ELSEWHERE in this issue will be found full accounts of services performed by the Life-boats at Lowestoft, Gorles- ton, Spurn and Stromness, for each of which the Committee have made special awards of the Institution's medals for gallantry. The service to the s.s. Hopelyn will take a very high place in the Institution's long record of heroism, not only for the great skill and courage shown, but perhaps even more for the repeated efforts made and the gallant refusal to be beaten. The struggle went on for over thirty hours, and in the end was crowned with complete success, every life on board the wrecked vessel, down to the ship's cat, being saved. In this persistence, in spite of failure, the rescue of the crew of the Hopelyn bears some resemblance to the Service to the Hospital Ship Rohilla in 1914, and it is the first service since that one in which two Gold Medals have been awarded.

The point to which I wish to draw special attention is that not only were three of the four Boats concerned Motor Life-boats, but that in each case mechanical power was the dominant factor. Without it the conspicuous seamanship shown in each case would have been unavailing. Even with it, in the case of Spurn, the Life-boat failed to rescue the crew of the wrecked vessel.

But it was through no fault of the Boat or her crew, and the way in which the Coxswain manoeuvred her right over the sunk deck of the smack, a most hazar- dous act, and the way in which he brought her round again when she was swept over the sandbank into the heavy broken sea, show as conspicuously as the other two services the splendid new power which the motor has placed in the hands of that skilful and coura- geous seamanship which has always been conspicuous in the Service.

The Institution and Shipping.

I am very glad to be able to report that, as a result of the prominence given by all the speakers at the last Annual Meeting, and as a result of the special and urgent appeal issued soon after- wards by the Chairman and Deputy Chairman, with the support of Sir William Cory and Sir August Cayzer, the attention of the shipping community has been definitely drawn to the in- adequacy of the support which it gives to the Life-boat Service. The Institu- tion has been fortunate in obtaining the powerful help of the Chamber of Ship- ping of the United Kingdom. I propose to deal fully with this matter in the next issue of The Life-Boat, and I will only say now that the Committee of Management hope that, when the Institution celebrates its Centenary in 1924, we shall already have obtained from the shipping industry of Great Britain the same generous sup- port which in other countries shipping gives to the Life-boat Services.

The Institution and the Merchant Service.

Readers of The Life-Boat will remem- ber the earnest appeal at the last Annual Meeting which Lieutenant Moore, the Secretary of the Imperial Merchant Ser- vice Guild, made to the officers and men of the Mercantile Marine to support the Life-boat Service. In order to bring the Institution into closer touch with the Mercantile Marine, the Committee of Management have invited Captain G. C.

Holloway, O.B.E., R.D., R.N.R., to become a member of the Committee, and Captain Holloway has accepted the invitation. The following particulars of his career are taken from the Dolphin, the monthly magazine of the Imperial Merchant Service Guild, of which Captain Holloway has for many years been a member :— " A most interesting appointment has just been made by the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION as Captain G. C. Holloway, O.B.E., R.D., E.N.R., has now been made a member of the Manage- ment Committee of that worthy Institu- tion. This is the first occasion upon which an officer of the Mercantile Marine has been asked to serve in this important capacity, and his practical experience will no doubt do much to add to the efficient working of the Institution.

Captain Holloway commenced his sea career in the training ship Conway in 1886, and was subsequently apprenticed to the firm of Messrs. Trinder, Anderson & Co., of London. After a voyage as second officer in sail, he joined the P.

and 0. Co.'s service, and was chief officer of the Coromandel, when she was sold in Bombay, and was lent by the P. and 0. Co. to the purchasers as commander of this ship. After some four years on foreign service he returned home and received customary leave.

During this period he delivered several ships in India for the Royal Indian Marine, and received the thanks of Admiral G. H. Hewett, R.N., Director of Indian Marine, for his valuable work in this direction. On several occasions Captain Holloway has displayed con- spicuous gallantry in saving life and holds three separate awards from the Royal Humane Society. After com- manding the s.s. Heliopolis, Captain Holloway entered into business in London as a ship and insurance broker, and personally delivered abroad some eighteen vessels of all types. On the outbreak of the War he was lent to the Canadian Navy and worked under the Commander-in-Chief of the North Atlan- tic and Canadian Government as Naval Transport Officer at Halifax, subse- quently promoted Senior Naval Officer at Montreal. On America coming into the War, he joined the staff of Admiral Sir Lowther Grant, K.C.B., and was latterly promoted to D.N.T.O. (Deputy Naval Transport Officer) Suez and Red Sea ports, from which sphere he was invalided out of the service. For his excellent work in attacking fires, arising out of the Halifax explosion, Captain Holloway was mentioned in a memo- randum to the Governor-General of Canada, and has also been thanked by the Admiralty for his excellent work as Port Convoy Officer at Halifax." A Trawler-Owner's Wealth.

The following paragraph appeared in The Times on 23rd October, under the heading " Fishing Fleet Owner's For- tune " :— " Sir George Frederick Sleight, Bt., of Weelsby Hall, Great Grimsby, fish merchant and fishing fleet owner, who began life by gathering cockles on Clee- thorpes beach, eventually becoming a large owner of trawlers, and who died on 19th March, 1921, aged sixty-eight, left estate valued for probate at £992,147 with net personalty £325,727." We may, I think, be permitted, to express our regret at finding that no recognition is made in the will of the debt which such a business necessarily owed to the Institution, although the trawler industry benefits more directly than any other by the maintenance of an efficient Life-boat Service. Twenty- five per cent, of our services are ren- dered to trawlers and drifters.

Life-boat Days in 1922.

Practically the same number of Life- boat Days was held as in 1921, but the continued industrial depression was re- flected in the smaller amounts obtained in the great majority of places. One of the most noticeable features was the great decrease in the proportion of con- tributions in silver. On the other hand there were several places which had record collections, and several which either revived their Life-boat Days or held them for the first time.

Not only had our appeals to contend with the effects of bad trade and unem- ployment, but also with very bad weather, which affected a great many Days, and completely ruined several.

Our workers have always shown them- selves bravely indifferent to discomfort, but rain, so heavy that scarcely any one will go into the streets, makes collectingimpossible. Hull was one of the place; where the day was ruined, and the Hui Daily News celebrated both the badness of the weather and the devotion of Life boat workers in an amusing cartoon which showed a Life-boat coming through the flood to the rescue of the collectors all but submerged, and crying out " Save the Boxes." * * * * Two facts stand out very prominently from the experience of this year. The first is the value of the Life-boat Day and the importance of continuing this form of appeal in spite of the often-repeated cry that " the public are tired of Life- boat Days." I feel very strongly that we shall now hear this cry less and less, especially when trade begins to revive, for the reason that fewer and fewer street appeals are being allowed by the authorities, who in most parts of the country now grant Days only to the local hospitals and to one or two national charities like the Life-boat Service. The public will cease to " feel tired of Flag Days " when they are only appealed to in this way two or three times during the year, and it must never be forgotten that by means of Life-boat Days we reach many thousands who otherwise would not con- tribute at all to our funds and who, through an experience of these appeals going back many years, have come to expect an invitation in this form to give their support to the Life-boat Service.

# * * * The other and no less important fact is the necessity of developing the Ladies' Life-boat Guild. In a great many places, and notably in London, our appeals were enormously handicapped by the scarcity of collectors, but a most noticeable and encouraging fact has been not only the success of the Days in those places where a Guild had already been formed, but the organisation, in addition to the Day, of other kinds of appeal. I hope to return to this very important subject in the next issue of the Journal, when I shall be able to publish a list, both of the new " uilds and the new Branches of the Insti- tution formed during the year.

Dublin's Achievement.

It will be remembered that last year [life-boat Day was held in Dublin when there was actually fighting going on in the streets, and, in spite of this, raised the splendid sum of £575, an increase of £80 on the previous year. This year again the Day fell at a time of a series of tragic events, although the actual street collecting had fortunately just been com- pleted before the outbreak. The follow- ing is the account sent to the Institution : " I feel sure you will easily understand the delay in letting you know something of the Special Effort, from what you have seen in the newspapers of the terrible times we have had here since the morning of the 28th June. I had intended writing to you that very day, but our activities were cut short by the outbreak of trouble, and it is only now that we are back to something like normal conditions.

" Most fortunately our Flag Days took place immediately before the outbreak, and the Ladies' Envelope Collections were also completed. A good many of our collecting boats, however, were in lotels that were destroyed, and others raided, and in addition we believe a good many works and factories would have made collections from their employees on their pay days of the 30th June and 1st July, but unfortunately their places were then closed, and no communication could be made either by letter or tele- phone until now, and so we fear we have lost the help of a good many who would n ordinary circumstances have sup- orted the appeal. However, I am glad ;o inform you that our gross receipts lave reached £502, as against £575 in 1921, and Major Whewell and the S.E.

Committee think it was a marvellously good result in the face of the terrible circumstances which overtook the latter part of the effort. The Committee and helpers have, thank God, escaped any njury. The little daughter of the managing director of the Hammam hotel, which was subsequently com- pletely destroyed, brought in her col- ecting boat, with nearly £4 in it, the day before the fighting commenced." # # * # The following is an extract from a ;tter fromGreenore, dated 11th October: " During some recent trouble here a own spout on the Life-boat House was damaged by gun fire and requires :pairs." A New Collecting Box.

During last summer we adopted a new collecting box for Life-boat Days in the form of a Life-boat. It is of a very simple and ingenious design, is made of cardboard, and can be very strongly and cheaply manufactured. We owe this box to Mr. P. W. Gidney, the Assistant Secretary, who made over a dozen dif- ferent designs, from which this one was chosen. The advantage of having so distinctive a box, which appeals for itself, is obvious, and it has been much appreciated by our collectors. For the present its use is being confined to the large towns until our stock of the other collecting boxes is exhausted. Mr. Gidney is now designing a smaller box on a stand for members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild to have in their houses.

Honour Among Thieves! Collections on behalf of the Institution were made in the Picture Houses of Man- chester at the beginning of October, and immediately afterwards one Picture House was broken into and extensively burgled. A large safe was cut open, and everything of value was removed— except the Life-boat Collecting Boxes.

These, the conspicuous new boxes in the form of a Life-boat, were standing in the safe, full of money—but they were left untouched ! Exhibitions.

The stall which the Institution took at the Deep Sea Fishing Exhibition at the Royal Agricultural Hall, from 24th July to 5th August, proved a great success. The exhibits aroused much interest, especially the model of a Self- righting Life-boat in a tank, with which visitors were allowed to experiment for themselves, and we are greatly indebted to those ladies who generously gave their time to take charge of the stall.

The sale of literature and the collecting boxes brought in the excellent sum of over £60.

Amalgamated Legacies.

I wish to call special attention to the particulars published under " Inaugural Ceremonies" of the amalgamation of three legacies for the construction of the new Appledore Motor Life-boat. By this means it has been possible to employ at once, in providing a new and powerful Motor Life-boat, three sums of money which otherwise would have had to remain invested for many years before it became possible to use them for the specific purposes for which they were left to the Institution. A similar arrangement has been made in the case of the new Motor Life-boat at Buckie.

Owing to the great increase in the cost of building during the past few years, and owing also to the larger and more expensive types of Boat which are now being designed, the Institution has a number of legacies which are in the same position, and it is earnestly to be hoped that other executors will follow the public-spirited example set in the case of these two Boats, and give the Institution permission to amalgamate legacies. In this way money will be put to immediate and fruitful use in the provision of Motor Life-boats, and the real purpose of benevolent testators realised much sooner than would other- wise be possible.

The New Motor Life-boat at Bembridge.

The provision of a Motor Life-boat for this Station is an excellent illustration of the general working of the whole Motor Life-boat scheme. It illustrates both the increased efficiency obtained, and at the same time the ultimate annual economy which will be effected in return for a large capital expenditure. This expenditure has been larger than usual in the case of Bembridge because, in order to launch the Boat into deep water, it has been necessary to build the House over the foreshore, and to connect it with the shore by a gangway.

Bembridge was chosen for a Motor Life boat because it is the Station from which the area to the east of the Solent can be most effectively protected. At the same time several other Stations have now been rendered unnecessary.

Southsea was closed some time ago.

Littlehampton was closed last year, and it is proposed, shortly, to close both Hayling Island and Ryde. Yet, with four fewer Stations, this part of the coast will be far more effectively protected than ever before, because there are now Motor Life-boats at Bembridge and Selsey.

A Tractor Demonstration.

During the Carnival Week at Bridling- ton last July a special Life-boat Rescue demonstration was given, in which the new tractor for launching played an important part. The demonstration was very realistically carried out. A passen- ger steamer anchored off the town sent up rockets of distress, and the Coast- guard fired the alarm gun. The Life- boat was immediately taken out, drawn by the tractor right through the town, a distance of three-quarters of a mile, and launched. She was afloat twenty- five minutes after the signal had been fired. Two rafts put off from the steamer, and the " shipwrecked " people on board them were " rescued " by the Life-boat. This very prompt and effi- cient demonstration of the new method of launching was witnessed by 20,000 people.

The Dutch Life-boat Service.

On 23rd October, 1921, as was reported in The Life-Boat for February of this year, the Brandaris, one of the five Motor Life-boats on the Dutch coast, was lost with all hands. She and another of the Dutch Motor Life-boats were the largest in the world, although the Life-boat now being built for our own Station at New Brighton will be still larger. Her loss was a heavy blow to the Society, and it is a pleasure to report that the keel of a new twin-screw Motor Life-boat to replace her was laid at Amsterdam this autumn.

Dutch Motor Life-boats.

I have had an interesting letter from Mr. de Booy, the Secretary of the North and South Holland Life-Saving Society, with an account of the Society's plans for building Motor Life-boats. In Hol- land the crude-oil motor seems to be preferred to the petrol motor such as is used in the British service. Mr. de Booy writes : " It will be interesting to see the evolution of two types of Motor Life-boat—British wood and light petrol motors, Dutch iron and heavy crude-oil motors." Gifts from Life-boat Men.

It is with pleasure that I report two generous gifts to the Service from the Life-boatmen themselves. Life-boat Day was held at Sheringham on 3rd August, and the quarterly exercise of the Life- boat took place on the same day. For this the crew and helpers were entitled to receive over £18, the customary pay- ment for the exercise, and they returned the whole of this sum as their contribu- tion to the appeal.

* # * * The crew of the Filey Life-boat have made a donation to the Institution of £5 10s. out of the sum which they received for salving the ketch Clymping in December, 1921.

The "Life-boat Stores Unlimited." Some strange letters come to the Institution, but one would have to search far to find an equal to one which came a short time ago from the Gold Coast. The envelope was addressed to me as Secretary of the " Royal, National, Life, Boat, Instruction," and the letter itself reads exactly as follows :— " 29th April, 1922.

" From V. J. Santo.

via Secondee & Axim Attuaboe.

" To Merssar George.

" SIR,—With much pleasure and good con- dition to inforn you that a friend of mine has been recommended your firms to me about the goods and provisions affair; I beg a friend to allow me your Catalogue for one hour as to quoted many things inside, they refuse to give me because I got store for myself. I would have remitt you £5-0-0 for a trial by this mail, I cant no what I will order from you as to get profit on same. I always deling with Glasgow.

But, the profit is too small. If I see your hand, I will take you as a generally customers for goods and provisions. My Store require many things for my customers. Look the back of the letter for the Samples which I required.

" (Samples.) Cloths, Beads assorted kinds, hooks, Bottens, silk threal; White hand kerchiefs for young mens, silk head kerchiefs, Black Thread, White thread, Marchine thread, needles, pins, Ties, Rubber-Balls for small boys, Whistle for Scout-boys & etc things.

Send one bottle Lovendar as samples to show them.

" I want your Envelope address, Indents forms, price list completed. Awaiting for your favourable reply. One Calendar 1922 require.

" I remain " Yours faithfully indeed " V. J. SANTO.

" via Secondee & Axim " Attuaboe.The Institution in its time plays many parts. Here we see the Secretary as the head of a general provision stores. Some theatres, when the Institu- tion had asked them to hold Life-boat collections, replied that they must refuse until the restrictions on the sale of choco- lates had been removed, evidently under the impression that the Secretary had but to speak and the British Govern- ment would obey. And now the grati- fying discovery has been made that the Institution's influence is believed to extend to the most distant parts of the British Empire.

* * # * In response to the appeal to shipping companies, a letter has been received from an Australian firm, which says : " We are forced to trade here in Aus- tralia under what we may term the iniquitous provisions of the Common- wealth Navigation Act, which, in our humble opinion, will sooner or later strangle shipping on this coast. ... If your Institution could, by their influence, bring some pressure to bear upon the Australian Commonwealth Government, and get the whole of the Navigation Act in Australia repealed, and leave the British Merchant Shipping Act in force here, you would be doing Australia a very great service, and we, ourselves, would be quite willing to contribute to your funds." It is interesting that when we appeal for support, partly on the ground that we ourselves get no help from the State, some people should think that we are just the Institution to help them to get something from it.

Gifts in Memory of the Dead.

A lady recently sent the Honorary Secretary of the Sunderland Branch a gift of five guineas " In loving memory of a dear friend " who had just died, instead of spending the money on flowers. I think that there may be others who will feel in these days of many appeals, that such a gift is the best way of showing love and reverence for the dead.