SHIPWRECKS. That wrecks are numerous, is a fact well-known to a seafaring nation like ours ; that they must necessarily be consider able in number, regard being had to the perils of the deep, will of course bo admitted ; lint that nothing can be done to lessen their frequency, would be a hopeless theory of which we ought to be ashamed. Supposing, for the sake of fixing the ideas, that some wrecks are occasioned by a want of scientific knowledge of winds, waves, cur rents, whirlpools, shoals, reefs, and sunken rocks, on the part of meteorologists and hydrographers ; that others are caused by the in competency of captains and mates; that others again result from the insubordination, carelessness, ignorance, or obstinate fatalism of sea men ; that a fourth group are due to the deficiency of lighthouses, beacons, and buoys ; and that the remainder arise from want of ready assistance to ships which, though placed in peril on shoals or near rocks, might yet be saved if aid were at hand on the beach or the cliff —who shall say that these evils are incurable ? who can put a limit to the improvements which might be wrought / A dismal story, indeed, does the " Wreek-chart of the British Islands" tell, as published annually by the Admiralty, and afterwards in the Life-Boat Journal.' It may be designated a truly distressing map. Every wreck on our coasts has Its little black mark ; and the aggregate of such black marks reveals the number of wrecks in one year. Knowing that a black spot • indicates a vessel wrecked, and that 4- indicates a vessel so seriously damaged as to need to discharge cargo, we look eagerly for the relative numbers of these little spots and stns; and it is saddening to see hew numerous are the fatal black signs. At some places the wrecks are numerous because the coast is dangerous ; at others, because the congregating of ships is very great. These charts refer only to our own coasts—the coasts of the most busy maritime islands in the world ; where, if there be liability of disaster through the vast congregation of shipping, there ought, on the other hand, to be a supply of invention and good sense sufficient to check, In some degree, such disasters. In examining the details of the chart, it will be seen that the line of coast between Dungenees and the Pentland Frith is the most fatal, and that the mouth of the Tyne takes the unenvied precedence of all other places, in the number of black dots and stars opposite to its name ; next come the mouth of the Tees and the mouth of the Wear. These three rivers may be taken as the representatives of the district whence three million tons of coal arc brought by sea to London yearly, employing the services of several thousand collier ships, which sail to and fro, and add to the otherwise 'buoy commercial trade of the Northumbrian and Durham porta. The month of the Humber, the Suffolk coast between Yar. mouth and Southwold, the intricate sandy shoals off the mouth of the Thames, the Goodwin Sands, the Scilly Islands, Barnstaple Bay, and Liverpool, are the portions of the Eugiish coast which present, in the next degree, the most numerous indications of ship-losses. The Welsh'
coast is thickly strewn, especially Glamorgan, Pembroke, and Anglesea. Scotland, except in and near the Frith of Forth, presents no large numbers ; the western coast is, indeed, remarkably free, due probably to the less exposure to the winds which tend to drive ships ashore on our eastern seaboard. Ireland presents a tolerably equable distribu tion along the east and south coasts : leas on the northern and western.
Many inquiries into the causes of shipwreck have been instituted; and especially one by a committee of the House of Commons. One of the results has been the construction of harbours of refuge, which have not hitherto been very successful. One frequent cause of wreck is collision, arising from bad look out or neglecting to show light. Another cause was the occasional incompetence of the master in merchant vessels. To remedy this, Mr. Cardwell, in 1854, brought in and carried a bill "To Amend and Consolidate the Acts relating to Merchant Shipping ;" it constitutes the act 17 & 18 Viet. c. 104, and received the royal assent August 10, 1854. The statute is of great length, and relates to eleven different topics, bearing upon the well being of sailors and their ships :—the relation of the Board of Trade to the commercial marine ; the ownership, measurement, and register of British merchant ships ; the qualifications of masters and seamen; the precautions for safety on shipboard; the arrangements concerning pilots ; the management and tolls of lighthouses ; the constitution of the Mercantile Marine Fund ; the laws relating to wrecks, casualties, and salvage; the liabilities of ship-owners; legal course of procedure in the event of misdemeanor ; and miscellaneous details. Inspectors of merchant ships, and investigators In respect to wrecks and accidents, are appointed by the Board of Trade ; new examinations for masters and mates are organised, separating foreign-going ships from home trade passenger ships; the Board is empowered to suspend certificates to masters and mates, in case of misconduct or inefficiency; naval courts are instituted abroad or on the high seas, In correspondence with the Board, to inquire into cases of wreck or abandonment of ships ; the number and size of the boats to accompany all trading ships are denoted ; every ship carrying more than ten passengers must be provided with a life-boat, or an ordinary boat rendered buoyant, and with two life-buoys—the boat and buoys being always kept ready for use ; lights and fog-signals are to be used, such as may be suggested by the Admiralty ; iron steamers must have water-tight compartments, and safety-valves beyond the control of the engineer; sea-going ehipe must be provided with fire-engines and hose, signal guns, and ammunition for firing signals of distress.