As already mentioned, one of the chief features of this Journal will be to bring into prominent notice the several County Asso- ciations and Local Committees that have long existed around our coasts, and to urge on the well-wishers to the cause the necessity of establishing others. The Anglesey, North Devon, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, are, we believe, all the County Associations that there are at present; but we must own to possessing imperfect information on this point, and shall be gratified if the Local Secretaries will furnish us with brief histories of their respective establishments, the names of their committees, of the coxswains of the boats, and of the chief services their life-boats may have performed. The Local Committees at Liverpool, Shields, Sunderland, &c., will follow in their turn. We propose to take the stations in alphabetical order, and begin with Anglesey, trusting that the members of that long-established Association will pardon mistakes, supply omissions, and enable us to give a more complete account of their life- boats in a future Number.

ANGLESEY.—The Isle of Anglesey, it need hardly be observed, is one of the most salient points on the western coast of Great Britain, and lies immediately in the track of all vessels passing through the St. George's Channel, either to or from the important port of Liverpool; the arrivals and.sailings at that port alone exceeding 40,000 vessels annually.

As might be expected, the number of wrecks on the Anglesey shores is great.

The Wreck Chart for 1850, annexed to the Report of the Northumberland Life-boat Committee, shows only 19 wrecks on the island ; but it appears that on the morning of the 29th of March, in that year, 36 vessels were seen on shore at once, near the north- ern entrance of Beaumaris Strait. Every assistance, then, which can be afforded by life-boats, rockets, mortars, &c., should be given, and the necessity for maintaining them in an efficient state on this island would seem to be as imperative as on any other part of the coast of the United Kingdom.

The life-boats in this island are managed by the committee of an Association, of which the Rev. J. WILLIAMS, of Llanfairynghornwy, is the zealous honorary secretary. There are six stations—three on the north coast, one on the extreme west, and two on the south. Three of the boats were originally placed by the Shipwreck Institution, the remainder by the Branch Association, which latter supports them all by a fond raised by local subscriptions, and which averages from 501. to 601. per annum. We proceed to describe the boats in the order in which they are numbered by the Branch Association, although it rather interferes with the regular topographical arrangement we usually desire to follow. They are—1. Cemlyn; 2. Holy- head ; 3. Rhoscolyn; 4. Penmen; 5. Lland- wyn; 6. Moelfte.

1. CEMLYN lies at the north-west angle of the island, and near the dangerous rocks called the Skerries, West Mouse, Harry Furlong, and Coal Rock. Prior to the placing a beacon Oh some of these rocks by the Trinity Board of London, the occurrence of wrecks was frequent, but latterly, it is gratifying to learn, it has much decreased. We had hoped to have been able to submit to our readers a Wreck Chart of the Isle of Anglesey for the last seven years, and of the region of the Skerries in particular, but it has not yet reached us: at some future day we will en- deavour to supply the omission, as we are satisfied from experience that a graphic representation of wrecks tells its tale far more expressively than any words we can use. The sable border of wrecks, if the phrase may be permitted, that fringes the coasts of the United Kingdom for the years 1850 and 1851, makes one tremble to gaze on it; and when we consider that each black dot that marks a wreck, records also the loss of human life, it becomes still more fearful, and silently, yet urgently, calls upon us " to be up and doing." The life-boat placed here is light, and of the whale-boat form, 26 feet long, 6 3/4 feet wide, 3 1/2 feet deep, and pulls 5 oars, single- banked : it was built in 1828, by HARTON of Limehouse, after a model by Mr. GEORGE PALMER, late M.P. for Essex, at the expense of the National Shipwreck Institution. The boat is clench-built of elm and fir, with de- tached side air-cases up to the level of the thwarts, and raised air-cases 4 feet long each, up to gunwale height, in the head and stern sheets ; it has no means of freeing itself of water, nor of self-righting in the event of being upset, but is said to pull fairly, and might carry from 18 to 20 persons, including the crew, to case of need. This boat being 24 years old is reported by the local secre- tary as unserviceable, and it has been decided by the Parent Institution to replace it at the earliest opportunity. A stouter boat With a flatter floor, to pull 8 oars, would probably be better adapted to the boisterous sea of this coast.

The boat-house is 30 feet long by 10 feet wide, but the door only 7 feet wide, we believe, or a few inches wider than the boat; a fault common to many boat-houses. It stands near high-water mark in a sheltered spot on the west side of the bay; the dis- tance is 200 yards to low water, chiefly over shingle, but partly on soft mud, over which perhaps a " hard," sufficiently wide to launch the boat, might be made without much difficulty. The boat stands on a low carriage «r launching truck, having wheels about 18 inches in diameter.

As there are few sailors about Cemlyn, the crew of the life-boat consists chiefly of men who occasionally go out as fishermen; the coxswain, JOHN WILLIAMS, aged 42, has been in a coasting vessel. It would be » great advantage here.as well as elsewhere, if the crew could be regularly trained and go out for exercise at least once a quarter; the best life-boat that can be built is of little Avail without a trained crew.

If there is a difficulty in getting a crew at Cemlyn, it might perhaps be worthy of consideration whether the life-boat would hot be more usefully stationed at Cetnmaes, a well-sheltered cove about 2 miles to the eastward, where there are always sailors and fishermen to be found.

There are four 9-pounder rockets by DENNETT, of the Isle of Wight, and one 6-pounder rocket by CARTE, of Hull, at this station, removed hither, we believe, from Rhosneigir, on the south coast of the island, about the year 1840. There -is also a 5 1/2 inch brass mortar With Manby's apparatus.

The Cemlyn life-boat has, we believe, been the means of assisting vessels in distress and of saving life on several occasions, but from want of a complete set of Reports of the Branch Association we are only able to record the following:—On the 29th August, 1838, saved 2 men from the schooner Trafalgar, of Dublin; on the 29th Novem- ber, assisted the schooner Francis, of Penzance. On the 23rd February, 1840, landed 4 men from the schooner Diana, of Mostyn; and probably has been useful at other times, both before and since these dates, but of which we have no record.

2. HOLYHEAD is a very important station, and will daily become more so, as the refuge harbour in the west bay advances. The life-boat stationed here is of the usual whale- boat form, but with very little sheer of gun- wale ; clench built, of wainscot, 32 feet long, 6 1/2 feet wide, 3 feet deep, and pulls 8 oars single banked; built at Holyhead, under the superintendence of the late Mr. JAMES SPARROW, in 1825, and is said to pull fairly.

The boat has side air-cases, fore and aft, 2 feet wide up to the level of the thwarts, and air-cases in the extremes 4 feet long, raised up to gunwale height. She has no means of freeing herself of water, nor of self-righting in the event of being upset; she might carry 28 persons, including her crew, in case of need.

Until the year 1850, this boat was in charge of the Collector of Customs; she is now in that of Lieutenant LASCELLES, R. N., Harbour Master, and has been put in fair serviceable order. She stands on a low carriage or launching truck, diameter of wheels about 18 inches. The boat-house is 36 feet long, 10 feet wide, but the doorway only 8 feet wide, which is too narrow; it stands about 500 yards from the pier-head, but in the winter the boat is kept on the pier close to a crane by which she can be lowered into the water at all tunes of tide; a very good regulation. The crew of 10 men is made up of pilots and fishermen, who are always to be found on the spot; the coxswain is RICHARD OWEN, aged 69.

There is a 54-inch brass Manby's mortar here with the necessary gear; but no rockets.

It is, however, a very suitable place for them, especially as they could be sent to Rhoscolyn and other places along the south coast of the island by the Chester and Holy head Railway, the Directors of which Company have libe- rally promised a special engine for the pur- pose whenever required in case of wreck.

Were the whole of the mortar apparatus quite complete, with rockets and lines kept in a small cart ready to start off by rail, (ac- companied by competent persons,) directly a wreck was reported, it might be the means of saving'many a life along this, for the most part, iron-bound coast. May we express a hope that the Anglesey Branch will take this subject into their favourable consideration.

The Holyhead life-boat has been the means of assisting several vessels in distress and of saving life, we believe, on many oc- casions. But the only instances we can find recorded, in the imperfect series of Reports which we possess, are the schooner Anaonbia, which she assisted in the memorable gale of the 7th January, 1839, and three other ves- sels, names not mentioned, on the 29th Oc- tober, 1843. But within the last month she has been eminently serviceable in saving the lives of 43 persons from the Town of Wex- ford steamer, which stranded and sunk in Holy head east bay, on the 4th January, 1852, on which occasion, being unable to pull off, owing to the strength of the gale,"the boat was towed off by a tug steamer, and in three trips happily succeeded in bringing ashore the whole crew; half an hour after the last trip, the wreck broke up and sunk. The Ship- wreck Institution, in addition to the local reward, voted the sum of III. on this occa- sion ; 11. to each of the crew, and 21. to the coxswain.

3. RHOSCOLYN (to be continued.).