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MARINERS' SOCIETY, and to which society I trust we shall ever feel deeply grateful."

CHASED BY SHARKS.-The Courrier des Etats Unis relates a terrible adventure which occurred to a native of Pernambuco, a mulatto, who had been sent into penal servitude on the island of Fernando Noronha, and had managed to escape, in company with two fellowconvicts, on board a raft, with which they attempted to reach the mainland. On the second day after their departure one of the men accidentally fell into the water, and was devoured by sharks under the very eyes of his two comrades. On the fourth day the other died of exhaus. tion, and the survivor threw the body overboard to the sharks, thinking that they would then leave him alone.

But

the sharks were not to be thus put off; and, having twice tasted human food, were hungry for more. They accordingly crowded round the little raft, eagerly watching its sole occupant from all sides, their long rows of teeth glistening in expectation of the sweet morsel he would make. In fact, look which way he would, he could see nothing but teeth and eyes. For six days this lasted. Unable to sleep, or even to lie down, for fear of being devoured, without provisions, without water, and the hot sun beating down upon his defenceless head, the escaped convict was becoming a raving lunatic, when his tiny craft was espied by an American vessel, the captain of which rescued him and took him to New York.

FILEY BAY HARBOUR AND PIER.-The Yarmouth Gazette, speaking of the projected harbour of refuge at Filey, says: "We last week briefly referred to the number of lives lost and the vessels wrecked on the north-east coast, and also to the efforts now being made for the construction of a harbour of refuge at Filey. The wreck chart of Great

Britain published every year shows at a glance the immense amount of property destroyed, and the large number of lives that are lost between Harwich and Newcastle; and it is therefore surprising that the Government has not had one or more good harbours of refuge con. structed, the ships and fishing vessels constantly sailing up and down the North Sea being many thousands in number. On the coast of Yorkshire, at Filey Bay, there is a grand natural breakwater of very hard rock projecting into the sea about a mile, called the Brigg, which even the Romans some two thousand years ago appear to have utilised to a certain extent, as there are still remains of a pier formed by them extending in a southerly direction from Filey Brigg, and the remains will no doubt be useful to the present promoters. The contemplated project, if carried out, will be a national blessing, and Government ought to afford every possible aid to the promoters. We read that on Whit-Monday, in the "merrie month of May," 1860, 186 fishermen were drowned belonging to the port of Yarmouth alone, and there has been fearful loss of life and property since, as the books of the Sailors' Home will incontestibly prove, no less than 5,000 shipwrecked seamen having been admitted into that institution during the few years it has been opened. Filey Bay is exactly opposite the Dogger Bank, a great resort of fishing vessels in the North Sea, and a harbour there would not only be a great means of saving fishermen's lives and vessels, but also enable them to return rapidly to the fishing grounds when the gales have blown over. The same may be said of the immense fleet of colliers and other craft, for there is no place more dangerous than this part of the coast, and vessels have to run a very long distance out of their course before obtaining any shelter. Yet England, with the largest fleet of merchant vessels in the world, has allowed this to go on year after year. The projected harbour will have an area of 150 acres, and 36

feet at high water, and we trust that it will soon be brought to a successful issue."

AN ACT OF HEROISM.-The Committee of Lloyd's have bestowed the bronze medal of the Society of Lloyd's-which they have the power of presenting under an Act of Parliament as an honorary acknowledgment to those who have by extraordinary exertions contributed to the saving of life at sea-upon Captain Peter Sharp, master of the 'Annabella Clark,' of Ardrossan, and upon John M'Intosh, able-bodied seaman of the same vessel, for their bravery in rescuing, at the imminent risk of their own lives, the crew of the French ship 'Mélanie,' which caught fire on the night of the 20th of November with 500 barrels of petroleum on board. When the French ship 'Melanie' blew up, the captain of the 'Annabella Clark,' lying some eighty yards distant, with an able-bodied seaman- named John M'Intosh, at once put off in a small dingy to the rescue of the French crew; and, although their boat was enveloped in flames and they themselves were all on fire, they hung on to the main-sheet of the blazing vessel till they had succeeded in rescuing the two men left on board. Both are dreadfully burnt, and their deliverer, John M'Intosh, of Ardrossan, was so much injured that he was taken to the Bayonne hospital, and in the surgeon's opinion it is doubtful whether he will ever regain the use of his left hand, by which he held on to the rigging of the blazing vessel. No man who wears the Victoria Cross ever earned it for greater bull-dog pluck.

ANEW LIFEBUOY.-Mr. Boyd,of Peterhead, has practically proved that a lifebuoy may be made of a highly portable nature without impairing its buoyant qualities. This excellent invention was recently shown to Mr. Lindon Saunders, the Travelling Secretary in Scotland of

the SHIPWRECKED MARINERS' SOCIETY. It consists of stout waterproofed material joined in segments in the form of the ordinary circular lifebuoy, and is supplied with a mouthpiece, through which air can be blown. When thus inflated it has a thoroughly serviceable appearance, with the ordinary lines attached. On the occasion referred to, the inflation occupied less than a minute. One of the principal advantages claimed for this invention is, that when uninflated it lies perfectly flat, occupies very little room, and can be easily carried. Mr. Boyd's idea was most successfully carried out by Messrs. Samuel Matthews and Son, Charing Cross, London, and the cost of production is about 30s.

THE EMPLOYERS' AND WORKMEN'S ACT AND SEAMEN.-At the Trade Union Congress recently held at Bristol, a resolution was carried recommending the extension of the provisions of the Employers' and Workmen's Act to sea

men.

It was stated that the only working man now existing who could be seized and imprisoned for not fulfilling a contract, was the British seaman and the London gas-stoker. One difficulty in the way of extending the Act to seamen was the advance note, but a decided difference of opinion existed as to whether it would e a good thing to abolish the system. One of the speakers, Mr. Fitzpatrick of Liverpool, had received a letter on the question from Mr. Plimsoll, in which he said he thought that the difficulty as to advance notes would be completely met by the proposal to extend to seamen the provisions of the Workmen and Employers' Act, for if it were done, and the power to imprison were taken away, advance notes would by that fact alone be abolished; whilst he did not believe that the shipowners would refuse to give an advance to a steady man in need of it. It was also moved that, in the opinion of the Congress, it was desirable to develop the National Seamen Protection Society, as

suggested in the report of the Parliamentary Committee.

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DISASTERS AT SEA. On Saturday morning, a collision occurred off Flamborough Head between the screw steamer 'Sprey,' of Aberdeen, and the screw steamer 'Redewater,' of Newcastle, and resulted in the former foundering almost immediately. A dense fog prevailed at the time. The 'Redewater' struck the other vessel on the forepart of the port side, causing to sink soon afterwards. The cr were saved by getting on board the 'Redewater,' and were brought to Shields yesterday. The 'Sprey' was in ballast and bound to Sunderland, Through the collision the 'Redewater's' bows were stove in, and she will have to undergo repairs before sailing again. There were 32 British and foreign wrecks reported during the past week, making a total for the present year of 1,489, or a decrease of 282 as compared with the corresponding period of last year. The approximate value of pro

perty lost was £400,000, including British vessels and cargoes £260,000, and the aggregate tonnage was about 15,000 tons.

LIGHTHOUSES.-A French writer calculated that at the commencement of 1877 there existed in the world 2,814 lighthouses, of more or less importance, viz., 1,785 on the coasts of Europe, 674 on those of America, 162 in Asia, and 93 in Africa. As regards Europe the best lighted coasts are those of Belgium, France following immediately after; then come in the order following, Holland, England, Spain, Prussia, Italy, Sweden and Norway, Portugal, Denmark, Austria, Turkey, Greece, and finally Russia. Besides Europe, the best lighted coasts are those of the United States, which have one light for every 20 miles, whilst the Brazilian coast has only one light for every 87 miles. Of the 2,874 in existence at the commencement of 1877, about 2,300 had been established since 1830, whilst the power of the greater part of those existing before 1830 has been increased.

COLLECTIONS, LEGACIES, MEETINGS, SERMONS, &c.

For the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society.

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J. Brown, Presbyterian, of Seaton Delaval; Rev. J. Craig, Presbyterian, Blyth; Rev. T. Clifton, Congregationalist, Blyth; Rev. W. James, Methodist New Connexion, Blyth, also took part in the devotional exercises. The Rev. V. Tyas took for his text Matt. xiii. 18-23. The preacher began by saying that the meeting of to-day might be fairly taken as a proof that we recognise God's hand in the harvest which has just been gathered in. Having this faith it was right that we should cherish gratitude in our hearts, and give some public expression thereto. After a few other introductory remarks, the preacher drew attention to some of the lessons taught by

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Christ's parable of the sower. Speaking first of the sower, he said, that whilst Christ Himself was truly the greatest sower, we might also point to the preacher, the Sunday school teacher, and say in the words of the parable, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow.' The next point noticed was the seed sown. This was variously reported by the evangelists as the word, the word of God, and the word of the kingdom. After speaking of the mighty power of words, the preacher went on to show how the living multiplying power of the Gospel was aptly illustrated by the seed. The third point of the parable noticed was the two-fold result of failure and success, with the various reasons given by Christ. The first cause of failure was that the seed fell on the wayside, that is on ground hard, unbroken, unprepared; and so the truth too often fell upon the ears of men whose hearts were hardened by worldli

ness.

When men went forth to business the mind was all on the alert, and if they heard some report of a failure, or of a rise or fall in the market, at once the mind was asking, How will this affect me? What shall I do in view of it? But the mind was not thus on the alert on entering the sanctuary, and though they hear it proclaimed that there is a heaven to gain, and a hell to shun, the truth is heard with perfect indifference. The second cause of failure was that the seed fell on a rock which had just a thin covering of soil, and though it grew rapidly, yet it soon withered because there was no deepness of earth. So there were persons of a superficial emotional character who began a religious life, but soon fell away. Their conviction of sin or the conception of what a religious life really is being superficial, taking account only of its promise of good, not of its difficulties; hence, when these arise, they are offended. The third cause of failure was through the growth of thorns or weeds. So the cares of poverty might lead to murmuring and discontent, or

riches and wordly pleasures might overgrow the good and destroy the spiritual life. In speaking of success, the preacher briefly drew attention to three or four words as embodying the reason why the seed brought forth fruit unto perfection. The seed was received, kept, and patiently watched. So must we lay hold of the truth, must make it the rule of our conduct and patiently pull up the weeds of envy, jealousy, malice, selfishness, and pride as quickly as they arise. The preacher concluded with the petition that in the final harvest home of the world, when the great Lord of the harvest shall say to the angel-reapers, "Gather the wheat into my barn," we may all be amongst the number so gathered in. At the close of the service a collection was taken in aid of the funds of the SHIPWRECKED FISHERMEN AND MARINERS' ROYAL BENEVOLENT SOCIETY (Mr. John Robinson, jun., local agent, Blyth), which annually distributes in relief in Blyth a sum of £200 in excess of the income of the agency, and has, therefore a very special claim upon the public of this locality. The collection amounted to £7 5s., and constitutes the rev. preacher a life member of the Society.

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REWARDS FOR SAVING LIFE AT SEA.

THE following rewards were granted by the SHIPWRECKED MARINERS' SOCIETY during the past quarter, viz. :

Nov. 15th.-Captain the Hon. Francis Maude, R.N., V.P., in the chair.

Captain Holdsworth brought to the notice of the Committee the following act of heroism as reported in the daily papers :-The large iron ship 'Eblana,' of Liverpool, 1,351 tons register, commanded by Captain Liver, left Liverpool for Madras on Thursday, October 3, and experienced bad weather, until reaching the Smalls Lights. The wind was from south and south-west, and it got worse from that time until Sunday, when there was a heavy gale from the southward, which, however, moderated towards Monday, when the weather became a little finer. On Tuesday it commenced to blow again from south-south-west, increasing to a heavy gale, and became still worse on Wednesday, with mountainous seas. On Thursday, at 2 a.m., when in lat. 48 52 N., long. 10 33 W.,

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a tremendous sea struck the vessel, throwing her over on her side, shifting he cargo, washing away the lifeboat, and smashing the bulwarks. Towards morning the main and mizen masts were cut away, and the vessel was quite over on her side, and settling down fast. At about 6 o'clock in the morning the bark 'Decapolis,' of London, Captain Almond, from Adelaide for London, hove in sight, and signals of distress were made to her, and she bore down and stood by them for about 14 hours, until all the crew were rsscued and taken aboard. When she first approached the "Eblana' the latter's boats were launched, but were stove in by the seas, one of the crew being badly injured. A boat with six men was then sent from the 'Decapolis,' and she succeeded in rescuing six of the Eblana's men. There was a great gale on and tremendous seas, and it was impossible to get the boat close to the ship, and a communication was made between them by life buoys and

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