+----------------------------+-------+------+--------------+------+---------+-----+------+------+------+-------+
| | | | Horns, | |Explosive| | | |Subm- | |
| |Sirens.| Diap-| Trumpets, &c.| Whis-| Signals |Guns.|Bells.|Gongs.|arine |Totals.|
| | | hone.+------+-------+ tles.| (tonite,| | | |Bells.| |
| | | |Power.|Manual.| | &c.). | | | | | |
+----------------------------+-------+------+------+-------+------+---------+-----+------+------+------+-------+
| England and Channel Islands| 44 | .. | 27 | 31 | 2 | 15 | .. | 48 | 10 | 16 | 193 |
| Scotland and Isle of Man | 35 | .. | 6 | 2 | .. | 5 | .. | 16 | 3 | .. | 67 |
| Ireland | 12 | .. | 2 | 6 | .. | 11 | 3 | 11 | .. | 3 | 48 |
| France | 12 | .. | 7 | 1 | .. | 1 | .. | 25 | .. | 2 | 48 |
| United States (excluding | | | | | | | | | | | |
| inland lakes and rivers) | 43 | .. | 35 | 15 | 59 | .. | .. | 218 | 1 | 36 | 407 |
| British North America | | | | | | | | | | | |
| (excluding inland lakes | | | | | | | | | | | |
| and rivers) | 6 | 66 | 5 | 79 | 16 | 8 | .. | 24 | .. | 11 | 215 |
+----------------------------+-------+------+--------------+------+---------+-----+------+------+------+-------+
When two kinds of signal are employed at any one station, one being
subsidiary, the latter is omitted from the enumeration. Buoy and
unattended beacon bells and whistles are also omitted, but local port
and harbour signals not under the immediate jurisdiction of the
various lighthouse boards are included, more especially in Great
Britain.
11. LIGHTHOUSE ADMINISTRATION. The principal countries of the world
possess organized and central authorities responsible for the
installation and maintenance of coast lights and fog signals, buoys and
beacons.
_United Kingdom._--In England the corporation of Trinity House, or
according to its original charter, "The Master Wardens, and Assistants
of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and
undivided Trinity and of St Clement, in the Parish of Deptford Strond,
in the county of Kent," existed in the reign of Henry VII. as a
religious house with certain duties connected with pilotage, and was
incorporated during the reign of Henry VIII. In 1565 it was given
certain rights to maintain beacons, &c., but not until 1680 did it own
any lighthouses. Since that date it has gradually purchased most of
the ancient privately owned lighthouses and has erected many new ones.
The act of 1836 gave the corporation control of English coast lights
with certain supervisory powers over the numerous local lighting
authorities, including the Irish and Scottish Boards. The corporation
now consists of a Master, Deputy-master, and 22 Elder Brethren (10 of
whom are honorary), together with an unlimited number of Younger
Brethren, who, however, perform no executive duties. In Scotland and
the Isle of Man the lights are under the control of the Commissioners
of Northern Lighthouses constituted in 1786 and incorporated in 1798.
The lighting of the Irish coast is in the hands of the Commissioners
of Irish Lights formed in 1867 in succession to the old Dublin Ballast
Board. The principal local light boards in the United Kingdom are the
Mersey Docks and Harbour Board, and the Clyde Lighthouse Trustees. The
three general lighthouse boards of the United Kingdom, by the
provision of the Mercantile Marine Act of 1854, are subordinate to the
Board of Trade, which controls all finances.
On the 1st of January 1910 the lights, fog signals and submarine bells
in service under the control of the several authorities in the United
Kingdom were as follows:
+----------------------------------+-------+--------+--------+---------+
| |Light- | Light- | Fog |Submarine|
| |houses.|vessels.|Signals.| Bells. |
+----------------------------------+-------+--------+--------+---------+
| Trinity House | 116 | 51 | 97 | 12 |
| Northern Lighthouse Commissioners| 138 | 5 | 44 | .. |
| Irish Lights Commissioners | 93 | 11 | 35 | 3 |
| Mersey Docks and Harbour Board | 16 | 6 | 13 | 2 |
| Admiralty | 31 | 2 | 6 | .. |
| Clyde Lighthouse Trustees | 14 | 1 | 5 | .. |
| Other local lighting authorities | 809 | 11 | 89 | 2 |
| +-------+--------+--------+---------+
| Totals | 1217 | 87 | 289 | 19 |
+----------------------------------+-------+--------+--------+---------+
Some small harbour and river lights of subsidiary character are not
included in the above total.
_United States._--The United States Lighthouse Board was constituted
by act of Congress in 1852. The Secretary of Commerce and Labor is the
ex-officio president. The board consists of two officers of the navy,
two engineer officers of the army, and two civilian scientific
members, with two secretaries, one a naval officer, the other an
officer of engineers in the army. The members are appointed by the
president of the United States. The coast-line of the states, with the
lakes and rivers and Porto Rico, is divided into 16 executive
districts for purposes of administration.
The following table shows the distribution of lighthouses,
light-vessels, &c., maintained by the lighthouse board in the United
States in June 1909. In addition there are a few small lights and
buoys privately maintained.
Lighthouses and beacon lights 1333
Light-vessels in position 53
Light-vessels for relief 13
Gas lighted buoys in position 94
Fog signals operated by steam or oil engines 228
Fog signals operated by clockwork, &c. 205
Submarine signals 43
Post lights 2333
Day or unlighted beacons 1157
Bell buoys in position 169
Whistling buoys in position 94
Other buoys 5760
Steam tenders 51
Constructional Staff 318
Light keepers; and light attendants 3137
Officers and crews of light-vessels and tenders 1693
_France._--The lighthouse board of France is known as the Commission
des Phares, dating from 1792 and remodelled in 1811, and is under the
direction of the minister of public works. It consists of four
engineers, two naval officers and one member of the Institute, one
inspector-general of marine engineers, and one hydrographic engineer.
The chief executive officers are an Inspecteur Général des Ponts et
Chaussées, who is director of the board, and another engineer of the
same corps, who is engineer-in-chief and secretary. The board has
control of about 750 lights, including those of Corsica, Algeria, &c.
A similar system has been established in Spain.