H.—ls.

The charts, after their receipt, are periodically corrected to date, and, to ensure that purchasers receive any information subsequent to the date of correction, a list of Notices to Mariners afEecting the charts is maintained at each office for inspection. The procedure was adopted some years ago by the Department and is now a condition in sub-agents' agreements. The stock now amounts to 1,740 copies of 350 difierent charts, and is being enlarged continually as the demand increases. It may be mentioned, to give some idea of the work involved in maintaining the stock up to date, that approximately 5,300 corrections were made during the last six months of the year. The sales are increasing progressively at an average rate of about 19 per cent., and this year reached a total of 1,168, of which about 32 per cent, were for charts outside the Dominion. Examination of Masters and Mates. During the year examinations were held in Auckland and Wellington and were conducted in a satisfactory manner, those for foreign-going certificates being in accordance with the Imperial Board of Trade requirements. Ninety examinations were held during the year, the percentages for foreign-going and home-trade certificates being as follows —Foreign-going : Full pass, 56-3 ; partial pass, 25 ; failure, 18-7. Home trade : Full pass, 55-2 ; partial pass, 31-0 ; failure, 13-8. Three candidates passed for square-rigged sailing-ship endorsement and one for fore and aft sailing-ship endorsement. Examination in Form and Colour Vision. These examinations are held at Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin. During the year sixty-two candidates were examined, all of whom passed. Casualties. The number of casualties on or near our coast is shown in the table at the end of the report and> as will be seen from their description, varied considerably in their nature and were of comparatively slight importance in the majority of cases and, fortunately, unaccompanied by loss of life. Formal investigations were held into the loss of the oyster-dredger " Black Cat," which foundered in Foveaux Strait after collision with the oyster-dredger " Rita," and into the stranding and loss of the steam-trawler " Muriel "at Sumner. The findings of the Courts of inquiry are given in the abovementioned table. " New Zealand Nautical Almanac and Tide-tables." This publication for 1938 (36th edition) was issued about a month later than the usual time owing to the pressure of work at the Government Printing Office, and caused considerable inconvenience to purchasers in the Dominion and abroad. The publication provides mariners and others with much necessary and useful information, in addition to sailing directions and information concerning the various ports of the Dominion. The port information is corrected each year by the various Harbour Boards, and at the time of going to press, about the middle of October, is the latest availableSubsequent alterations are made by Notices to Mariners. Notices to Mariners. Information relative to changes in navigational aids and to the discovery of rocks, shoals, or other dangers to navigation and other general information necessary for the use of mariners is published weekly in the form of Notices to Mariners, forty-six of which were issued during the year. When the information is of urgent character it is sent out in the form of a wireless warning by the Post and Telegraph shore stations to ships carrying an operator, and to other ships by the National and Commercial Broadcasting Stations. The latter stations now play an important part in the safety of life at sea, and always render willing assistance when required. In conformity with a scheme developed by the International Hydrographic Bureau, Monaco, the Mercantile Marine Offices at Auckland, Wellington, Lyttelton, and Dunedin have been established as centralization offices for Notices to Mariners. Notices are now received from Great Britain, Norway, Sweden, Germany, France, India, Ceylon, Singapore, Philippine Islands, Netherlands, East Indies, Australia, Japan, Canada, and United States of America, and are available for inspection at these offices. At all other ports visited by foreign-going shipping notices from Great Britain, Australia, and Fiji are available for inspection. The before-mentioned Bureau has suggested a further development of the scheme which will eliminate the long interval which elapses in New Zealand between the receipt of eastern notices in national language and the English translation in the notices from Great Britain. Registration of Shipping. On the 31st December, 1937, there were on the Register of Vessels in the Dominion 51 sailingvessels of 4,587 tons register; 158 steamers of 77,746 tons register ; and 273 motor-vessels of 17,209 tons register, as compared with 53 sailing-vessels of 4,701 tons register, 166 steamers of 82,136 tons register, and 264 motor-vessels of 14,269 tons register at the end of the previous year. The number of seamen employed on board was 3,043, as compared with 3,071 for the year 1936.

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