AT the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, held at the Mansion House, on Friday, the 21st day of March, 1873, The Right Hon. SIR SYDNEY H. WATERLOW, Lord Mayor of London, in the Chair, the following Report of the Committee was read by the Secretary:— ANNUAL REPORT.

AFTER one of the most stormy seasons that have for many years taxed the energies of the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT IN- STITUTION, and proved its usefulness, its Committee of Management present an account of their stewardship to its sup- porters and the British public.

They desire, in the first place, as is their wont, to acknowledge with grati- tude the Divine blessing which has at- tended their exertions to save human lives, and to express their heartfelt thanks to all those benevolent persons who have given the Institution their pecuniary sup- port.

A leading feature in the Annual Re- ports for several years past has been the long list of new Life-boats, the cost of which has been presented to the Insti- tution by inland cities and towns, public bodies, and private individuals. If the present Report records a much smaller number of those splendid gifts, the diminution has not arisen from any falling off in generous sympathy with the objects of the Institution, but from the satisfactory circumstance that nearly all j localities, where Life-boats can be usefully : placed around the coasts of the United ! Kingdom, have been provided with them.

I Nevertheless, taking into account the great fleet of Life-boats under the ma- nagement of the Society, it must be manifest that a large annual income is indispensable to enable it to maintain its boats in a state of constant readiness for service; to provide for the occasional practice of their crews; and to encourage, by liberal pecuniary and honorary re- wards, the boatmen and fishermen on our coast to exert themselves to the utmost to preserve the lives of persons endangered by Shipwrecks.

The transactions of the year may be summarized as follows, under the usual heads: Life-boats.—Since the last Report five new Life-boats have been placed on the coast, two at new stations, and three to replace old boats. Transporting-carriages have been supplied to four of them, and boat-houses to the two first named.

It is a gratification to the Committee to be able to state that the Life-boats adopted by the Institution continue to give great satisfaction to their crews, who place the utmost confidence in them.

Nevertheless, they are reminded, from time to time, of the dangerous nature of the work which they have undertaken, and of the impotence of the puny efforts of man to contend with the giant forces of Nature when their full 'power is op- posed to him. It will, however, be felt how much this danger adds to the honour and credit to which the brave men who work the Life-boat fleet are so justly entitled.

In their recent Reports the Committee have congratulated the supporters of the Institution on the continued immunity from fatal accidents of its Life-boats.

This year, however, they regret to say, must form one of those exceptions that serve, by their contrast, more forcibly to establish a general rule; and they have now to record three accidents, each of which has been attended or followed by loss of life.

The first of these occurred to the Mont- rose Life-boat, on the 21st Dec. last, when a heavy sea, breaking over her, carried 4 men overboard. Being close to the wrecked vessel whose crew they had launched to save, and seeing that the immersed men were apparently safely floated by their life-belts, the remainder of the crew of the Life-boat proceeded to the rescue of the shipwrecked crew before going to the relief of their own comrades. All of them were, however, then taken safely into the boat; but, unhappily, one of them died a few days after from the effects of cold and exhaustion.

In the second case, which was of a more serious character, the Life-boat sta- tioned at Skerries, county Dublin, on the night of the 1st Feb. last, proceeded, through the darkness, to the aid of the crew of a vessel wrecked on the rocky shore near Balbriggan. The Life-boat ran down under sail, but, before getting into the broken water on the lee shore, took in her sails, and proceeded through it towards the spot where the Wreck was supposed to be; but on account of the broken character of the water which com- monly prevails on a rocky shore, some of the oars were wrenched from the hands of the crew, and broken or lost; and, it being then impossible to retain any command over the boat, she was anchored. She then safely rode for about an hour amidst the heavy surf, when, the force of the tide setting her broadside to the waves, a heavy broken sea upset her, carrying 7 of her crew away. One of these, the coxswain, succeeded in regaining her, and was helped into her again by the 3 men who had remained in her, she, fortu- nately, being a self-righting boat. A second time, after an interval of several minutes, she was upset, when again 3 men went round in her, and the fourth, supported by his life-belt, swam to the shore. Her,cable was then let go, and, turning athwart the sea a third time, she was again upset. One man was then thrown from her, but his comrades, after this fearful ordeal, being too exhausted to help him into her again, he was se- cured by a line to her side, and the boat was rapidly carried to the shore without further loss of life.

The third accident occurred to the Ramsgate Life-boat, a boat which has, during the last twenty years, performed, without the loss of a single life, very many noble services, and saved several hundred lives. On the night of the 2nd Feb. last, one of her crew was washed out of her by a heavy sea when alongside a Wreck on the Goodwin Sands, and being lost sight of in the darkness, which, it need scarcely be said, increases many fold the danger of such services, he was unhappily not again seen.

Grieved as the Committee have been- at these sad occurrences, they are not discouraged by them; but, as above im- plied, accept them as a necessary accom- paniment of the grand work which it is their privilege to superintend.

It is a melancholy satisfaction to the Committee to report that they have been able to vote from the funds of the Insti- tution nearly 400Z. in aid of the local sub-scriptions for the relief of the bereaved families.

On the other hand, the Committee have pleasure in referring to one amongst the many successful and noble services per- formed by its Life-boats at about the same time; viz., that of the St. Ives Life-boat, which was launched no less than five times in a heavy gale of -wind, to the rescue of the crews of three vessels which were wrecked there on the 2nd February last. On that occasion she was twice carried to leeward by the wind, sea, and tide, but, by indomitable perseverance, fresh crews taking the place of those al- ready exhausted, she succeeded in saving 13 lives in all, 2 men from one of the vessels having perished before she could be reached. The Life-boat was reported to have behaved admirably.

The stations at which the new Life- boats have been placed are as follows: ENGLAND.

YORKSHIRE . . . Scarborough.

SUFFOLK .... Pakefield.

CORNWALL. . . . Newquay.

ANGLESEA . . . Rhosncigir.

IRELAND.

Co. DUBLIN . . . Greystones.

The Institution has now two hundred and thirty-three Life-boats on the coasts of the United Kingdom, and in the Chan- nel Islands.

During the past year these boats have saved the lives of five hundred and sixty- nine persons, nearly the whole of them under circumstances of peril that would have precluded any ordinary boats from proceeding to their aid.

Shipwrecks.—The Wreck Register of the Board of Trade for 1872 is not yet made up, and the number of Ship- wrecks in that period, and the loss of life therefrom, cannot now be stated. There can be no doubt, however, that the past year has formed no exception as regards the large number of Shipwrecks which annually takes place on our coasts.

Previous to the heavy storms of November and December, the year had been unusually free from disastrous gales; but during those two months our coasts were strewn with Wrecks. This pressure of calamity, however, was at once met by such daring and persevering exertions on the part of our Life-boats in saving the shipwrecked crews, that they are quite unparalleled in so short a period—upwards of three hundred persons having been saved by them during the storms of those two months alone.

It is hardly possible to realize in all its distressing character the scene of a vessel foundering, or, amidst the wild tumult of the elements, the Wreck beaten into staves on a rocky shore; or the horrors of a colli- sion like that which overtook the emigrant ship Northfleet off Dungeness in January last.

It should be mentioned that, in ad- dition to the services of the Life-boats of the Institution in saving life last year, no fewer than twenty-five ships were saved by them, and, in other cases, the boats were repeatedly signalled off by distressed vessels, and afterwards con- tributed largely to their preservation by encouraging the crews to remain by their ships, and, occasionally, by taking them ashore, in their alarm, and in putting them on board again when the storm had lulled. Even in such instances the hard- ships and risks occasionally endured by the Life-boat crews are very great.

The efforts of the Board of Trade con- tinue unceasing in the maintenance and extension of the Socket Apparatus on the Coasts of the United Kingdom, which con- tributes every year, under the zealous management of the officers and men of the Coastguard service, to the rescue of hundreds of persons from Shipwreck at places where, from their rocky nature, Life-boats could not be made use of.

The number of lives saved during the forty-nine years from the establishment of the Institution in 1824, to the end of the year 1872, either by its Life-boats or by special exertions for which it has granted rewards, is as follows:— In the Tear 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 No. of Lives Saved.

124 218 175 163 301 463 372 287 310 449 214 364 225 In the. Year 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 No. of Lives Saved.

272 45S 279 353 128 276 236 193 235 134 157 123 209 In [he Year 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 No. of Lives Saved.

470 230 773 678 355 406 473 374 427 499 455 424 574 In the Year 7!4 698 714 921 1,086 862 1,231 784 882 739 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 .

Total . . 21,485 were instrumental in 1872 in rescuing the crews of the following Wrecked The Life-boats of the Institution Vessels :— Men, schooner, of Liverpool—re- mained by vessel.

Alfred, brig, of Littlehampton— saved vessel and 7 Amanda, brigantine, of Coleraine.. 7 Amity, smack. Of Aberystwith .... 2 Antigua, ship, of Greenock—ren- dered assistance.

ArJc, brig, of West Hartlepool 6 Boltim Abbey, ship, of Liverpool- rendered assistance.

Cabinet, barque, of Newcastle .... 5 Canada Belie, barque, of Whitby . 15 Caroline PAiHips, sloop, of Port Isaac 3 Cassibelaunus, barque, of North Shields 14 Castle and J. T. K. fishing-boats of Port Isaac—saved vessels and 8 Cockatoo, smack, of Grimsby—boat of 4 Commander Sotting, brig of Grim- stadt 9 Commerce, Lion, and EUen Owen, smacks, of Cardigan 7 Criterion, brig, of Arbroath 9 Cygnet, schooner, of Workiugton.. 3 Defender, brig, of Sunderland 8 Don, schooner, of Jersey—saved vessel and 6 Vouro, Dutch schooner 4 Eglantine, brig, of Whitby, assisted to save vessel and 6 Eleanor, barque, of Quebec—saved vessel and 6 Eliza, brigantine, of Elyth 4 KKsa, brig, of Belfast 1 Elizabeth, sloop, of Sunderland.... 3 Ellen, barque, of Llanelly—saved vessel and crew 10 Emmeline, barque, of Bordeaux... 11 Enchanter, bai-que—remained by vessel.

Euptiemia, barque, of JHaryporf... 2 Excel, echoone , of Milford—as- sisted to save vessel and 5 Exe, barqne, of Exeter 2 Expedite, brig, of Drobak 10 E. J. D., brig, of Nantes 8 Fairy Queen, boat, of Llandndno— saved boat.

Fearful, brig, ot Snnderlaiid 8 Filey fishing yawls—rendered as- sistance.

1872.

flora, schooner, of Exeter—saved vessel and Form, hrigantine, of Liverpool ....

Frederick William, brig, of Guern- sey. Sector, brigantine, of Liverpool...

Hero, brig, of Scarborough Hero, schooner, of London Henrietta, brig, of Memel Idaho, ship, of Bath, Maine, U.S...

Ireland, ship, of Liverpool—as- sisted to save vessel.

Isabella Granger, schooner, of Whitby—assisted to save vessel and Jane, barge, of Rochester Jenny Una, barque, of Aland John and Grace, smacks, of Mil- ford, and Hary, of Cardigan Juliana, barque, of Kiga Jupiter, ketch, of Hamburgh—ren- dered assistance.

Lady floyplos, "brig, of London— assisted to save vessel and Laurel, hrigantine, of London L'Etoile, brig, of St. Malo Lily, barque, of South Shields- assisted to save vessel.

Little Oorrit, yacht, of Weymouth.

Lothian, brig, of Blyth L. a. Biglow, barque, of Yarmouth, N.S...,..,........,.,.....,,..

Magna Charta, barque, of Halifax, N.S., and Norwegian barque Janbyrd—remained by vessels.

Maria, schooner, of Aberystwith.., ttarie, brig, of Colchester—saved vessel and crew Marguerite, brig, of Cherbourg— assisted to save vessel and Mary Grace, schooner—saved ves- sel and Mary Solland, brigantine, of Liver- pool ;..

Jfediateur, schooner, of Nantes— assisted to save vessel and Keptunus, barque, of Soon. Norway JVew S-uxton, lugger, oi Great Yar- mouth—saved vessel and Xorthumberland, fishing lugger, of Flamborough — rendered assist- ance.

Oal, N'orwegian schooner—rendered I Orient, brig, of Stenton—rendered ! assistance.

Palestine, brig, of Whitby 6 PaUadino, brig, of Messina ........ 14 PaUion, brig, of Sunderland—as- sisted to save vessel and 8 Perseverance, schooner—saved ves- sel and 1 Peter, flat, oi Liverpool 4 Queen of the fled, barque 6 Queen Victoria, sloop, of Lynn.... 2 Kichard Thompson, brigantine, of Belfast—assisted to save vessel and S Rusco Castle, brig, of London— assisted to *ave vessel and 7 Sorrento, steamer, of Shields 22 Speculateur. ketch, of St. Malo.... 4 Starling, schooner, of Yarmouth,.. 5 Stella, yacht, of London 7 Straltund, ship, of Stralsund.., 15 St. Johajiner, ship, of Dantzic—as- sisted to save vessel and 18 Swallow, flat, of Kuncorn 3 Sweet Some, schooner, of Youghal. 2 Swift, schooner, of Watford 6 Syliil, schooner, of Great Yarmouth 5 Thomas, brigantine, of Dumfries... 3 Tripoli, screw steamer, of Glasgow —remained by vessel.

Urgent, barge, of Rochester 3 Uruguay, steamer, of Liverpool— remained by vessel.

Vale ofXilh, barque, of Liverpool —assisted to save vessel and 21 Vanguard, schooner, of Carnarvon —rendered assistance.

Viking, barque, of Sunderland .... 1 j Viscount 7/amWon, brig, of Ro- chester 8 Total lives saved by Life-boats, in 1872, in addition to 25 vessels.. 569 Ihiring the same period the In- stitution granted rewards for saving Lives by fishing and other boats 170 r?39 10 Total of Lives saved Twelve Months d.

GENERAL SUMMARY FOR 1872.

569 170 Number of Lives rescued by Life-boats, In addition to 25 vessels saved by them. ...

Number of lives saved by Shore-boats, ta 2,637 1 4 Amount of Pecuniary Rewards for Saving Life during the Year Honorary Rewards: Silver Medals ... 6 Votes of Thanks on Vellum , 13 Total 19 739 £2,637 1 "Words fail adequately to delineate the blessings that have flowed to countless numbers of families—apart from those actually saved—by the preservation of upwards of 21,400 persons from Ship- wreck, as is here shown. Happily the Life-boat work is now an established fact —and it is certain to be undertaken, with the highest probability of success, on every occasion of storm and danger.

Rewards.—In the Appendix a summary is given of the cases in which honorary and other rewards have been voted. During the past year 6 Silver Medals, 13 Votes of Thanks inscribed on vellum, and 2,637?.

have been granted for saving the lives of 739 persons by Life-boats, shore and fishing boats, and other means, on the coasts and outlying banks of the United Kingdom.

The Committee continue to occupy themselves with the careful consideration of these Rewards. Each case is minutely inquired into in the first instance through the co-operation of the Officers of Coast- guard and Customs, the local Honorary Secretaries of the several Branches of the Institution, or other responsible persons; and afterwards they are thoroughly scru- tinised by the preparatory Committee, previous to their being sanctioned by the General Committee at their monthly meet- ings.

The Committee again acknowledge with gratitude the prompt and cordial.co-opera- tion of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, and of the Officers and men of the Coastguard Service.

Since the establishment of the Institu- tion, it has expended on Life-boat esta- blishments, and other means for saving life from Shipwreck, upwards of 300,000?., and has voted 91 Gold and 842 Silver Medals for saving life, besides pecuniary rewards to the amount of over 40,000?.

Local Committees.—The Committee of the Institution have the satisfaction of acknowledging the continued valuable and zealous co-operation afforded them by the Local Branch Committees and the Honorary Secretaries, which consti- tute so important a portion of the ma-chinery of the Institution for the super- I vision of its several Life-boat establish-ments.