THE Institution has substantially increased the annual retaining fees which it pays to the officers of its life-boats, and others who have regular duties to perform. The coxswain's fee, which varied from £24 to £32 a year according to the size of the life-boat, will now be from £52 to £60. The second coxswain's, which varied from £610s. to £8, will now be from £24 to £28, and the bowman's is increased from £2 10s. to £10. Increases have also been made in the retaining fees of those with regular duties on shore—the shore signalman, the shore attendant, the head launcher, the winchman, the lightman, and the tractor driver, and in the payments to crews and launchers for exercise launches.

A new scale of rewards for coxswains and crews has also been drawn up. In future the minimum reward in summer will be 15s. for the first two hours, or part of two hours, and 4s. an hour for each additional hour. In winter the minimum will be £l, with 5s. for each hour after the first two. Previously the scale varied from 12s. 6d. for a service on a summer day to £2 16s. 6d. for a service in the winter when the life-boat was out for part of the day and night.

These changes do not, of course, affect the practice of the Institution of giving increased money rewards for any services which have been specially difficult or arduous. It is estimated that they will add about £10,000 a year to the payments which the Institution makes to its coxswains, crews and launchers.