An address to the President ... and members, of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce : occasioned by the conduct of a committee of the Society. Together with a vindication of the author from an imputation ... that he had pirated his system of rescue from shipwreck on a lee-shore, from a previous plan of Lieut. Bell / [George William Manby].

  • Manby, George William, 1765-1854
Date:
1816
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: An address to the President ... and members, of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce : occasioned by the conduct of a committee of the Society. Together with a vindication of the author from an imputation ... that he had pirated his system of rescue from shipwreck on a lee-shore, from a previous plan of Lieut. Bell / [George William Manby]. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    the shot and the line, which did not, as all before had done, break at the discharge, I succeeded in thus gaining communication with my object, and worked a complete change of opinion on my project. I stop here to observe, that, among the numbers who were witnesses of my experiments, not one suggested, that such a mode of communi¬ cation was already in existence. If it had been known among them, I should without doubt have heard of it. Those who were my friends, while my attempts were abortive, would have referred me to it, in the probability that I might find in it, what was wanting to success in mine. And, after I had succeeded, the malevolent would not have omitted to urge, that I had been anticipated in, what had cost me so much labour and anxiety, and what I believed with pride had originated with me. Is it at all surprising, that an ignorance, which extended so wide, should also include me? This ignorance was the consequence of the utter oblivion, into which Lieut. Bell’s project dropped immediately after its exposition by the Society of Arts. Indeed it was only not still born. I shall shew the reason presently. Repeated success in trials, during violent gales accompanied with rain, hail, and snow, had now given me confidence in my project; and on the 26th of August, and again on the 10th of September, 1807, I exhibited it before the Suffolk Humane Society, and had the honour to receive from them the following testimony in its favour. ** The Rev. J. G. Spurgeon, Vice President, in the Chair. It was unanimously resolved. That, in the opinion of the Suffolk Humane Society, as well as of many other Gentlemen, who were present. Captain Manby’s experi¬ ments for effecting a communication between the shore, and a vessel, that may be stranded, by throwing a shot with a rope appended to it, over a vessel (if she be near the land) have completely answered the purpose for which they have been attempted. That the thanks of the Meeting be given to Captain Manby, for the zeal and exertion he has shewn to promote the object for which the Suffolk Humane Society was instituted.” I afterwards repeated the experiments at Yarmouth, when a con¬ viction of its adequacy to its end, produced the subjoined certificate from some of the principal of great numbers of witnesses to the success of the attempts. “ We, the undersigned, having witnessed the experiments made by Captain Manby, for conveying a rope to vessels in distress, think it incumbent upon us to express our conviction in the strongest terms.