TRAINING OF OFFICERS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 231, 23 June 1908, Page 8

TRAINING OF OFFICERS.

PLENTY OF APPLICANTS,

! DETAILS OF UNION COMPANY'S - SCHEME. (, BT 'I'ELEGKAFII. —-SrECta r. CORItESrONDENT.) Christlchui'ch, Juno 22. Great interest centres in tho Union Company's sailing ship Dartford, now at Lytt-el-"ton, and though nothing official has yet transpired, it is very probable that sho will bo selected and fitted out as the Company's training ship. Captain Strang, Marino Superintendent of tho Union Company, was expected to arrive in Lyttelton to-day or tomorrow to make an inspection of tho Dartford, and to decido what will bo necessary to fit,her up for uso as a training ship. This -work will bo carried out under his superintendence. Tho vessel wjll finish discharging her cargo of coal about Wednesday, and it is probable that sho will then be docked for overhaul and cleaning and painting. She will afterwards go to Kaipara to load timber for Sydney, and will probably return to New Zealand with a load of ccal from Newcastle.

That there will be no difficulty in securing lads to bo trained as junior officers is shown by the fact that the Company received over 100 applications from boys desirous of taking up tho sea-going profession. It is reported that tho lads will servo two years in tho training ship under special instructors, and at tho end of that time-will be put through an examination.

Those boys wlio pass tliis examination will then servo as "sub-officers" on the Company's inter-colonial steamers for eighteen months," and after that will return to tho training ship to '|put .in" the remaining sis month's of their time bofore "going up for the Board of Trade examination for a. second officer's certificate.