THE DOMICILE CLAUSE AND AUSTRALIAN NAUTICAL EXAMINATIONS.

HE Colonial Governments having applied to the Board of Trade, some years ago, to have the Australian certificates recognised in England, their request was granted; but, attached to the grant was a stipulation that, to obtain this certificate, the applicant must produce evidence of domicile in the Colonies; or rather, he must produce evidence of three years consecutive service in vessels sailing out of the Colonies.

Now, while granting that England had a right to see that certificates equal to her own should not be granted to men of inferior character; nor to men who might have been plucked at their examination in the Mother country, and who, after failing at home, might go straight out to the Colonies and obtain the certificate which they could not obtain at home; it seems to me that a six months' domicile clause would have met the latter case by compelling them to have the six months more sea-service which is required of them in England, after being plucked in seamanship, before they could again be examined.

But there is a class of seamen on which the clause acts very unjustly. I mean those young men who have found themselves honourably in the Colonies (whether seamen or officers); by the word honourably, I mean those who have been discharged in the Colonies, perhaps from their ships having been sold, or having worked their way out at one shilling per month, who, notwithstanding they hold plenty of V.G. certificates of servitute in home ships, find that they must either take an inferior certificate or fulfil this long domicile clause.

It is monstrous that the action of the Mother country should thus bar a young man's advance in life for three years, who may hold the necessary certificates of service obtained in her own ships sailing out of Home ports; while, at the same time, she allows aliens of all nations to come with certificates of servitude, obtained in their own vessels, and take upon an examination in England an English

certificate of competency, merely requiring that their Consul shall verify their certificates.

That the Colonies have quietly submitted to this while doing their best to avoid the hardships caused by it, and their succes in the latter direction, is probably the reason why the outery against the domicile clause has not been greater; for, by granting what is called the Intercolonial Certificate, which will enable th holder of it to sail to or from any part of the world, but, on which whether master or officer, he will not be allowed to ship in hi own country, viz., England.

But a master proceeding to England with one of these inferio certificates, can evade the letter of the Act (the thing has beer done repeatedly to the writer's knowledge), by getting the holde of an English certificate to ship his crew and clear the ship outwards, and who conveniently takes sick, and is put on shore in the Channel, while the bond-fide master proceeds on the voyage.

That such stratagems have to be resorted to in order to avoid the hardships of this clause is to my mind only a proof that the sooner the clause is reduced to six months, as far as Englishmen are concerned, the better, or, what would perhaps be better still, abolish it altogether, for it might safely be left in the hands of the Colonial Marine Boards to satisfy themselves of the authenticity of the applicants' certificates, or if they are English ones they could be verified by the Registrar-General in London, and sent out again in something like four months, this would only be necessary in the case of these certificates of which they might reasonably have doubts of their genuineness.

The writer is not making this matter public because the clause has ever affected himself, his own certificate having been obtained in London; but he has a relative who holds a London certificate as second mate, and who has two years' servitude as such in an English ship in the Indian trade, who, from the force of circumstances over which he had no control, finds himself in the Colonies, and, on wishing to pass, is told that he must either take the inferior certificate, or fulfil this clause.

The writer feels sure that the inconsistency of the stipulation only requires showing to the Board of Trade to have it modified in

some shape, at any rate, to those Englishmen who have the abovementioned certificate of V.G. servitude; for, surely, if England will allow foreigners to pass in England on their foreign service, she will allow her own children (who these same aliens are entering into competition with, and driving from her shores) to pass an examination in her own Colonies upon certificates given under her own hand, and thus obtain the highest certificate that can be obtained without having to fulfil three years more duty. MARSHALL SMITH, Master Extra,

Member Royal Society, N.S.W.

Port Adelaide, S.A., October, 1879.

THE CAPTURE OF THE "HUASCAR."

N the last number of the Nautical Magazine, there appeared an account of the recent naval engagement in the Pacific. Since that account was in type, the official report of the Chilian Commander-in-Chief has been received in this country. That document, dated Autofagasta, October 10th, 1879, though, as might be expected, it throws much light upon details of the combat, previously rather obscure, corroborates in all important particulars the story as previously related in these pages. In some minor points there is a discrepancy between the Chilian Admiral's letter and the descriptions of the battle published before its arrival in England. None of these, however, are very important. The name of the Chilian Commander is Admiral Rivero, and not Laborre, and the "boarding" by boats' crews, which completed the defeat of the Huascar, was apparently not so much boarding as sending men to take quiet possession of a silenced antagonist. A perusal of the report, nearly the whole of which is subjoined, will show that the Peruvian ship was overwhelmed by superior force, that the wooden ships in the enemy's fleet took but little part in the attack on her, and that their two ironclads suffered but little damage. Her engines, also, are declared to

be uninjured.

D

"On arriving at Mexillones, I ordered the squadron to coal an follow me to the southward, as I was informed that Peruvian wa vessels were cruising off the coast of Chili. I left port at a la hour at night, the squadron forming two divisions—one being con posed of the slower vessels which kept close in-shore, watchin every inlet of the coast; and the other of the fast vessels whic received orders to keep twenty or twenty-five miles a-stern, an more or less distant from the land." "This was n

exactly carried out, as a telegram was received from the Minist of War, ordering the Almirante Cochrane to remain till noon ne day with the O'Higgins and Loa, off Mexillones." This prove that the catching of the Huascar, in a trap between two squadron was a deliberate piece of strategy, and not an accident. Blanco Encalada, and Covadonga, with the transport Matti Cousino, were to steer south and cruise during the night, not fa from the port of Autofagasta. In compliance with these orders, left Mexillones with the vessels mentioned, at ten p.m., on the 7th and steered south in sight of the coast. About 3.30 a.m., th look-out man on board the Blanco Encalada sighted right a-hea two black lines of smoke." These turned out to be "two steamers which were about five miles off. I gave orders to steer for the tw vessels, which immediately altered course and made towards th coast." "At day-break, I discovered that the vessel chased were the Huascar and Union. Notwithstanding the ba state of the Blanco Encalada's boilers, I ordered full steam to b put on, and to steer right down on the enemy. I saw, on observin the speed of the ships we were chasing, that all my efforts woul be useless if, as I confidently expected they would, the rest of th Chilian squadron did not interrupt the enemy in his flight. Th latter retreated, sometimes steering slightly towards the west sometimes towards the land, but always keeping a northerl course, and increasing his distance. At about seven a.m.,

I sav

A few minutes after

the smoke of a steamer to the north-west. wards, I was certain that our vessels were making their approach. It is to be noted that the Admiral says nothing of the fog mentioned in the former reports.

"The Peruvian vessels, recognising the danger, put on full steam

and continued their course to the northward, but keeping well inshore." This, no doubt, was Admiral Gran's manœuvring to get into narrower waters, where he could engage his enemies one at a time. "The distance between the enemy's vessels and ours was at that moment about 7,000 or 8,000 metres. The Union, being the faster, visibly increased her distance. The O'Higgins and Loa were specially directed to chase her." Rapidly separating from the rest of the squadron, the ironclads advanced at full speed against the Huascar. The Cochrane soon shortened the distance between her and the Peruvian. The latter made every effort to escape to the north, but the Chilian ironclad gained fast on her, interrupting her course, when flight being no longer possible it was evident that an engagement must ensue. twenty minutes to nine o'clock the Cochrane was only 3,000 metres distant from the Huascar; at about a quarter-past nine the Huascar, continuing her flight, fired for the first time at the Cochrane. The latter did not return the fire, but continued the pursuit." "Her Commander did not trouble himself about the enemy's fire, but kept advancing till the guns of his vessel could be used with greater precision and more terrible effect. A few minutes afterwards the combat began with both vessels keeping up a hot fire.

At

"Meanwhile the Blanco Encalada was bearing down on the enemy. The Huascar, after a well sustained cannonade with the Cochrane, turned her prow towards the Blanco Encalada, firing at the same time. The Blanco Encalada returned the fire. The Huascar's flag became invisible for an instant, and it was thought that the combat had terminated; but the Peruvian colours were seen waving again, and the struggle continued. So small was now the distance between the ships, that in our vessel we thought the moment opportune for ramming, but the Huascar swerved and evaded the shock. The Huascar at one time passed within 25 metres of the Blanco Encalada, firing as she did so, and plying her mitrailleuses from aloft.

"The Cochrane, which had withdrawn during a certain space of time from the Huascar owing to the manœuvre in which the latter made against the Blanco Encalada, advanced