Jan. 23.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 235

A sufficient supply of approved sanitary drink must be provided for the use of men employed in the above work, to be obtained from the Medical Officer, who will decide what quantities are necessary, on application of, or indent by, the officer in charge.

No food is to be eaten or tobacco chewed in any painters’ workshop.

Tooth-brushes will be supplied to those employed in painters’ and tinsmiths’ workshops, and will be replaced as necessary.

The supply of field dressings authorized in the Clothing Regulations will be stored in a convenient place where access to them can be easily had in cases of accident.

III. PRECAUTIONS AGAINST FIRE.

48. Smoking and the introduction of tobacco-pipes and matches (except safety matches) into Army storehouses, workshops, or buildings are expressly forbidden, and a notice of the prohibition will be conspicuously hung up in all such buildings. Safety matches only, to be kept in the actual custody of the storeholder or foreman, are to be used in lighting fires.

49. All clothing and similar articles returned by the troops will be thoroughly examined before they are received into any storehouses, in order to remove matches or dangerous articles.

50. Care will be exercised in the use of oiled rags, oakum, cotton and other waste. Being liable to combustion, they will on no account be allowed to remain lying about the stores and buildings, but will be collected from time to time and burned. A special receptacle out-of-doors will be provided locally for these materials.

51. Cotton sponge cloths, when dirty, are also liable to spontaneous combustion, and will be kept in water until washed and cleaned. Woollen goods, such as blankets and wadmal tilts, are liable to spontaneous combustion if stored when damp, and will be spread out or hung up till dry before being put away.

52. Whenever artificers and workmen are employed in any of the establishments of the Ordnance Department, whether in closed or open buildings, the greatest care will be taken by the superintending authority that all lights and fires are completely extinguished on the discontinuance of work for the day, and that all doors, windows, and other means of access to such buildings are locked and secured, and the keys deposited in the place appointed for that purpose, as soon as the workmen leave work.

53. At all Ordnance stations the buildings will be locked by the respective foremen in charge when work ceases, and the keys placed by them on hooks in a press with a glass front on hinges; the press will be locked by a responsible subordinate and the key deposited by him in safe custody.

Each foreman will sign the lock-up book, a specimen page of which is given in Appendix V.

The situation of the press, and the orders as to the custody of the key, will be notified to all concerned.

54. Fire-buckets will be kept at all times filled with water, in fixed positions in the storehouses and workshops, for use as a first means of extinguishing fire. When an Ordnance depot is enclosed, a certain number of buckets will be placed also on brackets or hooks on the outside of the buildings. A label will be fixed to the wall near the buckets showing the number to be kept in each position.

55. The floors of oil and paint stores will be strewn with clean dry sand, and a few buckets of sand instead of water be kept ready for use. On no account will the floors be strewn with sawdust.

56. Should any unusual appearance of fire or light, or other indication of danger to the premises, be observed within the walls of an Ordnance establishment, notice will be instantly given to the proper authorities by the person observing it, however trivial it may appear. Directions to this effect will be posted in each building.

57. Practice with fire-engines and appurtenances in charge of the department will be carried out once a month, as laid down in the King’s Regulations.

Section III.—Charge of Stores.

I. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS.

58. Stores not belonging to the Defence Department will not be taken charge of, nor will any Government stores be lent, without the written sanction of the superior authority.

Stores and materials belonging to Government will not be issued for private purposes.

59. The stores in an Ordnance depot will be allotted according to the number of storeholders or foremen allowed—one storeholder or foreman being, as far as possible, placed in charge of a group of complete store sections, which will be concentrated in the same or contiguous buildings.

60. Each group will be allotted a distinctive letter, and the station ledgers will be grouped to agree with the storeholder’s or foreman’s charges.

61. Each storeroom is to have the store section number or numbers indicating the class of its contents, and each group of storerooms under the same storeholder or foreman the distinctive sectional roman letter, painted in a conspicuous position on all doors by which entrance is effected to storerooms from the outside. Every such door will also have on it a consecutive depot number, which will be stamped or engraved on the keys belonging to it.

62. Unless otherwise specially ordered, all stores will be arranged according to the rules laid down in the following paragraphs, except where such arrangement would interfere with the security of the stores or with their prompt issue for armament purposes.

63. Stores of the same description will be kept together in one place, so that the total stock of each may be at once ascertained; and all stores will be so arranged that their numbers or weight may be readily identified and counted, or otherwise verified. When possible they will be tied in bundles of ten before being placed in the racks or shelves, and stores which cannot be tied in bundles will be stacked or stowed on the same principle.

Repairable, doubtful, and unserviceable stores will be kept distinct from those which are serviceable.

64. In making issues to the troops, part-worn articles, if serviceable, will be first issued, and then those which have been longest in store at the station or which are of the oldest dates of manufacture.

65. A tally on form G. 70 will be affixed to the most conspicuous part of the stock, with the total numbers or weight of the stores marked thereon. On each bay or bin in which stores are deposited tallies will be placed descriptive of each store therein contained, and the number or quantities of each; and the contents of all boxes, casks, or other packages will be distinctly marked on the parts most exposed to view.

66. The storehouse tally will be securely fastened to an inventory-board for about 2 in. at the top; and when the first tally has been filled with entries of receipts and issues a fresh tally will be fastened on the top in such a manner as will leave the old tally visible by holding up the new. The same course will be pursued with all subsequent tallies—these documents being the storehouse records of all transactions.

67. Entries in the tallies will be made immediately stores are placed in stock or removed for issue, and they will be balanced whenever the station ledger accounts are balanced.

68. The reserves of any articles ordered to be maintained at the station will be entered at the top of the tally in red ink.

69. Storeholders and foremen are held responsible that stores under their charge are correct according to the quantities borne on the books; that they are kept in good order, and the necessary precautions taken to preserve them from the deteriorating effects of damp, heat, dust, and from the ravages of insects; and that the storerooms are kept clean, and the stores properly arranged, the oldest being conveniently placed for first issue.

70. Stores purchased locally will be minutely inspected by a responsible officer before they are received from a contractor, tradesman, or other person, in order to ascertain that they agree with the pattern, specification, or description, and that they are of good quality and fit for the service.

71. At stations where there are R.E. and other mechanical establishments the officer in charge will apply to them when necessary for assistance in inspecting stores on which a professional opinion may be considered desirable.

72. Stores that are sent from Ordnance Stores, Wellington, need not be inspected at out-stations unless specially ordered, as all such stores will have undergone the required inspection by officers appointed for that purpose.

73. Whenever stores are rejected as unfit for His Majesty’s service, either from nonconformity to the size or shape of the patterns or specifications, or from their inferiority in quality in such patterns or samples, the D. of E. & O.S. will notify the contractor or person from whom the stores are purchased that such stores have been rejected, stating the reason for such rejection, and that they must be immediately replaced by others of the proper manufacture or quality.

74. When stores are (a) purchased or (b) repaired by contract the following information will appear in the cash vouchers, which will be certified by the store accounting officer:—

(a.) The store account in which they appear, and folio of the receiving day-book by which they are brought on charge:

(b.) The number of the transfer voucher in the case of stores held on Defence charge; in other cases the designation of the accounting unit, &c., on whose ledger charge the stores may be.

Bills will be rendered by the contractor on form Ty. 39, the necessary forms being supplied to him by the Defence Department.

All articles purchased, however trifling their value, will be brought on Ordnance charge.

75. If any Ordnance stores are lost or stolen, the circumstances will be at once reported to the superior authority through the D. of E. & O.S., who will cause the matter to be dealt with in the manner laid down in the King’s Regulations.

76. The value of all losses or deficiencies, unless the loss is allowed to fall on the public, will be paid to the command Paymaster, instead of the articles themselves being replaced.

77. Should any deficient article for which a charge has been made be subsequently recovered, a refund of the amount paid may be authorized by the superior authority. The refund will be supported by a reference to the cash credit, and to the voucher and account by which the returned article has been brought on store charge.