"_1st_, By the stationing of lifeboats, fully equipped, with all
necessary gear and means of security to those who man them, and with
transporting carriages on which they can be drawn by land to the
neighbourhood of distant wrecks, and by the erection of suitable houses
in which the same are kept.
"_2nd_, By the appointment of paid coxswains, who have charge of, and
are held responsible for, the good order and efficiency of the boats,
and by a quarterly exercise of the crew of each boat.
"_3rd_, By a liberal remuneration of all those who risk their lives in
going to the aid of wrecked persons, whether in lifeboats or otherwise;
and by the rewarding with the gold or silver medal of the Institution
such persons as encounter great personal risk in the saving of life.
"_4th_, By the superintendence of an honorary committee of residents in
each locality, who, on their part, undertake to collect locally what
amount they are able of donations towards the first cost, and of annual
contributions towards the permanent expenses of their several
establishments."
In order to see how this work is, and has been, carried out, let us look
at the results, as stated in the last annual report, that for 1864.
The lifeboats of the Institution now number 132, and some of them were
the means of saving no fewer than 417 lives during the past year; nearly
the whole of them in dangerous circumstances, amidst high surfs, when no
other description of boats could have been launched with safety. They
also took into port, or materially assisted, 17 vessels, which might
otherwise have been lost. The number of persons afloat in the boats on
occasions of their being launched was 6,000. In other words, our army
of coast-heroes amounts, apparently, to that number. But in reality it
is much larger, for there are hundreds of willing volunteers all round
the coast ready to man lifeboats, if there were lifeboats to man.
Although nearly every man of this 6000 risked his life again and again
during the year, not a single life was lost.
Nearly all these boats have been supplied with transporting carriages
and boat-houses by the Institution. The cost in detail is as follows:--
+===========================+==========+
|Lifeboat and her equipments|300 pounds|
+---------------------------+----------+
|Transporting carriage |100 pounds|
+---------------------------+----------+
|Boat-house (average cost) |150 pounds|
+---------------------------+----------+
|Total |550 pounds|
+===========================+==========+
The sums granted last year for the saving of 714 lives by lifeboats,
shore-boats, etcetera, amounted to nearly 1,300 pounds (about 1 pound 16
shillings 6 pence each life!) Fifteen silver medals and twenty-six
votes of thanks, inscribed on vellum and parchment, were also awarded
for acts of extraordinary gallantry.
The income of the Institution in 1863 amounted to 21,100 pounds.
Fifteen new lifeboats were sent to various parts of the coast in that
year.
It is interesting to observe in the report the persons by whom donations
are sometimes given to the Institution. We read of "100 pounds from a
sailor's daughter"; and "100 pounds as a thank-offering for preservation
at sea, during the storm of 31st October last." Another thank-offering
of 20 pounds, "for preservation from imminent danger at sea," appears in
the list. "100 pounds from `a friend,' in gratitude to God for the
preservation of his wife for another year"; and "20 pounds from a
seaman's daughter, the produce of her needle-work." Among smaller sums
we find 1 pound, 6 shillings, 9 pence collected in a Sunday school; 3
pounds, 18 shillings, 8 pence collected in a parish church, as a New
Year's offering. Last, and least in one sense, though by no means least
in another, 1 shilling, 6 pence in stamps, from a sailor's orphan child!
The prayer naturally springs to one's lips, God bless that dear orphan
child! but it has been already blessed with two of God's choicest
gifts,--a sympathetic heart and an open hand.
Small sums like this are not in any sense to be despised. If the
population of London alone--taking it at two millions--were individually
to contribute 1 shilling, 6 pence, the sum would amount to 150,000
pounds! Why, if everyone whose eye falls on this page--to descend to
smaller numbers--were to give a shilling, it is not improbable that a
sum would be raised sufficient to establish two lifeboats! [See Note
1.]
But there are those who, besides being blessed with generous hearts, are
fortunate in possessing heavy purses. We find in the same report
donations of from two hundred to two thousand pounds, and legacies
ranging from ten to a thousand pounds. The largest legacy that seems
ever to have been bequeathed to the Institution was that of 10,000
pounds, left in 1856 by Captain Hamilton Fitzgerald, R.N., one of the
vice-presidents of the Society.
The mere mention of such sums may induce some to imagine that the
coffers of the Institution are in a very flourishing state. This would
indeed be the case if the Society had reached its culminating point--if
everything were done that can be done for the preservation of life from
shipwreck; but this is by no means the case. It must be borne in mind
that the Institution is national. The entire coasts of the United
Kingdom are its field of operations, and the drain upon its resources is
apparently quite equal to its income. Its chief means of support are
voluntary contributions.
Since the Society was instituted, in 1824, to the present time, it has
been the means of saving 13,570 lives!--many, if not most, of these
being lives of the utmost consequence to the commerce and defence of the
country. During the same period, it has granted 82 gold medals, 736
silver medals, and 17,830 pounds in cash; besides expending 82,550
pounds on boats, carriages, and boat-houses.
Considering, then, the magnitude and unavoidable costliness of the
operations of this Institution, it is evident that a large annual income
is indispensable, if it is to continue its noble career efficiently.
Closely allied to this is another society which merits brief notice
here. It is the "Shipwrecked Fishermen's and Mariners' Royal Benevolent
Society." Originally this Society, which was instituted in 1839,
maintained lifeboats on various parts of the coast. It eventually,
however, made these over to the Lifeboat Institution, and confined
itself to its own special and truly philanthropic work, which is--
To board, lodge, and convey to their homes, all destitute, shipwrecked
persons, to whatever country they may belong, through the
instrumentality of its agents. To afford temporary assistance to the
widows, parents, and children of all mariners and fishermen who may have
been drowned, and who were members of the Society; and to give a
gratuity to mariners and fishermen, who are members, for the loss or
damage of their clothes or boats. Membership is obtained by an annual
subscription of three shillings.
Assuredly every mariner and fisherman in the kingdom ought to be a
member of this Society, for it is pre-eminently useful, and no one can
tell when he may require its assistance.
The Lifeboat Institution and the Shipwrecked Fishermen's and Mariners'
Society are distinct bodies, but they do their benevolent work in
harmonious concert. The one saves life, or tries to save it; the other
cherishes the life so saved, or comforts and affords timely aid to
broken-hearted mourners for the dead.
Both Institutions are national blessings, and as such have the strongest
possible claim on the sympathies of the nation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note 1. In case any reader should sympathise with us, and desire to act
on the above hint, we subjoin the following address, to which money may
be sent: The Secretary of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, 22
Charing Cross Road, London, W.