The Sun.
London, England, 1860-12-25 00:00:00

TB

laden with the shipwrecked crew of three men
belonging to the smack Elizabeth Ann, of Lyme
Regis. The inhabitants of the town were perfectly
amazed at the lifeboat's performances, and the no
less daring behaviour of her skilful coxswain and
crew.

This case alone shows the inestimable value of
the National Lifeboat Institution ; but how much
more might be said of the services it has rendered
throughout its long career of usefulness, to what
may be called the private and hidden circles of
our life.

In addition to the 200 persons saved from a watery
grave by the lifeboats of the Institution during the
past year, they also went off 40 times in reply to
signals of distress from vessels, which afterwards
had either got out of danger, or had their crews
rescued by other means. Lifeboats were also assem-
bled in stormy weather on several occasions, both
during the day and night, in order to be ready for any
emergency that might arise. For these valuable
services the total amount paid was £792. On
occasions of service and quarterly exercise during
the year the lifeboats were manned by upwards of
5,000 persons. All the lifeboat services took place
in stormy weather, and frequently in the dark
hour of the night. Surely, then, such an institu-
tion, with 108 lifeboats under its charge, devoted
to such worthy and comprehensive purposes, need
not appeal for pecuniary support in vain. Much
has been done, but much yet remains to be done.
Munificent donations from the wealthy few have
poured in, in some cases the establishment of a per-
fect station having been presented ; but it is from
the contributions of the many, and the endowments
of the humane, that such an establishment must
derive its vitality and future power to keep up its
immense life-saving fleet. We trust that the
National Lifeboat Institution has only to be more
generally known to be placed upon a more perma-
nent and extended footing. We must yet expect
before the winter is over to hear the roar of many
a raging storm, and to .read a few days after of
many a fearful wreck. Surely it would be a cheer-
ful thought in the breast of many of us, as he
listens to the one or peruses the other, to know that
he has fulfilled one of the many duties, assuredly
required of us, by having sent his mite to the office
of the Institution, No. 14, John-street, Adelphi.

GREAT CONTEMPLATED EXTENSION
BY GOVERNMENT 01 TELEGRAPHIC COM.
MUNICATION.

(From the Observer.)

We are indebted to a foreign Government for the
most important news which has reached us from
China. Per se we have no objection to place our-
selves under such an obligation. In times of peace
such good offices tend to bind together the nations
of the earth by the strong ties of gratitude, and we
rejoice in their occurrence. We must, however,
also look to what would have been the result had
Russia, when at war with us, gained greatly earlier
intelligence of some disaster to our arms in China
or in the East. The consequences might have been
overwhelming. The disaster would have been
aggravated by her action in a tenfold degree, at a
time when we should be prevented from taking the
necessary measures to neutralise it by ignorance of
our condition.

ASSIZE INTELLIGENCE.

NORTHERN CIRCUIT.—LIVERPOOL, Dec. 22.
(Before Mr. Justice Blackburn and a Special Jury.)
HOLT (ADMINISTRATOR) V. THE LANCASHIRE. AND

YORKSHIRE RAILWAY COMPANY.

Mr. Edward James and Mr. Mellish were for
the plaintiff, Mr. Overend and Mr. R. Griffith
Williams were for the defendants.

The plaintiff was Mr. Thomas Holt, of York-
hill-terrace, Blackburn. The declaration was for
damage sustained by the death of his son, who
lost his life in consequence of alleged negligence
on the part of the defendants. The action was
founded upon Lord Campbell's Act. It appeared
that a new station has lately been constructed by
the defendants upon their line of railway at Daisy-
bank, near Blackburn. This station the defendants
opened, for the convenience of the public, before
it was quite finished, and the deceased lost his life
on the 15th of April lest by falling into a sunken
way abutting upon the platform of the station,
which was not sufficiently fenced. Evidence was
given on behalf of the plaintiff, from which it ap-
peared that the deceased acted as the manager of
the plaintiff's cotton mill, and that the plaintiff
sustained actual damage by reason of his death.
Mr. Overend having addressed the jury for the
defendants,

His Lordship, in summing up, explained to the
jury that it was incumbent upon the plaintiff to
prove some actual damage, or the action would not
lie, and that, l owever unfeeling it might appear,
they must consider the value of the deceased to the
plaintiff, in the same light that they would con-
sider the value of a horse—they were not at liberty
to take into consideration the feelings of the plain-
tiff for the purpose of assessing the damages. The
questions for them to decide were—whether
or no any actual pecuniary damage had been sus-
tained, and if so, how much.

The jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff—
damages, £240.

EARRISON O. THE LONDON AND NORTH-WESTERN
RAILWAY COMPANY.

Mr. Edward James and Mr. Mellish were for the
plaintiff; Mr. Overend and Mr. Quain were for the
defendants.

The declaration alleged that the plaintiff was
the widow of one Henry Harrison, who lost his
life in the service of the defendants, and that his
death was occasioned by the negligence of the de-
fendants in employing an unskilful servant.
It appeared from the evidence of the plaintiff
that the deceased was a line foreman in the employ
of the defendants, and he was stationed at the
mouth of the Wapping Tunnel, at the Edgehill
Station. The deceased lost his life in consequence
of having been run over by an engine while under
the charge of Peter Kilshaw, a servant of the de-
fendants, who, it was contended, was not compe-
tent to manage an engine. Kilshaw, it was alleged,
had originally been a gardener, and although he
had subsequently been employed as an engine
cleaner, still he had not gone through the several
.grades through which it was usual for the men to
pass before being intrusted with an engine. The
evidence, however, in support of the alleged un-
skilfulness of Kilshaw being unsatisfactory,
Mr. Overend objected that there was no evi-
dence
. . _

His Lordship wa-s of opinion that there was no
evidence, but

•
Mr. James having cited an authority in opposi-
tion to his Lordship's ruling,
His Lordship said he should reserve the ques-
tion and give Mr. James leave to move the court
above if he chose to do so.

Mr. Overend, however, stated that as he had a
strong case in the background he would rather the
case went to the jury. He called Bartholomew
Marshall, a locomotive foreman in the employ of
defendants at Edgehill, who stated that Kilshaw
had been in the service of the company for nearly
eight years, and that he had gone through all the
several grades through which an engine-driver
usually passed.
Upon hearing this evidence Mr. James said that
after the evidence of this witness he could not hope
for a verdict, and would not, therefore, attempt to
struggle further with the case.
The plaintiff was therefore nonsuited.
We understand thlt at the conclusion of the
case, the special jury presented the poor widow
with the sum of 12 guineas, being the amount which
they received as their fees for trying the case. We
believe, also, that although the company considered
it their duty to defend the action for the purpose of
disputing the principle of their liability, it is their
intention to present the widow with a gratuity.

IN rELLIGEIVC.E—Dec. 24.

SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 25, 1860.

his guilt, but said it was in joke, and that if he had
not been taken into custody he would have returned
the prosecutrix her money.
He was committed for trial.

GREENWICH.—Robert Mann, a private be-
longing to the Royal Artillery stationed at Wool-
wich, was brought up for final examination, charged
with wilfully firing a stack of hay, and destroying
property valued at £220, belonging to Mr, Wallis,
farmer, of Eltham. Kent. _ _

The prisoner declined making any defence ; and
Mr. Maude committed him for trial.-