Seconded by Thomas Wilson, Esq. M.P.
And resolved unanimously,
That the Gold Medallion of the Institution be presented to Sir William Hillary, Bart., by whom this NATIONAL INSTITUTION was first suggested, and ably recommended by his publications on the subject.
(Signed) THOMAS WILSON,
Chairman of the Committee.
Having thus shown, by official documents, the great outline of the Royal National Institution, now happily established for the preservation of Life from Shipwreck, a brief recapitulation of the important nature of its objects and its plans, will perhaps be the best conclusion I can offer to those pages, which have already been received by the public in a manner so gratifying to my own feelings.
From the most early periods, and in every state of society, shipwreck has been one of those never ceasing evils which has excited the commiseration of mankind; but, until recently, appears scarcely ever to have called forth their humane efforts to mitigate its deplorable consequences. For centuries our mariners have been left, unassisted, to endure every peril of the sea, as if shipwreck were a calamity in every instance utterly beyond all reach of mortal succour, and in every age, thousands of our fellow-creatures have thus miserably perished, who unquestionably might have been rescued.
Of late years, various efforts have been made on parts of our coasts for the preservation of life from impending peril, and some excellent inventions have been introduced for that purpose; these had however hitherto been only a means, not a system—local, not national.