UNITED STATES.

THE Annual Report for the United States Coastguard for the year ending 30th June, 1915, indicates a new arrangement by which, in accordance with the passage of the Coastguard Act, the principal activities of the Revenue Cutter Service and the Life Saving Service are dealt with sepa- rately from the financial standpoint, although, apparently, they both share in the work of life-saving. The present Report shows that 1,507 lives were saved " or persons rescued from peril " in the year under review. It is, however, very difficult for a British chronicler to be quite sure where the work of the Revenue Cutters ends and that of the Life-Saving Service begins, the whole of the work being so much i concerned with the control of smuggling, illicit fishing, the removal of obstruc- tions to navigation and salvage service.

So far as can be ascertained from the somewhat complicated details of the Appropriations and Cost of Main- tenance, the cost of the Life-Saving Service for the year was $2,406,000, or about £480,000, a figure which is significant of the heavy expenditure necessarily involved where the Life-boat Service is maintained and administered by the Government. The cost of the ; Service maintained by the Institution ] amounts to about £112,000 a year; but it must be remembered that the United States Life-Saving Service in- cludes the provision of the rocket- apparatus which, in this country, is maintained by the Board of Trade. i '. THE NETHERLANDS.

The Annual Report of the Noord- en Zuid-Hollandsche Reddinginatschappij for 1915 states that the Society, which was founded in 1824, now has 34 Life- boats, two of which are motor-boats, and 20 rocket apparatus stations.

More than 4,500 lives have been saved by the Society.

SPAIN.

The Journal of the Spanish Life-boat Society for the quarter ending 30th June, 1916, shows that the number of persons saved by the Life-boats and Rocket Apparatus of this Society since its foundation in 1880 is 1,408, while 9,749 persons have been saved by other means, rewards being given by the Society in all these cases. In addition 103 vessels have been saved by the Society.

The Society now has 45 Life-boats, which are all of the self-righting type.

Two of them are motor-boats, with engines which give a speed of 8 to 9 knots. Two have been condemned as unfit for service, while 4 new ones have been built.

SWEDEN.

The Report of the Swedish " Sall- skapet for Raddning af Skeppsbrutne " for 1915 shows that during that year the Life-boats were launched on seven occasions. On one of these the Life-boat brought ashore the crew of a steamer which had been torpedoed, the crew having succeeded in reaching Bjorn Lighthouse in their own boats.

The new Station on Gottske Sandon apparatus has also been installed at has been provided with a rocket appa- Bjornuabbery.

ratus and one boat, with a second boat The Society was founded in 1907.

to follow as soon as the first, which In addition to the 7 Life-boats mainis of a new type, has been proved tained by the Society there are 12 to be satisfactory. A new rocket ; belonging to the Government..