THE Russian Life-boat Society, of which the Empress is the Patron, has now 125 Life-boat Stations; of these 60 are on the river banks and 65 on the coast.

The Committee of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION had in the year 1875 the great satisfaction of reporting the formation of this Life-boat Society, which was founded on the same principles as their own Institution.

It will be remembered that on the happy occasion of the marriage of His Royal Highness the DUKE OF EDINBURGH with Her Imperial Highness the GRAND DUCHESS MARIE, of Russia, the British residents at St. Petersburg presented to their Royal Highnesses, as a wedding gift, two fully-equipped Life-boats of the most complete and perfect character, constructed in London by the builders to the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTI- TUTION and under its superintendence, as memorials of the auspicious event.

These boats were afterwards handed over by their Royal Highnesses to the Russian Shipwreck and Life-boat Society, and stationed on the Russian Coast, one in the Baltic and the other in the Black Sea.

Two exact models of them, one named the Alfred and the other the Marie, were ordered to be made in London to be presented to their Royal and Imperial Highnesses the DUKE and DUCHESS OF EDINBURGH.

The presentation of these models, in the name of the British residents at St. Petersburg and at their request, the Committee had much pleasure in request- ing his Grace the President of the Insti- tution to undertake, at the ensuing Annual Meeting of the Institution, which was presided over by His Royal Highness the DUKE OF EDINBURGH.

In presenting the models to their Royal and Imperial Highnesses, they expressed the hope that the Russian Society, in which they would doubtless always take a deep interest, might, with the Divine blessing, long enjoy the same prosperity and pursue the same career of usefulness in the interests of humanity that had happily been accorded to its sister insti- tution in the British Islands.