June 20.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1873

self to be engaged or acts in contravention of law, or who employs any person as engineer without ascertaining that he is at the time entitled to and possessed of a proper certificate, for each offence incurs a penalty not exceeding £50.

An officer is not duly certified unless he is the holder for the time being of a certificate of competency or service, valid in New Zealand, of a grade appropriate to his station in the ship or of a higher grade.

Descriptions and grades of certificates.

3. The certificates of engineers are of two descriptions—viz., certificates of competency and certificates of service; and of certificates of competency there are three grades—viz., first-class, second-class, and third-class engineers’ certificates; of certificates of service there are two grades—viz., first and second class.

Certificates of competency granted to persons who pass requisite examinations.—“The Shipping and Seamen Act, 1903,” section 22.

4. Certificates of competency will be granted to those persons who are British subjects and who pass the requisite examinations, and otherwise comply with the requisite conditions. For this purpose Examiners have been appointed, and arrangements have been made for holding the examinations at the following places, viz. :—

At Auckland, during the first week in January, May, and September.

At Napier, during the first week in February, June, and October.

At Wanganui, during the first week in February, June, and October.

At Wellington, during the first week in February, June, and October.

At Nelson, during the first week in February, June, and October.

At Christchurch, during the first week in March, July, and November.

At Timaru, during the first week in March, July, and November.

At Dunedin, during the first week in April, August, and December.

At Invercargill, during the first week in April, August, and December.

The examination will commence on Monday in each case.

In cases of emergency the Examiners will exercise their discretion as to examining candidates at other than the prescribed periods.

Application, how to be made.

5. The application for examination is to be made on form Exn. 3, which must be filled up and signed by the candidate. This form can be obtained at any Customhouse, Mercantile Marine Office, or office of an Inspector of Machinery. The form Exn. 3, properly filled in, together with the candidate’s indentures of apprenticeship (or certificate from an employer that the candidate has worked as an apprentice for five years), testimonials, discharges, and fee, must be forwarded to the Chief Examiner of Engineers, at the office of the Chief Inspector of Machinery, at Wellington, with an intimation of the place at which the candidate wishes to be examined. When the application is filled up at a place other than Wellington, and it is a matter of urgency that the candidate should be examined before the Chief Examiner can notify the local Examiner, the candidate must present his application and other papers to the local Examiner, who, if they are correct, shall at once forward them to the Chief Examiner, with the fee, and proceed with the examination of the candidate.

The Examiner should be particularly careful to ascertain that there are no gaps in the candidate’s service which are not properly accounted for, before he is allowed up for examination.

How to apply in special cases.

6. In cases where the services of a candidate require verification, or where he is in doubt whether his service complies with the regulations and wishes to submit his case for special consideration, all certificates, discharges, and testimonials, together with the form of application,* properly filled in, should be submitted to the local Examiner of Engineers. If necessary, the Examiner will, after seeing that all the required information is clearly stated in the papers, forward them with his observations to the Chief Examiner, who will deal with the case.

Inquiries.

7. All other inquiries regarding examinations should be made and dealt with in the same way. The point on which information is sought should be clearly stated, and certificates, discharges, testimonials, &c., should be forwarded when they are material to the inquiry.

Age.

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

Fraud and misrepresentation.

9. It is provided by section 32 of “The Shipping and Seamen Act, 1903,” that any person who makes, assists in making, or procures to be made any false representation for the purpose of procuring, either for himself or for any other person, a certificate of competency shall in respect of each offence be guilty of a crime, the punishment for which is imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years, or a fine.

Testimonials; shore service.

10. All candidates will be required to produce, in addition to the official discharge certificates, testimonials as to their workshop service and as to their service at sea. The testimonials as to workshop service must be signed by the employer, and must testify to the candidate’s conduct and ability, and state what kind of work he was engaged on (e.g., fitting, erecting, &c.), and for how long.

Testimonials; sea service.

11. Testimonials as to service at sea must testify to the applicant’s sobriety, experience, ability, and general good conduct for at least the last twelve months’ service at sea preceding the date of application to be examined. They must be signed by the master and chief engineer (or in the case of testimonials to chief engineers, by the master and superintending engineer), and must clearly state whether the applicant was on regular watch, and in regular charge of a watch on the main engines or boilers. It is desirable that testimonials of candidates should be indorsed by the superintending engineer. No time spent in clerical work will be allowed to count.

Provision for special cases.

12. In cases where a testimonial from the chief engineer or from the master is for any sufficient

• Form Exn. 3, which can be obtained at any Mercantile Marine Office, Customs Office, or Inspection of Machinery Office.