The Sun.
London, England, 1858-11-22 00:00:00

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following account of the circumstancetion.-11 S
fleeted with the rescue of the crew of an Austrian
brig on the Irish coast, on Wednesday, the 17th
inst., by the lifeboat of the National Lifeboat In-
stitution'stationed-itt Skerries, as narrated by H.
A. Hamilton, Esq., hon. secretary of the Skerries
branch of the society, will be read with much
interest :

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'ALL.IXT LIFEBOAT SERVICES 4

" The brig was bound for Trieste from Troon
with a cargo of coals ; registered tonnage, 333 Eng-
lish measurement. The master is the owner, with
a crew of 11 men and an English pilot, 13 men in
all. On Sunday, the 14th inst., in a whole gale of
wind from the east (varying a point or two to the
north at times), she came to an anchor close under the
shelter of Lambay Island. On Monday morning,
the 15th inst., she had dragged her anchors nearly
half-way across towards the rocks of Portrand. At
half-past 8 o'clock the English pilot cut away the
masts; they came ashore at the rocks of Portrand
a short time after. The lifeboat of the National
Lifeboat Institution stationed at Sherries was sent
by Mr. G. C. Jones, chief officer of coastguard at
Skerries, to the lieutenant senior of the coastguard
service, at Rush, at his request. About 2 o'clock I
reached the strand coming from Dublin to the
south of the town of Rush, where preparations
were making to launch the lifeboat off' the carriage.
Sir Rogsr Palmer, Bart., his daughter, Mrs. Pcel,
the Hon. St. John Butler, the Rev. Lewis Perrin,
Mr. Tighe, and Mr. Gray, were on the spot, ren-
dering every assistance in their power. The life-
boat was soon after launched, with her own crew,
Joseph' Clarke, chief boatman.,, first coxswain, in
the absence of her coxswain ; Ale Hamilton,
commissioned boatman, who has not as yet reco-
vered from the injuries he received at the wreck of.
the Mary on the 19th October last ; David Wilson,
boatman, second coxswain, both steering with the
sweeps. There was a whole gale of easterly wind,
and the sea running high on the flat strand, with
a strong ebb tide carrying us to the southward. In
about two hours we had pulled off into about two
fathoms of water, through some of the heaviest seas
I have ever seen, many of us being twice nearly
washed out of the boat, the green water at the ss
times unbroken on the top of us. We had great diffi-
culty- in getting clear of the masts of a schooner that
was sunk there five years ago, as they still show ON er
the water. Seeing that some of the men were
completely exhausted, and that there was no
chance of reaching the hull, and, above all, fearing
that the strong ebb tide would carry us up on the
rocks of Portland, I desired the lifeboat to bear up
for the entrance of Rogerstown stream. There was
great difficUlty.in preventing the life-boat broach-
ing and going in Over the bar. At half-past five I
got her crew into the watch-house at Rogerstown
Strand, and had them provided with food, sending
to Skerries for their day clothes, not allowing them
to leave the strand, and keeping the lifeboat afloat,
in hopes of being able to get off to the hull at every
moment, but the night passed over without any
change for the better in the weather. 'With great
zeal and activity Mr. A. Townsend, harbour-master,
Balbriggan, assisted-by Mr. Hamlet and Mr. Carey,
brought up by land the small life-boat belonging
to G. A. Hamilton, Esq., M.P., which, when
manned by James Carton and his family, had been
the means of saving the whole of the crew of the
Mary on the 19th October. Carton and his sons
remained on the Rogerstown Strand, and prepared
to go off to the hull if a favourable moment arrived.
At daylight, on Tuesday morning, the 16th inst.,
we saw the hull still riding to an anchor in 41
fathoms of water, in the same spot. Just then a
large paddlewheel steamer bore down on her from
the eastward, the sea breaking over her several
times ; she kept ahead and then astern of her, and
about her, for more than an hour, but finding it im-
possible to render any assistance, she seemed to
bear away for Kingstown Harbour. At 3 o'clock
Captain Boyd, R.N., of her Majesty's ship Ajax,
arrived by railway, and immediately ordered the
rocket apparatus to be sent to the coastguard sta-
tion over the rocks of Portrand, finding that if the
hull parted from her anchors on an ebb tide she
must go ashore there. He considered that we had
brought the lifeboat to the best point of the coast,
finding that in case the hull broke away on the
flood tide she would come ashore on this strand,
either north or south of the mouth of Rogerstown
Stream. At 5 o'clock, Col. Taylor, M.P., came
down to the watch-house,and encouraged the crew
of the lifeboat to persevere in their undertaking.
As the night closed in, we cheered the men working
hard at the pumps ; but there was no change for
the better in the weather, and the sea broke more
heavily and with greater violence than ever on the
shore. At three o'clock on 'Wednesday morning,
17th inst., we found the wind began to lessen, and
at four o'clock we prepared to off again in the life-
boat. About five o'clock, accompanied by my
skipper, Peter Carlon, we got down the stream
towards the bar, and after a hard pull of two hours
and a half, we neared the hull,. the sea breaking
over the lifeboat for the first hour with the same
violence it had done on Monday. On coming
alongside two oars were broken in trying to keep
off; in seeing that a rope was not at once thrown
aboard us, we dropped astern and hove our grappling
iron on board. Some of the crew seemed anxious
to save their clothes, but the first coxswain called
out that we were there only to save life, and that a
moment's delay would not be
.given. The mate
secured the ship's papers, -and as an opportunity
offered we took the thirteen men off the ship's
quarter by twos and threes at a time
without an accident. I ordered the line
to be cut instantly, leaving our grappling iron
on board, and bore up for Rogerstown, the first of
the ebb now making strongly against us. As the
additional weight of the lifeboat caused the water
to rise through the valves to the height of four
inches in the boat, the English pilot had some diffi-
culty in calming the fears of the Austrians. Sonic
of them became much excited as we entered the
broken water. We had only four oars of a side, so
kept her hard on, allowing the seas to kick her in
over the bar, the sea still breaking into her at
times. Knowing that there were a number of men
on the hull, Mr. G. A. Hamilton's small lifeboat
(in the absence of the Cartons) was launched by
Thomas Jones, commission boatman, Rush station,
William Jones, William Furray, John Butler, and.
Francis Cosgrave, Esq. With the utmost daring
they crossed the bar after the lifeboat, with the
praiseworthy object of rendering every assistance
in their power. They would have reached the
hull, but as we were returning I hailed them to
make in again for the shore, thinking it safer not
to run the risk of putting any of the Austrians into
the small lifeboat in such a heavy sea. In crossing
in over the bar one of their oars broke short, when
they were in the greatest danger of being swamped.
At half-past nine o'clock all were safely landed, the
master and owner apparently much hurt, and one
of his men had his head bound up, both being
severely injured in the cutting away of the masts.
The English pilot with the Austrians went on to
Dublin from the Rush Railway station at 11 o'cloFk,
having in the mean time received every attention
from Mr. Carey. lie had food prepared for them
on their landing on board one of his own vessels
then lying in Rogerstown.
" Mr. Hamilton adds that the whole of the life-
boat's crew behaved admirably and to his entire
satisfaction during the three days and two nights.
This lifeboat has proved- herself in every way to be
well calculated for such a service as that she per-
formed so nobly to-the poor shipwrecked foreigners
on this occasion. A more persevering and deter-
mined act of gallantry on the part of the lifeboat's
crew has seldom 'been- recorded. The greatest
credit is due to Mr. Hamilton for his intrepidity in
accompanying the• lifeboat's crew in the boat, and
his determination not to leave the spot until the
shipwrecked crew were rescued from their appa-
rently hopeless position. He has on previous occa-
sions distinguished himself in saving life at the
imminent risk of his. own."

LARGE MEETING OF THE TYNE

SHIP 0 WN.E.RS.

A great meeting of the Tyne shipowners was
held on Friday evening, the Mayor presiding.
A resolution was adopted to the effect that the
time had arrived when the British Government
should appeal to other nations to put us on an
equality with them. If they should persist or re-
fuse fair play to our shipping, the Government
should put in force the provisions in the- statute of
the 15th and 16th Viet., giving the Government
pwer to put the same restrictions on foreign ships
as they placed .on the British vessels in their ports.
The Hon. HENRY G. LIDDELL, member for South
Northumberland, said that to ask Parliament to re-
trace its steps in free trade were worse than use-
less. No Government, whether Whig o r Tory,
imposing
differential dare to take the responsibility of
differential duties on foreign shipping. He thought
that Government should not be asked. to do it; but
that the House of Commons should be asked to ap-
point acommittee.to inquire into the navigation
laws. He imputed the depression in the shipping
interest to the reaction of the Russian war, and our
late overtrading and monetary panic. -
The meeting. was apparently disappointed with
regard to the aid they had looked for from Govern-
ment, and by the opinion expressed by Mr. Liddell.
The promoters of the meeting refused to read the
letter of Mr. Lindsay, in which be avowed himself
averse to restrictions to foreign shipping.