inquiry into the competency of the party to heave a ship down, in case of accident befalling her abroad; to get lower masts and other heavy weights in and out; how to construct rafts, and as to his resources for the preservation of the ship's crew in the event of wreck, and in such operations of a like nature, as the Examiner may consider necessary.* Qualifications for Certificate of Competency for Home Trade Passenger Ships. (a.) A MATE must write a legible hand, and understand the first four rules of arithmetic. He must know and understand the rule of the road, and describe and show that he understands the Admiralty regulations as to Lights. He must be able to take a bearing by compass, and prick off the ship's course on the chart. He must know the marks in the lead line, and be able to work and heave the log. (b.) A MASTER must have served one year as a mate in the Foreign or Home Trade. In addition to the qualifications required for a mate, he must show that he is capable of navigating a ship along any coast, for which purpose he will be required to draw upon a chart produced by the Examiner, the courses and distances he would run along shore from headland to headland, and to give in writing the courses and distances. corrected for variation, and the bearings of the head lands and lights, and when the courses should be altered, either to clear any dangers or to adapt it to the coast. He must understand how to make his soundings according to the state of the tide. General Rules as to Examinations and Fees. 9. The candidates will be allowed to work out the various problems according to the method and the tables they have been accustomed to use, and will be allowed five hours to perform the work, at the expiration of which, if they have not finished, The New Edition of "Seamanship," published by Mrs. Janet Taylor, contains full information on this subject, for those preparing for the Extra Examination. they will be declared to have failed, unless the Local Marine Board see fit to extend the time. Fees to be paid by Applicants for Examination. 10. [s. 133.] The fee for examination must be paid to the Shipping Master. If a candidate fail in his examination, half the fee he has paid will be returned to him by the Shipping Master, on his producing a document which will be given him by the Examiner. 1 0 0 0 10 0 Master, whether Extra or Ordinary..... 11. Any one who has been one year in possession of a Master's first-class Certificate, granted by one of the former Boards of Examiners, or of any ordinary Master's Certificate of Competency granted under the present Examiners, may pass an Extra Examination, and receive an Extra Certificate in exchange for his former one, without payment of any fee; but if he fails in his first examination, he must pay half a Master's fee on his coming a second time; and the same sum for every subsequent attempt. 12. If the applicant passes, he will receive a document from the Examiner, which will entitle him to receive his Certificate of Competency from the Shipping Master at the port to which he has directed it to be forwarded. If his testi monials have been sent to the Registrar to be verified, they will be returned with his certificate. but 13. If an applicant is examined for a higher rank and fails, passes an examination of a lower grade, he may receive a C Certificate accordingly, but no part of the fee will be returned. 14. In all cases of complete failure, the candidate must be re-examined de novo, and in case of failure in Seamanship, a candidate will not be re-examined until after a lapse of SIX MONTHS, to give him time to gain experience. 15. As the examinations of Masters and Mates are made compulsory, the qualifications have been kept as low as possible; but it must be distinctly understood, that it is the intention of the Board of Trade to raise the standard from time to time, whenever, as will no doubt be the case, the general attainments of officers in the merchant service, shall render it possible to do so without inconvenience: and officers are strongly urged to employ their leisure hours, when in port, in the acquirement of the knowledge necessary to enable them to pass their examinations; and Masters will do well to permit apprentices and junior officers to attend schools of instruction, and to afford them as much time for this purpose as possible. T. H. FARRER, Secretary. Marine Department, Board of Trade May, 1855. N.B.--For notice respecting the "EXAMINATION IN STEAM," see Appendix 1. A person possessing a Master's Certificate, whether of competency or service, is eligible to command any vessel of whatsoever tonnage, and either certificate is sufficient for clearance at the Custom House. But a condition in the Charter-party of vessels taken up by Government, for the conveyance of troops, stores, or emigrants, and also the Regulations of the Principal Steam Packet Companies, require that the Master and principal officers shall possess certificates of competency. The First Mate may engage as Mate of any kind. The Only Mate as First Mate when there is no other; or as Second Mate, when there is a First Mate. The Second Mate is not appropriate for any superior station, and must be employed only in cases where a First Mate is also engaged. Certificates of Competency or Service may be either of a grade appropriate to the Stations held for the time being, or of any superior grade. N.B.-Certificates of Character from Owners and Captains, must particularly include the word "sobriety." Notice to Masters and Only-Mates of Foreign-going Ships. Board of Trade, Dec. 29, 1856. The following additions to the qualifications now required from persons applying for Certificates of Competency, for Foreign-going Ships, will be made after the 31st of March, 1857: : All Masters of Foreign-going Ships, in addition to the subjects of examination prescribed in the Notice of Examination, issued in 1855, will be examined in so much of the Laws of the Tides as is necessary to enable them to shape a course, and to compare their soundings with the depths marked on the Charts. All Only-Mates must be nineteen years of age, and must have been five years at sea; and, in addition to the qualifications required in the notice above referred to, must be able to find the longitude by chronometer, in the usual way. Examinations of Masters and Mates. Office of Committee of Privy Council for Trade, Marine Department, Whitehall, June 10, 1857 Sir, I am directed by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, to request that you will call the attention of the Local Marine Board to the following observations, having reference to the subject of the Examinations of candidates for Certificates of Competency. By the regulations issued by this Board in 1851, Masters and Mates were informed that the standard of Examinations had been made as low as possible, but would be raised from time to time. In the six years which have since elapsed, the only additions which have been made, are the following, viz. :-Masters are now examined as to the Law of Tides. Only Mates are required to be nineteen years of age instead of eighteen, and to find the longitude by chronometer; and Second Mates are required to have a knowledge of logarithms, and to be able to complete the day's work. My Lords do not, at present, contemplate raising the existing standard, but they are desirous that one uniform system should prevail at every port in the United Kingdom, at which examinations are held; and with the view of framing rules to effect this, their lordships have written for information as to the modes in which the examinations are conducted, by the different Examiners. Notwithstanding the desire expressed in the Circular from this department, of the 15th October, 1855, that the examinations should be as much as possible assimilated at all the ports, my Lords have ascertained, that the systems at present in practice at the different ports, are by no means uniform; and that greater facilities for procuring Certificates of Competency are afforded at some ports than at others. This is obviously objectionable in principle, as well as unfair to the candidates. |