IN our Annual Report published in May last special attention was drawn to the fact that during the year 1890 the Committee had been compelled to spend as much as 33,354?. 13s. 10d in excess of their ordinary income, and that they had been obliged to meet this large deficiency by the appropriation of legacies and other capital. It was apparent that this was an unsatisfactory state of affairs, and an earnest and urgent appeal was therefore made to the public for increased help, it being pointed out at the same time that unless more liberal support were accorded the Institution, the efficiency and scope of the greatest and oldest life-saving service in the world must be curtailed. Our present object is to again draw the special notice of our friends to that statement, and to ask them whether such a mis- fortune is to be permitted. Another winter is close upon us with its attendant storms and shipwrecks, resulting without doubt in a heavy drain on the resources of the Institution. We cannot but hope that all those who take an interest in the work will promptly come forward with a helping hand; and we believe that when our wants are properly understood by the public that liberality, which in this country is never lacking for a really deserving object, will be extended to us.

In April last we suggested to all our Branches and to the Public Press that a " Life-boat Sunday " should be established' and we are glad to know that the pro- posal has been well taken up in many parts of the United Kingdom, more par- ticularly on the coast. A "Life-boat Saturday" has also been successfully inaugurated in several towns, such as Manchester and Blackpool, and we hope that the example so well set will be ex- tensively followed. In Manchester alone, on Saturday the 10th October last, a sum amounting to nearly £5,000 was collected for the cause. This grand effort, which should and will, we may hope, be copied shortly by the other great commercial centres of the country, was promoted and admirably carried out by an influential and energetic Committee specially formed for the purpose and presided over by Mr. CHARLES W. MACARA, Chairman of the St. Anne's Branch of the Institution, a gentleman of extraordinary energy and resource. The press of the country, as useful as it is powerful, has also come to the aid of the Institution. The well- known and genial Editor of the Yorkshire Post as soon as he was aware of the Society's needs lost no time in making a special appeal to the public for help to man the Life-boats," and at once opened a subscription list, the result being that in rather more than a fortnight he was able to remit a cheque for 3,516?. 12s. Id. to the Institution. Surely what has been done in the north can also be done in the south, east and west. None is too old or too young to help the cause. Everybody can do something. Those who can only afford the " widow's mite " can use their influence with those who can give " of their abundance/' while others can by means of lectures, entertainments, col- lecting boxes, &c., bring " grist to the mill." It should be remembered that the only really reliable income of the Institution is that derived from annual subscriptions, and interest and dividends accruing from accumulated funds, a large part of the surplus of which represents moneys left for specific purposes, and not therefore applicable for the general work of the Society. The amount received by the Society from the above-mentioned sources therefore lasb year amounted to less than £30,000, whereas the expenditure was in excess of £75,000. The difference be- tween the income proper and the expendi- ture was made up by donations, special gifts and legacies, but these items neces- sarily fluctuate considerably from year to year, and when from various reasons, such as the badness of trade, times of war, &c., they are not forthcoming, there is no alternative but to fall back on the capital accumulated by legacies, which as it be- comes exhausted produces a smaller amount in dividends. This of course is a suicidal policy, and should be prevented if possible. It should be borne in mind that thirty years ago the Institution could only boast of possessing about a hundred Life-boat stations, so that the Committee were able to expend the greater part of the Society's income on new stations and new work, with the grand result that there are now upwards of 300 boats placed" by the Institution round the British coast. But wind and weather will tell on the best buildings, and those Stations which, but a few years ago were new, " spic and span," have of late been falling into disrepair, so that the rebuilding and repair item of expenditure, which a short while ago was a trifling one, is now an exceedingly heavy one, and mast neces- sarily coatinue to be so. We must remind our readers, therefore, that what is most needed is sustained help. Donations are very useful and are gratefully received, but the best way of all to aid the cause is to become an annual subscriber.