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REC
Reet 20 WAR 18
335
Hongkong, 18th. January, 1916.
•
enclose herewith a Memorandım addressed to us by
our Acting Marine Superintendent, Captain P. H. Rolfe, dealing wit the serious difficulties we are confronted with in obtaining mufficient Jumier Officers to meet our requirments.
The Memorandum specially points out that certain Regulations of the Beard of Trade, so far from encouraging Junior Supernumerary Officers to man British steamers, dabar them from securing their Master's Certificates owing to the fact that servim as Supermmerary Second Mate de se pot count as time for Master, The result is that net infrequently such man prefer to seek ployment in maller vessals which only carry two officers, to the great detriment of those which, by their size, require three er mors, and British Merchant Shipping in general.
We cannot tec strongly emphasize the difficulties
we are constantly meeting with in securing an adequate supply of Junior Officers to men our vessels: the position in fact has be -come so scute of late that we have at times been almost compell-
to keep our vessels delayed in port for want of men,
In view of the Board of Trade's recent Circular
to the effect that "Captains, Officers and Ingineers would be doing as good service to their Country by continuing to man British Spasmors as by joining the Amy", we believe such Authorities would welcome any mensures which would encourage the men to this end. We therefore commend the enclosed Memoranda to
your kind attention and would earnestly ask that steps be taken to petition the Board of Trade through His Excellency the Governor to adopt with as little delay as possible the recommendations contained therein,
A further Memorandum by Captain Rolfe is enclosed relating to the *24 hours notice clause which is inserted in the
Artides of vessels leaving the part of Hongkong. The suggestion that steps might be taken to have this close deleted a one
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