An Appeal to the British Nation on the Humanity and Policy of Forming a National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck (1825)Hillary, William, Sir
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An Appeal to the British Nation on the Humanity and Policy of Forming a National Institution for the Preservation of Lives and Property from Shipwreck (1825)
Hillary, William, Sir
Lifesaving -- Great Britain; Shipwrecks
From the nobility and gentry large donations and subscriptions may
naturally be expected. The clergy of every class will, no doubt, be
foremost in the cause of humanity. To the whole body of the navy, the
marines, and to the army, who, in the prosecution of their professional
duties, encounter so many of the dangers of the sea, such an appeal will
never be made in vain. Can it be supposed that there is one East India
Director, one member of Lloyd's, an under-writer, a merchant, a
shipowner, or commander in the India or merchants' service, from whom a
subscription, liberal in proportion to his means, will not be obtained?
Nor will the generous aid of any class of society, I am persuaded, be
wanting for such a purpose; and as a stimulus to the whole, by example
in their donations, and by the widely-extended circle of their
influence, the British females of every station in life will, I am
convinced, particularly distinguish themselves in aid of this cause.
From these opinions, which I so confidently entertain of the humanity
and liberality of the British people, I rest firmly persuaded, that the
most ample means will be easily and speedily obtained for every possible
expenditure which can attend the objects of this Institution.
When the funds shall have been once established, the duty of the
Committee will be, to have the permanent superintendence and regulation
of their finance under the proper control of the whole society.
A second Board, or Committee, should be formed from the most
experienced and enlightened officers of the navy, seamen, engineers, and
scientific men, for the purpose of carrying the direct objects of the
Institution into effect.
One of the most important duties of this Committee will be to combine,
in a clear, concise, and well-digested system, the result of the joint
knowledge and experience of the whole body, in plain and simple
language, divested as much as possible of technical phraseology, and
capable of being understood by every individual. This code of
instruction should comprise the best and most prompt measures to be
adopted in every sort of danger to which a vessel can be exposed, and on
whatever kind of coast, in order that the most effectual assistance may
be given, with the least possible loss of time, and with such means as
in remote situations can most probably be obtained; and the Committee
should be requested to report, from time to time, the result of those
measures which they had found from experience to be most successful;
whilst every friend to such a cause, who might suggest an invention or a
means to facilitate these objects, would be certain, that in this
Committee his plans would receive the most attentive consideration from
those who would possess the power and the inclination to carry them into
effect.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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