V. BENDALL.'!

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164. Could you get that record?—No, 1 could not. The only case that I can remember myself of wool being actually on fire was a case of three or four years ago, where the wool which was shipped took fire on the " Waimate," at Napier. That ship had tallow and wool in the same hold, I believe, and the tallow, of course, became liquefied through the heat and got intermixed with the wool. These bales were partly reconditioned at Napier, and reshipped on to one of the shipping company's ships and brought here. When she arrived here at No. 1 wharf, and when the hatches were taken off, the bales were found to have been heated very much. The bales were put on the wharf, and as they were opened they blazed out, and were black in the centre. 165. Did they actually blaze?—Yes. 1 account for that by the action of the foreign grease mixed with the wool. With the natural grease, I do not think that is likely to take fire spontaneously, because I have passed wool many times with the natural grease protruding through the pack sufficiently to leave stains on the sheet or on the dunnage in the hold, and that has always arrived all right. 166. How are the bales of skins tested?—Well, sometimes we open them out if we are dubious about them. I have seen skins in a putrefied state here as hot as possible. 167. Do you think there is any danger of the heat getting to that stage which would start ignition? —1 think undoubtedly so. I remember some bales of rabbit-skins last year, or the year before, in the " Kumara," shipped at Dunedin. When she arrived here the skins were found to be very hot, and they were landed in a state of putrefaction ; and I suppose that if those bales had been stowed in a mass in the ship's hold, and that process had gone on, fire would have ensued. 168. Were they made up into bales?—The rabbit-skins were. 169. Did they have a gunny covering over them? —Yes, they had some kind of covering: I could not state exactly what kind, but they were covered as far as I remember. Possibly they were packed up in bales, but skins are sometimes packed without a covering. If they are tied up without a covering then you can lift them up and test them to see what condition they are in. 170. Is the fellmongered wool distinguishable from the greasy wool in the bale? —Oh, yes, because it is generally much cleaner and superficially in a better condition for shipping. 171. The whole bale?—You mean the wool itself? 172. I mean by the appearance of the bale?—From the appearance of the bale it looks very nice and clean. They are very deceptive. If they are brought straight from the fellmongery and put on board a ship, they are very likely to develop heat on the voyage, because, as I was going to say just now with regard to these prickers, I found fellmongered wool coming into the shed that you could not detect anything wrong with, but after they had been a few days in the shed I found they developed heat. 173. It takes a few days?—lf they are very wet a few days will do it; but I have inserted prickers in wool coming from the fellmongery that I could not detect anything more than normal heat in, but after a week or a fortnight—some have been lying there for a fortnight—when 1 tested them again they were quite hot and unfit for shipment. 174. A previous witness giving evidence seemed to be under the impression that two or three days would be sufficient to detect if a bale was heating from dampness ?—Two or three days if the wool was pretty moist. 175. Could you feel it with your hand?—Not on the outside, no; not in two or three days, not unless they had been very wet. 176. If they had been very wet they would heat pretty quickly?—Oh, yes. 177. There is great trouble generally, is there not, with greasy pieces and belly-pieces?—Yes, most of those used to be sent to the scourers, but they are occasionally sent Home. There must be a good deal of dirt and foreign matters besides wool in those bales, because I have known some of those bales weigh over 7 cwt., and it cannot be all wool. 178. Do the insurance companies accept the risk, or do they charge any higher rate of insurance for those bales?—l cannot say. 1 have seen wool in that condition shipped—they are generally scoured. If there is any moisture on the outside at all I have always recommended that they should be scoured ; but they are sometimes brought here with instructions from the wool-growers to get them scoured, and that is mostly the case, I think. 179. Does the loading of cargo continue in rainy weather sometimes?—Well, we never used to, but now they are so anxious to fill up these ships that they carrj' it really too far sometimes. I am speaking of the days when sailing-ships only carried wool, and we were very careful then, and I could keep it all pretty well in hand. I knew pretty well the condition of every package and the condition of the ships. I had first of all to survey the ship to see that the limbers were clear and proper ballast put on board and proper dunnage, and before the wool went on board 1 had to give a certificate to that effect. I occasionally found stevedores screwing the decks up when stowing the wool in the 'tween-decks, and I had to have it taken out to put the decks in order, and recalk them and restow the cargo. When steamers come here they work day and night, and sometimes they carry on the work a little beyond what they should in rainy weather. Ido not know that that has been sufficient to cause any damage. 180. In your capacity as surveyor, would you ask them to stop if loading in rainy weather? —Yes ; 1 have often said, " I have no authority to stop you from loading, but if you continue I shall report that you are taking in cargo during the rain." That was the only way I could get at them. 181. But at the present time is there any one besides those on the ship who examines the cargo? —There has been no underwriters' supervision since last June twelve months. 182. Did you have any say in the matter of this stowage, as to how the cargo should be stowed in the ships?—Yes, I gave the master a circular on how we required the work to be carried out, and I visited the ship occasionally, to see that that was being clone. 183. And did you make any recommendation about jute, and flax, and wool not being stowed together ?—Oh, certainly.

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