KINGSTOWN, IRELAND.—This Life-boat station was transferred to the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION by the Dublin Billast Board in January, 1862.

In April of the same year the Institution replaced the Life-boat then at the station by a new boat named the Princess Royal, the cost of which was defrayed from a fund collected by Miss S. H. BERTIE CATOR of Sussex Square, London. In October, 1867, another Life-boat bearing the same name took this boat's place, and in May, 1879, was in turn replaced by another named the Hector, the cost being provided by a legacy bequeathed by the late Miss MARGARET ANDERSON of Leamington, sup- plemented by a gift from her niece, Mrs, GOFF, since deceased.

In 1890 the Committee of the Institu- tion decided to station a second Life-boat at Kingstown to be kept moored afloat.

It was one of the largest self-righting Life-boats, 42 feet long by 11 feet wide, and was maintained as an addition to the smaller boat kept in the Life-boat house in compliance with the request of the Local Committees, coxswains and crew, concurred in by the District Life-boat Inspector, and the Chief Inspector of Life-boats to the Institution. On the 15th August, shoitly after the boat arrived at her station, it was blowing very hard the wind gauge indicating forces 9 and 10 in the squalls, i.e., a strong gale to a whole gale. It was determined to make use of the opportunity to try the new Life-boat, and accordingly the crew were mustered and the boat proceeded out, having on board the then Local Honorary Secretary, Captain the Hon. F. G. CROFTON, E.N., and the District Inspector of Life-boats, Lieut. H. T. GARTSIDE TIPPING, E.N. The boat was reported to have behaved beauti- fully, " being as stiff as possible, and as weatherly almost as a cutter yacht," The crew and all bad the greatest confidence in her, and felt satisfied that she " was fit for any work, and would do anything she was asked." This Life-boat was presented by the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, and was named the Civil Service No. 7. She was on only one occasion called out for service, and that happened on the 24th December, 1895, when the ship Palme, of Finland, stranded in a strong gale from E.S.E. and a heavy sea. The boat was capsized and partially wrecked, and unhappily the whole of her crew of fifteen men lost their lives. The sister boat is at Queens- town, and has been out on service five times. Her coxswains and crew are very proud of her.

./In March, 1891, the Hector Life-boat was replaced by a new one bearing the name Hannah Pickard, her cost being defrayed from the legacy of the lute Mr. ANDREW PICKARD of Leeds.

This boat also proceeded to the rescue of the crew of the Palme and was cap- sized, fortunately, however, without any loss of life.

The Princess Royal Life-boats were launched for service on ten occasions and saved twenty lives; the Hector was taken out eight times and rescued twenty-five persons; and the Hannah Pickard has been out twice and has saved five lives.

The Civil Service No. 7 Life-boat went out once.

Thus there have been twenty-one occa- sions of putting off on service, and fifty lives have been saved by the Kingstown Life-boats since they have been managed by the Institution.

The cost of the fine new boat which has recently been placed on this station, and which is named Dunleary, the ancient name of Kingstown, has, like that of her predecessor, been presented to the Insti- tution by the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, the subscribers to this fund, numbering upwards of 16,000, represent- ing every Government Department and Office in England, Scotland and Ireland.

The type of boat has been selected by the crew. She has been designed by Mr. G. L, WATSON, the consulting naval architect of the Institution, and is a large sailing boat; she is 45 feet long, has 12 ft. 6 in.

beam, and draws 3 ft. 6 ins. of water with the crew and all gear on board, her load displacement at this draft being 16£ tons. The boat possesses very large stability, having five tons of lead on the keel, in addition to being fitted with a large steel centre board or drop keel weighing 8 cwt., and, in consequence, carries a considerable amount of sail for a life-boat; she is rigged with a large standing fore lug and a jib and a square- headed mizen. Internally the boat is divided into several watertight compart- ments by means of bulkheads, which are fitted with watertight wooden air cases occupying the entire space in the hold of the boat. The top sides are protected by a cork fender, running right forward and aft on each side. The boat was built by Messrs. HOLLWEY & SONS, of Dublin, from the designs of Mr. G. L. WATSON.

On the 26th July last the boat was launched for the first time at her station, amidst much enthusiasm, in. the presence of about five thousand spectators. Lady ROBERTS had very kindly undertaken to perform the naming ceremony, and when she arrived, accompanied by Field-Marshal Lord ROBERTS, K.P., she was received by Colonel FitzRoY CLAYTON, the Deputy Chairman of the Institution, and the Local Committee. Colonel CLAYTON, in opening the proceedings, read a telegram from London, which had just arrived, as follows: — "Contributors to the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, Committee and Hon. Secretary wish every success to the Dunleary and her gallant crew.—CHARLES DIBDIN, Hon. Secretary of the Civil Service Fund." (Cheers). He then stated that he had come there to hand over the splendid life-boat to the Committee and the crew that was to man her. As regards the boat, it seemed to him that the fitness of things had been carried out exceedingly well. Here they had a boat, built by an Irish builder, to be manned by an Irish crew, and to be launched by an Irish lady. (Cheers). That seemed to him to be a very good start indeed, and he was sure it would give pleasure to Irishmen that such an occurrence had taken place. He had the greatest pleasure in handing over this boat to the Com- mittee, whom he knew would be proud of her, and would look after her when they knew they had one of the finest craft in the United Kingdom. The crew also, he was sure, would be proud of the boat. He knew what gallant fellows they were. They were like the rest of the men of Ireland, always ready to do their duty when called upon by land or sea. (Applause). Some of the finest services on record had been performed by the crews of Life-boats in Ireland. Long might the Kingstown boat have life, and her crew life and strength to man her, and in handing her over to the Committee he wished her God- speed wherever she might be. (Cheers).

Mr. THOMAS EDMONDSON, one of the Honorary Secretaries of the Institution's Irish Auxiliary (Dublin), having ex- pressed the grateful thanks of the locality for the gift, called on Lady ROBERTS to name the boat, which her Ladyship pro- ceeded to do by breaking over the bows the bottle of wine suspended from it, adding the words, "God speed the Dunleary," after which a rope was severed and the beautiful boat glided swiftly into the water.

Captain ALEXANDER A. WALKER, Honorary Secretary of the Kingstown Branch, conveyed the thanks of all con- cerned to Lady ROBERTS for the gracious manner in which she had performed the interesting ceremony.

Her ladyship, having bowed her acknow- ledgments, was conducted with Lord ROBERTS to her carriage by the members of the Local Committee, and drove away amidst many cordial expressions -'from those assembled near the place. As the Life-boat left the slip, the crew shipped their oars and rowed to the middle of the harbour where, resting for some moments, they cheered heartily for their new craft.

The cheering was as vigorously returned by those on shore, and amidst this natural enthusiasm the sails were hoisted and the Dunleary sailed gracefully with a light breeze into the main harbour.

MARGATE.—The Institution has recently forwarded two large sailing Life-boats to Margate in the place of a smaller Life- boat stationed there some years since.

The new boats are 40 feet long, 10 feet wide, and row 12 oars, double-banked.

They are self-righting boats, and each is provided with two sliding- or drop-keels.

Owing to the great difficulties and delay always experienced at Margate in launch- ing heavy Life-boats from the shore, on account of the softness of the sand and the flatness of the beach, the Institution, in view of the importance of Margate as a Life-boat station, guarding, as it does, the entrance to the estuary of the Thames, has expended a very large sum in building two launching slip- ways on either side of the jetty, with the sanction of the Pier and Harbour Company, which will enable the Life-boats to be expeditiously launched into deep water at any state of the tide. The boats are kept under cover on the pier at the head of each slipway, and when required on service the one which is on the leeward side will be at once manned and launched.

The whole cost of the new boats and their equipment and launching slipways amounts to upwards of 5,000?. The No. 1 new Life-boat has been provided from a bequest to the Society by the late Mrs.

B. H. KIDD, of Beddington, Surrey, and in accordance with her wish is named the Eliza Harriet ; the other new boat is one endowed by the Civil Service Life-boat Fund, and is known as the Civil Service No. 1. The public inauguration of the new Life-boat station took place on the 14th September last in the presence of a Large concourse of spectators. The Dis- trict Inspector of Life-boats, Commander HOLMES, R.N., attended, and handed over the boats and slipways to the care of the Local Committee, whose Chairman, Mr. J. T. FRIEND, J.P., acknowledged the gift, and called upon the Right Hon. JAMES LOWTHER, M.P., to declare the slipways open. Prior to launching the boats, the Vicar of Margate, the Rev. W. H. T. ASHTON-GWATKIN, offered tip a special prayer on behalf of the Life-boats, and the ceremony of naming them was per- formed by Mrs. J. T. FRIEND and Mrs. HATFEILD, wife of the Deputy-Chairman of the Margate Branch.