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ments. If the fishing villages were all telegraphic stations, 

 and were all open all night long, we might be able to com- 

 municate to them the fact of a storm having appeared, as 

 soon as we ourselves had learnt it, but the nature of our 

 communications being such as it is, we must only make 

 the best use we can of the facilities we possess and of the 

 funds we are able to devote to the service. If the funds 

 were increased more telegrams could be received, more 

 warnings issued and more work done. 



It would doubtless be of interest to my hearers had I 

 time to treat of the scientific aspects of the question of 

 storm warning, of the observations taken, of the discussion 

 to which they are subjected, and of the efforts we are 

 making to improve and accelerate the service, but such a 

 lecture would be hardly suited to a general audience, as 

 for it I must presuppose a more intimate acquaintance 

 with the technicalities of meteorological phraseology than 

 can usually be expected. I must therefore only conclude 

 with the hope that I have shown you that in most countries 

 endeavours are made to utilise, for the benefit of the fishing 

 and coasting population, the most recent discoveries and 

 developments of meteorological science, and that the out- 

 come of these efforts has been unquestionably the saving 

 of life and property to a very large extent. 



When, seventeen years ago, the issue of storm-warnings 

 was temporarily suspended by the Government, the outcry 

 from the fishing population was too serious to be disre- 

 garded, and the service was soon re-established. 



In the course of the year 1881 the Meteorological 

 Council addressed a circular to all their storm-warning 

 stations in order to obtain expressions of local opinion as 

 to the value of the warnings. The replies, 135 in number, 

 were, with few exceptions, unanimously favourable, and 



