As the means provided in other countries for saving lives from shipwreck cannot fail to be interesting to a large number of our readers, we have much satisfaction in placing before them the following account of the Society which has under- taken that important duty on the coast of Germany. We have been kindly furnished with the necessary information by Captain H. STEENGHAFE, its able and active Inspector of Life-boats, who has recently been on a visit to this country, on behalf of his Society, to make himself acquainted with all the means provided on our own coasts for the rescue of ship- wrecked persons, and with the system of management and machinery of the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION.

Although the constitution of the German Society is somewhat different from that of the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, yet, like the latter, it is maintained solely by voluntary contributions, which makes it still further an object of interest to us.

Up to the year 1861, there were on the German coast no other arrangements for saving lives from shipwreck than a few Life-boat and Mortar Stations, established and maintained by the Government at the entrance of the most frequented ports.

Subsequently several private societies were formed in the principal sea-ports of the North Sea and Baltic, for the purpose of providing other dangerous parts of the coast with means to enable the population to render assistance to shipwrecked seamen. These associations extended their operations, independently, to the districts in their own immediate neighbourhoods until the 29th May, 1865, when, at a meeting held at Kiel, most of them united themselves in one corporation, adopted statutes, and elected as their President, for three years, H. H. MEIER, Esq., a distinguished merchant and ship-owner of Bremen, well known as the founder and Chairman of the North German Lloyd Steam Ship Company.

It was then enacted as a statute that the residence of the President should be the seat, or " head-quarters," of the Society; and the choice therefore fell on Bremen, where it still continues, through the re-election of Mr. MEIER.

All the German private societies have now united, and form the Deutsche Gesell- schaft zur Settling Schifbruchiger — the " German Society for Saving Lives from Shipwreck"—providing the whole extent of the German coast with both Life-boat and Rocket Stations.

The Society at present possesses 44 Life-boats and 32 Rocket Stations on the shores of the North Sea and Baltic.

There are also 15 Life-boats on the coast of Germany belonging to the Government.

The total number of life-saving stations on the German coast is 76, at some of which there are both rockets and a mortar, besides one or more Life-boats. We append a list of those stations:— LIFE-BOAT, ROCKET, AND MORTAR STATIONS ON THE GERMAN COASTS.

No.

STATION.

LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS.

Life-boat.

boat and Rocket Apparatus.

boat.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 NORTH SEA.

Island of Borkum, West side East side Juist, West side .

East side Life Norderney, West side Life East side „ Baltrum „ Langeoge .

Spiekeroge „ Wangeroge Norddeich ....

Neuharrlingersiel. .

Carolinensiel ...

AUGUST 1, 1872.] THE LIFE-BOAT. 339 LIFE-BOAT, ROCKET, AND MORTAR STATIONS ON THE GERMAN COASTS— font. No. STATIOX. LIFE SAVING APPARATUS. | 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 i 23 i 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 ! 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 NORTH SEA — continued. 1 Life-boat.

» ? ' i » .] ] 2 L fe-boats. I Light Vessel No. 2, Mouth of the Elbe . Neufeld . ... j j Rocket Apparatus.

» )) » ? Life-boat ami Rockets.

Life-boat.

2 Life-boats and Rockets.

, , , , Rockets and Mortar.

Rockets.

Life-boat and Rockets.

Life-boat.

Life-boat and Rockets.

j j i 5 Rockets.

» 1 3 Life-boats, 2 Rocket and 2 Mortar Apparatus.

Life-boat. j Mortar. | " Rockets. ! Life-boat and Rockets.

Life-boat, Rockets, and Mortar.

Rockets.

2 Life-boats, Rockets, and Mortar.

Life-boat.

Life-boat, Rockets, and Mortar.

Life-boat and Rockets.

Rockets.

" j 3 Life-boats, Rockets, and Mortar. : Life-boat. j Rockets. 1 Mortar. j Rockets. j Life-boat and Rockets. j 4 Life-boats, Rockets, and 2 Mortars. j Life-boat and Rockets.

J J 3 Rockets.

Life-boat and Rockets. ; 2 Life-boats, Rockets, and 2 Mortars.

Life-boat and Mortar.

Rockets. Light Vessel, Mouth of the Eider .

Sttderho'ft Island of Amrum, Stenodde ....

„ „ Kniephaven „ Sylt, Kantum BALTIC. Island of Poel Island of Hiddens-Oe, Klostcr ....

„ Rugen, Putgarden .... „ „ Neu-Mukrau ....

„ n GChren Swinemunde Hoff Jershdft Hela . . . Neufahr Pillau . . . 340 THE LIFE-BOAT.

[AUGUST 1,1872.

The following Table shows the number of lives saved from English vessels be- tween the years 1866 and 1871 by the Life-boats and life-saving apparatus on the coast of Germany, by which it will be seen that no year has passed without saving the crews of at least two English vessels, giving a total of 164 lives saved from 16 vessels in those six years:— SERVICES RENDERED AT THE GERMAN LIFE-BOAT STATIONS TO ENGLISH SHIPWRECKED CREWS FROM 1866 TO 1871.

Ho. OP DATE. DISTRICT. STATIOK. VESSEL. BY WHAT MEANS RESCUED. LIVES SAVED. 1866 Feb. 10 i Coast of Ostfrieslaud Juist . . . Steamer Excelsior Life-boat .... 15 „ Aug. 7 Mouth of the Weser Bremerhaven Brig Clyde . . . 7 „ Oct. 16 Mouth of the Elbe . Cuxhaven Brig Aaetphi . . 9 „ Nov. 9 • Coast of Konigsberg Pillau . . Steamer Ajax . . 23 „ Nov. 10 ; Mouth of the Elbe . Cuxhaven Stmr. Enrlde Grey 19 „ Dec. 12 Coast of Dantzig Stutthof . Brig IduKa . . . Mor :ar Apparatus 9 1867 April 5 Coast of Ko'nigsbergj Pillau . . Schooner Rankeiler 6 „ Nov. 20 Coast of Dantzig . . Neufahrwas 56 Brig Greta. . . . Life joat .... 8 1868 Oct. 25 Mouth of the Elbe . Cuxhaven Brig Warwick . . 5 „ Nov. 3 Coast of Ostfriesland Norderney Brig Elizabeth . . 7 1869 Feb. 27 Mouth of the Elbe . Cuxhaven Brig Danlzig . . 10 „ Sept. 3 Coast of Dantzig . Neufahnvas se Schooner Standard 5 1870 Nov. 1 Mouth of the Elbe . Duhnen . 1 Steamer Lanoma . 7 „ Nov. 1 Cuxhaven 7 ', Nov. 7 1871 March 2 Coast of Ko'uigsberg Coast of O&tfrieslaud Pillau. .

Borkum . Schooner Jfaori .

Stmr..AoAn Vtmghun fi 16 „ Sept. 25 » !) ) •! Brig Asia . . . .1 5 1 Total lives saved . 164 The Annual Meeting of the Institution is held in one of the seaports, always on the 29th of May, the day of its founda- tion. This assembly decides on all mat- ters of importance, both pecuniary and practical. His Majesty the EMPEEOE OF GERMANY is the protector or patron of the Society. Its stations are all visited at least once in each year by the Inspector, who informs us that they have great difficulties to encounter on many parts of their coasts where wrecks frequently occur, on account of the country being thinly populated, whilst long sands often stretch for miles into the sea, and the beaches and shore are frequently so soft and bad, and horse-power so difficult to be obtained, that it is indispensable to have the Life- boats and their transporting-carriages of the lightest possible construction, and therefore smaller than they would other- wise wish them to be. The boatmen, however, are hardy, and even women have sometimes helped to make up the crew of a Life-boat when a sufficient number of men could not be obtained.

We have hitherto in this Journal more frequently and especially referred to the Life-boat Society of France than to those of other foreign countries, that Society having been in more frequent communication with this Institution, and having been guided to a great extent by its experience in deciding on. the character of its own Life-boats and its system of management, &c. In now giving an account of the life-saving society of its great rival, Germany, we venture to express a h'ope that their rivalship in future shall be in such works as these, and in the desire to excel in the arts and sciences, in the refinements and embellishments of life, and in the moral virtues, which ennoble, exalt, and benefit mankind, rather than in the rivalry of the sword.

We hope, in future numbers of this Journal, to give accounts of others of the principal foreign life-saving associations.

In 'the meantime we hold out the right hand of fellowship to the "German So- ciety for Saving Lives from Shipwreck," and thanking it for the good services of its Life-boats and apparatus, and of the hardy boatmen who work them, to the crews of English vessels in their distress: we can assure them that their establish- ments and their good work will always be looked on with interest by the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION of Great Britain.