34 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
Other makers 
should receive 
facilities for 
establishing the 
efficiency of any 
magazines 
they may sub¬ 
mit. 
Certificate of 
approval. 
Considerations 
as to desirability 
of enclosing 
powder in a 
strongly resist¬ 
ing safe. 
mode of keeping their powder; and where (as in Ireland) the 
keeping of powder forms the subject of a license, I think the 
magistrates would exercise a wise discretion in calling upon the 
licensees to provide fire-proof magazines of this or some other 
proved construction. 
It is of course very desirable not to limit approval to the maga¬ 
zines of a particular maker; and in order to stimulate competition 
and improvement in the production of these magazines, I think 
that every safe-maker who desires to submit one should be 
afforded the same facilities for carrying out an experiment/at his 
own expense, as were accorded to Messrs. Milner. And in the 
event of any other maker producing an equally resisting magazine, 
that also should receive an official certificate of proof similar to 
that which I propose to give to Messrs. Milner. 
The plan which I propose to adopt with regard to the certificate, 
and in order to secure to purchasers that the magazine they are 
purchasing is of equally resisting power with those which I tested, 
is as follows :— 
I propose handing to Messrs. Milner a written certificate that 
magazines made by them, and of a particular construction, as 
shewn in the signed specification and drawing to be attached to 
the certificate, have resisted certain tests. 
Messrs. Milner will then number each safe, and give to the 
purchaser a guarantee in duplicate that it is of the construction 
referred to in my certificate* One of these guarantees will be 
affixed to the magazine, the other will be handed to the pur¬ 
chaser. 
I should propose to follow a similar course in the event of the 
magazines of any other makers establishing their title to such a 
certificate. 
There are two points to which I think it desirable briefly to 
advert before closing this Report. It has been urged that maga¬ 
zines of this sort are objectionable, because, being very strong, 
they would tend, in the event of an accident occurring, to intensify 
the explosion. The answer to this objection appears to me simple. 
An explosion can only occur from external or internal causes. 
Against external causes, in the shape of fire (and no other 
external causes need be considered), these magazines have shown 
themselves to be proof. 
As for internal causes, as gunpowder is not liable to spontaneous 
ignition, it is difficult to see how an explosion could occur (pro¬ 
vided, of course, that nothing else but gunpowder is stored in the 
magazine), except when some person is engaged at the magazine; 
in other words, except when the door is open. If an explosion 
occurred under these circumstances, the strength of the magazine 
would be rather an advantage than otherwise, since it would tend 
to direct the force of the explosion in the direction of least 
resistance. Moreover, it may be remarked that in any case the 
explosion of 50 or 100 lbs. of powder inside a house would be so 
destructive that it would really matter little whether the injury 
Was a little more or a little less. 
