CURRENT TOPICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11523, 8 September 1899, Page 4

CURRENT TOPICS.

The frequency of fatal accidents from the rise of high explosives;-as-the dangerous nitrp-eompounds are generically explosives, termed, displays a lamentable ignorance concerning, the nature of the compounds handled so regardless of danger by those whose business it-is toruse these explosives for blasting. It was but the other day that a terrible accident from the premature explosion of one of these destructive compounds thiilled the colony, and»wheri such a sad fatality could happen in the hands of presumably skilled operators, we.needfnot wonder at the .frequency of fatal' accidents amongst the uninitiated, so to. speak. Recently four miners were killed at Yalgoo; in New South Wales, by the unexpected eKplo-. sion of 501b of gelignite, which the concussion from a shot sent off. One body was recovered,; the cable informs us, but the,others: were buried under 'thousands of tons of earth.. The explosion referred tp is precisely the kind: of accident that should be impossible /were men "compelled to pass some .sort of, examination and be required to hold a certificate of. competency befor6 being allowed to use any. of the high' explosives. Men accustomed'to use ordinaryf gunpowder are liable to assume, equal confidence. in thef : use of high explosives, which results in most' cases fromignorance of the character- arid: qualities of ..the latter. The warming of dynamite over fa- fire in an old frying pan or equally convenient vessel is an' every day occurrence amongst;' those who iise the compound for, blasting piir-y poses; .yet this practice is about as, safefas that of the proverbial sailor sitting; siriok-.', ing upon ah open barrel of gunpowder. jSfitro-glycerihe, which is the' effectivef part, of dynamite, is a "touchy" explosive/fand has the trick of going off at the least shpck. A. terrible'explosion occurred in the town of Bangor, in AVales, some years ago, caused, by the jolting of a cart exploding- a quantity of nitro-glycerine which was being conveyed to the quarries for blasting with. From this' dangerous quality nitro-glycerine has been abandoned; its' place being taken by dyna- ■ mite and other high explosives. Dynamite is a meohanical mixture qf nitro-glycerine and infusorial earth, and so long as the mixture is free from liquid nitro-glycerine. it can be handled with perfect safety; butfwhen it freezes, which it readily does, drops of the heavy- oily liquid, ooze out, when the com- ' pound possesses all the dangerous qualities of the original nitro-glycerine. f The only safe : way to thaw frozen dynamite is thereforey; to steep it-''in' warm water. Some miners appear to know this, but foolishly render all their precautions worthless through boiling the stuff in a, billy pr other, receptacle over; the fire. Gelignite is compounded;of nitroglycerine and cullodion-cotton, the latter be-: ing a modified form of guncotton. The com> pound is both safer and more,powerful than dynamite, and is therefore:extensively used. All of these high explosives having nitrogen / as their base are" fired by concussion, ;and for-; the purpose a more or, less, powerful detonator' is employed. While the latter isffired'by-'a. spark, the.formfer will not explode like:gunpowder. Now, it is obvious, that if a charge of gelignite can be exploded by the cdncus- * sion of the detonator in close contact, the con- • mission of the bursting charge will fire anjff. quantity of the explosive within a. certain radius. This is the fact the:Yalgoo*miners, appear to have been ignorant of, and through- ■ leaving their store of 'gelignite ,within ;the sphere of influence of the blasting charge lost . their lives. The. explosion of gunpowder is a mechanical operation,, the. contact of fire passing from grain to grain with lightning- . like rapidity;; but in the ease of theliigh ex. .-. plosives the shock" of. detonation causes an instantaneous disruption of the molecules, of the compound—hence thoir terrible power. - But what we would like to impress upon miners and others using; these explosives:is.the fact, that they explode by concussion,: arid that the reserve stock should be kept a; £ long way from the bursting charge, if the,. New South AA .lies accident is not to be re-

peated.

The Fosterville Gold Mining Company, at

Ellesmere, near Bendigo, has iow-ghade evidently solved the problem of quaetz. how to make low-grade quartz

pay. In a recent number1 ;of the Argus some reference is made to the halfyearly meeting of the company which, although owning a rather poor claim, has now made a move along-the road that leads to ..prosperity.l New machinery was erected, at the mine, it appears, a year ago, and the effect has been extremely gratifying to the shareholders. The company began the year with a debit balance of £388, and at the end of the first half-year had a credit balance of. £857. The directors were therefore enabled to discharge the pleasing duty of declaring a dividend of 6d per share, which is the second of that amount, the Argus says, made in any of the mines in the field. During the halfyear term 6222 loads of quartz were treated, the yield of gold being 7170z Bdwt from the ; gold-saving tables and 1630z 18dwt from the by-products. The stuff put through the machinery averaged 2dwt 7gr per ton, and the cost of treatment was 5s 9d. The result must, be ': considered entirely satisfactory, and proclaims the triumph of modern machinery and gold-saving appliances. The decided success of the Fostorville Company opens up enormous possibilities in the future development of quartz mining in these colonies; for many low-grade reefs are known, which have hitherto been considered too poor to provefrcmunerative. There are many such throughout New Zealand, and when the eager attention of the public has been satiated with dredge mining, some of our long-neglected' quartz reefs may be exploited. The ..thief hindrance to the development of these lowgrade mines is the want of capital, for gene-l rally they require more extensive and consequently more costly machinery to work-them than the richer quartz reef?. In the ru'-e of tho half-ounce'and richer reef..-, tlivid_ji.d3 . may be paid even althovch all tho V-.M is'

not saved; but in the low-grade reefs every grain of gold must he saved, and there must be practically no waste if lhey are to pay at all. There are quartz reefs in Otago that have yielded 4dwt to 7dwt to the ton which -Lad'to be abandoned because they could not be ma.de to pay; but these reefs are certain to be looked at in the future, and with the experience gained in other colonies, such reefs should be.inado to pay handsomely. There is one thing about low-grade reefs that ' generally tells, to their advantage, and that is the even distribution of the gold, making the average yield wonderfully constant throughout the lode. The rich reefs, with their phenomenal yields, are generally patchy, the gold occurring in veins or pockets, as in the AVest Australian reefs, where tho occasional discovery of an Aladdin's cave has sent the mining; world into ecstasies. But the general-average of even these reefs or lodes is' notf necessarily high, a great deal of the quartz, being barren. As.a matter of fact, •the Government geologist, after a careful inspection of the goldfields at Coolgardie and : neighbourhood, has estimated the average yield of the mines at loz per ton, which is not. a remarkable yield after all: Reefs averaging'4dwt to tho ton with thegold evenly: distributed through them —and there are a good many such in New Zealand—would pay well Jiff worked on the Fosterville method; fbut 'in the meantime these, low-grade quartz reefs do not attract much attention in this colony.

%!wo months have come and gone, and the " ff" . ''■ third is speeding on its course, •■•the .-'.'_ and still the disabled steamer -..'■ Beokenf.',': Waikato is drifting hither and ."DOWN thither, the plaything:of wind :WAIKATO..'. and waves, indeed, a .'-■ ■•'■:.- f -,:-.. ...worse: fate has befallen her. Twice she.has.been sighted, within three days of• each other, by sailing, craft, and the reipprt: brought that she has. broken her'shaft. But for that - comforting message from the (sei,/ long "ere this the steamer would have ;been giyeniip as lost somewhere in the stormy JBtre.qh.es. fof. the vast Southern Ocean.; But,

--.lafter'the long drift of the Perthshire and her y-^ -eventual; rescue from what at best must be . considered fa perilous situation, less anxiety has been felt regarding the ultimate safety of the"AVaikato.. * Shortly after-the AVaikato was reiDOrted disabled, by "the barquentine Tacora, ;-, H.'M.Sj Melpomene, one of'theywar vessels belonging to-.the Cape squadron, .was sent an . search of .her; but, 1 unfortunately, without success, as; a cable message in to-day's isfeue .informs us. There is one comforting"1 thingVab'qu.. the matter, and that is that the crew will not be reduced to'starvation, since tlie:Waikato has plenty of provisions amongst her general'cargo. But long ere this all luxuries will have been used lip.yand the crew drifting helpless in thei disabled steamer jlvill': fbe sighing' for the ~ flesh pots, if not of Egypt, aY least of some friendly land.

Tlief trend■•', of her drift in response to the actipnfof' the prevailing winds and ocean cur-

/.fits 'generally will be towards the north' and east'; but her, course will be marked by many retrograde .curves occasioned :hy storms, as ih the case of the Perthshire. It is yet frelsh . in the memory of our readers how the Perthshire eluded all search for seven weeks, notwithstanding the fact that a number bf'_;.___.' I niers were'searching for her,'• so that there is

nbtjiing remarkable in the fact that the single warship sent -to look: for the' Waikato missed her.?, Any information we have received so

.far does hot state the: nature' of her: injury 'beyond the:bald fact that the AVaikato had broken.her:shaft. It is always possible that the break''was'not quite so difficult to get at as ■: th&fr .of the" Perthshire;" which. broke her tail shaft within the stern tube; anel, in that ;case,'the Waikato may be heading somewhere xinder; easy, steam, with her shaft temporarily coupled, for permanent repairs.l Despite the anxiety of those" who have friends oh board, all the chances fare in favour of tho Waikato eventually turning up safely; but surely.re..cent. experiences have satisfied ■ shipowners -that; the days of single shaft propellers" are numbered. ' The breakdown of the Perthshire, closely followed by. the Mamari,. and shortly afterwards by the Waikato, all from the same cause, reveal a weak point in marine architecture/that: is hardly in keeping with modern scientific 'development. Recognising .this, some of the big shipping companies are adopting the tvvih-screw "principle for all new steamersi and the sooner the principle is recognised and'insisted upon by the Board, of Trade the. better for the safety of big steamers at. -eaf' ,-...:. '. ."._ ~

.In the Legislative Council yesterday, the only::business done was the passing •of the Summary Convictions for Indictable Offences 'Bilh-Y,.;■:'..-- ,- '' .

In'the.House of Representatives yesterday, notice was given of an amendment to, the Mining Act., The afternoon sitting was taken up in replying to; questions, while in the evening the Loan Bill was again debated, the House again sitting after the telegraph office had cl6s.d,:fy .-,....

.-,' The fcase of the North Queensland Insurance Company (Limited) y. the Ovyner3 bf the Steamship y AVakatipu was to have come on for hearing" at the Supreme Court yesterday, before Mr.Justice AVilliams, sitting in the Admiralty jurisdiction of the court, but at the-last-moment his Honor was not called upon to heaV the case. The claim was for the assessment'of damages with regard to the wool cargo .of the barque Laira, which was sunk by the. Wakatipu at the Dunedin wharf on April 2, 1898. The'parties had been negotiating for a settlement, But up to about 11 CKclb'ck'tliey could not come to an agreement, there being a matter of something like £200 at issue between them. AVhen, liowever, his Honor tbok his seat on the bench, Mr Hosking (one of: the: counsel for the plaintiffs) said: "T am happy; to be able to relieve your Honor of.'the duty of trying what seemed likely, to be a very troublesome case." At the last.moment the defendants say that they will accept the offer made. That offer is that we have judgment for £7225,' with interest, at the-rate of 6 per cent, from the 2nd of April, 1898; subject to a question, as to a sum of£1U0) of'thereabouts, which we shall leave to the; decision of Mr Thornhill Cooper, an average: Stater. It is a sum held in suspense. The.'parties understand what it means. Together with taxed costs of the action on the Admiralty scale. I was unable to let your Honor'.know'of this before taking your seat oh the bench." His Honor remarked that he was very glad the case was settled.

A-meeting of the, Otago Dock Trust was held yesterday, and attended by Messrs W. Pedlow, (chairman), J. Mill, and J. Thomsen. An apology was received for the non-attend-ance of Mr J. Moloney. Mr E. G. Allen, M.H.R., wrote asking for leave of absence during the parliamentary session. The leave was' granted. The Finance Committee recommended that accounts amounting to £663 9s 9dybe passed for payment, and reported that-' there was a debit balance at tho bank 'of £1606 !Js lOd. The report was adopted. The trust then went into committee to consider matters relating to the freezing chamber.

The work in connection with the planting on the Anderson's Bay road is proceeding apaoe. Already the posts surrounding tho first section are nearly all in position. The heayy .rocks forming the foundation of the road have been uplifted from the area to be planted, and the excavations have been filled in;with suitable material. Judging by present appearances, the work will tend to considerably beautify the Anderson's Bay road, and will be another and substantial addition to the long list of undertakings sot on foot by the' Reserves Conservation Society in the interests of the city generally.

•Some eighteen months sinco Mr Reakcs, Government veterinarian, applied the tuberculih test to a large head of dairy cows in Canterbury, with the result that several reacted, arid were at once destroyed at the express wish of the owner. The whole of the milking shed was carefully disinfected, and every precaution taken to guard against the possibility of infection reaching the healthy remainder of the herd. A few" weeks ago these remaining cows were again subjected to the test, with the highly'gratifying result that' every one proved perfectly free from disease. These facts are especially worthy of notice in view of the idea held by many farmers that the injection of tuberculin -S liable to set up the disease in healthy animals.

A movement is on foot to erect a band rotunda at the end of the second beach at St. Clair. Tho Citizens' Band have, the matter in hand, and a number of them waited on the Caversham Council last night, when it was agreed that the members of tho band forming tho deputation will confer with the Works Committee of the council at a later date.

- On the representation of Mr E. G. Allen, M.H.R., an extension of the hours in the postal and telegraph office at Port Clialmer3 has been resolved upon.

Mr W. Goldie, J.P., presided at the Port Chalmers Police Court yesterday, when Mary Ann AVatson, and old-age pensioner, was charged with drunkenness. Mr Platts appeared for the accused, who was convicted and discharged. •

Tho death is announced of an old resident of Dunedin, in the person of Mr Peter Dunlop. Ho was a native of Aberlady, Haddingtonshire, and came to the colony in the ship Three Bells. He lived in Duncan street for upwards of 40 years. He leaves a family of four children, all grown up. .

Invercargill papers record the death of Mr James Strang, a well-known AVoodlands settler, at the age of 74 year 3. He came to the colony in 1863, and, being an expert carpenter, he was with Mr Mair engaged for some years in building homesteads and other buildings for the N.Z. and A. Company. He subsequently settled on a small farm at Woodlands. He was never married, but a brother and three sisters reside in Southland.

A Masterton telegram states that the Rev. L. M. Isitt has decided not to-stand for'that seat. . ' '.'..-.■

The monthly meeting of the Macandrew road School Committee on AVednesday evening was attended by Messrs''Ch.e'lwin-.(in the chair), Diiguid, Kurd, Milburn, Peterson, Hogg, Waugh, Somerville, and Todd. The chairman and Mr Kurd reported having visited the school during the month, and found it in good working.'oi_._r. ■ The recent examination report was considered very satisfactory. Mr AY. J. StrpngV resignation was received-with regret, and the clerk instructed to write him expressing regret at his leaving the school, also wishing him success for the future.- It was decided to hold a concert, and to sell the goods that were left oyer from thehobby show the same evening, in about, a fortnight's time. . The Head Master's report for the past month was Boys 210, girls 212; total, 422. - ' ; \ ■'

The value of valuers' valuations was strikingly illustrated in the Wellington Cdinpensationf'Court on Monday (says the New Zealand Times), when two properties in what is known as the Grainger street block, whiph the Harbour Board wishes to acquire for street-. making purposes, and for which it has offered the sum of £2225; were discussed. The owner values the sections at £5200,- and has preferred a claim to the Compensation ..Court for that amount. Evidence was called. to: show what the present and. reasonable prospective value of 'the Jand and houses really is. Por the claimant, Henry Crump said the property 'was worth £3850, William M'Gill £3345, T. K. Maedonald £3000, T. R. Jones £_"375, J.C. M'Kerrow £3650. Por they respondents, Mr J. Ames's valuation was £2025, Mr Muir's £1775,, Mr Barry's £1996, Mr 'J. B- Harcourt's. £1760. Of course, the main difference in the estimates resulted from the valuers' conceptions of what the prospective increment was likely to be; but it was remarkable to note how emphatic the witnesses .for the claimant were that big'things were in store for. property-owners in ..the, Grainger street block, and how positive the experts on "the other side" were that land in that vicinity had reached its ultimate price, or that values would not enhance for many years to come. '.'-.-". ' .

"A story which is told in the Canadian journals of a charger's faithful devotion has, what some animal stories lack, the* merit of being true. Sergeant Parker, a North-west mounted policeman, was, unfortunately, lost on the prairie. For six days he wandered , about laden with despatches, until at last he became show-blind. Then starving and frost-bitten, .he lay down, as he thought; to die. His faithful horse • stood-sentinel over the soon unconscious man, and it was the spectacle of it keeping watch which in the ; end attracted the.notice of a passing mail'carrier. The horse, like its rider, had been six days without food. When, two weeks: after, consciousness returned tb the rescued sergeant,'he asked to see his faithful horse. It was brought i<\ him, andi atf once licked -his master's face. Two days later the animal was: dead—its .terrible experiences in the cold had exhausted■ its strength. . ■'",", - -y..'

An ex-policeman named AVilliam Stevenson, resident, at AVaitara, .was Convicted at, New Plymouth last Friday of making akfalse declaration on making application for ah oldage pension,: and- thereby obtaining fa certificate for a pension. The magistrate (Mr. Stan-, ford) fsaid the accused had stated that he had practically no property, whereas he had leasehold property valued at over, £400 at Greymouth, and. the. house at fAYaitara '. standing in his daughter's name, for which' £225 was paid. He stated in the document, presented at AVaitara that his daughter (a dressmaker) had borrowed_£so, arid was to pay the balance off,.and that he was only an agent; but his AVorship did not believe.it 'possible that such was the case. The magistrate-5 nrst declared his sentence to be one month's imprisonment, the cancellation of the certificate, and' payment of double the ; amount of .pension . received; but after taking a day to consider ah application from defendant's counsel, .liis AVorship admitted the offender to "probation."'

. In presenting his monthly examination report of a meeting of the Nelson Education Board, the chief inspector said .that the interference of hop and fruit-picking with the attendance at country schools was :becoming very serious and threatened, to become a " terrible nuisance." He thought that the board would have to consider the advisableness bf making special arrangements for carrying on

the schools during the summer months." The chairman agreed,- and said that as raspberry cultivation was developing into such an extensive, industry, something would have, to be done to meet the difficulty, either by special holidays or some other arrangement. No resolution was passed on the subject.

According to the Post, reports received, by

the Education department show that the children attending the various Native schools in the colony take a great interest in the celebration of Arbor Day. Many of the elder Maoris who live close to the schools are also much interested in the work- of tree : planting, and in one district (Te Matai, Tauranga) some of the ex-pupils have subscribed to purchase trees and shrubs in Auckland for planting the local school grounds.

A Mediterranean shell-fish, known as the pianna, has the curious power of, spinning a viscid silk, which is made in Italy into a regular fabric. The silk is spun by the shell-fish in tho first place for the purpose of attaching itself to the rocks. It is able to guide the delicate filaments to tiie'proper place and then glue them fast, and if they are cut away it can reproduce them. The material when gathered—which is done at low tide—is washed in soap and water, dried, and straightened, one pound of the coarse filament yielding three ounces of the fine; thread, which, when spun, is of a'lovely burnished golden-brown colour;

Writing on the subject'of bull's eyes, apropos of the recent Bisley meeting, the London Daily Mail says:—"lt is a curious fact, but one upon which most opticians are agreed, that the colour of the eye affects the efficiency of the marksmen. No one will go so far as to say that a man with dark eyes may not be an excellent shot, but it is generally accepted that the finest shots are nearly always the possessors of light coloured eyes. Sir Henry Halford, who is probably the greatest authority on rifle and range shooting, is a firm believer in the grey eye. 'A grey eye or so,' is a true Shakespearean maxim in the case of marksmen. A curious thing about what is known as ' the shooting eye' is its unique appearance. Sailors, who are always peering out over the waters, and whose eyes aro affected by the glare of" the reflections from the sea, haye much the same appearance. Tho eye acquires a strained tense look and, becomes wrinkled round the lids, whilo early ' crow's feet' make their appearance at the sides. Among a group of soldiers it is always more or less easy to distinguish

the crack shot. At Bisley camp one gets so accustomed to this peculiar contraction of the eyes —by the way, it is more or less confined to the right eye—that on journeying back to London the optic of the ordinary man has for a time a strange and unnatural appearance."

The opera carnival at Port Chalmers still continues to be well patronised. There was an excellent attendance yesterday evening. The costume dances by the children and the adult dancing were, applauded. In addition to other pieces, the band played the selection adopted for the coming contest at Queenstown. A large attendance is looked for tonight, when the baby show will be a prominent feature.

To-night is the last night of the present programme at the Waxworks. To-morrow night Mr Walter Rivers, actor vocalist, and Hercules, the strong man, will join the company. There was a good attendance last night.