The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-11-14 00:00:00

ROYAL GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY.

The winter session for 1874-75 of the above society
was commenced on Tuesday evening in the theatre of
the London University, when the chair was taken by
the President, Major-General Sir H. C. ItawHugon,
X.C.B. Among the visitors were his Royal Highness
the Duke of Edinburgh, his Imperial Highness the
Czarewitch, Count Beunt, Baron Hochschild, the Right
Hon. G. Ward Hunt, Sir A. Milne, Sir Bartle Frere,
Lord Houghton, kn. The theatre was densely crowded.
The proceedings commenced with the delivery of
the President's opening address, in the course of
which the present activity of geographical research
was duly noticed, and thanks were tendered to the
University of London for the use of its hall. A
review of the proceedings of the previous session
was then given, special mention being made of
papers which had been read by Dr. Schweinforth„
the African traveller, and those relating to Arctic
discovery, vvhivh
.was described as being undoubtedly
the most prominent geographical question of the
day. The history of the Austrian Polar expedition
and the discoveries of Lieutenant Payer were
next summarised. Another Arctic voyage had
been made by Mr. Wiggins in Mr. Lament's

steamer Diana, but no immediate result had been obi
trailed. The President closed this portion of his address
with the expression of a Confident hope that a new
Polar expedition would be despatched under the aus-
pices of Her Majesty's Government iii the course of
the coming yeas. An allusi,oi to Australian and
Central African explorations followed, and the address
concluded with • brief allusion to recent geographical
discoveries in Asia, and another to the compliment
paid to the society by the visit of their Royal and Im-
perial Highness. the Duke of Edinburgh and the
Czarewitch. The Presid,nt, at the conclusion of his
address, stated that he had seen the first volume of
Livingstone's journal, with a most instructive map of
equatorial Africa, both of which would be published
in
,a .few days.
" • -

Lieutenant Payer having been presented to the
meeting amid loud and general cheering, the secretary
proceeded to read a long narrative of the proceedings
of the Austro-Hungarian expedition to the Polar
regions, written originally in German by Lieutenant
Payer, and translated by Mr. Ravenetein. The object
of the expedition, De stated, had been to discover a
north-west passage; in that it had failed, but in lieu
had discovered land nearer the Pole than had hitherto
been approached by any Arctic navigator. The
details which followed have already been to a great
extent made public in the newspapers and in the
Geographical lihme.:iee. The perils of the 7'ff/et/toff
whilst enclosed in the flee, and tie vicissitudes of the
sledge expedition when Lieutenant Payer landed in
latitude 79.54 N., were listened to with much interest
During the whole of the winter the crew of the vessel
had subsisted on bears' flesh, of which they consumed
12,0001b5., and an artificial wine made of glycerine,
sugar, tartaric acid, alcohol, and wattr. (The reading
of this German recipe for wine making created much
laughter.) The new land had been discovered solely in
consequence of the drifting of the floe in which the
Tegetkoff was enclosed, and which at the end of the
third winter broke away from the main body of ice and
carried her into open water, and within three miles
distance of the new land The reading of the paper
was followed by a short explanatory address in German
from Lieut. Payer, and the reading of a letter from
Mr. Petermann, the eminent etnzrapher of Berlin,
strongly urging on her Majesty a Government the ex-
pediency of starting another Polar expedition.
Sir E. Belcher, having been called on by the Presi-
dent, detailed some of his Artie experiences in
1852-54, and proposed a vote of thanks to Lieutenant
Payer,
The motion was seconded by AdmiralCollinson, and
carried by acclamation.
Count Beust acknowledged the vote on behalf of his
, gallant compatriot. It was his duty also, he said,
to return thanks on the part of the country which
I he had the honour to represent, and which felt
much flattered by the Society's recognition of the
enterprise of an Austre-Hungarian explorer. There
was this in common between science mud diplomacy.
that the object of both was to make discoveries, but
there was also a difference, and it was this, that whilst
all humanity rejoiced at the discovery of science, peo-
ple generally felt uncomfortable when any thing was
discovered by diplomacy. (Loud cheers and laughter.)
In sonic cases, however, science and diplomacy went
hand in hand, as in that of their distinguished pre-
sident, who, whilst being a learned explorer had also
proved himself to be a distinguished diplomatist.
(Cheers.) For his own part it was no new thing for
him to discover that England was always ready to ex.
I tend the hand of sympathy to merit, and courage, and
I enterprise, in whatever quarter of the world they
I might appear. Again he thanked the Royal Geo-
graphical Society for the compliment it had paid to his
I countryman and his country. (Cheers.)
I The meeting broke up immediately after the con-
elusion of Count Beust's observations, the retiring
company giving three cheers for the Duke of Edin-
burgh and the Czarewiteh.