The daily gazette., 1878-12-02

Dounu from Glascow to Philadelphia.
The ship John Sidney. The Norwegian
Dark JAMS Les>ing. The brig Morning
Light. A bark from Baltimore loaded
with lumber. A schooner from PhiIa-
delphla. A vessel loaded with lemons
and oranges, besides others which | will
not enumerate for fear of making my
communication too long. These wrecks,
MIND, were In one season, all on the six
miles of ocean coast Delaware possesses.
La some of these wrecks there was
SAD LOSS OF LIFE.
For instance The bark Medway had
five of her crew drowned. The crew of
the ship John Sidney escaped almost by
miracle they succeeded in getting into
their boats, became be wildered ,and with
ont having the least idea of where they
were, rowed to the only safe place inside
the Breakwater. The JAMS Lassing lost
seven souls, the captain, his wife and
daughter, and four of her crew the rest
were rescued from the rigging where
they had taken refuge, by the brave pi-
lots of Lewis, In an exhausted condition.
The same brave men succeeded also Ito
use vulgar parlaEce) "by the skin OF
their teeth" in rescuing the crew Of the
brig NJ Morning Light. They We're helpless
tic dashlng against them and endeavor-
ing to tear them from their hold, when
word was sent to LIE wi-town. At once,
in hot haste, the brave and humane
wreckmaster, John w. Walker, and the
gallant pilots of Lewis, knowing there
was not a moment 10 lose, placed boat
on wheels and driving like mad, at the
very top of their speed, arrived Just In
time to save the poor exhausted crew,
who, worn out with cold and resisting
the force of the angry waves expected
t.ya n ha THAR lasf fam
minutes later and their labor would have
been useless. The horses, when they ar
rived, were covered with foam and lath-
err And the worst of this is, that had
these Hfe-saving stations been then es-
tablished, not single life need have
been lost; all could have been saved. 1t
was a desire to prevent recurrence of
these tragedies of the sea that induced
me to proceed to get these life-saving
stations established, to prevent this hor-
rible loss of life and property that kept
t,oo ,oreckiny companies in existence, that
made their living by these disasters.
The above statistics, as l have said be-
fore, Were sent to Washington, and pub
lished in the great papers Of the country,
and their influence and that of various
gentlemen solicited personally and by
letter by me, when / received the follow
ing letter from the Treasury Department
IN answer 10 my appncauon:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, ID. c., June IL, 1873.
SIR Il acknowledge your communi-
cation of the 10th OF April last relative
to the occurrence of wrecks on the Della
ware sea coast, and the establishment of
life saving stations, and in reply you are
informed that the coast named has re-
Gently been examined by the proper Off
GERS with view to ascertain the neceS-
sity of life saving stations, and the de-
partment will recommend the establish
ment of such stations as may be deemed
necessary
Due consideration will be given to the
suggestions contained in your communi-
calion in relation thereto.
au, very respectfully,
j. HARTEL,
Assistant Secretary.
To Francis Vincent, Esq,
Wilmington, Del.
Previous to the receipt ef this letter
from Mr. Hartel, the two officers Of the
government alluded to in the commune
cation, went through our State and In
formed several gentlemen of this city
that they were ON their way to the Della
ware sea coast to examine into the ne
cessity of the life saving stations recon-
mended by me, and they not only re-
commended their establishment in the
places desired, but also the erection of
others in the parts OF Maryland ami
Virginia on this peninsula.
SO far from the Delaware SEA coast be-
ing a place on which few wrecks occur
and not FURNISHING heavy death rate"
as stated by Mr.. Townsend,i 1T has always
been celebrated for terrible marine dis
asters. Over two hundred years ago lin
1861 fourteen Englishmen were driven
on shore, and all drowned but six. About
sixty years ago, the ship FdtMJW Ste.odrd
was wrecked, and out of 400 souls on
board only about 30 were saved. could
relate disaster on disaster similar to these
that would fill your paper, many of them
very affecting. Take for instance the
case of the Charles Z. Sinickson, which
occurred ON the 18th of September 1916
tonly about two years ago. after nad ap-
piled for the life saving stations, andt they
were ordered to be erected but the CON
strnction OF which were delayed on ac-
count of some difference with the Dullu-
ers. This vessel went ashore al : O'Clock
in the morning, Her crew remained in
the rigging until nearly noon. They could
see the friendly shore of Delaware but
there was no boat to save them. The cap
tain, his two mates, and all his crew, (wlth
the exception of two We're drowheu.-
These two were washed ashore at o.
clock. A poor boy wa, in their company
floating on pieces OF timber until near
the land.
He then became eXhausted, and raising
his hands pathetlcally to heaven, said 10
the two sailors struggling in the waves,
"good bye," and then sunk beneath the
waters. Had these stations been In ex-
istence then no lives would have been
lost
Iwould not have pushed this applica-
ton for these stations through bad any
one else undertook it, and succeeded But
over TWO hundred years had elasped. An.
nually wrecks upon wrecks occurred, anu
life upon life was lost, and nobody had
the heart to attempt 1t. Then IL was
time for me to move. l did move, ana
oot them. The New York Herald, and
other. great newspapers of the country,
getting their information from the State
Department at Washington, mot from
me, for had never Sc n the articles, and
/ was only told of their existence by
others), gave me compl mentary edito-
rial notices. These notices were copied
by some of the London press, and the
Royal National Life Boat Institution OF
Great Britain, established under the pa
tronage of the Queen, (aud whose Presi-
dent i the Duke of Northumbe land), In
Acknowledge of my exertions, made
me a valuable present OF books, and
through their Secretary, the Honorable
p;nbari ,au uis wrOie me a letter, COM