The Sun.
London, England, 1853-01-07 00:00:00

PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM SHIPWRECK.

Yesterday, at a meeting of the General Committee of
the Society for the Preservation of Life from Shipwreck,
the following rewards were ordered to be granted :
A reward of 91. was granted to the crew of one of the
Anglesea life-boats, in consideration of their laudable and
persevering exertions in saving the crew, consisting of
fourteen persons, of the brig Athena, from Alexandria to
Liverpool, which was wrecked near Llanddwyn, on the
20th ult. The poor fellows were found to be in a state
of complete exhaustion when they were rescued from
their perilous situation. Shortly after leaving the wreck
she went to pieces.
A reward of 3/. 17s. was also voted to a Shetland boat's
crew for services rendered by them to the crew of the
schooner Janet Gibson, from. Archangel to London,
wrecked near Lerwick, a short time ago, during a dense
fog and a strong easterly swell,
The silver medal of the institution and two sovereigns
were voted to Mr. Christopher Day, master of the steam-
tug Contractor, of Middlesboro'-Tees, for his promptitude
and gallantry in going off in his steamer during a strong
gale from the eastward, to rescue the crew of the Louisa,
of Stettin, which was wrecked near the entrance of the
river Tees, on the 29th of Oct.. last, and soon afterwards
went to pieces. This was stated to be a most gallant
act on the part of Mr. Day. His crew received also a
reward of 10s. each for their services on the occasion.

A reward of 1/. each was granted to the crew of the
Aberdeen life-boat, in consiideration of their humane
though unsuccessful efforts to rescue the crew of the
brig Venus, wrecked outside the harbour of that place,
a short time since. The gallant men made six unsuc-
cessful attempts to reach the wreck, but on the seventh
they approached sufficiently near her to rescue one poor
fellow, six others having perished in the interval.
A reward of 3/. 10s. was granted to a boat's crew, of
Thorpness, Suffolk, for rescuii ig the master and crew of
the Mary Ann, .f Sunderland, which was wrecked near
that place on the 19th ult. To. the promptitude and gal-
lantry of the boatman named Chard and his crew, the
two men who were found on pieces of the wreck owed,
under Providence, their lives. Chard had on a previous
occasion received the medal o f the institution.

A reward of 2/. 105. was voted to a number of poor
fishermen on the coast of Donegal for their services to
the crews of two boats which had capsized on the sea.
The silver medal of the institution was granted to
Lieutenant Parsons, R.N., chief officer of the Bourne-
mouth Coast-guard Station, orset, and a reward of 4/.
to his boat's crew of four men for their gallant services
to some of the crew of the barque William Glen-
anderson, timber laden. The ship being observed,
during the late hurricane, t.) part from her anchors,
the officer and his men, without delay, hired horses
and two timber trucks to convey his boat abreast
of the wreck. Having launched his boat, she was
instantly filled with water, and her crew .yvashed on
shore ; but on the second attempt they succeeded in
reaching the wreck and rescuing the eight persons on
board. Another boat, belonging to the yacht of Sir
Percy Shelley, had also put o IF to the wreck, manned
by five persons ; but she also. immediately filled and
turned bottom up, keeping two of the crew under her.
The Coast-guard boat was agaiin launched, manned by
the sams gallant men, and sucoeeded in saving four out
of five of her crew, one poor man having been too long
imraersed in the water for anix nation to be restored in
_ _

A grant of 201. was mado to the widows and orphans
of the three men who unfortunately perished in their
humane attempt to go to. the assistance of the
crew and passengers of the. emigrant ship Heroine,
which was wrecked off Lyine Regis during the late
disastrous hurricane ; and the thanks of the com-
mittee, on vellum, were ordered to be presented seve-
rally to Captain Willoughby, RN., inspecting comman-
der of the Coast-guard at Lyme Regis ; Lieutenant Ir-
vine, R.N., chief officer of the Bournemouth Coast-
guard station ; and to Mr.. H. Harvey, commanding
her Majesty's revenue cutter Francis, in appreciation of
their meritorious and arduous exertions on the occasion
of the wrecks of the sloops Adbl and Sarah, and the
barque Heroine ; and a reward of 10s. each was voted
to their respective crews. It was stated that it was the
intention of the institution to place a life-boat at Lyme
forthwith.

A reward of 51. was granted to the crew of the Mael-
fre life-boat, Anglesea, for valuable services rendered by
them in saving the crew of the schooner Emma, of Car-
diff, wrecked near that place on the 10th of November
last. The night was unusually dark, and the life-boat
was engaged for five- hours in rescuing the poor
fellows. This is the second service this boat has
rendered to shipwrecked crews within the last
few weeks. It was stated that several of the earlier life-
boats of the institution, which are on the plan of Mr.
George Palmer, of Nazing-park, are now on service in
Anglesea, and that since their first establishment there,
about twenty-five years ago, they have been instrumental,
under God, in saving some hundreds of lives of ship.
wrecked persons. It was also stated that during the
last two months between 300 and 400 wrecks had taken
place on various parts of the coasts of the United King-
dom, and the destruction to life therefrom was propor-
tionately large. Yet, with all these startling facts before
them, the apathy of the public on the subject is fearfully
astounding ; and it is with great regret that we find an
institution which has for its principal object the pro-
viding of means to lessen in part this annual ihavoc
among our hardy seamen meets with less support, from
the highest to the lowest rank among us, than any other
charitable society of like importance in the kingdom.