LOST mare, advertised in Gazette No. 855, has been found. Is. and lodge with their testimonials in the hands of the Examiners. Certificates procured on false information will be cancelled.

(From the New Zealand Gazette, No. 45, July 17, 1873.)

REGULATIONS for the Examination and Certificates of Masters and Mates.

WHEREAS by “The Merchant Shipping Acts Adoption Act 1869,” it is, among other things, enacted that the provisions contained in sections numbered from one hundred and thirty-one to one hundred and forty, both inclusive, in the Third Part of the Act of the Imperial Parliament called “The Merchant Shipping Act 1854,” (therein called the said principal Act), relating to the examination and certificates of masters and mates, should not come into operation until such time as should thereafter be appointed by the Governor in Council: And whereas by Order in Council made under the authority of the said first-mentioned Act, and issued on the eleventh day of December, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-two, it was ordered that the provisions contained in the said sections should come into operation on the first day of March, one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three: And whereas it is expedient that in pursuance of the provisions contained in the said sections, and under the authority hereinafter mentioned, Regulations should be made for the examination and certificates of masters and mates:

Now therefore, I, Sir James Fergusson, Baronet, the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of all powers and authorities vested in me by the hereinafter mentioned Acts, or either of them, and of all other powers and authorities enabling me in that behalf, do hereby make the Regulations set forth in the Schedule hereto for the examination and certificates of masters and mates within the Colony of New Zealand, and do order that such Regulations shall come into force on the fifteenth day of July, 1873.

Given under the hand of His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir James Fergusson, Baronet, a Member of Her Majesty’s Most Honourable Privy Council, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty’s Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same, at the Government House, at Wellington, this twentieth day of July, in the Year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-three.

WILLIAM H. REYNOLDS.

SCHEDULE.

EXAMINATIONS OF MASTERS AND MATES, FOR CERTIFICATES OF COMPETENCY.

1. Certificates of Competency will be granted to those persons 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 examinations at such times and places as may be found to be most suitable for general convenience; due notice whereof will be given in the New Zealand Gazette.

2. Notice of Application for Examination to be given by Candidates.—Candidates for examination must give in their names to the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office (Custom House), if the place where they intend to be examined is a port at which examinations are held, or to “The Secretary of Customs (Marine Branch),” at Wellington, on or before the day of examination, and must conform to any regulations in this respect which may be laid down by the Board of Examiners from time to time.

3. Testimonials of Character, Conduct, and Ability required.—Testimonials of character, and of sobriety, experience, ability, and good conduct on board ship will be required of all applicants, and without producing them no person will be examined. The testimonials of servitude of foreigners, and of British seamen serving in foreign vessels, which cannot be verified, must be confirmed either by the Consul of the country to which the ship 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. Upon application to the Superintendent of the Mercantile Marine Office (Custom House), candidates will be supplied with a form, which they will be required to fill up and lodge with their testimonials in the hands of the Examiners. Certificates procured on false information will be cancelled.

4. If it shall be found that any certificate has been issued under these Regulations upon false or erroneous information, such certificate may be cancelled. Any 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, is, by the 140th section of “The Merchant Shipping Act, 1854,” deemed guilty of a misdemeanour.

5. Verification of Services, &c., by Articles.—Services which cannot be verified by proper entries in the articles of the ships in which the candidates have served cannot be counted. Thus, for instance, a man will state his services to have been as Second or only Mate, and to support this assertion will produce a certificate of discharge or of employment by the Master, stating that he served as Mate, when on reference to the articles it appears that he has actually been rated as Boatswain; the service in such a case will not be regarded as having been in the capacity of Mate. Whenever a man has, from any cause, been regularly promoted on a vacancy in the course of a voyage from the rank for which he first shipped, and such promotion, with the ground on which it has been made, is properly entered in the articles and in the official log-book, he will of course receive credit for his service in the higher grade for the period subsequent to his promotion. Service in coasting trade may be allowed to count.

6. Where the examiners are in every respect satisfied with the testimonials of a candidate, service in the coasting trade may be allowed to count as service, in order to qualify him for examination for a certificate of competency for foreign-going ships as a mate, and two years’ service as mate in the coasting trade may be allowed to count as service for a master’s certificate, provided the candidate’s name has been entered as mate on the coasting articles, and provided he has already passed an examination.

7. Second Mate.—A second mate must be seventeen years of age, and must have been four years at sea.

In Navigation.—He must write a legible hand, and understand the first five rules of arithmetic, and the use of logarithms. He must be able to work a day’s work complete, including the bearings and distance of the port in bound to, by Mercator’s method; to correct the sun’s declination for longitude, and find his latitude by meridian altitude of the sun; and to work such other easy problems of a like nature as may be put to him. He must understand the use of the sextant, and be able to observe with it, and read off the arc. He will be required to give the definitions of the various terms used in nautical astronomy, and will be examined as to his acquaintance with the International Code of Signals.

In seamanship.—He must give satisfactory answers as to the rigging and unrigging of ships, stowing of holds, &c.; must understand the measurement of the log-line, glass, and lead-line; be conversant with the rule of the road, as regards both steamers and sailing vessels, and the lights and fog-signals carried by them.

8. Only Mate.—An only mate must be nineteen years of age, and have been five years at sea.

In Navigation.—In addition to the qualification required for a second mate, an only mate must be able to observe and calculate the amplitude of the sun, and deduce the variation of the compass therefrom, and be able to find the longitude by chronometer by the usual methods. He must know how to lay off the place of the ship on the chart, both by bearings of known objects, and by latitude and longitude. He must be able to determine the error of a sextant, and to adjust it; also to find the time of high water from the known time at full and change.

In seamanship.—In addition to what is required for a second mate, he must know how to moor and unmoor, and to keep a clear anchor; to carry out an anchor, to stow a hold, and to make the requisite entries in the ship’s log. He will also be questioned as to his knowledge of the use and management of the mortar and rocket lines in case of the stranding of a vessel, as explained in the official log-book.

9. First Mate.—A first mate must be nineteen years of age, and have served five years at sea, of which one year must have been as either second or only mate, or as both.

In Navigation.—In addition to what is required for an only mate, he must be able to observe azimuths, and to compute the variation; to compare chronometers and to rate the same; he must have a thorough knowledge of the management of vessels under all circumstances.