The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-08 00:00:00

ROYAL NATIONAL LIFEBOAT

IES2ITUTIOIV.

A meeting of this institution was held yesterday,
at its house, John-street, Adelphi—Captain Sir
Edward Perrot, Bart,, vice-president, in the chair.
There were also present Admiral Gordon, Captain
Washington, R.N., biographer of the Admiralty ;
James Peake, Esq., master shipwright of her
Majesty's Dockyard, Devonport ; Admiral Bullock,
Colonel Palmer, and Captain De St. Croix.
Mr. Lewis, the secretary, having read the
minutes of the previous meeting,
The gentlemen present expressed :much commis-
aeration for the families of the two poor men who
lost their lives by the wrecking, or breaking up of
the Scarborough lifeboat against the sea-wall. The
institution made a liberal gratuity to their fami-
lies, and also a reward to the lifeboat crew. The
benevolent donor of the wracked boat has also given
a very liberal contribution to the two poor men's
families. The meeting expressed deep sympathy
for the relatives of Lord C. Beauclerk, and W.
Tindall, Esq., who so nobly perished while at-
tempting to save the lives of their fellow-creatures
on the occasion. We have previously given the
particulars of this sad disaster, and will now only
repeat one sentence from a communication just re-
ceived from James Woodall, Esq., of Scarborough,
stating " that it was not possible for anything to be
more triumphant than the result of the fearful
ordeal on Saturday last. The coxswain and crew
cannot find words to express their satisfaction and
confidence in the great qualities of the lifeboat. She
did not upset, and the crew believe she cannot be
upset (except by mechanical power). She emptied
herself after every sea, and in all other respects she
exceeded the most sanguine hopes." Such a cir-
cumstance as a lifeboat being thus wrecked is, we
believe, without a parallel in the history of lifeboats,
and it is much feared that lamentable want of
skill was exhibited on the occasion in her ma-
nagement. The institution decided on presenting
a memorial silver medal to the families of the
late Lord Charles Beauclerk, and Mr. Tindall,
as a permanent mark of its sympathy for
them. Considering that the National Institution
has now about 120 lifeboats uuder its charge,
disasters will occasionally happen under the best
management in such a fleet. The society has
accordingly two or three lifeboats always ready to
neet any emergency, and it was reported yesterday
that it had already replaced the wrecked Scar-
borough boat by a powerful one. Mrs. Cockroft, of
Scarborough, had generously promised to pay the
cost of the new boat. The silver medal of the insti-
tution was also ordered to be presented to Mr.
Sarony and Mr. Rutter, who so noby exerted
themselves in endeavouring to save the lives of
Lord C. Beauclerk, Mr, Tindall, and others, on the
lamentable occasion.
A reward of £6 10s. was voted to the crew of the
Seaton Carew lifeboat, which belongs to the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution, for rescuing five of
the crew of the barque Robert Watson, of Sunder-
land, which was stranded about three-quarters of a
mile to the southward of Seaton, during a heavy
gale of wind on the 2d inst. This valuable lifeboat,
which was the gift of William M'Kerrell, Esq., to
the society, has already saved 28 persons from dif-
ferent wrecks.

A reward of £l2 was also granted to the crew of
the Yarmouth surf lifeboat, belonging to the insti-
tution, for putting off and rescuing ton persons from
the smack Adventure, of Harwich, which, during a
terrific gale of wind, had been wrecked on the 3d
ult. Her perilous position having been observed,
the lifeboat immediately proceeded to her rescue,
and amidst the greatest danger succeeded in snatch-
ing ten poor fellows from an inevitable death. It
was stated that this was one of the most gallant
services ever performed by this lifeboat. Inspecting-
commander Warren, R.N., and Mr. Pitts, chief
officer of the coast guard, went off in the lifeboat
on the occasion.

A reward of £6 10s. was likewise voted to the
crew of the institution's lifeboat, stationed at Bac-
ton, Norfold, for putting off to the assistance of the
schooner Skylark, of Folkestone, which was seen
on the 28th ult. during stormy weather and a heavy
swell in Banton offing, with her foremast gone, and
in a disabled state. The coxswain of the lifeboat,
who had been on the look-out, immediately mus-
tered his crew. The boat was quickly launched and
was steadily rowed through the surf to the vessel,
which she soon reached, and found rapidly drift-
ing on a lee shore. Fortunately the assistance of a
steam tug was also made available on the occasion,
and the tug, in conjunction with the lifeboat, was
the means of ultimately bringing in safety the
schooner and her crew to Yarmouth. The men had
during the night fully intended to abandon their
vessel, but the sea was too heavy to permit them to
take to their boat.

The Lowestoft lifeboat, which is also in con- I
nexion with the society, was instrumental on the
2d instant, during a heavy gale of wind, in bring-
ing into harbour the disabled schooner Fly, of
Whitby, and her crew of four hands. About tea
o'clock the vessel's signals of distress were seen in
the direction of East Point, when the lifeboat,
manned by Captain Joachim, R.N., and her gallant
crew, was immediately got out and launched
through a tremendous surf. Standing to the north-
ward, they discovered the vessel by her repeating
her
signals of distress, and having hailed her found
that the crew were not able to keep her afloat.
They then closed with her, and threw nine or ten
hcaabnldesaonnaboard, which enabled them to slip her
run for the harbour. Captain Joachim,
R. N., had received theats
Li ieifseobisnosilveraw the
Lifeboat
nlis medalfteibtonat
it
0.
A reward of £6vand
fosre choinsdps
reor..
vious gallant ser-
vice clasp of the
also voted to the crew
of the lifeboat of the society, stationed
the crew tionefl at Bridling-
ton, for putting off and rescuingy
of four
un g
ri
men of the schooner Friends, of Lynon,which during
a terrific gale of wind was stranded off Bridling-
ton on Saturday last. This valuable lifeboat has
been the means of rescuing a large number of ship.
wrecked persons from a watery grave.
A reward of £4 was likewise given to the crew
1 of the institution's lifeboat stationed at Banff, for
putting off and rescuing the crew of six men from
the schooner Auchincruive, of Grangemouth, which
Was observed to become unmanageable during a
violent gale of wind on the Ist inst. The schooner
soon afterwards became a total wreck, and without
the lifeboat's assistance her crew must have perished.

This valuable lifeboat was the gift to the National
Lifeboat Institution of Messrs. Macfie and Sons, of
Liverpool, and verily their munificence has already
had its reward.
A reward of £6 lOs was likewise voted to the
crew of the Cahore lifeboat of the society, for rescu-
ing a poor man who had been cast adrift in a boat
from the ship A.Z., of New York, which had
stranded on the Blackwater Bank on the 25th ult.
The lifeboat was proceeding towards the disabled
ship, when the crew fortunately observed something
like a boat a great distance off on the ocean. They
immediately bore down towards it, and fortunately
rescued the poor fellow just previous to his craft
entering the broken water, where he must inevitably
have been swamped. The gratitude of the poor man
for his providential rescue nearly overwhelmed him;
and the joy of the lifeboat's gallant crew was indeed
great that they had been, under God, the means of
saving him from the fearful doom that was threaten-
ing to engulph him.
The lifeboats of the institution have providen-
tially been the means of rescuing 236 shipwrecked
persons during the present year alone. Several
other rewards were voted to the crews of the Porth-
cawl, Brighton, Fleetwood, and Arklow lifeboats
of the institution, for going off with the view of
saving life, and also to shore boats, for their laud-
able exertions in rescuing life from different wrecks.
It was stated that Miss Burdett Coutts had again
munificently promised to pay the cost of the lifeboat
which the National Institution is about sending to
Plymouth. The institution decided on placing a
new lifeboat and transporting carriage at Blakeney,
on the Norfolk coast. Lifeboats on the plan of
those of the society had been sent, during the past
month, to the order of the respective Govern-
ments of the Cape of Good Hope, Spain, and
Jersey. It was reported that the tow n of
Ipswich was about setting a noble example to
other towns on behalf of the lifeboat cause. Next
Sunday a collection on its behalf is to be made
in all the churches and chapels in Ipswich. On
the following day a public meeting, to be attended
by the Mayor and some of the nobility of the
county, is to be held in the Town-hall, when it
is expected the cost of at least one lifeboat will be
announced as the result.

Some interesting reports were read from Captain
Washington, RN., on the means for saving life em-
ployed at Havre, on the French coast, and also on
the lifeboat at Boulmer and Alnmouth, and the
barometers and barometer indications at those sta-
tions, and at Amble, on the Northumberland coast,
Capt. Washington having recently visited Havre
and those places.
Payments amounting to £350 having been made
on various lifeboat establishments, the proceedings
terminated.

MR. ALDERMAN SALOMONS AND 1115

CON6'2ITUENTS.

Last evening Mr. Alderman Salomons met the
Deptford portion of the electors of the borough of
Greenwich, at the Lecture-hall, and addressed them 1
upon the position of politics and parties. Mr.
DUVAL presided, and having briefly stated the
objects of the meeting, introduced
Mr. Alderman SALOMONS, who expressed his
gratification at meeting his Deptford constituents
at what he might call their annual political stock-
taking. There was, he thought, an obvious con-
venience in members of Parliament meeting
periodically those whom they represented to render
an account of their conduct, and to meet any objec-
tions that might be advanced, and afford such ex-
planations as might be required from them. The
last session of Parliament, though barren in some
respects, was a very hardworking and useful ses-
sion, which had produced many good and valuable
measures. He might instance, as one affecting the
interests of the working classes, the bill which pre-
vented the removal of poor persons after three
years' residence in any union. The Bankruptcy
and Insolvency Amendment Bill was also a bene-
ficial measure, especially in so far as it put an end
to the fanciful distinctions between bankruptcy
, and insolveney, and placed traders and non-traders
upon the same footing, making the propel ty of the
debtor available for the payment of bis debts,
whether he remained in England or not. The laws
for improving the government of India, though
they did not make much show i❑ the newspapers,
were of great importance nevertheless both to the
interests of this country and the inhabitants of
British India. The removal of many of the burdens
imposed upon vessels engaged in the coasting trade
was a measure which could not bat benefit the
shipping interest. The abolition of the paper duty
was another measure which marked favourably the
labours of Parliament during the last session, as not
only aiding the dissemination of knowledge amongst
the people, but also as relieving an important
branch of industry from the absurd excise regulations
by which it had been so long fettered and its progress
impeded. Upon the subject of reform in Parliament,
which was not included in the Ministerial pro-
gramme of last session, he offered no apology on the
part of ministers for omitting it, but added that the
reason a reform bill had not been brought forward
was that the Government were of opinion that the
people were apathetic on the question, and he had
no doubt that, when the opinion of the country was
decidedly expressed, such a measure would be again
brought forward, and notwithstanding the opposi-
tion it might receive, would assuredly be carried.
Besides, the time lost in the discussion of the reform
bill in the session of 1860 might well be received as
an excuse for their not reintroducing the bill again
in 1861, As to finance, no doubt the expenditure was
excessive, amounting to just upon £70,000,000 a
year; but while such enormous armaments were
kept up by neighbouring nations, it would be most
unwise to leave our own coasts without the de-
fence of a powerful naval force, and an army suf-
ficient to form at least the nucleus of an army strong
enough to meet any emergency. He was glad to
hear that the Emperor of the French was contem-
plating a considerable reduction in his army, espe-
cially in the artillery; and if that were done, we
might then economise in our own military expen-
diture, and hope for some slight relief from the pre-
sent heavy weight of taxation. We must not, how-
ever, expect to return to the expenditure of the
halcyon days of 1835, because the difference in the
cost of maintaining a steam as compared with a
sailing navy, adding, as it did, eight or ten times to
the cost of ships, rendered that impossible. Look-
ing, however, at the state of affairs abroad, particu-
larly in America, the failure in last year's harvest,
the effects of which would be for some time yet felt,
and other disturbing elements, he thought if the
revenue of the present year equalled the expendi-
ture we might think ourselves fortunate. The
disruption of the American Union could not
but have a most prejudicial effect upon British
trade, having regard to the stoppage of the
cotton supply and the almost total cessation,
at least while the civil war continued, of our
own imports from and exports to America, the
former of which last year amounted to £44,000,000
and the latter •to £23,000,000. The .state of
feeling growing up in America towards this country
was as regrettable as it was unreasonable, our only
offence being that we would not interfere in their
quarrel. We had no part in the difference, and
could not support the South and slavery, nor could
we join the North against their Southern brethren.
The whole difficulty had arisen from America having
endeavoured for so many years to make slavery and
freedom sit side by side. One would have thought
that the true policy of the North which professed
antagonism to slavery, was to let the slave states
go, and form themselves into a union of free states.
This was the only matter of external policy which
really affected England ; all others were matters of
sentiment. We wished well to the Italians, to the
Hungarians, and to Poland ; and were anxious that
all of them should work out their own freedom, and
become as free as ourselves, We were the shop-
keepers of the world, and our interest was that all
nations should be free, happy, and contented, and
thenth
an theythay
Ivwearle baneedo
perity of the British nation,
greater interest in
efforts of their representatives add to
better customers to us
peace
than
the :ee
hwaeda:tahnadnda.llprtohse-
.ou
to that end. The hon. member
:hot
tpee people et h 1
theaedt e ad
concluded by pro-
mising that all his efforts in parliament should be