IN June we were honoured by a visit from the COMTE DE BIZEMONT, the Chief Inspector of our sister service in France, and we need hardly say it was a great pleasure to welcome him and show him what he required to see. Among other things the COMTE DE BIZEMONT wished to see the steam Life-boat at Harwich, and had a short trip in her; he also visited the Institution's Storeyard at Poplar.

The Societe Oentrale de Sauvetage des Naufrages was established in 1865, and is worked generally on the same lines as the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTI- TUTION ; but, as in Germany, they have also the line-throwing gun (which answers to the rocket apparatus) stations under their control. The line-throwing guns are of two kinds; for long -ranges a howitzer is used, but there are numerous stations where only a musket is supplied, which throws a line about 70 yards.

The Life-boat stations number 83, viz.:— 70 7 4 On the West Coast of France .

„ Mediterranean .

In Corsica On the African coast (1 at Oran and 1 at Tunis) .... 2 In addition to these there are 5 Life-boats not at present under the Societe Centrale, viz., 2 at Boulogne and 3 at' Havre.

The Life-boats are chiefly of the self- righting type, and are all of the pulling class.

At Ushant—or, as it is called in France, Ouessant—the scene of the late terrible calamity to the Drummond Castle, there are 3 stations, 2 on Ushant and 1 on the island of Molene; but so sudden was the nature of the recent fearful catastrophe that no Life - boat could possibly have been in time to render assistance.

At the Annual Meeting of this excellent Institution, held at the Amphitheatre of the Nouvelle-Sarbonne, Paris, in May last, it was announced that the Society now possessed 83 Life-boat stations and 450 " Postes de secours," and that since its establishment it had been the means of saving 7,548 lives and 930 vessels.

The receipts for the year had amounted to 239,049 francs (9,562Z.), a sum quite inadequate to the requirements of the service.

The French Service has one great advantage over ours; it is that the Public Board of Works always builds the first Life-boat house at each station as it is established, consequently relieving the Service of a very great outlay.

In concluding this short notice, we can only repeat what we said at the end of our notice (also published in this journal) of the German Life-boat Service as to the great advantage of friendly intercourse existing between our own Institution and the sister Institutions in other countries.