The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-01-30 00:00:00

CORONER'S CO URT.

Yesterday,the coroner held inquests on the bodiesof the
undernamed persons, who had died from the following
causes :

James Henry Batson, aged three months, the son of
au engine driver, who died on the preceding day. On
Sunday last, the mother of the deceased was unwell, and
went to a chemist to get some mixture, which she in-
cautiously afterwards gave a portion of to the child. The
child was taken ill soon after, and she went to a surgeon,
who blamed her for giving the medicine to the child,
but did not think that it would cause death. He was of
opinion that the child died from convulsions, and the
jury returned a verdict to that effect.
Also, on the body of Joseph Alcock, aged 55 years, a
glazier in the employ of Mr. Robert Greigson, of Wigan,
who is also a contractor in that line of business for the
Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. Oa
Saturday last, the deceased was employed at the goods
station in Great Howard street, where he had a ladder
placed on a waggon. The ladder was accidently removed,
and the deceased fell, and died from the injuries he had
received. Verdict accordingly.

IfURDEROUS ATTACK BY RAILWAY NAVVIES.

On Saturday afternoon, Me. John Brown, of the firm of
Messrs. Brown and Morris, sub-contractors for the East Kent
Railway, now in formation from S',.rouil to Dover, was most
savagely attacked by a gang of about thirty of his navvies. Mr:
Brown, according to his usual custom, paid Isis men at four
o'clock, and one who had a largo amount to receive, a.g a
balance for piece work done, disputed the amount offma him,
when Mr. Brown immediately placed the mnr_',ey in his pocket,
and left Gillingham for the station At Stroud by the omnibus,
to go to his tesidence at Grave end. As soon as he alighted
at the Stroud station., be was at once surrounded by about
thirty of hit rir:st powerful navvies, several of whom pinioned
him, wl'f;se the others most savagely attacked him ; and, but
f",;(- the timely interference of Mr. Price, the station master,
and his few constables, Mr. Brown would, in all probability,
have lost his life. Oa the appearance of Mr. Price and
assistants, the cowardly villians fled. Mr. Brown was taken
into the station, bleeding profusely, his face completely dis-
figured from the cruel blows inflicted upon him. Havink
been placed in a carriage, he was conveyed to bra r°sidence
at Gravesend. Tho Rochester magistrates have granted w..r.
rants for as many of the navvies as could be identified, but
the ringleader is still at large. Tho police have clasp s,c,od
messengers all down the line, to try and apprehend those who
have as yet escaped jastice.

The annual banquet, in honour of the birth of Moliere,
took place a few days ago in Paris. It was presided over
by Baron Taylor, 117 guests l'eing present.
APPRQACUING MARRIAGE.—A letter from St. Petersburg
states that the higher classes of society in that capital have
their attention taken up with another marriage, which
excites uo less attention awl that of the Count do
Moray with Mlle. de Tronbetzkoi—natnely, that of the Duke
d'Ossuna with Mlle. De Straudsnann, lady of honour to the
Empress.

"Two extremely serious facts," says the Aurnblee
.21'ational, " have been brought to liplA by the French
official census of 1850, and which have not only excited
attention of the public, but formed the subjet:t of corsidervt
tion in the Aesdemy of Moral and Political Sciences at one
of its recent sittings. The first fact is an almost Complete interruption in the progress of the national population since
the census of 1851, and the second is the extraordinary
tendency evinced, during the same period, by the people of
the c‘inntry districts to remove to the largo towns, and
particularly to the capital. From 1851
to 18504 France,
according to the Est census, has only gained 256,000
inhabitants. In the same number of years, from 1841 to
1846, the increase was 1,200,000."
ABUSE OF THE PA.B,DONING Powlia.—There is no doubt
that the judicions exercise of the prerogative of mercy
towards criminals may, in some instance, be more beneficial
to the community and the, convict than the too strict execu-
tion of the awards of justice, and that the use of this pre-
rogative is one of the most agreeable powers with which 01.3
executive office is invested. To make it, however, beneficial
either to the public or the criminal, or eves to render ii
justifiable—there should be the strongest- and roost
obvious reasons for its exertion; rounded either in the
amended moral character bf the offender to whom
pardon is to be extenid3, or in a well grounded doubt
as to the entire jostice of his convection and the measure of
his punishment. For the wholesale pardons with which
ex-Governor Clark marked his retirement from office,—
having opened the prison doors to fourteen persons con-
victed of some of the gravest crimes against person and
ap
fr ofipvear tayt
nonehers, n to theof
the l sw,
aboveand commutedrea
is
ar a
ad
the
made
punishment
to a
P appear
individualn
mastt is tto rea he motivesives
tworhk gn
is
vcel
ne meeanecye n h . Tt hea
a j
a ohbe
dc ta ef h-
ea re wi lio
transgresses the law, but to deprive a dangerous or? u
of the means and opportunity of renewing his offence,
teaching him the unavoidable consequences of guilt.
and through his example, deterring others from the
commission' of similar offences. If through a mistaken no-
, tion of philanthropy, the Executive intervene to stay the
sentence of the Judiciary, and let loose upon the community
those who have outraged its laws, not only are the labour
and expense of their conviction wasted, but they are
encouraged to return to their evil ways, and are furnished
with good arguments to induce co hers to follow their baneful
example. We believe that the apparently indiscriminate
exercise of the pardoning power by Governor Clark has
been generally reprobated, both in this State and through.
out the union,—Nfto York Payer.

HEALTH COMMITTEE.

The usual weekly meeting of the msmbers of this
committee was held yesterday, at the Town Hall. Mr.
Alderman Dover presided. The other members present
were Messrs. Sheil, Mq3luffie, Crosthwaite, Tinne, Johnson,
Anthony, Stitt, Hodgson, and Haydock.
THE HEALTH' OF THE TOWN.
The medical officer of health reported that there had
been a further increase in the mortality of the borough, the
deaths having risen from 197, in the week ending 10th
January, to 218 in the following week, and 241 in the
week ending on last Saturday. Although showin a in-
crease of 23, as csinpared with the previous week, the
mortality is still 12 less than the average of the same week
of the preceding nine years. The increase is apoareotly
censeqtrent in a great measure on the unusually frrqueot
and sudden changes of temperature during the last four
weeks. Of the 241 deaths last week, 181 were in the
parish, and 60 in the out-townships. The deaths from
diseases cf the lungs in the last three weeks hive been
successively, 68, 79, and (last week) 90, this number being
greater than in any of the seven weeks preceding. From
zymotic diseases there 61 deaths, of which scarlatina
caused 17, measles 10, hooping cough 7, diarrhoea, &c., 7,
typhus and infantile fever 8, purpura 1. One infant and
two adults died from syphilis, and two children and one
ada't from small pox, the latter not having been vacci-
nated.
Mr. Hodgson : I should like to ask if there have been
any cases of diarrhoea ?
The Clerk : That includes so many diseases.
Mr. Hodgson : I should like to know if there has been
a greeter number this week than there has been for several
preceding weeks ?
Dr. Duncan : The number is rather more than is usual
at this season of the year.
Mr. Hodgson : r.low much more ?
Dr. Dineen : Three or four, but they were all children ;
and taking the last two weeks, the average will be about
the same.
Mr. Hodgson: That is important. It will show if the
Rivingfon water has had any effect.
Mr. Crosthwaite : Exactly so.
The subject then dropped.
OFFICIAL REPORTS.
The Berough Engineer, Building Surveyor, and Inspector
of Nuisances reported various particulars of the operations
in their several departments during the week, from which
it appeared that 142 dilapidated privies and ashpits were
altered and repaired; 1038 ce,spools had been discharged ;
102 nuisances complained of by inhabitants had been
inspected, and means taken to remedy them ; 576 houses in
the unhealthiest districts, containing 1805 apartments and
385 cillars, had been put under examination with the view
of improving their sanitary condition; and 90 lodging
houses had also been examined and reported upon.
ASSESSMENT OF THE LYCEUM AND ATHEN/BUM READING
ROOMS.
The Clerk then explained that some time since he had
been instructed to get an opinion as to the liability of the
Athenaeum and Lyceum to be assessed to the poor and
other local rates. To both institutions applications had
been made, and payment refused. He had got the opinion
of Mr. Monks on the subject.
Mr. Tinne : Don't you think that we had better keep
the opinion to ourselves ?
Tne Clerk : It may safely be read. He then read the
opinion, which in effect was, that such institutions were not
.exempt from any rate for the relief of the poor; not being
devoted for the purposes of science or art.
Mr. Hodgson then, after expressing his astonishment that
such institutions had not been made to contribute to the
rates, moved that the clerk be in,tructed immediately to
proceed against both institutions.
Mr. Haydock seconded the motion.
Mr. Crosthwaite said he was one of the proprietors of
the Lyceum, and was of the opinion that they were liable,
but some of the committee thought otherwise. He thought
that when it was understood that they were liable that the
the money would be immediately paid.
Mr. Ilaydock : The clerk wilt do all that is necessary.
Mr. Johnson moved that an application be made for the
mone.
They Chairman : Allow the matter to rest in the hands of
the clerk. He will do all that is necessary, without taking
legal proceedings.
THE PUBLIC OFFICES IN DALE STREET.
A correspondence between the Town Clerk and Mr.
Booker, of Oawestry, relative to the erection of a new-post
office on the.site of ground in Dale street intended for the
new public offices, was next reed. In the letter of Mr
I3oo,ker, in reply to one sent by the town clerk, it was
stated that if a new post office was erected there, the
government would require an area of from 3,000 to 3,500
squaro yards of land.
The Chairman said he had been anxious to move in cone•
mittee that a day should be fixed for receiving an answer
from the post office authorities, as it was quite clear that
they were not very anxious about having a site, bet it was
overruled, Mr. Holme promising to 'have an interview
with Mr, Booker on the subject, and get a decided answer
from him on the subject.
After a short discussion, it was agreed that as the town
clerk was going to London, on other business, directly. after
the next council meeting, that he should endeavour to get a
decided answer from the post office authorities on the
• subject.
There being no other businee, the committee adjourned.

HORRIBLE CRUELTY TO AN INFANT.

On Wednesday, George Hicknott, aged 26, described on the
charge sheet as a shoemaker, residing at Northumberland
place, Clerkenwell, was placed at the bar of Clerkenwell
police Court, on a warrant, before Mr. Corrie, charged with
"unlawfully and murderously assaulting and beating Mary
Hunt," an infant only sixteen months' old. Mr. George
Ross, of 13, Weymouth Terrace West, Hackney road,
relieving officer of Shoreditch parish, said : Last Wed-
nesday week the mother, with the child in her arms, applied
to 710 for relief, at the same time stating that she had
formerly re,ided in this parish. Finding that the child
appeared to be in a dying state, I at once admitted it, with-
out making any enquiry, and when it was examined, it was
found to be covered with lines anl marks; as if it had been
cut:with a cane or stick ; its stomach wag one mass of sores,
and the back had nearly the whole of the skin off; in facs,
it appeared more like a skinned rabbit than a human being.
(Sensation:) The mother, a day or two afterwarids,
appeared before the trustees, and they having heard the facts,
directed that the prisoner should be taken before the magistrates.
A summons was then taken out against the defendant, but he
got out of the way, and in consequence a warrant was granted
for his apprehension. Since the chill had been in the
workhouse it had improved wonderfully, but although it has
been well treated, the marks of the violence it had received
were still visible upon its body. The surgeon to whom the
child had been first shown had given the following certificate :
" Shoreditch Workhouse, Jan. 26.—1 hereby certify that on
the 16th instant I examined the infant of Mary Hnnt, an
inmate of this house, who presented marks of extreme punish-
ment with a cane, or some such instrument, on the legs and
thighs. There was also excoriations on its hip and elbow, as
though arising from scalds. The infant was emaciated, and
suffering from diarrhcea.—JAMEs CLARK, medical officer."
Police constable Haines said, that en the 16th the mother of
the child came to the station, and said that she wished the
police to go with her ;nd get her child. He went with her to.
the prisoner's residence, and on a heap of dirty rags saw the
child, lying in a very filthy state. The mother then pulled,
pp the child's clothes., and he then saw a large sore on the
bend of its knee. The stomach was raw, and up3n asking
how it was done, the prisoner said he had given it to a woman
to poise, and she had got drunk and se ,Ided it. Upon asking
the prisoner how he accounted for some of the other marks of
violence, he said he had beaten the child with a small cane,
(Sensation.) From the child's appearance, it seemed to me as I,
if it was dying ; it was in so deplorable a state. Mr.
Ross here remarked that he was, in the course of his inquiries,
called upon to see many shocking sights, but he never
' saw a worse one than this. Jemima Hunt said she was
the mother of the child, and about seven weeks ago, as
she had no work, prisoner said he would take the child
and pay his mother for i's sup?ert. A young woman told
her that her child was very ill, and upon going to the room,
and asking prisoner how her child got in that shocking
Mate, he replied that a woman had got drunk and had
dropped the child on the fire. She found other bruises
and wails, which the, prisoner said ho had. done with a cane.
(Sensation.) The marks are not gone yet. (Hisses.) Mr
Corrie asked the prisoner what he had got to say in jus'ifica-
tioa or mitigation of such conduct ? The prisoner, who treated
the matter in a very cavalier sort of way, said : Well, I own
that the marks on the, child's back I did, but it was only with
a thin cane. (Hisses.) I was holding the child to
warm it, when it jumped out of my arms and fell on the blazing
fire. The other marks are not bruises, they are. only scalds.
Mr. Corrie asked Hunt whether she had affiliated the child to
,the defendant? Hunt replied in the negative, rise pri-
sonersometimes gave het 61. a week, and sometimes nothing.
MrCorrio addressed the prisoner as follows :—You had
no bus'ness to take the child from its mother unless you
were going !o succour and treat it properly. You, know,
according to your own statement, that the person to whom
you gave the child was a drunkard, and you had no right
.to
trust her with its care. If you, taking the child from its
mother, had neglected to take proper .care of it
and thenourishment, child
died, you would have to take the consequences. Ther© can
be no doubt that if the child had not been taken to the work-
house it would have been sacrific:d. With regard to the
burning, there is no evidence that I can act upon ; but for
your brutal conduct towarls the infant by beating it with a
cane, I shall send you to the House of Correction, with hard
labour, for three months. The prisoner was hissed as he was
being removed.

DOCK COMMITTEE.

The usual weekly meeting of the dock committee was
held at one o'clock yesterday, Mr. Charles Turner in the
chair. The following members were present :—Messrs.
Rankin, Chaloner, Littledale,Brocklebank, Bold, Locket,
Clint, Hubback, Chilton, Smith, Gladstone, Halhead,
Evans, Anderson, Barber, and Rathbone.
The sub committee of works produced the plans of
sheds on the dock quays, which had been before the
general committee on the 15th instant, and were referred
back to the sub committee. The plans had since been
considered and approved by the harbour mas ers' sub-
comruitt e, and were now recommended. The plans were
understood to be adopted.
The tender of Mr. W. P. Smith for three tons of tile
or small ingot copper, and five tons of cake spelter, were
recommended and accepted.
The marine department committee produced a report
from the marine surveyor on the offers and suggestions
for the improvement of life boats, and recommen led
measures to give additional buoyancy to life boats by
means of cork and air cases. The following is the
report :
The Marine Surveyor submits the following report on
the offers and suggestions for the improvement of life boats,
which have been laid before your committee. The several
plans are first briefly described in order, according to the
peculiar properties claimed for each by its designer, and
numbered for the convenience of reference to them :
No. 1. Mr. Henderson's boat is designed for fisherman's
use, but is capable of conversion at any time into a life boat.
Ettra buoyancy is supplied by cork in the bottom under
the platform, and by air tight casks round the sides under
the thwarts. Self righting power is creited by air tight
casks placed in the bow and stern above the thwarts, and an
iron keel. She- has an iron sliding keel to make her
weatherly under sail, self acting valves, to free herself from
water, to the line of floatation, and pumps to remove the
remainder. She is now lying at Birkenhead.
No. 2. Mr. Clarkson's boat. Extra buoyancy is pro-
vided by means of detached air cases, of which we have no
particular description. They are, I believe, formed of
wood and gutta peicha. Her self righting power is
afforded by air cases in the bow and stern, and for
counterbalance 'an iron keel. Has provision for freeing
herself of water to the line of floatation, aad pumps for
removing the remainder. Has an iron sliding keel for
increasing her hold of .the water, and is built of alternate
layers of cork, canvas and wood, united by marine glue. A
boat in general principles as above, built by Mr. Clarkson,
two years ago, is now in the Transit shed, Prince's dock.
No. 3. Mr. Hawkesworth's boat. Extra buoyancy is
afforded by air tight chambers built into the boat round
her sides and in the bow and stern, also in the bottom
of the boat, except in a space amid ships
reserved for water ballast. These chambers are divided
into numerous air tight compartments, so that in case of
accident to part, the remainder retain their effectiveness.
Self righting power is prosrided by a contrivance whereby
the boat being capsized, the air cases on one side become
filled with water; those on the opposite side, together
with her ballast, acting to restore her to her upright position.
She has self acting valves and pumps for freeing herself
from water.
4. The Tug Company's boat, built by Messrs Gale, of
Whitby. Extra buoyancy is provided by air cases in the
bottom, extending fore and aft the boat; air cases round the
sides, and in the head and stern sheets up to a level with
the shrouds; has -delivering tubes for freeing herself from
water to her line of floatation. Has no self righting power.
5. Messrs Lamb and White's boat. Extra buoyancy sup-
plied by air cases round the sides, and in the bow and stern,
rising to the height of the gunwale, and which are divided
into numerous water tight compartments. Has no provision
for freeing herself from water except what she would roll
out, and no self righting power.
6. Mr. Richardson's boat consists of two metallic cylinders,
divided into many water tight.Eompartments, secured parallel
to each other, at a distance of about three feet, with a raised
grating platform on them, extending 'nearly their full
length.
7. Mr. Gelling's suggestion for fitting masts, bowsprit,
belaying pins for sheets, &e, as weights, by their own gravity
alone to retain their places so long as the boat retains her
proper position, but if overturned to drop out, freeing her of
her masts, sails, &c, thereby removing an impediment to her
righting herself.
8. Lieutenant Butler's plan is that of attaching man ropes
to the 'keel, by which men could hold on securely to a
capsised boat until assistance should arrive.
The following are the peculiar advantages attached to
each boat, and the disadvantages that arise :
Nos. 1,2, and 3, have each the power of self-righting.
In Nos. 1 and 2. the principle by which the power is gained
is similar ; in No. 3, it is different, and the plan is patented.
In the two first, the principle is the same, slightly modifiedin detail as that in Beeching's boat, which obtained the
Duke of Northumberland's prize, a principle which has been
applied in many other instances; its main features consist
in placing in the bow and stern above the-centre of gravity
a power sufficient to float the boat when bottom up, the
ballasting of the boat being so managed as to assis` her in
righting herself; repeated experiments in the presence of
witnesses have satisfied the projectors of these boats, of the
correctness of their theory ; but the smooth water in which
such experiments are usually made is widely different in its
effects from that of a heavy, broken, running sea ; even in
smooth water this power seems liable to be destroyed by the
clinging of helpless men to the beat, as was evinced in the
case ofßeeching's boat when tried in the Liverpool Dock a
few years since under the directions of your committee,
when considering the subject of the improvement of life
boats. Beecbing's boats have failed, I believe, in four or
five instances, when actually engaged in service, to realize
this power, and that at a large sacrifice of life.
Perke's boat, which is now adopted' by the National Life
Boat Institution. designed from various models submitted
for the Northumberland competition, and combining the
same application of self-righting power, has failed at
least once. The high bow and stern must retard
such boats very much in pulling head to wind
while the weight of fittings placed above the centre
of gravity, and the large surface they present in the broad-,
side to the wind, must deprive the boat considerably of her
stability,.increasing her tendency to roll and wallow in the
sea; and, further, the raised air cases in the extremes render
it very difficult to receive persons over the bow or stern;
when end on to a wreck—often the only way a wreck can
be approached.
The two boats under consideration possess the advantage
of detached air cases, providing for the security of the
buoyant power even though the boat should be stove.
The method adopted by Mr. Hawksworth (in No. 3) for
obtaining so f righted power, is not open to the objective
above mentioned; the form f his boat offers no uunece sary
resistance to the wind, and the head and stern sheets admit
of her approaching a wreck end on effectually. She has
stood the usual experimental tests; but there being, I
believe, only three boats on, this patent -in use—one at
Sunderland, ore at Hartlepool, and one at Ramsgate—the
principle has not had so many opportunities for testing its
practical efficiency ad the former. The boat now in use at
Sunderland is highly spoken of by its crew as a safe useful
boat. lam not aware that there has been an opportunity
at sea in a gale of wind of testing the peculiar merits of
Mr. H.'s invention.
The three boats above referred to may be said to possess,
in an equal degree, facilities for freeing themselves from

water.
The.two boats next in order (Nos. 4 and 5) have no
pretension to self righting power. The former built by
Messrs. Gale, of Whitby, some years since, seems designed
to form a good sea boat, has great extra buoyancy and
facility from freeing herself from water. Her capsizing,
when-in tow of a steamer, two years since, will be in the'
recollection of your committee. Messrs. Gale have added
improvements to their design since the building of this
boat. The designers of No. 5 allege the impossibility of her
being capsized by the action of wind and sea; this boat
has. been extensively used as a ship's life boat, and
also in several cases as a coast life boat, and I am
not informed of any instance discrediting the
assurance of her builders ; thus far her reputation, is with-
out that blemish which others have sought to compensate
for by the power to self-rig Lt. From her form she is
undoubtedly a superior sea beat; and the manner in which
her air cases rise to the gunwale tend to give her stability
when filled with water. She possesses no power to free
herself from water, except by rolling it over her sides-e-its
escape being facilitated by the shape given to the upper
side of her air trunks, she has the disadvantage of her head
and stern sheets being filled up by air chambers. Ths boat
recently mentioned in the public prints as performing good
service at Broadstairs, in rescuing the crew of the Northern
Belle, was of this description: The boats Nos, 3,4, and
lose
them —an arrangement
b, all under the disadvantage of having ,their air cases
toilt.
their life boat buoyancy bwyhbicehin
readers nsdt eorvse them
which l bli es
attempted to be provided against by the air chambers bring
[ divided into numerous
injured, but further g'reaetneliffi
watertight compartments ; this
[ would preserve the atel of parts, though others were
and repairing,
culties are presented in aver-
, tabling the extent of
fitted. damage to boats so

The tubular holt, from her light draught of water,
presents great facilities for beaching
f awl launching on a flat
generally ;
shore, and is not liable tofomrmanayroe
liableihe accidents to Nvhich.
boats of the ordinary
gale
et
possesses great
of
fh
ewm:
sea
indfaagnegaaibthli butece,agypyn .
sea.risr buoyant power, and seems
inclapsuabblmeiotftowoyrokaiorge,amgaminitatteao
as applied in Nos.. 1 and 2 has hitherto pro-Vreidi'
that
ttself not to
be relied on, while the disadvantage of
mode
its application are manifest and considerable : of'dg of
boats
built on this principle that modification adopted by the
s
National Institution, may in practice prove the best; but it

does seem that the-means taken to procure the peculiar
power claimed as a' distinguishing merit, tends in a measure
to cause the instability which brings such power into
requisition ; experiments made under your direction have
shown that men clinging to them will deprive them of the
power to self right; so that, though a life boat crew,
provided with belts, might afford to relax their hold, the last
helpless passenger must first be washed away before she
could exert the property in question ; and it is recorded of
one of Peake's boats on the south coast that she was not
righted until two of her crew by a line fast to her bilge
pieces brought their strength to her aid. As applied in
No. 3, the power does not appear to have been sufficiently
tested to pronounce upon its value. The form of the boat
is one very frequently applied to life boats, but the great
upward curve of the keel at the ends makes a leewardly
boat. That we are unable to record any opportunity for
testing the peculiar merits,of Mr H 's invention in a gale
of wind at sea ought to argue is favonr of the general good.
qualities of his boat, as it is :certain that the three stations
where she is now in use afford occasions for putting them
to the test. If your committee should be desirous of giving
a trial to the patent principle, it could be fitted to any form
of boat you might be pleased to direct, and the principle is
applicable to detached air chambers as well as to those at
present built into Mr. Hawkesworth's boat.
The Tug Company's boat No. 4 poeseses only the advan-
tage over your own of freeing herself. to her line- of
floatation from water, while she is liable to lose her
buoyancy by the staving of her hull. The latter applies
equally to Messrs. White's boat, No. 5 ; it is recorded that
one of this build actually became disabled in 1850, near the
Goodwin Sands, being stove alongside a wreck, the air
trunks filled with sand and water when she was nicked up
and brought into port by a Margate lugger. This places
her at a disadvantage in comparison with your own boats;
in other respects,she possesses no
_qualities distinctive from
them, and is undoubtedly a good useful boat.
The tubular boat recommends herself by her light draught'
of water, great carrying power, and the little resistance her
construction offers to a broken running sea; she is deficient
in power to work to windward, which must, in many
instances, be fatal to her usefulness as a life boat, since
it is on a lee shore that the most destructive wrecks occur.
The suggestion of Mr. Gelling would be inconvenient
in practice, and his object can with proper precaution be
generally- met, in other ways. Lieutenant Butlee's plan
might in the case of fishing boats be found sometimes
useful, but in boats intended for life boat service would be
often dangerous, as rope's ends depending from the bottom
of the boat would be liable to become entangled, or jamm'd
in floating wreck, and probably disable the boat, his object
too can be partially met in another way,
The Liverpool boats are modelled to ensure good sea
boats, are of great stability, and could be overturned
only by one of those rare occurrences to which any
boat on life boat service must' be liable, despite the
assurance of her builders that she cannot be capsized having
on record three instances (within the last few years)
of life boats being capsized overend (one of them a Great-
head's model at South Shields, a thirty-four feet boat). I
apprehend this is an accident against which no builder of
anything of the dimensions of a boat could provide.
The question of self righting then arises ; to this your boats
have no pretension, and experience dews that the power
has been only partially gained at a sacrifice of the best
qualities of the boat, with increased risk of life, Your
beats are provided with extra buoyancy by means of air-
tight casks placed round the sides under the thwarts
detached from the sides, and therefore effective though the
boat should be stove; this buoyant power is small in pro.,
portion to the cubical contents of the boat, she being equal
to carry six and a-half tons of water up to a level with the
thwarts, with an extra buoy ant power of only one and a quarter
tons. If, therefore bybeinestove or otherwise, she were to fill
to that level, 30 or 40 people in her (she is calculated to
carry 60) would bring her to the waters edge, and though
she kept them afloat, she would be unmanageable as a boat.
They have no means of freeing themselves from water except
by.baling, for which buckets are provided. Formerly, I am
informed, boats were in use at your stations fitted with
delivery pipes through the bottom. These were disconti-
nued in consegnence of the constant damage to which they
were subject in launching and beaching, a disadvantage
applicable to the out stations, where there is a long beach,
but from which the Liverpool station is free. The ordinary
length of your boats is thirty feet. The last new one built
for the Magazines station is two feet longer, and the
improvement is so considerable in her as to make it question-
able whether a further increase on some stations may not be
desirable. The older dimensions were adopted at a time
when towing was little resorted to, and when, if unable to
make headway of themselves, they were accustomed to put
back. Now, the boats of the Liverpool and Magazines
Stations are towed against the heaviest sea by the most
powerful tuns of the port.
I submit to your committee that as iocreese of extra
buoyancy would be a valuable improvement, to be effected
—lst, by increasing the cubical contents of the six casks ;
2nd, by placing air casks athwartships under the thwarts,
the thwarts to be made broad enough to cover them —these
would have the double effect of adding to the buoyant power
and displacing a proportionate quantity of water in the
interior of the boat.. 3rd, by colic fenders outside, extend-
ing well down the sides of the boat, as are now fitting to
the Point of Ayr life boat. A farther decrease in the inte-
rior water space void be effected by caulking and making
water tight the deck platform ; bat this increasing the
buoyancy in the boat's bottom, wou'd, in the event
of her capsizing, assist to prevent her righting,
and would, therefore, require to be counterbalanced
by ballast. This has sometimes been effected by
fitting the space with cork, which, however, in such
situations is likely to become saturated, and thus adtl
seriously to the weight of the boit for transporting. 'Against
iron ballast the same objection of weight lies; and I believ3
that the increased buoyancy and displacement of water
gained by the means before proposed, would render the
displacement gained by the watertight platform a matter of
small import.
In case, however, your committee should deem it
desirable to revert to the delivery pipe, for freeing the boat
from water, the platform, with all its disadvantages, would
become requisite; but the water, by, the new arrangements
proposed, would be confined so much to the bottom of the
boat that the advantages of delivering pipes would be coun-
terbalanced.
Instead of Lieut. Butler's plan, I would propose that
additional bilge keels be fitted, with hand holes in them.
But it will be obvious that any precaution in fitting the
boats your committee may be pleased to direct, are fruit-
less, unless the crews can be induced to wear life belts.
Among the men there is a preference, in some instances, for
the india rubber inflated belts, and in- others for the cork
jackets : the latter seem most generally preferred. Without
belts we have seen that helpless men may cling to a self-
righting boat, thereby preventing her exercising that
property, and when the last man has dropped off, then the
boat may right. With life belts, men accustomed to their
use, and in a boat without self righting power, would be
able to clear away sails or anything impeding her righting,
so that Mr. Gelling's suggestion could be dispensed with ;
and by applying their strength to the bilge pieces and
life
lines round the boat's gunwale, could, without much diffi-
culty, right the boat themselves.
It is astonishing how few men of the crews of your
life boats, although brought•up on the coast to spend-
ing their lives on the sea, are able to swim To
such. the life belts are their only security. It hap-
pens often that signals being made for, the boat,
the crew, en mustering, are in such haste to launch, and
so anxious to proceed to the rescue, that they will not
brook the delay requisite to enable them to put on their.
life belts.
I would submit to your committee the desirability of
enabling the men to suit their own views in the use of lin)
belts ; and for that purpose suggest that cork• belts for
each man he supplied. I propose that these belts, not
being liable to injury, should be kept in the boat, each
man's to be strapped to his thwart, and the India rubber
ones to be kept banging up in the boat house, so that, if
from choice or otherwise, a man embarks without a belt
he will be able to put 'on the cork one after he is afloat ;
in the boats that are towed out this could cause no incon-
venience,and in other boats it would only be the delay of
laying two or more oars in at a time, according to the dis-
cretion of the master The inflation of the India rubber
belts is rather a laborious matter; I therefore propose
that they should be kept inflated ; and each time that the
boat has been on service, whether these belts have been
used or not, they ought to be examined to see that they are
in readiness for the next occasion.
would further suggest the desirability of giving
encouragment to the mien £o use their life belts, by exhibiting
a prize to be contended for once a year ita the water with
a swamped boat.
Munnae T, ?Ames, Marine Surveyor.
January 27, 1857.
Some discussion took place on the report, in which
Mre Lockett advocated the merits of the present life
boat, and Mr. Littledale contended for the superiority
of the principle of Richardson's boat, Mr. Gladstone
recommended th it the opinion of competent merchant
seamen be taken, declaring his opinion that in general
their opinion was more valuable than that of the navy.
On the suggestion of the chairman the discussion was
postponed until the next meeting.
Mr. Benjamin Evans ,was appointed master of the
Point of Ayr life boat.
A letter was read from the Head Constable, stating
that he had issued an order impressing upon the inspec-
tors and officers the necessity of paying the strictest
at'ention to having the chains at the Geo Ta's dock put
up at the proper time, and carefully looked to after-
wards.
The Harbour Master's Committee recommended that a
notice be issued to the effect, that if any party gave a
wrong length ineentering a ship for the graving dock,
the stun deposited should be forfeited, and the vessel

struck off the list. The recommendation , was con-
firmed.
A report was read from the Surveyor, expressing an
opinion that it would be injudicious to erect a chain
testing machine on the Herculaneum estate, and suggest-
ing, if further machinery were required, the margin of
the Great Float at Birkenhead.
This closed the general business.

81R JOHN MWEILL AND COLONEL TULLOCH.

The following address, from some of the most influential
members of the commercial community 'of Liverpool,
consisting of men .of all parties, including Mr. William
Brown, M.P., the chairman of the Dock Committee, the
presidents of the Chamber 'of Commerce and of the
principal associations of the town, and three-fourths of
the magistracy, has been presented to Sir John M4Neill
and Colonel Tulloch. The reply of both the gallant
officers will also be found below.
Liverpool, January 19th, 1857.
Dear Sirs,—As one of the members of this borough, I
have been requested to transmit to you the accompanying
address.
No intimation has been given of it in the local news-
papers, nor has it been left in the usual places for
signature.
It is simply a spontaneous tribute of the subscribers,
and the names attached to it, embrace those of the leading
men of every party, and of the commercial community,
including Mr. Shand, the mayor ; my honourable col
league, Mr. Horsfall ; the nym;r forthe •Sou'hern
Division of the County, Mr. Brown; the Chairman of
the Dock Committee, the Presidents of the Chamber of
Commerce, and the principal associations of the town ;
together with three fourths of the Magistracy, Sir T.
Birch, &c., &c.
The address expresses the deep sense we .entertain of
the services rendered to the country, by the fearless
report you have made of the gross mismanagement in
the Crimea; and that, while honours have beett bestowed
upon some of those to whom the sad calamities whic h
occurred were mainly owing, the honest exertions you
made to retrieve, in some degree, those disasters, have so
far been treated with cold neglect.
We trust, however, that the strong public feeling
entertained, not only by this great town, but by the whole
country, will find its appropriate expression in the early
action of her Majesty's government.
But, whatever may be their decision, the services you
have rendered will long live in the memory and be
cherished in the affections of a grateful nation.
It is a paculiar gratification to me to be the medium
of transmitting this address to you, and I have the
honour to be, dear Sirs, your faithful servant,
Signed, J. C. EVART.
To Sir John M.'Neill, G.C.8., &c., &c. ; Col. Tulloch.

TO SIR JOHN BeNEILL, G.O 13., &0., &0., &C.; COLONEL

TULLOCII.

We desire to express, however inadequately. the deep
sense we entertain of the debt of gratitude which is due
to you for the services you have rendered to your
country; services attended, with results the value of
which it is impossible to overrate, and requiring an
exercise of courage and determination which it is diffi-
cult adequately to estimate. Looking back to and com-
paring the condition of 'the army tprevious to the com-
mencement of your labours with the state in which you
left it, it is not too Much to say that to your exertions
we owe the preservation of the remnant of that noble
body of men, and the rescue of the country from impend
log failure and disgrace.
We' feel keenly that if services such as these are to be
passed over, with silence and ingratitude, whilst reward
and promotion await those whose neglect,, apathy, and
incompetence caused the evils, the consequences of which
you in part averted, it must tend to discourage men of
patriotism, honesty, and talent from entering the public
service, cripple the powers, and enervate the exertions of
those who have already entered it, and do irreparable

injury for the future.
We feel, therefore, that it is the bounden duty of the
Government to mark its sense of the services you have
rendered, Old that it is incumbent on every portion of
your countrymen to lose no opportunity of offering you
the tribute of their gratitude.
It is difficult to say whether pride, or shame, claims
the largest share in the history of the late campaign.
An army, whose active daring, and still more heroic
endurance, exceed all that is recorded in ancient or
modern history, has seen its ranks fall, thick and fast
nnder cold, hunger, and disease, until, in some regi-
ments, hardly a man remained—the mortality from
these causes alone being fourfold that which has made
Walcheren a word of fear and shame for half a' century
—while clothing in abundance lay unused in the stores
at Balaclava, and cattle lined the shores of the Black
Sea, within twenty-four hours' sail.
We feel that it is hardly necessary to assure you that
the proceedings which, since tne presentation to Parlia-
ment of your searching, honest, and able report, have
taken place, apparently with no other object but to
, screen from deserved reprobation those who are justly
responsible for the mismanagement which has been fol-
lowed by these terrible consequences, have been attended
with no-other result than a confirmation of the truth of
that report.
The opinion of a tribunal which proclaimed
its own incompetence to deal with the subject
submitted to it, (an incompetence made more
manifest by each succeeding line of its proceed-
ings), which, as was but too evident from the first,
had arrived at a foregone conclusion, and before which
evidence; too honest to be acceptable, might peril future
promotion, deserves neither attention nor respect.
The proud consciousness of the high duty you have
performed, and the good you have done, is the highest
reward you can receive ; next to this, is the deep and
lasting gratitude of your countrymen.
It is our share of this feeling, which we now beg
respectfully to express.
L Heyworth Jos C Ewart
R Brocklebank Thos Brocklebank
Jno J Stitt Geo Maxwell
Jno Aiken Robn Gladstone
R M Beckwith James Stitt
John Wood-uff W F M'Gregor
Wm Nicholson Adam Lace
Roger Haydock T Sands
Thos L Hodgson Thos Rigge
James Johnson John Finch, Jun
Chas W Shaw Fred L Hull
J A Picton James Crosfield
J P G Smith R W Ronald
Charles J Parker Henry Fernie
John Stewart C Robertson
John Crossthwaite D Mather
Bernard Hall Thomas Lloyd
Samuel Holme iaml Thornely
Alex Shand Joshua Dixon
Jno R M'Cruffie Joseph Robinson
.1 P Heywood Wm Earle
Wm Brown Thos Thornely
Edward Cropper Sam! Bright
Chris Itawdon Win Rathbone
Theo W Rathbone Wm Sandbach
Hy Romilly A C Stewart
Jas Aiken C J Corbally
ItObt Benn Thos Bolton
Geo Holt Joseph Kitchen
Harold Littledale J H Smith
Eyre Evans ' R E Harvey
T B Barclay James H Macrae
Jas R Jeffery Joseph Pater
Richd Sheil John -Wood
Chris Bird Jones Wm Preston
Acchd Briggs Saml B Jackson
C P Melly Thos Chilton
Geo Holt, Jun W Langton
E Harvey A Macgregor
T M Mackay James Baines

Thos B Horsfall
Chas Turner
Robt Rankin
J Palmer Palmer
Francis A Clint
Hilton Flathead
Wm Barber
Adam Hodgson
J G Livingstone
Thos D Anderson
J K Rounthwaite
Jas Smith
0 Holden
Jos Mondell
John Lockett
W Rathbone, jun
Chas Booth
J H Thom
P G Heyworth
T B Birch
'Chas Holland
F Shand
Thos Bouch
Edw Heath
Jno Torr
Josh Hubback
Chas Forget
Peter E wart
S R Graves
R Duckworth
W Balleny
W Dalglish
W Rutson
Isaac B Cooke
J Lamport
R Crosbie
W J Marrow
Fras Maxwell
James Buchanan
Geo Malcolm

Granton House, Edinburgh, Jan. 22,.1857.

Gentlemen,—Yon have Clone me the honour to transmit
to me an address in which more than one hundred of
the leading gentlemen of Liverpool, holding various
political opinions, have united in conveying to me and
to my able and upright colleague, Colonel Tulloch, your
thanks for our services while employed as 'commissioners
in the Crimea. _

The approbation of men who so fully and worthily
represent that enlightened intelligence and that know-
ledge of the world and its affairs which have extended
British commerce to every cnintry of the globe, and have
raised a kingdom comparatively small to unequalled
greatness, is an honour of which every public servant
must be proud ; and I beg of .you, Gentlemen, to believe
that I have received with gratitude, and that I will
preserve with care, this unexpected record of your ap
probation. Perhaps I may be permitted to add that its
value is enhanced 'by its being the only public document
I possess which contains an acknowledgement that. any
service whatever was rendered by the commission.
Believing that the government which •employed that
commission has failed duly to acknowledge its services,
and that public interests are endangered by the course
that has been pursued in regard to it, you have protested
against that course, and have expressed your own views
of the benefits which 'the country has derived from our
exertions. It was natural that, under the influence of
those generous sentiments, yeti should attlibute to us
merits far higher than we coald venture to claim ; for it is
the natural impulse of generous minds to magnify the ob-
ligations which they desire to acknoWledge. The con-
sciousness, however, of having been instrumental in pro.
muting the improvement which was effected in the
coneition of 'that noble army, to which the country
cannot be too grateful, and of having also done
something towards preventing the recurrence of those
evils which it endured with unexampled fortitude,

undoubtedly does afford me an amount of permanent
and tranquil satisfaction, far greater than I could have
derived from any other reward. Bat while I have never,
during a public service of more than forty years, solicited
of any Minister, any favour or re ward for myself, I still
considered it my duty,_ immediately after our report
had been presented to Parliament, to bring officially to
the notice of the Secretary of Sate for War, the zealous
and efficient co operation for which I was, indebted to
my junior colleague, Colonel Tulloch, and to solicit a
reward for him.
When I consented to proceed to the Crimea, at
the head of a commission, I conceived that my duty
to the country was in perfect accordance with the
intentions and wishes of the Government. Lord
Palmerston had urged the substitution of a com-
mission in the Crimea for the Committee of the
House of Commons, demanded by -Mr. Roebuck,
and had thus, as it appeared to rne, pledged the
Government to an unflinching enquiry. ' My duty, as I
understood it, was to conduct the enquiry without fear
or favour, and to report the result faithfully, without.
considering who it might inculpate or who exculpate.
The welfare of the British army, the honour of her
Majesty's arms, the interests of the nation, in more than
one quarter of the gl .be, and the success of the war,
waged to defend the freedom of Europe, ware all at stake
in the Crimea, and I did not consider it possible that,"
at such a moment, any one wont& give way to mere per-
sonal considerations. Colonel Tulloch, who had subse-
quently been appointed to accompany me, and who had
already rendered valuable services to the army and to the
country, cordially concurred in those views of our duty,
and I took early and frequent occasions to announce
them on our arrival in the camp.
Having carried out those views with undeviating'and
often painful fidelity, and having, in measured and
moderate terms, temperately stated,the results -in our
reports, accompanied- by the evidence, oral and docu-
mentary, on which they were founded, I conceived that
we bad done our duty, both to the government and to the
country. It then became the business of the government
to protect the public interests involved in the assertion
and maintenance of every truth contained in our report,
that could be made available' for the advantage of the
army or the nation ; and I declined to interfere with the
execution of the trust which had devolved upon her
Majesty's ministers, and for which they alone were
responsible.
What objects, with reference to us and to our report, may
have been contemplated by her Majesty's Ministers in the
course which they thought it proper to pursue, I do not
pretend to know or to understand ; but whatever their inten-
tions may have been, their proceedings appear to have pro-
duced a very general impression that the acknowledged fidelity
of ear report was not in accordance with their wishes, and the
feeling thus produced must affect.the disposition of the country
to entrust to the executive any inquiries connected with the
army that may hereafter be called for. This is a result
which, with reference to constitutional consideration, they, as
Ministers of the Crown, cannot be supposed to desire.
While the proceedings of the Government, acting through
the War Department, were regarded as indications of a desire
to discredit the Commissioners and neutralize their report, the
language of the Prime Minister, in the House of Commons,
evinced his disposition to do them justice. In the debate of
the 29th' February, upon Mr. Roebuck's motion, condemning
the course which the Government were pursuing in this matter,
and after Mr. Peel, the organ of the War Department, had
excited much irritation by the speech hostile to the Commis-
sienna!, Lord Palmerston, in answer to a challenge or
appeal from Mr. Gladstone, expressed in strong terms the
entire satisfaction of the Government with the conduct of tho
Commissioners, and freely acknowledged the advantages which
the public service had derived from our proceedinga: The
subsequent conduct of the Government seems to have indicated
less of accordance with the sentiments thus expressed by its bead
than with those which the public had attributed to the War
Department.
More recently, at a dinner, at Arbroath, on the 30th
December, Lord Panmure stated, for the first time in public,
that the Government approved of our Report, which had been
in his hands nearly twelve months, and before Parliament and
the public almost as long. The tardiness of this announcement
by that member of the Government, at whose special request
the Commissioners undertook the service they had performed
—whose instructions they bad faithfully carried out—to whom
they had made their Report, who was primarily responsible for
all proceedings in regard to them, and from whom they were
especially entitled to look, for countenance and support, is a
matter of which I am altogether unable to give any satisfactory
explanation.
In the meantime, the proceedings to which you refer had
been carried on at Chelsea, by a Board of General officers,
selected by the Government, and acting under its eye and
supervision. Of the report of that Board I need only say that
I consider it a suitable result of the proceedings which led to
it, and which are not calculated, I fear, to impress the people
of this country with profound admiration of the taste, the
feeling, or the spirit in which they were carried on.
The candour and fairness with which the commissioners
desired to acquit themselves of a painful duty is clearly evinced,
I think, in their report, and especially in the concluding para-
graph (page 49). To have concealed the defects which bad
been made apparent would have been to betray the trust
reposed in us. To have sought occasions to cast obloquy upon
individuals would have been altogether repugnant to our feel-
ings. Ido not believe there is a single passage in our reports
that can justly be regarded as implying or insinuating the
slightest shadow of an imputation upon the motives of any man.
The officers who complained of that report have mostly been
less scrupulous. But the whole matter is now before the
public, the tribunal of ultimate resort in all snch cases, and I
leave it with entire confidence in their hands.
The most anxious wish of the country, from the Queen to
the humblest of
,her subjects, was to provide'the army of the
east with all that was.necessary to its welfare, and even to its
comfort. There was no time, from the commencement to the
termination of the war, -at which the people of this
country were not ready to furnish any amount of
funds that might be considered necessary for that
purpose. The resources of the country were greater
than at any former time. Its power to produce every manu-
factured article that the army could require was such as the
world had never before seen. Its mercantile marine provided
fleets of transports, including its magnificent ocean steamships,
such as no other- army ever commanded. The resources
of the Turkish provinces were found sufficient to supply
nearly, three times the number of men. with abundance of
wholesome food for another year, without being exhausted.
The army occupied the same ground throughout the whole
time, and was as stationary as the population of a town. No
part of it was ever more than seven miles distant from a
secure harbour, and a considerable- part was encamped
within a mile or two of 'the port.' The allied navies
had undisputed command of the sea, so that vessels of all
classes navigated it with the same security as in a time of
profound peace. Yet the country is expected to believe that
with all these almost boundless resources, and these means and
facilities, it was impossible, by any exercise of talent, energy,
and foresight, to provide either sufficient food or sufficient
clothing For twenty or thirty thousand men during their first
winter in the Crimea.
This is a proposition upon which you, gentlemen, are per-
haps better qualified than any other body of men to pronounce
an opinion, and you have repelled the impeachment of your
intelligence and knowledge implied in so extravagant a demand
on your credulity.
It remains for me only to repeat the assurance of the
gratitude and respect with which I have the honour to be,
gentlemen, your very obedient, humble servant,
(Signed) JOHN ITNEILL.
J. C. Ewart, Esq., M.P. T. B. Horsfall, Esq., M.P.
J. P. Heywood, Esq. T. Brocklebank, Esq.
Wm. Brown, Esq , M.P. C. Holland, Esq.
C. Turner, Esq. Thos. Thornley. Esq., M.P.
F. Shand, Esq. Wm. Rathbone, Esq.
Lawrence Heywortb, Esq., M. P.

63,_Eaton.square, London, Jan. 24, 1857.

Gmtlemen,—l have the honour to acknowledge receipt
of the address kindly forwarded to me, through Mr.
Ewart, M.P., expressing your thanks for the services of
Sir John M'Neill and myself, as commissioners in the
Crimea.

If anything could add to the satisfaction with which I
have received this spontaneous mark of approbation from
one of the first cities in the empire, it would be the time
chosen for presenting it.
During" a warfare such as that through which this
country has recently passed, expressions of opinion, are
apt to be tinctured by the excitement of the moment; but,
when that is over, the deliberately recorded approbation
of a body, whose position, habits, and intelligence render
them so well. qualified to judge,, becomes doubly valuable.
I am apprehensive that the warmth of your feelings in
this matter may have led you to place a greater value on
my services than they merit; but, whatever may be their
value, I can at least affirm that they have been truly and
conscientiously rendered, to the best of my ability, with-
out respect to the parties who might be inculpated. The
period which has elapsed since the publication of the
proceedings of the Chelsea Board seems rather to have
strengthened than impaired the conviction that the facts
recorded by myself and colleague in our report were but
too well founded.

Having stated in a volume just issued from the press,
and of which I transmit a copy, my objections to that
board, even though professional reasons induced me to
appear before it, it is unnecessary for me to make any
further comments on that head, but. in conclusion, permit
me to assure yOu that I shall never forget either the kind
feelings which have iiidtieed .the present address, or that
my cause was upheld, by the public as their own, when I
lay on a sick bed, unconscious of what was passing, and
unable to defend myself.
With the deepest feelings, of respect and gratitude, I
have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your most obedient,
humble servant,
(Signed), 3,

ALEX. M. Tux,Loco.