lash themselves there, although they expected every
moment that the poop would go to pieces, as two of the
main beams of it were gone. They remained in that
situation all that day and night. On Thursday, Jan.
26, the men continued to keep up their spirits. They
broke down the ceiling in the cabin, in the hopes
of finding some crumbs of bread or something else,
but in vain—none were to be found. It was then
the third day that they had not tasted food or water.
Towards night some of the men complained of thirst,
but remained quite reasonable and manageable. The
next day it was still blowing a gale, and heavy seas
lashing the deck. At daylight they saw a barque
running to the eastward, not more than three miles
from tiie wreck. The morning was rather hazy, and
they either did not or would not take notice of the
wreck, as she passed by without offering them assistance.
They felt this a sore disappointment, but they cheered
one another up with the hopes of soon falling in with
another. They were unable to restrain themselves from
drinking salt water: in the course of the day a rat was
caught and divided equally among them. On the
Saturday the ship was still under water, and the gale
blowing as furiously as ever. Saw from the poop that
the stem and cutwater were torn away, and the covering
boards on each side were started. The forecastle head
was gone with some of the guard irons of the forerigging,
and several butts outside started. They drank large
quantities of salt water during the day, besides
chewing lead and bits of rope. Sunday, the wind
and sea as heavy as ever. Saw two ships not more
than three miles from them. Strange as it may
appear, neither of them took any notice of their awful
position, they passed so close that they distinguished
all the sails, spars, &c. The horrors of starvation
now broke upon them, and their thirst was almost
maddening. They at night discovered a kitten, which
had crawled out from below; it was instantly killed
and greedily devoured. Symptoms of insanity presented
itself among some of the men. They were still without
water, and all in a very exhausted state; their legs and
feet began to swell very much. Monday.—The weather
nothing abated. Drinking immense quantities of salt
water. Tuesday.—Still blowing almost a hurricane.
Most of them now began to despair; some were deliririous;
and others commenced talking about sacrificing
one of the number to save the rest from being starved
to death. The men proposed that they should draw
lots to decide who it should be. At five o'clock in the
evening saw a large ship standing to the N.W. on the
larboard tack, and at six saw her tack to the S.W.
They now made sure that the wreck was seen, and that
their sufferings were nearly at an end. A sharp lookout
was kept, expecting to be relieved in the morning,
but, alas! they were doomed to disappointment; the
ship was out of sight. Wednesday, Feb. 1.—The men
again drew lots. One poor fellow, James Lilley, who
appeared to be in a dying state, offered himself to save
the rest. Mr. M'Leod interfered, and cheered them up
with the prospect of being soon relieved. No water.
Thursday.—The weather moderating. The men were
now become unmanageable. They were determined
to have the dying man sacrificed. The poor fellow had
offered to do the deed himself, and he cut his arms in
two places, to bleed to death, but no blood came. The
men afterwards surrounded him, and one of them cut
his throat. Mr. M'Leod says the scene that followed
was most horrible—too horrible to detail. Friday—
Many of the men frantically mad, and crawling about
the deck in a shocking state; the remainder nearly
prostrate and unable to move. Weather moderate.
Saturday, Feb. 4. (twelfth day without food or water)
—Mr. M'Leod and two men were the only portion of
the crew who were able to get about. The whole of
the remainder were perfectly prostrate, and among
them four quite deranged. All, in fact, were fast
sinking, and could not possibly have survived another
day, the immense quantity of salt water they drank
increasing their sufferings to a frightful degree. At
about nine o'clock a vessel was observed through the
haze. Their situation had been observed, and the
vessel was running down to the wreck, and in about
an hour she hove to and sent a boat to them. The
vessel proved to be the Cuba, of Sunderland, bound to
Swansea from Coquimbo, Capt. F. G. Organ master.
By the Cuba the poor men were relieved, as already
reported.

By a parliamentary return of Raiway Accidents,
just issued, it appears that the total number of persons
killed and injured on all the passenger railways open for
public traffic in Great Britain and Ireland, during the
half-year ending the 30th June, 1853, amounted to 148
killed and 191 injured, and may be classed as follows:—
10 passengers killed and 114 injured, from causes beyond
their own control; 14 passengers killed and 7 injured,
owing to their own misconduct or want of caution; 39
servants of companies or of contractors killed, and
43 injured from causes beyond their own control; 44
servants of companies or of contractors killed, and 20
injured owing to their own misconduct or want of
caution; 40 trespassers and other persons, neither
passengers nor servants of the company, killed, and 7 injured,
by crossing or walking on the railway; 1 suicide. Total:
148 killed and 191 injured. The number of passengers
conveyed during the half-year amounted to 45,080,316.
The length of railway open on the 31st December, 1852,
was 7,336 miles. The length of railway open on the
30th June, 1853, was 7512 miles. Increase of mileage
during the half-year, 176.

SOCIAL, SANITARY, AND MUNICIPAL
PROGRESS.

The Registrar-General's Quarterly Return of Births,
Marriages, and Deaths in England and Wales, has been
published. It comprises the births and deaths in all
the districts of England during the autumn quarter
ending December, 31, 1853, and the marriages in the
quarter that ended September 30, 1853. The return of
marriages is not complete, but the defects are
inconsiderable, and approximate numbers have been supplied
from the records of previous years. The marriages in
the quarter that ended on September 30, are not only
above the average, but the proportion to the population
exceeds any of the proportions previously recorded. The
births in the quarter that ended on December 31 are
also above the average. The mortality, particularly in
towns and cities, is high, and exceeds the mortality in
every autumn quarter since 1843, except in 1846, and
1847, when the potato disease commenced, and diarrhœa
and influenza became epidemic. The returns therefore
present a mixed result; the marriages indicate that the
circumstances of the great body of the people were
considered by them prosperous; but the public health has
suffered by Asiatic cholera.

The number of Marriages during the above quarter
was 79,572; a number considerably exceeding that of
any corresponding quarter since the Registration Act
came into operation in 1837, and 2,990 more than were
married in the same period of 1852, when the large
number of 76,582 persons were married. The increase
was spread over each of the 11 divisions of England and
Wales, and the only counties in which a decrease is
observable are Hampshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire,
Huntingdonshire, Bedfordshire, Dorsetshire,
Devonshire, Somersetshire, Leicestershire, Rutlandshire,
Derbyshire, Cheshire, and Westmoreland. Marriages
increased in most of the important seats of manufactures
and commerce, but an augmented number is more
particularly apparent in the mining districts of Cornwall
and South Wales, of Staffordshire and Durham.
In Preston the number of marriages (252) is slightly in
excess of the number (244) recorded in the third quarter
of the previous year, although fewer than in the
corresponding periods of 1850 and 1851, when the numbers
reached 281 and 277 respectively. On an average of
the corresponding quarters of ten years (1843—1852),
the number of marriages was at the annual rate of 788
to every 100,000 persons living; the proportion for the
same period of 1853, was 867 to 100,000 persons living.

The Births registered in the last quarter of 1853
were 144,444. This number, though slightly above the
average, shows a considerable diminution on the
numbers registered in the same period of the two preceding
years (148,912 and 152,066 respectively). This decrease