H.—29.

14

[g. h. scales

4. Perhaps you would give the Commission the benefit of your experience and observations relating to the subject of the Commission?—Well, I have given the matter very full consideration, and unless we begin at the beginning it is hard to know where to commence. However, I have some notes here from which 1 can give you some of my experience and observations. It seems to me that we have to consider the possibilities of circumstances arising with each of the subjectmatters of the inquiry, so as to give the opportunity to the combustible elements to operate, and to do this the process attaching to each from the beginning needs to be followed. This process I would divide into three heads. First, there is the manufacture; second, the removal; and, third, the sea transit. Of course, what lam giving you is my own opinion—l may be right or wrong; but, so far as I know, the main cause of spontaneous combustion would be dampness owing to wet getting into the bales of wool or flax. It has been freely suggested in the colony this season—since the fires have occurred —that it has been owing to the very wet season which we had that has caused a greater degree of dampness. Another factor which has been attributed is the high value of wool, flax, and tow which has prevailed recently. However much that may be true, Ido not think that materially altered the general course of business in the case of flax and tow. They are products which are very seldom exported on behalf of the owner, being almost invariably sold to merchants or speculators, who sell them abroad. The high values ruling in the wool-market, however, during last season almost entirely changed the usual disposition of the entire clip. Practically one-half of it was sold at auction in the colony, besides a very large portion of the remainder was sold privately. This, no doubt, had a tendency to hurry forward the delivery, and the high prices also probably tended to assist it. I think it was a fact that the growers who ship on their own account sought to get their wool on to the market at Home as soon as possible. Then, let us admit all this—not only the desire to press forward the clip, but that as a matter of fact it was actually pressed forward. If we are to investigate this matter we must begin by ascertaining during each month or given period throughout the shearing season —as far as wool is concerned — whether the climatic conditions obtaining were uncommon or merely common. Assuming for the moment that the climatic conditions universally were common, we obtain a factor that has been prevalently expressed as an important one in the theory of spontaneous combustion during the last season. I think it may be fairly assumed, if there is logic in the argument, that it would only be reasonable to expect to find, the effect produced throughout the entire season's shipment; but, on examination of the fires that have occurred, it will be found that, at any rate, with the exception of one —that is, the " Pitcairn Island "•—they were confined to vessels sailing from New Zealand after the end of March. lam not in a position to state where the wool carried by the steamers that " fired " came from, or when it was shorn, and I have no doubt this will be available in evidence before the Commission, and, although it would be reasonable to assume that in the main it would consist of late-shorn wool other than washed, still it is quite possible that even a considerable portion of it may have been shorn in quite the early part of the season. On analysing the total shipments from the colony we find that 360,386 bales were shipped in vessels sailing between the Ist July and the 31st March out of a total of 415,378 bales shipped for the whole season, and out of this enormous proportion of the whole not one solitary instance of spontaneous combustion occurred. It might be unwise to assert that this fact alone negatived the theory of the prejudicial effect of uncommon climatic conditions. To a great extend it does, but until all the conditions attaching to the wool on board those vessels that caught fire have been examined, it cannot be denied that some truth may be found in the hypothesis. If, however, it can be shown conclusively that the whole of the wool, or such part of it as was shipped in the grease, was late-shorn, or if not, was shorn under favourable circumstances and climatic conditions, then it clearly must be'held that the uncommon climatic conditions obtaining throughout the colony during the shearing season could not have been a factor in the matter of spontaneous combustion in wool-ships, not even when taken in conjunction with the uncommon commercial conditions coexistent. With reference to the flax and tow, the same contention holds good, and the supporters of the theory under discussion have not- left to them the same ground to stand upon, inasmuch that it may be asserted with confidence that the whole of the flax and tow shipped in those vessels on which fire broke out was of late production, and that the whole shipments for the season —up to the middle of April, consisting of 86,939 biles of flax and 21,148 bales of tow were not subjected to any ill effects owing to the uncommon conditions now under consideration. As is probably known —and you will no doubt have expert evidence before you to prove —flax to be successfully scutched must be practically dry. If it is not thoroughly dry when scutched the flax and tow on leaving the scutch-house should be dry. Many years ago the flax-millers considered that if the flax, after being bleached, was stacked for some weeks a better-quality article would be produced, and I have known at mills of my own the manager to have large stacks consisting of many tons of half-dressed material out in the paddock for weeks. It is questionable whether the flax picked up from the oround 'could be considered absolutely dry; unless this was so, if spontaneous combustion was a reasonable result to anticipate owing to the compression of flax in a damp state, these stacks should, it may be considered, have evidenced at any rate some inclination to fire, as, although the pressure that is applied to the bales when dumped was missing, still the stacking to a considerable height of several tons applied no inconsiderable pressure, and, so far as I know, never was a case of spontaneous combustion heard of, or even any degree of heat above normal. In stating this it must be borne in mind that I was not personally handling the material, and therefore the evidence of millers who have handled it would naturally be of more value upon this point, as heating to some extent might have taken place without my knowledge. Tow is usually cleaned from the scutch-house, and was—though'it may not be now—stacked in heaps to be shaken out and baled up for transport. The value of the article until recently has been so low that many flax-millers deemed it not worth while to bale up and sell, therefore it was customary for the tow to lie in the open until some of the hands cared—in their own time —to take on the baling as an extra, the cost of baling, as a rule, plus the cost of transport, absorbing the greater part of the value. For