The Dominion. MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1907. FIRES ON WOOL SHIPS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 10, 7 October 1907, Page 4

The Dominion. MONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1907. FIRES ON WOOL SHIPS.

1 Tiie outbreak of fire amongst the wool cargo of the steamer Turakina recalls attention to a matter of very grave concern to ?vew Zealand-. It is not pleasant to contemplate the possible fate of the vessel had the discovery of the fire been delayed until she had. proceeded a few days further upon her homeward voyage, and thus been situated so much further from a port of re•fugo. But it is not our inten-

, tion now to dwell upon the circumstances surrounding the case , of this vessel further tlian to quote them as an illustration of the • necessity for action on the part of the Government in the direction of providing such safeguards as-are reasonably possible against the grave risks disclosed. Most of our readers are aware that a little more than twelve months ago a lloyal Commission was appointed to make exhaustive inquiry into the cause of fires on ships whose cargo had been wholly or in part composed of wool, flax, tow, or other combustible material. The Commission. sat for some months, took voluminous evidence of experts of various kinds, and in due course presented an interim report, and later on a full report and findings. It was a' costly Commission to the country, from a financial point of view, and, although it had to admit failure in certain directions, it came to some definite conclusion, and made several strong recommendations. And what has been the result? What benefit has been derived? Where, now, is the anxiety displayed by Ministers twelve months ago on this matter so seriously affecting our wool-export industry ? I'rom the evidence adduced before the Commission, it appeared that prior to June, 1905, the underwriters doing business in insuring wool for shipment from the Dominion employed inspectors to examine the wool prior to shipment. These inspectors were' stationed at the various shipping ports, and kept a watchful eye on all outgoing wool, and any suspicious bales were set aside for closer scrutiny. "It would appear," remarked the Commission, " that up to June, 1905, no serious consequences hail resulted | of any moment in wool cargoes, awing probably to the quality of the inspection." After the date | mentioned the inspection ceased, this being due, apparently, to the local underwriters failing to come to an arrangement with Lloyd's as to the allocation of the cost. It would seem evident, from the findings of the Commission, that in its opinion the inspection proved a real safeguard; in any case, the fact that while the inspection lasted there were no fires in wool cargoes, whereas tiiere have been outbreaks on quite a number of occasions since, speaks for itself. The Commission recommended that provision should be made for the

appointment of inspectors, and also that more stringent penalties than exist at present should. be provided for those who forward wool in a condition unfit for shipment.

It would be thought that these two proposals wore simple enough to give effect to, and that the Government, in view of the importance of the issues involved, would take immediate steps in the direction suggested. But nothing of the kind has happened. After hanging the matter up for twelve months, we find .the Minister for Marine to-day prepared to dally with it for another twelve months. He talks of embodying some proposal in a new Shipping Act to be brought down at some , indefinite time next session, and, generally speaking, appears to regard the whole subject as a thing of light importance. It is plain to us that the Government is guilty of a grave error of judgment in not taking up the question promptly and decisively. If it was worth while twelve months ago to set up the costly Wool Fires Commission to conduct inquiries into these disquieting outbreaks of fire, it is surely the Government's duty to-day to pay some heed to the findings of the tribunal it created, especially as those findings point to the imperative necessity for action. We have not touched upon details: the question of cost and the allocation of responsibility. They are matters which can be discussed when the principle of State supervision is conceded. We trust that the Premier will take a different view of, the situation to that of the Minister for Marine, and that the present session will not be allowed to close withoxit some reassuring legislative action.