336 Report of the Committee on Colour-Vision. 



for colour- vision in the best Companies, such as the White Star, 

 Cunard, Guion, National, and Inman — all the large Atlantic 

 Companies. They get no higher pay on account of having a 

 certificate. They would not be admitted in the large Companies 

 if rejected by me. Every officer who applies for a certificate of the 

 coasting Companies is tested in colours. There are two different 

 ways of applying to be examined ; one, when a man applies to be- 

 come an officer, and another, by which any one can come, without 

 formality, by paying Is. to be tested, and, if passed, certificated 

 on the spot. If a man fails, he can come up again. We had one 

 who came up four times. I have had cases where they have 

 failed once, and afterwards succeeded, but this happens very 

 seldom. I have seen a fair number of failures. From May 1, 1877, 

 until December 31, 1889, in my own port, 12,272 persons were 

 examined for certificates as officers ; 90 failed, which gives 1 in 

 136, or -73 per cent, for that class. I cannot tell in what propor- 

 tion those men who had already passed were to those examined 

 for the first time. In the figures I gave the same man is not 

 counted twice; they are individuals, and I can say, speaking from 

 memory, that I do not believe there were two people who had 

 been failed at other ports and passed at ours. Prior to 1885 

 there was great diversity in the mode of conducting the examina- 

 tion, the appliances being different ; Liverpool, before that date, 

 was, I believe, the only port that had a dark chamber and a decent 

 lamp ; after that, the Board of Trade issued uniform lamps and 

 glasses. With reference to the failures, there is another class show- 

 ing a higher percentage than the officers, viz., those paying 

 the shilling fee, principally quartermasters and forecastle hands. 

 Since May, 1880, when the Is. fee system began, we have 

 examined 942 ; out of these, 34 failed. During the four years 

 1887-1890, when the records were kept more accurately, 22 out 

 of 777 failed — a percentage of 2-83 Most of the applicants were 

 rough seamen, with some few of the officer class who had failed 

 before. 



Question — Have you any explanation to give why a man 

 succeeds after once failing? — Perhaps by getting the colours and 

 being coached up. His colour sense might be improved, but I 

 think not. 



Question — Do you find many people ignorant of the names of 

 colours ? — That is one of the great difficulties I have never tried 

 to solve ; it is a scientific question. I have never tried with two 

 lights at the same time, and asked the candidate to name them. 

 I always conduct the examination exactly in accordance with the 

 Board of Trade instructions. Men do appeal from my decision 

 and go to an oculist ; in fact, if ever I do fail a man, and he is 

 young and possibly curable, I advise him to go to an oculist in 

 order to ascertain whether he is colour blind and mcurable, or 

 colour ignorant and curable. I sometimes find in testing a man 

 coming up for a higher certificate, that he fails the second time, 

 although he has once passed. I do not trace this to any 



