The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-14 00:00:00

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LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14, 1.852.

Captain PENNY may now enjoy the gratifying sense
that he is appreciated. Unlike the majority of the
world's more distinguished innovators, he has not been
required to wait very long before his predictions have
been fulfilled by his statements being verified—and
this, moreover, in a manner the most complete and
the most triumphant. Cordially do we offer him our
felicitations. He has tarried but a very little while
indeed, and even now his assertions have been " made
good," not through his own instrumentality, but
through the impartial agency of those who have
followed in his trail, and who have already testified in
a remarkable manner to the accuracy of even the
most apparently extravagant among his investigators.
We wonder what the members of the Arctic Commit-
tee think now of all the tedious sittings held by them,
some months ago, in that snug room of theirs at the
Admiralty ! We wonder if they remember with
anything like feelings of compunction the "snub-
binge" attempted to be administered to " Mr."
FEINT, as they called him with such studious
and systematic discourtesy through the course
of these protracted cross-examinations ! How
is it now with Captain AUSTIN ? Has he entirely
got over that conjectured depreciation of his rank by
one who never had the broad arrow branded on his
kit-box or his jacket during boyhood embroidered with
the technical " curse" of a midshipman ? It will in-
fallibly be borne in recollection by everyone who has
watched with interest the researches made in the
northern regions for the discovery of the whereabouts
of Sir JOHN FRANKLIN and his gallant associates,
that it was the conviction of Captain PENNY that the
missing navigators had gone in a north-westerly
direction through the straits leading out of Welling.. '
ton Channel, and that he was thence gone off into
clear water, end was beyond their reach, unless some
more adventurous effort were made with a view to
Yield them—supposing that still possible—timely
as,,latence. Not merely will this be cherished in
remembrance by the majority of the intelligent, but
We doubt not it cannot already be forgotten how
that suggestion of the bold and enterprising whaler
was received both prior to his leaving the Arctic
svas and subsequently to his return from that only
partially successful expedition. Captain FENNY, we
repeat, stated the above ideas not simply as his
opinion, but Q 2 his implicit belief and " conviction."
So convinced was he that his suppositions would prove
on inquiry to be correct, that he offered to proceed
forthwith in the direction intimated, if supplied with
a single steamer, and empowered to act thereupon
in obedience to the dictates of his own better
judg-
ment. Instead of finding his views acceded to,
to say the least of them, ingenious, instead of be as,
being
placed in command of the necessary steam-vessel, in-
stead of obtaining any sympathy whatsoever from
one who was too profossionally haughty to acknow-
ledge himself his colleague in the enterprise—
Captain PENNY received . a laconic inquiry
in a note from Captain AUSTIN, asking
him if he (lid not think that all that
was at all practicable for the nonce had already been
accomplished ? It WaS as if you were to sub-
wit u somewhat elaborate and certaii,ly very startling
proposition to a fellow •labourer in a great undertak-
ing, and thereupon, instead of even paying the com-
pliment of "entertaining" your proposal for a brief
interval, he were to turn round and ask—as though
he had been actually deaf to all you had been carefully
submitting but just then to Ms consideration—" Don't
you think we have done enough without stopping
here any longer upon what is manifestly nothing
better than a sleeveless errand, if it be not actually a
display of Quixotic knight-errantry ?" Captain PENNY
was naturally disgusted at such glaringly cavalier
treatment. lie answered in a " Pet." He wrote hotly
upon the instant, "Of course—let us return home-
wamoistroir, research would be extravagant."