The Sun.
London, England, 1866-10-03 00:00:00

The Wren. Register and Chart for 1865.

A foreigner, looking at the Wreck Chart of the
British Isles, might not unnaturally conceive that a
very large proportion of the ships that pass to and
from our ports every year were wrecked on our
shores. When, however, he came to be informed
that the number of vessels that cleared outwards
and entered inwards last year alone, from the dif-
ferent ports in the United Kingdom (without
counting vessels employed solely as passenger-ships)
was 409,255; that they represented a tonnage of
05,231,034 ; and that the value of their cargoes
must be estimated at not less than £500,000,000 ;
the said foreigner would probably be much sur-
prised, after all, to learn that not one per cent. of
this great multitude of vessels was wrecked either
in our narrow seas or on our coasts.

Such, however, are the facts of the case; and it
is not for us to justify even the loss of this relatively
small amount of valuable property. On the contrary,
we are amongst those who contend that, as education
advances, and careful and thoughtful habits are in-
stilled into sailors, this 'percentage of wrecks must
diminish.

Considering the increasing track of this country
every year, and the consequent increase of shipping
frequenting our shores, the general average of ma-
rine disasters reported to the Board of Trade will
probably continue to augment proportionately from

year to year.
Again, it should be remembered that the number
of wrecks in a year cannot fail to be increased or
diminished, according to the prevalence or absence
of gales of wind like those which proved so disastrous
toso thema niyl -ofated
vessels which ein
re iin January
suo
such
last,conal
pnadr
at o-
vselsiispLondon
tively safe anchorages as Torbay affords, where it
had been supposed the whole British navy might
have ridden in safety during the fiercest storms.
Thus, 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 casualties. In January, October,
and December, 1862, there were westerly gales,
with upwards of 540 casualties ; and in January,
March, September, October, November, and De-
cember, 1863, there were westerly gales, with 930
casualties. In November, 1864, there were 264
casualties, 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 vio-
lence during the previous part of that year, the total
number of casualties in it was 274 below the number
in 1863 ; and it is worthy of remark, that the whole
number of casualties, other than collisions, reported
in 1864, was less than the number reported in any
year since 1858. The annual average for the ten
years ending 1865, including collisions, is, for total
losses, 505, and for partial losses, 889 ; as against
this the numbers for 1865 are, for total losses, 540,
and for partial losses, 1,116.

From the carefully compiled Wreck- Register of
the Board of Trade, we find that the total number
of wrecks and casualties, from all causes, on the
coasts of the United Kingdom and in the surround-
ing seas, reported in 1865, is 1,656. The number
reported in 1864 was 1,390. The corrected annual
average of the 11 years, from 1855 to 1865 inclu-
sive, was 1,372. It should, however, be mentioned
that the wrecks in 1864 were below the average of
the preceding five years, alihough they were above
the corrected average of the last 10 years.
The number of ships lost or damaged in the
1,656 casualties reported in 1865 was 2,012, repre-
senting a registered tonnage of 377,000 tons.
Of these 2,012 ships, 1,690 are known to have
been ships belonging to Great Britain and its de-
pendencies, with British certificates of registry, and
238 to have been
country and
n
shiPs.Of
employment ar thee remainingunkw
84 ships the
1,198 were employed in the
BOrfittishhe
coasting
trade, and 492
trade
twedree
; and of theemployedin
the (over sea) foreign and home
foreign ships 11 were employesb of
in the British coast-
ing trade. Thus the num British vessels
wrecked continues to maintain a sad pre-eminence
in the work of destruction, and we regret to add,
as a natural result, in the sad loss of life.
Of the total number of
casualties (1,656) re-
ported in 1865, 354 were collisions, and 1,302 were
casualties other than collisions. Of thesel,6s6
casualties 540 resulted in total losses, and 1,116 in
partial damage, more or less serious.
We find that 470 total losses took place from
causes other than collisions ; 245 only were caused
by stress of weather ; 99 were caused by inatten-
tion, carelessness, or neglect; 38 arose from defects
in the ship or in her equipments (and of these 38 no
lessathhianne
s3so) aapnpde at rh
et or
ehi
na va ei a fdoe ur n d
frome r e d v
afromu s n
othern s e a -
causes.

Again, of the 832 partial losses, other than colli-
sion, 501 were caused by stress of weather, 137
arose from carelessness, 48 from defects in the ship
or her equipments, and the remainder from various
causes, which we believe to be, in the majority of
cases, obviously preventible if ordinary care and
skill had been shown.

It is for those who feel an interest in preventing
shipping disasters to ponder over these startling