The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-25 00:00:00

ing the contest between the rival officials to be '
fought out at their own proper cost and charge,
until it arrived at a conclusion analogous to that
between the celebrated Kilkenny cats. Seriously
speaking, 2-11 per cent. is quite enough to charge
the victims for the receipts and distribution
of the money, without having it quadrupled by
exorbitant costs. The depositors care nothing
from whom they receive it. All they want is an
early dividend, and that those who alone are
concerned in the point in dispute, should fight
the matter at their own expense. The present
I state of affairs is really disgraceful to the legal
administration of the country.

Our hardy seamen may be hardy, in part, from
he dangers, hardships, and privations they have
:o confront and endure, but certainly from no

excess of sympathy shown in their behalf. Lands

men who "sit" or labour "at home at ease"
seem to have little conception of what the gallant
fellows have to contend against. Their notion of
a sailor's life would by no means prepare them to
enjoy the fun of the story wickedly circulated in
depreciation of the Brighton fishermen, one of

whom is described as taking his lantern to the
margin of the beach to see which way the wind
blew. The fact is, it requires a powerful effort of
the imagination to realise the pictures given of
dangers and hardships the remembrance of which
we have known to bring the salt tear to the eye
of the sturdy veteran. Even those who live
in the vicinity of the coast, and, winter after

winter, watch with thrilling anxiety the progress
of some fated vessel to its doom, and who daily come
across some memento of wreck and elemental war-

rare, can hardly do so thoroughly. How many

there are in our seaports who, after one voyage

marked by no great severity of endurance, find
their youthful ardour dissipated, and quit the

ocean,. with its perils, for pursuits which, if im,
peded by difficulties, are unattended by privation

and danger.
We wish it were in our power to impress the
actual nature of the sailor's career indelibly on
the minds of our fellow-countrymen. The recent
losses at sea, summed up in the " upwards of one
hundred vessels lost," would then be pondered
over after a different fashion than now, and we
should entertain more hope of something effectual
1 being done materially to diminish the annual sacri-

fice of useful lives. Apart from the question of
humanity, to put the matter in the most selfish
light, we cannot afford such a perpetually recur.
ring sacrifice. We have not, and we say it ad-
♦isedly, a sailor to spare.
The Wreck Register for 1855, recently pub-
lished by the Board of Trade, has led us once

more to pen reflections of this sorf. It must
not, however, be inferred that it records any in
crease in the amount of sacrifice, or is altogether
of a gloomy nature. The contrary is the fact. We
hive occasion to rejoice over a remarkable diminu-
tion in the number of lives lost as compared with
previous years, though we cannot say as much
with respect to the hardships encountered. In
1853 we find the number of wrecks recorded
832 ;of lives lost, 689. In 1854, wrecks 987,
showing an increase of 155 ; lives lost, 1,549, or
more than twice the number in the preceding
year. In 1855 the number of wrecks and casual-
ties, 1,141 ;of lives lost, 469. In other words,
an increase in the number of wrecks, and a
remarkable diminution, both absolute and propor-
tional, in the number of lives lost. It is in the
latter fact we find reason to rejoice, and also a
justification to some extent, of our initiatory
remarks.

ROYAL DISE HOSPITAL, GBAY'S-INIc-ROAD,—The
number of patients relieved at this hospital during the
week ending 22d November, 1856,
600 was 1,972, of which
were new cases.

How comes it to pass such a diminution can
truthfully be recorded ? The explanation, if it
excites a pang of regret for the past, is well
calculated to stimulate hope for the future.
The loss of life in 1854 was so startlingly
great that uncommon efforts were made
at head quarters and along the coast, for
the rescue of poor JACK, the result being an
increase in the number and in the efficiency of
the usual apparatus for the preservation of life.
From an average of about 130 lives lost per
month to about 40 lives lost per month—the
reduction is immense. And from such a reduc-
tion may we not fairly argue the possibility of a
further reduction, as well as a criminal negligence
in the past ? Why should forty gallant British
seamen be monthly engulphed, in sight of their
very homesteads, if the sea can be deprived of
any portion of its prey ? This leads us to the
increase in the number of wrecks. Of course, we
can't absolutely control the elements, but ship-
owners and underwriters can send out trustworthy
vessels and competent crews. This, however,
precisely what they don't do. Auy sort of craft
that can be made to pass muster is sent out ; any
sort of crew, however weak and ill-assorted, will
serve their turn. The able-bodied British seaman
must have a reward commensurate with the
labour he renders ; and to meet competition the
shipowner, in a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish
spirit, has recourse to the feeble Lascar and the
unhandy foreigner to eke out the number of his
crow. The result of this and other causes is a
growing increase in the number of casualties, a
serious loss of life, and much needless suffering.
It says a great deal for the efforts of the Royal
National Life Boat Institution, and commends
most, powerfully its claims on the subscrip-
tions of the benevolent, that with so many
rotten ships and inefficient crews afloat it has been
able to effect so much. The largest proportion of
wrecks, we observe, is on the east coast. Doubt-
less this may in part be attributed to the largest
proportion of sailing vessels being found voyaging
along that coast, as well as its ironbound cha-
racter. But 576 wrecks in one year is unmis-
takeably excessive. We very much question if
due precautions were taken in the selection of
sound-timbered vessels and competent masters
and crews, whether two-thirds of the number
might not have been prevented. By this time a
collier should be able to thread the intricacies and
dangers of the passage with comparative safety,
allowing, of course, for unexpected gales. What
adds to this conviction on our part is the fact that
a large proportion of the wrecks are the result of
collisions—so large a proportion as 278, or one-
fourth of the entire number. This may in part be
attributable to the crowding of the decks with cabins,
(tc., so as to interrupt the sight of the helmsman, and
the admitted imperfection of the system of sig-
nalling also. Still we fancy the imperfections
both of ships and crews have most of all to do
with the matter. In either case the blame mainly
rests with the shipowners and underwriters, while
the Board of Admiralty aad the Trinity Board are
not free from it. Let us hope the recent disas-
trous losses will open the eyes of all parties to
the policy as well as the duty of doing more than
has been done for the safety of poor JACK, who
has really been badly used by the country
which owes so much to him. In con-
clusion we would again draw attention
to the Royal National Life-Boat Institution,
which is one of JACK'S best friends, and is do-
serving of all the aid a benevolent public can
render. Unfortunately the institution cannot
show, or rather get the public to witness, one of
their boats out in a storm to rescue a perishing
crew, or we could promise them an inundation of
subscriptions in the metropolis.