MANUFACTURE OF MUNITIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 16 February 1916, Page 5

MANUFACTURE OF MUNITIONS

EXPERIMENTS JN THE DOMINION, By Telegraph.—Press Association, Wellington, La-it Night, The Munitions .Minister states that the staff of the Addington railway workshops have been recently engaged on an experimental batch of eighteen-pounder high explosive shell bodies, under the supervision of Professor It. J. Seolt. of Canterbury College, and chairman of the Committee of Munitions. Though the .shell bodies have been successfully turned out to War Ollice speiilieations (lie Cabinet decided tliat Xew Zealand can he of ""eater service in regard to supplying food for soldiers at the front, and the limited number of mechanics available should be retained on operations in connection with freezing works, dairying, etc. He further pointed out that the manufacture of shells here would mean that the Railway Department would have to set aside important work, such as the building of loniomotives. The shells already manufactured will lie used for local purposes. Some time ago machine-guns were successfully turned out by the Petone railway workshops, and the suggestion was made that a number of these guns should be manufactured for the N.Z. troops, but this idea has also been discarded. A deputation from tile Merchant Service Cuild and marine engineers waited on Mr. .Myers, Minister of Munitions, and suggested that shipmasters, officers, and marine engineers should be regarded as belonging to exempted industries, and therefore entitled to wear armlet badges under the war regulations. The Minister promised to give the request consideration.