THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 55

INQUIRY INTO WRECKS.
REPORT on the Wreck of the barque "Affiance."
To the Honorable the Postmaster-General of New
Zealand,-

I, the undersigned, James Coutts Crawford, Esq.,
one of Her Majesty's Justices of the Peace, and a
Resident Magistrate in and for the Colony of New
Zealand, having been on the 8th day of November,
1867, applied to by J. Hackworth, Esq., Deputy
Collector of Customs at the Port of Wellington, for
a formal investigation pursuant to section seven of
"The Inquiry into Wrecks Act, 1863," and other
provisions of the said Act, respecting the loss of a
certain British ship, called the "Affiance," of the port
of Lyttelton, on the 5th and 7th days of November
last, by first striking on the beach to the northward
of Waikanae, and afterwards foundering in Fitzroy
Bay, did duly proceed with the said investigation, to
wit, on the 12th day of November instant, and had
before me and examined on oath divers persons and
witnesses, to wit, William Archibald Frodsham,
master; Michael Faulkner, second officer; James
Kerr, A.B.; John Farrar, senior, chief officer-all of
late barque "Affiance;" John A. Scott, pilot at
Wellington; David Scott, one of pilot boat's crew;
James Sawyer, signalman at Barrel Beacon Station,
the original depositions of whose evidence are here-
unto annexed, signed by me, being assisted therein
by Robert Johnson, master mariner, holding a certifi-
cate of competency from the Board of Trade, who was
duly appointed by James Hackworth, Esq., principal
Officer of Customs at the Port of Wellington, to act
as Assessor to me the said Justice of the Peace and
Resident Magistrate; and, upon such investigation
and examination of witnesses as aforesaid, I find
and beg to report to the Honorable the Postmaster-
General of New Zealand, as follows, that is to say:-

1. That the official number of said ship called
   the "Affiance" is 9183, of which William
   Archibald Frodsham is master, who holds a
   certificate of competency, No. 11,616 Board
   of Trade, and which ship belonged to George
   Johnson of Christchurch.
2. That the loss or damage herein more particu-
   larly mentioned happened on the 5th and 7th
   days of November, 1867, at about ten o'clock.
   p.m., in the evening-the first damage on the
   beach north of Waikanae; the foundering in
   Fitzroy Bay, on the 7th November, at nine
   a.m.
3. That the loss or damage appears by the
   evidence to have been caused-the first damage
   by striking on the beach north of Waikanac,
   from mistaking the north end of Kapiti for
   Stephen's Island. The foundering might
   probably have been prevented had the danger
   signals been repeated.
4. That the nature of the loss or damage done
   was total loss. That the vessel was insured
   for £2300 in the Sydney Marine Insurance
   Company; cargo £600, in the Pacific Fire
   and Marine. That the "Affiance" was barque-
   rigged; her port of registry Lyttelton, her
   registered tonnage 346-76. That no lives were
   lost through the wreck.
   And I, the said Justice of the Peace and Resident
   Magistrate, further state my opinion on the matter
   aforesaid to be as follows:--
   That having given the subject due consideration, I
   find that the master of the "Affiance" appears to
   have fixed his position at noon on the 5th November
   with great accuracy-40° 18' S., by 172° 21' E., and
   that this position would make Stephen's Island bear
   E. by S. S. 38 miles, and Kapiti E.S. 78 miles.
   The depth of water with Stephen's Island south three
   miles is forty-six fathoms, while off Kapiti, with the
   same bearing and distance, the depth is only thirty
   fathoms at the most. That from that time he steered
   on an E. by S. course; that the course and distance
   run would bring him, at the time of sighting Kapiti,
   to nearly the same spot at which he found the ship.
   I am of opinion that he too readily gave credence
   to the opinion of the mate and the seaman Kerr, to
   their view that the land seen was Stephen's Island;
   and that, had he consulted his chart and laid down
   his position at the time, he would have seen reason
   to pause before giving in to their dictum, and at all
   events to have hove-to till daylight. He ought also
   to have proved his position by sounding; and it
   would appear, on reference to the chart, that the
   ship should have been hauled to the southward some
   hours before she sighted Kapiti. I therefore think
   the master should be censured for the reasons given
   above.
   In mitigation it may be stated, that the master
   appears to have been most careful in his observations,
   and in his attention to the management of the ship.
   With regard to the final disaster in Fitzroy Bay,
   it appears from the evidence that had the danger
   signals been repeated into Wellington, and assistance
   sent out, both ship and cargo might have been
   brought safely into port. The person in charge of
   the signal station gives as his excuse that the vessel
   was end on to his position; that he could not there-
   fore see the signals. But this statement is contra-
   dicted by the pilot, J. A. Scott, and his brother David
   Scott, as also by the officers of the ship, who state
   that the masts were clear.
   It would appear, therefore, that the signalman is
   to blame for not seeing and repeating the signals.
   Given under my hand this eighteenth day of
   November, one thousand eight hundred
   and sixty-seven, at Wellington, in the
   Province of Wellington, New Zealand.
   JAMES C. CRAWFORD,
   J.P. and Resident Magistrate.
   I concur in the above report.
   R. JOHNSON,
   Nautical Assessor.

"MARRIAGE ACT, 1854."
OFFICIATING MINISTERS FOR 1868.
Registrar-General's Office,
Wellington, 25th January, 1868.

PURSUANT to the provisions of an Act of the
General Assembly of New Zealand, passed in
the eighteenth year of the reign of Her Majesty
Queen Victoria, and intituled "The Marriage Act,
1854," the following List of OFFICIATING MINISTERS
within the meaning of the said Act, is published for
general information:---
United Church of England and Ireland.
The Right Reverend Charles John Abraham, Bishop
The Reverend Thomas Abraham
" Thaia Te Ahu
" J. C. Andrew
" Benjamin Yate Ashwell
" William Avlmer
" John Charles Bagshaw
" Charles Baker
" George P. Beaumont
" Samuel Blackburn
" William J. G. Bluett
" Croasdaile Bowen
" Reginald R. Bradley
" Edward Nugent Bree
The Venerable Archdeacon Alfred N. Brown
The Reverend Henry H. Brown
" Lawrence Lawson Brown
" Robert Burrows