The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-05 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

TH.

rNE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sir,—ln consequence of a few inaccuracies con-
tained in Mr. G. Rennie's letter of the 27th, which
appeared in your columns of the 31st ult., and
knowing your love of accuracy in all matters con-
nected with the public welfare, I have been de-
sired by Mr. B. Hawes, Treasurer to the Royal
Humane Society, to send you the few following
particulars, which I hope will set the matter in its
right light before the public. With regard to
building the Receiving-house he says :—" The
expenses incurred in building the Society's Receiv-
ing-house on the north bank of the Serpentine
amounted to between £2,000 and £3,000, with an
annual expenditure of from £1,500 to £2,000."
From this account it would be inferred that
the expenses in Hyde Park amounted to the
above sum, which would be incorrect ; the
expenses of building the Receiving-house, with
the exception of £5OO required from the funds,
were furnished by voluntary contributions. With
regard to Mr. Rennie's remarks upon the expense
of keeping up that establishment, I find that for
the year 1858 the total cost under the head of Hyde
Park expense amounted to £615 18s. 4d., including
the pay of the superintendent, the boatmen, and
icemen, coals, clothing, ice apparatus and repairs
to it, medicines, &c.; but from this some allowances
should be made, as the icemen and boatmen for
all the Royal parks and gardens were paid at the
Receiving-house, and charged under that head, and
all the apparatus, being kept in store and repaired
there, is classed as a part of Hyde Park expenses.
Therefore, by deducting about a third of the above
sum of £615 18s. 4d., the remainder may be set
down as the approximate cost of keeping the boat-
men and icemen in a complete state of efficiency to
aid those in danger, and an efficient model Receiv-
ing-house in proper order, to which they may be
brought and treated both medically and surgically
when rescued.
On referring to the daily estimated reports, I
find the total number of bathers and skaters in he
Serpentine river, from 1844 to 1858 inclusive,
amounts to :
Bathers.. 3,867,083 Accidents.. 343 Deaths.. 31
Skaters... 968,305 „ .. 269 „ 1

Total... 4,833,493 „ .. 612 „ .. 32
By comparison the figures of accidents and deaths
to bathers and skaters in the Serpentine will stand
as below :

612 accidents in 4,835,393 =1 in each 7,901
32 deaths in ditto

--
Sometimes eight or 10 bathers of a morning and
evening are rescued by the society's boatmen (three
of whom are always on duty), and as they only
suffer from cramp and can walk home, no account
is taken of them, although they would probably be
drowned did not the officers of the society watch
over them. _

SUICIDES IN THE SERPENTINE.
Out of 283 cases of attempted suicide in the same
period, 192 were rescued by the society's boatmen,
and 91 were fatal, having been immersed too long
for resuscitation.
On some occasions during the skating season an
immense number of persons receive treatment from
the medical officers of the Society, in addition to the
aid always so readily afforded by the medical gen-
tlemen passing at the moment of the accident, who
also give their time and skill entirely free of charge.
On one occasion 102 persons were brought to the
marquee and had their wounded heads and faces
plastered and bandaged in one day, and in one week,
in the year 1855, 195 were medically treated for
concussions of the brain and severe wounds, and
five were temporarily relieved until taken to the
hospital with broken legs and arms.
The following table will give the total number
of skaters, accidents, and deaths in the various royal
parks and gardens in the abovenamed period.
Trusting that the statement I have made will
place the Royal Humane Society, and the good
achieved by it, in its true light before the public,
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
LAMBTON J. H. YOUNG, Secretary.
Royal Humane Society, 3, Trafalgar-square,
W.C., Sept. 2.

TOTAL NUMBER OF SKATERS, ACCIDENTS, AND DEATHS,
IN THE ROYAL PARKS AND GARDENS FROM 1844 TO
1858.*

Serpentine.

In.Dl

LongWateriln.DlßoundPondln

31,500
57,550
48,300
82,500

,16,800
22,970
20,850
32,100
1,400
4,500
71,710
22,455
17,700
73,850
14,890
36,800
14,286

0 0 14,050 I 1
9 0 8,300
80! 12,162
00i 17,000
10, 3,500 0
0 0' 4,600 9
2 Ol 23,100 1
7 0 16,615 9
0 0 14,900 16
22 0 25,932 6
17 0' 12,068 17
51 0 18,100 1
5 0' 6,050 6

6,175
173,210
42,470
62,300
385,400
No ice.
60,000
11,900

968,305 269 1 320,311 121 0 176,877 7

Regent's Park.

In. D.

St.James'sPark.