{
564
Ordinance it is customary here to appoint three Masters of
the Mercantile Marine as Assessors.
3.
The contention of the Guild that
the Marine Magistrate's Court should have on it one person
or more familiar with the details of Merchant Ships is met
by the fact that Captain Barnes Lawrence who has 36 years
experience of a Mariner's duties holds a Master's Certifi-
-cate and has served in the Mercantile Marine. The compe-
-tency of an Officer with these qualifications to deal
with a breach of the rules of the road of the nature re-
Gov
-ported in my Despatch No. 32 of the 8th. February can
7821
scarcely be questioned in good faith.
4.
With regard to the respective
responsibility of the Captain and the Pilot referred to in
the second paragraph of the Guild's letter, I have to
point out that the person known on the "Wing Chai" as the
Pilot was an unlicensed and uncertificated member of the
crew of that Ship to whom no responsibility whatever could
attach.
5.
I still hope that the Merchant
Service Guild will see fit to express their regret that
they should have been led to make the statement, to which
considerable publicity has been given, that "the decision
of