24 ANNUAL REGISTER, 1812. 



Tlie master manufacturers have 

 been required by the magistrates 

 to have a meeting upon the busi- 

 ness, and we doubt not that tliey 

 will see the propriety of giving an 

 increase of wages to those tliev 

 employ. It cannot be denied that 

 it is an extreme hardship to work- 

 men, whenever tiiere is a scarcity 

 of employment, to experience at 

 the same time a^reat reduction in 

 the price of their labour. 



A fine racoon was last week 

 taken in the woods at Lord Grosve- 

 nor's seat at Eaton. It was disco- 

 vered in the cleft of an aged oak, 

 by a groom, who cjuickly started 

 it, and with the assistance of dugs 

 had it secured. It is supposed that 

 this native of the forests had made 

 its escape from the menagerie of 

 some travelling showman. 



FEBRUARY. 



1. The city of Catania, which 

 is not more than seven leagues 

 from the crater of jEtna, has been 

 strongly menaced by the torrents 

 of lava with which the valley of 

 Nusara was filled. The stream of 

 lava flowed not more than one 

 league from the walls of the city, 

 which the inhabitants, in their 

 first alarms, abandoned. A f<^w 

 days before the eruption of the 

 volcano, a slight trembling was 

 experienced at Messina, which da- 

 maged many of the houses. Dur- 

 ing the whole of the period of 

 alarm, vessels were kept at Cata- 

 nia, on board which .he English 

 troops in garrison there might em- 

 bark, in case the lava should pe- 

 netrate into the city. Some of our 

 officers caused thcn)£clvcs to be 



transported to the foot of Mount 

 ^tna, that they might examine 

 more closely the course of the lava 

 vomited from the crater. 



The town of Sargans, consistr 

 ing of about 400 houses, was re- 

 duced to a heap of ashes on the 

 night of the 8th of December. 

 There were a number of store- 

 houses filled with grain, which 

 were likewise destroyed. Four- 

 teen of the inhabitants perished in 

 the flames. 



British Naval Force. — The 

 following is extracted from the 

 official returns of the force of 

 Great Britain, up to the 1st inst. : 

 At sen, 80 of Che line, 9 fifties, 

 129 frigates, 97 sloops, 5 bombs, 

 123 brigs, 30 cutters, 59 schoon- 

 ers — total 522. In port and fitt- 

 ing, 43 of the line, 7 fifties, 30 

 frigates, 38 sloops, 1 bomb, 29 

 brigs, 6 cutters, 17 schooners — 

 total 171. Guard-ships, 4 of the 

 line, 1 fifty, 4 frigates, 5 sloops — 

 total 14. Hospital ships, &c. 

 34 of the line, 4 fifties, 2 frigates 

 —total 40. Total in commission, 

 161 of the line, 21 fifties, 165 

 frigates, 130 sloops, 6 bombs, 152 

 brigs, 36 cutters, 76 schooners — 

 total 747. In ordinary, and repair- 

 ing for service, 69 of the line, 13 

 fifties, 56 frigates, 37 sloops, 6 

 bombs, 10 brigs, 2 schooners — 

 total 193. Building, 32 of the 

 line, 2 fifties, 13 frigates, 5 sloops 

 —total 52.— Grand total, 202 of 

 the line, 36 fifties, 234 frigates, 

 172 sloops, 12 bombs, 162 brigs, 

 36 cutters, 78 schooners— in the 

 whole, 992 vessels of war. Of 

 the varied force of the British 

 navy, there are in the Mediter- 

 ranean, 87 vessels ; 32 of the line. 

 Off the coast of Spain and 

 Portugal, 72; 15 of the line. 



Jr 



