AN interesting ceremony took place at Horstead Church, Norfolk, on the 18th July, when a memorial window to the memory of the late Sir Edward Birk- beck, for twenty-five years Chairman of the Institution, was unveiled in the presence of Lady Birkbeck, the widow of the late Baronet, at whose expense the window was provided. It is a fine specimen of stained glass work, and represents the call of the first Apostle, the inscription beneath the design being : " When thou passeth through the waters I shall be with thee." Archdeacon Westcott officiated, the hymn, " Eternal Father, strong to save," being sung before the dedication of the window, after which the " Te Deum " was given and the service ended with the General Thanksgiving. The Archdeacon was assisted by the Rev. K. C. Morgan and the Rev. E. H. Goodwin, and there was a large gathering, which included a deputation from the Institution, con- sisting of Sir John Lamb, C.B., C.M.G., the Deputy-Chairman, Commander T.

Holmes, R.N., Chief Inspector of Life- boats and Capt. Sir F. Hervey-Bathurst, Bart., District Organizing Secretary for the South of England.

After the ceremony, Archdeacon Westcott presided at a meeting which was held on the lawn of the Rectory.

He had known few people, he said, who had lived a more fruitful and beneficial life than Sir Edward Birkbeck, and it was only necessary to know of the existence of such a thing as the LIFE- BOAT INSTITUTION in order to wish to support it.

Sir John Lamb, in paying a warm tribute to Sir Edward Birkbeck's memory, especially in regard to his close connexion with the work of the Hksti- tution, said that it was Sir Edward who first led him to work actively for the cause with which his name was so inti- mately associated. He had had the privilege of sailing round the coasts of these islands for five years with Sir Edward Birkbeck as a member of a Royal Commission. When he was done with in the service of the Crown, Sir Edward thought he was not done with for other purposes, and so made him a member of his committee. Sir Edward's life was ah example of generous, un- selfish devotion to a great cause. Like so many other men who really came to the front in the endeavour to do service to their fellow-men, Sir Edward did not find his course a smooth and easy one.

Like other good men, who were better than the general run of us, he was the butt of calumny and malicious innuendo.

For years his administration of the Institution was disgracefully attacked by people who never put their hands in their pockets to help a single human being. Sir Edward waited his oppor- tunity; and at last it came. In the face of opposition, he got a Select Committee of the House of Commons appointed to inquire closely into the administration of the Institution; and that Committee, presided over by a man who had since become a distinguished judge, really gave the Institution and Sir Edward Birkbeck the very finest certificate of character. So the Institu- tion and Sir Edward came out of that Commission with flying colours; and a high official said of it—" I have been present at a great many Committees of the House of Commons, and seen a great many institutions inquired into, but I never before saw an institution come out of it like this." In conclusion, Sir John spoke of the very wide basis of appeal which was made by the Life-boat Institution. He did not know any cause, religious or social, so calculated to draw men together and make them think of each other as brothers.

Commander Thomas Holmes gave an account of Life-boat work in Norfolk, and Capt. Sir F. Hervey-Bathurst also addressed the meeting. On the motion of Mr. M. Falcon, the deputation from the Life-boat Institution was thanked, and on the proposition of the rector, the Rev. V. N. Gilbert, a like compliment was paid to the Chairman.

Coxswain Blogg and Second-Coxswain Balls, of the Cromer Life-boat, in their Life-boat dress, took collecting boxes, and between them they gathered £10 19«.

Cheques amounting to £16 Is. were also forthcoming, making a total of £27..