THE urgent appeal which the Prince of Wales made in his Presidential Address for increased financial support of the Life-boat Service was taken up at once in the Press, and a number of papers supported and reiterated the appeal in their editorial columns.

Among these papers were The Times, The Daily Telegraph, and The Daily Chronicle, in London ; and in the pro- vinces, The Eastern Daily Press, The Bristol Evening News, and The North- Western Daily Mail. We print below in full the leading articles which ap- peared in The Times and The Daily Telegraph:—• The Nation's Life-boat*.

" There were two specially notable features in yesterday's annual general meeting of THE ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE- BOAT INSTITUTION—the Prince of Wales's Presidential address and the presenta- tion of medals to the Coxswain and crew of the Fishguard Life-boat. In all the pages of the Life-boat Service's book of golden deeds it would be difficult to surpass the story of the rescue of the crew of the Dutch steamer Hermina by the men of the Fishguard Boat on the night of the 3rd December, 1920. The seamanship and determination of the Coxswain—who received from the Prince the Gold Medal of the Institu- tion, the Victoria Cross of the Service— and the gallantry and discipline and endurance of every member of the crew, were a stirring example of the qualities which have won for the fisher- folk of our treacherous shores the admiration and the gratitude of all sea- faring nations. For the work of the Institution is universal as well as national. Last year, as the Prince reminded his audience, out of the 180 ships to which the Life-boats put out, thirty-five were foreign vessels, the greater part of them French, and two, with twenty-four men on board, German.

In all, since the Service was started nearly one hundred years ago, 58,000 lives have been saved (more than 5,000 of them during the Great War) by our British Life-boats. To-day, more even than in the days when the Prince's father and grandfather occupied the post of President, there is a pressing need, if the same splendid work is to be continued, of machinery, men, and money. The importance which the Prince himself attaches to the provision of the necessary support was shown in every word of his long and earnest speech. Motor Life-boats, Caterpillar Tractors, electric haulage power, and adequate Slipways and Boat-houses are modern requirements that cannot be dispensed with, and that cost money.

To the public, to the Army, to the great cities, to the shipping community, and to the women of the nation the Prince made a special appeal for willing help.

In the name of ' the glory and the tragedy' of the Life-boat Service it cannot be that he will appeal in vain "— The Times, April 29th, 1921.

The Chivalry of the Sea.

" Since it was founded in the early years of last century, a consistent con- cern for the welfare of THE NATIONAL LiFE-B OAT INSTITUTION has always been evinced by the Royal Family, and in presiding at the annual general meeting the Prince of Wales was carrying on a great tradition. As his speech, reported in our columns yesterday, revealed, his interest in the work of this Institution, foremost in its own sphere throughout the world, is more than formal. His Royal Highness not only began his education as a naval cadet, receiving possibly the finest training of aptitudes and character to be obtained anywhere, but he has travelled far over the seas.

He is able to appreciate the debt which the nation owes to the crews who, with dauntless courage, go forth very fre- quently on dark and stormy nights when unconscious England sleeps ' to rescue those in peril by sea, regardless of the dangers they themselves run, and making no distinction between one nationality and another. In honour of this splendid movement, the Prince of Wales delivered, if we mistake not, the longest address which has ever come from him, and it was likewise a singu- larly effective, and also eloquent, tribute to the heroism of our Life-boat men. It is the peculiar glory of this Institution, with its 246 Life-boats, that it reflects national character and national skill.

Its efficiency, as well as the spirit which animates it, is due in no small degree to the fact that the chilling hand of | bureaucracy has never been upon it.

Those who read the Prince of Wales's ; speech, and it deserves to be read by ; everyone, will understand how it hap- pens that the Institution fulfils its mission so admirably, keeping always abreast of the times, while preserving j the high traditions of the past. It is j always on the look-out for better boats and apparatus ; it has evolved a type of Motor Life-boat which has already been the means of saving many lives j which would otherwise have been lost; it has pressed the caterpillar tractor | of recent war memories into its peaceful ] service, so as to facilitate the launching of boats ; it has utilised the power of electricity; and it is on the point of securing a more effective means of com- munication between the Life-boats and distressed ships. His Royal Highness paid fitting tribute to the men round the coast who, in face of gales, with high winds and mountainous sea, vindicate our claim to be a race of seamen. We must stand by them as they stand by us. They served the nation with splendid loyalty during the war, saving 5,320 seafarers from drowning; and they are still serving it with a fine devotion to the cause of humanity, reminding all and sundry that the brotherhood of the sea is a reality.

' Remember," the Heir Apparent re- marked, ' that when these gallant men lose their lives, there are always widows and orphans to be looked after." In that respect the community has a re- sponsibility which it cannot afford to evade. The work of THE NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION has always lain very near the heart of this island people, and its activities must not be restricted for want of adequate funds. It is neither rate-supported nor tax-supported. It requires less than a quarter of a million sterling annually to meet its needs, so economically does it work. Imagine what it would cost a Government Department to maintain nearly 250 Life- boats round the coast, ensuring that crews are instantly available when a ship is in distress ! It would spend probably not far short of a million pounds, and even then would not do the work anything like so well. As a mere matter of economical insurance this Institution must continue to receive the generous support of the public. The Life-boats must be ready to go out in the teeth of the fiercest gale; they must be well found, well equipped, and well manned. It is a happy thought to establish a Ladies' Life-boat Guild in order to bring into closer union and co-operation the devoted women, not restricted by any means to one class, who, inspired by the example of Grace Darling, render personal service, in one form or another, in this humane cause.

The Duchess of Portland, who has been a friend of the movement for a good many years, has become President of the Guild. This departure furnishes another illustration of the initiative which is shown by those responsible for commending the movement to the great heart of the nation. We must see to it, as a matter of honour, that money is not lacking to maintain a Service which constitutes our acknowledgment, in a partial way, of what we owe to those who go down in ships to the great waters."— The Daily Telegraph, April 30th, 1921..