United Kingdom, and such as belong to the Trinity House, the Commissioners of Northern Lighthouses, or the Port of Dublin Corporation, and also except pleasure Yachts), and also to all ships registered in any British possession and employed in trading or going between any place in the United Kingdom and any place or places not situate in the Possession in which such ships are registered, and to the Owners, Masters, and Crews of such ships respectively, wherever the same may be.

Under the head of provisions applicable to 'Colonial Ships' should be inserted the words: 'Examinations and Certificates of Masters and Mates.'

The present system of rendering examinations not obligatory on all masters and mates sailing vessels under the British flag must improperly and unjustly confer advantages on colonial ships to which they are not entitled, as scarcely any Merchant or Underwriter is aware of the disadvantages to which he may possibly subject his property on board of a vessel the navigation of which, although under the British flag, is not conducted by two officers whose competency is vouched for, and who consequently cannot be made to bear, what is almost the only effective punishment in case of misconduct, viz. the cancelling or suspending of their respective certificates.

In the case of the 'Trial' which I brought to the notice of the Board of Trade in 1863, the disadvantages of such a state of things were made most apparent, and in the case of the 'Lucy,' Captain Dahl, which was lost in 1864 while on a voyage from Capetown to East London, and in which most suspicious circumstances came to light, no satisfactory result was arrived at, because neither master nor mate had any certificate whatever. I therefore do not imagine any grave reasons will be adduced against the suggested alteration, with which, of course, an exact definition of the home trade of each colony would be combined.

At all events, public justice demands that the differences which the law permits in the command and navigation of British vessels shall be so conspicuously made known that no merchant or underwriter is further misled upon the subject in question.*

Volunteering in the Navy.

214. Any Seaman may leave his ship for the purpose of forthwith entering into the Naval Service of Her Majesty, and such leaving his ship shall not be deemed a desertion therefrom, and shall not render him liable to any punishment or forfeiture whatever; and all stipulations introduced into any agreement whereby any Seaman is declared to incur any forfeiture or be

* Lloyd's List of the 29th of August contains the following striking confirmation of the above views expressed by me several months previously :

'A copy of the following despatch from the Governor of the Straits Settlements, referring to the circumstance that large New South Wales ships are allowed to sail in the China seas without certificated officers, has been received from the Board of Trade.

'Lloyd's: August 29, 1867.

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'MY LORD DUKE,—At an enquiry recently held here by a Marine Court into the circumstances attending the stranding of the British barque Othello,' of Sydney, Official No. 49,281, of 342 tons burthen, bound from Manilla to Sydney, it appeared from the evidence of the master, Mr. William Sullivan, who was also the owner, that he had no certificate of competency, or service, having been in the colonies since 1827, and during thirty years as master of ships. The mate, Duncan McDougall, also stated that he had no certificate of competency, or service.

2. I presume your Grace will consider it proper that these circumstances should be brought to the notice of the Board of Trade, as although under the existing law there may be no means of compelling masters and mates of vessels trading solely in the colonies to have certificates of competency, it is probably not known to underwriters in England that large New South Wales ships are allowed to sail in the China Seas without certificated officers.

'I have, &c.

(Signed) 'H. ST. GEOrge Ord.

'His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, &c.'

exposed to any loss in case he enters into Her Majesty's Naval Service shall be void, and every Master or Owner who causes any such stipulation to be so introduced shall incur a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds.

215. Whenever any Seaman, without having previously committed any act amounting to and treated by the Master as desertion, leaves his ship in order to enter into the Naval Service of Her Majesty, and is received into such service, the Master shall deliver to him his clothes and effects on board such ship, and shall pay the proportionate amount of his wages down to the time of such entry, subject to all just deductions, as follows; (that is to say), the Master of the said ship shall pay the same to the officer authorised to receive such Seaman into her Majesty's service, either in money or by bill drawn upon the Owner, and payable at sight to the order of the Accountant-General of the Navy; and the receipt of such officer shall be a discharge for the money or bill so given; and such bill shall be exempt from stamp duty; and if such wages are paid in money, such money shall be credited in the Muster-book of the ship to the account of the said Seaman; and if such wages are paid by bill, such bill shall be noted in the said Muster-book, and shall be sent to the said Accountant General, who shall present the same, or cause the same to be presented for payment, and shall credit the produce thereof to the account of the said Seaman; and such money or produce (as the case may be) shall not be paid to the said Seaman until the time at which he would have been entitled to receive the same if he had remained in the service of the ship which he had so quitted as aforesaid; and if any such bill is not duly paid when presented, the said AccountantGeneral, or the Seaman on whose behalf the same is given, may sue thereon, or may recover the wages due by all or any of the means by which wages due to Merchant Seamen are recoverable; and if upon any Seaman leaving his ship in the manner and for the purpose aforesaid, the Master fails to deliver his clothes and effects, or to pay his wages as hereinbefore required, he shall, in addition to his liability to pay and deliver the same, incur a penalty not exceeding twenty pounds; provided that no officer who receives any such bill as aforesaid shall be subject to any liability in respect thereof, except for the safe custody thereof, until sent to the said Accountant-General as aforesaid.

216. If upon any Seaman leaving his ship for the purpose of entering the Naval Service of Her Majesty, the Owner or Master

of such ship shows to the satisfaction of the Admiralty that he has paid or properly rendered himself liable to pay an advance of wages to or on account of such Seaman, and that such Seaman has not at the time of quitting his ship duly earned such advance by service therein, and, in the case of such liability as aforesaid, if such Owner or Master actually satisfies the same, it shall be lawful for the Admiralty to pay to such Owner or Master so much of such advance as has not been duly earned, and to deduct the sum so paid from the wages of the Seaman earned or to be earned in the Naval Service of Her Majesty.

217. If, in consequence of any Seaman so leaving his ship without the consent of the Master or Owner thereof, it becomes necessary for the safety and proper Navigation of the said ship to engage a substitute or substitutes, and if the wages or other remuneration paid to such substitute or substitutes for subsequent service exceed the wages or remuneration which would have been payable to the said Seaman under his agreement for similar service, the Master or Owner of the said ship may apply to the Registrar of the High Court of Admiralty in England for a certificate authorising the repayment of such excess; and such application shall be in such form, and shall be accompanied by such documents, and by such statements, whether on oath or otherwise, as the judge of the said court from time to time directs.

218. The said Registrar shall, upon receiving any such application as aforesaid, give notice thereof in writing, and of the sum claimed, to the Secretary to the Admiralty, and shall proceed to examine the said application, and may call upon the Registrar-General of Seamen to produce any papers in his possession relating thereto, and may call for further evidence; and if the whole of the claim appears to him to be just, he shall give a certificate accordingly; but if he considers that such claim, or any part thereof, is not just, he shall give notice of such his opinion in writing, under his hand, to the person making the said application, or his attorney or agent; and if within sixteen days from the giving of such notice such person does not leave, or cause to be left, at the office of the Registrar of the said court a written notice demanding that the said application shall be referred to the judge of the said court, then the said Registrar shall finally decide thereon, and certify accordingly; but if such notice is left as aforesaid, then the said application shall stand referred to the said judge in his chambers, and his decision thereon shall be final, and the said

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Registrar shall certify the same accordingly; and the said Registrar and judge respectively shall, in every proceeding under this Act, have full power to administer oaths, and to exercise all the ordinary powers of the court, as in any other proceeding within its jurisdiction; and the said Registrar or judge (as the case may be) may, if he thinks fit, allow for the costs of any proceeding under this Act any sum not exceeding five pounds for each Seaman so quitting his ship as aforesaid; and such sum shall be added to the sum allowed, and shall be certified by the said Registrar accordingly. i

219. Every certificate so given shall be sent by post or otherwise to the person making the application, his attorney or agent, and a copy thereof shall be sent to the AccountantGeneral of the Navy; and such Accountant-General shall, upon delivery to him of the said original certificate, together with a receipt in writing, purporting to be a receipt from the Master or Owner making the application, pay to the person delivering the same out of the moneys applicable to the Naval Service of her Majesty, and granted by Parliament for the purpose, the amount mentioned in such certificate; and such certificate and receipt shall absolutely discharge the said Accountant-General and Her Majesty from all liability in respect of the moneys so paid, or of the said application.

220. Every person who, in making or supporting any such application, as aforesaid, to the Registrar of the High Court of Admiralty, forges, assists in forging, or procures to be forged, or fraudulently alters, assists in fraudulently altering, or procures to be fraudulently altered, any document, and every person who, in making or supporting any such application, presents or makes use of any such forged or altered document, or who, in making or supporting any such application, makes or gives, or assists in making or giving, or procures to be made or given, any false evidence or representation, knowing the same to be false, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour.

221. Any three or more of the Crew of any British ship may complain to any officer in command of any of Her Majesty's ships, or any British Consular officer, or any Shipping-master, or any chief officer of Customs, that the provisions or water for the use of the Crew are at any time of bad quality, unfit for use, or deficient in quantity; and such officer may thereupon examine the said provisions or water, or cause them to be examined; and if, on examination, such provisions or water are found to be of bad quality, and unfit for use, or to be