National Republican., 1877-12-04

is SSi1 ,178,31, the lowest reached since the ex-
penses or this service have been kept separate.
The waters upon the Gulfcoast between Mo-
bile Bay and Lake Pontchartrain are too shoal
to admit Of being properly patrolled by any Of
the vessels now In the service. This Is, conso-
quently, favorite region for Illicit traffic,
which is greatly facilitated by tho proximity
Of the railway running from Mobile TO New
Orleans. small light-draught steam revenue
cutter, not exceeding 100 tons burden, prop
erly manned and stationed In those waters,
would, II Is believed, afford important protcc-
tion against smuggling. Such q vessel, Il Is
estimated, can be built for tho sum of $4,000.
Recommendation Is accordingly made that
ing this demand.
LIrBsAvINo SERVICE.
The report OF the operations of this service
affords q gratifying exhibit
During tho past year four new lifc-saving
districts, one upon the coast OF Florida, and
three embracing tho limo Of our coast upon the
| Lakes, have been organized. Thirty new life
saving and lifc-boat stations on the Atlantic
and Lake coasts have been opened for service,
together with the five houses of refuge au.
| thorized by law at different points upon the
| Florida coast. On the Pacific coast three life
boat stations have been completed, and are now
receiving their equipments, and another is in
| process of construction.
The report makes several important recon-
mcndations, to which careful consideration is
invited. Special attention Is called TO the
| recommendation for increasing the compensa-
tion Of the keepers Of tho stations, q measure
the necessity for which has been strongly i'm
pressed upon the Secretary by personal cx-
| animation Of the service during the past year
| The recent resignation of several of the best
Keepers owing to the continued insufiiciency
OF the pay, and the fact that other resimations
are pending, and that most Of these valuable
men are retained with difficulty, upon the
hope Of adequate remuneration, presago serious
consequences, which can only be ayerted by
| timely action. Under tho charge of these off,
GERS the record Of the service has this year sur
passed that Of any year preceding, the ratio of
lives lost to the number imperilled having
been reduced to about two and half per cent.
To allow the service, with this uncxcelled re.
cord Of usefulness, to lapse into incapable
hands would be grave error, involving serious
results to maritime interests and to human
| life.
| The vast area embraced BY the operations of
the service, the multiplicity and importance Of
tho details involved In It's proper conduct, and
the worth and gravity Of its guardianship Of
vital concerns now require that IL be placed
under an administration defined by law.
Little, IL any, increase Of expense would attend
this measure, which would carry with It all
the benefits of completed organization essen
| tial to its proper management.
noteworthy incident in tho reported i'm
provement Of life'saving apparatus during the
year 70 the extension, with an accompanying
diminution in the weight Of the gun employed,
Of the range Of the sbot-line for establishing
the means Of safo transit from wrecks, to
what Is probably its utmost point Of utility.
This gratifying result narrows the problem OF
gun or mortar service at wrecks to the simple
consideration of further lessening the weight
Of the ordnance used, with view Of facilita-
ting rapid transportation.
The unnallinv disasfar IA tho JTnitad EtatcS
steamer Huron, on the coas. of North Carolina,
which has so recently occurred, would seem to
demand that provision should be made for the
opening Of the life-saving stations In that vi.
cinity az an earlier date than the appropria.
tions have hitherto allowed.
LIGHTHOUSE fsTAnLIsHMk
The lighthouse establishment Is Ia. = salts
factory condition. During the year nineteen
new lighthouses, One new light-ship. one hun.
dred and ninety-six river-lights and one steam
fog-signal have been put into operation.
Light.ship No. II, referred to In the last re-
port of the Secretary Of the Treasury, was COM
pietcd early in the fiscal year, and at once
placed on an exposed station. Her fog.signal,
which was Of q novel design, has given great
satisfaction.
Light.ship No. 42, for which appropriation
was made by the last Congress, is also nearly
completed, and will have similar fog.signai.
She has been built with great care. at a time
"hCh anu lhDOT were 10 DO nuu HJ low
rates, and is expected to be tho best light-ship
ever built by the Government.
Attention is called to the estimates of the
Light House Board for new lighthouses at
American Shoal and Rebccca Shoal on the
Florida reefs These lights are essential for
tho completion Of the system for the Florida
reefs and would bo aids Of the greatest i'm
portancc to the navigations Of the difficult and
dangerous waters In that locality.
The suggestion Is made that considerable
expense In the conduct Of the lighthouse es-
tablishment might be saved by vesting the
lighthouse inspectors with authority to make
upon their periodical visits to tho stations, the
disbursements which arc now made by the
collectors of customs acting US superintendents
OF lights. This step would also relieve many
OF the keepers from-the trouble and cost incl
dent to the journeys they are now compelled
to make to obtain their salaries, besides pre-
venting the detriment to the service involved
IN their absence, on such occasions, from their
posts Of duty.
COAST SURVEY.
The report of the Superintendent of the
Coast Survey shows that good progress has
been made in the general work of triang gulation,
topography, photography, with commensurate
results In the issue Of charts for navigation.
In the prosecution of the work some notable
facts have been developed. One Of the inves-
LEGATIONS proves that information regarding the
approximate velocity and direction of sea-
currents, at any hour of the day, may be COM
PEELED for the use Of navigators, SO as to make
these currents which now SO often battle the
mariner, available in approaching or leaving.
the coast.
As of equal importance with knowledge of
the currents and tides along the seaboard, but
Of even greater Interest to the public, the va
riations Of the magnetic needle have been
noted in the work OF the Coast Survey; and,
by elaborate discussion and collation. with
older observations, 1t has become possible to
predict variations Of tho compass, vs. in tho
case Of the tides.
THE MARINE HOSPITAL SERVICE.
The amount received US hospital dues from
seamen during the last fiscal year was $3T2,-
1870 aud the expenditures for tho Marine
Hospital Service for the same period were
$36S 39o.2S-leaying surplus of $i,070.12.
The number Of sick and disabled seamen
treated during the year was l5,175. The aver
age cost per patient was S24.2S-the least cost
ever attained-a reduction to this amount hav-
ing been made since 1870 when the average
was S3S.4l. No deficiency appropriation has
been required for this service since 1873.
No provision of law exists for the care and