BUDEHAVEN, NORTH CORNWALL. —On the 9th of October last, the Margaret, a sloop belonging to Bideford, was observed to strike heavily on the Chapel-rock, off the entrance of Budehaven, and then to bound off into deep water, evidently with serious damage. There was a heavy ground swell on the bar at the time, in which no boat but a good life-boat could have lived, and the wind was blowing fresh E.S.E. Sir THOMAS DYKE ACLAND, Bart., M.P., one of the chief landed proprietors at Budehaven, seeing her critical situation, gave directions for the life-boat to be launched, and to proceed to her assistance, which was accordingly done without loss of time, the boat being manned by three coastguard men and eight other volunteers, seamen of the place. WM. H. TREGIDGO, chief boatman of the coastguard, being in charge of the boat as coxswain.

The sea on the bar at the time, in consequence of the long Atlantic swell then setting in, was so heavy, as to lead many of the bystanders to consider it a rash undertaking in the life-boat, to attempt to cross over it; and the boat being a new one, of which no trial had as yet been had, increased the gallantry of those who without hesitation manned her, to go to the rescue of the vessel's crew.

In the act of crossing the bar, she encountered two very heavy seas, such as, in the language of those present, "none but a lifeboat, and such a one as she is, could have gone through with safety." The two men forming the crew of the sloop, were then taken on board, and conveyed in safety to the shore, their vessel sinking immediately after.

This life-boat is a new one on Mr. PEAKE'S design, 27 feet in length, and had only recently been sent to her station, by the Royal National Institution for Preservation of Life from Shipwreck, (vide Life-Boat Journal, No. 10.) The silver medal of the Society was, on this occasion, voted to W. H. TREGIDGO, the coxswain (who had before distinguished himself by saving life), and double the usual scale of pay was voted to the boat's crew, in consideration of their having so readily placed confidence in an untried boat, when the salvation of life was their object.

RAMSGATE.—On the night of the 8th Nov. last, at about 10 P.M., signal rockets were thrown up on board the Light Vessel on the north end of the Goodwin Sands, when the life-boat belonging to the Harbour Commissioners at that place, immediately proceeded to the spot, 7 or 8 miles distant, in tow of their steam-tug, the Sampson.

The wind was blowing a gale from the N.E. at the time, and there was a heavy sea on the sands.

On arriving at the, vessel, a French schooner (subsequently ascertained to be the Eleonore) three of the large class of luggers were found to have already anchored to windward of her, two of them, we believe, belonging to Ramsgate, the other to Broadstairs, but which could not approach near enough to the vessel to be of any service in consequence of the heavy sea and broken water which was everywhere around her.

The life-boat having cast off from the steamer, let go her anchor at a suitable distance from the wreck, and veering to 100 fathoms of cable,.got sufficiently near to her to throw lines on board, but which unhappily, either from the darkness preventing their finding them, or some other cause, those on board her failed to make fast, and this single circumstance decided the fate of the greater part of the unfortunate crew, the whole of whom would undoubtedly have been saved, had they obtained a hold of a rope; an illustration of the slender thread by which success often hangs suspended, in the hazardous operation of rendering assistance at the calamitous scenes of shipwreck.

To proceed, however, with our narration.

—The life-boat then sheered off from the vessel, when it speedily became evident that her own anchor was dragging, and that she was herself fast drifting upon the edge of the fatal sand, placing the lives of her own crew in as imminent danger as those of the shipwrecked men they had hoped to save. Nor were they left long in suspense, in a few minutes more she was beating violently on the strand, the seas repeatedly breaking over her, and placing her crew in great risk of being washed overboard.

And now her own superior qualities were manifested,—had she not possessed great strength of frame and build, increased by the peculiar character of her internal fittings, she must have soon gone to pieces. Indeed, we are informed that the crews of the luggers lying off the vessel at the time, have stated that such would inevitably have been the fate of one of their own boats under the same circumstances.

Providentially the anchor retained some hold, which prevented her drifting altogether broadside on to the sand, and after some time, the tide rising, they were enabled to sheer off the edge of it.

Two other attempts were made to get alongside the unfortunate schooner, but without success,"and before daylight she had broken up, after which, all hope of any of her crew yet surviving, and the luggers still remaining at anchor near the spot, the lifeboat returned to Ramsgate, after an absence of 10 hours—disappointed to be sure in the hope of saving the lives of the shipwrecked crew, but with their confidence greatly increased in the valuable properties of their boat from what they had gone through in her, and ready to proceed again at the first call of distress. * The captain of the schooner and one man (a passenger) were the only persons on board her, who were saved, 5 being drowned.

The former, giving up all hope of receiving help, stripped himself of his clothes, and swam to the nearest lugger; the latter was picked up floating about in the companionhatch of the vessel at 11 o'clock in the morning, in an exhausted state, by the crew of another lugger who accidentally per- * Since the above occasion this life-boat has been twice off to the Goodwin in the night-time, in reply to signals of distress made by the North Sand Head light vessel:—first, to the Childe Harold, on the 8th of November, which vessel got on the north end of the Goodwin Sands on that night; secondly, to a steamer, which, however, got out of danger before the arrival of the life-boat on the spot.

ceiving something move within it, at some risk to themselves, rescued him in their own punt.

It will be right that we should here remind our readers, that this boat is the original one built by BEECHING and SONS, of Great Yarmouth, which obtained the prize of 10(M., given by His Grace the Duke of NORTHUMBERLAND, K.G., in 1851. She was liberally purchased by the Ramsgate Harbour Commissioners, without regard to cost, and had, shortly before the above severe test of her qualities, undergone, at a great expense to the Harbour Trust, some more recent improvements in her internal fittings.

SOUTHWOLD.—On the evening of the 29th of November last, the Sheraton Grange, brig, of Sunderlarid, having struck on the Aldboro' Napes, on the coast of Suffolk, was seen drifting towards Southwold, with a flag of distress up, and evidently in an unmanageable state.

The sea being very heavy, and the night fast setting in, it was not deemed prudent for any of the yawls to proceed to her assistance, but the two coxswains of the life-boat, BENJ. KERRINGTON and WILLIAM WATERS, speedily collected a crew, and after an hour's struggle against wind and sea, succeeded in reaching the brig, which was, however, deserted by her crew, who had taken to their long-boat.

The life-boat then proceeded in search of the boat and crew, which she was fortunate in finding, as the latter, 9 in number, could not have been conveyed safely to the land in their own boat. They were soon transferred to the life-boat, and taken by her into Southwold Harbour. The life-boat is said to have behaved admirably on the occasion, and the crew to have managed her with much skill.

An account of this boat, which was built by BEECHING and SONS, of Great Yarmouth, will be found under the head of' Additional Stations' in this number of the Journal.

BOULMER, NORTHUMBERLAND.—On the 24th of November last, at 6 A. M., the Robert Nicol, brig, of Rochester, went on shore during thick weather, on the South Steel Rocks, off Boulmer.

The sea, although not very heavy, was too much so for an open coble to go off in.

The life-boat stationed at Boulmer accordingly proceeded to her assistance, manned by the fishermen of the village, and rescued the master and her crew, consisting of seven persons, landing them in safety at Boulmer.