SPEAKING in the new Parish Church, Ardrossan, on Sunday, September 15th, the Rev. R. P. Fairlie, taking the text Mark iv. v. 41, pointed out that, while several of Christ's disciples were fisher- men, their work was only on a little inland loch, and that as a people, the Jews were not a maritime race. He then proceeded to say :— " But of us it can be said we are a maritime people. The sea is the bulwark of our defence, and it is our means of communication with other lands. And, yet, how little do many of us know of the sea. Perchance, we give little thought to its vastness or to the dangers it holds in store. History, we find, is a record of man's struggle with the sea and its forces, and, whilst we have made great strides in its conquest, yet it is still unconquerable; and, saddest of all, there are the devices of man super- sdded. The day is not far distant when the shipwrecked mariner was left to his own devices. Even when he struggled to the shore, it might be to face death, and certainly to be despoiled of his goods. But now we are learning the way of Christ and we are seeking to save the lives of such. This is the work that the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION seeks to do. Its record is one of which it justly may be proud.

It well may be called ' The Red Cross of the Sea.' In these days of fewer safeguards and greater dangers to navi- gation, our life-boats have been called to greater service. The work has been nobly done, but the tragedy is that, with the increased expense necessarily incurred, the Institution has been faced with a falling income. Who are those whom we are asked to help? They are ' bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.' We have always been proud of our sailors, but even more so are we now. Here is a way in which we can show our appreciation of their dauntless courage. But some of you may say, and I have heard it said, that work such as this should not be left to volun- tary effort. Still we must just face facts as they are. It has been left to our honour, and it is a duty incumbent on us to bring to the needy the help they require. Our sailors go not forth on their own errands, but ours. They brave the forces of nature and the cruel wrath of men, that we and ours may live in comfort and sufficiency. We cannot like Christ ' rebuke the wind, and say unto the sea, Peace, be still,' but we can by our giving, afford help to the weary straggler with the restless sea that he may be brought to his desired haven.'".