THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 123

communication with Shipowners and with the
Public Departments with a view to establishing cer-
tain Signals to be used by ships in distress and by
ships wanting pilots. The Board of Trade have, with
great care, ascertained full particulars of the signals
made at night by the ships of private companies
(chiefly by a combination of rockets and blue-lights),
and have framed a set of rules to establish Signals
which, whilst they interfere with no existing Signals,
are in themselves simple and unmistakeable.

The Admiralty and the Trinity House, and all
public bodies and companies with whom the Board
have corresponded, agree as to the necessity for
authorized signals of distress, and the question has
been so far narrowed that there only remained one
or two points to settle by conference.

This was done at a meeting at the Board of Trade,
consisting of Captains Were and Weller, Elder
Brethren of the Trinity House; Mr. J. Hart, of the
Pilotage Department of the Trinity House; Captain
Simpson, Superintendent of Pilotage at Liverpool,
and Captain Wilson, of the Mersey Docks and Har-
bour Board; and Admiral Bedford and Mr. Gray, of
the Board of Trade.

At this meeting it was unanimously agreed that it
would be well if rules were made as given below. It
was proposed that these rules should be printed in
draft, and circulated at an early convenient oppor-
tunity, with a view to careful consideration and subse-
quent embodiment in the Merchant Shipping Code
Bill.

The draft rules agreed to were-

1. Signals to be made by Ships wanting a Pilot.
   That the Signals be-
   (a.) In the Daytime. - To be hoisted at the fore, the
   Jack or other National Colour usually worn by Mer-
   chant Ships, having round it a white border, one-fifth
   of the breadth of the flag.
   (b.) At Night,-
   (1) A blue-light every 15 minutes; or
   (2) A bright white light, flashed or shown at
   short or frequent intervals, just above the
   bulwarks, for about a minute at a time.

2. As regards Signals of Distress.
   (a.) In the Daytime. - The following signals, num-
   bered 1, 2, and 3, when used or displayed together or
   separately, shall be deemed to be signals of distress
   in the daytime :----

3. A gun fired at intervals of about a minute.

4. The Commercial Code signal of distress indi-
   cated by N. C.

5. The distant signal, consisting of a square flag
   having either above or below it a ball or any-
   thing resembling a ball.
   (The Ensign Union down has been advisedly
   omitted, because many foreign flags are the same
   whether right side or wrong side up; and because it
   is hoped that the signals now suggested may become
   international.)
   (b.) At Night. - The following signals, numbered 1,
   2, 3, and 4, when used or displayed together or
   separately, shall be deemed to be signals of distress
   at night :-

6. A gun fired at intervals of about a minute.

7. Flames on the ship (as from a burning tar
   barrel, oil barrel, &c.)

8. Rockets of any colour or description, fired
   one at a time at intervals of about five (5)
   minutes.

9. Blue-lights burned one at a time at intervals
   of about five (5) minutes.

THOMAS GRAY.

Confiscated Lands Office,
Patea, 8th February, 1873.

NOTICE. - It is hereby notified for public infor-
mation, that the under-mentioned rural sections
in the Whenuakura Block, which includes part of the
Provinces of Wellington and Taranaki, will be offered
for sale by auction on Thursday, the tenth day of
April next, at the upset prices named in the Schedule
hereunto attached.

The Sale will be held at the Court House, Carlyle,
and will commence at 11 o'clock a.m.

C. A. WRAY,
In charge of Confiscated Lands, West Coast.

SCHEDULE.
RURAL SECTIONS-WHENUAKURA BLOCK.

• Part only.

Terms of Payment.

One-fourth of the purchase-money in cash on the
fall of the hammer, the remainder at or before the
expiration of three calendar months from the day of
sale, to be paid at the office of the Officer in Charge
of Confiscated Lands, Patea.

By clause 18 of the Confiscated Land Regulations,
under which the sale is to take place, "in the event
of the second payment not being made as aforesaid,
the sale shall be void and the deposit forfeited."

The Whenuakura Block lies between the Patea
and Whenuakura Rivers, on the former of which the
Town of Carlyle is situated.

The main road between Wellington and New
Plymouth and the surveyed railway line run through
the centre of the block, and access to each section
has been provided by road lines laid off during the
survey.

The land is some of the best in New Zealand, and,
both from its quality and position, is admirably suited
to the requirements of persons of moderate means
who intend to occupy and improve their own farms.

The upset price of the sections has been fixed,
according to estimated value, within the maximum
limit of forty shillings per acre allowed by the Regu-
lations.

Plans may be inspected at the Office of the Secre-
tary for Crown Lands, Wellington; at the Survey
Office, Carlyle; and the Court House and Mr. Finni-
more's Office, Wanganui.

Regulations for the sale of the land may be seen
in the New Zealand Gazette of the 1st June, 1871,
and all required information obtained at this office.

C. A. WRAY,
In charge of Confiscated Lands, West Coast.