At the ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE- BOAT INSTITUTION, held at Princes' Hall, Piccadilly, on Saturday, 21st day of March, 1891. The Most Honourable the MARQUIS of HAR- TINGTON, M.P., in the Chair, the following Report of the Committee was read by the Secretary:— ANNUAL REPORT.

1891.

Life-boat purposes the world has produced.

This remarkable Boat, which is named the Duke of Northumberland after the President - NEITHER effort nor energy has been spared dent of the Institution, is 50 feet long, by the Committee during the past year in I with 12 feet beam, and is propelled by a their earnest endeavour to promote the turbine wheel driven by engines develop- efficiency and completeness of the Life- boat Service. Every real improvement which either science or experience seemed to suggest has been turned to account, ing 170 horse-power. She has already been out on service several times, when she proved herself to be remarkably handy in a sea-way. The Committee appreciate the and progress has undoubtedly been a ! fact, however, that even should the experi- marked feature in the work of the year, j ment prove as successful as they believe recently it was held by all competent judges that the production of a mechanically propelled Life-boat, suitable for service in heavy weather was a problem surrounded by BO many and great difficulties that even the most sanguine experts dared not hope for an early solution of it.

In no way daunted, however, by difficulties •which seemed to be insuperable, the Committee have steadily persevered in their fixed determination to find, if possible, some more powerful means to propel a Life-boat, and success seems at last to have crowned their efforts. It was with no little self-congratulation, not to say pride, that will be the case, boats of this description can necessarily only be used at a limited number of stations.

they, in September last, placed on trial at The trouble and cost entailed by the trials Harwich the first steam-boat intended for will be very great, but the Committee The Institution fully recognizing the responsibility which rests upon it to pro-vide the Life-boat crews with the best possible means for conducting their life- saving work, has decided to carry out a series of competitive trials and ex- haustive tests embracing all the various types of Life-boats it employs, with a view to determining definitely which type of boat is individually best adapted for the different parts of our coast, the circumstances and conditions of which vary materially. trust that the public, seeing the import- ance of the undertaking, will by con- tributing liberally help the Institution, to bring it to a successful issue.

Life-boats.—While however what may be termed special work has taken up much of the time and thought of the Committee and their Officers, the ordinary work of the Institution has been pushed on with no lack of vigour. Five new stations, each of which has been provided with a fully equipped Life-boat, have been established within the last twelve months, namely, at— And new stations are in course of formation, or will be shortly, at— In addition to the new stations which were provided with boats during the year, new boats possessing all the most recent improvements were sent to nineteen other stations as follows:— SCOTLAND.

Kildonan .... Isle of Arran.

Thurso Caithness-shire.

IRELAND.

AtherHeld . . .

Holyhead No. 2 .

Kingstown No. 2 .

Queenstown No. 2 St. Agnes . . .

Gorleston .

Johnshaven Perth Snuffy dd Port of Ness .

Pwilheli . .

ENGLAND AND Aldeburgh ....

Kingsdowne .

Lowestoft No. 2 . .

Rhosneigir St. Mary's ....

Shoreham .

Arklow Carnsore .

TisileeBay.

Thorpe.

Upgang . .

Winterton No. 2 Isle of Wight.

Anglesey.

Co. Dublin.

„ Cork.

Scilly Isles.

Suffolk.

Kincardineshire.

Anglesey.

Island of Lewis.

Carnarvonshire.

WALES.

Suffolk.

Kent.

Suffolk.

Anglesey.

Scilly Isles.

Sussex.

Dorset.

Suffolk.

Yorkshire.

Norfolk.

Co. Wicklow.

„ Wexford.

„ Kerry.

Tramore .... Co. Waterford.

Valentia , Kerry.

Wexford No. 1 . . „ Wexford.

ISLE OF MAN.

Douglas No. 2.

Several of these boats have already been out on service, and have been satisfactorily reported on by the crews.

The boats at ten other stations have , been supplied with water-ballast tanks, and fitted with other improvements, and a similar course will be followed with : a considerable number of other boats with as little delay as possible. It has been decided to close the station at Chapel in Lincolnshire, and to transfer the boat to Skegness, where it is believed its services will be more frequently called ' into requisition.

At the end of the year the Institution's fleet consisted of 300 Life-boats.

During the year the construction of the Institution's transporting carriages was considerably improved and the alterations having been thoroughly tested and found to be satisfactory, several contracts for building them were, early in the year 1890, accepted by the Committee, with the view of supplying a large pro- portion of the Stations with the new- carriage. Great difficulty was encountered, however, in keeping the builders to the terms of their contracts, with the result that at the close of the year only eighteen new carriages had been placed on the coast. It is hoped, however, that matters will proceed more satisfactorily during the current year, and that the Committee will be able to complete their programme in this direction.

Shipwrecks.—The year 1890, taken as a whole, was by no means an exceptionally stormy one. At the same time, every now and again gales of considerable violence visited our shores, that of the 6th and 7th November last probably being one of the heaviest that had been experienced, more particularly on the west coast, for thirty years. On these occasions ANNUAL REPORT. 467 all the Life-boat crews were on the alert; Rocket Brigades merit the cordial ac- and many a gallant service was performed, knowledgment of the public for their resulting in the saving of life and invaluable co-operation. property. In the year the Life-boats Since the Institution was founded in were launched 277 times on service, and 1824, it has granted rewards for the 971 times for exercise, besides which, saving of 35,443 lives as follows : — crews were assembled 35 times in readiness for service, their services not being In the No. of Lives Year Saved. In the No. of Lives Year Saved. ultimately required. It is with great 1824 124 1859 499 satisfaction and a sense of deep thankful- 1825 218 1826 175 1860 455 1861 424 ness, that the Committee are enabled to 1827 163 1862 574 report that notwithstanding the many 1828 301 1829 463 1863 714 1864 698 occasions in 1890 on which the " perils of 1830 372 1865 714 the sea " were experienced by the Life- 1831 287 1866 921 boat men in their praiseworthy efforts, not 1832 310 1833 449 1867 1,086 1868 862 a single man lost his life afloat. Various 1834 214 1869 1,231 casualties entailing minor injuries, such 1835 364 1870 784 as ruptures, crashed fingers, cuts, bruises, 1836 225 1837 272 1871 882 1872 739 etc., occurred however, as might have 1838 456 1873 668 been expected; but in every instance the 1839 279 1840 353 1874 713 1875 921 Institution took care that the sufferer 1841 128 1876 600 should not be in any way a loser by his 1842 276 1877 1,048 accident. On shore two men — one in 1843 236 1844 193 1878 616 1879 855 Ireland and one in Wales, were knocked 1845 235 1880 697 down and killed whilst assisting the 1846 134 1881 1,121 1847 157 1882 884 conveyance of a Life-boat on its carriage. 1848 123 1883 955 In each case the relatives received a grant 1849 209 1884 792 of 100Z. from the Institution, 1850 470 1851 230 1885 555 1886 761 The services of the Life-boats during 1852 773 1887 572 each month of the year were as follows : — 1853 678 1888 800 1854 355 1889 627 1855 406 1&90 773 1856 473 Total 35,443 Number Lives Vessels Lives Saved 1857 374 of Life- Saved Saved hv 1858 427 1890. boat by Life- by Life- uy Shore- Launches. boats. boats. a s. These results fully justify the Com- January 37 97 1 20 mittee's earnest appeal for liberal and February March 21 16 IS 35 1 2 • 36 11 well-sustained support. April . 23 47 1 6 May .

June . 8 10 17 7 4 1 25 24 Rewards. — The rewards granted by the July . 14 9 2 38 Committee in 1890 for the saving of life August September 8 10 16 13 1 2 9 9 from shipwreck, or for efforts with per- October . 34 47 3 7 sonal risk to do so, and in acknowledg- .November December 73 23 213 41 6 3 23 10 ment of other meritorious services rendered to the cause, comprised 28 Silver Total . . 277 555 27 218 Medals, 2 Second Service Clasps, 1 Third Service Clasp, 12 Binocular Glasses, 1 Too much cannot be said of the Aneroid Barometer, 49 Votes of Thanks admirable manner in which the coxswains inscribed on vellum and framed, 1 Certifi- and their crews performed their many cate of Service framed, and 5,4642. 11s. id., gallant services ; and the officers and men including grants for injuries received by of the Coastguard and the Volunteer men in the service. 

On the 31st December last the Institution had granted altogether in rewards since its establishment in 1824, 97 Gold Medals, 1,048 Silver Medals and Clasps, 184: Binocular Glasses, 15 Telescopes, 4 Aneroid Barometers, 1,301 Votes of Thanks inscribed on vellum and framed, 9 Certificates of Service framed, and 113,494 in money.

Aneroids.—The applications received during the year for the thoroughly reliable Aneroid Barometers, supplied by the Institution to fishermen and small coasters at a little more than a third the retail price, were considerably in excess of those received daring the three previous years, 134 being sold to fishermen, and 37 to coasterp, making a total of 171. The number of these instruments dispensed of by the Society since Jane 1882 has been 3,015.

During the year several wrecks which •were dangerous to the Life-boat crews in the performance of their life-saving duties, were removed under the authority of the Removal of Wrecks Act, 1877, Amendment Act, 1889. The Committee have every intention of pressing the faithful carrying out of the provisions of this Act and in this resolve they will they are sure be cordially supported by the British public.

The all-important question of Electrical communication with the Coastguard and Life-boat stations, signal stations, etc., still engrosses the attention of the Institution, and a special committee has been appointed to gather information and to report on the subject. Hitherto the Government has done nothing in the matter, but as it daily gains greater attention at the hands of the public, and the necessity for such a system becomes more and more apparent, the Committee cannot but hope that legislation may at no distant date be the outcome of the movement.

The Committee deeply regret the £reat j loss the Institution has sustained in the j death of Admiral JOHN Ross WABD, who was for 31 years the Chief Inspector of j Life-boats, and even after his retirement continued to the last to be an active member of the Committee and to take a warm interest in the work he had so long directed.

Local Committees.'—The grateful thanks of the Institution are due to the Local Committees and their Honorary Secretaries and Treasurers for their important and valuable co-operation during the year gone by. Without the much appreciated help which the Honorary Officers so liberally afford the good cause could not possibly prosper.

The special acknowledgments of the Committee are also tendered to the Public Press, which so constantly draws attention to the great work being done by the Institution and its need of generous and well-sustained aid.

Finances. — The subscriptions, dona- tions, dividends, etc., amounted in the year to 42,523Z. Os. lid., and included 4,870?. specially given for the following Life-boat establishments :— £. ». A.

Aldtiburgh—Anonymous . . . 700 - - Carosoie—A- Friend .... 700 - - Douglas No. 2—Civil Service Life- boat Fund, per CHARLES DIBDINI, Esq. (additional) . . . 800 - - Hartlepool No. 3—Cyclists Life- boat Pond, per H. STORMEY, Esq. (Third year's endowment) 70 - - Isle of Arran—Miss PBINSLE KIDD 700 - - Kingstown No. 2—Civil Service Life-boat Fund, per CHARLES DIBDIN, Esq. (on account) . . 300 - - Redcar—M.P. and A. E. I. (addi- tional) 100 - - Swana e—LADY EKLE . . . 700 - - Upgang—Anonymous . . . 700 - - Whitburn—A Lady (additional). 100 - - During the year the following legacies were also received, without which the work of the Institution must necessarily have been seriously curtailed:— £. i. d.

BSEB, GEORGE, Esq., Canterbury SO - - BENTINCK, Lady .Upper Grosvenor Street 50 - - BLACK, J., Esq., Auchentoshern . 100 - - BRADLEY, ¥., Eeq., Fareham. . 100 - - BRAstAHT, T. J., Esq., South Ken- sington 900 - - ANNUAL REPORT.

469 £.

10 570 s. eZ.

10 - BROWNE, Mrs. ANNE, Dover . .

BURROUGHS, Mrs. E., Norwood .

CARTWRIGHT, Miss M. A,, Bury St. Edmunds 640 1 4 GUILDERS, Miss LOUISA, Doncaster 20 - - CLAGETT, Mrs. ELIZA, St. John's Wood (additional) ... 57 1 10 CUNNINGHAM, Mrs. ELIZABETH, Chatham 600 - - DAVID, JOHN, Esq., Cheltenham . 300 10 8 DAVIDSON, ALEXANDER, Esq., Hampstead 720 - DEAN, Miss MABY, Stepney . . 41 13 - DEAN, W. H., Esq., Stratford (additional) 74 19 2 DOWLING, E. S., Esq., Holland Villas Road, Kensington . . 450 - - EDEN, Mrs. B. H. G., Baton Square 500 - - FALK, PHILIP, Esq. Kensington . 50 - - FIELDEN, S., Esq., Todmorden .2,000 - - FIELDER, Miss MELISCENT, Mon- tagu Square ...... 500 - - GHEENHALQH, JOHN, Esq., St.

Anne's-on-Sea 500 - - HALLETT, Miss C. C., Maeclesneld 100 - - HARVEY, Mrs. M. B., Clifton . . 45 - - HEWES, T., Esq., Forest Gate . 4681711 LENNARD, J. M., Esq., Middles- brough- on-Tees 20 - - LOCKETT, Miss MARY, Macclesfietd 100 - - LUCAS, HENRY, Esq., South Ken- sington 450 - - MARTIN, B. B., Esq., Sydenham . 19 19 - MORTON, H. B., Esq., Sandgate . 50 - - POOLEY, CHARLES, Esq., Cheltenham 700 - - PRICE, Mrs. ELIZA, Leamington . 1,36211 9 ROBSON, Miss MARGARET, Dundee 55- SANDEHSON, WM., Esq., Kirkcaldy 720 - - SCHAW, A. S., Esq., Glasgow . . 225 - - SCOTT, Mrs. E. F., Penywem Road, South Kensington . . — 18 11 SMITH, MONTAGUE, Esq., King Street, Cheapside .... 10 10 - STEEB,W.G., Esq., Upper Clapton 1,985 8 2 SWIFT, Mrs. C-, Kensington . . 700 9 9 TAHGETT, Miss L., Kentish Town 14,684 3 7 THOMAS, Mrs. F. E., Nuunoy, Somerset (additional) ... 3 16 8 UNDERWOOD, JOHN, Esq., Norwich 100 - - WILD, JOHN, Esq.. Clapham . . 450 - - WING, T. W., Esq., Hove . . . 1,000 - - The total expenditure in 1890 greatly exceeded that of any former year, and amounted to the large sum of 75,8771.

14s. 9d., exhausting not only the whole of the income of the year, but also unfortu- nately, to meet the deficiency, all the moneys received in respect of legacies, besides necessitating the realisation of other capital. The building, repairing, improving and equipping of Life-boars and Life-boat Carriages—excluding the Steam Life-boat, which alone cost 5,00(U.— added to the unusually large expense entailed by erecting and keeping in repair Life-boat Houses and Slipways, involved the expenditure of 30,378?. 8s. 2d., while 21,2227. 11s. &d. was laid out on Life- boat Stores, Life-belts, Subsidies to out- lying Stations, Branch payments, Ane- roids for fishermen and coasters, the Store-yard, the Inspectors' Department, experiments, etc., and 13,8 5 5Z. 9s. 2rf.

on Life-boat coxswains, signalmen and launchers, and on crews for going out on service, and exercising the Life-boats; on grants for injuries—which happily, as before stated, were slight—special recog- nitions and rewards for services, medals, and vellums. The remainder was spent on printing and publishing the Life-boat Journal, a new edition of the Green Bonk, the Annual Report and Appeals, on salaries, rent and office repairs, rates, taxes, lighting, housekeeper, advertising, postage, stationery, etc. Each item of receipt and expenditure has, as usual, been very carefully examined, verified and approved by Mr. LOVELOCK, of the well-known firm of Messrs. LOVELOCK, WHIFFIN, and DICKINSON, 19 Coleman Street, E.G., Chartered Accountants.

In conclusion, the Committee earnestly and urgently appeal to the public for funds to enable them to extend and carry on efficiently the great work they have undertaken. Last year, as has been already explained, they were compelled to spend much more money than they re- ceived, and unless the public show their appreciation of their endeavours by con- tributing largely and liberally during the current year, the scope and efficiency of their great life-saving service, of which the nation is so justly proud, must be curtailed.