1859 to 1866.-In October, 1859, there was the Royal Charter gale, and a loss of 343 ships. In January, February, and November, 1861, there were north-east and south-easterly 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 November, 1864, there were 264 wrecks, &c., with the wind chiefly in the south-south-east and south-west, 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, October, November, and December, gave 766 wrecks, &c. In 1866 the gales of January, February, and March, October, November, and December, gave 793. Of this number, 279 occurred in January. The most serious disasters occurred on 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.

1867. 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. Nine hundred and two, or about threesevenths, 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, 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.

1868. In the year 1868 one of the most serious gales occurred on the 22nd and 23rd of August, a month in which our coasts are seldom visited by heavy gales, and the number of wrecks and casualties reported during that month was more than double the number recorded during the same month in any previous year.

1869. 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 of June.

The most serious gale of the year 1869 occurred on the 19th of October, when the direction of the wind was from N. to N.E.

1870. 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 99 wrecks and casualties are reported to have occurred. The direction of the wind during the two days was from S.E. westerly to N.W. The principal gales which were felt in 1870, were as follows:January 8th, from S.W. and W., on all the coasts of England. February 6th to 8th, from S.E. and S., in Scotland and the north and east of England. February 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. August 28th, a northerly gale was felt on the east coast. September 9th, a very heavy southerly gale was felt in the west of Scotland, the north of Ireland, and the Irish Sea. October 8th, there was a S.E. gale. October 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 occurred in November. December 25th, 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.

1871. The gales which caused the greatest destruction to shipping on our coasts during the year 1871 were chiefly from the following directions:-January 18th-16th, from S.E. to S.W., most severe in the south of Ireland. February 10th-11th, from E. to S. in the north and from S. to N.N.W. on the south and west coasts. The 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. August 24th, from S.W. to W. on all but our S.E. coasts. September 27th-28th, from the S. in the channel, and S.E. to N.E. in the Irish Sea, and N.E. of England. September 30th, from N. on the E. coast of England. October 28th-29th, from S.E. to S. on our S.W. coasts. November 20th, from S. on our W. and N. coasts. November 30th-December 1st, from N.E. on the E. and S.E. coasts of England. December 18th, from

S. to S.W. on the W., N., and N.E. coasts. December 20th, S.W. to N.W. on our S.W. coasts and the English Channel.

1872. The following are the gales which are reported to have caused the greatest destruction to shipping near the coasts of the United Kingdom during 1872 :-January 1st-4th, from S.E. to S.W. in the north, and S. to W.S.W. elsewhere. 17th and 18th, strong S. to W. gale, felt more or less on all coasts, but chiefly in the west. From 22nd to 24th, S.W. gale on the southern coast. In February there was no gale very destructive to shipping, nor in March until the 27th and 28th, when there were strong southerly gales on the south and south-west coasts. On April 21st, N.E. gale on both W. and E. coasts. During the summer months few casualties are reported as having been caused by stress of weather. On September 27th and 28th it blew a S.W. gale in the west and south. October 10th and 11th, gale from the S.W. to W. in the west and south, subsequently veering to N.W. in the W. and blowing heavily. November 6th and 7th, S.W. gales in the channel, and on the 10th heavy northerly gale, commencing in the west and extending to all but S. coast. 21st to 23rd very heavy gale from S.W., felt on all coasts. On the 8th and 9th of December there were unusually strong gales on all but the most northern coasts, E. to S.E., then N.W. in the north-west. S.W. to W. elsewhere, this gale and the one on the 21st-23rd November were the two most destructive to shipping of the year.

1873.-The gales which did most damage to shipping on our coasts during the first six months of 1873 were as follows:-January 1st to 3rd, from S. to S.W., felt on all our coasts. January 18th, a sudden gale from S. in the N. and E., westerly in the W. January 25th, from S., felt on S. and W. coasts. February 1st to 3rd, from E. to S.E., felt principally on the W. and S.W. coasts of England. This was the most serious gale of the half-year, and 99 wrecks and casualties are reported to have occurred during its continuance. A gale from E., experienced on the S. and S.W. coasts, occurred on the 15th of March, but was attended with much less serious consequences to shipping. It has been found in numerous instances that the direction and force of the wind, as given by the masters in their reports and depositions, differ more or less from the particulars of weather reported to the Meteorological Office. Steps have, however, been taken for strict inquiry at the moment and whilst the facts are in mind, of all variations between the particulars of weather as given in the wreck reports made to the Meteorological Office. The number of ships lost or damaged in the 967 wrecks, casualties, and collisions reported as having occurred on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom during the first six months of 1873 was 1,206, representing a registered tonnage of upwards of 835,154

tons. The number of ships for that period is greater than the number for the corresponding period of 1872 by 311. The number of ships reported is, as has been formerly stated, in excess of the number of casualties reported, because in cases of collision two or more ships are involved in one casualty. Of the 1,206 ships, 936 are known to have been ships belonging to Great Britain and its dependencies, with British certificates of registry, and 225 are known to have been ships belonging to Foreign countries and States. Of the remaining 45 ships the country and employment are unknown. Of the British registered ships, 615 were employed in the British coasting trade, and 321 were employed in the (over sea) Foreign and Home trade. Of the ships belonging to Foreign countries and States, 21 employed in the British coasting trade met with casualties. Of the total number of Wrecks, &c. (967), reported as having occurred on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom during the first six months of 1873, 233 were collisions, and 734 were wrecks and casualties, other than collisions. Of these 784 wrecks, strandings, and casualties, other than collisions, 212 were wrecks, &c., resulting in total loss, and 522 were casualties resulting in partial damage more or less serious. The whole number of wrecks and casualties other than collisions, on and near our coasts, reported during the first six months of 1872 was 551, or 183 less than the number of wrecks, strandings, and casualties, other than collisions, reported during the corresponding period of 1873. The annual average in the United Kingdom for the 17 years ended December, 1872, is-for wrecks, other than collisions resulting in total losses, 472; and, for casualties resulting in partial damage, 74814. As against this the numbers for the half-year, January to June, 1873, are for total losses, 212; and for partial damage, 522.

Of the 212 total losses from causes other than collisions, on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom, during the first six months of 1873, 59 happened when the wind was, as appeared from the wreck reports, at force 9 or upwards (a strong gale), and are classed in the following returns as having been caused by stress of weather; 39 appear, from the reports made by the officers on the coasts, to have been caused by inattention, carelessness, or neglect; 18 arose from defects in the ship or in her equipments (and of these 18, 7 appear to have foundered from unseaworthiness); and the remainder appear to have arisen from various other causes. Of the 522 casualties-i.e., cases of partial damage, from causes other than collisions, on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom, 241 happened when the wind was, as reported, at force 9 or upwards (a strong gale), and are included as having been caused by stress of weather; 100 arose from carelessness; 43 from defects in the ship or her equipments; and the remainder appear to have arisen from other causes. This is shown in the following table :

The total number of ships which, according to the facts reported, appear to have foundered or to have been otherwise totally lost on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom, from defects in the ships or their equipments (Class 8 of preceding table) during the year 1872-3 is 52; and the number of casualties arising from the same causes, during the same year, and resulting in partial damage, is 133. In 1872-8 there were, on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom, 100 wrecks and casualties to smacks and other fishing vessels. Excluding these 100 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 2,592. This will be more readily seen from the following table. The life lost during the first six months of 1873 in the various classes is as follows:-In fishing smacks, 17; in vessels of the collier class, 233; and in other ships, 478:

It must be remembered that the great majority of these wrecks and casualties were partial losses, and only a very small proportion of them involved loss of life.

From Table 4 in the Abstract it will be seen that in the nine and a half years ended June, 1873, disasters on and near the coasts of the United Kingdom to comparatively new ships bear a very high proportion to the