WITHIN the last few weeks we have received from the Board of Trade their annual Blue Book, furnishing in a tho- roughly comprehensive and intelligible form very full and detailed statistics of the shipping casualties "on or near" the coasts of the United Kingdom during the year ended on the 30th June, 1902. Probably no Blue Book issued by the Government is better arranged or of more real interest to the general public than that in question.

In any case it contains an immense amount of deeply interesting and im- portant information for the friends and supporters of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, as showing conclusively the absolute need of this great national but voluntary life-saving service, the work of which has been carried on unostentatiously but actively for the last 80 years, the sole object of the operations of the Institution being to render assistance to any and all who IST FEBRUARY, 1904.] THE LIFE-BOAT.

may be in peril of shipwreck on the ever dangerous shores of the United Kingdom.

We propose to give in a concise form the leading facts and figures supplied in the " Wreck Abstracts," and in doing so believe that we are adopting probably the best and readiest way to secure sympathy and support for the Life-boat Institution and the thousands of gallant men who man the Life-boats.

The total number of shipping casualties occurring on the shores of Great Britain and Ireland during the year 1901-2 was 4,124, a considerable increase of 116 as compared with the previous year, and the number of lives lost as a result of these casualties totalled 627, a large increase of 205 over the year 1900-1, when the number of lives lost numbered only 422.

The total of casualties in question (4,124), included every description of accident which could possibly befall a vessel of any class—collisions, founder- ings, strandings, missing vessels, etc., and they are thus classified :—(1) total loss; (2) serious casualties; (3) minor casualties. It is satisfactory to find that there is a decided decrease shown under the first two of these headings, the number of cases of total loss and ! serious casualties having fallen to 1,209, | a decrease of 50 as compared with the year 1900-1. The total of minor j casualties, however, showed a somewhat disquieting increase, the total of the year 1900-1 (2,749) having run up in the year under consideration to 2,915, an excess of 166. Life, it is sad to report, was lost in 129 cases, an in- crease of 18 cases when compared with the preceding year.

Collision cases in 1901-2 represented : as usua] a large proportion of the j casualties, the total being 1,573, or 47 | more than in the year 1900-1. The '• cases of total loss, excluding collisions, j rose from 223, the number during the preceding year, to 257 ; but the number of serious casualties fell from 664 to 605, exclusive of cases of collision; whereas the total of minor casualties (excluding collisions) increased from ! 1,595 to 1,689.

; It is interesting to note that of the • total of 4,124 casualties, 3,660 befell British and Colonial vessels, and 464 foreign vessels, the British and Colonial casualties showing an increase of 173, as compared with the year 1900-1, while the foreign casualties decreased by 57 cases.

The localities of the casualties, excluding collisions, were as follows :— East coast of England, 717, or 96 more than the previous twelve months ; south coast, 396, or 21 more than } the preceding year; west coast of England and Scotland, and east coast of Ireland, 996, or 7 less than the year !, 1900-1 ; north coast of Scotland, 101, an increase of 8; east coast of Scot- land, 127, a decrease of 22; other parts, 214, a falling off of 27—total, 2,551, or 69 more than that of the previous year.

The loss of life caused by the 4,124 casualties, all descriptions of casualty being taken into account, and being distributed to the various localities and districts previously given, were as follows:—East coast of England, 273, or 188 more than in 1900-1; south coast of England, 23, or 15 less than the previous year; west coast of England and Scotland, and east coast of Ireland, 87, a very large decrease of 112 as compared with the preceding twelve months; north coast of Scotland, 14 or 21 less than in 1900-1 ; east coast of Scotland, 55, whereas there were only 3 during the previous year in this locality; other parts, 175; total, 627.

It will be found, on reference to the chart of the United Kingdom, issued each year, that a black dot is entered against each spot on the coast where any serious shipping casualty occurred B 3 10 THE LIFE-BOAT.

[1st FEBRUARY, 1904.

during the year ended the 30th June, 1902, as well as the exact position of each of the 289 Life-boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. It will thus be seen at once that the Life- boats have been placed where they are likely to render the best service..

Between the year 1861 and the 30th June, 1902, as many as 6,342 British, Colonial, and Foreign vessels were wrecked on or near our coast, involving in every case loss of life, the total number of lives which perished as a result being 27,432. Of the 627 lives lost during the year 1901-2, 483 were from British and Colonial vessels, and 144 from Foreign vessels. On com- paring these figures with the corre- sponding totals for the previous year, an increase is shown of 131 lives lost from British and Colonial vessels, and i a large increase (more than double) of 74 lives from Foreign vessels. Of the total lives lost (627), 135 were lost in foundered vessels, 60 in collisions, 237 in stranded vessels (an increase of 112), 134 in missing vessels (a large increase of 98 as compared with the year 1900-1), 61 in explosions, washed over- board, etc. It is worthy of notice that only 48 of the 627 persons drowned in the year 1901-2 were passengers, 579 of those drowned being officers or members of the crews of the vessels. ; It goes without saying that the number of vessels meeting with casualties | on the coast of the United Kingdom varies, sometimes considerably, from year to year. The following table furnishes the statistics for the last 49 years :—1854 (last six months), 458 : 1855, 1,141; 1856, 1,153; 1857, 1,143; ;' 1858, 1,170 ; 1859, 1,416 ; 1860,1,379 ; 1861, 1,494 ; 1862, 1,827 ; 1863, 2,001 ; 1864, 1,741 ; 1865,2,012; 1866, 2,289; 1867, 2,513 ; 1868, 2,131 ; 1869, 2,594 ; I 1870, 1,865 ; 1871, 1,927; 1872, 2,381; 1873 (first six months), 1,206; 1873-4, ! 2,191; 1874-5, 4,259; 1875-6, 4,554; 1876-7,5,017; 1877-8,4,436; 1878-9, 3,716; 1879-80,3,138; 1880-1,4,297; 1881-2, 4,367 ; 1882-3, 4,363 ; 1883-4, 1 4,405; 1884-5, 3,764; 1885-6, 3,596; 1886-7, 4,224; 1887-8, 4,004; 1888-9, 4,272; 1889-90, 4,344; 1890-1, 4,198; 1891-2, 4,710; 1892-3, 3,499; 1893-4, 4,951 ; 1894-5, 4,917; 1895-6, 4,620; 1896-7, 5,277; 1897-8, 4,964 ; 1898-9, 5,040; 1899-1900,4,067; 1900-1,4,008; 1901-2, 4,124. Total, 157,163.

It is lamentable to find, on examina- tion of the Board of Trade's " Abstracts" for the last 49 years, that during that time as many as 31,271 persons perished from shipwreck on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom; but notwith- standing this terrible sacrifice of human life, it is consoling to know that had it not been for the excellent rescue work done by the Life-boats and crews of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITU- TION, and the means used and recognised by it, that number would have been considerably more than doubled, inas- much as the total number of lives saved by these means during the same period was 33,900, those saved thus exceeding the number who perished by 2,629.

The Board of Trade continues it* excellent work with the rocket appa- ratus, its 309 stations being admirably manned by H.M. Coastguard, and by rocket brigades. The number of lives saved by this means during the year 1902-3 was 235, an increase of 32 as compared with the preceding year.

Having regard to the great and important national work of life-saving rendered to the country every year, and through such a long series of years, by the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, the Committee of Manage- ment earnestly appeal to the British public for increased and sustained financial support, without which it will be impossible for them to continue to maintain the Life-boat service in the high state of efficiency which, ag acknowledged on all hands, it has now reached..