Nor are those whose residence is the most remote from the scenes of these disasters, less interested in the universal establishment of this system.--Where is to be found that family, of any station, even in the very interior of the kingdom, which has not some near and dear connexions, some valued relatives or friends, who, from their professions or their pursuits, may become exposed to the hazard of shipwreck, and who may be thus preserved, through the very means to which their bounty may contribute? Themselves distant from the scene of danger, they may, without effort or toil, become instrumental in the rescue of those they most value in life--equally then are they called on to take measures for the collection of funds in the midland counties as on the coasts, in order to give increased resources to the Institution, for the most effectual prosecution of its plans.
As this great national measure shall continue to establish itself in the public mind, the adoption of more extended and systematic plans will naturally impress themselves on our consideration.
From an almost universal want of foresight in our seamen, and a carelessness in providing against future dangers, naturally arising from the reckless bravery of their character, they would turn with contempt from any proposition that each should always take with him to sea, some one of those simple but practicable means by which his rescue from shipwreck might be greatly facilitated. In like manner the owners or masters of vessels, some from an ill timed parsimony, but far more, from thoughtlessness or prejudice, neglect to provide their vessels with any of the apparatus which would, in many instances, insure the safety of the passengers and crews.
What is thus the duty of every one, will, amongst such a numerous class of individuals, be either entirely neglected or imperfectly executed, and a continued sacrifice of life be the certain consequence.
Our seamen constitute one of the most valuable properties of the state. The preservation of the life of the subject is one of the most imperative duties of an enlightened government--it has therefore become indispensably requisite, in this great maritime nation, that these evils, arising from causes which no unity of opinion or of action, in the parties most interested, can ever be expected to remove, should as far as possible be obviated by legislative enactment--and that vessels should not, after a given period, be permitted to clear out at the ports from which they are to sail, until, according to their tonnage, the number of their passengers and crews, and the nature of the voyage on which they are bound, it shall have been ascertained that they have been provided by the owners, and according to established regulations, with those means of safety which shall be required.