The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-15 00:00:00

MANBY'S LIFE PRESERVER.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Slll,—Finding in your paper, of the 11th instant, a
letter from Captain Manby, in which he states that he
considers his apparatus and mortar (for rescuing sailors
from shipwrecked vessels) perfect, and that his plan has
not been improved upon, I beg most respectfully to state
to Captain Manby, through the medium of your journal,
that there are others besides Captain Jerningham who
deserve the credit of having improved upon it.
I do not mention this from any wish to injure Captain
Manby's apparatus in public opinion, but merely to show
that it has been improved upon, and that materially. I
allude to the plan invented by Lieutenant J. R O'Reilly,
who commands the caast guard stationed at Horns.'a. I
was formerly a resident there, and had opportunities of
seeing the inefficiency of the apparatus invented by
Captain Manby when used in the night, and the great
difficulty o!' directing a shot with precision during dark-
ness. Now, in justice to Lieutenant J. R. O'Reilly, I
feel myself bound, from the numerous opportunities I
have had of witnessing his invention, to state that he has
tvriers..a,baynda thfuazteb
obviated the difficulty alluded to in the old plan of using
the mortar during a dark night. He has succeeded in
illuminating the shot belonging to Captain Manby's ap-
paratus used for pntjecting a line over a vessel in dis-
tress,
being. fired, ' •
yinzeratneds oilutthue
tmh.oestshsuizplwohci4einh,triuvuantchee,
light, .sufficient, indeed, to ' distance of several
decide,"as
Govern-
went, and at e plan
be seen at a
miles.
not come into general use.
and g,ives out a most brilliant
'eon
Intthainlk Captain Mangy must allow that the improve.
It is not my
„ confirmedl aded to is one, at least, deserving of credit, and
invention, which the
practical experienced men, competent to
has been inspected by the Govern-
im-
portant addition
from a wat.ry grave,
wish to take from the merit of the original
pproved of, although, as yet, I believe, it has
3, 1846.
has been the means of saving numbers
Hull, April 1 but merely to point out an
to the apparatus for night use. 1
I have the honour to be,
Sir, your obedient servant,
THOMAS WILSON, M.R.C.S.E.

poor man, in the employ
DREADRIL ACCIDENT. Oil Tuesday morning' last a
lime-burners at Grays, Essex met with an accident of an
appalling nature while engaged attending a thrashing-
machine at Stafford. '.,.
e
In unfortunate man alighted from
the horses to adjust one of the traces, when his clothes be-
death at length terminated came entangled in the machinery, and his limbs were dread-
of Messrs. tifeeson, the extensive
fully mutilated ; both legs were cushed and his arms broken,
one eye was destroyed, and eve part of the body more or
less set iously injured. He I' ry
d until the evening, when
widow and six children to lament their loss.
ATTEMPTED SUICIDE. _A master of a sr( seal, whose
name, for many reasons, we are unwilling to reveal, threw
rescued from a watery
himself into the Mersey, on Wednesday' last, with the deter-
mination to commit self-destruction. He was fortunately
flresufferings. He has left a
lis assistance in a boat. Disappointment and domestic dis •
quietudes were assigned by him as the causes for his com-
mitting the rash act.—Liverpool Albion. ,
grave by some men who put off to