The Sun.
London, England, 1870-11-07 00:00:00

informs us; perished44,.;' It is supposed that
Sir Georgeq- Samuel Jenkinson, MX., is
an ong the thirty-six paisengers who were known
to have left -New. York in the Varuna. In the lists
belonging to the owners of the ship the name "Mr.
Jenkins, MX.," has been found to be written, and as
Sir George Jenkinson left England for the United
States recently, the inscription is believed to repre-
sent none other than that gentleman. Sir George
was elected as Conservative member for North Wilts
hi December, 1868, having unsuccessfully contested
the constituency on a r previous occasion. He is the
eldest son of Dr. Jenkinson, a former Bishop of St.
David's. Ile was a captain in the Bth Hussars, and
is mentioned as a deputy LieLtenant of Gloucester-
shire. He was born in 1817.
THE WRECK REGISTER.

Within the last few weeks two appalling catas-
trophes at sea have temporarily diverted the public
mind even from the engrossing interest of the war.
'rile loss of life by the wrecks of the Captain and
the Cambria, amounting, altogether to nearly 800
lives, is not, indeed, included in the wreck register
for 1869, but the disasters lend fresh importance to
the record. In the year 1869 no less than 2,114
shipwrecks with a loss of 933 lives, occurred on the
shores of Great Britain. It is unsatisfactory to know
that the annual number of wrecks is actually
increasing rather than decreasing, for the number
reported last year is in excess of the average of all
previous years, being 367 more than the amount in
1868, and 221 above the average for the past rive
years. Of course the variations of the weather
greatly affect the chances of wreck and disaster, and
the extent of our marine traffic
.is so great—some
400,000 vessels, with a tonnage of 70 millions,
annually entering and clearing from British ports—
that it may perhaps be matter of surprise the
proportion of loss is not even greater. It would un-
doubtedly be so were it not for the heroic exertions
of the lifeboat men, who, in the course of
last year, saved by lifeboats, rockets, and.
other means, 5,121 lives, besides much pro-
perty. Some facts in the register call
for especial notice. It is remarkable that compara-
tively new ships are lost in greater proportion than
the old, that there were in 1869 no fewer than 461
collisions, that 177 wrecks happened when the wind
was either perfectly calm, or blowing a gentle breeze,
and that 660 vessels were lost in degrees of wind of
which the strongest was "a strong breeze." Seventy
four total wrecks occurred through defects in the
ships, or their equipments; 80 through the fault of
those on board; while of the " partial losses other
than collisions," 156 were caused by carelessness, and
72 by defects of the ships or their gear. To add to
these startling facts, we learn that 1,135 vessels were
lost under the command of masters not having certi-
ficates of competency.
OUR FIELD ARTILLERY.

In nearly all the discussions on military or ga-
ganization there is an agreement of opinion that our
field artillery is not so powerful as it should be. It
is said that our artillery is armed much in the
same way as in 1859, whereas other nations
have been very active in their efforts to
perfect that branch of the service. The
experiments which are constantly being conducted
by the Government are alike costly and inconclusive.
What is needed, the Army and Navy Gazette points
out, is that no time should. be lost in the introduc-
tion of the best gun of the day. The Gazette coun-
sels the creation of an artillery force, in addition to
the one now possessed, a force capable of taking the
field with the national reserve.