DIGITISED MANUSCRIPTS

( 23. ) was not only tolerated, but occasionally connived at by the landlords of the district. Now our coasts are girt with a chain of lighthouses which serve both as a guide and a warning to the mariner ; and assistance is rendered to vessels in distress by the dauntless crews of the National Life-boats. Since its establish- ment in 1824, the National Life-boat Institution has saved upwards of 30,000 lives. Moreover, no seaport town of importance is now without its Sailors’ Home, where shipwrecked and distressed sailors are received. The name of Mr. Plimsoll has become a household word owing to his exertions on behalf of the sailor population, the perils of whose calling, though still great, have been appreciably reduced by the legisla- tion he obtained for making penal the overloading of vessels and the use of unseaworthy ships. Another illustration of the humane spirit of the day is supplied by the tenderness displayed even in the killing of homeless dogs. No longer hung from a tree or thrown into a mill-pond with a stone around its neck, the stray dog is rescued from the street, treated for three days with every care and attention in the Dogs’ Home, and if not claimed, is made to inhale a narcotic, which puts an end to its existence, if not with absolute pleasure, at least without pain. InTEMPERANCE.—-But perhaps the greatest change that has been effected by public opinion within the