THE FATAL BLASTING ACCIDENT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 7569, 21 May 1886, Page 3

THE FATAL BLASTING ACCIDENT.

THE INQUEST.

The inquiry into the death of Mrs Finch, who

was killed by the effects of the blast in the Dowling street cutting, was resumed at the Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday morning, before Mr Coroner Carew and the following jury: Messrs N. Y. A. Wales (foreman), H. Wise, S. U. Smith, James Watson, W. Morrison, uud James Wilkie.

Mr Haggitt conducted the proceedings ou behalf of the * rowu, Mr J. R. Sinclair appeared to watch the proceedings on behalf of the City Corporation; Mr Kettle for Mr William Barues, superintendent of the works; and Mr Stilling for the expressman, Millier, who was injured. Mr J. A. D. Adams was present on behalf of one of the property-holders.

Margaret Vivian deposed: I am a widow residing in Dunedin. I was in the London Portrait Kooms on the afternoon of the 17th inst. about half an hour before dark. I was iv the recep-tion-room with my daughter, and Mrs Finch and Mrs Irwin were also there. Mrs Finch had been showing me a portrait she had been doing for me.

Mr Haggitt: Now I want you, Mrs Vivian, to describe what extraordinary circumstance happened.

Witness: There is a window, and a small table stood in front of it in the right hand far corner of the room exactly opposite the door. Mrs Fiuch had been to the cabinet and had just sat down again at the table. She was crocheting a little boot, and suddenly we heard a dreadful noise. I must have jumped up from my seat, for the first thiug that I remember was that I found myself standing in the middle of the floor. The room was in almost pitch darkness owing to dust or something of the kind. 1 did not observe what any of the others in the room did after the dreadful noise. The next thing I heard was a dreadful crushing of glass. Then 1 rushed out of the room on to the landing. I rushed back to the door again, and called out to my daughter " Come away quick," but there was, no answer; I heard no sound. Then I think I rushed to the top of the stairs. I rushed back to the door again and stood calling to her, '• Come away." She came out of the room covered with dust all over. Someone, I think it was a policeman, asked me to go into the next room and sit down. When I went there I i saw a great hole in the ceiling. X would | not stay there. I sat on the landing, and after a little while I went back to the room where I was at first to see what had happened. Dr De Zouehe was there then, and Mr Irwin and one-or two others. I saw Mrs Fiuch lying ou her back on the floor in a pool of blood. Her face was quite covered with blood. I saw her upper lip twitch twice. Mrs Jrwin was sitting further away on the iloor, nearer the j other window, with her little son holding her up. She kept saying " I feel so sick." No one was attending her at all at this time. I went to get a chair for Mrs Irwin, and then my daughter asked me to get a cab to go home. I did not know my daughter was injured until I saw the blood trickling clown her face. Someone helped me to take my daughter to the doctor. My attention was called to someone lifting a stone from the floor. There had been no stone there previously. I also saw a large hole in the ceiling of the room, just in the comer where Mrs Finch had been sitting, and near where I had been sitting myself. I saw a hole in the ceiling of the next room. The hole in the ceiling of the reception room was not there when I was talking to Mrs Finch at the table. That is all 1 know, except what my daughter says. My daughter is in bed and unable to come. The occurrence I spoke of happened about a quarter to five. '

Thomas Bird deposed : I am assistant at the London Portrait Rooms. I was there on the 17th inst. I was employed at the back part of the premises, in what we call the priutiugroom. It is a good way back. The first unusual thing which attracted my attention was the sound of stones falling through the roof. No stones came through where I was. I heard Mr Irwin coming down stairs aud going towards the front room, and I followed in the same direction. I followed Mr Irwin into the room. I hardly saw anything; the room was so dark with the dust and the dusk of the evening. I saw Mr Irwin trying to raise his wife from the floor, and I went to help him. I found my bauds covered with blood after touching Mrs irwiu. We moved her before the fireplace. I suggested to Mr Irwiu that I should go for a doctor. Mr Irwin said that I should go as soon as possible. I went at once. On coming to the landing I saw Mrs Vivian and her daughter covered with dust and plaster, and Mrs Vivian was asking what had happened. I made no answer, as I was hurrying for the doctor. I was away five or ten minutes, and the doctor came very shortly afterwards. There were others in the room when I came back. I went into the room withDr De Zouche, whom I had gone to seek a second timet.'and met at the door. I then saw the deceased Mrs Finch lying on her back with her head very badly cut; it was cut right down the forehead. Mrs Irwiu was much in the same place as we had left her. She was complaining of feeling sick, and was asking what had occurred. Mrs Finch's feet were where they would have been had she been sitting on the chair, and fallen sidewards and outwards. We moved Mrs Irwin from above Mrs Finch Mrs Irwin was at the rooms nearly every day. I saw a hole in the ceiling in the room, and also a large stone under the sofa, which I picked up aud afterwards handed to the police. The stone produced is the one ; it has a mark at the side. I see it is marked 351bs 2oz. There were a number of other stones, but this is the largest I saw. This was the only stone I observed specially, but I thiuk there would be ten or twelve stones altogether in the room. I observed the size of the hole in the roof, but I could not say exactly its dimensions. There was a'large hole in the roof and ceiling of the adjoining room. No stones came through a glass roof which covered part of the premises. The principal damage to the building was done to the reception-room. I never while in She premises on any previous occasion heard blasting going on. I)r De Zouche said: I reached the London Portrait Rooms at about five minutes past five o'clock. The last witness met me at the door and took me up to the reception room, where Mrs Fiuch was lyiug. She was on her back, her feet near the window, and her head in the direction of the door. She was covered with dust and blood. I found the frontal bone fractured and the brain exposed. She was still bleeding, and died a few minutes after I arrived. She never spoke, and could not have been capable of speaking, after receiving the injury. Mrs Irwin was in a half-sitting position on the floor, near the fireplace, supported by her husband. She had a large scalp wound on the right side of the frontal bone, and was bleeding from the ear. I sent for the hospital ambulance, and had her removed home. I have been since attending her, and she is progressing favorably; but I cauuot promise anything. Mrs Finch's body was removed to Mr Irwin's the same evening. Mrs Finch's hair was dark—the same colour as the hair on the stone produced. This stone would be quite sufficient to occasion the wound, and the shape of it corresponds. The room was in disorder, owing to a quantity of dust and plaster flying about. The dust covered everything in the room. There were holes in the ceiling' and roof, and I saw some stones lying about the floor. I should say that the stone which struck the deceased came from above in a slanting direction.

William Barnes said: I am foreman of the relief works in Dunediu.

Mr Carew : I asked you the other day, when you were shortly questioned, whether you had any objection to give evidence, and I ask you the same question now.

Witness: I have no objection. Amongst the relief works there is a cutting in Dowling street, the object of which is partly to obtain material to carry on other works. The material in the Dowling street cutting is mostly rotten rock. All the clay has been removed some time since,' and there is nothing left now but rotten rock. This is removed by crowbar and pick, and sometimes we used a little powder. The " unemployed" commenced to work there last December. It was in Fobruary that I began to superintend them. Since then the works have been carried on under my inspection in the way I have described. About a dozen blasts have been fired during that time. They have not been all of the same magnitude. In the large holes more powder was used—l mean the deep holes. About 14ft. 6in. has been the deepest hole bored, and about six feet of powder was put in this. A bore two inches in diameter was used for some of the holes, and one 2.^ inches for the others. The 2-} inch bore was more frequently used. During the last three months blasts have been fired in holes made by the 2^ inch drill more than half-a-dozen times. The precautions I have taken to prevent accidents from these blasts are to put on a lot of manuka scrub tied up in bundles and laid on the top of the rock it was intended to blast. The same scrub was used over and over again. There were about 16 bundles perhaps, weighing about half-a-hundred-weight each. They would be about seven feet long and about two feet thick. They were used to keep the stone from flying up, and they did so. None of the stone used ever to escape. This was the only precaution taken to prevent tho stones from flying. I think a long time since I have seen a chain or rope net used for the same purpose at Bell Hill. This was at the other side of Dowling street, and the work was being done by prison labour. I have not had much experience at blasting. I have several times since 1859 had experience as superintendent. lam a contractor by occupation, and have been for the last 20 years. I take small cuttings, formation, of roads, and horse and cart work. I had blasting to do at Logan's Point when the railway was being made. I superintended the obtaining of material, and it was principally there I got my experience. I occasionally used scrub there, but more frequently used nothing at all. It was an out-of-the way place, and there was no occasion to take precautions there. I have known scrub to be used in Dowling street before I had any connection with the work, and in using it I was continuing the practice that had prevailed. My only experience of the manner in which the works were carried on before I went there was gained by what I saw while passing along Princes street. I was never close enough to see how much scrub they used. I never knew thar, accidents had happened in blasting on this cutting before. I have had no experience of the use of chain or rope nets, and cannot say whether they would or would not be safer than Die scrub I used. The instance in 801 l Hill I have spoken ot is the only one I have ever known in Dunfidm of the use of a net. Ido not know whether nets are to be obtained here. Seven ieet of powder in a 24-itich bore was the largest quantity ever used while I have had charge of the Dowling street works. This was about a month ago. It was in the same descrip-

tion of material that was being blasted on the 17th of this month. The blast was at the bottom of the cutting, at about the same level as that of the 17th. The quantity of material displaced by that blast was about 40 tons. We used scrub on that occasion and nothing else. No stones flew. I was present at the time. No stone flew across to the opposite bank. The scrub was placed over the surface we expected to remove, and over the top of the bore. About a fortnight ago we fired a blast nearer the spot where the charge-of the 17th was fired The hole was about 12ffc Sin deep, and there wps livo feet of powder. We used the scrub on this occasion in the way I have already described. I was present then also. No stones new through the scrub, but some tumbled clown. Mostly all the blasts and borings for them are done under my immediate personal supervision The men are supposed to be under my orders If I am going away I point out the place where they are to put the holes down. Sometimes I leave it to Rogers himself to choose the place if lam not there. A long bore, 14 or 15 feet deep sometimes, took a couple of days to put down. A blast was discharged last Monday night, at about a quarter to five o'clock. I was present at the time. Rogers lit the fuse under my direction. I had seen the bore for that blast put clown. I told Rogers to put a hole in there, but I am not sure whether I indicated the exact position. The hole was hi a slightly slanting direction. I generally instructed the men to keep the drill as straight as possible. The drilling is done by three hands. One man holds and directs the drill while two others strike the head of it with hammers alternately. Water is used to keep the drill cool and to convert the stone dust into clay so that it can be taken out with a spoon. T never examined the material brought up bj the spoon, and never saw it done. I left that to Rogers, who I looked upon as being a competent man. He was sent to me as a man who understood the work, and that was the reason he was put on it. A man named Casey was at one time foreman under me, and he'told me Rogers was a good man to drill; and in consequence of that I put him ou the work. In making a, hole through this rotten rock you must necessarily come across different kinds of material—some hard and some soft. I could not say whether an inspection of the clay brought up by the spoon would show what material the drill was passing through. If it was dark coloured clay I should think it would be hard rock.

Mr Haggitt: I am informed, your Worship, that men know what stuff they are passing through by that means.

• Witness : I made no inquiries from the men working the drill as to what material they had come across. I noticed the drill was not straight up, and spoke to the men about it. They said the drill had got into a seam or something and they could not keep it up. The hole was then, I should think, two or three feet down. 1 told them to try and keep it as straight as they could and they went on until they drove it sft 2in down. I did not know the cause of the drill slanting, and did not know the material it was passing through. The rock seemed two or three feet down. 1 could see no indication on the outside that there was likely to be a hard belt of rock at that depth. When the men reported that they could not get- any furtber down, I told them to knock off and they did' so, and we left it alone till, the afternoon. I bad intended that the hole should be another half-foot deep to take it down to the level of the road. At about a quarter past 4, Rogers and the two men who held the hammers went and dried the hole out and put in the charge of powder. I said that 2ft 4in of powder would be as much as would do -for the charge I saw them put in 16 or 17 inches. I told them to put in the tamper, and afterwards I marked on it how much powder was to go in. I told Rogers I thought they had got rather much powder m before putting in the fuse. He said he did not think so. I then saw Rogers put in the fuse. There were some drays loading at this time, and something attracted'my attention. There was a stone coming clown and some of the men said, " Look out." I turned round to see what it was and saw some big lumps of stone rolling down and one hanging. I took the pick and moved some stone with it. I turned round then to attend to the men who were laying the charge, and saw the hole was being tamped. The tamp was then within six inches of the top of the hole. I did not know how much powder had been put in. I asked Rogers ifhe did not think he had-put in too much and he said "No." I thought he would have asked me to see if there was enough powder in the hole before he tamped it up. That was unreason for making the remark. Rogers had never before tamped up a hole without first calling my attention to it to see whether the proper quantity of powder was in. At this stage ali the witnesses, save the experts, were ordered to leave the Court, at the suggestion of the foreman.

Witness resuming said:—l do not know the quantity of powder that was put in cm this occasion. I intended it to be 2ft 4in. I do not know exactly what quantity would be in a 2+in. hole. I judge of the quantity to be used by the look of the material and the depth of the hole, and measure the powder by inches not by weight. For tamping an iron rod is used. After the hole was tamped the scrub was put on the top of it and down the sides as I have described, all the scrub that was used on previous occasions for blasting in that part of the works was used. Rogers put some stones on the ends of the scrub. This was sometimes done. Rogers then asked me if he should light the fuse and I said yes. About a 6ft fuse was used. Before he lighted it I sent a boy up the steps to prevent people from coming down them. I went to the bottom of the steps after the fuse was lighted. A woman insisted upon going up the steps and I waited until I saw her away and then went and stood at the bottom of the steps myself. I was near the chemist's shop, and the other men stood on the opposite side of the cutting. I saw the blast go oif. The report was rather louder than usual, and I saw stuff—stonos and 'scrub—fly up into the air. It flew over the telegraph posts at the top of the steps, and down towards Farley's buildings. There appeared to be a large quantity of it, and it all seemed to take the same direction. The stone took the direction I expected the blast to take, but I did not expect it to fly. I expected the blast would simply shake the rock, and not remove it into the roadway. When I saw the result of the blast, I went to Rogers and told him he had put too much powder in. That was what I thought at the time. I did not go to see what damage was done—l was frightened to move. I was afraid of the effects of the blast. In about a quarter of an hour 1 went home without having ascertained the extent of the damage, but I heard a policeman say one lady was killed and another very nearly. I did not go up the steps. The stones in Court are like the material we ha?e been blasting. I cannot account for the stones flying as they did on this occasion except on the supposition that Rogers had put in more powder than he ought to have done, and more than I told him. Sometimes it might happen by the lower part of the hole being in hauler stone than the upper part. In such case the force of the explosion would take the weak part of the material. I have not examined the .hole to ascertain if the blast took effect at the bottom. On all previous occasions I have noticed that the effect of the blast has been to split the stone below the bottom of the hole. This shot was not a good one—not so effective as I expected it would be. I expected it to loosen the stone to the level of the road I have not taken steps to ascertain if it has done so. The same men always assisted Rogers in the drilling operations. Their names are John Rowan, and Peter M'Ewau. Rogers always held the drill, aud they used the hammers. The blast was deferred till after four o'clock in the afternoon, so as to let it off the last thing The reason was that the drays would be away then, and it would prevent the men being delayed in their work. The fuse is always put about the centre of the powder. I do not exactly know why; I do it because it is usual I was aware that under the Police Offences' Act it was necessary to obtain authority beforp blasting in or near any public place. I had not obtaiuedsuchaufchority, but I wasonly continuing previous blasting operations. I had not applied to the Corporation for permission to carry on those operations. I was just carrying on the blasting operations as usual. I was supplied with the powder for the blasting by the Corporation. I had no directions given me by the Corporation or anybody else as to the manner ol carrying out the operations. This cutting where the blasting was carried on was in the line of Dowlmg street. Mr Stilling: Mr Barnes, have you any objection to stating in whose employ you considered you were lust Monday? Mr Haggilt objected. The purpose of the present inquiry was to inquire into the cause of the death of Mrs Finch.

Mr Stilling said this was a public inquiry, and the public equally with his client were interested m knowing who was at the base of these blasting operations. He would put it this way • Who pays you, Mr Barnes ?

Witness: The Corporation, under an arrangement with the General Government. I get my pay along with the rest of the men on the works. I get 8s a day. Rogers, M'Ewan ami Rowan each get 4s 6d per day. I have sometimes been paid by Mr Tame ; at other times by another- man from the Corporation ollice. I was employed by Mr Mirams, the City Engineer. The appointment was made in writing. The following is the document:— " His, Worship the Mayor informs mo that the Relief Works Committee have decided to give you the outdoor control of the works under my directions. Will you please call at once for my directions ? Pay-shee'tsjfor Cumberland and Crawford street works are to be kept separate to suit the Government instructions.—S. H. MlliAllS.

To the Coroner : The stuff is being removed from the cutting to form Cumberland street and the Anderson's Bay road. I suppose the purpose of taking away stuff from the cutting is to form a street, but I could not say. I have nothing to do with forming Dowling street. "When working at Logan's Point I was foreman. Sometimes my instructions as to taking stuff away came from the mayor and sometimes from Mr Minims. When the blast was put in on Monday I think it would have been dangerous to have put in a shallower hole and blown off the soft sfcufE first. I had not worked at the Dowling street cutting before 1 received the letter which lias been read and which is dated 27th March, 1880. The unemployed were working at the cutting before then ; and Mr Casey had been foreman and another man before him.

Jeremiah Rogers deposed: lam a labouring man. On the 17th-instant I was working at the Dowling street cutting under Mr Barnes. I worked at blasting, putting down holes and firing them, generally under Mr Barnes' instructions. On and off for the last 40 years, 1 may say, I have had experience with blasting' stone in Victoria and other countries. My experience has generally been in road making

and contracting. The former operations I have been connected with were conducted in the same way as those at the Dowling street cutting, j where I have been employed for two or three months. I started there tin's year when Mr Casey was foreman. I could not exactly say how many blasts have been let off there in my time I was working there some time before blasting | operations were commenced. Since I have been j there I have conducted all the blasting operations; that is, I did so under Mr Barnes' instructions. Before the accident on the 17th there has never been an accident at the cutting, or atany blasting operations with which I have been connected. Sometimes I held the drill and sometimes I changed with the hammermen The depth of the drill varies in different cases. We generally try to bore the hole as straight .down as we can. The place where I had to commence the holes was always pointed out to me by Mr Barnes, who also always told me what the charge had to be. I never charged a hole, except on one occasion, without Mr Barnes being present, and on that occasion he gave me instructions before he left, lhat was about the beginning of May The stone where the drill was put in on the 17th ■■Hist, was harder and more brittle than anything I had before met. It was hard from top to bottom and a very difficult hole to put down. Ihe drill seemed to have got into a seam, and it was harder work every stroke. It seemed to me that there was some brittle stuff that kept falling into the drill hole. I did not examine the stuff I pulled out of the hole with the spoon I thought the bottom of the hole was below the level of the street and deep enough. I told Mr Barnes the depth, and that I could not get any deeper. Mr Barnes then ordered me to work m another place, and I remained there till he sent for me to charge the hole. Rowan and M'Ewan assisted me to charge the hole, and Mr Barnes was standing looking on. I put the tamper into the hole, and Mr-Barnes asked me if it was clear. I told him that it was clear and dried out. I marked the tamper to show the depth of the hole, and showed it to Mr Barnes. He used the tape to measure the depth, and it was sft 2in He put a chalk mark on the tamper, and tpld me to put that much powder in it. I did so. It Was" 2ffc 6in marked. I put in some powder, and Mr Barnes who was standing by me, told me to measure it and see what quantity I had in. I found I had 18mm. then. He then told me to put in the iuse. I did so, and he told me then to put in the rest of my powder. ■ The Coroner: How much did j-ou put in ? Witness: I may have put a little more than the specified quantity. The Coroner: How much were you told to put in ?

Witness: Two feet aud a-h.ilf. I ma y have put in a little more, but nothing to speak of I had no tin or" measure, and could only run it in from the bag, aud a little more may have slipped m. I put the tamper in the hole then, and naturally thought Mr Barnes was standing by looking on. If his attention was attracted by anything else I was not aware of it. Mr Barnes on several occasions previously had said that he could not understand my way of measuring the depth of powder, aud I said that I could not understand his. The measurements of the depth of powder were taken in a different way from what had been done previously. Mr Barnes marked 2ft 6m on the tamping rod from the bottom of it, and told me to put in that depth of powder The way in which I calculated it was this : I put powder into the hole until there was only 2ft 6iu of space between the powder and the top of the hole. I. swear that when the powder was m, Mr Barnes' mark on the tamping rod was just about at the top of the hole It might have been half an inch or so above I never missed Mr Barnes, I naturally expected he was looking on all the time I tamped up the charge to the top of the hole I tamped it as hard as I could with the iron rod that is used for the purpose. I do not know what kind of powder we were using The sample produced is some of it. I believe it is the same we were using ail along. I had not used any out of that keg before. It was the commencement of a new keg. After I had finished the charge, Mr Barnes asked me what powder I had put in, and I said the same that he had told me. We then put on scrub as usual. I put on all the scrub that was usual with the exception of one bundle that was too dirty to handle, and I then put a lot of stones to keep the scrub down. I covered over the whole surface I expected to be affected, putting scrub on the top and sides as directed by MiBarnes. The scrub was used in the same way as on previous occasions. When the blast was ready to fire, Mr Barnes sent to disperse, some children, and I think a woman or two, who were on the top of the steps. I then set lire to the blast, and went down to the corner of the Oriental in Princes street. I saw Mr Barnes standing on the opposite side of the cutting I saw the stones and the scrub fly across the cutting in the direction of Princes street. There was a good shower of stones and scrub. Nearly all flew in one direction. There was a good deal of the scrub left in the cutting. On previous occasions I have never seen the stones and scrubs fly in this way. I have never seen them fly at all. If anything took Mr Barnes' attention from what I was doing I am very much surprised, for he was always very attentive. The only way I can account for the stone flying as it did is that it was of a harder and more brittle nature, and full of clay seams. I found it so all the way down. It was all alike from the top to the bottom. Mr Barnes'instructions were to drive a hole about six feet deep. It would be understood that I was to drive it plumb if I could. I did not succeed in doing so quite; the hole inclined inwards towards the bank. I daresay the bottom of the hole would be six inches, or very near it, off the plumb. The shot was not a very successful one as regards the removal of the stuff I did not go myself to see what mischief was done or where the stones fell. I have always in this cutting been accustomed to use the same kind of scrub, and I have never been blasting in any other place where it was necessary to use anything. I have seen chain cable used in this same cutting when the Grants were working there. It was passed over the bundles of scrub I never saw a chain or rope net used. I could tell if the drill came upon a seam by the way it worked. If it were a soft seam we should notice it more readily than a hard one. These seams I thmk influence the direction the material takes when blasted. If there were a fissure in the rock, everything above it would be likely to be blown upwards. I should not be likely to know of the existence of a seam or fissure As a matter of fact I do not know. When I fired the blast I was in ignorance what direction it would take. There are no means among miners of ascertaining this that I know of. The stone is sure to blow from a fissure upwards The stuff intended to be removed is called the ''burden." I think the charge of powder was large enough to remove the " burden " if there had been no fissure. I know of no rule regulating the charge according to the burden to be removed. We have to judge of the quantity of powder by the effect of previous blasts and the character of the ground. I have never blasted m a town before. My previous experience was in country roads and quarries, blasting through clay and rock. There was no need for care there. I know of nothing better than scrub to use excepting to have a few heavy chains thrown across the scrub. I never weighed powder-always measured it. I have had the tamping blown out by an overcharge of powder that was the only consequence. I daresay an overcharge would have the effect of removing stone further than an ordinary charge. To Mr Stilling : On this occasion 1 pot mv instructions from Mr Barnes. He is the foreman there. I have been receiving an extra sixpence a day, making 4s 6d. I get paid at the unemployed office every week. A clerk from the Town Hall pays me. I have seen Mr Mirams at the works.

To Mr Kettle : I have had considerable experience in blasting for the last 40 years I bored the hole and 1 saw generally the nature of the ground outside. I did not expect the stones would fly as they did. In my opinion tins blast was properly charged and protected. The same precautions were taken as usual. To the Coroner : The character of the stone in the cutting is that there is a large number of seams in it.

At this stage tho proceedings were further adjourned until the 27th inst.