LI F E-P R E 
had been forty-five years at fea, in the Greenland and 
coal trade, and has refided always at Shields. About 
three years ago, he was in the Northumberland life-boat, 
which was presented to North Shields by the duke of Nor¬ 
thumberland, the fir ft time flie went off, which was to 
the relief of the floop Edinburgh. This vefiel was feen 
to go upon the Herd-fands, about a mile and a half from 
fliore; fhe was brought to an anchor before the life-boat 
got to her, and (lie continued finking the ground fo hea¬ 
vily, that ihe would not have held together ten minutes 
longer, had they not got to her; they made her cut her 
cable, and then took Seven men out of her, and brought 
them on-fhore. The fea at that time was monftroufly 
high, fo high that no other boat whatever could have 
lived in it. He was then alked, whether he had been out 
in the life-boat on any other occalion ? to which he re¬ 
plied, that he had been five times out in her to the relief 
of different fhips ; from one fhip they faved fifteen men ; 
and in every in fiance when he, the witnefs, was in the 
boat, they faved the whole of the crews of the wrecked 
fhips. Befides the times he has been himfelf in the boat, 
lie has feen her go off fcures of times, and never favv her 
fail in bringing off fuch of the crews as flayed by the 
Blips. But many times part of the crews of the veffels 
wrecked have taken to their own boats, and have been 
drowned by the boats’ upfetting; vvliilft the remainder of 
the crews that continued on-board have been faved by the 
life-boat. And the witnefs declared his conviction, that 
.no other boat that ever he faw could have gone from the 
fliore, and faved the crews, at the times the life-boat went. 
I-Ie Hated, that, in the event of the life-boat filling with 
water, fhe would continue ftill upright, and would not 
founder, as boats of a common conflruftibn do. That, 
about two' months ago, he favv her come on-fhore with a 
Blip’s crew, befides her own crew, fo full of water, that 
it ran over each fide ; the fea had broken feveral of her 
oars; and he believes, that no boat of any other conflrnc- 
tion could have brought the crew on-fhore fo filled with 
water. 
“ Captain William Carter, of the fhip Providence, of 
Newcastle, ftated, that he had refided at South Shields 
twenty-five years, and been fifteen years in the coal and 
Baltic trades; that on the 28th of November, 1797, he 
commanded the Velocity, of 59 tons, riding at anchor on 
Tynemouth bar, amongll the broken water, when the 
Blip Planter was driven on-Biore by the violence of the 
gale, about one hundred yards from the Velocity ; the 
life-boat came off, and took fifteen perfons out of the 
Planter ; and they had fcarcely quitted the fhip, when flie 
went to pieces ; they muff; all otherwife have inevitably 
periffied, as the wreck came on-fhore almoft as foon as 
the life-boat. He conceived, that no boat of a common 
conflruftion could have given relief at that time. There 
were feveral other veffels in the fame fituation with the 
Planter; namely, the Gatefhead, the Mary, and the Bea¬ 
ver, befides a floop, whofe name the witnefs does not 
know. The crew of the Gatefhead, being nine in num¬ 
ber, took to their own boat, which funk, and feven of 
them were loft ; the other two faved themfelv.es by ropes 
thrown from the Mary. After the life-boat had landed 
the crew of the Planter, file went off fuccefiiveiy to the 
other veffels, and brought the whole of their crews fafe 
on-fhore, together with the two perfons who had efcaped 
from the boat of the Gatefhead. He has feen the life¬ 
boat go to the afliftance of other veffels at different times, 
and flie always fucceeded in bringing the crews on-fhore. 
The witnefs has feveral times obferved her to come on- 
fliore full of water, and always fafe. 
“ Captain Gilfred Lawfon Reed, an elder brother of 
the Trinity-houfe, dated, that he had been bred to the 
fea, and had been a member of the Trinity-houfe fever.- 
t.een years. He had the management of the life-boat at 
Loweftoffe, particularly laft year, where he was requefted 
by the fubfcribers to make any improvement he thought 
neceflary. She was built exactly, upon Mr, Greathead’s 
SERVER. $59 
plan, correfponding with the model before the committee. 
Having fitted her for fervice as far as he thought proper, 
he was requefted by a number of the fubfcribers to launch 
this life-boat; he took an opportunity; when the fea fell 
very heavy on the beach, and launched her in the pre¬ 
fence of at lead two hundred fpeftators. Twenty-four 
men jumped into her; and, when file firff mounted the 
waves, the fpeftators with one voice expreffed their aflo- 
nifhment. He had given the men orders to crofs a flioal, 
that lay about a mile and a half from the fliore, upon 
which the fea broke very heavily ; by fome miftake one of 
the plugs was left out of the bottom, and fhe filled with 
water before fhe got to the fhoal, which obliged the men 
to return immediately, and fl-.e brought the twenty-four 
men fafe to fliore, though when flie gained the fhore Bie 
was full of water to the gunwale and midfhips ; yet by 
her flieer one-third of her at each end was out of the Wa¬ 
ter. Being afked; wherein he confidered the fuperiority 
of the life-boat confifts over any other boat that has hi¬ 
therto been invented ? he anfwered, the curvatu're of the 
keel, and the jlauncking fides ; which render it almoft irn- 
pofiible to be upfet. When this boat was afloat and full 
of water, the men all went to one fide of the boat, in or¬ 
der to try the poflibility of upfetting her, which they 
could not effeft. 
“ Mr. Thomas Henderwell, of Scarborough, fliip- 
owner, dated, that the peculiar nature of the curvature 
of the keel of this boat is the foundation and balls of its 
excellence. It regulates, in a great meafure, the fheer 
with ejevation towards the ends. This conftruftion 
fnreads and repels the water in every direftion, and ena¬ 
bles hertoafcend and defcend with great facility over the 
breakers. The ends being reduced regularly from the 
centre to lefs than one-third proportion of the midfhips, 
both ends are lighter than the body-feftion. By means 
of the curved keel, and the centre of gravity being placed 
in the centre of the boat, fhe preferves equilibrium in the 
midfl of the breakers. The internal fhallownefs of the 
boat in the body-feftion, occafioned by the convexity of 
the keel and the fheer at the top, leaves fo fmall a fpace 
for the water to occupy, that the boat, though filled with 
water, is in no danger *ot finking or upfetting. The 
buoyancy of the boat, when filled with water, is alfo af-- 
fifted by the cork being placed above the water-line. 
“ Mr. Samuel Plumb, of Lower Shadwell, defcribed 
himfelf to have been bred to the fea, and to have adled 
in the capacity of maffer of a Blip from 1777 until within 
thefe eighteen months ; that he had been chiefly em¬ 
ployed in the coal and Baltic trades, and had refided at 
Shields the whole of his life till within the laft five years, 
lie is acquainted with the Shields life-boats ; and, front 
every information he had received, Mr. Greathead has 
been universally confidered as the inventor of them. He 
went out in one of them to the relief of a Blip, which 
was wrecked on the coaft near the mouth of the Tyne. 
The firft time they reached the wreck, the rope, which 
they threw from the wreck to the life-boat, broke, and 
the boat was drifted to the northward by the violence of 
the wind and ftrong current of the tide ; they then landed, 
and by two horfes dragged the boat along the fand to the 
Southward, and then launched her again through the ' 
breakers to the vefiel. In the fecond attempt they fuc¬ 
ceeded in bringing the crew on-fhore. The witnefs never 
faw any other boat in which he would have ventured to 
the relief of the crew, or which he thinks could have ex¬ 
ecuted the purpofe of faving them. 
“ Mr. William Mafterman, of South Shields, fliip- 
owner, was one of the original committee that ordered 
the life-boat at South Shields in 1789. He corroborated 
the evidence given by captain William Carter ; and ftated, 
that from the fituation of his refidence he lias Been the. 
performance of the life-boat more frequently than pro¬ 
bably any other of the committee at South Shields, and 
has frequently feen and afiifted in the launching of the. 
life-boat from the beach into the fea during a ftorm. 
That 
