JUNE 18.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 2449

18. Foreign engineers must prove to the satisfaction of the Examiners that they can speak and write the English language sufficiently well to perform the duties required of them on board a British vessel. In every case before failing a candidate for insufficient knowledge of the English language, the Examiner should refer the matter to the Chief Examiner, who, if the failure be confirmed, will endorse the report on the form Exn. 15.

19. Statements of services in ships of 25 tons register and over of which the agreements with the crews have been entered into in New Zealand can be verified by the Superintendents of Mercantile Marine Offices if the articles expired before the 7th April, 1905, and may be obtained on application at such offices upon payment of a small fee, the amount of which will be regulated by the amount of service required to be verified. If the articles expired after the above-mentioned date, they can be verified by the Registrar of Seamen, Marine Department, Wellington. Delay, inconvenience, and disappointment will be avoided by candidates getting this verification beforehand.

20. If the candidate passes, he will receive a form (Exn. 16) authorizing the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office to whom it is addressed to issue the certificate. The candidate’s testimonials and other papers will be returned to him when the examination is finished if he fails to pass, and if he passes they will be returned when the certificate is issued to him. It is therefore important that the port at which the certificate is to be issued should be the same on both the form Exn. 16 and the form of application (Exn. 3). If circumstances should make any alteration necessary, the Examiner should see that it is made in both forms, otherwise delay in the issue of the certificate may be caused.

21. 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 wilful misrepresentation on his part, he may either have the fee returned to him or have it placed to his credit. Should his services entitle him to a certificate of a lower grade it may be granted to him, and the difference, if any, between the fee paid by him for the superior certificate and the fee payable for the inferior certificate will be returned to him, or placed to his credit. The superior certificate will not be granted until the candidate has performed the amount of service in which he was deficient, and has been re-examined in all the subjects, unless the Marine Department see fit to dispense with the re-examination.

22. If the candidate fails in practical knowledge, he may not present himself for re-examination until he can produce proofs of three months’ further service at sea as an engineer on watch on the main engines or boilers of a foreign-going steamer, or its equivalent in the home trade (four and a half months) subsequent to the date of failure. If he fails in arithmetic, elementary questions, or drawing only, he may come up again at any time. If a candidate for a third-class certificate fails to pass, he may not present himself for re-examination until after the expiration of three months.

23. Candidates for examination, in making their application on form Exn. 3, will be required to pay the examination fees before any step is taken towards inquiring into their services or testing their qualifications, &c. If the candidate is found not to be qualified, the fee will either be returned to him or placed to his credit until he is qualified, less any expenses that have been incurred.

24. The fee for examination must be sent to the Chief Examiner at the office of the Chief Inspector of Machinery, Wellington, along with the application, and must be in money or postal notes. If a candidate offers a gratuity to any servant of the Department, he will be regarded as having committed an act of misconduct, and will be rejected, and not allowed to be examined for twelve months, either at the port where the offence was committed or at any other port.

25. If a candidate fails in his examination, no part of the fee he has paid will be returned to him.

26. The fees are as follows:—

    Third-class engineer’s certificate .. 1 0 0
    Second-class engineer’s certificate .. 1 0 0
    First-class engineer’s certificate.. .. 2 0 0
    First-class engineer’s certificate, if the candidate holds a second-class certificate of competency valid in New Zealand .. 1 0 0

27. Service as watchkeeper on a lake or river steamer of not less than 66 nominal horse-power may be accepted under the following conditions:—

    (1.) The service will only count half as much as sea service—i.e., every two months of lake or river service is only equivalent to one month’s foreign-going sea service.

    (2.) Candidates for second-class certificates, besides being possessed of the third-class certificate, must prove, in addition to the lake or river service, at least three months’ qualifying service at sea in a foreign-going steamship of not less than 66 nominal horse-power, or four and a half months’ similar service in the home trade.

    (3.) Candidates for first-class certificates must prove, in addition to lake or river service in vessels of not less than 99 nominal horse-power, at least six months’ qualifying service at sea with a second-class engineer’s certificate in foreign-going vessels of not less than 99 nominal horse-power, or nine months’ similar service in the home trade.

28. Service in sea-going steam-dredgers, fishing-boats, or tug-boats, and in sea-going pilot vessels when on their station or when going to or returning from the same, where candidate is in possession of a third-class certificate, may be accepted under the following conditions:—

    Two months of such service is only equal to one month’s qualifying service in a foreign-going steamer. Candidates for second-class certificates may perform all these sea services in sea-going steam-dredgers, fishing-boats, tug-boats, or pilot vessels; but they must have been on regular watch on the main engines or boilers, and the vessels must not be less than 66 nominal horse-power. Candidates for first-class certificates must, while in possession of a second-class certificate, have served in vessels of at least 99 nominal horse-power, and have been in charge of a watch on the main engines or boilers. They must, in addition, have served in a qualifying capacity for at least six months in a foreign-going cargo or passenger steamship, or nine months in a home-trade cargo or passenger steamship.

29. Service performed in steam-yachts either within or beyond home-trade limits, if candidate is in