appertain to steam-engines and boilers, will not be asked. The examination will in fact be confined to what a master of a steam-vessel may be called upon to perform in the case of the death, incapacity, or delinquency of the engineer.

44. If the applicant fails to answer some few of the questions, and yet, in the opinion of the Examiner, possesses such a competent knowledge of the parts of the engine generally, and such other practical knowledge of the subject as will enable him to effect the object in view, the Examiner will exercise his discretion as to whether a sufficiently high standard of knowledge has been attained, and pass him or not accordingly.

45. The Examiner will provide drawings and working sections, on a sufficiently large scale, of the various parts of the steam-engine, and of the valves and slides, &c., as may be necessary, and will require the applicant to make use of them in giving his answers to the various questions put to him; and, if an opportunity offer, the applicant will be permitted, under the guidance of the Examiner, to start and stop the engine of some vessel which may have her steam up.

CERTIFICATES OF SERVICE.

46. A Certificate of Service entitles an Officer who had served as either Master or Mate in a British Foreign-going Ship before the 1st January, 1851, or as Master or Mate in a Home Trade Passenger Ship before the 1st January, 1854, to serve in those capacities again; and it also entitles an Officer who has attained or attains the rank of Lieutenant, Master, Passed Mate, or Second Master, or any higher rank in the service of Her Majesty or of the late East India Company, to serve as Master of a British Merchant Ship, and may be had by application to the Registrar-General of Seamen, Adelaide Place, London Bridge, London, or to any Superintendent of a Mercantile Marine Office in the Outports, on the transmission and verification of the necessary certificates and testimonials.

3

LOCAL MARINE BOARD EXAMINATIONS— NOTICE TO CADIDATES-OFFICIAL NOTICE.

I.

Candidates are required to appear at the examination room punctually at the time appointed.

2. Candidates are prohibited from bringing into the examination room books or papers of any kind whatever. The slightest infringement of this regulation will subject the offender to all the penalties of a failure.

3. In the event of any Candidate being detected in defacing, blotting, writing in, or otherwise injuring any book or books belonging to the Board, the papers of such Candidate will be detained until the book or books so defaced be replaced by him. He will not, however, be at liberty to remove the damaged book, which will still remain the property of the Board.

4. In the event of any Candidate being discovered copying from another, or affording any assistance or giving any information to another, or communicating in any way with another, during the time of examination, he will subject himself to a failure and its consequences.

5. No Candidate will be allowed to work out his problems on a slate or on waste paper.

6. No Candidate will be permitted to leave the room until he has given up the paper on which he is engaged.

7. Candidates will be allowed to work out the various problems by the method and tables they have been accustomed to use, and will be allowed five hours to perform the work. At the expiration of the five hours they will, if they have not finished, be declared to have failed, unless the Local Marine Board or Examiner see fit to lengthen

the period in any special case. If, however, the period is lengthened in any case, the special circumstances of that case and the reasons for lengthening the period must be reported to the Board of Trade by the Examiners at the time they send in the report on Form F.F.

8. Candidates will find it more convenient, both here and at sea, to correct the declination and other elements from the Nautical Almanac by the "hourly differences" which have been given in that work in order to facilitate such calculations; they will thereby render themselves independent of any proportional or logarithmic table for such purpose.

9. The corrections by inspection from tables given in many works on navigation will not be allowed (see Tables IX, XI, and XXI in Norie's Epitome; Tables 21 and 38 in Raper's Navigation; Tables 10, 11, and 26 in Rosser's Navigation, &c.); every correction must appear on the papers of the Candidates. The First-class and Extra Master are referred to page 519 of the Nautical Almanac, 1867, for further information on this subject.

10. Candidates are expected to bring their answers to all problems within, or not to exceed, a margin of one mile of position from a correct result.

II. In finding the longitude by chronometer the logarithms used in finding the hour-angle should be taken out for seconds of are.

12. In all other problems the logarithms to the nearest minute will be sufficiently correct for all grades, except Extra Master, from whom a degree of precision will be required, both in the work and in the results, beyond what is demanded from the inferior grades.

THOMAS GRAY, Assistant Secretary,

Board of Trade, Marine Department, Jan. 1st, 1869,

APPROPRIATE CERTIFICATES.

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 Officer shall possess Certificates of Competency.

The First Mate may engage as Mate of any kind.

The Only Mate as 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.

A Certificate of Competency for a "Foreign-going Ship" is equivalent to a Certificate of equal or lower grade for a "Home Trade Passenger Ship," and entitles the holder to fill the situation of Master or Mate, as the case may be.

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.-CAUTION TO OFFICERS PROCURING CERTIFICATES OF CHARACTER FROM OWNERS AND CAPTAINS: Certificates of Character from Owners and Captains, must particularly include the word "Sobriety," as they cannot otherwise be received by the Examiners at the Local Marine Board.

LONDON

NEWCASTLE
SHIELDS, NORTH
SHIELDS, SOUTH

SUNDERLAND'

PLYMOUTH

First and third Friday and Saturday in each month.
First and third Tuesday in each month.
Tuesday in each month.

Second and fourth Monday in each month.
First and third Thursday in each month.
Saturday in each week.

Thursdays and Fridays; held alternately at each place.
Second and fourth Tuesday in each month.
Tuesday in each week.

Every week-Monday and Tuesday "Foreign Trade;"
Thursday and Friday "Home Trade Passenger" and
"Foreign Trade."

The examination in Navigation commences every Monday, and the examination in Seamanship takes place as soon as the Navigation examination is finished; Master's voluntary examination in Steam held on Friday in each week.

In regular rotation on Thursday in each week during the months of January, February, March, April, May, October, November, and December; and on every alternate Thursday during the months of June, July, August, and September.

Monday in each week; and on every alternate Monday during the months of June, July, August, and September.

Tuesday in each week.

* At these places Masters' Extra Examinations are held.