Although the benefit derived to the preservation of the cliffs from the stranding of the vessel has been entirely lost, still to the present time no shallows have formed immediately adjacent to her, and the beach would have been higher than it now is, had her bulwarks, taffrel, &c., not been removed. The irruption of the sea, through the breaches in the dunes of sand, {50a} in the neighbourhood of Eccles, {50b} Horsey, {50c} Waxham, {50d} &c., having been attended with serious inconvenience and spoliation, caused a body of highly respected and influential gentlemen to be appointed Sea-breach Commissioners, and in the year 1804, they engaged an eminent Engineer, since deceased, who, among other information, gave it as his opinion, that if the shallows were all filled up, and the beach kept on an inclined plane, the sea would never gain on the Norfolk coast. He did not, however, point out how such an assertion could be substantiated, or submit a plan to effect so desirable an object; but the accident occurring to the Hunter cutter, the effects produced from her immersion in a cavity on the beach, the benefit in preserving the lands opposite for a long period, and the discontinuation of shallows forming in her immediate neighbourhood, at once indicate the truth of his assertion, and suggest the plan about to be submitted. CHAPTER VII. THE GENERAL FEATURES OF THE COAST.—THE VARIATION AND EFFECTS OF THE WIND FROM DIFFERENT POINTS CONSIDERED. To combat successfully with so restless and powerful an agent as the ocean, requires great consideration and attention; for the obstacles presented on this coast are of no ordinary character. Among them may be enumerated powerful tides and currents, a confined space for a large body of water upon extraordinary occasions, cliffs of a soft yielding nature, a limited and irregular shore, with cavities and projections, either a dead flat or hollow descent from low water mark towards the cliffs, constitute a beach of the worst character. The shoals of sand in the offing, in certain localities, are numerous and irregular, their dimensions and situation variable, and while they afford a partial protection to the coast, are decidedly injurious to vessels liable to be stranded. To make the sea subservient to our wishes, and agreeable to our design, in other words, to make it perform the duty of bringing its contents from the bottom of its waters towards the cliffs, to protect them, if possible, for ages, let us consider its auxiliary, the wind, the effects, whether beneficial or injurious.