IT would appear from a Yellow Book published in March last by order of the Inspector-General of Customs at Pekin that no Life-boats or life-saving stations are established along the coast of China excepting those in the district of Canton, but that on the Yangtze there is main- tained an effective riverside service of Life-boats, extending from above Chung- king to Kiangyin at the mouth of the river, summarised as follows : District. No. of Stations. No. of Boats, Chungking 30(?) 50(?) Tchang 37 44 Hankow 5 18 Kiukiang 3 14 Wuhu 17 34 Chinkiaug 20 48 Shanghai — 4 The life-saving service along the entire length of the Yangtze is maintained by funds provided by various benevolent societies, but in the Eastern Szechwan on the Upper Yangtze, the Government has also established Life-boats and stations.

In the district of Tchang the Life-boats, •which in China are of the junk type, are of two sizes 44 ft. 7 in. in length by 9 ft. 6 in. beam and 35 ft. 3 in. by 6 ft.

The larger boats have a crew of six men, viz., a steersman, a mate and four ordinary sailors, the smaller boats having a sailor less. All the men receive an annual payment, bat nothing beyond riee money is allowed them for the fourth and tenth months of the year when casualties are rare. These are called " empty months." The Life-boats are not allowed to save property, but must confine their attention to saving life. The crews of the Life-boats are allowed a specified sum for each life saved, as well as for recovering corpses, burying unclaimed bodies, pro- viding wooden coffins and for placing a stone or mark over the grave of a re- covered corpse. Similar regulations obtain in most of the other districts. In the i Ghinkiang district each of the Life-boats (which are built of pine) is supplied with half-a-dozen suits of cotton clothing to afford an immediate change for every person rescued from the water, with several dozens of straw shoes, both male and female patterns, and with the neces- sary foot bandages for Chinese ladies, quilts, bedding and straw hats. Special instructions are given that no saved person is to be " dried near a fire," but is to be at once provided with a draught of hot ginger broth followed by congee in repeated small doses. Although the Life- boat stations are not provided with an opium smoking apparatus, a rescued opium smoker must not be allowed to die for want of a pipe. In such cases therefore an effective anti-opium prepara- tion is to be administered as a restorative.