The Evening Star. THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1870.

Auckland Star, Volume I, Issue 136, 16 June 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star. THURSDAY, JUNE 16, 1870.

The first case of prosecution for the illegal storage of kerosine, under the Dangerous Q-oods Act, was to-day determined in the Police Court. The small penalty inflicted is not to be taken as evidence of any relaxation in the rigours of this very stringent Act, as it is questionable whether this mitigation of fine by the Bench was not ultra vires, for in the sixth clause, in addition to forfeiture, the occupier " shall be liable to a penalty of twenty " pounds a-day." Of course the plea of guilty, and the extenuation of ignorance of the offence, disarmed the prosecution ; but we question if the case in the hands of the same counsel, .instructed to prosecute to the bitter end, would not reveal that the minimum of penalty was intended to be " twenty pounds a-day." The severity of the Act is enough to make storekeepers stand aghast, and cause them to look on kerosene, so far as laws and penalties are concerned, as being a highly dangerous commodity. But we do not think it is generally known that the "Dangerous G-oods Act does not apply to ordinary kerosene; and that this Act, which has been productive of such domestic inconvenience and expense, and the cause of so general grumbling, so far from being an evil, is calculated to put a ban on the dangerous and explosive substances with which kerosene is adulterated, and gives unrestricted landing and storage to the pure material. In the second clause of the Act it is made to apply only to such product of petroleum as " gives off an inflammable " vapour at a temperature of less than " one hundred andten degrees of Fahren- ■" heit's thwmometer." And in the schedule to the Act, the simple mechanism is described, whereby the " flashing test" can be applied to samples of the oil. Our City Board has had this simple instrument manufactured, and in thehands of the Inspector of Weights and-Measures the tests have been applied. The oil which was the subject of adjudication to-day, on reaching 105 deg., gave off the dangerous vapour which exploded ; in one sample the oil itself catching fire and blazing to a considerable height. It is needless to say that an oil exhibiting so dangerous properties at a temperature so low, would in any ordinary lamp have been perilous in the extreme. Although it is in the form of gas that kerosene is consumed, it requires a temperature greatly increased to turn it into vapour. Tests in this respect are now being applied by the "Inspector of Weights and Measures/ and we have reason to believe that the requisite temperature is not under 120 deg. Enough for our present purpose to know that it certainly is not below 110 deg., and as such it is not within the prohibitions and provisions of the Dangerous Groods Act of 1869. Ordinarily good kerosene can be landed on the Queen-street wharf till that structure groans again, and stored in civic council chambers from floor to ceiling without infringing any law. All that is needed is to show by the recognised test that the fluid does not emit the inflammable vapour at the specified temperature, and so is not within the meaning of the Act. We would very strongly urge that a system of certificates to this effect should be speedily applied; and that the burthen that has been resting on the public should be relieved. Such certificates of exemption, under the hand of the " Inspector of "Weights and Measures," could be at once available ; but to thoroughly remove aIL grounds of difficulty, a declaration from the manufacturer or shipper, duly attested, might accompany the invoice, and on presentation at the Custom-house in passing entries be accepted as certificate of exemption from the terms of the Act. The oil that has been seized is of the most dangerous character; it came from Sydney, and was contained in tins bearing the brand of " Cozzen's" —a brand that once covered the' best and safest oil manufactured. As the oil has been confiscated, we should recommend that it be analysed, to discover where or from what source it has acquired its dangerous properties. There can be no doubt that a large trade in spurious oils in American tins has been going on from Australia ; and while we rejoice that an article of so universal domestic necessity as kerosene is not subjected to restraint, we have every reason for

satisfaction that there is such a wall of defence as the Dangerous G-oods Act between us and its dangerous explosive imitations.