New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1855-12-04

Prior to last Spring there we're established on the
coasts of Long Island and New-Jersey 80 life saw
ing stations, each of them equipped with heavy
metallic life-bost, an iron life.ear, mortar, shot,
lines and other humane appliances for saving the
persons and property Of the shipwrecked The
vast commerce of this port often called these into
requisitOD, and almost as frequently demonstrated
their insuficiency as well as ineficiency. On Q
former occasion we called attention to the ab-
surdity Of placing, at great expense, heavy, cum
brous, unmansgesble iron life. boats on these sta
tions, when the fishermen of the coast make aud
use light cedar boat, easily transported over the
sand and costing comparatively little; in most
cases this is used in the surf while its metal COM
petitOr, if the wreckers have succeeded in drag.
ging it to the spot, lies useless on the beach.
The loss Of the ship Powhattan, with all on
board, followed by the sad fate Of the New Era,
both on the New-Jersey coast, opened the eyes Of
Congress to the necessity for legislative action,
and in December last AN Act for the better pre-
"servatiOn of life and property from vessels ship
wrecked on the coasts Of the United States"
was passed. Since the passage of this bill the sta
tons on the Long Island and New Jersey coasts
have been increased to fifty eight or one for every
five miles of the beach. In accordance with the
provisions of the act, each of these stations, to-
keeper, with salary of 5000 q year, whose duty
it is to organize crew and proceed to the assist
ance of mariners wrecked within his district.
Two superintendent with the powers and duties
Of Inspectors of the Customs, have charge Of and
inspect each station along their several coasts for
which they receive salary Of 81 500 year. The
same Congress, before adjourning, appropriated
the following sums of money to carry out the re-
quirements of the act: for the coast generally,
$4,000; for the Long Island coast, $4,000; for
the coast of New-Jersey $4,000, and for Lake
Michigan Sl2,5O0 OF the appropriation for the
coast generally, Long Island received the whole, to
getber with its own appropriation, making in all
10000, the remainder Of the money being dis
posed of as appropriated, and balance Of old ap-
preparations was expended for Long Island and
New-Jersey.
Mark now the result Of this outlay: the sppfo-
pristions have been exhausted in furnishing the
stations, and s no money remains to pay the
proper officers to take care of them everything is
at stand-still, and the property-probsbly neg.
lected and left to rust and rot-will become ut
terly useless, so that the next time it is needed
for the preservation of lives and cargoes it will
but prove, heretofore their certain destruction
But this ID not all. Disregarding the experience
Of the past unmindful of the repeated e1possala'
tons Of the press and the warnings Of the wreck
ers themselves-in short, regardless OF every con-
sideration but the interests of certain hfeboat
mar ufacturers, the officers charged with the duty
of Disturbing the appropriations seem to have
bought the biggest boats they could get, without
any regard whatever to their utility. In cOnse-
quence the cosstmen are, in the majority sf
cases, less able to render assistance to the ship
wrecked than before these stations were estab-
lished. Al an example Of the judgment dis
played, the wreckmaster at East Hampton, Long
Iaand, states that tAere two hfssavins stations ct
Mostask and ono ct Napesqus, which are fur
nisheA With heavy metallic lfs-bosts that require