Lifeboats.—In 1864-65 a small committee, composed of Messrs. H. Fulford, G. Groves, J. Pearce, D. Moran, G. Williams, R. Foreshaw, and G. Lempiere, aided by the Mayor and Dr. Miller, raised about £500 as a contribution from Birmingham to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution. Two boats were credited to us in the Society's books, one called "Birmingham" (launched at Soho Pool, November 26, 1864), and the other the "James Pearce." These boats, placed on the Lincolnshire and Norfolk coasts, were instrumental in the saving of some hundreds of lives, but both have, long since, been worn out, and it is about time that Birmingham replaced them. Messrs. C. and W. Barwell, Pickford Street, act as local hon. secs. The "Charles Ingleby" lifeboat, at Hartlepool, was paid for, and the establishment for its maintenance endowed, out of the sum of £1,700, contributed by C.P. Wragge, Esq., in memory of the late Rev. Charles Ingleby.
Lifford, in the parish of King's Norton, once boasted of a Monastic establishment, which was squelched by Bluff King Harry, the only remains now to be found consisting of a few more than half-buried foundations and watercourses.
Lighting.—Oil lamps for giving light in the streets were in limited use here in 1733, even before an Act was obtained to enforce payment of a rate therefor. Deritend and Bordesley obtained light by the Act passed in 1791. The Street Commissioners, Nov. 8, 1816, advertised for tenders for lighting the streets with gas, but it was nearly ten years (April 29, 1826) before the lamps were thus supplied. The Lighting Act was adopted at Saltley April 1, 1875. Lighting the streets by electricity may come some day, though, as the Gas Works belong to the town, it will, doubtless, be in the days of our grandchildren.
Lighting by Electricity.—After the very successful application of the electric light in the Town Hall on the occasion of the Festival in 1882, it is not surprising that an attempt should be made to give it a more extended trial. A scheme has been drawn out by the Crompton-Winfield Company for this purpose, and it has received the sanction of the Town Council, and been confirmed by the Board of Trade, shopkeepers in the centre of the town may soon have a choice of lights for the display of their wares. The area fixed by the scheme is described by the following boundaries:—Great Charles Street to Congreve Street; Congreve Street to Edmund Street; Edmund Street to Newhall Street; Newhall Street to Colmore Row; Colmore Row to Bull Street; Bull Street, High Street, New Street, Stephenson Place, Paradise Street, and Easy Row. The streets to be supplied with electric mains within two years are as follows:—Great Charles Street (to Congreve Street), Congreve Street, New Street, Stephenson Place, Easy Row, and Paradise Street. The Corporation are to have powers of purchasing the undertaking at the end of sixteen years— that is, fourteen years after the expiration of the two-years' term allowed for the experimental lighting of the limited area. The order, while fully protecting the rights of the public and of the Corporation, justly recognises the experimental character of the project of electric-lighting from a common centre, and is much more favourable, in many ways, to the promoters than the legislation under which gas undertakings are conducted. Whether this will tend towards reducing the price of gas remains to be seen.
Lightning Conductors were introduced here in 1765.
Lindon.—The Minerva, in Peck Lane, was, circa 1835, kept by "Joe Lindon," a host as popular then as our modern "Joe Hillman," up at "The Stores," in Paradise Street.
Literary Associations.—The Central Literary Association first met Nov. 28, 1856. The Moseley and Balsall Heath, Oct. 11, 1877.
Livery Street.—So called from the Livery stables once there, opposite Brittle street, which is now covered by the Great Western Railway Station.
Livingstone.—Dr. Livingstone, the African traveller, delivered an address in the Town Hall, October 23, 1857.
Loans.—According to the Registrar-General's late report, there were 380 loan societies in the kingdom, who had among them a capital of £122,160, the members of the said societies numbering 33,520, giving an average lending capital of £3 12s. 10-1/2d. each. That is certainly not a very large sum to invest in the money market, and it is to be hoped that the score or two of local societies can show better funds. What the profits of this business are frequently appear in the reports taken at Police Courts and County Courts, where Mr. Cent.-per-Cent. now and then bashfully acknowledges that he is sometimes satisfied with a profit of 200 per cent. There are respectable offices in Birmingham where loans can be obtained at a fair and reasonable rate, but Punch's advice to those about to marry may well be given in the generality of cases, to anyone thinking of visiting a loan office. Young men starting in business may, under certain conditions, obtain help for that purpose from the "Dudley Trust."—See "[Philanthropical Trusts]."