9

H.—l6

During the previous year they were— Engagements. Discharges. £ ® e3- d Auckland ... ... ... ... 6,573 6,417 870 10 6 Wellington ... ... ... ... 7,385 6,907 960 19 0 Lyttelton ... ... ... ... 2,190 2,199 253 6 0 Dunedin and Port Chalmers ... ... 2,645 2,578 175 13 0 As in previous years, no fees were charged in respect of engagements and discharges on transports and hospital ships. Appended is a statement showing the amounts paid under the provisions of section 6 of the Shipping and Seamen Amendment Act, 1911, to sick and injured seamen. The total is £13,163 Bs. Bd., as compared with £16,617 Bs. 9d. last year. Harbours. This Department has the control of harbours for which Harbour Boards have not been constituted, and the buoys and beacons at these places have been overhauled, cleaned, and painted under the direction of Captain Bollons, of the s.s. " Hinemoa." He has also attended to the coastal buoys and beacons during the vessel's periodical lighthouse trips. A large number of plans of harbour-works, including wharves proposed to be constructed, has been submitted to and dealt with by the Department. Those which met the Department's requirements were approved by the Governor-General in Council in accordance with the provisions of the Harbours Act, 1908. A return of the Orders in Council giving the necessary approval is ajspended. The sum of £783 3s. 3d. was collected for pilotage and port charges in respect of harbours under the control of the Department, as compared with £982 ss. 7d. in the previous year. A return of the amounts collected at the various ports, including the amounts collected at ports under the control of Harbour Boards, is appended. Appended is a report by the Marine Engineer on the works dealt with by him during the year. Lighthouses. The duties connected with the maintenance of the various lighthouses have been satisfactorily carried out during the year. The permanent staff has been practically restored to its pre-war strength, and there is not now such a difficulty in procuring men for permanent employment. A new crane has been erected at Cuvier Island, and the material for one at Stephen Island has been landed and is awaiting re-erection. The automatic fog-signal which was formerly at Timaru has been erected at Tiritiri and is now in working-order. New winches have been installed at Cape Maria van Diemen to work the overhead conveyer between the island and the mainland. Repairs have been carried out to the dwellings and school at Nugget Point. It has been decided to install automatic acetone lights at Tiritiri and Taiaroa Head in place of the incandescent lights at present installed, and the necessary apparatus has been ordered. The installation of these lights will result in a considerable saving in expenditure. The dwellings at Cape Maria van Diemen are now very old and out of repair, so it has been decided to erect new ones; the material for the work is being assembled. Captain Bollons, master of the s.s. " Hinemoa," who is also Inspector of Lighthouses, has inspected and reported on the various stations. I desire to place on record the great assistance which I have at all times received from him in lighthouse matters. During the year two keepers retired on superannuation, one was transferred to another Department, eight resigned, one died, fourteen new keepers were appointed to fill vacancies existing, and two were dismissed. Appended is a report by the Marine Engineer on the works dealt with by him. during the year. The amount of light dues collected was £32,164 Bs. Bd., as compared with £24,721 ss. 9d. during the previous year. Appended is a return showing the amount collected at each port. Now that the war is over and the regular shipping services are being resumed, the amount of dues collected will no doubt soon come back to, if not exceed, what it was before the war. Issue of Explosives Permits. During the year 147 permits were issued at the Port of Wellington for the carriage of explosives on ships. Meteorological and Weather Office. t The work of this division has been well maintained during the year. Mr. Bates attended the Meteorological Conference at Paris during the year, being absent from New Zealand for some months. The following is the report of Mr. Bates on the work of his office during the year : — " The forecasting and reporting of the weather by the Weather Bureau, which in this country is connected with that well-organized and effective branch of the Public Service the Post and Telegraph Department, have been carried on as usual during the past year. Plans for the improvement and development of the service were prepared early in the year, but were postponed until after the British and Intercolonial Conferences were held. It is now hoped to give effect to them during the coming year, especially in the direction of utilizing local offices for matters of merely provincial interest. The equipment of stations at the wireless stations _ at Awarua and Awanui, as well as improvements at the chief centres, are proposed, in addition to the strengthening of the central office itself. More inspection and educational propaganda are urgently required for the expansion of the work and awakening public interest as to the usefulness of'the forecast not only to shipping but to the practical life of the community.

2—H. 15.