548 
the bef{ means to\ guard againit fuch 
dreadful- accidents in future. Advertile- 
ments were publifhed offering a reward for 
the beft plan or model of a boat, fo con- 
firuCted, as to draw little water, and to 
Ave in’a heavy broken fea. In confe- 
quence of thefe advertifements, feveral 
plans and models were tranfmitted to the 
committee, and amongft others a model 
was fent in by Mr. H. Greathead, an 
ingenious boat-builder of South Shields; 
none of which however were approved of. 
The committee therefore purfued their 
ewn plan; but they took*the hint of ren- 
dering the boat more buoyant by means of 
cork, from a model fent in by a painter 
in the town, named Wouldhave, an ec- 
centric but ingenious character. The 
conftru&tion of the boat, according to the 
plan adopted by the committee, was given 
to Mr. Greathead, merely. becaufe he ap- 
peared to take an intereft in the bufinefs, 
and was the only one in the trade who had 
taken notice of the advertifement. 
Tt is therefore evident, if this ftatement 
be juft, that the imvertiva of the Life~Boat 
though claimed by Mr. Greathead, and 
for which he is now foliciting a reward 
from parliament, does not belong to him, 
as he was merely the qworkmanx. This is 
not faid from any invidious motive, for 
the writer has not the moft diftant claim to 
any part of the merit of the invention 5 nor 
3s it meant to throw any obftacles inthe way 
of Mr. Greathead’s receiving a pecumiary 
_ reward ;. let him receive it, for he has a 
family ; but let the merit be attributed to 
thofe gentlemen whofe ingenuity devifed 
the plan, and whofe benevolence prompted . 
them to furnith the meas for exccuting ite 
To nautical men, fome idea of the form 
ef the hoat may be conveyed by faying, 
shat the top, or upper part of the boat, 
exattly refembles that of a Memel fifhing- 
boat ; the ftem and ftern are hke thole of 
a Norway Yawl; and the bottom iike 
that of a Shields Coble, having a curved 
keel fwperadded, which laft is the only 
hint thac was furnifhed by Mr. Greathead, 
To foeak more technicaily, ‘¢ the boat 
is about 30 feet long over ail, and 10 feet 
broad, built in the flaunching manner 
repréfented in the cut, and deck’d at the 
@oor heads, rows with twelve oars, fixed 
with grummets on tron pins, is fteered by 
2 oar, and covered with cork on the outfide 
two or three ftrokes down from the gun- 
asale, will carry 30 people well, and live ia 
2 mo tremendous broken-headed fea.” 
The boat was firft tried on the 30th of 
January, $790, and completely anfwered 
the iatention of its generous patrens. 
Life-Boat.--Dr. Darwit. 
[July 1, 
Cork-jackets were provided for the rowers 
in cafe of accident, but fo fully were they 
convinced of the fafety of the boat on the 
firft trial, that they refufed to wear them 
afterwards. Indeed fuch is the buoyancy 
_ of this boat, from the cork made ufe of, 
that even with a hole in the bottom and 
nearly full of water fhe would ffill be 
enabled to Jand the people in fafety. 
When the utility of this boat had been 
eftablifhed by repeated trials, in which 
many lives were faved from inevitable 
deftinction, the inhabitants of North 
Shields were prefented with a boat built 
upon the fame plan, by the Duke of 
Northumberland, to which his munifi- 
cence acded a fund (2o0l. a year), for 
keeping it in repair,‘ 
Several boats. upon this conftruction 
have been already built at Shields -for 
various fea-ports in England, and plans 
have been fent to many foreign perts; fe 
that, fuch a boat is likely foon to be kept 
in every part of this kingdom where fhip- 
wrecks are peculiarly frequent. Where 
circumftances do not allow a boat of the 
exaét form abovementioned to be ufed, a 
common boat, of nearly the farse dimen- 
fions as the life boat, may be rendered 
tolerably fafe, by having a quantity of 
cork faftened on the outfide as above 
directed. . LSA 
If thefe obfervations be thought worthy — 
of a place in your very ufeful Magazine, 
the infertion of them will give pleafure te 
- ASon oF THE TYNE. 
See ees ; 
To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine. 
SIR, » i 
N the Biographical Memoir of the late 
Dr. Darwin, inferted in your Maga- 
zine af laft month,there is an error, which, 
trivial as at fir& fight it may appear, has yet 
a tendency to fhade a little of thofedomeftie _ 
virtues that will long render his memory 
as much lamented by his friends, as his 
writings have made it refpeéted by the 
world of literature. 
The miftake I allude to relates to the 
circumftances of his death; where it, is 
ftated, that on the very morning when 
that unfortunate event took place, he had 
been talking paffionately to his fervant 
about his horfes, and it is inferred that 
this ** violent fic of pafhon might poffibly 
have been the means of hates his — 
end.” 
It will, Iam fure, be pleafing to you 
to have the means of correéting this ac- 
count, which might convey to pofterity 
ideas of the character ef my deceafed 
friend 
