LVIII. SUNDERLAND.—The Good Templar, 30 feet by 8 feet, 8 oars.

LIX. Ditto.—The Mary, 30i feet by 8J feet, 10 oars.

LX. Ditto.—The Florence Nightingale, 33 feet by 8 feet, 10 oars.

LXI. Ditto.—The John Fovhton, 30 feet by 9 feet, 12 oars.

LXII. WHITBUBN. —The William and Charles, 34 feet by 8 feet, 10 oars.

THE principal characteristic of the county of Durham is dirt, for the smoke from the numerous collieries for which it is famous covers the sky with an enormous cloud like a funeral pall, and thoroughly blackens the atmosphere. Sunderland and its neighbourhood on the Durham coast, although in close proximity to the sea, is no exception to the rule, as some of the most extensive coal mines are situ- ated in the district, and the deepest pit in the world is at Monkweannouth on the north bank of the river Wear, and is 1752 feet below the surface of the ground.

Two ropes for this pit weigh about 12,000 Ibs., and cost more than 5001.

The whole borough is black and gloomy, and the blue sky is rarely seen. The county is cut up in every direction by railways and tramways, which run from one colliery to another, and to places of shipment on the coast, notably Sunderland and Newcastle, excellent harbours having been constructed at the mouths of the rivers Wear and Tyne respectively. Rail- ways, in fact, owe their rapid development to the requirements of the collieries for the transport of their coal, which origi- nally, we are told, was first conveyed from the pit to the coast on pack-horses capable of carrying burdens of 3 cwt., and this was the only mode of carriage known.

As roads, sufficiently good for wheeled carriages, were gradually made, carts were introduced, and the load was increased from 3 to 17 cwt. This was followed by the introduction of wooden bars or rails for the wheels to run upon, and a fonr- wheeled waggon carrying 42 cwt. was sub- stituted for the two-wheeled cart. Then came the iron tramway with an upright flange to keep the wheels on the track.

The next improvement consisted in trans- ferring the guiding flange from the rail to the wheel; and lastly, in 1820, wronght- iron rails were made in the neighbour- hood, to be followed at no distant period by the locomotive engine, by whose aid a load of 200 tons can be conveyed at a cost of fuel scarcely exceeding that of the corn and hay consumed by the old pack-horse with its load of 3 cwt.

Eeels were employed to carry the coal from the Staithes, where they were loaded, to the ships. These vessels were peculiar to the Wear and the Tyne, the Sunder- land keel consisting of a barge divided into eight compartments, each contain- 462 THE LIFE-BOAT JOURNAL. [FEBBTTABY 2,1886.

ing a square iron tub of the same dimen- sions. These tubs were lifted bodily and the contents tilted into the holds of the ships. A long oar at the stern, called a " swape," was used for steering, while a pole fitted with an iron point, called a " set," was employed in shallow water to pnsh her on. Two men were thus engaged, one on each side of the barge, who, resting the upper end of the set against their shoulders, thrust the point into the bed of the river, and walked along the vessel from stem to stern. These keelmen have •been superseded by a more direct and quicker method, the ships being brought alongside the quays to which the laden waggons are run, and the contents at once discharged into the holds of the vessels.

The employment of men in the keels gave rise to the old song, set to an air constantly used in the present day in the Highland Schottische dance: " And weel may the keel row, the keel row, the keel row, And weel may (he TteiA row that maw laddie's in." The position occupied by the borough of Sunderland affords special advantages, and it is not wonderful that it holds an important place among the seaport towns of England. Situated on the sea-coast in a mining county, and the river Wear passing through its centre, excellent docks and a good harbour, with depth of water sufficient on the bar to admit ships of the largest description have been constructed.

The borough includes the three towns of Monkwearmouth, on the north bank of the river, Bishopwearmouth on the south- west bank, and Sunderland, which is con- fined principally to the streets near the docks and extending to the south-east bank.

The name " Sunderland " is supposed to be derived from the insulation of the town by the Wear and the sea.

One of the greatest objects of interest is the well known cast-iron bridge of one arch, 236 feet across, which spans the Wear and connects Monkwearmouth. with the south bank. It is 100 feet above the surface of the river at low-water, enabling vessels of 400 tons to pass under by merely lowering their topgallant masts.

The harbour at the mouth of the river is enclosed by two piers stretching out into the sea to a distance of 456 yards. At the end of the north pier is the lighthouse, 76 feet high, and 15 feet diameter, which, when the pier was lengthened in 1841, was very cleverly moved a distance of 500 feet from its original position to that it now occupies without taking down the masonry. Extensive alterations are now in progress by which a large extent of laud on the north side is being inclosed by a protecting pier in course of building near the Beacon Bocks off Boker. When completed, Sunderland will possess one of the finest harbours in England.

The docks on the north bank of the river belonging to the North Eastern Bail- way Company, opened in 1837, can only be entered by the river, and are capable of accommodating 100 vessels. Those on the south bank, completed in 1851 at a cost of 700,000?., are in the hands of the river Wear commissioners, and can berth as many as 350 vessels, which can enter either by the river or by an independent sea outlet at Hendon, nearly a mile south of the harbour, which commands a depth of 26 feet at ordinary springs. Sunderland is one of the greatest shipbuilding ports in the United Kingdom, and until the last year or two has been particularly active in con- structing and launching ocean steamers of the first class. Sunderland and Newcastle are the greatest coal-shipping ports in the world. There are other industries besides, employing large numbers of the popu- lation, vizv the manufacture of glass, an- chors, chain cables, rope, &c. Several thousand tons of glass, and millions of bottles are turned out in the course of the year. During the past two years the activity in shipbuilding has almost en- tirely ceased, with the result that the people there employed have been thrown out of work, and the greatest privations have been endured, which will we fear con- tinue for some time to come. The distress arrived at such a pitch two or three months ago that an appeal for assistance was made to the country by the LORD MATOB of London, and subscriptions came in from all directions.

Boker is a small sea-side place on the north side of the Wear, about one mile north from Sunderland. Several lives have been lost on the Beacon rocks, which are exactly opposite the Boat-house erected by the NATIONAL LOTS-BOAT INSTITUTION for its Life-boat stationed there, and will always be a source of danger to vessels making the harbour.

FEBBUABT 2, 1885.] THE LIFE-BOAT JOUENAL.

463 Two miles further north across a sandy bay is the well-built and compact village of Whitburn, lying in a snug position in the curve of the bay, and immediately sheltered by Souter Point. Wrecks have been very frequent on the WMtbnrn rocks, thick weather, and the suddenness with •which gales from the north-east spring up being the chief cause.

Life-boats existed at Whitburn and Sun- derland while this Institution was quite in its infancy. In 1830 we read of this Society contributing 301. towards .the ex- pense of the first Life-boat and carriage sent to Whitburn, where her services were much required; and in 1854 the management of this Station was trans- ferred to it. In 1858-59 the Station was thoroughly renovated, a new House was built, and a new Boat and Carriage supplied, the former being named the Thomas Wilson, in memory of a late Chair- man of the Institution. This Boat becom- ing decayed, another, bearing the same name, was provided in 1865, which did duty until 1881, when a new Boat of more modern build and possessing later im- provements, 'named the William and Charles succeeded her. Since the Station was formed in 1830 the Whitburn Life- boats have been instrumental in saving 192 lives besides rendering assistance to numerous vessels. The first record we have of the Sunderland Life-boats dates back no further than 1864, when the two Life-boats belonging to the seamen of the port, one of which was presented by Miss B0BDETT COCTTS, were reported to be out of order, and the seamen expressed a wish for a self-righting Boat to be supplied, under the management of this Society.

The application was granted, and the Florence Nightingale Life-boat, called after the distinguished lady of that name, and presented by the town of Derby, was despatched to her destination the following year, being publicly exhibited in Derby en route. In 1871, the shipowners of Sun- derland, who also possessed three Life- boats, followed the seamen's example, and handed over the management of their boats to the LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, which had already established one Station, the Florence Nightingale, in the room of the two condemned seamen's boats. The Society was so impressed with the import- ance of the locality, and of the great necessity to render thoroughly efficient the Life-boat service, so as to meet the casu- alties sure to arise from the great mari- time trade of the port, that they deter- mined to spare no expense in carrying out their views. A new House, having over- head a pilot's look-out room, and a slip- way, was accordingly built at Hendon, on ground given by the Dock Company, close to' the sea outlet at the south en- trance of South Dock, and a 36-feet Life- boat, pulling 12 oars, presented by Mrs.

ELIZA FOULSTON, in memory of her late husband, was supplied in 1872. A site was also selected on the north side of the harbour at Koker opposite the Beacon Bocks, on which a House was built; and in 1873 a new Life-boat, provided at the cost of the "Order of Good Templars," supplied the place of one of the old boats.

Having been badly damaged on the Beacon Bocks while engaged in a very dangerous and well-executed service, whereby 14 lives were saved from the screw steamer Altona of Hamburgh, a new and lighter boat, bearing the same name, replaced her in 1876. Only one of the three Boats originally belonging to the shipowners is doing duty, and, with the house, has been put into a thorough state of repair. These four Boats have saved 49 lives.

Whitburn and Sunderland Stations are under the management of one local Com- mittee, whose head-quarters are at Sun- derland. Thanks to the efforts of gentle- men like Alderman BEIP, Chairman of the Committee, the late Mr. PORBETT, and Mr.

J. HORAN, the Hon. Secretary, who resigned the office in 1880, the community at large have, since the time the LIFE-BOAT INSTI- TUTION undertook the management, ably supported the Branch with their subscrip- tions and donations. Colonel BBID, the present' Deputy-Chairman, and Mr. J. C.

POBKETT, the Hon. Secretary, have always taken the greatest interest in the efficiency and success of the Branch, which owes so much to the energy of their respective fathers..