25G ANNUAL REGISTtlK, 1810. 



it : it appeared, however, by tlie 

 American newspapers afterwards 

 received, that the man had been 

 taken offthe island by an American 

 ship, and landed in America. Capt. 

 Lake, in his defence, admitted that 

 he put the man on shore, but de- 

 nied that he ever intended to put 

 his life in jeopardy, as he thought 

 the island was inhabited ; that in 

 landing him he thought he would 

 be more sensible of his want of 

 conduct, and would reform in fu- 

 ture. The court agreed that the 

 charge had been proved, and sen- 

 tenced capt. Lake to be — Dis- 

 missed from his majesty's service. 

 n. The spire of St. Nicholas's 

 church, Liverpool, fell down with 

 a tremendous crash, just before 

 divine service began. Not more, 

 perhaps, than from fifteen to twen- 

 ty grown persons were in the 

 church at the lime, and of these, 

 the greater part escaped ; but the 

 children of the Moor-fields chari- 

 ty-school, who are regularly 

 marched in procession from the 

 school to the church, somewhat 

 earlier than the time of service, 

 had partly entered. The boys 

 following last, all escaped ; but of 

 the girls, who were either entering 

 the porch or proceeding up the 

 aisle, we lament to state that a 

 great number were instantly over- 

 whelmed beneath the falling pile. 

 The whole nuroberof bodies taken 

 out from the ruinsistwenty-seven. 

 Of these, twenty-two were either 

 dead or died almost immediately 

 after their removal; five were taken 

 to the infirmary, and one of these is 

 since dead. The hideous crash of 

 thesteeple.andthepiercingshrieks 

 which immediately issued from 

 those who escaped in the church, 

 orwere witnesses of thecatrastophe 



in the church -yard, immediately 

 brought a large concourse of peo- 

 ple to the spot ; and we notice, 

 with pleasure, the prompt exert ions 

 which were immediately made for 

 rescuing the unfortunate victims, 

 by the immediate removal of the 

 fallen masonry, which were conti- 

 nued with unabated attention until 

 the whole of the bodies were ex- 

 tricated, notwithstanding the me- 

 nacing appearance of the remain- 

 ing part of the tower, and the roof 

 of the church, which every mo- 

 ment threatened asecond fall. The 

 scene was, throughout the whole 

 of the forenoon, deeply aft'ecting ; 

 the parents of the children in the 

 school, and a number of others, 

 hurrying from place to place, in- 

 quiring the fate of their children 

 or relatives, in the utmost agita- 

 tion, heightened, in many cases, 

 by a long and awful suspense, and 

 terminating in the extremes of joy 

 or sorrow, as they found the objects 

 of their search in safety or among 

 thesufFerers. Accidents of this kind 

 usually give rise to many hair- 

 breadth and surprising escapes. We 

 havecoUectedthefoUowingfromau- 

 thenlicinformation: — The ringers, 

 though apparently exposed to the 

 greatest danger, were all fortunate 

 enough to escape, with the excep- 

 tion of one, who was caught in the 

 ruins, along with a boy of fourteen 

 years of age, who was iuthe steeple 

 atthe same time. They were, how- 

 ever, both immediately extricated 

 by the exertions of the other ring- 

 ers. The man was but slightly 

 wounded, but the boy is since dead. 

 The alarm, it appears, was given 

 to the ringers by the fall of a stone 

 upon the fifth bell, which prevent- 

 ed its swinging : upon which they 

 immediately ran out, A moment 



