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.
In England Trinity House is the general light house authority. The Corporation of Trinity House, or accord ing to its original charter, "The Master Wardens and Assist ants of the Guild Fraternity or Brotherhood of the most glorious and undivided Trinity and of St. Clement, in the Parish of Dept ford 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, etc., but not until 168o 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 (ten 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 authorities 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 provi sions of the Mercantile Marine Act of 1854, are subordinate to 'See G. R. Putnam, Radio Fog-Signals (Washington, Government Press, 1924, and supplements seq.) ; also Proc. Inst. El. Engrs. (passim) and Admiralty List of Wireless Signals (London, annually).
In the Trinity House service at shore lighthouse stations where there is no fog-signal there are usually two keepers, and at rock stations four, one being ashore on leave. At a shore fog-signal station there is an additional keeper. The crews of light-vessels as a rule consist of i i men, three of them and the master or mate going on shore in rotation. The average annual cost of mainte nance (excluding repairs) of an English shore lighthouse, with two keepers, is 477. For shore lighthouses with three keepers and a siren fog-signal the average cost is .18I 1. The maintenance of a rock lighthouse with four keepers and an explosive fog-signal is about £1,310, and an electric-light station with a diaphone fog-signal costs about £1,200 annually to maintain. A light-vessel of the average type with a power-driven fog-signal entails in England an annual expenditure on maintenance of approximately £2,500, excluding the cost of periodical overhaul.
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. The chief executive officers are an Inspecteur General des Ponts et Chaussees, who is the director of the service, and an other engineer of the same corps, who is engineer-in-chief and secretary. The board has control of about 77o lights, including those of Corsica, Algeria, etc. In Denmark, Austria, Holland, Italy, Sweden, Norway and many other countries the minister of marine has charge of the lighting and buoying of coasts; in Belgium the public works department controls the service, and in Spain the lighthouse service is established on lines similar to that of France.
In Canada the coast lighting is in the hands of the minister of marine, and in most of the other British dominions and colonies the public works departments have control of lighthouse matters. For the lighthouse service of the U.S.A. see following article.