THE Committee of the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners' Society have published the following additional appeal on behalf of the establishment of an Asylum or Hospital, for aged Mariners at Belvedere, near Gravesend.

A commodious house has already been secured for this laudable undertaking; and its support and permanent establishment is now earnestly sought for by the Committee.

We trust that their object will be speedily accomplished; for our disabled and worn-out seamen have special claims on a great maritime and mercantile country like England:— "A few years since, the Committee of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society promoted a meeting, held at the Mansion-house, the LORD MAYOR in the Chair, for the purpose of establishing a hospital for worn-out and disabled merchant seamen, who had no other place of refuge but the workhouse.

The meeting, at which there were at least 600 persons present, was unanimous that such an asylum ought to be provided. The reasons given in the resolution were these:—First, That a body of men, unto whose care and courage are intrusted the most important interests of the empire, ought to be viewed and treated as the servants of the community, and cared for as such. Second— That by such means they may be more bound to their country, for the defence of which, in time of need, they are necessary to its independent existence as a nation. Third—That they may be raised in self-esteem by being preserved from pauperism; and, it may be hoped, a moral improvement of their character be gradually effected.

"The provisional Committee for carrying out the resolutions of the public meeting at the Mansion- house, encouraged by the general approval with which the proposition was received, and reckoning that it would be sustained by the shipowners, merchants, and public at large, as well as by the officers and seamen of the merchant service, have now secured the freehold of the mansion of the late SIR CULLING BARDLET, Bart., at Belvedere, with 23 acres of land. The building contains 65 rooms, "with abundant offices, and is admirably capable of being adapted so as to form a splendid retreat for our worn-out tars, both officers (if they need) and men. It stands on a summit of a hill, commanding a view of the Thames on the north, east, and west, with a railway station at its foot; and though, of course, not equal to Greenwich in the magnitude of the building, it is far superior in situation, with land enough about it to make it anything the bounty of the public may please.

"The Committee, noticing a leader in the Times remarking on the speech of Mr. Childers, in the House of Commons, and learning that it and the memorandum of the DUKE OF SOMERSET on the affairs of Greenwich Hospital had led many persons to suppose that there was a probability of a part of that building being given to the merchant seamen, sought and obtained an interview with His Grace, to know if such a probability existed.

He distinctly denied it, and expressed himself glad of the provision contemplated by the deputation, saying that he ' considered it important to keep the provision for the Merchant Seamen distinct from that of the seamen of the Royal Navy.' "Though the DUKE OF SOMERSET'S reply was emphatic, nevertheless there were a number of influential gentlemen in the City, interested in the welfare of our merchant seamen, who, notwithstanding the report of the Duke's reply, put forth by the deputation, published in most of the morning papers, could not divest themselves of the thought that the spare buildings of Greenwich Hospital might yet be given to shelter worn-out and disabled merchant seamen.

" In order, therefore, to set the matter at rest, the question was publicly put by Mr. Crawford, one of the members for the City of London, in the House of Commons, to .the Secretary of the Admiralty, ' whether it was the intention of the Lords Commissioners to appropriate any portion of Greenwich Hospital for the reception of worn-out and disabled seamen of the merchant service?' LORD CLARENCE FACET said,' It was not the intention of the Admiralty to appropriate any part of Greenwich Hospital for the purpose.' The reply of his Grace the First Lord of the Admiralty to the deputation before aliuded to, which of coarse being in a measure private was subject to the suspicion of misrepresentation, being now confirmed in public by the reply of the Secretary of the Admiralty, it is to be hoped has set at rest the minds of those who may have had the lingering idea that merchant seamen might yet ha e a berth in Greenwich in their old age.

" There is, however, still a hope that the merchant seamen, if they do not get anything out of the building, may yet get something out of the funds by which it has hitherto been maintained, and this hope has its foundation in the published memorandum on Greenwich Hospital of the DUKE OR SOMERSET, wherein he states, that the ' surplus funds' of that establishment will be distributed with a due regard to the claims of those persons who have contributed to the revenues of the hospital;' and as the merchant seamen for a series of years prior to 1832 subscribed 6d. per man per month, or in the aggregate 30,000/. per annum in round numbers ; and as the men. who then subscribed are the very men who, from their age, it is now sought to save from the workhouse by giving them an honourable retreat at Belvedere, the provisional Committee is of opinion, if the movement now set on foot is supported so as to give it a proper status, that, under the circumstances, an endowment in proportion to the number (500) it is proposed to locate on the banks of the Thames may fairly be asked for and pressed as a set-off to the claims of the merchant seamen, which have been often urged both in and out of Parliament.

' By a return ordered by the House of Commons seven years since, on the motion of the late Admiral Sir Charles Napier, there were then 2,000 seamen in the workhouses of the United Kingdom.

Taking into consideration the great increase of tonnage since that return was made, and that, consequently, a greater number of seamen must be employed, it may be estimated there are now 2,500; if so, as it is only proposed that Belvedere should receive 500, there "Will be 2,000 to be provided for in similar establishments, which we may hope to see raised at Liverpool and other ports, and thus give opportunity to provide for the men in their own localities. Meantime, Belvedere will be open to all seamen of good character, natives of the XJnited Kingdom, who may have served 21 years in British vessels, or previously, if disabled in the merchant service of their country.

" The provisional Committee believe that the subject of a provision for our merchant seamen in old age, or when disabled from labour by some of the various accidents common to their perilous calling, exercises the minds both of statesmen and philanthropists, of which the recent speech of the EARL OF HARROWBY in the House of Lords may be taken as an index. That a country so famous for its institutions, and so dependent on its maritime power, should have no provision for its merchant seamen, while there is, perhaps, not another nation which has any pretence to be maritime but has, is something remarkable. Of old, DIBDIN sought to call attention to England's neglect of her seamen, and there being no asylum for them, makes too true the old saying, that when the sailor is worn out in his hard service— • Where he goes, and how he fares, No one knows, and no one cares.' " The shipowners and merchants of England roll in wealth—fruit of the sailor's toil. Among them there are, no doubt, many who will lend a helping hand to this good work. Many of them, to their honour be it spoken, have expressed their desire to see this blot effaced; and it is believed that, with the blessing of God, the movement will be successfully supported by the public, so as to redound to the honour of the patriotism, as well as the benevolence and charity of England, and also will serve to prove that her esteem for her brave and hardy seamen has a more solid foundation than words.

" FRANCIS LEAN, Soa. Sec., " Hospital far Worn-out and Disabled Merchant Seamen " (Supported by Voluntary Contributions).

" Hibernia Chambers, London-bridge, July 29,1864."