Ix the last number of this Journal attention was drawn to the valuable co-operation of the Man- chester Branch, and the important services rendered to the Life-boat cause in that city, resulting, as was shown, in the presentation of seventeen Life-boats to the Society, and an annual subscription list of from £250 to £300.

We propose in this number to give a brief de- scription of Life-boat work in Glasgow during the twenty-three years our Branch there has been in existence, calling particular attention to the rapid strides in which the trade and ma- nufactures of this great Northern city have grown, and to the peculiar advantages enjoyed by its situation, which mark it out as the prin- cipal commercial and manufacturing mart in Scotland.

The Clyde, upon which the city of Glasgow is situated, is the most important, though not the largest river, in Scotland as so many famous towns are built on its banks. Glasgow occupies both sides of the river, and although at a dis- tance of more than thirty miles from the river's junction with the sea, the tide, which flows some way above the city, gives it a command of trade and means of transport for commercial purposes to all parts of the world.

The harbour extends west from Glasgow- Bridge on either side of the river, which has been deepened from time to time, until, in the present day steamers of the largest class can be admitted, and the wharves and docks afford the most ample accommodation for vessels of every description. The fact that the city possesses an inland navigation and stream harbour spe- cialities has made it the Scotch centre for trade and commerce.

It was here that Watt first began his improvements in the steam-engine, and the first j boat in Europe successfully propelled by steam was launched in the Clyde.

The tonnage of sailing and steam-vessels, and the steady increase in the Custom-House duties, best show the development of the river and harbour, and at the same time reflect the increasing prosperity of Glasgow.

Of all the trades and manufactures which have conduced to the prosperity of this great city, and which include the special branches, of industry of our principal trade centres, such as cotton, coal, iron, &c., none has made such pro- grew as that of steamship building. The activity in this respect has men so great, that more than half the tonnage recently built in the United Kingdom has come from the Clyde; and when we remember that the iron and coal industries depend on the shipbuilding trade, it will at once be seen how intimately the welfare of Glasgow is bound up in shipping, which it not only produces, but on which it depends for the import of raw materials to supply the manu- factories, and also for the export of manufac- tured goods to every quarter of the globe.

It is needless to point out the accumulation of wealth which must follow from the geo- graphical advantages of situation, and from the combination of BO many branches of industry; the public buildings and private houses tes- tifying to the substantial condition of the citizens.

We have not yet alluded to the herring fish- eries, the important branch of industry in which large numbers of men are engaged and much valuable property embarked, tjeeanse it is not peculiar to Glasgow in particular, but to the coast of Scotland generally. Our readers must have heard, only too frequently, of calamities that have befallen the fishing popu- lation on the north-east coast of Scotland, arising from the rapidity with which gales spring up from this dangerous quarter.

Notwithstanding, then, the importance of Glasgow as a city interested in all measures taken for the welfare and protection of the sailor, and, in common with other communities, in the protection of the fisherman against the un- foreseen dangers of his calling, it is » matter for surprise that until the year 1859 no branch ex- isted there to collect subscriptions in aid of a society whose province it was, and still Is, to provide means of succour to those unfortunate enough to be east away on our shores.

About this time, viz, 1859, we find Captain ANDREW SMALL is alluded to, ass having zealously exerted himself among the citizens of Glasgow in collecting £165 for the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION to enable it to meet the large, and increasing expenses of its Scotch Life-boats, which then were far from being as numerous as could be desired. In the same year the Glasgow Branch of the LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION was started, a, circular convening a meeting for 21st November having been sent out by Mr.

ANDREW RASHES. Mr. GEORGE BURNS, of Castle Wemyss, presided, and many of the loading shipowners and merchants were present.

At this meeting Mr. ANDREW BANKES was appointed Hon. Secretary, and Captain ANDREW SMALL,, to whom allusion has already been made, Treasurer. In 1865, Mr. ALEXANDRA KAY presented the Institution, through this Branch, with £400 to defray the expense of a Life-boat; and, in recognition of this valuable gift and Captain SMALL'S other services, the parent Institution awarded him a model of one of their Life-boats. This model was subsequently exhibited in the Glasgow Working Men's industrial Exhibition, and through, the interest it created, and Captain SMALL'S influence, the Working Men's Cub started a fond to provide a. Life-boat, the cost of which was handed over to the Institution in 1870.

The services of Mr. BANKES to the Life-boat cause unfortunately came to an end about 1866, consequent upon MB leaving the neighbourhood, and Mr. HOPE ROBERTSON, a well-known gentle- man and yachtsman, was appointed to succeed him.

In 1876 Captain S»iAl,iAi health gave way, and his son, Mr. JAMES A. SMALL , having now become associated with Mm, took the game keen interest in Life-boat work, and, on the death of his father, the following year, he accepted the honorary office of treasurer, at the special re- quest of the Parent Society. The subscriptions and donations have year by year steadily in- creased, the last balance-sheet showing re- ceipts amounting to £510, exclusive of £128 received from Mr. O'HALLOHAN, of the Custom- House, and other donations sent from time to time by captains of vessels.

Other important branches have since sprung up at the different large centres, notably Edin- burgh and Dundee, by whose help the Institu- tion has been able to place thirty-nine Life- boats round the coast of Scotland, fully equipped with all necessary gear, including transport, and means of (security to those who man them.

Without such pecuniary aid, and the Co-operation of the community at large, it would have been impossible for the Society to have carried out its important duties. We cannot do better, in conclusion, than repeat the words contained in the closing paragraph of the Edinburgh Annual Report for 1882 :—"The Committee of the LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION confidently look to the public to do their part of the work by continuing their liberal support to the maintenance of the Life-boat fleet—a fleet whose work is not to sink ships and bombard cities, but to succour men ready to perish and to save valuable pro- perty from destruction."