The Sun.
London, England, 1860-05-04 00:00:00

PRESERVATION OF LIFE F.ROII

SEIPTERECK.

A meeting of the Royal National Lifeboat Insti-
tution was held yesterday, at its house, John-
street, Adelphi, Thomas Chapman, Esq., F.R.S.,
in the chair. There was also present Admiral Sir
Thomas Herbert, K.C.B. ; Admiral Cator, Sir
Edward.Perrott, Bart. ; Alexander Boetefeur, Esq.;
George Lyall, Esq., M.P.; Admiral Saumarez,
Montague Gore, Esq. ; Colonel Palmer' Captain de
St. Croix, H.C.S. and Captain Ward, R.N.
Mr. LEWIS, the secretary, having read the
minutes of the previous meeting,

A reward of Xll was voted —to the crew of the
institution's lifeboat, stationed at Teignmouth, for
putting off early on the morning of Monday week,
when it was very dark, and rescuing from the rig-
ging the crew of two men, who were found nearly
benumbed with cold, from the sloop Wonder, of
that port, which during heavy weather had sunk
in the course of the night. A few months ago this
same valuable lifeboat was instrumental in bringing
into port a disabled barge, and her exhausted crew.
A reward of .£6 10s. was likewise granted to the
crew of the Lytham lifeboat, belonging to the
Natiosal Institution, for going off, during a heavy
gale of wind, and rescuing the crew of eight men
and a lad, from the brigantine Nancy, of Teign-
mouth, which, having struck on the dangerous
sand called the Horse Bank, immediately after-
wards sank. Her crew took to the rigging, from
which perilous position they were rescued by the
lifeboat The poor boy was found quite exhausted,
and unable to help himself, and two of the life-
boat's crew had therefore to jump on the wreck, to
bring him down from the masthead. The lifeboat
was reported to have behaved on this occasion, as
on former ones, remarkably well. Within the last
few months this same excellent lifeboat had been
the means of saving the crews, consisting of 13 men,
from two wrecked vessels.

The neighbouring lifeboat stationed at Fleet-
wood had also, under the command of Captain
Wasey, R.N., inspecting commander of the Coast
Guard, been instrumental, within the same brief
period, in rescuing three shipwrecked crews.
In acknowledgment of which gallant services the
Admiralty have extended his appointment in the
Coast Guard two years. Capt. Wasey received the
silver medal and second service clasp of the National
Lifeboat Institution for the same services.
A reward of DI 10s. was also voted to the Lossie-
mouth lifeboat, belonging to the institution, for
putting off with the view of rescuing the crew of a
pilot boat, which had been swamped during a sud-
den squall in that bay. In less than twenty minutes
after the accident was observed the lifeboat was on
the spot, but unfortunately out of the pilot boat's
crew two had sunk to rise no more.

A reward of £5 was also presented to the crew of
the lifeboat at Kessingland, Suffolk, for putting off
and rescuing the crew of seven men, of the brigan-
tine Little Joe, of North Shields, which, during a
gale of wind was wrecked near the place, on the
19th ult.

The Ramsgate lifeboat, belonging to the Royal
Harbour Commissioners, was reported to have ren-
dered, at the imminent peril of the crew's lives, im-
portant services, in conjunction with the commis-
sioners' steam tug, on the night of Friday last, to a
vessel en the Goodwin Sands.

A reward was also voted to a boat's crew for pull-
ing off and saving three men from a small boat
which had been capsized by the unskilful conduct
of one of the persons on board in ascending her
mast, which caused her to be top-heavy. We again
take this opportunity to once more warn all those
who are comparatively inexperienced in the manage-
ment of boats, that no more certain expedient can
be adopted to upset one than for a person to climb
to its masthead. As the small weight of an ordi-
nary steelyard will, when carried to the end of the
beam, counterbalance so much greater a weight on
the other side of its axis, so the weight of one person
raised so high above the centre of gravity as a
boat's masthead, is sufficient to counterbalance the
whole weight of that part of the boat herself, and
of those within her below that centre, thus mak-
ing her " top-heavy," and ensuring her upset-
ting, unless her largeness of size, or quan-
tity of ballast, be sufficient to counteract the
weight at her masthead. One of those on board
the capsized boat, a lad, son of a coast guardsman,
was found apparently dead when picked up. Hav-
ing been placed on his face in the boat, the method
of the institution for the recovery of the apparently
drowned, founded on that of the late Dr. Marshall
Hall, was immediately resorted to, and, after 20
minutes of unceasing treatment, the boy was fortu-
nately restored to consciousness. These excellent
rules are everywhere distributed on the coasts of
the British isles, and they ought also to be so on
the banks of all our inland rivers.

Several other rewards for saving life from diffe•
rent wrecks were afterwards voted.

During the past month the institution had for-
warded new lifeboats and transporting carriages to
Penzance and Porthcawl, and another was about to
be sent to Silloth, on the Cumberland coast. The
cost of the two last-named boats had been presented
to the institution by Miss Burdett Coutts and
another benevolent lady.
The institution decided on taking into connection
with it the Margate lifeboat, which was also pre-
sented by Miss Coutts to that town last year.
The society also decided on presenting its thanks,
inscribed on vellum, to Miss Dix, an American
lady, in acknowledgment of her philanthropic la-
bours, in establishing, at her own expense, several
lifeboat stations on the coasts of the United States
and British possessions in America. It was also a
lady, the sister of a sailor, who originally presented
the cost of a lifeboat to the National Lifeboat Insti-
tution. Her humane example has since been fol-
lowed by many persons. It was reported that the
institution expected to have by the return of the
equinoctial gales 103 lifeboat stations on various
parts of the coasts of the British isles, in thorough
working order. It is to be hoped that the public,
by their contributions and endowments, will enable
the society to maintain this noble fleet in a perfectly
efficient state.
It was said that the lifeboats of the institution
mere, during the course of their construction, sur-
veyed by Mr. Prowse, of H,M.'s dockyard, Wool-
wick ; its lifeboat transporting carriages, by Mr.
Morris, the master wheelwright, of the Royal Ar-
senal; and its lifeboat houses, built from designs
specially prepared by the society's honorary archi-
tect, Mr. C. H. Cooke.
The charter of incorporation, granted by the