H.—ls.

circular instructions were based on the Department's experience in dealing with, lifts over many years and agree substantially with the rules of a lift code recently issued by the Standards Association of Australia. Copies were issued freely to manufacturers, builders, architects, engineers, and importing agents concerned with the installation and maintenance of lifts. As they set out the requirements in a brief and concise manner they have been of great value to the public where new lift installations or alterations to existing installations have been contemplated, and in this direction the instructions have filled a long-felt want. It is now almost a year since the instructions were issued, and no difficulty has been experienced in their application. For the last six months of the year inspection charges have been fixed on a new basis designed to bring charges more into line with the cost of inspection and to remove anomalies that were unavoidable under the old scale. Co-incident with this change, the system of reporting inspections was overhauled. The old system has been in use since the Inspection of Machinery Act was enacted and had become unsuitable to modern installations of machinery. Previously a prime mover and its attached machinery were considered as one unit of inspection, for which a separate report and certificate were required. Under the new system only one report and one certificate is generally necessary to cover the whole of the machinery in any one plant. A considerable saving has thus been made in the time previously devoted by Inspectors to clerical work. It is estimated that the number of reports necessary has been reduced by sixteen thousand, or to one-half of the number previously required. The Act requires that certificates shall be posted up in the works, and owners, no doubt, appreciate the convenience of having all the machinery in the works covered by one certificate. Another advantage of the new report system is that by the grouping of machinery into one unit per plant, instead of into several units per plant depending upon the number of prime movers, a much better perspective is gained by Inspectors and Head Office of the year's work, leading to better and more efficient planning of the order of inspections. These are only a few of the advantages of the new system. Inspectors are to be congratulated on the enthusiasm they have displayed in its inauguration. The whole scheme has worked quite smoothly and the results have exceeded expectations. Examination of Marine Engineers. In the course of the year 164 candidates were examined for Marine Engineers' Certificates of Competency at the various centres throughout the Dominion. Of these, seventy-three candidates were examined for Third-class, Second-class, and First-class Ordinary and Motor Certificates of Imperial validity ; of the fifty-five third-class candidates who presented themselves for examination twenty-nine were successful and twenty-six unsuccessful; of the four second-class ordinary and steam endorsement candidates examined two were successful and two unsuccessful; and of the fourteen candidates for first-class ordinary and motor five were successful and nine unsuccessful in the examination. In the case of second-class candidates, the above particulars are comprised of two candidates for ordinary certificates, one passed and one failed ; two candidates for steam endorsement, one passed and one failed. In the case of first-class candidates, the foregoing return comprised seven candidates for ordinary certificates, two of whom were successful, and seven candidates for motor certificate, of whom three were successful. Of the five candidates who were successful for the first-class ordinary and motor certificates, one passed at the first attempt, three at the second attempt, and one at the third attempt. Of the two candidates who were successful for second-class ordinary and steam endorsement, one passed at the first attempt and one at the third attempt. In the case of the twenty-nine candidates who were successful for third-class marine certificates, seventeen passed at the first attempt, eight at the second attempt, three at the third attempt, and one at the fourth attempt. The remaining ninety-one candidates were examined for certificates of competency which are valid in New Zealand only. Of these, forty-three (thirty-three of whom were successful) were examined for seagoing vessels propelled by some motive power other than steam ; forty-two (thirty-six of whom were successful) for service in vessels propelled by some motive power other than steam, plying within restricted limits ; six (four of whom were successful) for service in steam-driven vessels plying within restricted limits. The examinations for first-class, second-class, and ordinary and motor certificates and those for third-class certificates are held at the four main centres only. Examinations for certificates of competency which are valid in New Zealand only are held at the fifteen centres throughout the Dominion. Examination of Land Engineers, Engine-Drivers, and Electric Tram-drivers. These examinations were held at the various offices of the Inspectors of Machinery throughout the Dominion at the regular intervals provided for in the regulations. In addition, a few special examinations were granted, but the holding of special examinations is not encouraged, as it is considered that the regular examinations are of sufficient frequency, and, except in very exceptional circumstances, candidates are expected to arrange that they may attend the scheduled examinations. The full list of places where the examinations were held is shown in an appended return, as also is the number of candidates examined at each place. The classes of certificates for which examinations

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