THE LIFE-BOAT, OB JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION. (ISSUED QUARTERLY.) VOL. IX.—No. 100.] MAY IST, 1876. [PRICE Is. THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING of the KOTAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT IN- STITUTION was held at the London Tavern, on Tuesday, the 21st day of March, 1876. His Grace The DUKE of NOBTHUMBEELAND, P.O., D.C.L., President of the Institution, being unable to take the Chair, it was occu- pied by EAEL PERCY, M.P. The following Eeport of the Committee was read by the Secretary:— The year's transactions may be sum- ANNUAL KEPOBT. marised as follows. Life-boats.—Since the last Annual Ke- FIFTY-TWO years have now elapsed since port eighteen new Life-boats hare been the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITU- placed on the coast—seven at new stations TION was first established, with the title and eleven to replace old or inferior boats. of the NATIONAL SHIPWBECK INSTITUTION. Fourteen of these have been supplied with Since then its usefulness has not dimin- transporting carriages, and twelve new ished, for trade and commerce have vastly boat-houses have been built. increased, and the number of those who The following are the stations at which " go down to the sea in ships, and do their these boats have been placed :— business in the great waters," has mul- tiplied a hundredfold. Yet the risks of ENGLAND AND WALES. navigation have not grown less; the gales NORTHUMBERLAND Cresswell. blow as of old; the dangers of our coast, Tynemouth. with its rapid and varying tides, its DURHAM . Sunderland. j» Hartlepool. treacherous outlying sandbanks, and YORKSHIRE . Staitbea. sunken reefs, remain the same; and as a Hornsea. consequence, the number of fatal wrecks ESSEX . Harwich. KENT . Hjthe. is even greater than before. DORSET . Swanage. There is, accordingly, no probability CHANNEL ISLANDS Guernsey. that the demand for the Society's help SOMERSET . Watched. will be less in the time to come than it GLAMORGANSHIRE Penarth. CARDIGANSHIRE Aberystwith. has been in the past, or that a less noble ANGLESEA . Holyhead. field for philanthropic and Christian work CUMBERLAND . Seascale. will present itself. SCOTLAND. The Committee, therefore, with, grateful FORFARSHIRE . Broughty Ferry (Dundee). recollection of the munificent support and encouragement which have already been IRELAND. Co. DOWN . Tyrelia. afforded them, once more appeal *to their Co. WEXFOHD . Courtown. countrymen for a continuance of their confidence and favour. During the past year the Institution's THE LIFE-BOAT JOCBNAL.—VOL. IX.—No. 100. 2 D 452 ANNUAL BEPORT. [MAT 1,1876. Life-boats have saved seven hundred and tion with the shore from our distant twenty-six persons, nearly the whole of lightships, whether by telegraph or other- them tinder perilous circumstances, when wise, some good will have' resulted from ordinary boats could not have been em- them. This question is, however, sur- , ployed without extreme risk to those on rounded by difficulties. board of them. While the storms of the past winter The Institution's Life-boats now num- have been of unusual frequency and ber 254. violence, they were fortunately not of long duration. The services of the Shipwrecks. — Numerous as are the Life-boats on every occasion were, as wrecks on the shores of the United King- usual, of the most determined character, dom, more especially on the east coast of j and in nearly every instance were at- England, and on the outlying banks off [ tended with complete success. The re- the entrance to the Mersey (the intri-, sult of these noble services, as before cate passages between which have to be stated, has been the saving of 726 lives threaded by the innumerable vessels trad- from various wrecked vessels by Life- ing with the great port of Liverpool), boats, in addition to 30 ships saved from we have, happily, not often to record destruction. the loss of an emigrant or other passenger The Committee have frequently had to ship. During the year 1875, however, express their unbounded admiration of two splendid passenger steamers have the conduct of many of the Life-boat been wrecked, viz., the Schiller, on one of crews, who, in their desire that no time the rocky reefs of the Scilly Islands, in should be lost, have often rushed into the May last, when no less than 331 of her Life-boat houses, put on their life-belts, passengers and crew were drowned; and and jumped into the boats, when in- the Deutschland, on the 6th of December, sufficiently fed and clad, and in this state when 57 unhappily perished. In both have endured hours of ceaseless toil and cases the vessels were of German na- exposure. Probably at no former period tionality, and in both many more lives, if in the history of the Institution has this not indeed all, might have been saved endurance and promptitude been more had there been any means of communi- strikingly shown than during the gales of cating with the nearest port, or life-boat last winter. station, immediately after the disaster As one illustration out of many others, occurred. the following case may be cited: A Nor- In the case of the DeutsMand much wegian barque having been wrecked on. excitement was occasioned, both in this the Shipwash sandbank on the 7th January country and in Germany, from misap- last, the Eamsgate Life-boat, summoned prehension as to the facts of the case, by telegram from Harwich, was towed by and a suspicion that all was not done j the steam-tug Aid no less than 45 miles that might have been to rescue the un- I to the scene of the disaster, only to find fortunate persons whose lives were im- ! on arrival there that the shipwrecked perilled. But the subsequent Board of crew had already been saved by the Trade inquiry into the circumstances of Harwich steam-tug Liverpool. Together the case proved that everything practicable with another 45 miles on her return, had been done, and that not only were the the 15 poor fellows on board had been authorities and people of the port of sitting in their boat, with the seas and Harwich free from blame, but they were spray breaking over them through their entitled to much credit for their humane whole terrible voyage, not less than four- exertions on the occasion. teen hours in a freezing atmosphere. Should these two melancholy disasters They got home, but in a benumbed and lead to improved means for communica- half-frozen state. MAY 1, 1876.] - ANNUAL EEPOET. 453 "Fortunate, then, is the country," as It may be also stated that the launches the Swedish newspaper ' Dagens Nyheter ' of the Life-boats, unattended with posi- put it, when referring to the noble ser- tive results, have, as in previous years, vices, on the 6th January last, of the been during the past year very frequent. Cresswell Life-boat, " which passesses men But on such occasions there is no time and women like those who, On that icy for hesitation, and the Life-boat proceeds January morning, flew to the rescue of the out at once to offer help, which, as it Swedish steamer and her crew of 13 men often happens, the vessel in distress may and 3 women." not, from various subsequent causes, ulti- mately need. Life-boatmen, however, can The services of the Life-boats of the never tell, till they actually reach an ap- Institution during the whole year may parently distressed vessel, that their aid thus be briefly epitomised : — is not required ; while in many doubtful cases failure to act may mean death. In addition to the efficient services of Number 1875. of Life- vessels Lives the Life-boats, hundreds of lives are saved boat Saved. Saved. every year by meang of launches. the Eocket-Ap- paratus, belonging to the BOARD OP January 34 3 us TRADE, and worked so efficiently by the 27 22 3 45 Coastguard and the Eocket Volunteer 16 5 2 7 * Brigades. June, July, and August 16 1 14 The number of lives saved during the September .... 12 ] ^ fifty-two years from the 44 establishment of November .... 48 8 us the Institution in 1824, to the end of the December .... 20 1 51 year 1875, either by its Life-boats or by Total .... 246 30 726 special exertions for which it has granted In the No. of Lives In lie No. of Lives in the No. of Lives In the No. of Lives In the No. of Lives Year Saved. Year Sav<•d. Year Saved. Year Saved. Year Saved. 1824 124 ! 1835 364 1846 134 1857 374 1868 862 1825 218 1836 225 1 1847 157 1858 427 1869 1,231 1826 175 1837 272 1848 123 1859 499 1870 784 182T 163 1838 45S 1849 209 1860 455 1871 882 1828 301 1839 279 1850 470 1861 424 1872 739 1829 463 1840 353 1851 230 1862 574 1873 668 1830 372 • 1841 128 1852 773 1863 714 1874 713 1831 287 1842 276 1853 678 1864 698 , 1875 921 1832 310 184S 93 ^ i«ii si*; ISR.I; 714 1833 449 1844 193 1855 406 1866 921 i Total. 23,789 1834 214 1845 235 1856 473 1867 1,08; 6 ~"^^~ ! The Committee cannot help again ex- of Thanks inscribed on vellum, and 3,289Z. pressing their thankfulness for this glo- have been granted for saving the lives of rious harvest of human lives saved, as 921 persons by Life-boats, shore and the reward of the Institution's unceasing fishing boats, and by other means, on exertions for more than fifty-two years, in the coasts and outlying sandbanks of the the " preservation of life from shipwreck " United Kingdom.