74

D.—2

heat of the condenser, but it was put out before it readied the cargo. It was confined to the deck. Asked if he thought any cargo objectionable, he said he would not like to carry acids; they might be ignited by concussion, and the ship could not be saved ; but he did not think spirits or oil objectionable, except so far as they might damage fine goods. You might as well have a whole cargo of brandy or oil, whether emigrants were on. board or not, for forty lives were as valuable as 400, and owners ought to be as careful of the lives of their crew as of any. Macdonnld had said that more than 200 could not have been saved by the boats of the " Cospatrick," and Mr. Cohen asked the witness whether the difference between means of saving forty and 400 by the boats might not be sufficient reason for greater precaution. There was no answer. By Captain Pryce: He had often had to pay damages to merchants for the plunder of the cargo. Isaac Carter, managing stevedore for Mr. Westhorp, called by Mr. Cohen, said he superintended the stowage of the "Cospatrick." He leaves a foreman in each ship, and visits the ship twice or thrice a day himself, examining stowage. The foreman who stowed the ship is ill. He did not know anything about the boatswain's locker; he had nothing to do between decks, but in the hold. He got down to the fore peak through two scuttles, one through the upper deck and one through the main deck. In passing through from one scuttle to another he did not pass through the boatswain's locker. There was a bulkhead between the shaft and the boatswain's locker. No cargo was put in the fore peak, but coals were. Abaft the fore peak there was a bulkhead, and between that and the forecastle, coals, water, salt provisions, pitch, and tar were placed, and a few tins of oil —forty or fifty, but he did not count them. He should think there were thirty or forty tons of coal in that space. He could give no idea of the quantity of pitch and tar. They were in casks of about 2 ft. 4 in. by 2 ft., and perhaps forty casks in the two wings. They were stowed in the wings of the water tanks. The forty or fifty cans of oil were stowed upon the coals upon the port side. If the wings were made up level they would take that. There was nothing in the wings but pitch and tar, except, perhaps, a few cases of provisions. The space between the bulkhead and fore-mast was full. The water tanks were up to the decks within a foot, and in the centre there was a space of three or four feet between cargo and deck. There were some coals under the water tanks, to a depth of 1 ft. to 16 in. Near the bulkhead, where they had run over, they were nearly up to the top, but the greatest height of them was 8 ft. or 10 ft. On the coal was the oil. Next aft were the water tanks; then general cargo. There were three lengths of casks of oil at the bottom, on the ship's keel, at the after part of the tanks. Above that were crates of glass, crockery ware, and rough ware, to prevent any communication between the fore-hatch and the main. The iron was abaft of the water tanks and the oil, and extended from the main to the mizen-mast. The oil was separated from the coal below the water tanks by means of flat wood placed along the ends of the casks. The light-measurement goods, such as paper, curtains, &c, would be stowed between the water tanks which were abaft the fore-mast and the main-mast. Measurement goods are used in all emigrant ships to close up all liquids, so that spirits cannot be got to. In stowing this ship they made a bulkhead, going up to the deck, of light, rough goods, about 12 ft. abaft of the water tanks. Immediately abaft the bulkhead was the bottled beer. As regards the passengers' stores, the provision stores were forward, the dry stores between the main and after hatch. Abaft the main-mast there was iron at the bottom, and above that cases of bolts for railway lines ; above them were the dry stores. Abaft the bolts were two rows of water tanks on top of railway iron. Abaft the water tanks wore tanks of malt and casks of cement. Above them were bales of light goods, blankets, &c. The spirits were stowed fore of the mizen-mast, and protected from any one getting at them by the bales of light goods. There were 1,000 or 1,500 cases of spirits on board —a large quantity. The spirits extended aft nearly or quite up to the sternpost. All the cases of spirits and part of the bulk were abaft the water tanks, but there were some in the fore part of the main hatch, in the wings of the malt tanks, including four butts of wine and twentyfive casks rum, protected from plunder with hardware in the wings, and covered with light goods. His firm loaded all the Auckland ships for Shaw, Savill, and Co., most of which are emigrant ships. He went to the "Cospatrick" when she first came to her berth, and when there were already barges and goods in the sheds waiting. By Mr. Wood Hill: He had heen nine years a managing stevedore, employed by the best firms in superintending the stowage of 100 or 120 ships a year. Many of those were engaged in the colonial trade. They know where the ship is bound for, and make arrangements for stowing accordingly. It was, in his judgment, good stowage to stow the vessel in the way in which she was stowed ; and the captain before starting expressed that opinion to witness. The coals, in pouring in, fell on each side of the bulkhead, which originally came up to the deck ; but they knocked two boards out at the top. The drums of oil forward of the tanks on the' coals were in iron tanks. If there are many of such drums they are constantly found to leak more or less. In Mr. Gr. Thompson's ships they do not allow them in the hold, but carry them in the cabin, and very few of them, for they are likely to damage other cargo. He had for many years stowed oil upon coal, and found no ill consequences arise. It was put to him that according to the manifest there were only twenty barrels of pitch and tar. He had thought there were more, but was not certain. The oil casks above the water tanks were on the skin of the ship, with the ordinary dunnage bods (of wood) in two tiers, and they were separated from the coals by the ordinary dunnage wood. The wood was used to prevent chafing. Leakage from the oil casks would go down the limbers and away to the pumps. The ship was trimmed properly, the bow being deeper by eight inches than the stern. This difference would be reduced to equality by gradual consumption of the coals and provisions in the bow. By Mr. Cohen : The leakage from the drums would go into the coals. The boards taken out at the top of the bulkhead were nailed in again after the coals had been got in. They could be removed with perfect ease in a few minutes with a hammer. 1,732 gallons of linseed oil, 100 of colza oil, and so on, is not a larger quantity than emigrant ships sometimes have. The oil was stowed near the coal to prevent it from damaging other cargo. That was the consideration which guided him throughout as to the oil. He could not say that the consideration of a fire breaking out ever entered his mind. If any part of the cargo caught fire he should not think there would be much chance for the ship—there