A CONSIDERABLE number of the Life-boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTI- TUTION are manned by "boatmen," a term comprising men who employ several different means of obtaining their living in boats, but chiefly applied to those who work and let pleasure-boats, and in the off season do a little inshore fishing.

Very often these men have excellent opportunities of becoming good and ex- perienced beachmen, especially at places like Hastings, Eastbourne, Brighton, &c.

Another description of " boatmen " is to be found in harbours where there are docks, and their employment is attending on the ships in the harbour, assisting in docking operations and taking pilots out to ships in the immediate neighbourhood.

These men's experience in boats is very valuable, chiefly as regards boarding ves- sels and the management of boats in the open sea, but naturally their knowledge of beach work and broken water is not great. However, in most places where there is a harbour and docks, it is possible either to keep the Life-boat afloat or on a slipway from which she can be launched into smooth water at all times, her difficulties beginning when in the open sea.

There are at present thirty-four boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTI- TUTION the crews of which are entirely composed of " boatmen," and forty-six boats in which "boatmen" partly form the crews. So it will be seen the Institution would suffer greatly if it lost the co- operation of these useful and experienced men.

There is one great advantage which " boatmen " have in forming a Life-boat crew over fishermen; it is that in nearly all the boats manned by them there is a regular fixed, crew or double crew. Of course this is rendered practicable by the fact that the boatman's occupation does not take him far from home, nor can he ply it in really bad weather, and the Life-boat can always be exercised in bad weather—a most important point, as opportunities for practising the crew in weather too bad for ordinary boats should invariably be taken advantage of when a quarterly exercise is due. If this is neglected, it is quite impossible for the crews to know the quality of their boat, and what is to be expected from her.

Many mistakes have occurred on wreck service through the men not having been given opportunities of thoroughly learning their boat when life was not at stake.

In seventeen of the Institution's Life- boats the crews are partly made up of local " pilots." It is unnecessary to explain here the duties of so well-known an office as " pilot." Suffice it to say that only the most experienced of the local seafaring men are to be found filling this post, and that besides having to pass examinations in pilotage the ordinary exercise of their calling entails a knowledge of boat work which renders their presence in a Life- I boat invaluable. There is many a " branch pilot" on the coast who if drawn out could tell of hair-breadth escapes whilst boarding or leaving some vessel in a heavy seaway, a difficult operation, as anyone who has had to do it well knows. Not only does the pilot's experience in boatwork make him a most desirable adjunct to a Life- boat's crew, but of course his professional knowledge is of the greatest advantage.

Pilots are usually to be found either as coxswains or as one of the crew of Life- boats manned by boatmen (that class of boatmen mentioned above as to be found in harbours and docks) whose acquain- tance with the neighbouring coast is not always to be depended on.

There are a few small ports on the coast of Great Britain—for the most part those which have a tidal harbour used by small coasting-vessels, chiefly for the purpose of landing coal—where sufficient resident seafaring men cannot be obtained to form a Life-boat's crew, but where the necessity for having a Life-boat exists because of the dangerous approaches which are BO often to be found to this description of harbour. In such cases the Life-boats' crews are frequently filled up by the men from any small coaster which may happen to be in port at the time; the vague and general term of "sailors" is applied to these men, and many times have their zeal and bravery been displayed to the greatest advantage when the local Life-boat crew have required their assistance. A sailor's training does not by any means ensure that he will have much knowledge of handling a boat—in fact, it is quite the exception to find one who has; but as a member of a crew, under a competent coxswain, he can be relied upon to " pull his pound," and they are never backward in volunteering to help.

In addition to the sources already mentioned from which the crews of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION are drawn, there are the " landsmen," In forty of the Life-boats it will be found that the crews could not be completed without the aid of " landsmen," and there are three Life-boats entirely manned by them. Of course there are degrees of the seafaring knowledge of landsmen, as all those who are to be found in the Insti- tution's beats naturally have their occu- pation within sight of the sea, and their experience varies from those who do a little fishing when their own trade— which may be painter, carpenter, small shopkeeper:—is dull, to farmers, farm labourers, quarrymen and miners, and even those who only go on the sea for an occasional pleasure trip, which often proves the reverse of pleasure; but be that as it may, these brave fellows are ready to and do man the boats when neces- sity requires, and some very good services have been done by them. They religiously attend the quarterly exercises, and many have profited so much by their experience that it is almost a misnomer to call them " landsmen," were it not that their ordi- nary occupation is perfectly independent of salt water.

We now come to the part taken by Her Majesty's Coastguard, placed last in this article because in their relation to the Life-boat Service they stand entirely apart from any of those who have been previously referred to. The action taken by the coastguard men in manning or assisting to man the boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE - BOAT INSTITUTION is entirely a voluntary one. Their instruc- tions enjoin that they may, "with the sanction of the station officer, form part of a Life-boat's crew, but it is not in- tended that any.of the coastguard force should be diverted from their special duties when a Life-boat's crew can be made up from the neighbouring seafaring population and boatmen"; also, that" coastguard men working the life-saving apparatus are not to be employed on Life- boat duties," and "on no account are men to be ordered on Life-boat service." That they are ever ready to help us is shown by the fact that they are regularly to be found as forming part of the crews of thirty-one Life-boats, while two Life- boats are entirely manned by coastguard men, and times without number it will be found that they have volunteered to fill the places of any of the regular crew who may have been incapacitated from going out or have arrived too late. Their superior discipline is of great advantage, and their habit of working together, ac- quired in the Royal Navy, makes their services and example of the utmost value, though of course their knowledge of boat work is not so great as that possessed by fishermen and others who have been brought up in boats since childhood, and who have much better opportunities of becoming acquainted with the neighbour- ing coast, set of the tides, &c.

It is not only in assisting to man and work the Life-boats that H.M. Coastguard are so important an adjunct to the Life- boat service. Just as the frigates used to be the " eyes of the fleet," so the coast- guard are the eyes of the Institution's fleet, for, except for a small portion of the coast, they keep a constant look-out, and any indications of a vessel in or apparently in distress are at once reported to the local Life-boat authorities, and it is then that the responsibility of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION begins.

Since the establishment of the coast tele- phone system, which was brought about by the energetic action of the Life-boat Institution, the relations between the Life- boat Service and H.M. Coastguard have been rendered considerably more impor- tant. At all the most important Life- boat centres it is now possible to have complete information not only as to the position of the wrecks, but also as to the movements of the Life-boats; and although the working of the coast communication is comparatively in its infancy, much benefit has already accrued from it, and much more is expected in the future both in rendering assistance quicker and in stop- ping unnecessary launches, which not only mean unnecessary risk of life, but also useless expenditure.

From the foregoing remarks it will readily be seen that it is no wonder the Institution cultivates the co-operation of H.M. Coastguard, and it is most satisfac- tory to be able to state that, speaking generally, the very best feeling exists between them.

Before concluding this slight sketch, there is one most important department to touch on, which although not pre- cisely coming under the heading of " Life- boat Crews" is closely connected with it, for in a great many cases all the efforts of the crews would be helpless without it: and this is the "horsing" of the Life- boats. There are many places on the coast, especially those with flat sandy shores, where the Life-boat often has to be transported many miles to the scene of a wreck, and at other places it is found more convenient to drag the boat into the water by horses than by hand. Teams of from four to as many as fourteen horses are used for this work, according to the weight of the boat, strength of the horses, or nature of the ground. The horses are supplied by farmers, carriers, &c., and some of the finest are lent by the railway companies. The greatest credit and grati- tude is due to those who allow their horses to do this splendid service, for there is often considerable risk to the horse. Those who have not experienced it cannot well form an idea of the difficulties encountered in dragging a boat along an exposed shore in a howling gale of wind with the usual accompaniment of rain or snow and spray from the sea; it is bad enough in daylight, but almost indescrib- able at night. The getting the boat into deep enough water to launch is the cul- minating point of difficulty, for an angry breaking sea terrifies the horses, and if they stop before the boat is in far enough it may mean failure to launch, and per-haps an hour's delay. The men who ride the horses certainly have no sinecure; it is no uncommon thing to see a sea break over man and horse, but yet it is not very often that the horses are knocked off their legs. Indeed, much credit is due to the horsemen and the intelligent horses for their part in assisting to save life.

The interest taken in Life-boat work has never been keener than at the present moment; not only are unceasing efforts being made to improve the different types of boats, but the personnel is having the closest attention of the Institution. Im- provement in discipline and greater atten- tion to the quarterly exercises by select- ing suitable rough days are, it is hoped, having the special care of the Honorary Secretaries and the Local Committees who so generously give their time gratuitously.

Life-boat work is more before the public than it ever has been, one of the effects of which is shown by a growing spirit of friendly rivalry between Life-boat stations —a healthy feeling bound to have a good influence on the Life-boat crews.

The following is a list showing approxi- mately the composition of the crews of the Life-boats:— Description of Men. Number of Life-boats in which they form whole crew. Number of Life-boats la which they form part of crew. Beach companies 10 — Boatmen. 34 46 Coastguard . . 2 31 Fishermen . 104 85 Landsmen . 3 40 Pilots . . . — 17.