DAMP WOOL.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1823, 2 August 1906, Page 3

DAMP WOOL.

MR DitLAUTOUR’S OPINION,

|N Z Herald Correspondent.)

LondoD, Juno 22

Oonddorabla atlentiou has bom at- 1 Iractad, especially in tho marine insurance world, by tbo disagreeable friquooev oil fires on board Bhipa bound from New Zealand to this country, ncr ii tho fact particularly exoi'aratiog to pusssDgors by the direct lines or encouraging to them to travel by thesa vc-ssol?. Foe iu each cisc hardly a ehadow of doubt c-xiats that the cause was sponto- I nrous combustion duo to tho fermentation of wool which had been shipped in a damp condition. The most serious C:\se of all undoubtedly has been t'rut of ilia e s, Gothic, which had a far narrower escape than is generally understood, Tho feeling amoug underwriters is plainly shown by a premium cf 25gns. per cent, boirg paid od tho woolship Idivdhana, which hft Now] Zealand only on April 29, and consequently was only 56 days out wh-m this premium was paid. A New Z al-md ohorpowr.er, whoso word is on b..p,rJ ibis 'vessel, celled ft* this effiiw a day cr two ugu in a B'ain of oonaidorabio anxiety, it being a virtually unheard-of thing for. 1-0 high » ptoutiuiu to bo paid on a Bailing

vessel which lmd not oetuplefcod muoh moro than half cf its normal passage timo for a sailer. In tho ease of a largo passengor linor, howevor, tho matter is natura'ly all tho moro serious, and the enso will t oed to be very thoroughly lock'd into and muoh moro stringent precautions taken if oonfidonoa is to be restored. Iho underwriters will assuredly bo still moro exacting in thoir demands for precautionary motvurca, and the e iso is 000 which ought to be dealt with by tho Goveremant at tho oariiost pouiblo moment. In this connection Mr 0 A. DeLautour, who came Homo in the s s. Gothic, writes to me as follows :—" Mrs DoLautonr and myself canto by the s.s. Gothic, which was in some dangrr ot firoa'tor leaving Teuneriff'o Tho oauso was no doubt damp wool, which has born responsible for si many tiros upon shins during a very rreout

LI lUN UJJUU MHJI3 UULUI& U 1 period. Too woo 1 , so far as I can ascertain, has beon that which Lias boon ttoated after leaving tbo shoepfarmers’ shod.-, and has beon sent Homo as soouiod or a slipo wool. This rather points to sotuowliat

oulpablo earo'ossnoss in tho follmongorios, and requiror strict investigation. O.horwiso tho high character of our direct linors will bo impaired. The Gothic was a full ship from Monte Video, and a day’s delay in reaching Plymouth would bavo been a very serious matter. As it was Captain Birilott so thoroughly had acquired the cor.fidenoo of all on board that, although it was known tire was on hoard, no alarm was felt, and everything was oarriol out in ordinary oourco until tho passengers

left tho ship.” Tbo spiel'd correspondent of tho Times writes as fallows on tho suhjsot : —” The owners oi tbo British ship Fitoairn I- land, burnt recently with her cargo of New Zealand wool, learn that, as tho rcsuU oi an oilio'al inquiry, tho tiro is attributed to spontaneous eombusti >n of the wool. It has boon sugg-sud to mo that tbo series of tires duo to tho heating of tho wool from Now Zealand may : ot have boon caused

by tho dampness of tho wool when shippod, but by tbo chemical constituents of tho sheep dips used. There havo been six woo! tires within a short time, and it might bo worth while for tits authorities in Now Zealand to look for a causo other than tho rather obvious ono of damn ba'os.” Another reference has been made to the lna'.er by the insurance contributor to : Times, who says: ” Underwriters lmvc been so persistently hammered with losses during many weeks past that a period of three days without a serious

casualty becomes quite noticeable. The tires in New Zealand vessels have been the last blow, and in some ways were the most important, since the common cause of the outbreaks, whatever it may he, must be still operating in the vessels at sea with wool cargoes. Those with long memories recall a similar series of wool fires in 1992,

when the cause was traced to the hurried shipment of wool in a damp state. The present high price of wool may quite possibly be tempting exporters now to ship bales in a dangerous condition oi dampness As much as 2?gns, per cent, have

been paid on the British ship Hardluma from New Zealand April 20) with wool, a rate which under ordinary conditions

■ould bo preposterous, seeing that tho tip is not yet due.”