The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1869-02-02 00:00:00

Maid _ /MIL

THE WEY-310IITH LIFEBOAT.

Dom. ewe the Korth, and— moth wilk
The ram.. I. Its thresikkh :
fthe thoWnd W paused, 11k. a MOW. steed,
'Moo Wipe bee Wile. thii.ll.
•
• • • •
And ever the SSW games totuthe
• coed twee !TOM the land;
It wed; the monad of the inapt.' serf.
Gle the nets and tile hard eariand.
• • • • •

Ile struck when the white and essay wars
Looked soft samord wool;
Rut the cruel rooks, they gored erre
Like the borne of an angry
A sad sang had the ttattleillen poet, Longfellow, to sing
of the poor vowel ehai
" Who, the end but meekest the eye
West dare on • fatal shove"
And many such have be, seng in all dismiss where the
hartilmariner dares the wave, and travels
the way of But the most grerreas prim
for ullte be one Wane them seether, Is
otr:le vhs.. the sailor that has hearted Meath of
said-ocean, has the Great Ranier of
Australia, or threaded his way through the pirstr
Swanning China seas, or perhaps crept difeagh the
making lop of the Newfoundland mast, approsches
our shores, sad just as he is hoping aeon to meet his
dearest, mad rest from bis Wears far • while, finds on
the while digs or the smooth sands of Ida own Ragland
a yam doter to sight of home. Yet that sash is too
cii. the ore any one who will massif the week gar
of the mesh isles, will find too tram. Beautifully
lighted as re the Amur and bays of the United
Itradome when it is roistered that our onset-line
I. 5000 Who Is length, and that the ships clearing
from our parts are maned by hundreds of thournds
per samara, it will rally he imagined, and alas the
uposidom is tee almadantly supported by leek that
themarronstentermitisalrequast wreektand alright-
(al loss Mite. Weymouth and its mighboarlseed ham not
been frebitem melt ead events. Among oar oldest needle°.
tions is the tile of the Alergaveany, ear oldest type of
furious power was the surf on the ObeW Sleek itod ear
oldest gemblem of toeechin the fetal
Leads. Ti • Penland man Rue sad tVe=l
are ta bantalimid worth, rod so theatzhi have no
each MIAOW.= as re deadly
end thosigh gee harbour of misp at Pc=
Poiwils the Semi r the serathewn Mast yet the
=limner deeree:dis thMl•• eat^ here, hi mite sif
ewers of the wreaks la our esi=eorholf. we'
pared with other porta that Bunker yearly Meek
Spots by
r_4CISCiI end f
Sose°:hl a °t he us a.
=:t
the Zees aeteleed when, sews years ago, he was Per'
enisi thentfilbk&l." Puthn
noticed he wdir: this
part of the eiret—lia Teetered: in spite of the noble
exertions of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution to
pros them at every spot where them was the rest
danger. The boat had not then been stationed at,
Kiram.rnidp Ledge, and there was none between Lyme
d St. Alhan's fiesiA. Oa the 20th September
hat year, the Liberty, of Potioneuth, area am the
Ledge, end was lost, and all bawls suffered the sum
fate, in commerase of there being no lifetime, and in
October the Inslitutieu pieced a boat at that
dangerous spot In May la.t, his lordship burg
generously offered to place the pries of a boat in
the hands of the Institution, in order that one zynlisti he
stationed M Portland, where he thought the pal
danger lay, Ord. Ward, R.N., repeater of Moats
to the Remit National, was seat down to ascertain what
amusements Gould be made for Be being established
somewhere on the °oast of the ide of stone. A binderies,
doubtless not anticipated by Karl Strafford, at ones pre.
✓ented itself. (Scour,,, the West Bay, with itaidzdj/
line of ever-rolling Nibbles, the Mesa Bee*
to demand the wronger ef mere. But &rout Fert-
ilised wherry or lire In any eta where a lifeboat sea
live—with no. important exception—if the wherry
were upset she would not right &gels of herself bat
would probe* remain bottom tip, while the lifeboat,
with bar tabular flcp eelLwatisi valves, would
meant*
her proper lion in • few seam& TM.,
however, would be little emit for if the crew were
ones thrown out of their boat by • capers, though their
Webers would them, yet the marling
_betaken that
claw the bask in eteemy times would infallibly proved
them hem ewer prise late her again, aid would
dash the beat to prose and the men to dear.
7libiaar again, in each weather as the Weber would be
resiaired for, could be found a spot for rambler beef
This was unanswerable, and there remained oatheoeher
hand the important fact that a sterner Is always
sufficiently near Portland haebour reedy to tow out a
boat ha any vessel In deers, and to reader at the same
Hee what help may be needed to • ship. Capt. Ward's
resort was duly made known to the Earl, and heat ones
most generously trazuderred his offer to Weymouth, the
beautiful bay of which he had always eduseed, 'sad heat
whose harbour his lordship hoped dart equal aid and
succour might be afforded to vessels in distress as would
tree been given could the brat bare bees stationed at
Portland. His lordship made a coacher that some
renames toward* the out, say 1100, of a substantial
end commodious boat-house, and subscriptions of shoat
£3O or £4O a year to meet the purely local expense of
the couraina' salaries and of the crew for practising in
the lifeboat every quarter, should be collected in the
town and its vicinity. The Parent Institution in
Leaden promisee to pay all expenses of rewards be the
crew of our lifeboat for saving or attempting to save
; also the cost of repairs, tainting, re-plaoemeat of
gear, ice, on the lifeboat establishment Earl Strafford
Queered • wish that the boat might he named the
" Agar Harriet," with which suggestion the institution
of were complied, and thus his lordship's morons gift
was provided with a local habitrios and • name. At
this point it may be well, before we go further, to
remind our readers that for eoaka years Wipe/rods has
memorial • re Royal, National tramp
les&ution. of itile's Custom, R. O.
Chessman, en t of Ids former atonipation
with the Navy, was never forestial of the claims
of the Institution, and a long thms •go undertook
to ogled subscriptions for It. help, sureeding inr4sg
£4O or 1160 per annum. Is 1862 be was requested Is
not as boa. sec, to the Weymouth branch, and the
reseipts have, we reeled to bear, gradually reused
until they are rode to support a boat in thorough
working order, and enure the importance of the
branch. In feet, we understand that this year the
subscriptions and donations will, it is hoped, reach a
higher amount than that, and be no less than £7O or
more. We congratulate Mr. Chessman and the sem- ,
mittee on this result. The patron of the remelt is
the Right Honoerable the earl of Strafford ; President.
the Right Honourable the Lord Ashley; and the Local
Committee of Management consists of John Turd,
Req., Chairman, G. Bishop, Esq., W. Symoods, Esq.,
G. Andrews, Esq., Charles Peony Esq" Credo
T. Borrett, R.N., F. Cs Stergall, koqiisqft. Damon,
George Mot. Esq. W. Thompson,
~ Edward
Bayly, See, and W. it. Holden, Esq. Its bankers are
Messrs. Eliot, Pearce, Eliot and Eliot, Weymouth and
Dorchester. R. G. Choesman, Esq., acts as Treasurer
and Hon. Secretary. The boathouse required was
erected on the Weymouth side of the harbour, and
built of Portland stone. It presents a respectable
appearance, and does credit to Mr. R. Reynolds. It is
also fitted with every place for the boat's dorm, and •
capital slipway in front provides for her immediate
launching between the quays. The building of the boat
being in train at head-quarters, the local erdaMithre,
with isoncurrear of the noble donor, invited the wile
of their president to perform the ceremony of naming
her, and Lady Ashley 'thrifty agreed. Is arranging for
the demonstration and procession the only difficulty
the aommittee had was as to who should be
permitted to join, for requests to be allowed to
take part same in front all sides, rind, as will
be sesa from the order of emersion. a very teem.
leg demeastration war arranged. On Saturday morning
the Great Western Railway brought down the bre
rind she was visited by great numbers as she lay on the
truck In the siding sear the Backwater. She is painted
white and blue with • red stripe, and will, we should
think, be anincieatly conspiasous in the water. In gold
hiders on her bow is her name Agnes Harriet," aad
is also Merited "The Weymouth Weber," and boars
the curare of the Royal National Lifeboat Institu-
tion within 'a border of feeder. Round ber aides are
festooned the 11l Wass, which may be mimed by any
poor fellow struggling in the water and bold till be
can be hauled on board. She wae sosommined
by her transporting-carriage which censer of a
fore and main body. The latter is fenced of
• keedway and of side or bilgeways attached to the
bedway and resting on the axle, the boat's weight
beieg entirely on the rollers of the keelway.
It. leading characteristic Is that, on the withdrawal of a
forelock pia, the fore and main bodies can he littered
from sash other. The adnetages of this arrangement
are thet, whilst the weight of the boat when she is
ranched from the rear cad forms an relined plane by
elevating the keel way, to replace her on the earriage she
can be hauled bow foremost up the fore end or longer
incline. The bitterer' are seeded at it. rear end,
that the boat may be lunched in an upright position
with her crew on board; but they are not required at
the force end of the merge, The boat is hauled off
the erriage and launched into the sea by ropes rove
through sheere at the rear end of the carriage, each
having one end hooked to • self-derehine hook at the
beat s stem and the other manned by a few persona on
the are, who thus haul the boat and her wow off the
carriage and tenor them afloat at i.e. with their een
In their hands; by the. means headway may be obtained
befere lbe breaker, hare time to beat the boat broad-
side on to the beach.
Mr. Oberman and hie saddanes erected on
Monday two capital stands ow on either side of
the sparerib to the sands, from which a good
view of thornier:miss maid he obtained. Om ei than
was the Weymouth rase stand, and another was pat up
by Mr. R. Reyookh. These afforded • aosefortable
situation from whir the prossediar were oremed by
orsidarehle member of ladies and gentiessea.
The morning of Tuesday broke line with every
prospect of imatiusance, cad Ile wind and cold had
moderated so that the general holiday which re Mayer
had recommended became a holiday in the real rase
of the world.
The nedglabourbood of the station yard wee literally
chocked with people as the midday trains added their
complement to the already overflowing crowds.
Numbers passed round towards the Backwater, where
the boat herself was mounted no her carriage, and
many and various were the criticisms ;mined upon her
appoaranoe. At half-past one the various bodies that
were to form the prosier* esiammeed to master, and
great sensation was surd by the Enrolling down of
360 boys from li. 5.8, Bossawen, who with their shin-
ing bees, blue ours, and opened bosomed shirts, were
the ober of admiration to the some, folks. After
scene little trouble, caused by the Immense
numbers of which it was composed, the proceed:
moved frost the diesrture yard the Railway
and passed up -street, Royalareseent, BA
-
riders, to the end Vleteriaterreee, returning
by Glouesskr.row. Royal-terrace, down Rai t
Maryetreet, rotted Saint Edmund-street, up
Saint
Thomas-street, rimed the Kiser Sterne, then peeing
Johnstone-row, Cluoterfield-place, York-buildings,
Charlotte-row, Augusta-pima Oreemenr-oree, Orr-
ence-buildiagi, Baak.buildfne, and retnrning up the
Esplanade to the opera' to the Suds coppore. the
Roysl-temos, ia the Movie, order :
Sergeant Mounted Otterd,
The Band of theCranially of the Royal lingiatore,
Sergeants-at- teat- Moe,,,
Tbo Corporation of Wt and lloknoba Regis,
beitindLeg