THE Life-boat Saturday Fund season for 1900 is now drawing to a close, and it has been one of great anxiety, not only to the Central Committee of the Fund and their officials, but also to the numerous Local Committees and Auxiliaries through- out the country. Notwithstanding the splendid and enthusiastic efforts of these important coadjutors in the work, it has been impossible to obtain the financial results, which at any other time such self-denying and generous work would certainly have secured, but " the Fates " have been obdurate. All through the year, and more particularly during the earlier months, when the preparations are generally taken in hand for the Saturday demonstrations and collections, the special and necessary appeals which were made from one end of the country to the other in connection with the war in South Africa have proved a terrible obstacle to successful appeals either for the Saturday Fund, or indeed for any other charity, and during the last few weeks when good friends and hard-working committees in various important centres were hoping to secure better results for their efforts, the Parliamentary General Election came upon them, at once stopping altogether or at all events to a great extent, any further action in the interests of the Saturday Fund during the current year.

Friends must not be disheartened, how- ever, and we are confident that although the cloud has been a heavy one the silver lining will ere long appear and that better times are in store for the Fund.

We can only now tender our sympathy, if not our congratulations, to the workers, and encourage them to hope for and expect a coining "good time" in next year's campaign..