past, in consequence of the great encroachments of the sea; and workmen have recently been engaged in driving piles around its base, and more particularly in the front facing the sea. The lights were exhibited for the last time on the 20th of January.

On the 19th at night the wind was blowing hard from N.E., accompanied by snow and hail, but on the morning of the 21st it veered round to the N.W., and so continued all day. On the morning of the 22nd it moderated, and again changed to S.W., and so continued hard until the afternoon of the 23rd, when the lighthouse fell. The keepers left the building on Tuesday morning the 21st, as they found it was vibrating in the most alarming manner, and to a much greater extent than had been previously experienced. When they put out the lights that morning they found that the framework of the piling in front of the lighthouse had given way, and that a great portion of the foundation had been undermined by the waves.

In the course of Tuesday morning one of the keepers went up to Lytham, and was joined there by his son, who told him that the lighthouse was quite leaning over. Information was immediately sent up to Preston to the engineer of the Ribble Navigation Company, and soon afterwards it was discovered that the north corner of the masonry was worked out, and the foundation laid bare down to the bottom, below the concrete, there being a large hole filled with water three feet below the foundation. The keepers, with assistance, set to work to get everything out of the building, except what was absolutely necessary to keep the lights burning. They worked until the rising night's tide surrounded them, and, from the fury of the gale, had little hope that the place would stand until morning, but the lights never burnt more brightly than they did during that evening.

On Wednesday morning (28th), the wind still blowing stiffly, they extinguished the lights for the last time, the tide during the night having made greater havoc in the foundation and carried away a part of the south corner. They took out the glasses and all the remaining property-lenses, reflectors, furniture, and apparatus. By noon the waves had made a further breach into the south corner, which gave way, leaving an excavation like a man-hole in the foundation, through which they were enabled to get out the oil from the cisterns in the ground floor. Wednesday night's tide worked further under the south front of the foundation, which gradually gave way, until Thursday at noon, when the building fell. The building was erected by the Ribble Navigation Company about fifteen years ago, at a cost of £1,400.

It may, perhaps, be as well to state that the screw pile light in Morecambe Bay, at the entrance of the Wyre, about twenty miles north of the Lytham light, is also now extinguished, owing to the insecure state of the erection through the collision of a vessel with it. The authorities at the Trinity House have been communicated with on the subject, and it is probable that they will arrange for the reerection of the edifice, as the coast is one of the most dangerous in the kingdom, three of the most dreaded banks lying immediately in the neighbourhood.

F. Fixed. Fl. Fixed and Flashing. R. Revolving. I. Intermitting. Est. Established.

(a) 2.—The fixed red light formerly shown from the peninsula of Djerda would be removed to a lighthouse recently erected on the South point of the small bay of Collo. It is visible four miles.

SOUTH ENTRANCE TO MORETON BAY BY ROUS OR THE AMITY POINT CHANNEL.

His Excellency the Governor, directs the publication of the following Notice to Mariners, respecting the South Entrance to Moreton Bay, by Lieutenant G. P. Heath, R.N., Portmaster and Marine Surveyor.

Two red beacons-visible from the Flat Rock-are now placed on the South extreme of Moreton Island, to enable vessels entering Rous or the Amity Point Channel, to pass between the outer banks and over the bar, in the deepest water, viz. :-seventeen feet at low water spring tides.

This channel is chiefly available for coasting steamers by daylight, when there is not a heavy swell on the coast.

It is not recommended for sailing vessels, except in fine weather and a commanding breeze, when they may lay four points to windward of their course.

The coast current runs two to three knots to the southward, close to the outer edge of the bar, and at a lesser speed over the outer portion of the banks; and vessels should be careful in northerly winds not to get to the southward of the line of beacons until well inside the North break. The tides set fair through this channel from three to four and a half knots, until they come within the influence of the

coast current.

The sea always breaks on the North bank, but the space where it breaks on the South bank varies with the amount of swell on the coast.

Six red buoys, and six black buoys and beacons, mark the channel for crossing the bay towards Mud Island, between the inner banks.

There is not less than two fathoms, at low water spring tides, in this channel, except at a point of junction with the Cleveland Ship Channel, where the depth of water is never less than nine feet at low water spring tides.

Beacons will be erected at those points where they will prove of service as soon as, from the nature of the bottom, it is found they can be made permanent.

Directions.-Vessels from the southward for Moreton Bay by the South, or Amity Point Entrance, or Rous Channel, after passing either inside or outside of the Flat Rock, must keep the northernmost sand patch on Moreton Island on the port bow until the two red beacons on the South extreme of Moreton Island (the innermost of which is the higher of the two) are in one; then keep them so until inside the North break, when haul up to the southward gradually, keeping at about a cable's length from the edge of the North bank, which is steep to and always shows. When near the dry detached sandbank haul up for the N.W. extreme of Stradbroke Island, and round the red buoy off the shoal extending to the S.W. of the detached sandbank. On passing this, keep away West, and pass at two cables' length from the S.W. extreme of Moreton Island, which is steep to. Leave the first black buoy on the port hand at a distance of about half a cable, and haul up W.b.S. for the S.E. end of the high land on St. Helena.

After passing the second black buoy, haul up S.S.W. for Mount Cotton, passing the fourth red buoy on the extremity of a sand spit on the starboard hand, and continuing the same course until abreast the fifth red buoy, when keep away W.b.S. S. and pass the sixth red buoy. From thence keep away for, and pass on the port hand, the second black beacon at not more than half a cable, and steer out W.b.N. N. in mid-channel between the inner black and red buoys.

When the buoys are passed, a vessel is in the Ship Channel to Cleveland; across which a course must be steered for the middle of the opening between Mud and St. Helena Islands; a mid-channel course must be kept between these islands, and a vessel may from thence steer for the anchorage off the bar.

Vessels outward-bound through the South entrance should, after passing Mud Island, steer for the North extreme of high land on Stradbroke Island, until a small smooth-topped cone near the North end of Stradbroke Island bears E.b.S.4 S., when they should haul up and steer for it, passing between the inner red and black buoys, and passing the inner black beacon as previously directed.

TO CORRESPONDENTS.

We are indebted to a friendly hand for the Mauritius Commercial Gazette. Thankfully received.

The "Sarah Ann's Hurricane" unavoidably delayed. This, with the letter of the Esmeralda and Dr. King's reply to Dr. Wallich, in our next.

THE

NAUTICAL MAGAZINE

AND

Naval Chronicle.

MARCH, 1863.

THE EASTERN ROUTE TO CHINA OR JAPAN, in the Western Pacific.* Hongkong, September 1st, 1862.

Sir,-In troubling you again, I beg leave to draw your and your readers' attention to the Eastern Route to China, from the Gilolo to the Bashees, of which you speak in your Magazine of 1858, p. 199-200, and where you recommend to make Easting between 1° 30′ and 3° North, and to go out to the Pellews. But I recommend to go straight North or N.W., and not to care about making Easting for the following reason:

From the Gilolo to 3° North is right in the equatorial calm belt, and a vessel will lose much time by making Easting here. This Voyage has a great similarity to the westerly line-crossing in the North Atlantic, and where Lieutenant Maury strongly advises not to beat in the calm belts, but stand straight North or South, and if found necessary to make longitude, to do so out of the calms, and where we get the breeze to beat. And if we illustrate this case a little further, you will find my recommendation has a great advantage over the westerly linecrossing in the Atlantic, for there you have a strong current nearly against you, and here you have the current in your favour. And as all vessels in the N.E. monsoon from Hongkong to Shanghae go East of Formosa, to beat up there in the strong Japan Current, why not try as well on the East coast of the Philippines, and in the same strong current, instead of losing from eighteen to twenty days to make the Pellews. This is not a mere idea of mine, but an assertion, based on

* Our correspondent need not speak of troubling us with such useful communications as he sends us, for we consider his advice to the commanders of ships bound to the northward and eastward from any where near the Molucca Passage to be most correct, as they would then profit by the Pacific Gulf Stream as they should do at its source. We shall always be glad to hear from Captain Polack, as one of the benefactors of navigation who have appeared in our pages.-ED.

NO. 3.-VOL. XXXII.

Q

a careful inquiry during my twenty-eight months' stay here in China. And when I came out from Hamburg to Hongkong (112 days from the Downs,) and gained the Pacific out of Gilolo, I found in Maury's Pilot Charts good chances to make Northing. I did not care about Easting, and had ten days from Gilolo to the Bashees with the undermentioned current. In the same time a British ship had thirteen, a Hamburgh barque fifteen, and an Hanoverian barque eighteen days to the Pellews only. And by my inquiry about this route, I found invariably a great loss of time from Gilolo to the Pellews. But two captains of Siam vessels who are always trading from Siam to China, told me they never cared about making Easting, but went up as straight North as possible in any month of the N.E. monsoon; they never had difficulty to reach the Bashees, and always gained here on those vessels which went out to the Pellews. I know that I myself gained ton days by it, and shall go North at once in any month of the N.E. monsoon. But of course, if a vessel should meet with a favourable wind to make Easting, I would advise to steer a North-easterly course, but not easterly, because I consider it to be our principal object to pass the calm belts as quickly as possible.

Daily Current Table from Gilolo to the Bashees.

The inclosed Thermal and Current Table is only a corroboration and further illustration of what you said in your Magazine of 1859, p. 180, about the Japan or Kuro Siwo stream, and it will perhaps be interesting to some of your readers as well as benefit vessels, who are navigating here, to know the North limit of this current in the N.E. monsoon, so that by proper attention to the temperature of water, may sometimes avoid a head current, which they would find running in their favour, when thirty miles further East or West as occasion may require. From North Formosa this current takes first a N.N.E. direction to about 281° North, and 1241° East long., and then bends to South Japan, and continues to run East to 150° East long., at the rate of twenty-five miles a day, and then turns South to 20° North, with decreasing velocity; at least I found it so when going to