1220
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 43

with the proper fee, to the Principal Examiner, and proceed with the examination of the candidate.

70. Applicants will be required to produce, in addition to the usual certificate of discharge, satisfactory testimonials as to sobriety, experience, ability, and general good conduct for at least the twelve months immediately preceding the date of application to be examined; and without producing them no person will be examined. If the service has been on shore, the testimonials must be signed by an employer; if at sea, by the master or chief engineer.

71. The testimonials of service of foreigners, which cannot be verified, must be confirmed either by the consul of the country to which the ship, workshop, or factory in which the candidate served belonged, or by some other recognised official authority of that country, or by the testimony of some credible person on the spot having personal knowledge of the facts required to be established. The production, however, of such proofs will not of necessity be deemed sufficient.

Each case must be decided on its own merits; and if the sufficiency of proofs given appears to be at all doubtful, the point must be referred to the Principal Examiner.

72. Should any doubt exist as to the age of a candidate, he will be required to produce a certificate of birth or baptism.

73. Foreigners must prove to the satisfaction of Examiners that they can speak and write the English language sufficiently well to perform the duties required of them on board a British vessel.

74. Services which cannot be verified by proper entries in the articles of the ships in which the candidates have served cannot be counted.

Certificates of Service.

75. In no case shall a certificate of service be granted in respect of service performed after the 19th day of October, 1899, nor unless the applicant has for at least twelve months previous to that date been in charge of the engine of a ship to which these regulations apply.

76. In the case of a service certificate for restricted limits, it shall be sufficient if the qualifying service has been performed within restricted limits.

77. In the case of a service certificate for other than restricted limits, the qualifying service must have been performed outside restricted limits.

78. In every case the qualifying service must be duly certified to by owners, giving dates, and must be accompanied with testimonials of sobriety and good conduct for at least twelve months prior to the date of application.

Qualifying Service required for Sea-going Engineers’ Competency Certificates.

79. For a second-class certificate of competency an applicant must have been employed as an apprentice at the making and repairing of engines for two years, or must have tended machinery for two years (not necessarily as an apprentice) in any factory or workshop, or been engaged at work of a similar nature, or been employed about the propelling machinery of a ship for two years, and if he obtains his certificate it will enable him to take charge of engines of which the collective horsepower does not exceed 60 brake horse-power.

80. An applicant for a first-class certificate must have not less than three years’ shop service at the making and repairing of engines, or at work of a similar nature, or have held a second-class competency certificate, and been employed on board a ship to which these regulations apply for one year, and have been in possession of a second-class certificate of competency for the whole of the time; and if he obtains his first-class certificate it will enable him to take charge of the engines of any ship to which these regulations apply.

81. An applicant for a certificate of competency within restricted limits shall not be required to show any qualifying service.

82. Service entered upon a ship’s articles as having been performed in the capacity of assistant engineer must be supported by proof of the candidate having acted as second, third, or junior engineer, as the case may be.

83. Service in the engine-room (afterwards referred to) for qualifying a candidate to be examined for first-class engineer’s certificate must be only in those capacities which afford opportunities of obtaining practical experience as an engineer; and service in the capacity of greaser, winchman, labourer, engineer’s steward, or any other capacity than that of engineer taking watch on engines for propelling, will not be accepted.

84. It is provided by “The Shipping and Seamen’s Act, 1877” (section 32), and by section 4 of “The Shipping and Seamen’s Act Amendment Act, 1899,” that every person who makes, or procures to be made, or assists in making, any false representation for the purpose of obtaining for himself or for any other person a certificate of competency, or the issue of any such certificate, shall for each offence be liable to imprisonment for any period not exceeding twelve months with or without hard labour, or a penalty not exceeding one hundred pounds.

85. If, after a candidate has passed his examination, it is discovered on further investigation that his services are insufficient to entitle him to receive a certificate of the grade for which he has passed, it will not be granted to him; but if the Marine Department are satisfied that the error in the calculation of his services did not occur through any fault or any misrepresentation on his part, the certificate may be issued to him, or he may be allowed to go up for re-examination without payment of further fee when he has performed the amount of service in which he was deficient, as the Marine Department may direct.

86. If in such a case the applicant’s services are sufficient to entitle him to receive a certificate of a lower grade, and he has not wilfully misrepresented the amount of his services, an inferior certificate may be granted to him, and the fee paid by him for the superior certificate may be placed to his credit in the payment of the fee for the inferior certificate.

87. In such a case, when the applicant has by further service made up the time in which he was found to be short, he may be required, before he can receive the higher certificate, to be re-examined in all the subjects.

88. If any certificate of competency issued by the Marine Department which has been defaced so as to become illegible, or has been seriously injured by wear-and-tear, is presented to a Superintendent of Mercantile Marine in the course of duty, the same should at once be transmitted by the Superintendent to the Secretary of the Marine Department, together with the usual form of application for renewal of certificate, duly filled up, in order that a renewed certificate may be issued. This will be done free of charge in those cases where it is satisfactorily shown to the Marine Department that due care has been taken of the original. This power will have to be exercised with great discretion by the Superintendent of Mercantile Marine,