IN the 19th Number of this Journal we replied to the various theoretical objections that had been advanced against the selfrighting principle, and demonstrated that the same means which were employed to produce that effect contributed to the safety and efficiency of a boat in other respect.* There was, however, one objection made which, as we then stated, could only be disproved by actual experiment.

It was maintained by some that the property of self-righting would be of no service to the crew of a life-boat if she were upset, inasmuch as that when she had righted she would be quickly carried away by the wind or tide beyond the reach of her hapless crew, who could never regain her in a seaway, and would then have to trust to their life-belts alone for safety.

Now it so happens that within the last few months three accidents to life-boats have occurred, one to a small self-righting boat, the other two to non-righting boats. By comparing the results of these accidents together, we shall not only obtain an illustration of the value of the self-righting principle, but shall perceive that the particular objection which we are now replying to is not a valid one.

The three accidents are as follows :— 1. On the 4th January, 1857, the Point of Ayr life-boat, when under sail, upset at a distance from the land; the accident was seen from the shore, but no immediate help was available, and the whole of the boat's crew, 13 in all, were drowned. Two or three of them were seen clinging to her keel for twenty minutes, by which time they became exhausted, were washed off, and having no life-belts, perished.

2. In February last the Southwold lifeboat, a large sailing boat, considered to be one of the finest in the kingdom, but not self-righting, when out for exercise only, was running before a rather heavy surf with all sail set, when she suddenly ran before a sea, broached to, and upset. The crew having on their life-belts, and the accident being within a short distance of the shore, were all saved, although 2 or 3 of them were in an exhausted state; but three unfortunate gentlemen who had gone off in the boat, and had neglected to put on life-belts, lost their lives.

3. On the night of the 19th of October last, in a gale of wind, the small sixoared self-righting life-boat belonging to the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION at Dungeness proceeded through a heavy sea, managed by eight Coast-guard men, to a wreck which was seen to be aground at about three-quarters of a mile from the lifeboat station. The wreck was reached soon after midnight, and after ascertaining that she had been deserted by her crew, the lifeboat returned for the shore. For the first half-mile she was rowed safely before a heavy broken sea, but on crossing a deeper channel, between two shoals, she was caught up and struck by three heavy seas in succession, which followed so quickly one on the other that the boat could not recover herself, and the coxswain losing all command with the rudder, she was carried away before the sea, broached to, and upset, throwing her crew out of her. She immediately, however, self-righted, cleared herself of all water, and her anchor having fallen out when she was keel up, she was brought up by it. The crew, in the meantime, having on good life-belts, floated, regained, and got into the boat, cut the cable, and returned safely to the shore, not one of them even being hurt. When it is considered that this accident occurred in the middle of the night, and its results are contrasted with those of the two similar accidents above alluded to, both of which occurred in the daytime, we conceive that we have at once, not simply a triumphant reply to those who still repudiate the advantage of the self-righting property, but a proof that the discovery and adoption of that principle form an era in the history of life-boats which promises to materially lessen the danger of the arduous service in which they are employed, and thus to confer an important boon on suffering humanity.

May we not even safely conclude that this is the first instance that has ever occurred of a whole boat's crew passing unscathed through such an ordeal ? In justice to the brave fellows who formed the crew of the boat on this occasion, we must state, that they expressed their readiness to have gone out in the boat again immediately after their landing had their services been again required; and that they, unasked for, certified to their entire confidence in her and their readiness to trust their lives in her whenever they should be called on to do so. They likewise bore testimony to the value of the life-belts, on the plan of Capt. J. R. WARD, R.N., supplied by this Institution to its life-boat crews.