The Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1837-1845, 1838-01-20
THE TREASURES or THE OCEAN.

The immense amount OF treasure, and
other memorials Of man, which lie buried in
the ocean, Is a curious subject Of reflection.
Who can say, that 10 future ages the memory
Of the nations now in the world may not be
preserved solely by these relics But few
persons have any idea OF the number of ves-
sells. with valuable cargocs, which have been
submerged. Lyell. in his i" Principles of &C.
oloey," says that during the late war between
England and France, ihiry-two English
ships-of-ihe-line went to the bottom in twenty
two years, besides seventy ftty-gun-ships,
eighty-six frigates, and multitude Of smaller
vessels. The natives of the other European
powers, France, Holland, Spain and Den
mark, were almost annihilated during the
same period, so that the aggregate Of their
losses must have exceeded that Of Great
Britain. In every one Of these ships were
batteries Of cannon, constructed Of every
species of iron or brass, whereof great
number had the dates aud places Of their
manufactures inscribed upon them in letters
cut in metal In each there were coins Of
copper, silver, and often many of gold, capa-
bic Of serving as historical monuments in
each were an infinite variety Of instruments
OF the arts of war and peace /; many formed
Of materials such as glass and earthenware,
capable Of lasting for infinite ages, when once
removed from the mechanical action of the
waves, and buried under mass of matter
which may exclude the corroding action Of sea
water. Upon this subject, Lycll, in his
Principles Of Geology" remarks:
" But let il not be imagined that the fury Of
war is more conducive than the peaceful
spiritof commercial enterprise to tho accumu-
lation of wrecked vessels III the bed Of the
sea. From the examination Of Lloyd's List
from the year 1893 TO the commencement OF
1929, Captain w. III. Smyih ascertained that
the number of British vessels alone, lost du-
ring that period, amounted on an average, 10
no less than one and half daily; an extent
of loss which would have hardly been aniici-
pated, although we learn from Moreau's tables,
that the number of merchant vessels employ
ed at one time in the navigation of England
and Scotland, amounted TO about twenty
thousand, having, one with another, mean
burlhen of 100 tons.-My friend, Mr.. J. l..
Provost, also informs me, that on inspect
ing Lloyd's List for the years 1929, 1880,
and 1881, he finds that no less than 1853
vessels were lost in those three years, their
average tonnage being about SO tons, or. In
all, nearly 300 900 tons, being at the enor-
nous rate of 100000 tons annually, Of the
merchant vessels of one nation only. This
increased loss arises, presume, from increas-
ed activity in commerce.
Out 55l ships of the royal navy, lost TO the
country during the period above mentioned,
only l60 were taken or destroyed by the
enemy, the rest having either stranded or
foundered, or having been burnt by accident;
striking proof that the dangers Of our naval
warfare, however great, may be far exceeded
by the storm, the shoal, the lea shore, and all
the other perls of the deep
"Millions Of silver dollars and other coins
have been sometimes submerged in a single
ship, and these when they happened TO be
enveloped in matrix capable Of protecting
them from chemical changes, much inlorma-
ton of historical interest will remain inscrib-
ed, aud endure for periods as indefinite as
have the delicate markings Of zoophytes or
lapidified plants in some OF the ancient secon-
Diary rocks. In almost every large ship,
moreover, there are some precious stone set
in seals, and other articles OF use and orna-
ment, composed Of the hardest substances in
nature, on which, letters and various images
are carved-engravings which they may re-
tam when included in sub-aqucous strata, as
long as crystal preserves its natural form.
1t was, therefore, a splendid boast, that
the deeds of the English chivalry at Angin-
court made Henry's chronicle
- As rich with praise
As is the oozc and bottom Of the deep,
With sunken wrecks and sunless treasures
For it is probable that greater number OF
monuments of the skill and industry OF man
will, in the course of ages, be collected TO.