H.—ls

and injury to the left eye. The accident was attributed to the bolts in the connecting-rod bottom end having fractured, and thereby the piston and rod were forced against the cylinder-cover and shattered it. This type of accident occurs frequently with oil-engines and also gas-engines. In the case of an engine of considerable size the damage is costly to repair—in fact, the engine is often not worth the expenditure necessary to put it into working-order again. To avoid breakages of connecting-rod bolts, frequent inspection is necessary to see that the bolts have not worked slack, and the bottom and brasses require to be adjusted when worn. With a knock in the bearings the bolts are liable to be overstresssd. Bolts of small engines are easily damaged in tightening them up. Too long a spanner should not be used in tightening up fin. and Jin. diameter bolts. These bolts are sometimes annealed with a view to prolonging their life. It has to be remembered, however, that these bolts are often made of special steel, the annealing of which is likely to result in more harm than good unless information is available as to the correct heat-treatment for the steel. Defects in the bolts due to fatigue cannot be removed by annealing, and the only remedy is to renew the bolts. Lifts. Many new lifts have been inspected during the year. Rules for the design and construction of lifts have been drafted. A number of the new lifts installed each year are fitted with safety devices of questionable efficiency. Lift-manufacturers, for their own credit, generally bring to the notice of their clients the most modern and approved safety devices, but these are seldom appreciated at their real value when extra cost is involved in supplying them : they are too often looked upon as mere efficiency fads. It is true that occasionally features are introduced into lifts which may be looked upon as refinements not absolutely necessary to safe working. An independent opinion, therefore, such as would be obtained from the rules of this Department would be much appreciated by liftowners and architects. One of the most debatable questions relates to what safeguards are reasonably necessary for the gates of lift-wells and cages, and whether the gates of goods-lifts should be as safe as those of a passenger-lift. Experience has shown that devices for locking passenger-lift gates, which at one time were considered to be sufficient, are no longer so, as the small boy and others bent on mischief have discovered how they can tamper with them. The only claim to safety that many gates of cargo-lift w«lls have is that they are fitted with locks intended to fasten on the operator's side of the well only. When a lift can be worked whether the gates are open or shut there is room for doubt as to whether such gates are a proper protection to a lift-well. Boilers. The number of new boilers inspected during the year is 342, as against 363 last year. The total number of boilers inspected for the year is 7,895 as compared with 7,944 last year. No accidents to boilers have been reported during the year. Extensive repairs to boilers have been carried out in many instances, and in this connection the autogenous welding processes have been found effective. Quite a number of engineering-shops now have their own welding plants. The Department finds it necessary to restrict the use of autogenous welding to the class of repair which is not entirely dependent on the strength of the weld. A number of plans of boilers have been submitted for approval before the boilers have been made. Manufacturers have found this a great convenience, and have shown their appreciation of it; although, when the plans are submitted, there are generally prospects that boilers made to the plans will require certificates from the Department. Often, however, in the case of manufacturers abroad, the boilers do not come to New Zealand, and the Department receives no reward for the work entailed in approving the plans. Circulars issued during the year relate to certificates of test for boiler-material and hydraulictest certificates of imported boilers, dished ends of Lancashire and Cornish boilers, guards for breast or drag bench-saws, and monel metal. Monel metal is an alloy of nickel and copper. It is being used in the construction of steam-cooking utensils, for which purpose it has considerable value on account of its resistance to several kinds of corroding influences, and its quality of retaining a finish similar to that of pure nickel. A recent report of an explosion from a steam-jacketed pan made of aluminium draws attention to the risks attendant on the use of this material when subjected to steam pressure. Aluminium is of a soft nature, and is liable to fail suddenly under stress. Preliminary indications of distortion or buckling should be regarded seriously. Government Shipping Offices. In the Government shipping offices the administration of the Shipping and Seamen Act has been efficiently carried out. Appended is a statement showing the number of seamen engaged and discharged at the various ports during the year, and the fees received for such transactions. The total number engaged and discharged was 19,285 and 19,348 respectively, as against 17,929 and 17,941 respectively during the previous financial year. The transactions at the four main ports were as follows (the figures in parentheses being those of the previous year) : —

13

Port. Engagements. I Discharges. Fees. £ s, d. £ s. d. Auckland .. .. .. 6,523 (5,742) 6,608 (5,917) 1,210 17 0 (1,056 8 0) Wellington .. .. .. 7,205 (6,509) 7,239 (6,291) 1.294 5 0 (1,163 8 0) Lyttelton .. .. 1.556 (1,765) 1,416 (1.746) 271 3 0 (319 18 0) Dunedin .. .. .. 1,688 (1,541) 1,744 (1.620) 322 12 0 (292 2 0)