Two Life-boat launches have taken place this year, those of the Motor Life- boats at Atklow in County Wicklow, and Wick in Caithness-shire.

The Arklow Boat, which is a Self- Righter, 40 feet by 10 feet 6 inches, ! fitted with a Tylor engine developing 40 h.p., was one of the Motor Life-boats : completed before the war. She went ! to her Station in 1914, but it was not until this year that it was possible to arrange for the launching ceremony. It ; took place on the 3rd June, in the pres- ence of several hundreds of spectators.

Lieutenant-Commander Lord George I Seymour, R.N., presided, and the Boat was formally presented to the Branch by the Secretary of the Institu- tion, Mr. George F. Shee, M.A., who represented the Committee of Manage- ment in the unavoidable absence of the Deputy-Chairman, Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt. The Boat was received on behalf of the Branch byits Honorary Secretary, Colonel the Earl of Wicklow, who had made all the arrangements for what proved to be a most successful and im- pressive ceremony—a ceremony which once again showed that even in the midst of civil war in Ireland it was possible for Irishmen, widely separated though they might be by their political ideals and their religious beliefs, still to unite in the humane and Christian work of the Life-boat Service.

As in the cases of the launches at Kingstown and Baltimore last year, there was a double religious ceremony.

The parish priest, the Rev. Father J.

Breen, blessed the Boat and her crew, and the Roman Catholic choir sang " Sweet Star of the Sea." The Church of Ireland clergyman, the Rev. C. Strong, then dedicated the Boat, and the Pro- testant choir sang the hymn " For Those at Sea." When the religious services were finished, the crew, and the two clergy- men with them, manned the Boat, and Lady Caroline Howard gave her the name of John Taylor Cardwett, in memory of the late Mr. Cardwell, by whose generosity she was built.

As soon as the bottle of wine had been broken on her bows the Boat was launched, and the first trip in her was made together by the Catholic priest and the Church of Ireland clergyman.

When Ireland is at last united, the Life- boat might well be taken as one of the symbols of that unity.

Wick and AchergiU.

The new Wick Motor Life-boat left the shipyard at Cowes on the 1st June, to go to her Station by sea, in company with the new Motor Life-boat forPeterhead. She was manned by Life- boat men from Wick, and Commander Drury, O.B.E., R.N.E., Inspector of Life-boats for the Northern District, was in command of the two Boats. It was not until the 22nd June that Wick was reached, very rough weather being encountered nearly the whole way. The Boat arrived at Wick, in fact, after a thorough testing, which she had stood very well indeed. She is a Life-boat of the Watson type, 45 feet by 12 feet 6 inches, one of the largest yet built, and is fitted with a Tylor engine developing j GOh.p. She can carry up to ninety people before her decks are brought awash. ' The launching ceremony took place six weeks after the arrival of the Boat, on the 8th August. The chair at the ceremony was taken by General Lord Home, who was supported by all the leading men of Wick and the neighbour- hood ; and the launch was witnessed by a large crowd, the Town Council having made it known that they would like the day to be observed as a public half- holiday. The new Boat was formally presented to the Branch by Sir John R. G. Sinclair, Bt., D.S.O., on behalf of the relatives of the late Miss Elizabeth Mary Beer, of Selly Park, Birmingham, to whose generosity the Institution was indebted for the Boat; and Colonel Henderson, of Bilbster, Chairman of the Local Committee, accepted her on behalf of the Branch, and expressed their great pleasure at receiving from the Institu- tion a Motor Life-boat of the latest and most powerful type.

After the hymn " Star of Peace " had been sung, the Boat was dedicated by the Rev. N. C. Robertson, and Miss Henderson named her Frederick and Emma,. This name was given to her at the wish of Miss Beer, in memory of the late Mr. Frederick Smith, a ship- owner of London, and of his wife. The Boat was then launched, and made a tour of the bay.

Following the launching ceremony, a Garden Party was held, which had been organized by Mrs. Henderson, of Bilbster, the local President of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, with the help of other members of the Guild. Lord Home, Sir John Sinclair, and Colonel Henderson had all made urgent appeals for increased support for the Insti- tution, Colonel Henderson saying that although the upkeep of such a large Boat would necessarily mean a much heavier annual expenditure, he hoped that, with the help of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, the Branch would not only be self-supporting, but able to contribute to the general funds of the Institution.

The response to these appeals was immediate, a sum of £124 being col- lected, of which £31 was obtained at the Garden Party. The success of the cere- mony was in great measure due to the admirable way in which it had been arranged by the Acting Honorary Secretary of the Branch, Mr. James Stevens, and to the excellent work of Mrs. Henderson and her fellow-members of the Guild..