Two conferences were held in the Southwestern District during January. The first, at Newport, Isle of Wight, was a conference of Life-boat workers in the Island, and the second, at Exeter, of Life-boat workers in Cornwall and Devonshire, Somerset, Wiltshire and Dorset.

The Isle of Wight Conference took place on January 21st, on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Isle of Wight Life-boat Board. The Mayor of Newport (Mr. W. Blake) presided, and he and the Mayoress entertained the delegates to tea after the meeting.

Among those supporting the Mayor were Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Chairman of the Committee of Management and a Vice-President of the Isle of Wight Branch, and Lady Baring, Mr. Aubrey A. H. Wykeham, J.P., Honorary Secretary for the Isle of Wight, Mr.

P. W. Day, Honorary Treasurer, the Hon. Mabel Gough-Calthorpe, Honorary Secretary of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and the Honorary Secretaries of the three Isle of Wight Life-boat Stations.

The Kev. Courtney Shaw presented the report of the Brooke Station, Mr. W.

Couldrey the report of the Bembridge Station, and Captain A. G. Coles the report of the Yarmouth Station. The Honorary Treasurer presented the balance sheet, which showed that for the year ending September 30th, 1927, the Isle of Wight Branches had collected £950 as compared with £905 in the previous year.

An address on the work of the Service was given by Sir Godfrey Baring, who thanked the Isle of Wight for the splendid support which it was giving to the Institution. He mentioned, in particular, the name of Major-General Seely, who, as President of the Isle of Wight Branch, as a member of the Committee of Management, and as a member of the Brooke Life-boat Crew knew everything that there was to know about Life-boat work. Sir Godfrey Baring also thanked, in the name of the Institution, Mr. Wykeham, the Honorary Secretary, and the Honorary Secretaries of the three Stations for their services to the Life-boat cause.

The Mayor proposed a vote of thanks to Sir Godfrey Baring, and in seconding it, Mr. Wykeham welcomed the members of the Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and said that he hoped that such joint meetings of the Branch and the Guild would always be held in future.

Exeter.

The Conference at Exeter was held on January 25th, twenty-seven branches and guilds being represented. Before the Conference several prominent guests were entertained to luncheon by Mr.

and Mrs. A. C. Eeed (Chairman of the Branch and Guild), among those present being Sir Godfrey Baring, Bt., Chairman of the Committee of Management, the Mayor and Mayoress of Exeter (Mr. and Mrs. A. Brock), the Earl of Devon, President of the Exeter Branch, Dr.

Ferris-Tozer, Honorary Treasurer of the Exeter Branch, and Mr. George F. Shee, Secretary of the Institution.The delegates to the Conference, which was held in the Guildhall, were: Captain Prideaux-Brune, Chairman, and Mr. H.

C. Whitehead, Honorary Secretary of the Appledore Branch ; Major A. C. F.

Luttrell, Honorary Secretary of the Axminster Branch; Major W. H.

Grimshaw, Honorary Secretary of the Cullompton Branch, and Mrs. Grimshaw ; Mrs. Macfie, Honorary Secretary of the Dartmouth Branch ; Commander Browning, Honorary Secretary of the Dawlish Branch ; Mrs. Arthur Reed, Chairman, Dr. Ferris Tozer, Honorary Treasurer, and Miss F. A. Howard, Honorary Secretary, of the Exeter Branch ; Mrs. Frost, Honorary Secretary of the Exeter Ladies' Life-boat Guild, and fifty-six members of the Guild ; Captain A. B. Grenfell, Chairman, and Captain C. P. Shrubb, Honorary Secretary, of the Exmouth Branch; Miss Woodcock, Honorary Secretary of the Exmouth Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Mr.

F. C. Pittman, Assistant Honorary Secretary of the Paignton Branch; Mr. C. Shillitoe, Honorary Secretary of the Salcombe and Hope Cove Branch ; Miss Browning, Honorary Secretary of the Sidmouth Ladies' Life-boat Guild; Mr. W. J. Burden, Honorary Secretary of the Teignmouth Branch; Mr. H.

Clayton, Chairman of the Brixham Branch ; Mrs. Clayton, representing the Brixham Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Mr.

W. Ball, President, and Mr. H. C. Slade, Honorary Secretary, of the Torquay Branch ; Mrs. Pethybridge, representing the Bodmin Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Admiral Stuart Nicholson, C.B., M.V.O., Honorary Secretary of the Bude Branch; Mr. R. S. Farran, Honorary Secretary of the Mevagissey Branch; Captain E. P. Hutchings, Honorary Secretary of the Padstow Branch ; Mrs. Gibson, Honorary Secretary of the Truro Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Mrs. Goldie, Honorary Secretary of the Bath Branch ; Mrs.

Engelenburg, President of the Burnham Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Mrs. Ferguson, Honorary Secretary of the Bridgwater Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Captain A. G.

Warren, Honorary Secretary of the Taunton Branch; Mr. W. J. E. Lee, Honorary Secretary, and Mr. H. J.

Norman of the Watchet Branch ; Mrs.

Gee, Honorary Secretary of the Westonsuper- Mare Ladies' Life-boat Guild; Major M. Rawlence, D.S.O., Honorary Secretary of the Salisbury Branch ; Miss Macdonell, representing the Shaftesbury Ladies' Life-boat Guild ; Mrs. Watson, representing the Swanage Branch.

The Mayor's Appeal.

The Mayor presided and extended a hearty welcome to the delegates. Many meetings, he said, had been held in that ancient hall, and some very good causes advocated there, but none, he thought, more worthy than the cause for which they were meeting that afternoon. He was afraid that, in inland towns and cities, there was a danger sometimes of not realising the importance of the work of the Lifeboat' Institution, but when they were at the seaside for their holidays in the summer and saw the Lifeboat launched, or drawn through the streets, it was brought home to them.

In a city such as Exeter, they should be proud to be connected with an Institution that had such a wonderful record of life-saving, and which was so up-to-date in its methods. It was wonderful to see the tremendous amount of useful work done by voluntary organisations all over the country. What, he asked, would their Empire be like if all such good work were paid for ? Sir Godfrey Baring, Mr. Shee, the Secretary of the Institution, and the District Organising Secretary, gave short addresses on different aspects of the work of the Institution, and reports of the working of their Branches were given by Mr. H. C. Whitehead, of Appledore, Major Rawlence, of Salisbury, Mr. W. J. Burden, of Teignmouth, Admiral Stuart Nicholson, of Bude, Captain E. P. Hutchings, of Padsto'w, and Mrs. Gee, of Weston-super-Mare.

A number of matters connected with publicity and propaganda were discussed, and after Mr. Shee had proposed and Major Rawlence seconded a vote of thanks to the Mayor and Mayoress for their help and hospitality, the delegates were entertained to tea by the Mayor and Mayoress. Thus ended a very successful Conference..