THE ninetieth Annual General Meeting of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION was held in the Whitehall Rooms on Wednesday, March 18th, 1914, at 3 P.M. The Right Hon. the Earl of Selborne, K.G., presided, and amongst those present were:—The Right Hon.

Lord Airedale, the Right Hon. the Earl of Albemarle, K.C.V.O., C.B., A.D.C.,Sir Godfrey Baring, Bart., M.P., Mr. Robert Birkbeck, V.P., Mr. Harold D. Clayton, the Hon. George Colville, Sir William Corry, Bart., Colonel the Hon. Charles E. Edgcumbe, Colonel William Elliot, Mr. J. Bevill Portescue, Mr. Harry Hargood, Mr. Horace Woodburn Kirby, Admiral Sir Arthur W.

Moore, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., C.M.G., Mr.

Eugene F. Noel, V.P., Captain Robert Pitman, C.M.G., R.N., Captain George B. Preston, Vice-Admiral R. C. Prothero, M.V.O., C.B., Sir Boverton Redwood, Bart., F.R.S., Colonel the Right Hon.

John E. Bernard Seely, D.S.O., M.P., Rear-Admiral Hector B. Stewart, Mr.

P. F. Tower, the Right Hon. Sir Francis Hopwood, G.C.M.G., K.C.B., Admiral Sir F. Inglefield, K.C.B., His Excellency the Norwegian Minister, P. B. Vogt, M. de Saint Jonaury, French Vice- Consul, Vice-Admiral W. F. S. Mann, Lieut.-General W. Pitcairn Campbell, C.B., Dr. G. R. Parkin, C.M.G., Lieut- Colonel F. E. Stuart, Mr. T. Dyer Edwardes, Captain E. Holt Wilson, D.S.O., Captain Vincent Nepean, M.V.O., R.N., Colonel Sir H. Perrott, Bart., Mr. George F. Shee, M.A.

(Secretary of the Institution), Commander Thomas Holmes, R.N. (Chief Inspector of Life-boats), Mr. William Spicer (Assistant Secretary), Commander H. F. J. Rowley, R.N. (Deputy- Chief Inspector of Life-boats), Lieut.

Hall, R.N., and Captain A. C. Gust.

The CHAIRMAN, in opening the proceedings, said : My first duty is to present the Report which you all have in your hands. Before making any observations upon it, I am sure you would wish me to express our great regret that both the Chairman and the Deputy- Chairman of the Institution are prevented by illness from being here this afternoon.

In the case of Lord Waldegrave it is a sudden chill, and the doctor absolutely forbade him to come out. In the case of Sir John Lamb I am afraid that his illness has been of a more serious nature. You know what a tower of strength he has been to this Life-boat movement —(hear, hear)—and you would wish, I am sure, to express to-day your earnest hope for his complete recovery. (Hear, hear.) On this occasion you always wish to remember and thank the members of the governing body of this great Institution and their officers for the work they do during the year. To those who have given many years of work it has been a labour of love, but of love that has been very prolific in its results.

The Institution has also had the advantage of being served by a very competent staff. With regard to the building of boats. Everything in a moment of crisis depends on the fact that the material with which you provide your Life-boat crews should be of the very first quality. (Hear, hear.) It is a familiar feature to students of foreign politics that every Government from time to time finds itself confronted with the necessity of renewing its implements of war. My friend Colonel Seely is only too familiar with the fact I am going to mention. Guns become obsolete. That is to say better guns are in existence or better rifles are in existence than the ones with which the army is furnished.

It is never possible always and at the same time to have the very latest pattern of lethal weapon. But it is the desire of all Governments to give their soldiers and also their seamen the best guns and the best ships for the purpose of taking life when necessary.

It cannot be less important that this Institution should always endeavour to keep the material with which it provides its crews up to the very latest and best pattern—(hear, hear)—so that there can be no excuse for the loss of life either of the crews of the ships in distress or of the men who man the Life-boats, arising from the fact that the boats with which they have been supplied, and the equipment of those boats, are obsolete or defective. But that demands a constant and immense expenditure to keep this vast paraphernalia of life-saving all round our coasts in a state of the utmost efficiency and, as far as possible, of the latest pattern and equipment. There is an instance in the Report to-day of this necessity. The motor Life-boat has made its appearance as part of the fleet of this Institution, and doubtless it has come to stay. Even those of us who have no practical knowledge of the sea, can easily realize the great advantage of the motor boat in certain circumstances. Now, the motor boat implies a costly machine. It also implies a trained mechanic as part of the Life-boat crew. And the cost, as you will see in the Report, is not less than 3,0001.

Any large multiplication of the motor Lifeboats —and multiplication must come in the future—will at once run into very high figures. For what is the fleet composed of at the present moment? No less than 275 vessels of all kinds. And the motor epoch only just commencing.

It is not only the fleet, or the equipment of the fleet which has to be considered, as I know from experience last year. You have not done with the Navy when you have built a ship. You have not done with the paraphernalia of life-saving when you have bought Life-boats. There is a Works Department connected with your Institution. You require boathouses in which to keep your boats. You require slipways on which to launch them; and,indeed, if you will look in the Report, you will see that in one case at least it has come to this, that you have to provide houses for the crew of the Life-boat. You see also in the Report how the constantly increasing work of the Institution has made it necessary to buy additional land in London for your stores—your dockyard, if I may call it so.

Therefore, anybody who merely thinks of the work of this Institution or of its existence in connexion with the provision of a certain number of boats—well, his imagination is very inadequate to the task it has to perform. The more you look into the equipment, the organization and the maintenance of a work so great as this and on so great a scale, the more you will be impressed with the vast attendant expenditure.

Occasionally there is an element of personal expenditure, too. This Institution cannot allow the widows and orphans of men whose lives are lost in the service of saving life to be cast penniless into the world. Therefore provision has to be made for them. Happily this is not one of the largest items of expenditure.

But it is the human side of your work which should never be forgotten by the subscribers and ought-to-be subscribers to this Institution. But I know it has been urged that this Institution is the owner of vast sums of money. Well, the invested sum is very large, though if you look at your Report you will see that it is much smaller to-day than it was a year ago because, very properly and wisely, I venture to think, the value of the stocks and shares has been written down to the actual value at which they stood on the 31st December last. But even so, the sum remaining is a very large one. Well, but how can a work such as this possibly be carried on without it ? Fancy, if the whole of the life-saving apparatus on our coast, the national credit for humanity, was to depend only on the voluntary offerings of a single year. There is also the possibility of a great fall in these voluntary offerings owing to some calamity, such as war, or any other disaster. Therefore, I think that the fact of these funds having been accumulated is nothing but a proof of the prudent and wise management of this Institution in times past.

The interest, of course, is available towards the yearly expenditure. What I would like to impress upon the public is this: that that interest is by itself wholly insufficient to meet the necessary expenses, because the commitments are so large and the scale of operations of this Institution is so large. There must be an appeal to the public for subscriptions and donations; and, indeed, if it had not been for the windfall of legacies which came to the Institution last year, it is not certain that the Committee would have been able to fulfil all their obligations without drawing upon their reserve fund.

But what is the cost? What is the total annual cost for which this work is done ? 110,0002. a year. A large sum. But is it large in comparison with the field of operations or of the results achieved ? A national Lifeboat Service covering as far as possible all the necessities of the British Isles. Is that National Service dearly paid for at the cost of 110,0002. a year. Now, fortunately, I am able to offer you a comparison. In the United States of America the Life-boat service is a State affair. It is run by the Government at the present time. The number of Life-boats is approximately the same, and yet the cost in America is very nearly four times as great per annum as that 110,0002. which your Institution pays every year.

There are ways in which help can be given other than by donations or subscriptions in money. Mr. Arnold Morley, for instance, has presented the Institution with the price of a motor boat for St. Mary's, Scilly; Mr. Dyer Edwardes has presented another motor boat for Fraserburgh; whilst Mrs. Lowe, for many years resident in Newcastle, is giving a motor boat to be placed at Tynemouth in memory of her husband.

Now here is an example which might be followed. There are many people in this country, an ever-increasing number, to whom 3,0001. is practically nothing. What a chance there is here for any man or woman who has that ample means at his or her disposal to present a motor Life-boat to the Institution! Six are now in construction, and six are wanted. There are six opportunities for the philanthropic.

Boats are wanted for Arklow, Baltimore, Blyth, Teesmouth, Wexford, and Wick ; and I should like to put this great chance before those who are in a position, to take advantage of it.

We are met to-day under sadly dramatic circumstances connected with the work of this Institution. Last year was one of the worst years for wrecks, and splendid work was done by the boats of the Institution. I think I am right in saying that last year, happily, there was no loss of life of crews on service.

But in this new year only the other day, as you know, there was a terrible disaster on the Wexford coast. The Norwegian schooner Mexico went ashore on one of those rocky islets off the coast. The Eethard Life-boat with a crew of fourteen men went out to the rescue in what, as far as I can gather from the accounts in the papers, must have been about as bad a gale as ever raged even on that coast. The boat was smashed to pieces on the rocks, nine of the crew were drowned, and five, most happily, were thrown actually on the rocks or were just able to scramble on to them. And these five on the rock were able to help to rescue the whole of the crew of the Mexico, because they were able to make fast a line which was passed from the mast of the Mexico to some portion of the rock, and the whole of the crew of the Mexico passed down that rope from the schooner to the rock. So that even at the moment of disaster to the boat and the sacrifice of the lives of nine of their mates, the five survivors were able to accomplish the purpose for which the Life-boat had set forth. (Cheers.) Nor was that the end of the rescue. It was only the beginning of it. Very nearly three days elapsed before the other Life-boats from the adjoining stations were able to take the crew of the Mexico and the five surviving Life-boatmen from off the rock. It was indeed a noble example of what the men who man these boats, no matterwhether they be Irishmen, Englishmen, Scotchmen, or Welshmen, can do, and what they will do, when the hour of trial comes.

(Cheers.) And, ladies and gentlemen, it has been a happy thought of the Governing Body of this Institution to invite to this meeting representatives of your crews. These gentlemen, with whom I hope presently to have the honour of shaking hands, were all last year recipients of the Silver Medal of the Institution.

Therefore there is no presentation of these medals to take place to-day; but I think it was a happy thought to bring into contact in this room what I may call the partnership of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. You are the representatives of those who find the funds. These gentlemen are the representatives of the men who give life to the body which you provide. (Cheers.) You provide the body of the Institution; these men provide the life and the soul. And those of us wno cannot participate in the actual work of saving life, regard it as a pleasure and a privilege to meet here to-day these representatives of those who do. (Cheers.) The Report is now presented, and I will ask the Secretary to read the names of those proposed to fill the offices of President, Vice- Presidents, Members of the Committee of Management, and Auditors.

The SECRETARY read the names, as follows:— President.

His Grace the Duke of Northumberland, K.G.

Vice-Presidents.

His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, G.O.V.O.

His Grace the Duke of Norfolk, K.G., G.C.V.O.

His Grace the Duke of Leeds.

His Grace the Duke of Portland, K.G., G.C.V.O.

The Most Hon. the Marquis of Ailsa.

The Bight Hon. Lord Viscount Olifden.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Rosebery, E.G., K.T.

The Right Hon. the Earl Waldegrave, P.O.

The Right Hon. the Earl Brassey, G.C.B.

Sir John Cameron Lamb, C.B., C.M.G.

Robert Birkbeck, Esq.

Eugene F. Noel, Esq.

Treasurer.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Harrowby.

Committee of Management.

The President.

The Vice-Presidents.

The Treasurer.

The Right Hon. the Earl Waldegrave, P.O., V.P., Chairman.

Sir John Cameron Lamb, C.B., C.M.G., V.P., Dep uty-Chairman.

The Right Hon. Lord Airedale.

The Right Hon. the Earl of Albemarle, K.C.V.O., C.B., A.D.C.

Sir Godfrey Baring, Bart., M.P.

Admiral the Right Hoa. Lord Charles W.

De la Poer Beresford, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., M.P.

Admiral Claude E. Buckle.

Charles J. P. Cave, Esq.

Kenneth M. Clark, Esq.

Harold D. Clayton, Esq.

The Hon. Geoige C. Colvilte.

Sir William Corry, Bart.

The Eight Hon. the Earl of Derby, G.C.V.O., C.B.

Colonel the Hon. Charles E. Edgcumbe.

Colonel William Elliot.

Sir Robert Uniacke Penrose FitzGerald, Bart.

John Bevill Fortescue, Esq.

Lieut. H. T. Gartside-Tipping, R.N.

The Right Hon. Viscount Hambleden.

Harry Hargood, Esq.

Horace Woodburn Kirby, Esq.

Admiral Sir Arthur William Moore, G.C.B., G.C.V.O., C.M.G.

The Right Hon. Arnold Morley.

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Gerard H. U. Noel, G.C.B., K.C.M.G.

Captain Robert Pitman, C.M.G., R.N.

Captain George B. Preston.

Vice-Admiral Reginald Charles Prothero, M.V.O., C.B.

Sir Bovertou Redwood, Bart., F.R.S.

Engineer Rear-Admiral Charles Rudd.

Colonel the Right Hon. John E. Bernard Seely, D.S.O., M.P.

Rear-Admiral Hector B."Stewart.

The Admiral Commanding Coastguard and Reserves (Vice-Admiral Sir Arthur M.

Farquhar, K.C.B., C.V.O.) The Deputy Master of the Trinity House (Captain Herbert Acton Blake).

The Hydrographer of the Admiralty (Rear- Admiral H. E. Purey-Cust, C.B.).

J. Herbert Thewlis, Esq.

Alfred G. Topham, Esq.

Francis Ktzpatrick Tower, Esq.

Sir Philip Watts, K.C.B., F.R.S.

Sir Richard Henry Williams-Bulkeley, Bart.

Sir Allen W. Young, C.V.O., C.B.

Aiiditors.

Messrs. Price, Waterhouse & Co.

The CHAIRMAN declared these noblemen and gentlemen elected, and called upon the Secretary to read a brief record of the services for which Silver Medals had been awarded to the following:— Captain H. E. Burton, R.E. and Coxswain Robert Smith, Tynemouth; Anthony Nixon, Coxswain, Cambois ; Wm. Stephenson, Coxswain, Boulmer; Robert Burgon, Coxswain, Berwick-on-Tweed; James Smith, jun., Coxswain, Port Patrick. The record of service was received with loud applause in each case, and the Chairman warmly shook hands with the six recipients of the Silver Medal.

Colonel the Right Hon. J. E. BERNARD SEELY, D.S.O., M.P., said : I am privileged to move this resolution, " That this meeting, fully recognizing the important services of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION in its national work of life-saving, desires to record its hearty appreciation of the gallantry of the coxswains and crews of the Institution's Life-boats, and gratefully to acknowledge the valuable help rendered to the cause by the Local Committees, Honorary Secretaries, Honorary Treasurers and Ladies' Auxiliaries." My speech has been made for me by the record of services of the gallant men with whom our Chairman has just shaken hands.

Nothing could have been a happier thought, I think, than to bring to this meeting six of the men who have earned the high award of the Silver Medal for their services. I should like, on behalf of this meeting, to congratulate them on receiving this high award, and to convey to them our sincere appreciation of the great example they have set, not only to the Life-boat Service, but to the nation at large. (Cheers.) This great service—the Life-boat Service, to the principal movers of which I now move this vote of thanks—is happily a unified force in our national life. It unifies even the nations. We are glad to see here to-day the Norwegian Minister, one of whose vessels was the cause of that gallant service to which the Chairman so eloquently referred; and I may perhaps be permitted to voice the opinion of those present, and of the whole Institution, in telling His Excellency how greatly we appreciate his presence here to-day, and also, especially the interest which Their Majesties the King and Queen of Norway have taken in our own Life-boat Service, the unprecedented honour they have done us in sending a subscription to our funds, and the unprecedented honour the Norwegian Parliament has done us in voting a subscription to our Institution.

(Cheers.) And if this Life-boat Service unifies nations, it also unifies political parties. The fact that my friend Lord Selborne is in the Chair, and that I do not see eye to eye with him on all political matters is, perhaps, an indication of that. I have been in many Life-boats myself all round the coast, and I have observed that they are not confined in their personnel to one political party. Indeed, I remember one occasion not long before the South African War in which a violent political dispute took place in the Life-boat, during which, I feel bound to say, I was very nearly thrown overboard. I will not venture to say which side I was on on that occasion.

(Laughter.) It unifies us where other questions divide us. There is no question whatever of voluntary or compulsory service; or, indeed, of a State service. It must be a voluntary service in so far as the people themselves are concerned, and the striking figures which the Chairman gave us as to the cost in this country and in the United States would, I think, make this country hesitate long before it decided to convert our excellent ROYAL NATIONAL, LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION into a State service without much more information than we have yet got to show that it could be better done under the guidance of the State.

(Hear, hear.) And also it unifies—and this is a thorny subject—men and women, now, unhappily, in some respects divided. I saw the Secretary of the Institution, Mr. Shee—whose services I am sure we all gladly acknowledge —and asked him to give me particulars of one of the most excellent services rendered, apart from those which he read out, and he drew my notice to the case of the great wreck —it was great in that the services rendered were great—when the Cresswell and Newbiggin Life-boats were launched with the assistance of the women and saved nineteen lives. Without the help of the women, it is almost certain that the Cresswell boat could not have been launched. They waded almost up to their necks in water in the teeth of a tremendous gale. And it is true to say that throughout our Service, in these lonely villages where often Life-boats are stationed, and where practically every able-bodied man is required to man the Life-boat, without the help of the women the service could not be performed. So here we have a service where men and women have got to work together, and do work together without any thought of any kind as to who shall have the greater share in the political power of manning the Life-boat. These things fall into their natural sequence where it is a question of manning a Life-boat; for while the women do what they can, the men must of necessity man the Lifeboat themselves. But we must not forget in this respect that there was once a lady named Grace Darling.

Finally—and if I speak briefly I am sure you will know that it is not because I do not feel deeply—it unifies men of all religions. It unifies Catholic and Protestant. I suppose in all the long annals of the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION there has been no more striking event than the rescue of the wrecked crew of the Mexico, to which our Chairman referred. The decision which had to be taken by the Fethard Life-boat was one of life and death to them. It was clear that unless they could get between the wrecked ship and the reef, their chance of saving the lives of the men on board was hopeless. To do so was well-nigh certain death. But there was a chance. They took that chance, and nine men perished.

But, as the Chairman pictured it, it was the five survivors who rendered possible the ultimate rescue of the crew of the wrecked ship. I inquired from the Secretary as to what this gallant crew was composed of, and I found that there were both Catholics and Protestants there. So we see that even in the presence of death, in face of the great appeal of humanity, Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, no less than in England, know how to answer that appeal, and know how to die together in its service. (Cheers.) Dr. G. B. PARKIN, C.M.G.,in seconding the resolution, said: I am afraid that I am not exactly the person who should second this motion, because I have not myself the same familiarity with the saving of life that many others might have. But I have had many opportunities and perhaps exceptional experience in voyaging in a great many parts of the world, and the relation of this country to the sea has been as much impressed upon me as it could be upon anybody else. As one looks round in these congested cities of our manufacturing country, one begins to have some doubts whether this process of change, which has made England the workshop of the world and has turned the greatest proportion of its industry into the management of machinery, turns out as well in producing that strength of body and mind and character which is produced by the constant struggle with the stirring forces of nature. Now I do not think that anybody can look over a record such as that which you have year Captain H. E. Burton, R.E.

after year in the Report of the Life-boat Institution, without feeling that here, at any rate, you have the feeding ground in which the type of man is produced who built up this great Empire in the past. (Hear, hear.) No nation in the world depends upon the sea as much as we do. This year fifty-two million sterling had to be voted merely to supply the Navy that protects the vast commerce of this great Empire in every part of the world.

There are about 150,000 men in the Navy, while in the Merchant Service we probably have some 250,000 men facing every day the risks of the sea in order to carry the commerce, supplying this country with the food and luxuries which come from every part of the world, and furnish that wealth which has built us up the richest and most prosperous community the world has ever seen. If there is any cause that can appeal to the individual citizen, to the wealthy merchant, to the people who enjoy the luxuries of life, and to the people who draw from the sea the vast resources which enable them to live in this country as they do, it seems to me that this must be the one thing. It is the one thing which should receive the very heartiest and warmest support from all who consider what our national position is arid upon what the interests of their lives depend.

There is no people in the world who travel by sea as much as the English people. I have travelled over almost all the oceans of the world and upon almost every steamship line in the world. And of the people who crowd these liners 75 per cent, are people that belong either to these islands or to the countries which are the offspring of these islands. Therefore the interest is a permanent interest. It goes on from day to day. We have built up the greatest Empire that the world has ever seen, and for a hundred years, since Trafalgar, we have held command of the sea and the safety of the sea. The years have seen the growth of a wonderful race of men who have learned to master the mysteries of the sea and to control its powers. And the least we can do, who stay here at home and enjoy the fruits of wealth and prosperity, which are the results of our sea-borne trade, is to give all the support we can to those men who are ever ready to risk their lives for their fellowmen.

We should give our national support and our individual support to the strong and sturdy and disciplined men who are in the service all round our stormy coasts, who, when there is danger, draw people out of the peril that they are in. I do hope that this work will be extended and expanded. It is a great national and personal duty. It is the duty of obligation to people who risk their lives in the service of their fellow-men. (Applause.) Speaking in support of the resolution, His Excellency P. B. VOOT, the Norwegian Minister, said: I am really most thankful for the words Colonel Seely addressed to their Majesties my King and Queen, and the Norwegian Parliament and my compatriots.

And I am also most thankful to have been given the opportunity of giving expression today to the feelings which are prevalent in my country towards this splendid Institution and towards the men who work in its service.

Colonel Seely mentioned that a grant had been made by the Norwegian Parliament to the relatives of the Fethard Life-boatmen, and I should like to add that a similar grant will soon be forwarded which has been collected by private subscription in Norway.

(Applause.) They are small sums, and are not according to the style of living in London, but they may in a way mark a new departure in the force of international friendship, and from that point of view I think we have to look at it. We are rightly proud of our civilization and its great progress, even if some of us may find that the materialistic side of it is sometimes too predominant. But there are fundamental virtues which lift people and nations higher. I venture to class amongst them, in the first rank, the will and power of self-sacrifice. The man who gives his own life willingly to save that of another, the man who sets small value on his own life and great value on the life of another; these are the men to whom we all bow. To them I want to pay a special homage, thinking now of that fearful disaster on the Irish coast which caused the loss of so many lives of gallant and brave men in their attempt to save my compatriots.

In my country we have a similar Institution, though there is a striking difference in the ways and means. Some twenty years ago I had the privilege to be one of the delegates at a meeting which founded a Life - saving Institution in Norway, after thinking of all that had been done here for generations in Great Britain. But we very soon found that it would be impossible to start on the same lines. Not only is my country a very poor country, but it has a tremendous coast-line. And the very shape of that coast does not lend itself to the establishment of stations with Life-boats and rocket apparatus. We had to begin from another side, to start with small sea-going vessels which could go out in all weather where they could save life; and a great discussion arose whether we should start with sailing or with steam vessels. After a time a decision was come to to build two small sailing-boats. These boats were to be first class in every respect, and the cost was 5001.

The first one was built by a Scotchman settled in Norway, and was named after him. It went up to the farthest north of Norway in 1894.

One day soon after its arrival a real hurricane was blowing on the shore. Messages came that a number of vessels and boats were in danger.

Not a single steam boat ventured to leave the harbours, and that tiny craft in the teeth of a terrible gale went out and saved on that day from several ships and boats thirty-six lives.

The discussion ceased after that, only sailing boats being built by the Society, and we have now got twenty of them. It is not much, and I feel rather ashamed in confessing, by way of comparison, after what has been said here to-day, that the whole expenditure of the Society during twenty years has been 70,OOOZ. Still, they have saved nearly 2,000 lives. (Cheers.) The greatest number is saved from small boats and vessels and a much smaller number from big vessels, although they are also numbered in some hundreds. Before I finish I may perhaps add that a special service, which would not come within the service of Life-boats in this country, is performed by the Captains of our boats, and it is clearly stated in their instructions.

Whenever necessary the boat has to go out to fetch the clergyman, the doctor, or midwife, and in this way I think no small number of lives has been saved. (Applause.) The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution, which was carried unanimously.

Sir GODFREY BARING, Bart., M.P., in moving a vote of thanks to the Chairman, said: In the most unfortunate absence of Lord Waldegrave owing to indisposition, it is my high honour and privilege to be allowed to move the last, but by no means the least, resolution upon the Agenda. It would be the height of impertinence for me to attempt any eulogy on the speech which Lord Selborne made. But I hope he will allow me very respectfully to say this, that in its long history the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION has always been peculiarly fortunate in its choice of Chairmen at its Annual Meetings, but we have never been more fortunate than we have to-day in welcoming Lord Selborne and listening to the admirable speech he made. It will be an encouragement to all of us on the Committee and to those who serve the Institution in various ways to go on with our work, and to make it even more efficient than it has been in the past. The Annual Report is a satisfactory account of the work which has been done during the past year. It is a work not only of national importance but also, as proved by the presence and speech of the Norwegian Minister, of international importance. Of the various matters in the Report one of the most striking and most salient facts is that the Institution has been enabled by the work of its crews to rescue over 51,000 lives since it started its proceedings in 1824. This figure is larger than the population of a great many towns, and it is the result of the free and voluntary work of free men.

I hope I may, on behalf of the Committee, thank Lord Selborne for the kind words he used with regard to our Vice-Chairman, Sir John Lamb. It is not too much to say that Sir John has given up his whole life of recent years to the work of the Institution. (Hear, hear). It is only those who have had the privilege of service with him who know how much the Institution owes to his great ability, his genial tact, and wonderful devotion to the work of the Institution at all times and in, all seasons. There could hardly be a greater disaster than that we should be deprived of his services, and we hope that he will soon be once more with us and taking part again in our deliberations on the Committee. (Hear, hear.) Last year was not a year of exceptional storm and stress, but the beginning of this year has been saddened by that most lamentable disaster on the coast of Wexford. All subscribers to the Institution would like to know the steps which the Committee took in order, first of all, to rescue the men, and, afterwards, to provide for those who were bereft by the loss of life, and to adequately reward the men who went out in the other boats to the rescue.

Immediately the account of the wreck was received in London on Saturday, 21st February, the Committee requested their Chief Inspector of Life-boats to proceed to the scene of the wreck. He arrived on Sunday afternoon and immediately took in hand the direction of the rescue work with characteristic courage, skill and judgment. He only arrived on Sunday afternoon after a long and tiring journey from London; yet within an hour he was afloat trying to effect a rescue. Nothing could be done, and it was not until Monday morning that it was possible to rescue the survivors. It was, of course, necessary to relieve temporarily the necessities of those who had been dependent on the Lifeboatmen who had lost their lives, and the Committee forwarded the sum of 501. for such immediate necessities. Then there was voted by the Committee of Management the sum of 2,000/. to the Dublin Fund which had been raised for the relatives of those who had lost their lives. The Silver Medal of the Institution was granted to the Coxswain of the Wexford boat and to two other men who had taken a very prominent part in saving the survivors on the rock. Extra monetary rewards were given to the crews of the Dunmore, Kilmore, and Wexford boats and the Wexford tug, amounting in all to about 7501.

And, further, there were rewards granted on a liberal scale to the five survivors of the Lifeboat crew who were brought ashore from off the rock. The captain of the tug was presented with the thanks of the Institution inscribed on vellum for his services, extending over three days and three nights, and, finally, the Committee considered, and I am sure the subscribers will agree, that the splendid work which Captain Holmes did on the scene of the wreck should be adequately recognized by voting to him a Silver Medal and the thanks of the Institution on vellum. (Applause.) I have alluded to the grant so promptly made by the Institution in aid of the dependent relatives of the Fethard Life-boatmen.

The Committee of Management sent their contribution to the fund which had been opened by the City of Dublin Branch, feeling that the fund opened and administered by a representative committee of the capital of Ireland would be, on the whole, in the best position to cope with the duties involved.

Subsequently other funds were opened both in England and in Ireland, and at the present moment an attempt is being made to centralize the funds and prevent, I will not say waste, but a dissipation of power in the organization and administration of several funds. In this connexion an important suggestion has been made in the Press to the effect that the Institution should take over the various disaster funds which exist in different parts of the country, making itself responsible for the annuities or other payments which have a claim upon the respective funds. I may state, on behalf of the Committee of Management, that they would be quite willing to consider such a suggestion if it were put before them by any body of trustees controlling the various funds. But it has always been the practice of the Institution to abstain scrupulously from interfering with the work of those who raise funds in connexion with a special disaster or to attempt to impose any conditions upon them. The Committee of Management would, however, welcome the adoption of any measures which would prevent any such overlapping and dissipation of power to which I have referred, and which would ensure that these funds were systematically applied for the prompt and adequate relief of the bereft.

The Committee listened with very great pleasure to what Lord Selborne said on the question of the presentation of boats to the Institution by charitable donors. Six motor boats are needed, and there are no special funds to provide them. We hope very shortly to offer the thanks of the Institution to some charitable lady or gentleman who is willing to make himself responsible for the cost of a motor Life-boat, and if anybody present will say that they will give one I shall be most happy to sit down. (Laughter.) We are all proud to know that our country is the first maritime nation in the world, but if that is so it is our duty to be foremost in the great and difficult task of saving life at sea. That duty is being performed month after month, week after week, by our crews with courage, resolution and splendid self-sacrifice. Help us to give these gallant men the best boats, the most trustworthy equipment, the most modern appliances that science can devise and that money can buy. Assist the work of this Institution by every means at your baud.

It is a work of which all may be proud; noble in conception, comprehensive in results, it should make an irresistible appeal to every citizen of our great maritime Empire.

(Cheers.) The Hon. GEORGE COLVILLE, in seconding, said : I have very much pleasure in seconding this resolution. I feel that I cannot add any words to what Sir Godfrey Baring said with regard to the feeling of thanks to Lord Selborne for coming here to-day. I should like to add a few words on the general topics in connexion with Life-boats. First of all, people outside the Committee of Management have very little idea of the work which Sir John Lamb has for several years past given to the work of the Institution. (Hear, hear.) I know that he spends hours, often days, of the week in its service, and during the last two months we have been deprived of those services, and we have felt it very keenly indeed.

During the last few days we have noticed the wind howling around the street corners, and I have no doubt that many of us have ] thought of the havoc and destruction which j must be going on around the coast, and the | work which our Life-boats have been doing. | On my way to this meeting this afternoon I saw an announcement that two wrecks had taken place on the coast of the Isle of Wight late last night or early this morning. Our crews are undaunted by loss of life, and how much has been done during the last few days was brought to my mind prominently by the fact that I had to sign sixteen cheques this morning on behalf of the Institution for rewards to the crews of Life-boats for launches which have been made during the last few days. One boat I noticed had been launched on two occasions, the rewards in this case being about 101. I should also like to say that, of course, we, in conjunction with other charities, feel very greatly the difficulties which charities have to encounter in collecting funds. And in this respect I should like to express my regret at some remarks which were made in recent correspondence on the Fethard disaster with regard to our funds, which were described as approaching an enormous figure. It is true that our last balance sheet showed that our invested funds amounted to about 925,0001. But it will be within the knowledge of many in this room that investments of the character in which we are bound by law to invest have suffered from severe depreciation during the last two years, and I am sorry to say that instead of being worth 925,000i., those investments were really only worth some 760,0002. So we felt obliged, in the balance sheet which you have before you to-day, to write down the investments to that amount, with the safeguard that the investments will be revalued every five years in case they should appreciate. We felt that it would operate badly on our efforts to secure fresh subscriptions if our funds -were allowed to remain at a figure which was really incorrect.

I have very much pleasure in seconding the resolution.

Sir GODFREY BASING, Bart., M.P., put the resolution, and it was carried with acclamation.

The Bight Hon. the EARL of SELBORNE, K.G., expressed his thanks, and the meeting terminated.