to them to impose such restrictions as will ensure safety, and that it is wholly to their advantage to do so.

The railway companies have, through their Clearing House, done a good deal in this direction, and quite recently they have consulted the Authors with a view to putting the whole question of the nature of vessels of all sizes for conveyance of petroleum spirit, including tank-waggons, on a more satisfactory footing.

*

Various experiments and tests of the smaller vessels have been carried out, and specifications of these and of tank-waggons have been recommended. These specifications will probably find a place in the publication in which the railway companies specify their conditions for the carriage of goods classified as dangerous substances. As a matter of fact, serious accidents in the inland conveyance of petroleum have not been frequent, and it cannot be said that there is any urgent necessity for the amendment of the law in this direction.

Another defect in existing legislation is the absence of any definite regulations of universal application to the keeping of petroleum, and indeed of any indication as to the character of the precautions which should be taken, this being a matter left entirely to the discretion of the local authority.

The Acts are also defective in their provisions as to local control. They contain no obligation on the local authority to enforce the law or to appoint officers for the purpose.

The excessive decentralisation which puts in the hands of district councils throughout the Kingdom the administration of such technical legislation cannot but militate against the attainment of the object in view. In many cases it is impossible for these bodies * General Railway Classification of Goods.

to find any person with sufficient technical knowledge to advise them, or to act as their officer in enforcing the provisions of the Acts. Nor are the present local authorities always fitted for the duty, inasmuch as their members are frequently interested parties and licensees under the Act.

Even where there is every desire to carry the Acts into effect and where a zealous and efficient officer has been appointed, difficulties are met with in the inadequate powers of inspection, search and sampling, particularly in the case of petroleum kept by persons. who are not dealers. As an example, a recent case may be quoted in which an accident occurred with carbide of calcium on unlicensed premises. The officer of the local authority, wishing to inspect the place, found that in order to obtain the necessary search warrant, he would have to wait some weeks, until the next sitting of the bench of magistrates.

The absence of any provision for Government control and general supervision of the working of the Acts is undoubtedly also a defect. Under existing legislation there is no Government department having statutory powers under the Acts, nor has any Government officer a legal right of entry.

Other defects are the absence of a statutory requirement as to the reporting of accidents, and the want of provision for inquiry into those which are of a serious character.

of future legislation.

The majority of the above defects, as well as many Possibility others of less importance which have from time to time made themselves felt, will no doubt in time be remedied by fresh legislation of a comprehensive character; but it must be evident that at the present time, at any rate, the whole question has been so obscured by trade interests, and by prejudices which have been fostered thereby, that the Government would meet with the

Exemption

spirit for

greatest difficulty in passing even the most reasonable and moderate amendments of the law.

One further enactment bearing on petroleum should of petroleum be mentioned. When the Locomotives on Highways Act, 1896, was under consideration, it was represented locomotives. that, as many light locomotives would require for their

light

use petroleum spirit, some relaxation of the law in regard to the keeping of such petroleum for this purpose might with advantage be made.

Consequently a provision was made in this Act for the Secretary of State to issue regulations under which petroleum spirit may be kept for use in light locomotives without licence from the local authority. An Order was made under this section on November 3, 1896, and this was superseded by an Order dated April 26, 1900. The latter is now in force, and will be found in Appendix IX.

CHAPTER IX.

PRECAUTIONS NECESSARY FOR PETROLEUM.

of oil and

In the previous chapter it has been pointed out that the Comparalaw in this country in no way deals with petroleum oil tive danger —that is, with petroleum having a flash-point not below spirit. 73° F. (Abel). It must not be inferred from this that such petroleum is absolutely safe, and that precautions are therefore wholly unnecessary. The main difference between petroleum spirit and petroleum oil is that, whereas the former, as usually met with in this country, gives off vapour copiously at any ordinary temperature and is readily inflammable when brought in contact with a flame, petroleum oil gives off vapour sparingly, and does not take fire at ordinary temperatures unless it is absorbed in some material capable of acting as a wick. But when an ignition has taken place, the dangers are much the same whether oil or spirit is involved. Where oil and spirit are kept together, therefore, the whole should be regarded as though it were petroleum spirit.

The precautions which it is necessary to observe may be divided into two classes-viz., those for prevention of ignition, and those for minimising the effect of a conflagration should it occur.

from naked

The most obvious precaution for the prevention of Danger ignition is to prohibit the bringing of a naked light light. into dangerous proximity to the petroleum; but the question at once arises as to how dangerous proximity

may

be defined, and this will of course depend on

whether any petroleum spirit is present and also on the nature of the surroundings. The vapour from spirit, being heavier than air, has a tendency to flow, and an ignition may therefore take place at some distance from the bulk of the petroleum. This was well illustrated by an accident which occurred on December 22, 1882, at Exeter, when a rock-hewn store which had been shut up for some time, was opened in the early morning by a man who had previously placed his lantern on the ground at a distance of 53 feet from the entrance. The vapour travelled to the lantern and ignited, causing an explosion which was followed by a disastrous fire.

In a room where petroleum spirit is employed for the purpose of a trade or manufacture, it is not sufficient merely to provide that there shall be no naked light in the immediate vicinity of the spirit, but a fire or any light capable of igniting vapour should be excluded from the room altogether. With oil the danger of vapour ignition is much less, but is not entirely absent, as is shown by explosions which have occurred, notably one on May 17, 1884, on the British barque A. Goudey, and another at Harburg, near Hamburg, on May 31, 1895, where a tank containing oil was exploded by lightning. These, as well as several other explosions in America, were due to the vapour of oil and not spirit; but in each case the explosive mixture of vapour and air had formed in a tank or confined space, and the ignition. took place at the tank and not at any distance away. In general, therefore, in the case of oil a naked light should not be taken into the immediate vicinity of the tank or vessel containing the oil, while in the case of spirit such light should never be taken into the building in which the petroleum is kept, or even into its vicinity, at any rate when the door is open. A store for petroleum spirit should only be entered during daylight,