(From the London Gazette of Tuesday, August 20 [1845])

Notice is hereby given, that from and after the 1st day of November, 1845, the following arrangements and regulations for examining masters and mates in the merchant service, voluntarily offering themselves for examination, will take effect.

By Order of the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade.

L. G. S. LEFEVRE, Assistant-Secretary.

I. AS TO THE BOARDS OF EXAMINERS

1. The Boards enumerated in the schedules hereto, have voluntarily undertaken respectively to conduct the examinations hereinafter described, according to the arrangements and regulations contained in this notice, which are subject to any future regulations to be from time to time made by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, and published in the London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Gazettes.

2. Each Board of Examiners is to examine all persons who shall apply as hereinafter is mentioned for certificates of qualification as masters or mates of vessels, and shall grant to such of them. as upon examination shall be found to be properly qualified, certificates accordingly, of the classes following :

Masters. 1st class. 2nd class. 3rd class.

Mates .. 1st class. 2nd class. 3rd class.

3. The actual examiners are to be members of the said enumerated Boards, or proper persons appointed or employed by the Boards respectively.

4. In every case the examination is to be carried on by at least two examiners who have had charge of ships or vessels on over-sea voyages.

5. In the examination of the first and second classes hereinafter described, the examiners are to be assisted by a scientific person competently acquainted with the theory of navigation and nautical astronomy.

6. Such examination is to comprise the several points, and be subject to the several conditions hereinafter mentioned.

II.- CONDITIONS AND SUBJECTS OF EXAMINATION

1. No person is to be examined as a master under twenty-one years of age, nor as a mate under nineteen years, nor who has not previously served at sea for not less than six years, as regards an examination for master, and for not less than four years as regards that for mate.

2. All candidates for examination must produce sufficient evidence of their ages, and certificates of service and sobriety, general good character and conduct; and particular care is to be taken by the examiners to satisfy themselves as to the habitual sobriety of the party, previous to granting him a certificate of fitness to take charge and command of, or serve as master or mate on board, any vessel.

3. They must be able to write a legible hand, and must understand the five first rules of arithmetic.

4. They will be examined as to their knowledge of seamanship, of rigging vessels, stowing holds, &c., in addition to which those to be admitted into the lowest class, or class 3rd, must be able to correct the courses steered by compass for variation, leeway, &c., to work what is termed a day's work, to prick off the vessel's place on a chart, either by the calculated latitude or longitude, or by the bearings of the land by compass.

5. They must show that they understand the use of the quadrant or sextant, and can observe the sun's meridian altitude, and there from determine the latitude, and are able to work the tides by the age of the moon, from the known time of high water at the full and change.

6. To be entitled to second-class certificates, candidates must, in addition to all the foregoing qualifications, be able to ascertain the latitude by double altitudes of the sun, and by meridian altitudes of the moon, or of those bright planets or stars the places of which are given in the Nautical Almanac. They must understand the care and management of chronometers, and the mode of working out and ascertaining the longitude therefrom, and they must be able to ascertain the variation of the compass by the azimuth of the sun as well as by the amplitude.

7. To be entitled to a first-class certificate, candidates will, in addition to all the foregoing qualifications, undergo a more strict examination as to their proficiency in navigation and also in seamanship, under the many difficult circumstances and trying situations to which vessels may be exposed; such as having to erect and to rig jury-masts, when suddenly requisite, or to form rafts in case of being stranded, &c., and in such other cases as call for a higher order of resources. They must have a competent acquaintance with plain trigonometry, a general knowledge of nautical astronomy, including the determination of the latitude by reduction to the meridian, and of the longitude by lunar observations.

8. They must be acquainted with the mode of ascertaining and applying the deviation of the compass, produced by the local attraction, which is of so much importance in all vessels and particularly in those built of iron or having iron on board in any quantity. They must be practically acquainted with the mode of comparing two or more chronometers, and of rating them by equal altitudes.

9. They must understand the construction of Mercator charts, so as to be able to correct any errors they may detect in those they possess, as well as to insert with any precision any new shoals or islands they may discover; and must be well versed in the mode of laying down the required course on the chart.

10. They must also possess a knowledge of mercantile book-keeping, at least by single entry

11. In the event of any candidate proving himself to have higher attainments than the foregoing, such as being well versed in great circle sailing, spherical trigonometry, marine surveying, and a more extensive knowledge of astronomy, it is to be noted in his certificate. and is to entitle him to have a "class 1 extra," thereon.

12. The examination of mates, who are to be considered as the substitutes for masters in certain contingencies, is, on that account, to embrace the same branches with the master's examination in each class respectively, having regard, however, in its details, to the denomination of certificate for which each person may be an applicant.

III.- TIMES OF EXAMINATION

Every candidate desirous of being examined, shall transmit to the clerk of the Board by whom he is to be examined, an application in the form hereinafter described, and thereupon such Board shall appoint a proper time for such examination, not exceeding four clear days from the receipt of any such application.

IV.- FORM OF APPLICATION.

Every application for examination should be made in the following form :

"To the Board of Examiners of masters and mates of vessels at the port of __________

" I, A.B., of _________, being desirous of obtaining a certificate of qualification as a _____________do hereby signify my request to undergo the necessary examination for that purpose; and I herewith deliver my testimonials of character and service, and evidences of age, as per the following list, viz.: No. 1, 2, 3, &c.

" And I hereby declare that I will accept the said certificate of qualification, subject to the withdrawal thereof by any Board of Examiners under such regulations as are now or may from time to time be made by the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade."

V.- FEES FOR EXAMINATION.

In order to provide for the remuneration of the examiners, or for the incidental expenses of the proposed arrangements, the following fees shall be paid by the candidates examined:

For a master's certificate, �2 ;

For a mate's certificate, �1.

2. One-half of the said fees respectively shall be paid by the candidate at the time of the transmission of his application, and the remainder by candidates deemed entitled to certificates prior to the issue thereof.

3. In case a candidate fails to obtain a certificate, the sum that he has paid will not be returned to him.

VI.- APPLICATION OF FEES.

1. The fees received by each Board of Examiners shall, after deducting one-fourth part thereof, be applied by them in the remuneration of the examiners, or otherwise for the purposes of the examination, as such Board is its discretion shall think fit.

2. The one-fourth thus deducted shall be held by such board to be annually applied towards the expenses of such inquiries as are hereinafter mentioned, or in defraying any other expenses incidental to these arrangements, as the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade shall direct.

3. Each Board of Examiners shall transmit to the Lords of the of Committee of Privy Council for Trade, in the months of July and January, an account of the fees which they have received during the six calendar months preceeding, and of the disbursements paid thereout.

VII.- CERTIFICATES.

1. The following is to be the form of certificate :

" By the Board of Examiners of masters and mates of vessels at the port of ______________

" We do hereby certify that, pursuant to the request of A. B., we have examined into the competency of the said A. B., and have found him duly qualified to fulfil the duties of _____________ and to be entitled to this _____________ class certificate."

2. Such certificate shall be signed by the actual examiners, and in all cases be counter-signed by the Secretary or Clerk of the Board of Examiners.

3. Within forty-eight hours after the issue of any such certificate, an authenticated copy shall be transmitted by the Board of Examiners granting the same to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade.

VIII.- WITHDRAWAL OF CERTIFICATES.

1. In case any vessel, the master or mate of which has a certificate, shall be lost, burned. stranded, or otherwise damaged, or in case any master or mate having a certificate shall be charged with having been drunk at sea, or with having been drunk on board at different times in harbour, the Board of Examiners nearest the port to which the vessel belongs, or nearest to the place on the coast of the United Kingdom where the vessel to which such master or mate belongs, shall arrive, or nearest to where they may be when the complaint is brought forward, may, if it shall think fit, upon receiving any information or complaint of the event or occurrence, inquire into the same, and if it shall appear to the Board of Examiners undertaking such inquiry, that such loss, burning, stranding, or damage, &c., of the said vessel has been occasioned by the misconduct or default of such master or mate, or that such master or mate has been drunk whilst on duty, such Board of Examiners may, if it shall think fit, withdraw the certificate of such master or mate, and declare that the same is withdrawn accordingly.

2. Within forty-eight hours after the resolution of any Board declaring the withdrawal of any such certificate, an authenticated copy of such resolution, together with a full statement of the circumstances under which their resolution of withdrawal has been founded, is to be transmitted to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade.

3. Any master or mate whose certificate has been thus withdrawn may, within seven days after such withdrawal, after giving notice to the Board of Examiners, by whom the same shall have been declared to be withdrawn, and also to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, refer the matter to the Lords of the said Committee for their decision, which. shall be final.

4. Pending such references, and until such decision, the publication of the withdrawal of the certificate shall be suspended.

5. Every Board of Examiners before proceeding to make any such inquiries as hereinbefore are mentioned, shall give seven days' notice of their intention so to do to the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, and in case more than one such Board shall give such notice, the Lords of the said Committee shall decide by which Board the inquiry shall be made.

IX.- REGISTRATION AND PUBLICATION OF CERTIFICATES

1. A registry of certificates and of withdrawal of certificates will be kept, under the superintendence of the Lords of the Committee of Privy Council for Trade, in some convenient place in London, and will be open to inspection at reasonable hours, on payment of a fee of 6d. for each inspection.

2. The Lords of the said Committee will, from time to time, cause the names of the persons who have obtained certificates in their respective classes, and likewise the names and classes of the persons whose certificates shall have been declared to be withdrawn, to be published in the London Gazette, and also to be transmitted, as soon as conveniently may be, to the Committee of Lloyd's Register, and the Society for Registry of Shipping at Liverpool.

3. This publication will take place, so far as conveniently may be within fourteen days after the certificates of declarations of withdrawal shall have been sent to the Lords of the said Committee.

4. The Committee for managing the affairs of Lloyd's Register of British and Foreign Shipping have undertaken to denote in their list such of the masters of vessels therein named as shall have obtained certificates, by affixing the figures 3, 2, 1, 1 Ex., according to the class of certificate. These marks will be withdrawn on the withdrawal of the certificate. The Society for Registry of Shipping in Liverpool, which publishes a similar shipping register, have also agreed to adopt the same course.

SCHEDULE

The Corporation of Trinity-house of Deptford Strond (sic).

The Branch Boards, consisting of the Sub-commissioners of pilotage, at Beaumaris, Glocester (sic), Milford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, and Great Yarmouth.

The Corporation of the Trinity-house at Kingston-upon-Hull.

The Corporation of the Trinity-house at Newcastle-on-Tyne.

The Corporation of the Trinity-house at Leith.

The Board for licensing pilots at Glasgow.

The Ballast Board of Dublin.

The Commissioners of pilotage at Liverpool.

Note.- Other ports will he added to this list, when there exist authorities competent to undertake the duty.

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