In England: lighthouses, lights on piers, harbour lights, &c., 237. Add 49 lightships—total, 286.
In Scotland: lighthouses, lights on piers, harbour lights, &c., 134. Add 1 lightship—total, 135.
In Ireland: lighthouses, lights on piers, harbour lights, &c., 85. Add 8 lightships—total, 93.
The general result for the United Kingdom is, that we have 456 lighthouses, harbour lights, local lights, &c., and 58 lightships. Total, 514.
We may compare these figures with those of the French lights.
| Coast-line of England | measures 2405 nautical miles. |
| Coast-line of Scotland | measures 4467 nautical miles. |
| Coast-line of Ireland | measures 2518 nautical miles. |
| Coast-line of France | measures 2763 nautical miles. |
Now France has 224 lighthouses, but no floating lights. The proportion of lights to the coast-line is,[14] therefore, as follows:—
| In England | 1 to every 8½ miles (nearly). |
| In Scotland | 1 to every 33 miles. |
| In Ireland | 1 to every 27 miles. |
| In France | 1 to every 12.3 miles. |
We may here explain the French system of administration, which, however, cannot be said to equal our own in efficiency or comprehensiveness, nor to surpass it in economy. At all events, the foregoing figures show that the English coast is far more numerously lighted than the French.
The French system dates from the beginning of the present century, and is administered by the Department of Ponts et Chaussées, composed of naval officers, hydrographic engineers, members of the French Institute, and other persons acquainted with the sciences which bear upon navigation. The general direction of the service is committed to the Inspector-General of Ponts et Chaussées, who has under his orders a certain number of engineers, in each maritime district, charged with the supervision, construction, and administration of lighthouses. This board or directorate has its own manufactories in Paris, where experiments are tried with lighting apparatus, and where the artisan receives all the information necessary to guide him in the construction of every part of the apparatus, such as the calculation of angles, prisms, curves, lenses, and the like. One of the best results of this centralization is the economy it insures; the entire cost of the French service not exceeding £40,000 per annum. It may be added, that to France, as to the United States, belongs the praise of having looked upon the lightage of her coasts, not as a source of public or private revenue, but as a work of humanity. We trust that England, before any long period has elapsed, will abolish the tolls now levied upon shipping for the maintenance of her lighthouses. We admit that they have been considerably reduced; but they still remain a burden upon commerce, and a burden which commerce ought not to bear.