The Sun.
London, England, 1866-12-07 00:00:00

Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

Yesterday a meeting of this institution was held at its
house, John-street, Adelphi ; Thomas Chapman, Esq.,
F.R.S., V.P., in the chair. There were also present Sir
Francis Outram, Bart., the Right Hon. Stephen Cave,
M.P., W. H. Haden; Esq., Sir E. Perrott, Bart., Admiral
M‘Hardy, Admiral Gordon, George Lyall, Esq., Admiral
W. H. Hall, C. 8., Captain Egerton, R.N., Admiral
Ryder, Captain De St. Croix, Colonel Palmer, Captain
Ward, RN., Inspector of Lifeboats to the Institution; and
Richard Lewis, Esq., the secretary.
The minutes of the previous meeting having been read,
a reward of £25 was voted to the crew of the Binning-
ham, No. 2 lifeboat of the institution, stationed at Caister,
Norfolk, for putting off, on the 30th ult., in reply to sig-
nals of distress, to the assistance of the schooner Corona-
tion, of London, which was found to be lying fast on the
Inner Barber Sand, in the midst of the breakers. The
lifeboat was unable to approach the vessel nearer thin
within sixty or seventy yards ; she was, however, the
means, after staying by the vessel for two hours, of saving
the crew of four men, and bringing them safely ashore.
Tho sum of £23 was likwise granted to pay the ex-
penses of the Becton lifeboat of the institution in putting
off during a heavy gale of wind from the N.N.E. to the as-
sistance of the schooner Swann, of Goole, which was
driven ashore by the gale at Walcot, Oastend, on the 17th
ult. The lifeboat was fortunately the means of saving the
crew of four men, who were in the rigging.
Seven pounds wese also granted to pay the expenses of
the lifeboat of the institution stationed at Portrush, for
putting off, on the 11th ult., during a strong gale of wind
from the N.W., to the assistance of the barque Coriven, of
Londonderry, which had come in collision with the
schooner Margaret Caldwell, of Portrush. The lifeboat
placed some of her men on board the Coriven, as the
barque's crew were thoroughly exhausted, who wore thus
enabled to render efficient service to the vessel. The life-
boat afterwards, on their entreaty, brought the crew of six
men of the Margaret Caldwell safely ashore.
A reward of £7 10s. was likewise granted to pay the ex-
penses of the lifeboat of the institution stationed at Broughty
Ferry, near Dundee, in saving, in conjunction with the
steamer Auld Rookie, after great difficulty, the crew, con-
sisting of five men, of the schooner Tay, of Dundee, which
went ashore a few days ago, during stormy weather, on the
Gan Sands. It appeared that the hazy weather deceived
the master as to his position, and in attempting to change
his course the vessel missed stays and went ashore.
A reward of £32 was also voted to pay the expenses of
the old lifeboat stationed at Mundesley, in putting off, on
the 16th ult., during a gale from the E.N.E., to the assist-
ance of the crews of four small sloops which were observed
to be in distress off Mundesley, and saving, in four trips,
the lives of nine men and two women from the vessels on
the above occasion.
A reward of £6 was also voted to the crew of the lifeboat
of the institution stationed at Thurso, N. 8., for putting off
during heavy weather to the assistance of the schooner
Anaconda, of Lerwick, which was observed to have her
sails split. The lifeboat was fortunately the means of
-saving the crew of five men.
Rewards, amounting to £l5l 6s.,were voted to the crews
of the lifeboats of the institution stationed at Broughty
Ferry, Burnham, geeenstowe, R dear, New Brighton,
Tyneruoutli, Berwick-on-Tweed, Winchelsea, Palling,
llasborough, Yarmouth, Eastbourne, North Deal, Widmer,
Arklow, and Appledore, for various services to shipwrecked
vessels and their crews during the past month.
The silver medal of the institution, and a copy of the vote
on parchment, were voted to Mr. William Rowlands, cox-
swain of the Holyhead lifeboat, in testimony of his long
and gallant services in assisting to save, in the present and
former lifeboats of the station, a large number of lives from
shipwreck.
The silver medal of the institution, a copy of the vote on
parchment, and £2, were also ordered to be presented to
Watkin Lewis, Aborystwith, in admiration of his laudable
conduct in wading into the sea on two different occasions,
at the risk of his life, and saving 7 persons from perish-
ing, one of them being his own father.
A reward of .£5 was also granted to some Winterton beach-
men for putting off in a yawl and bringing ashore three
men belonging to a wrecked ship on the 31st October.

A reward was also voted to Evan Evans in acknowledg-
ment of his laudable conduct in wading into the surf, at the
peril of his life, and saving from an inevitable death a
fisherman who had been capsized from his boat in Aberyst-
with Bay, and was found insensible in the sea, his companion
having unhappily perished on the occasion.

A reward of £1 15s. was also voted to four men for put-
ting off in a boat and saving three out of four man who had
been capsized from their fishing boat off Greencastle, near
Londonderry.
A reward of £9 was also voted to a boat's crow for their
laudable and persevering exertions in saving 7 men from
the brig Jane, of Sunderland, three men from the brig Lan-
caster, of West Hartlepool, and five mon from the schooner
Victory, of Ipswich, which during a storm had stranded off
Bridlington Quay.

Various other rewards were also granted for saving life
from wrecks on our coast. The meeting ordered £1,500 of
the funded capital of the institution to be sold out to assist
to defray the very heavy payments, amounting to £4,570,
about to be made on its lifeboat establishments. It was re-
ported that during the current year the society had expended
X 29,650 on its 172 lifeboat stations; and that in the same
period it had contributed to the saving of 831 livos from
various wrecks, for which services it had granted £2,020 as
rewards.

The people of Gloucester had, through Messrs. E. L.
Kendall, S. R. T. Mayer, and V. S. Morwood, forwarded to
the society a contribution of £450 to defray the cost of a
lifeboat to be named after their city.
A contribution of £5O had been received from the Ryde
Amateur Musical Society, beiug the proceeds of a concert
given on the 13th September last.
The officers and crew of H.M.S. Pylades had also for-
warded a donation of £5 Bs. to the institution, being part
proceeds of the balance of an accident fund on board that
vessel.

A remittance of £350 had likewise been received by the
institution from Nottingham towards the cost of a lifeboat
to be named the Robin Hood of Nottingham, after the
volunteer corps of that town.
Legacies had been received during the past month from
the late Samuel Travis, Esq., of Cheltenham, £lOO ; the
late Wm. Pearson Esq., of York, £lB ; the late John
Graham Gilbert, Esq., of York-hill, in aid of the Glasgow
branch, mpo ; and the late Mrs. Mary Ann Story, of Ken-
sington, £5OO to pay the cost of a lifeboat.
The sum of £6 7s, had also been received from the Rev.
E. S. Corrie, of Maplestead ; £1 7s. of that amount had been
collected by the late Master E. B. Cords, who had for many
years past, under the same " Invalid Boy," made a collec-
tion for the institution, and the £5 was the amount of his
legacy to the society.
New lifeboats had been sent during the past month to
Polkerris, Cornwall ; Mundesley, Norfolk ; Chapman's
Pool, Dorset ; and Ilfracombe, Devon. The railway com-
panies had, as usual, kindly given the boats a free convey-
ance to their destinations. Lifeboat demonstrations had
taken place with the boats at Rochdale, Fowey, S wanage,
and Ilfracombe.
The thanks of the Institution were voted to Mr. Alex-
ander Munro, G. B. M. Beatson, Esq., Dr. L. Estrange, and
P. H. Hume, Esq., on their retiring from the office of hon.
secretary at the Banff, Fraserburgb, Arklow, and Dunbar
branches of the institution.
A communication was read from Mr. E. P. BonneSsen, of
Copenhagen, stating that he had built a lifeboat on the plan
of the institution. The boat was found to answer the pur-
pose of the locality very well. ...
Lifeboat societies were also proposed to be formed on
the plan of the institution at Schevenengen, Holland,
and in Nova Scotia.

The committee expressed their deep regret at the lamented
deaths of the late W. Cotton, Esq., F.R.S., and Captain
Thomas Heard, R.N., who had for many years past most
zealously co-operated with the committee. A vote of con-
dolence was passed to the families of the deceased gentle-

It Was reported that Sir Thomas Tobin, of Ballineolig,

Cork, was making an effort to collect penny subscriptions
to pay the cost of a lifeboat.
Reports were read from the inspector and the assistant-
inspector of lifeboats on their recent visits to different life-
boat stations on the coast.
The proceedings then terminated.

SPIRIr OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

TIMES.—On Monday evening Mr. Moncreiff,
Lord Advocate of Scotland in the late Government,
addressed his constituents at Edinburgh, and made
a moderate speech in favour of Reform. A Whig
of the old school who remembers 1832 is not likely
to be throWn into revolutionary ferment by the loss
of office. His principles are too firmly fixed for
him to adopt the teachings of an extreme school,
however logical their principles and energetic their
eloquence ; he is too. old a campaigner to look upon
the defeat of a single Session otherwise than a
natural incident in the fortune of war. He has
faith in Whig principles, and, as the nece,,sary con-
sequence of their truth, believes doubtless in the
speedy return of the Whigs to office. We could
not have a better exponent of the opinions held by
the shrewdest and most practical, and consequently
the most temperate, section of the Liberal party,
by men who have been concerned in the business
of the country for years, -who know its wants, un-
derstand the duties, the merits, and the defects of
Parliament, and who have been accustomed to
bring their principles to the test of experiment under
the responsibility of office. Mr. Moncreiff pays a
natural tribute to the brilliancy and courage with
which the Government fought the battle of the late
Session, and the dignity and the spirit with which
they surrendered office after their defeat. 'We have
no wish to deny these merits. The fight of last
Session was too long and fierce for any impartial
person to deny to either side the qualities of bril-
liancy and courage. There were pitched battles in
which the heavy array of statisticians was supported
by the gallant charges of oratorical champions ;
there were skirmishes in which the light partisans
of either party exchanged shots with more or less
effect; there were sudden attacks, surprises, and
ambuscades. In short, if ever there was a Ses-
sion to which could be applied metaphorically the
language of warfare, it was that of 1866. But we
cannot think that such contentious prowess is the
most praiseworthy quality of a Government. We
are not surprised to find that Mr. Moncreiff, with
his Scottish good sense, does not venture to extol
the prudence, the skill, or the conciliatory demeanour
of the late Government. They undoubtedly deserve
just the praise he gives them. With new leaders
they challenged a new House of Commons ; they
forced on what they knew to be unpopular, not only
with their opponents, but with a large part even of
the most docile of their followers. They opened the
campaign in which Mr. Moncreiff tells us that they
so distinguished themselves; and, though they may
have quitted office with dignity and spirit, there
would-have been more dignity in retaining it amid
the respect and goodwill of the House of Commons.
These things, however, belong to the past ; and the
question for the Whig Member for Edinburgh now
is what are the prospects of the Reform cause and
the party in the State which has supported it. Mr.
Moncreiff justly estimates the obstacles which hin-
der an easy settlement. He says, "It was not the
Opposition, but the deadweight which defeated
them last session." It was not, in his opinion, the
Conservative oratory of Mr. Disraeli, or Lord Cran-
borne, or Sir Hugh Cairns which threw out the
Ministry ; it was not the secession of a part of the
Liberal party, but it was the secret antipathy to a
change which pervaded the whole. House, encourag-
ing the Tories to oppose the bill, and relaxing the
energies of those who should have defended it.
There is no doubt that this is very near the truth.
" The alteration of the electoral franchise," says
Mr. Moncreiff, "is an inconvenience both to the
representatives and the constituencies ; they must
not leave out of consideration this fact, that every
member of the House of Commons knew that the
existing franchise, at all events, was good
enough to send him there." The existing
electors and the existing boroughs have also
more to lose than to gain by a change in the
electoral system. This, if not the chief, is undoubt-
edly one of the chief obstacles to the passing of a
Reform Bill. The political and public Conservatism
of the nation is reinforced and more than doubled in
strength by what may be called the local and per-
sonal Conservatism which prompts each man whose,
seat is endangered, each place whose electoral privi-
lege is invaded, to make, openly or secretly,comtnon
cause with the opponents of the measure. Those
who are Liberal enough on all other questions hesi-
tate when it is a question of sweeping away their
own traditional rights. They believe that they can
do justice to the country, th salve their conscience
by saying to themselves that they are as good mem-
bers, or that they return as good members, as come
from the largest constituencies, and, with the best
intentions towards a Liberal Ministry and the Libe-
ral cause, they would rather on the whole that a
Reform Bill should be quietly got rid of. It would
be absurd to suppose that the lapse of a few months
has extinguished these feelings and removed the
• " dead weight" of which the Lord Advocate speaks.
However, the llouse of Commons is an assembly
which has never been wanting in the highest quali-
ties of patriotism. Its legislation during our time
has been conspicuous by the effort to do justice to
the great majority of the community without re-
gard to the interests of the class from which its own
members are chiefly taken. The representatives of
the smaller boroughs may be influenced by a desire
to retain the seats which they now possess, and they
cannot but be moved by the urgent remonstrances
of those who sent them to Parliament, and who
whether Whigs or Tories, insist that their members
shall uphold their local rights. But, when the voice
of the country and the acknowledgment of both the
great parties in the State proclaim that the long-
pending question ought to be settled, local and
individual opposition is not likely to be carried
further.

POST.—The speech which Mr. H. B. Sheridan
delivered to his constituents at Dudley on Tuesday
last appears to have closely resembled all the other
speeches which have been made upon similar occa-
sions by Liberal members of Parliament during the
present recess ; and any notice it may attract will
probably be due to the fact of its being a sort of
representative Liberal manifesto, modelled upon the
standard which it has been considered proper to
adopt upon this occasion, rather than to any extra-
ordinary merits of its own. The usual compliments
were in this instance thrown into the form of an
address from Mr. Sheridan's supporters, who freely
point to the existence of all the evils they can think
of to justify, as we understand it, the late Ministry
in its conduct as to Reform, and to show that their
own member is worthy of the confidence of his con-
stituency. This address Mr. Sheridan frankly met
by acknowledging that he deserved it all, and at
at once ventured upon the sort of review of last ses-
sion and its results with which we are all by this
time quite familiar, and which has, indeed, become
rather monotonous. Reduced to its elements, the
conclusion which bas innocently been drawn is that
it is a fearful and wonderful thing that a Parliament
with a recognised Liberal majority of 70 or more
should have thrown out the Reform Bill of the Rus-
sell-Gladstone Administration ; and that those of
the 70 who, it is assumed, abandoned all their prin-
ciples for the express purpose of throwing it out, are
worthy of all the hard names which can be conve-
niently remembered. The possibility of another bill
being introduced by the present Government has,
too, to be contemplated, and can be met according
to the taste of the speaker (for no general mot d'ordre
appears to have been issued as to this), either by a
promise to give it a fair and candid consideration, or
by roundly asserting that it is certain not to be
worth any consideration at all—two courses which,
so far as the results likely to flow from them are
concerned, may be considered to be pretty nearly
identical. Mr. Sheridan gave us all this over again.
He stated it as his opinion that the Liberal majo-
rity with which the Government started in life was
not Liberal at all, and distinctly conveyed that a
sufficient reason for the rejection of any bill what-
ever is to be found in the indisposition of members
to meet their constituents more often than is abso-
lutely inevitable. The transition from the mass of
mere hirelings to the select body of good shepherds
was natural enough, and Mr. Sheridan reminded
his audience that he himself was one of the latter,
and that he had supported the bill and everything
belonging to it upon every occasion when he had the
chance, and lie drew the inference that he had
thereby proved the soundness of judgment of the
electors of Dudley and the sincerity of his own con-
victions. He is not, however, prepared to say, as
Mr. Bright and his followers do, that the House of
Commons is a " sham," and he considers, in com-
mon, we are bound to say, with many others, that
it really does " represent the, people who elect its
members." Nevertheless, he also holds the opinion
that the process of election is looked upon " as so
much mockery—as a farce," and that elections are
believed to be " merely auctions, at which boroughs
are knocked down to the highest bidder." He con-
siders that the subject of Reform is divided into two
parts—the change of form in electoral proceedings
and the extension of the franchise to greater num-
bers. With reference to the first, he is °' very much
in favour of the ballot" (for which favour, by the
way, he gives the curious reason that it is " in conse-
quence of his connection with" Dudley), and thinks
it hard that members of Parliament should be
" abused and called Radicals" because they vote for
it. The assertion that the ballot is not in its essence
a political question, which has a certain amount
of truth in it, nevertheless furnishes no additional
argument for its adoption, and upon what grounds

it can be said that secret voting is " purely Con-
servative," Conservatives themselves will, we ima-
gine, find it difficult to discover. Moreover, the
establishment of such a mode of election, judging
from Continental and American experience, would
not appear calculated to prevent either intimidation
or bribery, and its effect would most probably be
only to aggravate the system by which, as 111 r.
Sheridan complains, " the people's rights are bar-
tered and sold away" without any of the money
being " distributed among" them. It is but true
that a very large proportion even of the present elec-
tors, " who really should understand the value of
the vote with which they are entrusted, have no
just appreciation of its value," and " that those who,
are very loud in their demand for the extension of
the franchise are the first to tetray the privilege
with which they are entrusted ;" and it is difficult
to believe that such malpractices would be less
favoured by those who would, from their circum-
stances, be under a greater temptation than the pre-
sent electors to indulge in them ; or to understand
how they would be prevented by a machinery which
would give greater facilities for carrying them on
out of the reach of public opinion. As, therefore,
Mr. Sheridan bases his plea for the extension of the
franchise and the adoption of the ballot entirely
upon the assumption that corruption and intimida-
tion would be thereby lessened, his argument must
be held to be incomplete, from the absence of ail-
thing like proof that such an assumption is well
founded. With the assertion that the nation needs
such "la system of national education as should make
the childre% of every one to be educated," we
quite agree; and the very facts adduced by Air.
Sheridan show that this is a matter of which the
importance is superior in every way, even to the
extension of the franchise, and without which
such an extension would do more harm than good.
Experience tends to produce the impression that
the only means of attaining educational results
such as would be worthy of the country and the
times in which we live are to be found iu making
education compulsory ; but whether this plan be
adopted or not, it is clear that something in that
direction should be attempted ,before the franchise
is given to a class' even less instructed than those
who now have it and who confessedly do not under-
stand the responsibilities it throws upon them. It
is not necessary to look further than to the address
which was delivered to Mr. Sheridan to perceive
that the standard of education among the opera-
tives is anything but what it should be, and as there
seems to be a great impression prevalent as to the
order in which these matters should be treated, it
appears necessary to insist that education should
precede, and not succeed, the extension of the fran-
chise to those who do not possess it. Mr. Sheridan
adverted to the possibility, which has already bee"
whispered about, of an amendment being moved to
the Address ; but he also professed himself quite
willing to accept from any party a satisfactory' mes-
sure of Reform. This speech, indeed, like all the
rest which have been delivered by members of the
Opposition party, indicates the desire to make the
most of that particular question, and the anxiety
d
which is felt that it should, if possible, be invested
with as much importance in the next session of Par-
liament as it was in the last. Events, however, fire
crowding upon us at no ordinary pace, and, with
the wars and rumours of wars which are looming s°
ominously in the immediate future, it is not easy t°
say what relative position any question will occupy
at even so early a date as that on which Parliament
will meet.