THE Board of Trade have recently placed in the hands of the public their annual Blue Book dealing with the shipping casualties which occur on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom ; the present number furnishing the relative statistics for the year ended the 30th June, 1905. The information so admirably supplied is of the deepest interest, more especially to those who are in any way connected with the sea, ships or seamen, and it certainly serves to demonstrate the great importance and necessity of the life-saving work carried on year in and year out by the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, which has providentially been for more than three quarters of a century the happy means of minimising in no small degree the loss of life from shipwreck which is always taking place on or near our shores.

It is very desirable, as indeed we do each year, to draw special attention to those tables to be found in the " Wreck Abstracts" which more especially provide statistics affecting the LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION and which are naturally of more than usual interest to those who support it. We now propose to deal firstly. with the shipping casualties which occurred on or near our coasts in the year 1904-5, and then with the lives which were so sadly lost as the result of those casualties.

The total number of the casualties for the year in question was 4,006, happily a decrease of 662 as compared with the corresponding total for the previous year, whilst the number of lives lost in connection with these casualties was 384, a striking increase of 115 over the total for the year 1903-4, when the number of those who perished was 269.

The 4,006 casualties mentioned included every description of accident befalling vessels of all classes, such as founderings, strandings, collisions, missing vessels, etc., and the Board of Trade classifies them as follows : (1) Total loss; (2) Serious casualties; (3) Minor casualties. As regards the cases of total loss and serious casualties, there was a decrease of 154 as compared with the corresponding number for the year 1903-4, the total number being 1,217.

There was also a very considerable falling off in the number of minor casualties, the total being 2,789, or 508 less than in the previous year. The number of casualties in which life was lost was 91, an increase of only three as compared with the preceding year.

As usual the cases of collision constitute a very considerable proportion of the 4,006 casualties, the total of these being 1,509, that is to say, 162 less than in the previous twelve months.

The cases of total loss, excluding collisions, decreased from 269 to 206, and the number of serious casualties was 654, or 14 less than in 1903-4. The total number of minor casualties, also excluding collisions, was 1,637, this number being 423 less than the year before.

Of the 4,006 casualties, 3,593 unfortunately befell British and Colonial vessels and 413 Foreign vessels, the former we are glad to note showing a large decrease of 617 as compared with the year 1903-4 and the latter a substantial decrease of 45 casualties.

The localities of the 4,006 casualties, excluding collisions, were as follows: East coast of England 606, or 133 less than in the preceding year ; south coast, 416, a large decrease of 115; west coast of England and Scotland and east coast of Ireland, 908, also a large decrease, totaling 210 as compared with the year 1903-4; north coast of Scotland, 151, an increase of 26 over the number for the previous year; east coast of Scotland also 151, this total being a decrease of 19; other parts 265, or a falling off of 49 ; total 2,497, or exactly 500 less than in the year 1903-4.

The loss of life resulting from the 4,006 casualties, including every description of casualty, and allotted to the several districts previously mentioned, was: East coast of England, 48, or 19 less than in 1903-4; south coast of England 82, or 36 more (nearly double the total for the preceding year); west coast of England and Scotland and east coast of Ireland 69, a decrease of 5; north coast of Scotland 45, an increase of 24 or more than double the previous year's total; east coast of Scotland 17, an increase of 4; other parts 123; total 384.

It will be seen on reference to the Chart of the United Kingdom, issued each year, that a black dot is entered against each position on the coast where any serious casualty occurred in the year ended the 30th June, 1905, and also the exact spot is indicated in red at which each of the 280 Life-boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION is stationed. These Life-boats are so placed as to be able to give with all possible speed necessary help to the crews of distressed vessels.

Between the year 1861 and the 30th June, 1905, 6,615 British, Foreign and Colonial vessels were unfortunately wrecked on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom, and in every one of these cases loss of life was involved, the total number of lives lost being 28,424.

Of the 384 lives which perished during the year 1904-5, 292 were from British and Colonial vessels, and 92 from Foreign vessels. "When compared with the corresponding figures of the previous year, it is found that they show an increase of 74 as regards British and Colonial vessels and an increase of 41 in connection with Foreign vessels. Of the 384 lives lost, 45 were in vessels which foundered, 87 in collisions, 98 in stranded vessels (a considerable increase of 64), 69 in missing vessels (an increase of 29 as compared with the preceding year), 85 in explosions, washed overboard, etc. It is worth noting that of the 384 lives lost during the year 1904-5, only 16 were passengers, the rest of those who perished being the officers or members of the crews of the shipwrecked vessels.

The number of vessels incurring casualties on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom must necessarily vary from year to year. The following table gives the statistics for rather more than the last half century :— 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; 1870, 1,865; 1871,1,927; 1872,2,381; 1873, (first six months), 1206 ; 1873-4, 2,191; 1874-5, 4,259 ; 1875-6, 4554 ; 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; 1883-4,4,405; 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; 1902-3,4,357; 1903-4,4,668; 1904-5, 4,006. Total 170,194.

On examination of the "Wreck Abstracts " for the last 52 years, it is ascertained that during those years a total of 32,263 lives perished from shipwreck on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom, a terrible record, only mitigated by the consideration, that had it not been for the 35,682 lives saved by the Life-boats of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, and the other means used and recognized by it during the same period, the loss of life would have been more than doubled. It will be noted that the number of lives saved exceeded the number of lives lost by 3,419.

H.M. Coastguard, by means of the rocket apparatus, assisted by the rocket brigades—all ably supervised by the Board of Trade—continue to carry on their excellent life-saving work with great success, and there are now as many as 326 life-saving stations under their care. The number of lives saved during the year 1905-6 by this means was 141, a decrease of 32 when compared with the total of the preceding year.

The Committee of Management of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION feel that the great national work of life-saving which has been so long successfully carried on by the Institution, as evidenced by upwards of 46,000 , lives having been rescued from shipwreck on our coasts, either by the Institution's Life-boats or by the other means which it employs and rewards, fully justifies them in earnestly appealing to the British Public for more encouragement and increased financial support.