The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-29 00:00:00

MUTINY AT SEA.

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A serious case of mutiny on the high seas is reported
rom Hobart Town. On the Ist ultimo the ship Western
Empire, Captain J. T. Rogers, from Bombay to Callas,
)ut into that port, the crew being reported in a
;tate of mutiny. The vessel was one of the Abyssinian
;ransport ships, and was subsequently chartered at Born-
)ay to Callao. On the 26th of August a number of
:xtra men were shipped, making a crew of thirty men all
;old. The men shipped at the port refused duty, and
ifter being brought before the magistrate at Bombay,
were sentenced to imprisonment, and were ultimately
;ent on board the ship in irons, and confined in the fore-
mstle. After getting clear of the port the men consented
to return to work, and all went quietly until October
ZS, when a mutiny arose, and the life of the master was
threatened. He armed himself with a revolver, and,
returning to the poop, said he would fire at the first man
who came on the poop to injure him. On this two or
three of the men rushed at him and struck him in the face.
Ire fired a shot or two over their heads, thinking
to frighten them, but he was knocked down, beaten, and
at last put in irons and kept in confinement till the vessel
reached the port of Hobart Town. The police having been
made acquainted with the circumstances of the case,
boarded the vessel, and the mutineers, sixteen in number,
were taken into custody.

LIVES SAVED FROM SHIPWRECK IN 1868,

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The year which is now closing will long he remem-
bered as one of the stormiest on record. It is,
however, satisfactory to find that the year will also be
well remembered for the great exertions which have been
put forth to save shipwrecked persons. It appears that
during the past twelve months the boats of the Royal
National Lifeboat Institution have been instrumental in
saving, during boisterous weather, the lives of 570 persons,
being the crews of distressed vessels on the coasts of the
British Isles, in addition to 24 vessels saved fr3m destruc-
tion. During the same period the Lifeboat Institution
granted rewards for saving 259 lives by fishing and other
boats, making a grand total of 829 lives saved mainly
through its instrumentality. In the same period
the crews of the lifeboats of the society, at a
very large expense, have either assembled, or put off
in reply to signals of distress 150 times to ships
not eventually requiring their services. It often
happened that on these occasions the lifeboat crews had
incurred much risk and exposure throughout stormy days
and nights. The number of lives saved either by the life-
boats of the institution or by special exertions, for which
it has granted rewards since its formation, is 17,800, for
which service 90 gold medals, 792 silver medals, and
£28,900 in cash, have been given as rewards. When we
remember that nearly every life saved by lifeboats has
been rescued under perilous circumstances, it will at once
he seen what great benefit has been conferred by
the Lifeboat Institution—not only on the poor men
themselves and on their country, but also on their wives
and children, who would otherwise be widows and
orphans. Since the beginning of the present year the
institution has spent £18,813 on its 194 lifeboat stations on
the coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland ; and since
its first establishment in 1824 it has expended £212,820 on
its lifeboat stations. We would 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 thou-
sands of men who, instead of being this very day valuable
members of the community, would have been long
ago engulphed 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
4estitution.