Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-09-23 00:00:00

WRECK OF A MAIL STEAMER

The accounts from Southampton state that the Jersey
mail steamer Express was run ashore in consequence of
her filling so rapidly. After striking on the rocks two
passengers were drowned. The mails and cargo were
saved ; the latter, however, in a very damaged state.
The vessel is worth about £7,000, the entire less of
which will fall upon the company.

FATE OF
SIR JOHN FRANKLIN'S

EXPEDITION.

RETURN OF CAPTAIN WOLINTOCK, R.N

The Fox screw discovery vessel (Captain 11I'clintock),
which was sent to the Arctic Regions, at the expense of
Lady Franklin, to discover traces of the missing expe-
dition, arrived off the Isle of Wight on Wednesday.
On landing, Captain IWelintock at once came on by
train for London, bringing with -him -two cases contain-
ing relics of the long-missing expedition of Sir John
Franklin. The following has been received from the
Admiralty :
_

22, 1859, 10.30 a.m.

YATpH Fox, R.Y.S.

-.SiTt,—l beg you will inform the Lords•CommiSsioriers
of the Admiridty of the safe return to this country of
Lady Franklin's final searching expedltion, which I
have had the•honour to conduct.
Their lordships will rejoice to heai that our endea-
vours to ascertain the fate of the "Franklin Expedition"

have met with complete success.
At Point Victory, upon the N.W. coast of King Wil-
liam's Island, a record has been found, dated April 25,
1848, and signed by Captains Crozier and Fitzjames.
By it we were informed that, her Majesty's ships Erebus
and Terror were abandoned on April 22, 1848, in the
ice, five leagues to the N.N.W , and that the survivors,
in all amounting to 105 souls, under the command of
Captain Crozier, were proceeding to the Great Fish
River. Sir John Franklin had died on June 11, 1847.

Many deeply interesting relics of our lost country-
men have been picked up on the western shore of
King William's Island, and others obtained from the
Esquimaux, by whom .we were informed that (subse-
quent to their abandonment) one ship was crushd and
sunk by the ice, and the other forced on shore, where
she has ever since remained, affording them an almost
inexhaustible mine of wealth.

Being unable to penetrate beyond Bellot Straits, the
Fox wintered in Brentford Bay, and the search—in-
cluding the estuary of the Great Fish River, and the
discovery of 800 miles of coast line, by which we have
imited the explorations of the former searching expedi-
tions, to the north and west of our position, with those
of James -Ross, Dease, and Simpson, and Rae to the
south, has been performed by sledge journeys this
spring, conducted by Lieutenant Hobson, R N., Captain
Allen Young, and myself.

As a somewkat detailed report of our' proceedings
will, doubtless, be interesting to their lordships, it is
herewith enclosed, together with a chart of our dis-
coveries and explorations ; and at the earliest oppor-
tunity I will present myself at the Admiralty to afford
further information, and lay before their lordships the
record found at Point Victory.

I have the honmir, &c.,
(Signed) F. L. M'CLINTOCK, Captain RN
To the Secretary of the Admiralty.

The enclosure referred to above gives a minute account
of the searches made by the expeditionary parties. The
following describes what was found on the Bth May
Most of our information was received from an intel-
ligent old woman ; she said it was ..on the fall of the
year that the ship was forced ashore ; many of the white
men dropped by the way' as they went towards the Great
River ; but this was only known to them in the winter
following, when their bodies were discovered."
Further discoveries were subsequently made
" Re-crossinc, the Strait-to King Williams's Island,
we continued: the examination of its southern shore
without success until the 24th of May, when about ten
miles eastward of Cape Herschel a bleached skeleton
was found, around which lay fragments of European
clothing. .Upon carefully removing the snow, a small
pocket-book was found containing a few letters—these,
although much decayed, may yet be deciphered. • Judging
from the remains of his dress, this unfortunate young
man was a steward or officer's servant, and his posi-
tion exactly verified the Esquimaux's assertion that they
dropped as they walked along."
After relating that near this place were found several
cairns, with nothing in them ,(probably the records, if
any, bad been removed by the natives) the record con-
tinues :