G.—No. 6,

6

EEEOET OF MARINE DEPARTMENT.

vessels, furnish a guarantee that he is fully qualified to perform it satisfactorily. I am glad to heable to state that since he has been attached to the Department he has devoted himself most zealously to the discharge of his duties, 13. Enquiries into Wrecks. —The number of casualties that occurred during the year 18G9-70 was 38; the aggregate tonnage, 3,297 ; and the number of lives lost, 12. In 1870-1 there were 28 casualties, tonnage 2,322, and number of lives lost 28; of these, 18 were caused by the foundering, after collision with the " Enterprise," of the steamer " Tauranga" in July, 1870. The wreck statistics of each of the two past years show that fewer casualties have happened in these years than during either of the previous two years. In 1868-69, thirty-three vessels were wrecked, of 4,254 tons, and 28 lives were lost. In 1867-68, fifty-three vessels, of 5,514 tons, were wrecked, and 26 lives were lost on our Coasts. 14. With a view of preserving an accurate record of all wrecks, and of showing at a glance the localities at which they occurred, I have had a wreck chart prepared, a copy of which is appended hereto. It is modelled on the plan of those that are annually issued by the Board of Trade for the United Kingdom. In addition to the wrecks, it shows also the position of the New Zealand lighthouses, and the character of the different lights, whether fixed or revolving, &c , and the distance at which they can be seen. 15. Consolidation of Shipping Laws. —There are now no less than eight different Acts in this Colony relating to shipping and marine affairs, viz.: — " The Steam Navigation Act, 1866." " The Steam Navigation Act Amendment Act, 1867." " The Marine Act, 1867." " The Marine Act Amendment Act, 1870. " " The Merchant Shipping Acts Adoption Act, 1869." " The Enquiry into Wrecks Act, 1869." " The Delivery of Goods and Lien for Freight Act, 1869." " The Merchant Ships Officers Examination Act, 1870." Most of these Acts have evidently been copied from the Imperial Merchant Shipping Acts of 1854 and 1862, and experience has shown that they are most faulty where they differ most widely from the text of these Acts. It would be exceedingly desirable to have all these laws consolidated ; but before doing this it will be prudent to wait until the Bill which is now before the Imperial Parliament for amending and consolidating the Merchant Shipping laws has passed, and then to adopt that Act as a model for a comprehensive measure for regulating all matters relating to shipping in the Colony, which are subject to local control and supervision. 16. Marine Survey. —About the time that the business of the Marine Office was handed over to the Customs Department, the attention of the Government appears to have been directed to the large expenditure that was going on in connection with the marine survey, and soon afterwards the Government arrived at the conclusion that it was undesirable to carry on the survey beyond the completion of the work then in hand. Directions to this effect were accordingly given to the Marine Surveyor, and he was informed, on the 4th May, 1870, that his services would not be required after the completion of the survey of the Manukau bar, and of certain plotting and office work on which he was then engaged. The nature and extent of the work completed by Mr. Woods since the date of his last published report (June 1869) will be best described by giving the following extract from a progress report made by him to the Hon. the Postmaster-General, at Auckland, in February, 1870. * * * " Respecting the work undertaken and completed, my instructions were 'to carry out, with as little delay as possible, surveys for verification of certain portions of the Hauraki Gulf, and Bay of Plenty, rendered dangerous to navigation on account of reported rocks and shoals, and genera inaccuracies on the Admiralty Charts ; likewise, a complete survey of the Manukau bar and approaches to that harbor,' and then to continue with the general West Coast survey of the Middle Island." " The surveys of verification which we proceeded with include the following : — " 1. A survey of the northern portion of Auckland harbor, for the purpose of correcting the coast line, and fixing the boundary of the harbor endowment. "2. A complete survey of the Island and Bay of Kawau, and adjacent waters, particularly recommended by Commodore Lambert, C.B. " 3. A survey of the waters between Bream-tail and the Sail Rock, for the purpose of discovering reported dangers. "4. A survey of the Pukehinou Islands, Hauraki Gulf, for the purpose of a harbor of refuge. " 5. A survey of the waters and coast line of the Bay of Plenty, in the neighborhood of Tauranga and Motiti, for the purpose of discovering reported dangers. " 6. A survey of the waters of the East Cape for the same purpose. " These are now completed, and the survey of the Manukau Bar is in the course of progress ; and I am waiting for a steamer to be placed at my disposal, to enable me to proceed with the work afloat on the Bar." * * * 17. The chart of the Manukau Bar survey only reached the Marine Office in March last. It is ue to Mr. Woods, however, to state that much of the delay which occurred in connexion with this