THE Annual Report of the operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the year ended the 30th June, 1894, was issued a few months since from the Gov- ernment Printing Office at Washington, and we learn from it that there are now 247 life-saving stations in the States, 182 being on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, 51 on the coasts of the Great Lakes, 13 on the Pacific, and one at the Falls of the Ohio, Louisville, Kentucky. Since the last Report four new stations have been added to the service, and two old stations have been reconstructed.

During the year there had been 382 disasters to vessels coming within the field of station operations, this number being 45 less than in the previous twelve months. There were 4,024 persons on board these vessels, of whom 61 perished.

The number of vessels totally lost was 91, being an increase of three as compared with the previous year. In addition there were, during the year reported on, 214 disasters to smaller craft, such as sail- boats, row-boats, &c., which had 467 persons on board, only 7 of whom were lost. The total number of persons succoured at the stations was 647.

Besides the lives saved from vessels, the life-saving crews were instrumental in rescuing 83 persons under various circum- stances, as follows:—34 had fallen from wharves, piers, &c., and would have perished but for the timely assistance of the life-saving crews; 8 who were cut off from shore by the tide while fishing from outlying rocks were rescued by the surf- men, who waded into the water and assisted them with heaving lines ; in three cases where dwellings were endangered by inundation, 27 imperilled persons were rescued by the life-saving crews, 19 by the use of the boats; 12 men were rescued in the Life-boat on the 18th May from imminent peril on a crib near the south breakwater at Chicago, while upon another occasion 1 man was taken from the Milwaukee water-works crib, where he was endangered during a storm; and 1 man was recovered from the floating wreckage of a fallen bridge and safely landed.

In 439 instances vessels were worked off when stranded, repaired when damaged, piloted out of dangerous places, and similarly assisted by the station crews.

There were, besides, 244 instances where vessels running into danger of stranding were warned off by the signals of the patrols.

The surf-boat was used 585 times, making 883 trips, and the self-righting and self-bailing life-boat was used 102 times, making 165 trips.

As usual, very careful inquiry was made into the 17 cases where life was lost, in order to make sure that in no case was the disaster attributable to any lack of promptness, courage or skill on the part of the members of the Life-saving Service.

In two instances it was ascertained that the ships meeting with disaster were destroyed within fifteen minutes of the time of striking, thereby excluding the possibility of rescue by the life-saving crews, and, unhappily, that represented the loss of 30 persons out of 34 on board those vessels, where they were thus wrecked.

We notice with satisfaction that during the year the coast telephone lines of the Service have been extended and improved as much as possible, and now cover an extent of about 650 miles. It is stated in the Report that the system has proved more emphatically than ever its indispens- able value as an aid to prompt and efficient life-saving operations. On every necessary occasion two or more crews have been assembled by this ready means of com- munication between stations, and tugs and other aids to the shipwrecked, whenever they have been needed, havebeen summoned without delay. Telephone communication has also been established between all stations located at important ports (as is largely the case in the lake districts) and the local exchanges, thus securing the receipt at the stations of the earliest telegraphic intelligence of disasters along the shore. Reference is made in the Report to the personal examination of the system, for the purpose of testing its efficiency, which was made in the year 1893 by the Chairman of the Royal National Life - Boat Institution, Sir EDWARD BIRKBECK, Bart., as a Member of the Royal Commission on Electrical Communication with Light-houses, &c.

THE German Life-boat Institution has now 115 stations on the coasts, 71 being on the Baltic and 44 on the North Sea.

The number has been constantly in- creasing since the year 1871, when the total was 42: 25 on the Baltic and 17 on the North Sea.