The Press. — London, England, 1854-10-28 00:00:00

1018 LORD J. RUSSELL AT BRISTOL. THE new Bristol Atheninum opened on Wednesday, with the customary formalities for such occasions, in the presence of LordJ. Russell, the Attorney-General, Earl Ducie, Sir R. Peel, and other distingished visitors. The Athenteum is a new and exceedingly commodious building erected in Corn-street, which is situated in the very heart of the city. It comprises a lecture-room, spacious reading-rooms for ladies and gentlemen, class-rooms, libraries for circulation and reference, and all offices suited to such an establish ment. After the inauguration ceremony the com• pany assembled in the lecture-room of the new insti tution, where a handsome dijeuner had been provided. The time for toastgiving having arrived, and Lord J. Russell's health being drank, his lordship returned thanks for the compliment. He added : Your mayor has well said that this is a moment ofvery great anxiety; no doubt that it is so for every member of the Go. vernment. But we, who have to depend upon the exertions of our countrymen, may feel full reliance that our confidence will not be misplaced. My noble friend at the head of the War Dsp irtment, and my right hon. friend at the head of the Admiralty, may feel full and steadfast reliance that any service whioh British soldiers, and any service which British sailors, may be said to perform, however difficult that service may be, will be performed with that courage an 1 skill which have distinguished our country at all times. (Cheers.) And so likewise I may say with regard to my own department. This country, having resolved in its variousbranches, and in various manners, that the people shall be educated, depend upon it the task will be likewise adequately performed, and we shall in a few years, I trust, be able to say that the remaining defects have been amended, and the remaining deficiencies supplied. For my part I have always looked for the further security of of ourjustly-venerated institutions to the knowledge and learning, and to the cordial support of an enlightened people. I was to-day shown, while looking cursorily over this building, a part of which it was said there had been some doubts in respect to its stability, but it has been sub jected to the severest tests, and has gone through those tests with success, its supports being found to be unshaken. In the same manner is the support of a free Government like ours unshaken when its rests are an enlightened people. (Cheers.) I, therefore, believe that in furthering, in the office which belongs to me, and which I have the honour to hold, as far as in my power, the efforts which the people themselves are prepared to make for their edu• cation, I am not preparing a means ty which the Govern ment of her Majesty the Queen or her successors will be mpaired, but a means by which that rule will be per petuated and strengthened. I beg again to thank you, and to assure you that it gives me the greatest happiness to assist in the performance of the duties of this day, or in any way to encourage the object for which we are met. (Loud c hers.) There was a soirée in the evening, at which the noble lord made another speech, developing at much length his ideas on national education. ADMIRAL DUNDAS AND THE " TIMES." THE following letter was written to the Times by the son of Admiral Dundas, upon whose professional character constant obloquy had been thrown by that journal. Not appearing in the Times, the letter was subsequently transmitted to till Morning Herald, in whose columns it was duly p , ,lished:— Kintbury Vicarage, Hungerford, Oct. 24. Sir,—Admiral Dundas's character as an officer has been attacked in your leading articles and the letters of your correspondents with such persevering venom that people begin to suspect there must be some private motive. Your honourable correspondent from her Majesty's ship ..47ameinnon I leave in the hands of Sir E. Lyons and his officers, who will no doubt teach the learned gentleman that, although in the House of Commons personal invec tives may pass unnoticed, there is still a code of honour among the officers of her Majesty's navy which excludes the slanderer from their society. Now, sir, I do not complain of a journal publishing let ters, even should they emanate from an attaché to the Bri tish embassy, or the open enemies of the party assailed, but I do consider it a gross act of injustice when a paper of your vast influence attacks the character of an officer in a leading article, founded upon mere rumour. As the editor of a newspaper, your object ought to be to promulgate truth, and not to injure an honourable man's name, by publishing anonymous libels and ward room gossip. Let facts alone be stated, and I fear not the people of England will find that Admiral Dundas has acted through out to the satisfaction of the Lords of the Admiralty, Ad miral Hamelin, his senior officer, and the generals of the allied army, under whose approbation all the movements of the fleets have been guided. My object in addressing ou is to claim fair play for an absent m an, a demand all honourable men will join me JAMES in making for my father. W. fo r then. On the same day in which this letter appeared in the Herald, the editor of the Times sent a private reply to the Rev. Mr. Dundas, in which he assures 'him " that his father shall receive all the fair play' that even his son can claim' at his hands." The Times editor adds As to the " private motive " of which Mr. Dundas writes, the editor is aware of none but a strong desire to put the most favourable constrnction upon the conduct of an old acquaintance, from whom he has received many civilities, and generally on that of every officer holding so responsi ble a post. Mr. Dundas need not be informed that the sots of an admiral, to whom is entrusted • principal share in ORO of the politest eepeditioat of mode= time, ere ne. THE PRESS. sessarily amenable to public criticism. Nothing which has ever appeared in the Times has overstepped the fair limits of such criticism, and Mr. Dundas may rest assured that nothing will ever appear which will deserve from less partial judges such epithets as " persecuting venom" or " continued abuse." FATE OF SIR J. FRANKLIN. Tax obscurity which has so long rested over the destiny of Sir J. Franklin and his companions who left our shores on their voyage of Arctic discovery has at length been unexpectedly dispelled. Un certainty is now at an end; and the sad forebodings which have latterly prevailed respecting their fate have received melancholy confirmation. Dr. Rae, of the Hudson's Bay Company, has arrived in England, bringing with him various memorials and articles belonging to Sir J. Franklin and his crew, together with accounts, of apparently undoubted correctness, touching the circumstances under which the last remains of the gallant band perished amid the snows and privations of the Arctic regions. Dr. Rae states that in the course of last spring, while prose cuting his task of completing the survey of the coast of Boothia, he fellin with a party of Esquimaux, in whose possession he found various articles of plate and other property that had evidently belonged to the commander or other members of the Franklin expedition. When questioned as to the way in which they became possessed of such articles, the Esquimaux said that the vessels had been crushed in the icebergs, and the crews forced to set off over the snow on their way towards the territories of the Hudson's Bay Company. In 1850, they added, a party of forty Englishmen belonging to the expe dition were met near King William Land dragging a boat over the ice, and subsequently the dead bodies of all the party were found on the ice near Back River, under circumstances proving that they had undergone the severest privations, even, it was in ferred, from traces then discovered, to the extent of being driven to cannibalism to sustain life. The Esquimaux helped themselves to the property of the dead, finding many articles of plate, books, in struments, guns, and gunpowder in considerable quantity. Dr. Rae, on obtaining this information on a sub ject which had excited such anxious interest, thought himself justified in postponing his surveying duties and returning to England forthwith with the news. He arrived on Saturday night, and immediately for warded the following report to the Admiralty : Repulse Bay, July 29, 1854. I have the honour to mention, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that, during my journey over the ice and snows this spring, with the view of completing the survey of the west shore of Boothia, I met with Esquimaux in Pelly Bay, from one of whom I learnt that a party of " white men " (Kabloonans) had perished from want of food some distance to the west ward, and not far beyond a large river containing many falls and rapids. Subsequently further particulars were received and a number of articles purchased, which places the fate of a portion, if not of all, the then survivors of Sir John Franklin's long-lost party beyond a doubt—a fate as terrible as the imagination can conceive. The substance of the information obtained at various times and from various sources was as follows : In the spring, four winters past (spring, 1850), a party of " white men," amounting to about forty, were seen travelling southward over the ice and dragging a boat with them by some Esquimaux, who were killing seals near the north shore of King William Land, which is a large island. None of the party could speak the Esquimau: language intelligibly, but by signs the natives were made to under stand that their ship, or ships, had been crushed by ice, and they were now going to where they expected to find deer to shoot. From the appearance of the men, all of whom, except one officer, looked thin, they were then supposed to be getting abort of provisions, and they pur chased a small seal from the natives. At a later date the same season, but previous to the breaking up of the ice, the bodies of some thirty persons were discovered on the continent, five on an island near it, about a long day's journey to the N.W. of a large stream, which can be no other than Back's Great Fish River (named by the Esquimaux Oot-ko-hica-lik), as its description and that of the low shore in the neighbourhood of Point Ogle and Montreal Island agree exactly with that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies had been buried (probably those of the first victims of famine) ; some were in a tent or tents ; others were under the boat which had been turned over to form a shelter ; and several lay scattered about in different directions. Of those found on the island one was supposed to have been an officer, as he bad a telescope strapped over his shoulder, and his double-gun lay underneath him. From the mutilated state of many of the corpses and the contents of the kettles, it is evident that our wretched countrymen had been driven to the last resource — cannibalism—as a means of prolonged existence. There appeared to have been an abundant stock oflam munition, as the powder was emptied in a heap on the ground by the natives out of the kegs or cans containing it, and a quantity of ball and shot was found below high water mark, having probably been left on the ice close to the beach. There must have been a number of watches, compasses, telescopes, guns (several double-barrelled), iScc., all of which appear to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of these different articles with the Esquimaux, and, together with some silver spoons and forks, purchased as many as I could get. A list of the most important part of these I eagles*, with a rough sketch Of the crests awl SATURDAY, initials on the forks and spoons. The articles themselves shall be handed over to the secretary of the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company on my arrival in London. None of the Esquimau' with whom 1 conversed had seen the " whites, nor had they ever been at the place where the bodies were found, but had their information from those who had been there, and who had seen the party when travelling. I offer no apology for taking the liberty of addressing you, as I do so from a belief that their lordships would be desirous of being put in possession at as early a date as posi ble of any tidings, however meagre and unexpectedly ob tained, regarding this painfully-interesting subject. I may add that, by means of our guns and nets, we ob tained an ample supply of provisions last autumn, and my small party passed the winter in snow-houses in comparative comfort, the skins of the deer shot affording abundant warm clothing and bedding. My spring journey was a failure, in consequence of an accumulation of obstacles, several of which my former experience in Arctic travelling had not taught me to expect.—l have, ckc., Joni; Ras, C.F., Commanding Hudson's Bay Company's Arctic Expedition. Dr. Rae's journal contains some further details of interest. He writes : On the morning of the 20th we were met by a very in telligent Esquimau:, driving a dog-sledge laden with musle• ox beef. This man at once consented to accompany us two days' journey, and in a few minutes had deposited his load on the snow, and was ready to join us. Having ex plained to him my object, he said that the road by which he had come was the best for us, and, havinglightened the men's sledges, we travelled with more facility. We were now joined by another of the natives, who had been absent seal hunting yesterday, but, being anxious to see us, had visited our snow-house early this morning, and then fol lowed up our track. This man was very communicative, and on putting to him the usual questions as to his having seen " white man " before, or any ships or boats, he replied In the negative ; but said that a party of " Kabloonans" had died of starvation a long distance to the west of where we then were, and beyond a large river. He stated that he did not know the exact place, that he never had bee" there, and that he could not accompany us so far. The sub stance of the information then and subsequently obtained from various sources was to the following effect In the spring, four winters past ( 1tt.50), while some Es quimaux families were killing seals near the north shoe of a large island, named in Arrowstnith'e charts King Wil liam's Land, about forty white men were seen travelling in company southward over the ice, and dragging a boat and sledges with them. They were passing along the west shore of the above-named island. None of the party could speak the Esquimaux language so well as to be understood, but by signs the natives were led to believe that the ship or ships had been crushed by ice, and that they were now going to where they expected to find deer to shoot. From the appearance of the men, all of whom, with the exception of an officer, were hauling on the drag ropes of the sledge, and looked thin, they were then sup posed to be getting short of provisions, and they purchased a small seal, or piece of seal, from the natives The officer was described as being a tall, stout, middle-aged man. When their day's journey terminated, they pitched tents to rest in. At a later date the same season, but previous to the dis ruption of the ice, the corpses of some thirty persons and some graves were discovered on the continent, and five dead bodies on as island nearit, about a long day's journey to the north-west of the mouth of a large stream, which can be no other than Back's Great Fish Elver (named by the Esquimaux Oot-koo-hi-ca-lik), as its description and that of the low shore in the neighbourhood of Point Ogle and Montreal Island agree exactly with that of Sir George Back. Some of the bodies were in a tent or tents ; others were under the boat, which had been turned over to form a shelter ; and some lay scattered about in different direc tions. Of those seen on the island it was supposed that one was that of an officer (chief ), as he had a telescope strapped over his shoulders, and a double-barrelled gun lay underneath him. From the mutilated state of many of the bodies and the contents of the kettles it is evident that our wretched countrymen bad been driven to the dread alternative of cannibalism as a means of sustaining life. A few of the unfortunate men must have survived until the arrival of the wildfowl (say until the end of May), as shots were heard and fresh bones and feathers of geese were noticed near the soene of the sad event. There appears to have been an abundant store of am munition, as the gunpowder was emptied by the natives in a heap on the ground out of the kegs or cases containing it, and a quantity of shot and ball was found below high water mark, having probably been left on the ice close to the beach before the spring commenced. There must have been a number of telescopes, guns (several of them double•barrelled ), watches , compasses, dc., all of which seem to have been broken up, as I saw pieces of these dif ferent articles with the natives, and I purchased as many as possible, together with some silver spoons and forks, an order of merit in the form of a star , and a small silver plate, engraved " Sir John Franklin, K.C.8." Enclosed is a list of the principal articles bought, with a note of the initials, and a rough pen-and-ink sketch of the crests on the forks and spoons. The articles themselves I shall have the honour of handing ove r to you on my ar rival in London. None of the Esquimaux with whom I had communica tion saw the " white men " either w h en living or after death, nor had they ever been at the place where the corpses were found, but had their information from those who had been there, and who had seen the party when tra veiling on the ice. From what I could learn, there is no reason to suspect that any violence bad been offered W the sufferers by the