IN the year 1845 it was first proposed to throw an anchor or grapnel from a mortar, with a line attached to it, for the purpose of hauling boats afloat through a surf. In that year a Mr. OFFORD, of Great Tar- mouth, designed a grapnel, with five or six flutes, or arms, for that purpose, and in the following year Capt. JERNINGHAM, E.N., now Admiral JERNNGHAM and then Inspecting Commander of Coastguard at Great Yarmouth, designed a folding anchor.

Each of these instruments weighed about 45 Ibs., and was fitted to be fired from one of Capt. MANBY'S brass 5 J in. mortars with a charge of from 8 to 12 ounces of powder, and carrying a 1 inch Manilla line.

The anchor and grapnel were both tried at Woolwich in March, 1846, by the Royal Artillery there, when a maximum range of 170 yards was attained by each.* Capt. JERHINGHAM'S anchor had, however, on a previous occasion, under his own superintendence, ranged to 210 yards. Further * An account of this anchor and shot, and of their trial at Woolwich, will be found in the 7th No. of this journal, for trials of both were made on the coast in 1852, but it was not considered that they had, either of them, sufficient holding power, or that they carried lines of sufficient strength to be depended on for hauling a Life-boat through a high surf; and it is evident that if there should be any uncertainty as to the holding power of an anchor, at the supreme moment of launching, such an instrument would be worse than useless: it would be like the broken bow in the hand of the hunter, or as the rotten staff in that of the pilgrim, which would fail them in the hour of need.

Nevertheless, if any real want had been felt for such a contrivance, no doubt further experiments would have been made, and larger anchors from larger mortars would have been tried. Possibly if no improvements had taken place in the Life-boat carriage of that day the want would have been felt; the requirement being to launch a Life-boat at once afloat without her keel coming in contact with the ground, and with sufficient impetus to enable her to be got under command with oars or sails before being thrown back, broadside on, to the beach, which result is nearly certain to follow any attempt to launch through a high surf without extraneous aid.

At an early period, however, the attention of the Institution was turned to the improvement of its Life-boat carriages, and no pains or expense were spared to make them as efficient as possible, not only for transport but as a means of launching a Life-boat safely, quickly, and effectually.

Those results were at an early period attained ; and the carriage then adopted— and still in use—under proper management answers every purpose. It has only to be either drawn into the water by horses, or pushed into it by men sufficiently far to ensure the floating of the boat on leaving it, her bow being at the same time pointed at a right angle to the advancing waves, and her crew being seated in her with their oars in hand. She is then run with rapidity into the sea by means of self- detaching ropes, which are worked by people or horses on the shore, and is thus at once got under command. At the greater number of places where Life-boats are stationed the shore is flat, and where it is so this plan is found sufficient; but where a beach is steep, and the sea very heavy, a hauling-off rope is undoubtedly often an advantage.

At most of such localities, however, a larger class of Life-boat is stationed, which boats are unprovided with carriages, and at which places permanent warps, either double or single, are provided, the former being rove through a block attached to a buoy, moored at a sufficient distance from the shore, and the latter attached to an anchor. These warps are kept out through the winter months and taken in during the summer.

Another mode of giving a boat this first necessary impetus is by means of either one or two long poles, called " sets," from 35 to 50 ft. long, with an iron fork at one end, which being placed against the stern- post of the boat, or near it, and pushed by persons on the shore, are often very effective.

By one or other of these methods the Life-boats of the NATIONAL LITE-BOAT INSTITUTION have been safely and effectually launched during the twenty years of their existence; whilst, the occasions of their failure to be so have been so rare as not to be worth consideration. The want, therefore, of any such further means as a locomotive apparatus to accompany boats conveyed by land on their transporting- carriages away from the neighbourhood of their own stations, ha$ not been felt; and the Committee of the Institution have not thought it necessary to experimentalize with a costly apparatus attended with other serious disadvantages.

Nevertheless they and their officers have of late been called seriously to account by inexperienced persons, many of whom have probably never even seen a Life-boat launched to go to a wreck, for not adopting or making trial of a modification of the anchor and grapnel of Capt. JERNINGHAM and Mr. OFFORD, as designed, a few years since, by a Mr. J. B. ROGERS

The leading distinction between their plan and his is, that theirs only threw a single line, by which the crew of the Life- boat had to haul themselves afloat; whereas Ms, as now proposed, has a block attached to the anchor, and thereby carries a small double line ready rove through the block, by which a larger line can be then rove, and the boat be hauled off by persons on.

the shore without the aid of the crew of the boat.

Although, however, the throwing a small double line, with the power of replacing it by a stouter one, is a great improvement on those which only carried out a single one, there would be serious inconvenienaes in its adoption; and the need of any such aid has not been sufficiently felt to induce the Committee of the Institution to incur them. These inconveniences may be briefly described as follows:— 1st. The apparatus, including a cart for its transport, and a small house in which to keep it, would cost at least 150Z., which would be a very serious ex- pense to add to that of each Life-boat Establishment.

2nd. It would require horse-power to transport it to the neighbourhood of wrecks, whilst it is often difficult to pro- cure enough to draw the Life-boat on its carriage.

3rd. Belay would be occasioned both, by the transport of the apparatus and the time occupied in loading and firing it, whilst it is questionable if the Life-boatmen would in general have patience to await the operation.

4th. As the Life-boat men at nearly all stations are fishermen, hovellers, pilots, or the owners of pleasure-boats, who are wholly unaccustomed to the use of guns and gunpowder, and the services of Coast- guardmen are rarely available, they having their own duties to attend to on occasions of wrecks, it has been thought that during the excitement 'which, always prevails at such periods, and more especially in the night, accidents would be very likely to occur by its use.

5th. That at most Life-boat Stations the shore being, as already stated, flat, the surf extends to several hundred yards from the shore; and all, therefore, that such an apparatus could do -would be to haul a boat through the inner and lesser surf, and leave the real difficulty to be still con- tended with, viz., the greater surf, breaking in deeper water which will often, at one blow, hurl three or four tons of water into a Life-boat, and not only stop its progress but carry it far backwards before its irresistible front.

6th. Owing to the varying nature of the ground in different localities, and sometimes in the same locality, there would always be some uncertainty as to the anchor holding; the disadvantage of which defect we have already referred to.

But the want of such an apparatus has not been seriously felt; and surely those who are most interested in pursuing their work with success, whatever it may be, should be allowed to be the best judges of what they require!.