THE Wreck Register for 1871 was issued by the Board of Trade on Oct. 14, and is, as usual, a very complete and ex-haustive document. It is supplemented, in the usual way, by most interesting charts, which have greatly helped us to analyze the series of Tables given in the Register. It states that the number of wrecks, casualties, and collisions from all causes, on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom and in the surrounding seas, reported last year, is 1,575, being 73 more than the number reported in 1870, and, with the exception of 1870, less than the number reported in any year since 1864.

The annual average number of wrecks on the coasts of the United Kingdom re- ported since 1852, divided into four periods of five years, is as follows:—1852, 1,115; 1853,832; 1854,987; 1855,1,141; 1856, 1,153. Total for the five years, 5, 8, or an annual average of 1,045 wrecks. 1857,1,143; 1858,1,170; 1859, 1,416; 1860,1,379; 1861, 1,494. Total for the five years 6,602, or an annual average of 1,320 wrecks. 1862, 1,488; 1863,1,664; 1864, 1,390; 1865, 1,656; 1866,1,860, Total for the five years, 8,058, or an annual average of 1,611 wrecks.

1867, 2,090; 1868, 1,747; 1869, 2,114; 1870,1,502; 1871, 1,575. Total for the five years, 9,028, or an annual average of 1,805 weeks.

It will thus be seen that the whole number of wrecks, strandings, casualties, and collisions reported during 1871 is .230 below the average of the last five years.

The following Table shows the number of casualties on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom which were attended irith loss of life, and tie number of lives lost in each year since 1861, distinguish- ing British and foreign vessels. Of the wrecks in 1871, about one out of twelve was attended with loss of life:— 1861. 1862. 1863. 1864. 1865. 1866. 1867. 1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. British vessels 170 130 129 96 147 172 245 177 183 101 116 Lives lost 705 617 533 475 597 792 1,106 720 800 676 530 30 16 22 12 17 27 34 19 28 23 19 Lives lost m 73 87 41 101 104 227 104 133 98 96 Total vessels .

Lives lost . 200 884 146 690 151 620 108 516 164 698 199 896 279 1,333 196 824 211 933 124 774 135 626 As observed on previous occasions, the number of wrecks, casualties, and colli- sions reported may probably increase from year to year, arising from the increase in the number of ships frequenting our coasts and narrow seas adjoining, whilst the par- ticular number for any one year may be increased or diminished, according to the prevalence or absence of gales of remark- able violence and duration.

Illustrative of our remarks, we may refer again to the following unusual gales on our coasts, which have occurred during the past twelve years. Thus in October, 1859, the Royal Charter gale took place, accompanied by the loss of 343 ships. In January, February, and November, 1861, there were N.E. and S.E. gales, which added 460 to the number of wrecks, &c.

In January, October, and December, 1862, there were westerly gales, with upwards of 540 wrecks, &c.; and in January, March, September, October, November, and December, 1863, there were westerly gales, with 930 wrecks, &c. In Novem- ber, 1864, there were 264 wrecks, &c., with the wind chiefly in the S.S.E. and S.W.; but owing to the absence of any special gales of remarkable duration and violence in 1864, the total number in that year was 274 below the number in 1863.

In 1865 the gales of January, February, and March, and October, November, and December, gave 766 wrecks, &c. In 1866 the gales of January, February, and March, and October, November, and December, gave 793. Of this number 279 occurred in January. The most serious disasters occurred on the 11th of January. Of the shipping in Tor Bay on. that day 61 vessels were either totally lost or seriously damaged, and 35 lives were lost from these 61 vessels. There were also numerous minor casualties. The fearful shipping disasters in Tor Bay and other ports in 1866 will ever make it memo- rable. From that day, however, to this, hardly a serious casualty has occurred in that beautiful bay.

In 1867 the heavy gales experienced in the months of January, March, April, October, November, and December, added 980 wrecks and casualties to the list, and the whole of the wrecks, &c., reported in those months exceeded by about 400 the number reported during the same months of the previous year. 902, or about three- sevenths, of the wrecks, &c., of 1867 occurred in January and December, and 251 occurred in March. With the exception of the month of December, 1863, when 466 wrecks and casualties took place, the numbers for each of the three months stated above are higher than for the corresponding months of any previous year. The most serious gale of the year 1867 was that which commenced on the 1st December, and continued until the 3rd; during the continuance of this gale 319 lives were lost, and 326 vessels lost or damaged. Of this number 146 vessels are reported to have been lost or damaged on the 2nd December. From the direction of the wind, which blew principally from the N. and N.N.E., this gale proved most disastrous to vessels on the east coast, and to fishing smacks on the Dogger Bank and other fishing grounds in the North Sea.

On the 22nd and 23rd August, 1868, - the number of wrecks and casualties reported was more than double the number recorded during the same month of any previous year.

In the year 1869 a gale from N.N.E. and N.E., which caused great destruction to shipping, occurred on the 15th and 16th June. The most serious gale of the | year 1869 occurred on the 19th October, when the direction of the wind was from N. to N.E.

We gather that few gales of remarkable force and duration occurred • during the year 1870, and to this may perhaps be attributable the reduction in the number of wrecks and casualties. The most serious gale of the year commenced on the 12th of October, and during that and the following day ninety-nine wrecks and casualties took place. The direction of the wind during the two days was from S.E. westerly to N.W. Jan. 8th, from S.W.

and W., on all the coasts of England; Feb. 6th-8th, from S.E. and S., in Scot- land and the north and east of England; Feb. 13th and 14th, from E., in the Channel and on the east coast of England; March 4th, from N.E., in the east of | England. During April no serious gale occurred. May 11th and 12th, a heavy S.W. gale was felt on all coasts except in the Channel. During June and July no serious gale occurred. Aug. 28th, a N. gale was felt on the east coast ; Sept. 9th, a very heavy S. gale was felt in the west of Scotland, the north of Ireland, and the Irish Sea; Oct. 8th, there wag a S.E. gale; Oct. 12th-25th, a succession of very destructive gales was felt on almost all coasts, the directions drawing from S.E. through W. to N.W. No heavy gale oc- curred in November. Dec. 20th, a S.E. gale -was felt on the east coasts of Scotland and England. The two latter months are this year remarkable for the almost entire absence of serious gales. During these two months only sixteen wrecks and casualties are reported to have occurred on or near the coasts of the United Kingdom, with the wind at force 9 and upwards.

The gales to which the Wreck Register particularly refers, and which caused the greatest destruction to ship- ping on our coasts during the year 1871, were chiefly from the following directions:—Jan. 13th-16th, from S.E. to S.W., most severe in the south of Ireland; Feb. l0th, 11th, from E. to S. in the north, and from S. to N.N.W. on the south and west coasts. Tie most destructive gale of the year occurred on the 10th February. The gales in March were on the 7th, 9th, and 12th; their direction was generally between S. and "W. During the months of April, May, June, and July, the wind is seldom reported as having reached the force of a gale. Aug.

24th, from S.W. to W. on all but our S.E.

coasts. Sept. 27th~28th, from the S. in the Channel and S.E. to N.E. in the Irish Sea, aod N.E.of England; Sept. 30, from N. on the E. coast of England; Oct. 28th- 29th, from S.E. to S. on our S.W. coasts ; Nov. 20th, from S. on our W. and N.

coasts; Nov. 30th~Dec. 1st, from N.E. on the E. and S.E. coasts of England; Dec. 18th, from S. to S.W. on the W., N., and N.E. coasts; Dec. 20th, S.W. to N.W.

on our S.W. coasts and the English Channel.

The number of ships lost or damaged in the 1,575 wrecks, casualties, and col- lisions, reported as having occurred on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom In 1871 was 1,927, representing a registered tonnage of upwards of 458,000 tons, and with crews to the number of 18,390 men and boys. The number of ships in 1871 is greater than the number in 1870 by 62. The number of ships reported is, as has been formerly stated, in excess of the number of casual ties reported; because in cases of collision two or more ships are involved in one casualty. Of the 1,927 ships, 1,668 are known to have been stops belonging to Great Britain and its dependencies, with British certificates of registry, and 230 are known to have been ships be- longing to foreign countries and states.

Of the rensaimng 29 ships the country and employment are unknown. Of the British registered ships, 1,173 were employed in the British coasting trade, and 495 were employed in the (over sea) foreign and home trade. Of the ships belonging to foreign countries and states, two employed in the British coasting trade met with casualties.

Of the total number of wrecks, &c.

(1,575), reported as having occurred on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom in 1871, 351 were collisions, and 1,224 were wrecks and casualties other than col- lisions. Of these 1,224 wrecks, standings, and casualties other than collisions, 398 were wrecks, &c., resulting in total loss, and 826 were casualties causing par- tial damage more or less serious. The whole number of wrecks and casualties, other than collisions, on and near our coasts reported in 1870 was 1,141, or 83 less than the number of wrecks, strand- ings, and casualties, other than collisions, in 1871.

The annual average in the United King- dom for sixteen years, including 1871, is for wrecks other than collisions, resulting in total losses, 474; and for casualties re- sulting in partial damage, 726. As against this the numbers for the one year 1871 are, for total losses, 398, and for partial damage, 826.

Of the 398 total losses from causes other than collisions, on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom in 1871, we find that 137 happened when the wind was, as ap- peared from, the Wreck Reports, at force 9 or upwards (a strong gale), and are worthiness); 39 appeal from the Reports the waves have -washed over them for half found that nearly half of it is represented | the United Kingdom in 1871, 84 -were by the collier class, which suffers most j rigged as ships, 223 were steamships, 493 severely. Despite ait that has been said ! schooners, 282 brigs, 232 barques, 219 and written on the subject, there can be brigantines, and 103 smacks ; the re- no doubt that hundreds, or rather thou- mainder were small vessels rigged in sands, of these craft are despatched to various ways. Of the 1,927 vessels re- j ferred to, 806 did not exceed 100 tons burden, 687 were from 100 to 300 tons, 279 were from 300 to 600 tons, and 155 classed in the several returns as having been caused by stress of weather:—44 arose from defects in the ship or in her equipments (and of these 44 no less than 25 appear to have foundered from unsea- made by the officers on the coasts to have ' been caused by inattention, carelessness, I or neglect, and the remainder appear to have arisen from various other causes.

Of the 826 casualties, i.e. cases of partial damage, from causes other than collisions, on and near the coasts of the United King- dom, it appears that 372 happened when the wind was, as reported, at force 9 01 upwards (a strong gale), and are included as having been caused by stress of weather; 163 arose from carelessness; 125 from de- fects in the ship or her equipments; and the remainder appear to have arisen from various other causes.

It is truly lamentable to observe that the total number of ships, which, according j to the facts reported, appear to have foundered or to have been otherwise totally j lost on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom from unseaworthiness, unsound gear, &o., in the last ten years, is 524; and the number of casualties arising from the same causes, during the same period, and resulting in partial damage, is 655.

In 1871 there wore on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom 120 wrecks and casualties to smacks and other fishing- vessels. Excluding these 120 fishing-vessels, it will be seen that the number of vessels employed in the regular carrying trade that have suffered from wreck or casualty here during the year is 1,807. If this number is again subdivided, it will be crawl from harbour into the channel, badly found, rotten from age, gaping in the seams, overladen, with no sailing or steer- ing qualities, and wholly at the mercy of a moderate gale. With a dead-weight cargo, they are easily swamped, and are so utterly crippled when anything goes by the board that, half water-logged before they put out, they either sink like stones in a storm, or break into pieces on a sand bank, before an hour, or the crew have been saved by a Life-boat. No Jess than 506 coal-laden vessels -were "wrecked in 1OT1; and we can only estimate the full bearing of these figures by comparing them with the losses sustained in other trades.

During the past ten years ending in 1871, disasters on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom, to comparatively new ships, bear a very high proportion to the whole number; and during the year 1871,155 wrecks and casualties happened to nearly new ships, and 302 to ships from three to seven years of age. Then there are wrecks and casualties to 361 ships from seven to fourteen years old, and to 554 from fifteen to thirty years old. Then follow 265 old ships from thirty to fifty years old. Having passed the service of half a century, we come to the very old ships, viz., 44 between fifty and sixty years old, 19 from sixty to seventy, 6 from seventy to eighty, 8 from eighty to ninety, and 3 upwards of a hundred. The ages of 210 are unknown.

Surely there ought to be an age at which a ship ought to he said to have done her work. The most careful caulking and overhauling, nursing and doctoring, is of no avail when every plank is diseased, and when the whole framework of a vessel is shaken and loosened.

only were above 600 tons burden.

In regard to those parts of the coasts It is stated that of the 1,927 vessels lost or damaged on and near the coasts of on which the wrecks and casualties on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom happened, it will be seen that, as usual, the greatest number occurred on the East Coast. Thus:—East Coast, 793 ; South Coast, 201; West Coast, 397; North and West Coasts of Scotland, 32 ; Irish Coast, 125 ; Isle of Man, 12; Lundy Island, 5; and Scilly Isles, 10.

During the past ten years it is clearly shown that westerly winds have been far more destructive than easterly winds, the most destructive being from south-west.

It should, however, be remembered that westerly winds are far more common than easterly winds.

It appears that in 1871, 856 wrecks happened on our shores when the wind was at force 6 or under, that is to say, when the force of the wind did not exceed a strong breeze, in which the ship could carry single reefs and top-gallant sails; that 149 happened with the wind at forces 7 and 8, or a moderate to a fresh gale, when a ship, if properly found, manned, and navigated, can keep the sea with safety; and that 528 happened with the wind at force 9 and upwards; that is to say, from a strong gale to a hurricane. In other words, 856 happened when the wind was such that a ship could carry her top- gallant sails; 149 when a ship ought to be well able to hold her course; and 528 with the wind at and above a strong gale.

In the Appendix to Part I. of the Register is given a new Table, detailing the wrecks and casualties, numbering altogether 213, which happened in 1871 to sea-going vessels in rivers and harbours of the United Kingdom, including all casualties which happened above the mouths of the rivers. Of these 25 were total losses, and there were 147 collisions, 4 founderings, 54 strandings, and 38 mis- cellaneous cases. The greatest number happened in the River Mersey, above New Brighton, where there were 53 collisions, 14 strandings, and 3 casualties from other causes, six lives being lost from all the accidents. In the Thames above Graves- end, there were 25 collisions, 2 vessels stranded, and 9 other casualties, without any loss of life. In the River Tyne, there were 18 collisions and 4 other casualties, with a loss altogether of 8 lives. The only other cases where loss of life happened in our rivers and harbours to sea-going vessels were in the Clyde, where 11 casualties occurred, and 1 life was lost; and in Llanelly Harbour, where 3 partial wrecks took place, resulting in the loss of 1 life—the total number of lives lost in these cases thus amounted to 16.' As regards collisions off the coasts during th'e year 1871, 24 of the 351 col- lisions off the coasts of the United Kingdom were between two steamships, both under weigh, and 33 of the 147 in harbours and rivers were also between two steamships, both under weigh.

The accompanying Wreck Chart shows clearly the site of each of the 1575 wrecks in 1871. It must be a matter of singular interest to trace on this document the work of destruction, which in money value covers at least two millions sterling.

In regard to the lives lost to which we must now briefly refer, they are far beyond price. They numbered 626 last year from the casualties alone on our own coasts.

This is 148 less than the number lost in 1870, and less than the number lost in any year since 1864. The lives lost in 1871 were lost in 135 ships; 97 of them were laden vessels, 34 were vessels in ballast, and in four cases it is not known whether the vessels were laden or light. 106 of these ships were entirely lost, and 29 sustained partial damage. Of the 626 lives lost, 96 were lost in vessels that foundered, 131 through vessels in collision, and 319 in vessels stranded or cast ashore. The remaining number of lives lost (80) were lost from various causes, such as by being washed overboard in heavy seas, by explosions, &o.

This leads us to the bright spot on the Wreck Register—the services of the Life- boats of the NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION and the life-preserving apparatus of the Board of Trade. To these, and other services in saving life, we are indebted for the rescue of 4,336 lives during the past year; and no one can doubt that the larger share of peril and exposure fairly belongs to the crews of the Life-boats, the boats being mostly 'called on to render their invaluable aid when all other kinds of succour would usually be hopeless.

It is certainly an exciting sight to watch, through gloom or through spray, the slow but steady progress of the Life- craft, the dogged and resolute pull of the rowers, the maddening resistance of the waves, which it needs but small imagination to endow with an indignation that such a group, in such a cockle-shell, should presume to challenge the force of ocean. But the Life-boat holds on, and is descried from the vessel, and there is another voice in the shouts that welcome and encourage her, and they are echoed by the eager gazers on shore.

There is the long period of uncertainty; it seems ten times its real length', and men mutter their doubts whether she will ever reach the ship, but English, pluck and strong will, as in a thousand other instances, prevail, and the crew is saved, and the sea baffled of its prey. No one who has ever felt his heart beat fiercely as he has watched this fight between man and the element, and has seen the victory given to the former, but must feel that such a battle must be fought scores of times by the champions of humanity this coming winter.

Our coast boatmen and fishermen are deserving of all praise, for they are ever ready to assist, not only in the Life- boats, but in their own open boats, in this good work of saving life when imperilled in cases of shipwreck.

For the purpose of saving life from shipwreck, there were at the end of 1871 on the coasts of the United Kingdom 281 sets of rocket and mortar apparatus, wholly provided and paid for by the Board of Trade out of the Mercantile Marine Fund; and there were at the same time 264 Life-boats. Of these Life- boats, 233 belonged to the ROYAL NATIONAL LIFE-BOAT INSTITUTION, and 31 to harbour authorities, beachmen, &c.

Nine Volunteer Life Brigades and 129 Volunteer Life Companies have been formed for the purpose of enabling per- sons residing on the coasts of the United Kingdom to acquire a knowledge of the rocket apparatus, and of the method of using it in cases of shipwreck, independently of, or in co-operation with, the Coastguard and the Receivers of Wreck; and their testimony in favour of the utility of the rocket is as general as that expressed in regard to the admirable Life- boats of the National Institution.

The work [of mercy carried on by the Society is extending every year. Where- ever a point upon our coast can be found at which a [Life-boat can be stationed,, there are stout hearts and firm-set frames to fill it. Since the first establishment of the .Life-boat Institution, it has con- tributed, by its Life-boats and other means, to the saving of over 21,000 lives from shipwrecks on our shores.