The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-15 00:00:00

Rod a 1 Na,timal Lifeboat Institution.

On Tuesday the annual general meeting of the
friends and supporters of this institution was held
at the London Tavern ; the Right Hon. Earl Percy,
P.C., in the chair. The meeting was influentially
and numerously attended. There were present,
amongst others, the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot,
Vice-Admiral API-lardy, Commander Aldworth,
R.N., Lord Alfred Paget, M.P., Thomas Baring,
M.P., Lord Henry Cholmondeley, Admiral Evans,
Thomas Chapman, Esq., F.R.S., Stephen Cave,
Esq., M.P., J. G. Frith, Esq., Sir Edward Permit,
Bart., Admiral Sir Rodney Munday, B. Whitworth,
Esq., M.P., Captain Beecher, R.N., Sir William
Mackenzie, Bart., Mr. Deputy Tegg, W. H. Harton,
Esq., Colonel Fitzßoy Clayton, George Lyall, Esq,
Admiral Halsted, Francis Lean, Esq., R.N., Captain
Woodall, and M. Lea, Esq.
The CHAIRMAN expressed his satisfaction in tak-
ing the chair at the annual meeting of so important
and national an institution. It was, indeed, an in-
stitution worthy of our country, and it was very
pleasing and satisfactory to observe its continued
great success. The clear and important facts which
were detailed in its annual report could not fail to
elicit the admiration of every one. It was also satis-
factory to find that the operations of the institution
were emulated in France, Germany, Spain, and
many other maritime countries ; and the results of
their labours were of the most gratifying and en-
couraging character. After some further appropri-
ate remarks, the chairman called on Richard Lewis,
Esq., the secretary of the institution, to read the
annual report.

The SECRETARY commenced by saying that at the
conclusion of one of the most stormy:seasons on re-
cord, the committee of the National Lifeboat In-
stitution once again invited public attention to the
results of their labours during the year that is past
—and again they desired gratefully to acknowledge
the blessings which Divine Providence had bestowed
on their endeavours to rescue human beings from
death by shipwreck. At no time, indeed, had the com-
mittee felt greater needof the encouragement and aid
of their fellow-countrymen. As rankle previous years,
the most noticeable feature in the history of the in-
stitution during the past twelve months was the
large number of splendid gifts of the entire cost of
new lifeboats presented by individuals or by inland
towns, that had desired to show their sympathy
with the cast-away mariner on our shores, and to
take some share in the work of affording him help in
the hour of his need. The committee had likewise
pleasure in noticing the circumstances of the forma-
tion of a society similar to our own on the shores of
France—" La Societe Centrale de Sauvetage des
Naufrages," which body already possessed no less
than eleven lifeboats on the self-righting principle,
all of which had been built by Messrs. Forrestt and
Son, under the direct superintendence of this insti-
tution. During the past year the large number of
37 new lifeboats had been built, and most of them
placed on the coasts of the United Kingdom by the
institution. Boathouses and transporting carriages
had been likewise provided for nearly the whole of
these boats. • The lifeboats of this institution now
numbered no less than 162. Through their direct
instrumentality 532 lives and 20 vessels were saved
during the past year, nearly all of them under cir-
cumstances when no other description of boat could
with safety have been used. For these, and for the
saving of 182 lives by shore-boats and other means,
and for exercising the lifeboats quarterly, the insti-
tution had granted payments amounting to £4,986.
The committee expressed their thankfulness for this
glorious harvest of 714 human lives, which had been
the reward of their exertions, and felt doubly grate-
ful that it had been gathered in without the loss of
a single life of those brave men who had voluntarily
risked their own lives at the institution's call. The
committee yet deeply regret having to report that at
the beginning of the year three men were lost from
the crew of the small lifeboat stationed at the Lizard
Point, in Cornwall, when performing the quarterly
practice--a service which had been found indispen-
sable to give the crews of the lifeboats a practical
knowledge of their pioperties and requisite manage-
ro.ont and to retain them in ageneral state of effici-
ency. It appeared that the number of shipwrecks
on the coasts of the British Isles last year was 1738,
attended with the loss of 472 persons. It was,
however, an encouraging fact that the preservation
of life from shipwreck continued steadily to make
progress, and that the average loss, instead
of being as in former years 1,000 per annum, was
now not more than 600. The committee could not
abstain from expressing their deep sorrow at the
calamitous loss of life from the foundering of the
steamship London in the Bay of Biscay, which
fearful catastrophe had caused woe and lamentation
in many a home in these lands. The total number of
lives saved during the 42 years since the establish-
ment of the institution, either by its lifeboats, or by
special exertions for which it has granted rewards,
was 14,980. Let any one think of the large number
of human beings thus rescued, in numerous in-
stances, from the very jaws of death, and he will
then have some conception of the gratitude which
British and foreign sailors who are constantly ex-
posed to such calamities express to the National
Lifeboat Institution and its supporters for the mag-
nificent fleet of lifeboats provided on our shores for
their succour in the hour of their deep distress. And
here it may be mentioned that the lifeboats of the
institution have, during the past four years, been
manned on occasions of service and quarterly prac-
tice by about 26,550 persons, and out of that large
• number only six have lost their lives. The commit-
tee spoke highly of the continued valuable co-opera-
tion afforded them by their local committees, the
Board of Trade, Coastguard, and railway and steam-
packet companies. Since the formation of the society
it had expended on lifeboat establishments £136,881
and had voted 82 gold and 759 silver medals for
saving life, besides pecuniary rewards to the amount
of £22,140. The total amount of receipts during the
year had been £28,932 3s. 3d., and its expenditure,
including its liabilities, £36,725 17s. 4d. Many gra-
tifying donations to the institutions since the last re-
port were received and gratefully acknowledged by
the committee, who also heartily thanked the numer-
ous ladies and gentlemen who had, during the past
year, either presented the cost of lifeboats, or zea-
lously collected the expense of the same among
their friends and others. Various legacies had also
been recently bequeathed to the institution. The
items of receipt and expenditure were detailed in
the financial statement annexed to the report,
and audited as usual by Mr. Begbie, the public
accountant. For a long period the committee
had had the satisfaction to report that, year by
year, the sphere of the operations of the institution
had continued to extend, and they were happy to be
in a position also to state that the public support had
fully corresponded with the extension of th9se
labours. The committee would, however, strongly
urge on all who recognise the sacredness of human
life, the duty and even the privilege to help forward
the lifeboat work—a work which has hitherto been
manifestly blessed by Providence, and which has
brought relief to many thousands of men who in-
stead of being on that very, day valuable members
of the community would have been long ago en-
gulfed in the raging waves of the tempest, leaving
in many cases widows and• orphans to suffer not
only the misery of bereavement, but the pangs of
destitution.
The report having been moved and unanimously
adopted, resolutions in furtherance of the objects
of the institution were proposed and seconded by
the Earl of Shrewsbury and Talbot, Sir W. Mac-
kenzie, Bart., Benjamin Whitworth, Esq., M.P.,
George Lyall, Esq., Admiral Sir Rodney Mundy,
Sir Edward Perrott, Bart., Captain Woodall, M.
Lea, Esq., Thomas Chapman, Esq., F.R.S., and
Admiral M'Hardy.
The proceedings then terminated.

A NEW COALFIELD.—Some months ago the re-
sults of borings in the vicinity of Sessay, in the North
Riding, led to the hope that ultimately a deposit of coal
worth working would be found on the south side of the
Hambledon range. The search for the mineral has been
continued, and it is now reported that upon Lady Downe's
estate at Birdfortb, three miles west of Cotswold, the engi-
neer has met with a thin seam of very good coal, with in-
dications of a thicker andmuch more valuable seam below
A shaft is to be sunk. Other owners are about searching
for coal all along the Aeor base'