The Express.
London, England, 1867-02-08 00:00:00

[STAMPED, Id. ADDITIONAL.]

rabat anU Offiftarg.

ADMIRALTY, FRB. 7.—APPOINTMENIS.—Lieute-
nant E. 8. Richards, to the Indus, for service in the sail-
reserve.
blaster It. J. C. Grant, to the Terror.
Assistant-Paymaster E. P. Remall, to the Racoon ; E.
Robinson, to the Black Prince (additional), for Admiral's
Office. Midshipnum H. G. Archer, to the Rodney.
Engineer W. Dark, to the Rodney.
Acting-Engineer H. Thornton, to the Cumberland, for
the Fearless.

MELANCHOLY ACCIDENT TO A LIFEBOAT.

PADSTOW, CORNWALL, Frs. G.

The Reverend Richard Tyacke reports the
following sad occurrence which happened on Wed-
nesday, during • fearful gale, to the lifeboat at that
place :—" A vessel this morning struck on the Doom Bar,
at the entrance of our harbour. At once the lifeboat was
manned, and started to her assistance. The seas, how-
ever, were so mountainous that the boat's oars were
quickly broken, and she was obliged to drive before the
waves without reaching the stranded vessel. The boat
was soon overturned, and the whole crew thrown into the
water, and though the boat lighted quickly, none, from
the violence of the waves, were again able to reach her.
The consequences are fearful—eight of the crew only are
saved, and five drowned. The brave Shea, who always
volunteered his services in the case of shipwreck, ismer!'
the latter number. Two of the dead bodies are washed on
shore—Shea's and Varooe's ; those of Trusoott, Crannell,
and the chief boatman of coast guard, are still in the
water, and nowhere to be seen. The saved are—Hill
(coxswain), French (second COISWIll11), Harris, Bate, May,
Bennett, Brenton, and a coast 'guard man. The
crew of the stranded vessel, with the exception of one
man, are saved, as the ebb tide left her almost dry."
The lifeboat is on Polseth beach, above high-water mark,
and is uninjured. The coxswain reports that she behaved
nobly throughout, but he is of opinion that no boat could
have lived in the seas into which the lifeboat was driven.
It may be added that this lifeboat was the gift to the Na-
tional Lifeboat Institution of the city of Bristol, and onlylaat
winter performed oneof the noblest services a lifeboat could
achieve during a fearful midnight storm in saving the crew
of 17 men of the barque Juliet, of Greenock, who in the
absence of the host must inevitably have perished. Pad.
stow is one of the most dangerous points on the Cornish
coast, and the gallant Mr. Shea, the chief officer of the
coastguard, who perished in the boat, has been off in this
and the previous lifeboat on every occasion they had been
afloat, and had contributed in the two lifeboatstothe saving
of fifty-five lives. The other four brave men who were also
lust never shrank from their dangerous duties; and it is to
be hoped that, in conjunction with the National Lifeboat
Institution, the public at large will come forward liberally
to support the families of the unfortunate men who hays
thus perished in the performance of one of the noblest, as
well as the most perilous duties they could be called on
to render to their fellow creatures. Considering the fear-
ful character of these lifeboat services—that about 6,000
persons go afloat on all occasions in the boats every year,
and that during the past fourteen years the institution
has only lost 16 lives, it must be • source of congratulation
to every one that so small a per centage has been sacri-
ficed compared with the noble service done in that period,
and the large number of brave men engaged at so much
hazard in the work. It may be mentioned that the
National Lifeboat Institution at its meeting yesterday
voted 2101. in aid of the local subscription now making for
the relief of the families, under the superintendence of the
Rev. Richard Tyacke, rector of radstow, and other gentle-
men in the locality.