Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-10-24 00:00:00

LIFE-BOATS FOR SCOTLAND.

The following letter has been addressed to the Editor
of the daily Tiwes, London, and we will only express a
hope that the earnest appeal of the benevolent donor,
who has furnished us with his address, will be responded
to :

"SIR,—In the Times of the 17th instant appeared a.
statement of the wrecks on our coasts during the past
year, and of the efforts of the Royal National Lifeboat
Institution to diminish the dreadful loss of life which
annually occurs from these disasters. I was sorry to
observe, that an unsuccessful appeal had been made to
the Scotch to second these efforts by aiding the institu-
tion to place lifeboats upon their coasts, which are at
present almost entirely unprovided with them, You
say :
" On the coast of Scotland there is a sad want of
lifeboats. It is along this coast a large portion of our
trade with the Baltic, Greenland, Archangel, Davis's
Straits, and much of that of the Canadian and United
States trade is carried on. In addition to this traffic,
the Scotch coast is remarkable for its great herring
fishery. Peterhead has its 250 fishing boats : Frascm-
burgh and Buckie more than 400 sail; while further
'north, off the coast of Caithness, more than 1,200
fishing hoats, manned by 6,000 persons, nightly pursue
their calling during the season exposed to the proverbial
suddenness of a north-east gale. About two years ?go,
during a fearful gale of wind, of a fleet of such boats five
were lost, from which forty-two men were drowned,
leaving twenty-Seven widows and seventy'-nine orphans
unprovided for. Since then calamities to Scotch fisher-
men, nearly equal in magnitude, have occurred. Within
the last two or three months, the -National Lifeboat
Institution has made an urgent appeal to the Scotch
people generally for assistance to station additional life-
boats on their coast; but we lament to say the appeal
has met with little response from them." .
In consequence of these remarks, I have made inquiries,
and I find that the following is briefly the state of the
case :

The coast of Scotland, in order to be provided. with
the smallest number of lifeboats required by the coast-.
guard returns, should have twenty-one boats. It has in
reality but three. of the institution's, and a few others
of uncertain efficiency, without regular crews or main-
tenance. This lamentable want is due to the extra-
ordinary supineness of the Scotch, for the institution
cannot place boats without local aid ; and the sixty-five
boats it has on the English coast are owing to the support
it has received there. • The late appeal, though widely
circulated among the Scotch, has. not produced a fund
sufficient to purchase a single boat. •
`Though not a Scotehman, I am the son of a Scotch-
man, and feel a deep interest in all that concerns
Scotland. I deplore the state of her shores which the
statement discloses ; and for the sake of humanity, as
well as the honour of the country, I am anxious to
renew the appeal to the Scotch. To prove that I am
in earnest, I have made a commencement by presenting
the Institutioa with two lifeboats of the value of £lBO
each, which the committed have liberally undertaken to
provide with carriages and houses, to place as speedily
as possible on those • points of the coast where there
is the moat urgent need. I earnestly trust that the
example. may be- followed by the landholders,
owners, merchants, and manufacturers of Scotland. If each
large town would contribute one or more boats, and
each coast district make an effort in aid, the work would
be done, and Scotland's opprobrium removed of neglect-
urg the calls of humanity, and leaving shipwrecked sea-
men to perish, helpless, on her inhospitable coasts.
Shall it be said that England provides sixty-,five life-
boats, and Scotland but three ? That all the wealth and
liberality of the north is: insensible to the cry of the
drowningpoor mariner on its. own shores ; and while
profiting so largely by commerce, utterly neglects the
security of the seamen who carry it on ?
.Can there be
a more truly philanthropic object, or one which it is
more a duty to carry out than this ?
I will add nothing more. If something is to be done,
now is the time. Winter with its storms and ship-
wrecks is fast approaching, and unless the Scotch coast
is to remain another dark season without life-saving
means, not a moment is to be lost in answering this
appeal.—l enclose my card, and I am, your obedient
servant, J.
_ _

London, October 22nd.
P.S.—After all, the sum required to accomplish the
object is extremely moderate. There will be five
efficient boats, as soon as the two mentioned above arc
stationed.. Sixteen only are therefore required, at a cost
of about £7,000. I have little doubt that if two-thirds
of this .§lllll can be raised in Scotland, the Institution
will receive the support in England necessary to make
up the remainder. The object then is, to raise. about
:X5,000, and to secure the small local support necessary
for the boats when stationed. .If this cannot be entirely
accomplished, let a part be .done, and boats b..) put on as
fast as the funds accrue.- . J..,

BANQUET TO THE 78TH HIGHLANDERS

'AT INVERNESS,

The gallant 78th .Highlanders, now stationed at Fort-
George, arrived at Inverness on Thursday, to partake of
the banquet prepared -for them by general subscription
entered into by the northern public. The day was held
as a holiday, and the streets were profusely decorated
with evergreens, flowers, festoons of tartan, flags, and
other appropriate insignia and inscriptions. In enter-
ing the town from the railway station, the regiment
was received, by the Lord-Lieutenant of the county (Lord
Lovat) and other gentlemen. Colonel Mecintyre rode
at the head of the regiment, and ordered them to halt
opposite the residence of the venerable General John
Mackenzie, and gave three cheers for that aged officer
(now the 'oldest officer in the British army), who had
assisted in the original formation of the 78th High-
landers: The soldiers accordingly gave a true military
round of cheers in honour of the old general. At the
Exchange, an address by the Magistrates and . the
Council was presented to the officers and privates of the
recriment, which was acknowledged by Col. Macintyre.
The regiment then proceeded to the banqueting-
hall, where 700 soldiers sat down to dinner. The
Provost, in proposing the toast of, the 78th High-
landers, gave a history of their achievements. Serjeant-
majOr Pocock replied ; and Quartermaster Serjeant
Robertson gave a trait to their hospitable entertainers.
He said—" Two years ago we were hemmed in by count-
less hordes, and reduced to -small 'fare,' in the city of
Lucknow. We strained our eyes and ears from day to
day in expectation of the relieving force. We sometimes
looked forward to the time when we should return to the
peaceful hills of our native land, and obtain the applause
of our countrymen ; but little did we anticipate that
we should receive such a true Highland welcome to
bonnie Scotland—to. the peaceful banks of the silvery
Ness. (Loud cheering) We now see and believe
that our Queen and country are satisfied that we have
done our best to fulfil the well-known signal of the gal-
lant and immortal Nelson—that is full recompense to
us for • all that we have undergone." (Hear.)—The
Master of Lovat returned thanks.—The Provost here
proposed a toast to the old garrison of Lucknow, coupled
with the name of Major Boileau.=-Major Boileau re-
turned thanks. He remarked that the struggle in which
they engaged, though forced upon them. by the first in-
stincts of humanity, excited far higher feelings. The devo-
ted garrison felt they were fighting the battle of British
supremacy in , the East, and that the honour of the
country was in their keeping. The gallant major
then paid a high tribute to Sir James Outram ; and
added—" It was the sound of the Scottish bagpipe
and the Highland cheering that first raised our
drooping spirits ; and on the arrival of the relief, our
feelings were most conflicting. . The women and
children of our garrison, and, indeed, I may say
all of us, on first meeting the relief, could do no
more than hold out the hand of welcome ; but the
78th well knew from our looks and that silent
grasp, that the hearts within us were beating quicker
than they had ever done before, and, I fancy, have done
since. And lam glad to have this opportunity, in the
name of myself and comrades of Lucknow, of again
thanking the 78th Regiment, and the rest of Havelock's
brave army, for their almost superhuman efforts in our
behalf." (Cheers.)—The proceedings shortly afterwards
terminated, no public entertainment of the kind having
ever passed off with more genuine enthusiasm or
cordiality.

A MUNIFICENT DONATION.—It gives us much pleasure
to be able to announce that the British Museum has
just received a magnificent addition to its numismatic
treasures, by the gift from the Count de Salis of his well
known collection of coins. These are in fourteen
cabinets, containing altogether as many as 7,000 coins,
brought together with the greatest taste during many
years of the count's life, and at an expense of about
£5,000. The munificent donor has at the same time
offered his services gratuitously to the Museum to assist
in al-ranging the cc action, or in amalgamating it with
aye",
that already in the Museum. The trustees h
course, accepted his offer with tha.ukz.—Crit:c, of

OCTOBER 24, 1859.