transit from the forge to the bench. What they understood as soft solder was anything th't would melt with an ordinary heated bflt. The fusing point of “ 2 tin and 1 lead " solder was about 340 degrees. Tne “tin-copper” was a much better conductor of heat than ordinary tin, Jf a n?an was holding an ISin tin half way down and soldering at the top. the beat of the so’dering iron would not be felt by him. If a man was soldering and took three times as long as necessary over it, he did not tfiink he would feel the heat at his hands. In fact he was sure he would not. A bolt for fusing adder at 340 deg would have to be. perhaps, XOOJeg above that temperature. If it was less it would have to be returned to the fire very often. Had been armourer since 1864. Knew the nature of the work Ross was engaged upon. He (witness) would not use solder fusible at 310 deg if the gun cotton was explosive at 277 deg. ’ In his opinion it would be improper to use such solder for the purpose. He would use solder which would flow with very little heat. Solder made of 3 lead, 5 tin, and 3 bismuth was supposed to run at 202 Fahrenheit. The small tjn he produced contained dry gun cotton) and he bad soldered it with a bolt at a heat of 216. The was in direct contract with the tin, ana was dry. The bolt was not at 3!odeg when he soldered the tin -- the heat was a long way below 34pdeg. If it had been more he would not have risked it. Cross-examined by Mr Skerrett: Had made a practical test. A practical tinsmith could test a bolt by holding it close to his cheek, but this would not be near enough for gun cotton. Had determined the heat of his bolt for soldering tha tin produced by hie cheek, but then the temperature he knew to be lower than that for igniting gun cotton. By soldering a tin he could not say whether tha heat of tho bolt would be conveyed three inches down the tin. Hod formed no opinion on the matter. Could not say how much heat the bolt would conduct down the tin, bat some heat would spread. gsrgeant-Majoy Gunn (re-called} elated in

reply to the Coroner that he hul handed the sample of polder found at Shelly Bay to Mr Skey, the Government Analyst. Mr Jc-llicoe here put in Mr Skey’s report on the analysis, which was as follows “ I have examined the samples of metal that yon handed to me for that purpose, and I have obtained the following results: —The sheet metal is iron superficially tinned. The solder has the following composition as calculated centesimally ; —Tin, 03.00 ; lead, 34.83 ; and traces of copper and iron.—(Signed) William Skey.” Francis Barclay, second-class torpedo-man stationed at Auckland, was next called, and stated that he knew Captain Falconer, who was Inspector in 1880, and visited the Auckland station in Juno of that year, .Remembered being employed to assist in copying certain circulars in June, 1880. Petly-Otficer Grant instructed him to do the work. This was whilst Captain Falconer was in Auckland. Had made a copy, like the one produced, of circular “ No. 3” from the original, which, with others, was taken into the orderly room when he was done with them. Had seen his copy a few days ago, when Captain Castles, of the Naval Commission, showed it to him. Cross-examined by Mr Skerrett .* Had made some 19 or 20 copies of different circulars. The copying of the circulars was impressed upon his mind, as it was the first and last occasion he had had copying todo. Knew it to be in the month ot June, as it was the first occasion of Captain Falconet’s visiting Auckland after his (witness’) arrival there. He was ordered to finish the copying quickly, so that Captain Falconerconld take the originals back with him. There bad been a good deal of talk about this matter among the men at Auckland. Had heard Captain Powell mentioning the matter. Captain Powell had asked him whether he could identify his handwriting, but had not directed him as to the point on which his evidence was to be given. Had not known that the circular of November, 18S6 was of greater importance than the others. Hy Mr Gully: Had arrived in Auckland in October, 1888. Had copied the circulars during the first visit of Captain Falconer, whilst he (witness) was here. Captain Falconer had visited Auckland twice since. Did not know what became of the circular after he had copied it. The Cjurt here adjourned till 2 p.m. for lunch.

Upon resuming after lunch, at 2 p.m,, the evidence of P.O. Grant was taken.

The witness stated, in reply toMrJellicoe, that he was stationed at Auckland, and belonged to the Torpedo Corps. Had been there three years. Remembered Captain Falconer coming to inspect the Auckland station in June, 1889, and staying at the Masonic Hotel on the North Shore. During his stay some circulars were copied by Torpedo-man Barclay. Heard Captain Falconer say to Captain Powell that he wished certain circulars copied quickly, as he wanted to take the originals back with him. Captain Powell ordered him (witness) to have the circulars copied as soon as possible*, and he detailed two men off to do the work. Had never before or since put Barclay on to work of that kind. Did not look through the circulars until after they had been copied, when he saw Barclay’s copies. The copy produced he recognised by its contents to be the same ns that Barclay had copied. The original ciiculars were handed back to him (witness) after being copied, and he took them into the office. Supposed the original of the one produced was amongst them. They were made by him into a parcel, and he gave them to an orderly, named Hill, to take to Captain Falconer’s hotel. This was the day before Captain Falconer left Auckland. By Mr Gully : The number of copies made was 35, of which Barclay copied 21. He had counted the copies since were made. He was present when the circulars were handed to Captain Powell by Captain Falconer; they were handed over altogether. Did not hear Captain Falconer say anything as to the contents of the circulars. By Mr Skerrett: Had not made any remarks about tins matter at Auckland. Had not expressed satisfaction at Captain Falconer’s gettirginto trouble. Had not caused any information to be sent down to Wellington about the matter. Did not know whether the circulars were sealed up when handed' to Captain Powell by Captain Falconer. Did not bear Captain Falconer mention the Defence Office in connection with the circulars. Captain Falconer had said to Captain Powell, “ I want these copied at once, as I have to take them back with me.” Should say that Captain Fa’coner was giving an order when he requested Captain Powell to have them copied. Did not know whether the circulars had come to Auckland afterwards. Had not seen them there.

George Hill, first-class torpedo man at Auckland, was the next witness. He stated he had been in Auckland 27 years. Hid not remember any particular date of Captain Falconer visiting A uckland. Remembered taking a parcel to Captain Falconer’s hotel on the North Shore. Had got the parcel from Petty-officer Grant. Took parcel to the Masonic Hotel, and gave it to Captain The parcel was of brown paper, but he did not know what it contained. It was the only parcel he had taken from Petty-Officer Grant. Did not see it made up._ This was the whole of the evidence Mr Jellicoe had to call.

Thomas F. Gray, clerk in the Defence Office, was called by Mr Skerretfc. The witness stated he had been clerk in the Defence Office for some years. In September, 1889, had sent a bundle ©f circulars to Captain Powell in Auckland. The whole of the circulars received from the War Office up to that date were sent to Captain Powell, It was the practice to make a record of all documents sent from the office, a special book being provided for that purpose. This had always been the practice. It was not likely that any documents would have been sent out without being entered in that book. Had not been able to find any record of a bundle of circulars being sent out to Captain Falconer, or of any returned by him to the Defence Office. Had plenty of records of single circulars sent to Captain Falconer. Particular care was taken of all circulars.

Cross-examined by Mr Jellicoe; Had not received a letter from Captain Powell, nuking for a particular circular, but had received a memorandum on the back of another circular asking for a certain circular. The memorandum was filed in the office. Could not say whether the memorandum from Captain Powell referred to a “ position-finder.” Would swear that the bundle of circulars sent from the office in September, of 1889, to Captain Powell had not before been sent out. Some of the circulars may have been sent out separately. Colonel Humfrey was in charge of the Department in 1889, and had access to the circulars. Would not like to swear that the original circular “No. 3” had not left the office in June, 1889. Did not think it had. Would not swear the said circular hod not been seen by persons in Auckland in June, 1889. It was the practice to refer circulars appertaining to submarine mining to Captain Falconer. Colonel Humfrey might have possibly referred circulars to Captain Falconer without witness knowing it. The circulars, lie thought, were together as a bundle until Captain Pcwell had sent clown for one. Could not say how often Colonel Humfrey had the circulars, including “No. 3,” in his possession during the months of May and June, 1889. Would not swear Colonel Humfrey had never taken them out of the office. If he had he would have asked witness to maka a record of them. It was not a fact that the office records were in such a desperate state of muddle as to be perfectly unreliable; the contrary was the case, and he would be surprised to hear of anybody denying-this. Charles Wall, corporal in the Wellington Torpedo Corps, stated in reply to Mr Skerrett, that he acted as clerk to Captain Falconer at Shelly Bay. He generally made up and sealed all papers Captain Falconer required on hi* inspection visits. Remembered when Captain Falconer left for his visit to Auckland in 1889, and had not put any circulars together for him on that occasion for him to take to Captain Powell. Had not seen any bundle of circulars on that occasion in Captain Falconer's office, and knew of nothing being transmitted to .Captain Powell from Shelly Bay. Upon Captain Falconer-g return from his inspection visits he {witness) took charge of all his papers, and copied out his report, fciaw ho bundle of circulars on Captain Falconer’s return from Auckland in 1889, and had never heqird of a bundle of original circulars being sent to the Defence Office,

Cross-examined by Mr Jellicoe j Captain Falconer left on a Saturday for the Auckland visit referred to. He (witness) made up Capt. Falconer's papers at Shelly Bay on the Friday. Brought the papers to Wellington and gave them to Captain Falconer on the wharf ; they were contained in an envelope. Confidential War Office circulars did not belong to the office at Shelly Bay. Thought Captain Falconer would take any confidential circulars to Shelly Bay for copying; the originals would then be returned to the Defence Office. Charles Hulke, headmaster of the Newtown School, was the next witness, and being sworn stated he was a chemist, being a Fellow of the Chemical Society of London, and also of one in Germany, Was acquainted with the common methods employed in laboratories, etc. Was acquainted with gun potton. Gun cotton would, according to authorities, ’"ignite at 343 degrees. Had experimented himself with some which would not’ ignite below 348 deg Had done a little soldering in his time. A c mister filled with cotton, as at Shelly Bay, and with a layer of ashes on top of the cotton, could be soldered without danger. If a bolt was so hot as to be able to ignite the cotton Sin below the top, a man’s eolder would be useless, and he could not get the lid fastened on, therefore a man would not be In any danger whatever. There would be no effect on the gun cotton by an ordinarily skilled man soldering such a tin. No matter what solder was used it would make no difference. He had made experiments and wascer* tain of this.

Witness here explained several experiments he had made, and produced quite a store of articles he had used for the purpose of testing the inflammability of gun cotton. Witness stated he was quite prepared to make up thousands of torpedos similar to the one he produced, and the making of which had proved that any careful man could solder primer tins without any danger. Cross-examined by Mr Jellicoe: His first vocation in life was sucking, and then he squalled. (Laughter.) Went Home in 18S2, and returned to the colony in 1884. Went Home to study. Was teacher before he went Home, and took up the profession again on his return. Had often experimented with gun cotton. Was still teacher at the Newtown SchooL Had made gun cotton in 1854 and 1830. Wrs intereated in science before he went Horae. Had not paid a visit to Waltham Abbey. H.’d not think it necessary to go to Waltham Abbey. Had read scientific works on gun cotton before he went Horae, but could not give the name of one.' Had not seen Major-General Wardell’s book, nor '* the Manual/’ Had not read any of the service books, and did not’believe in them. He read scientific works. There was not the least danger to a man soldering a primer/ Had seen the evidence of Lieutenant Treherne in the Tiaras, but di'4 not know •whether what he saw was a burlesque or not. He (witness) was a practical man, but Lieutenant Treherne was not, A primer, he understood, was a tin of dry gun cotton used to explode wet gun cotton. This was what a primer was, unless Mr Jellicoe referred to a school primer. (Laughter.) Had fired dry gun cotton himselt by electricity. Had fired about 3ozs in a small pepper tin. This was years ago. Mr Jellicoe here said he would like to recall and ask Captain Falconer whether he would be prepared to employ the last witness to load and solder primers. The Coroner thought this question was un necessary and should not be put. This concluded all the evidence, and Mr Jellicoe abked the Coroner whether be was

determined not to allow counsel to address the jury. The Coroner; “I am determined on that point.’’ Mr Jellicno : I should like to submit to you certain points to bring before the jury. Mr Skerrett objected to this. The Coroner: If counsel agree, I shall be glad tO' receive suggestions in writing from either side for submission to the jury, Ido not think this can be objected to, and will be fair to all parties. Both Mr Gully and Mr Skerrett. objected to this, and argued against it. The Coroner sa a d he would keep to what he had said, and was ready to receive a memorandum from Mr JelUcoe, but whether ho would use it or not was another matter. He would show the memorandum to the other counsel. The Coroner then proceeded to sum up. and addressing the jury said that in leaving the matter in their hands ho felt sure they would not be prejudiced one way other by outside reports, but would come to a decision in accordance with the evidence they had hoard and their conscientious feelings. The enquiry hid resolved itself into several sections, and they had to decide as to when, where, and by what means the deceased, Heighten and Densem, had come by their deaths. As to the immediate causes of their deaths, they had the evidence of the medical men, aad this would be sufficent to enable them to say that the deaths were caused by the gun cotton explosion at Shelly Bay. Then they had to decide whether the explosion was c ;u«ed by accident or otherwise, and on this point they had a whole mass of evidence to go upon. He did not mean to wade through that evidence, but would merely touch upon tho principal points. Witnesses had been called to prove tlmt the disostar had been caused by cn pable carelessness, and it was for them to determine whether this was so or not. If it was their opinion that culpable carelessness had been shown, they would have to state how and by whom. It had been shown that the two deceased men bad been employed cn the same kind of work on many occasions, and that Heighten, or Ross, had been known to state that he did not like the job because It was, he thought, dangerous, and he might some day be blown away. The injured man Cornwall had also stated that he had told Ross on the day of the explosion to keep out of the way for fear of being blown up, but the witness had also stated in bis evidence tlut he had said this in only a joking manner. The witnesses in the enquiry might be divided into two classes, viz., those who gave evidence as to the actual work done at Shelly Cay, and those who gave expert evidence on the strength of regulations and orders issued. It was for the jury to determine whether the men were working in a dangerous method, and further, whether anybody should, as a matter of duty, have warned them of their danger. Heighten (or Ross), they would remember, though asserting that ho thought the work dangerous, went on with his jab, and by his depositions appeared to think that the disaster was caused by the heat cf the bolt ho waa using. As to the material of the tins, they would bear in mind that it had before been used at Shelly Bay under Captain Falconer, and the jury would draw their own inferences as to its danger. Lieutenant Treherno, as well as other expert witnesses*, had stated tho work to be dangerous and if they came to the same conclusion they would have to say who was to blame. It had been suggested that, as officer in charge, Captain Falconer was responsible for the disaster. In considering this they would have to consider that officer’s position and the orders he acted under. As to the circular

‘■No. 3,” there was nothing to show that Captain Falconer lud seen P, and he had sworn that he had not seen it previous to the explosion. On the other hand, Captain Powell, Ser-ceaut-Major Gunn and others bad sworn that the said circular had been taken to Auckland by Captain Falconer, Mr Gray, of the Defeme Office, had, however, sta'ed that no bundle of circulars, as referred to, had been sent out of the Defence Office to Auckland until September, 1889, subsequent to Captain Falconer’s visit of inspection to Auckland. It was for-the jury to say whether they considered the said circular had reached Auckland through Captain Falconer before September, 1889, or not. Captain Falconer had denied ever seeing the circular before the disaster, and also had stated he had not been acquainted with the “ Service ’’ pattern of primers. They would also have to consider whether the fact of Gunn having on his arrival placed hia notebook at Captain Falconer’s disposal for reference, made the latter guilty of culpable negligence in not having made himself acquainted with its contents. With regard to the primers made at Shelly Bay, Captain Falconer had stated he had seen similar ones made on H.M.S. Hood, but Lieutenant Trehorne and other experts stated the pattern to be obsolete. There was' no evidence of Falconer having seen the service primers in Auckland, or that he knew of their existence in the Colony. As to the danger of the work,they must bear in mind that all work could be made dangerous by carelessness on the part of workmen. He left it to the jury to sny whether they considered the mischief had been done by carelessness alone and not culpable negligence. If they found that the deaths had been caused by culpable carelessness, such would amount to manslaughter. “ Rus>o’l on Crimes " describes death by wilful act as murder, while death by mischance through culpable carelessness was, by the same authority, described as manslaughter. But it had been held that anybody doing hia wj rk in a usual way, even though that way be dangerous, could not be held liable for manslaughter in case of accident. (The Coroner hero quoted several recorded In* stances from legal authorities for the guidance of the jury.) Resuming, the Coroner said he would leave the jury to come to a decision, and it was for them to say whether the deaths were caused by accident or, if not, whether they were due to culpable negligence, and who was responsible for same. It was also open for them to find, if they thought the evidence warranted it, that there was no cause for the accident shown. The jury retired at 5 p.iH., and after an absence of 45 minutes returned to Court. The Foreman, in reply to the Coroner, stated that they had come to the following decision :—“That the two deceased had died from injuries received through an accidental explosion of gun-cotton at Shelly Bay on March. sth, but that there was no sufficient direct evidence tor them to say what caused the explosion.” The jury also added the following riders :-*• “ (1) We think that the method hitherto practised at Shelly Bay in the manufacture of primers is obsolete, and should be discontinued, and that the pattern of the canister shown as the M service ” primer with the pickle bottle top should be used instead. (2) Wo also are of opinion that officers commanding torpedo corps in the Colony should be instructed by the proper authorities to strictly adhere as far as practicable to the rules issued by the War Office for use in the Imperial service. (3) The jury are of opinion in this instance that no blame is attachable to Captain Falconer, as he was not aware of circulars relating to the improved method of loadirg primers.—(Signed) O. Gamble, foreman/’

The Coroner entered up a verdict in accordance with the finding of the jury, and the enquiry concluded.

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