that their beloved Queen was an annual subscriber of £50 to it. His Royal Highness, on the renovation of the Life-boat Institution in 1850, was one of the first who appreciated its importance, and, on the application of its Committee, consented at once to become one of its Vice-Patrons. The report also added that at the last meeting of the Institution, Thomas Chapman, Esq., F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair, the following rewards were voted :

£28 10s. to the crews of the Lowestoft and Pakefield lifeboats, which were in connection with the institution, for rescuing, during heavy gales of wind on the 10th and 14th ult., twenty-nine shipwrecked persons from the barque Undaunted, of Aberdeen, pilot-cutter Whim, and lugger Saucy Lass, of Lowestoft. The Lowestoft harbour steam-tug rendered important service to the lifeboat in saving the crews of the cutter and the lugger, and her crew of four men were paid £2 by the institution. It was said that, owing to the very dangerous position in which the cutter and lugger lay on the sands during the gale, if the slightest accident of any kind had happened, or anything had given way, to either the lifeboat or steamer, the two latter must, to all appearance, have instantly gone to pieces. Captain Joachim, R.N., had gone off in the Lowestoft lifeboat on each occasion, and the institution voted to him its third service clasp in admiration of his additional gallant services. Mr. J. Symons, chief-officer of the Coast Guard, was also thanked by the society for proceeding off in the boat.

A reward of £12 was also voted to the crew of the institution's lifeboat at Yarmouth, for saving the crew of ten men from the smack Adventure, of Harwich, which, in a heavy gale, had stranded off Yarmouth on the night of the 3rd ult.

A reward of £15 to the crew of the lifeboat of the society at Caistor, for rescuing, at great risk of life, in a gale of wind with sleet, the brig Lively, of Clay, Norfolk, and her crew of five men on the night of the 14th ult. This service was performed with great difficulty, and was ultimately only accomplished with the help of a steamtug.

A reward of £5 10s. to the crew of the institution's lifeboat at Castletown, Isle of Man, for rescuing the crew of five men of the schooner Eliza Ann, of Dublin, which, during a heavy gale of wind and a high surf, was wrecked off Castletown on the 25th November, The waves on the occasion rolled in like mountains, enveloping the strand with their foam. Indeed, the gale raged with such violence that it was thought impossible for any human agency to render any succour to the distressed sailors. However, the lifeboat did reach the poor fellows, and rescued them just as they were about to commit themselves in their own boat to the boiling elements. This valuable lifeboat behaved admirably, having already been instrumental in rescuing twenty-three shipwrecked persons.

During the same hurricane the schooner Eliza, of Newry, was wrecked in Douglas Bay, when three of her crew unfortunately met with a watery grave during the night. There is no lifeboat at Douglas.

The local residents urgently requested that a lifeboat might be placed at Douglas, as they felt confident that on the fatal night in question she might probably have saved the three men from the lamentable death that awaited them.

Rewards amounting to £30 were Eikewise granted to the crews of the society's lifeboats at Holyhead, Brighton, Fleetwood. Backie, and Bridlington, for either going off with the view of succouring distressed resses, or assembling in stormy weather, in order to be ready for any emergency that might have arisen.

It was reported that during the last two years the Heboats of the instiration had been freesy instrumental in resecing 455 samen from a watery grave. Many of these very men were now probably enrolled amongst our patriote naval coast roinners. In addition to the important services conferred on such a large number of our fellow creatures, probably 1,000 persons have been thus spared by these vabacie trocar services from becoming widows and orphans. Altogether, upwards of 12.200 persons have been, since the establishment of the inscrito, saved from shipwreck by its Decors and other mesos, and for rescuing whom it has granted rewaris.

The inscrition has now nesty 120 Feboars mier is management, and it is earnestly booed the patie will consume to strengthen its hands or keep to us are learing feet, which can mix be thus maintained in a state of efficency.

A gang of 20 we wed in aid of a local subscription for the mier of the widow and organs of a 20ur isterna, named John Gerrard, of Burza Bradstock, near Brinders who persied on the ŽÍNÌ IL. THẾỀ ĐÒy engaged a song de lts of us flow-dshermen, viuse boas tai tea moszed by a beary ground swel.

The nemoral siver metals of the nation. w be presented to de rereseracres of the as Lord C. Seancers. Kr. Wn. Taial and Mr. J. Lee, were ranibited in the meeting. They were presented A ESMOTT Íf the committee's scores.com of the repid and dewiet exertons of the feceased rendemen in utemoung ar save He of Servragi, furing & huncane in the 2nd November last, co 3 Atsu Dey nISOOLY, NE DÒy, persuel, beng swent away y a test surd.

The Dublin and Dundee lifeboat committees had decided to place their several lifeboat establishments under the control of the institution. At both places their four or five boats will require to be replaced by new ones.

Payments amounting to upwards of £1,000 having been made on various lifeboat establishments, the proceedings terminated.

Much satisfaction was expressed at the Club on the successful operations of the institution.

Our seamen, observed the Chairman, may be wanted sooner than is expected by some. This Trent affair has to be settled, eh, Commodore? What is your opinion of the whole case? Is it a toss up?

Almost, replied the Commodore. There are two main points of temptation for Jonathan: Canada is one, sir, and the opportunity which a war with us would afford for clearing himself of the South.

And bad they both are as pretexts for a war with England, added Albert. The South they never will have again; and although they may rush into Canada and do us abundance of mischief there, they will never hold it, Sir. Canada is true to England-true to a man,but left, unhappily, exposed at every turn of the frontier, without the shadow of a navy on the lakes, or a sufficiency of troops to preserve

her.

Yes, rejoined the Commodore, a navy there not allowed by treaty; while the Americans could collect all the materials for one, and by their railways throw them on the frontier whenever they pleased.

But the Americans in this country and France take another view, said the Chairman,-reported to be this

It sometimes seems, to disinterested observers, that Providence is preparing a most tremendous thrashing for this country, just to beat out our arrogance and vanity. Look at those speeches at the Boston dinner. People talk of a "war with England" as though it were a kind of dessert after the substantial banquet we are giving our rebel brethren-a mere bagatelle amusement. War with England is the utter and irremediable ruin of our cause. It is the absolute and permanent independence of the Southern Confederacy. There can be no doubt of that. It is the destruction of our commerce, and perhaps the bombardment of New York and Boston, and other ports. It would be perfect insanity to put the English navy and purse into Jeff. Davis's hands at the present time.

That's a correct view, said the Commodore, in the long run; for no doubt while we should be driving them out of Canada in the spring, our navy would be giving a good account of their ships and their Atlantic frontier. It would be but a short war.

But that Boston dinner

Oh, a little of the glorioso there, but the occasion you know, said the Commodore. On which the Secretary observed that he had thrown the events of the American difficulty, as it was called, into the shape

for the most part, hauled up by hand alone, the numerous boatmen being banded together in companies, and mutually assisting each other in the operation. Here the friction of hauling up is lessened by employing small portable machines consisting of a strong wooden frame with two or three iron rollers fixed in it, which is traversed by the boat's keel, she being held in an upright position by men at her sides. Again, further north, on the still flatter sands of Northumberland, Durham, and Yorkshire, where the three-keeled and graceful coble abounds, the fishermen, often aided by their wives and daughters, will be seen lifting them on the little wooden trucks, on which they are wheeled along on the hard and level strand.

As the hauling up of a heavy boat is a laborious work, which men who have been many hours, perhaps all night, in their boats would be very glad to dispense with; and since, as implied above, their mode of performing it is sometimes rather the result of custom than of scientific appliance, we think that we may usefully circulate, for the information of boatmen to whom they are at present unknown, drawings of the "roller skids" used by the Norfolk and Suffolk boatmen in hauling up their larger boats, and which have been adopted by the Royal National Life-boat Institution, and found valuable auxiliaries in hauling up its lifeboats, saving much labour, trouble and expense.

There are three varieties of these skids used by the lifeboats of the Institution, one is the simple wooden frame with either two or three rollers in it (Fig. 1), which is sufficient on hard ground, moveable short boards being placed under it transversely where the beach is soft. A second (Fig. 2) is similar, but having its sleepers attached to it beneath the rollers, which form is more convenient for placing under a boat whilst she is still in the water. Much labour is saved by hauling a heavy boat on the rollers whilst she is partly water-borne, and it is awkward to place a detached board under a skid under water, especially when the boat has much motion from the surf. A skid of this description can, by means of two short lines attached to it, as shown in the figure, be readily hauled under the stem, or sternpost of a boat by two men or lads, one dragging by each line. These lines should be of Manila rope, which will float and thus indicate the position of the skid when under water ;-two-inch rope will be found a convenient size.

A third variety (Fig. 3) is a shorter skid, similar to the above, fitted to turn on a pivot-bolt fixed in a flat piece of wood, thus forming a portable turn-table, on which a boat, when hauled over it, can be turned round with very small power in any direction. The lifeboats of the Institution are supplied with one of these turn-tables, with two of the second variety, or water-skids, for use in the water, and with two of the plain skids with detached sleepers. A less number would, however, be sufficient for ordinary use, unless for very large and heavy boats; and we strongly recommend them to the attention of the boatmen on those parts of the coast where they are not already employed.-The Life-boat.