390 Transactions. — Miscellaneous. 



was, in ray opinion, due to the spontaneous combustion of the 

 charcoal insulation." 



Captain M, T. Clayton says, " I examined the locality of 

 the fire on board the ship ' Timaru,' and enclose plans of the 

 situation. I believe the fire originated from spontaneous com- 

 bustion (of the charcoal insulation). The fire burnt upwards 

 from the charcoal, and nearly burnt through the deck before 

 it was discovered." 



Mr. Eose, H.M. Collector of Customs at the Port of Auck- 

 land, also held an inquiry on the fire on the ship "Timaru," 

 and, after taking the fullest evidence, reports the fire to have 

 occurred from the spontaneous combustion of the charcoal 

 insulation. 



There are now more than thirty steamers and six ships 

 engaged in the New Zealand frozen-meat trade, with a ton- 

 nage°of about 130,000 tons, costing, say, two millions sterling, 

 and carrying yearly (including about two million sheep) ex- 

 ports and imports to the annual value of £12,000,000 sterling. 

 These amounts involve an annual payment of about £250,000 

 per annum for insurance. 



Will it be believed that every one of these steamers and 

 sailers is carrying along with it an element — charcoal — proved 

 by the experiments of experienced scientists to be liable to 

 spontaneous combustion, which the numerous fires from this 

 cause show to have long since passed out of the region of 

 experiment ? 



The form in which charcoal is generally used for insulating 

 purposes is in small irregularly-shaped pieces. In this form 

 the interstices between the pieces of charcoal are filled with 

 air, which renders the insulation incomplete, and which re- 

 quires a large extra amount of coal to correct this imperfect 

 insulation and keep down the temperature to the required 

 point. When these air-spaces become partially filled by fine 

 charcoal, resulting from the slow grinding action inseparable 

 from the continual motion of the steamer, the dangers from 

 spontaneous combustion are greatly increased. 



In corroboration of the dangers arising from the sponta- 

 neous combustion of charcoal when used as the insulating- 

 material in ships or freezing-works on shore, I am permitted 

 to make the following extract from a report upon evidence 

 taken by the Insurance Association, Christchurch, New Zea- 

 land, on a fire in the Belfast Freezing-works, near Christ- 

 church, dated the 5th November, 1888, kindly placed at my 

 disposal by the insurance authorities there : — 



The report by Mr. Secretary Madden to the chairman of 

 the Insurance Association says, " In forwarding you the evi- 

 dence in connection with the fire at Belfast, I have to call 

 your attention to that of Huston, Glass, and others, who are 



