MR. C. C. BULLOCK.-Our readers will be sorry to hear that Mr. C. C. Bullock has had a very unpleasant experience of the treachery of the natives of the Admiralty Group, where he is at present engaged surveying. The boat he was in was fired upon, and he was shot through both thighs, another bullet going through his shirt. By last accounts the bullet in the thigh had been extracted, and he was progressing. favourably.

EXAMINATIONS FOR MUNICIPAL ENGINEERS AND SURVEYORS, ENGLAND. The Incorporated Association of Municipal and County Engineers has just issued a Syllabus of the Voluntary Pass Examinations which are held by them for candidates for surveyorships under municipal corporations and the Local Government Acts. Two or more examinations are held in each year-one, at least, in April, in London, and one, at least, in October, in some provincial town to be fixed on by the Council. The examinations are by written papers and vivá voce, upon the four following subjects (1) Engineering as applied to municipal work; (2) building construction and materials; (3) sanitary science as applied to towns and buildings; and (4) municipal and local government law as relating to the work of municipal engineers and surveyrs. The examinations occupy two days. As examples of the questions set, the examination papers set to the candidates at the last examination, held at Liverpool on the 6th and 7th of October, 1899, are printed at the end of the Syllabus. All inquiries in reference to the examinations should be addressed to the Secretary of the Association, Mr. Thomas Cole, 11 Victoria-street, Westminster, S.W.

EXAMINATIONS FOR CIVIL ENGINEERS.-The London Surveyor, in reply to a question, gives the following in reference to the Engineering Examinations in England --"The chief examinations in civil engineering are those held by the Institution of Civil Engineers and the Association of Municipal and County Engineers respectively. The former qualifies for the Associate Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers, and the latter is a Voluntary Pass Examination, giving no qualification except the diploma. The examination of the Institution of Civil Engineers is somewhat academic in its nature, and embraces theoretical and elementary applied mechanics, strength and elasticity of materials, theory of structures, and one or other of a series of optional subjects, among which are geodesy, hydraulics, theory of heat engines, metallurgy, geology and mineralogy, stability and resistance of ships, thermo-chemistry and electro-chemistry, and electricity and magnetism. On the other hand, the examination of the Association of Municipal and County Engineers is of a practical nature, and embraces-(1) Engineering as applied to municipal work, including land surveying and levelling, hydraulics, sewerage and sewage disposal work, water supply, and road-making; (2) sanitary science as applied to towns and buildings, including ventilation of buildings, scavenging and disposal of refuse, house drainage and disinfection; (3) municipal and local government law as relating to the work of municipal engineers and surveyors ; and (4) materials, by-laws and building construction, including the construction of public and private buildings, and public baths and hospitals."

THE SURVEY OF INDIA DEPARTMENT.-On the 30th September Major General Charles Strahan, R.E., retired from the appointment of Surveyor-General of India, after a service of 36 years in that Department. He is one of the two last officers on the active list of the distinguished Corps of Bengal Engineers. Born in May, 1843, he obtained his commission through the Military College, Addiscombe, on 8th June, 1860.

THE TASMANIAN "SURVEYOR" for Nov. 24 contains an interesting paper by Mr. R. F. Waller, A.M. Inst. C.E., Authorised Surveyor on "Graphic Calculations," and it also recognises the importance of our late discussions upon matters relating to our Registrar-General's Department, by reproducing Mr. C. W. Adams' letter and Mr. Bullock's reply thereto, as published in the Surveyor, Vol XII., No. 8. We see that, at a meeting of the Tasmanian Institution, Mr. A. B. Howell moved, and it was carried "That a committee, consisting of the President, the Hon. Sec. and the mover, with power to add to their number, be appointed to consider the advisability of drafting a Surveyor's Bill, and to draw up a report thereon for consideration at a future General Meeting."

BUILDING LINE.-The following condensed report of Court proceedings in London will be of interest to our members practising in the city of Sydney, who have to contend with the vexed question of proper alignments and building lines:-A point of considerable importance with reference to the subject of building lines was decided by the Queen's Bench Divisional Court (Mr. Justice Ridley and Mr. Justice Darling) in Scott v. Curritt (Oct. 31st, 1899). This was a case stated by the magistrate of the Clerkenwell Police Court. The appellant, Scott, was the owner of two buildings which were originally three-storey houses, standing 50 feet back from the road, with forecourts in front of them. In 1858 a shop, one storey high, was built on the forecourt of one of the houses, without any consent or license; and, in 1877, a shop, one storey high, was built on the forecourt of the other house under a license from the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was subject to a condition that no alteration should be made in the shop without that Board's consent. The appellant proposed to rebuild these premises, and applied to the London County Council for their consent to the erection of new buildings of the height of three storeys up to the line of frontage of the shops. The Council refused to grant their consent, and afterwards their superintending architect certified the general line of buildings. Prior to such certificate, there had been no general line, and the proposed new buildings, if erected, would have been in advance of the line as certified. The appellant served on the respondent a building notice, and the respondent served notice of objection under Section 150 of the Act. On behalf of the appellant, it was contended that as the land was lawfully occupied by buildings or structures within the meaning of Section 22, sub-Section 2, the architect had no power to certify the building line, and that the proposed buildings were by that sub-Section exempt from the prohibition as to building beyond the line contained in sub-Section 1. For the respondent it was argued

that by the joint effect of the Marylebone Improvement Act, 1756, and 7 George III., c. 142 (which prohibited the erection of any building within 15 feet of fhe road), and Section 75 of the Metropolis Management Act, 1862, the forecourts were not "lawfully occupied by a building or structure" within the meaning of the Section above referred to; that the building of the shop on the forecourt of the one house, without any license, was illegal; and that the shop built on the forecourt of the other could not, by the terms of the license, be raised without the consent of the Council. The magistrate took this view, and upheld the respondent's objection. The Court affirmed the magistrate's decision. Section 22 of the London Building Act, 1894, consists of two clauses or sub-sections. By clause 1, no building, etc., shall, without the written consent of the Council, be erected beyond the general line of buildings in a street, etc., in case the distance of such line from the highway does not exceed 50 feet, or within 50 feet of the highway when the distance of the line therefrom amounts to or exceeds 50 feet, notwithstanding there being gardens, etc., between the line and the highway. Such general line of buildings shall, if required, be certified by the superintending architect. By clause 2, this Section is not to apply to any building, etc., erected after the commencement of the Act upon land which, either at or within seven years previously to such commencement, has, or shall have been, lawfully occupied by a building

or structure.

THE TORRENS LAND ACT.-The secretary of the Adelaide Chamber of Commerce, Mr. J. Creswell, has received a letter from the secretary of the Barberton Mining and Commercial Chamber, via Lorenzo Marques, Delagoa Bay, dated, November 7, in which it is stated :"After the war is over it is more than probable that the Transvaal will become British territory, and in this event an entirely new set of laws is likely to be formulated. Having this contingency in view, my committee have instructed me to ask if your chamber will kindly procure and forward to me the Torrens Land Act as at present in force, relating to Land transfers, etc. The present process of land transfer in the Transvaal is equally as cumbersome as the English, and as costly; and as some of our members have had practical experience of the working of the Torrens Act in Australia, an effort will be made by this chamber to get a somewhat similar Act passed here when the change of Government has become an accomplished fact."- Daily Telegrayh, Dec. 23, 1899.

MAGNETIC DECLINATION.-We are in receipt from the SurveyorGeneral of Queensland (Mr. A. McDowall), of a paper described, "An Improved Instrument for Determination of Magnetic Declination," by Mr. Staff-Surveyor E. M. Waraker, of Queensland, which will be published in our next issue.

NEW ZEALAND "SURVEYOR," June and September, contains a list of the members of the New Zealand Institute, the report of the Council meetings, an excellent digest of the recent new Survey Regulations of Queensland, the local March, 1899, Examination Papers, a criticism on

the alteration made by South Australia regarding Standard Time, and a clipping from the Evening Post, Wellington, dated Sept. 8th, 1899, which we reproduce, as follows::- "Curse be he that removeth his neighbour's landmark. Addressing a young fellow, the head of a co-operativelabour gang, brought before him at New Plymouth on a charge of having wilfully removed survey pegs from Crown land, Mr. Stanford, S.M., said: "The offence of moving a survey peg is one the gravity of which it is difficult to exaggerate-in fact, it is impossible to see where the evils caused by removing or altering what are the landmarks of the colony will cease, as far more depends on these marks than you at your age have possibly any idea of. I have heard from time to time that the offence has been committed in different parts of the colony, and it is sometimes treated with a degree of levity and indifference which has always shocked me. If you knew as much as you will, perhaps, know some day, you would realise that removing these pegs is likely to cause quarrels, disagreements, lawsuits, and often something more serious even than all these matters, between neighbours. The existence of a peg looks obscure-it may often seem a matter of little moment to the passer-by, but on the exact location of a peg dependsthe question of ownership of property, right of passage, and other intricate matters. Therefore, to remove that peg is a crime against society-far greater, in my opinion, than any other crime of the same kind that you can imagine. In any future case of the kind I shall feel inclined to impose the maximum penalty, viz., two years” imprisonment, so serious do I think the crime.' His Worship then added that, providing the Probation Officer's report was favourable, he would admit defendant to probation for six months, failing which he would be sentenced to one month's imprisonment. He also ordered him to pay the costs of the prosecution. (See also N. Z. Surveyor for December, 1892, Vol. 2, page 139.)"

THE WAR.-A meeting was held in Sydney, on January 5, of officers of the Survey Branch (Lands Department) to consider the desirability of forming a Survey Office Volunteer Corps for defence purposes. Mr. C. E. Rennie, Chief Draftsman, took the chair, and referred to the action already taken by the Government Printing Office in the matter of forming a Volunteer Corps. He considered the officersof the various departments would, apart from the contingent question, find considerable advantage from military drill and discipline, and he believed the Public Service could turn out as fine a body of volunteers as any other portion of the colony.

Mr. E. S. Vautin (Draftsman-in-Charge Miscellaneous Compiling Branch) then proposed,-"That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is desirable to form a volunteer company for defence purposes, to be composed of officials of the Survey Branch, Lands Department, stationed at headquarters in Sydney." The motion was seconded by Major Lester (Volunteer Artillery), and carried unanimously.

Mr. Robert McLean (Draftsman-in-Charge Miscellaneous Charting Branch) proposed,-"That upon the requisite number (60) of intending members signifying their willingness to join the company referred to in the previous resolution, the services of the corps be offered to the

Government, with a request that the necessary military instruction be given to members of the company, with a view of making them efficient, without delay." The motion was seconded by Mr. Edwin Shelton, and carried unanimously.

Mr. C. G. Ireland (Draftsman-in-Charge Parish Map Compiling Branch, then moved,-"That the officials of the clerical branch of the Lands Department be invited to co-operate in the movement, with a view of forming one or more additional companies upon similar lines." Seconded by Mr. Bunting, and carried.

Mr. W. Henley, one of the heroes of the Soudan contingent, and who is an officer in the Miscellaneous Charting Branch, was present, and took an active part in the proceedings.

Hon. Secretaries (Messrs. C. T. Morath and W. R. Henwood) were appointed pro tem., for the purpose of enrolling names for the new unit.

The usual votes of thanks to the chair and "three cheers for the Queen" concluded the proceedings, which were of a most enthusiastic character throughout.

GENERAL MEETING. The general meeting was held at Queensland' Offices, Bridge-street, on Tuesday, December 12, 1899, at 8 p.m.

Mr. Knibbs, Vice-President, occupied the chair, and there were also present Messrs. T. F. Furber, Halloran, Henwood, E. A. Harris, Arnheim, McKay, S. Mills, J. Miller, Cooke, Hollings, and Dobbie.

The minutes of meeting held on October 10 were read and con firmed and signed by the chairman.

Letters of apology for non-attendance were received from the President and past-President, Mr. F. Clarke, M.L.C.

The approval of the nomination of Mr. E. W. Hedgeland by the Council was announced.

A ballot for membership was taken, Messrs. Mills and Henwood acting as scrutineers, and, upon their report, Messrs. Walter Henry Lee and Gerald Augustus Pennefather were declared elected.

The following letter to the Chief Surveyor, drafted by the Committee appointed to enquire into the necessity for laying down a 5-chain standard, was read by the hon. secretary :

SIR,

1. The Institution of Surveyors desires to bring under your notice the necessity, in the public interest and in that of surveyors, of the establishment of a 5-chain standard, by means of which long tapesmay be accurately checked or standardised.

2. Such a standard, it is suggested, might conveniently be marked as follows:*--