The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-07 00:00:00

PRESERVATION OF LIFE FROM SHIPWRECK.

On Thursday a meeting of the general committee of
the National Institution for the Preservation of Life
from Shipwreck, was held at the offices, John-street,
Adelphi. The chair was occupied by the Duke of Nor-
thumberland, K.G. We also observed present—Col.
Blanshard, R.E., C. 8., Captain Davies, R.N., Admiral
Sir T. Herbert, M.P., Captain W, H. Hall, R.N., Cap-
tain Halsted, R.N., Mr. Edward Hurry, Captain Ingle-
field, R.N., Captain Jerninghava, R.N., Capt. M‘Hardy,
R.N., Mr. W. S. Marshall, Captain Ommanney, R.N.,
Major Palmer, Mr. James Peake, Captain Perrott, Mr.
J. D. Powles, Captain-Washington, R.N., and Captain
Ward, R.N.

Mr. Lewis, the secretary, having read the minutes of
the previous meeting,
Mr. Alderman Thompson, M.P., was unaniznously
elected chairman of the society, in the room of the late
Mr. Thomas Wilson, of Jeffreys-square, who had occu-
pied that office for nearly 30 years, and had been one of
the founders of this noble institution.

The Duke of Northumberland afterwards formally
handed over to the society the several life-boats he had
recently placed on the coast of Northumberland—an act
of great liberality on the part of his grace in the cause
of humanity, and which the meeting suitably acknow-
ledged.

The committee then proceeded to vote the gold medal:
lion of the society, and a small gold boat appended
thereto, to Mr. George Palmer, of Nazing Park, in ad-
miration of the invaluable services the life-boats on his
plan, built by this institution during the last 25 years,
had rendered to the cause of humanity, the lives of some
hundreds of shipwrecked persons having been saved b y
them on various parts of the coasts of the United Ki ng-
dom during that period.
The silver medal of the institution was voted to Mr.
John Collison, master of the William and Mary, of
Stonehaven, in consideration of his gallant conduct on
the occasion of the wreck of the schooner Christiana,
near that place in November last.

The Sillier medal was also presented to Richard Sin-
nott, coast-guard ceief boatman, of Mullaghmore station;
and four sovereigns to his crew of four men, in consi-
deration of their noble and humane services to a portion
of the crew of the Dutch galliot, Ida Gizena. The
wreck having been observed about 13 miles distant, the
gallant men launched their boat and proceeded through
a heavy surf to the scene of the disaster, and arrived
just in time to rescue seven poor fellows from an inevi-
table death, the master and one man having perished
before succour arrived. Having got the poor fellows
into their boat, each coast guardsman stripped himself
of almost everything to cover them, and they brought
them on shore after a heavy pull of nearly 30 miles,
having the satisfaction that they had saved seven of
their fellow-creatures, who must have perished in a few
hours but for their gallant exertions.
The thanks of the committee, on vellum, were pre-
sented to Mr. P. O'Sullivan, of Berahaven, and 31. to a
boat's crew, for their praiseworthy services to the crew
of the Lady of the Lake, of Bideford, wrecked near that
place during a heavy gale on 10th January last. The
wreck having sunk the crew succeeded in reaching an
isolated rock, which was most difficult of approach with
a boat. After repeated attempts for nearly seven hours
to rescue the crew a boat at last succeeded in taking
them off the rock, and bringing them safely on shore.
A reward of 10s. was granted to a coast guardsman,
of Greenway station, Sussex, for rushing into the surf
to rescue the master of the wreck Mary and Sarah, of
Southampton, on the 20th of January.
A reward of 51. was granted to the crews of the
smacks Emperor and Traveller, for their valuable as-
sistance to the crew of the barque William and Mary, of
London, on the 27th of December, when she was wrecked
during the memorable hurricane of that day, on the
Goodwin Sands. The crew had been clinging to the
rigging for nearly 24 hours, when they were rescued
from their perilous position.
The medal of the institution was voted to Mr. Wm.
Parker, and his brother Mr. John Parker, master and
mate of the schooner Pearl, of Exeter, who seeing a
flag of distress lying off Flamborough Head, from the
brigantine Maria, of Exeter, during the late hurricane,
immediately lowered their boat and proceeded to the
rescue of the poor fellows, which they happily accom-
plished. Captain Parker would not entrust his boat to
his crew for fear his humane purpose might be thwarted.
A grant of 541. having been sanctioned to be paid for
repairing the Filey hfe-boat, the meeting separated. It
was reported that during the past year about 1,100
wrecks had taken place on the coasts of the United
Kingdom, with the fearful loss of nearly 900 lives. It
was, however, satisfactory to find that, through the in-
strumentality of the life-boats of the institution and
other means, upwards of 700 lives of shipwrecked per-
sons had been saved during the same period, and for
rescuing whom it had granted rewards. We regretted
to observe that, on account of the very limited income
of the society, a portion of its already small funded
capital was directed to be sold.

A NEGRO SERMON.—The discourse from which the
annexed passage is taken was actually preached in the
town of Zanesville, Ohio, some years ago :—" My dear
frens and bredren," said the preacher, "de soul of de
brack man is dear to the Lord as de soul ob de white
man. Now you all see Judge Harper, a sittin dah
leanin' on his gold-headed cane ; you all know the judge,
niggers, and bery fine man he is, too. Well, now, I'se
gwine to make a little comparishment. Supposin' de
judge some fine mornin' put his basket on his arm, and
goes to market to buy a piece ob meat. He soon finds
a nice fat piece ob mutton, and trots off wid it. Do
you s'pose de judge would stop to 'quire wedder dat
mutton was ob a white sheep or a black sheep ? No,
nuffin ob de kind ; if de mutton was nice and fat, it
would be all de same to de judge. He would not stop
to ax wedder de sheep had white wool or brack wool.
Well, jest so it it, my frens, wid our Hebenly Marster
He does not stop to ax wedder a soul 'long
s to a •
man or a brack man ; wedder his head is kivvered wid
straight har, or kivvered wid wool. De qsuo:stdieonmhaerstielrl
ax will be, Is dis a good soul an' if w
Enter into de joy ob our Lord, an' set down
on de
feet quality.'"-
samey bench wid de white man ; yo se all on a per-
.' " Amer can paper.