The Sun.
London, England, 1839-05-08 00:00:00

conspicuous object for a day's journey on either side.
The ice all along lay immoveably aground upon
the shallow beach, and extended in every direction
as far as the eye could reach. The great northern
land still stretched out before us, and kept alive doubts
of our being engaged in exploring an immense bay,
which even the increase in the tides, the quantity
of seaweed and shells, and the discovery of the re-
mains of a large whale and of a Polar bear could not al-
together dispel. These doubts seemed almost conversed
into certainty as we drew near on the fourth evening
an elevated cape, and saw land apparently all around.
With feelings of bitter disappointment I ascended the
height, from whose summit a splendid and most un-
looked for view suddenly burst upon me. The ocean,
as if transformed by enchantment, rolled its free waves
beneath and beyond the reach of vision to the East-
ward, islands of various shape and size overspread its
surface, and the northern land terminated in a bold
and lofty cape, bearing North-east at least forty miles
distant, while the coast of the continent trended away
to the South-east. I stood, in fact, on a remarkable
headland at the eastern entrance of an ice obstructed
strait. The extensive land to the Northward I have
called " Victoria Land," in honour of our youthful Sove-
reign ; and its eastern extremity Cape Pelly, after the
Governor of the Honourable Company. To the promon-
tory, where we encamped, I have attached the name of
Cape Alexander, after an only brother, who would
give his right hand to be the sharer of my journeys.
The rise and fall of the tide there was about three feet,
being the greatest observed by us in the Artic Seas.
The coast here changes its character, the water becomes
deep, the approach easy, and I have little doubt that
the islands contain secure harbours for shipping.
Next morning, at the distance of eight or nine miles,
we crossed another high cape formed of trap rocks, in
lat. 68 deg. 52 min. 18 sec. 5 N . the variation of the
compass being 63 deg. E. The travelling had become
more and more toilsome ; our road now passing over
some miles of round loose stones, and then through wet
messy tracks, sown with large boulders, and tangled
with dwarf willows. At our usual camping hour
we opened a large bay studded with islands,
which ran in for five miles to the S. S. W., and
then turned off in a bold sweep of rounded granitic
hills (like those near the Melville Sound and Cape
Barrow), dipping to the sight in the E. S. E. at the
distance of 30 miles. The walk round even the portion of
the bay in view would have consumed three days : the
time allotted for outgoing was already expired, and two
or three of my men were severely lame from the fatigue
of their burdens, the inequalities of the ground, and the
constant immersion in icy cold water. I besides che-
rished hopes that by making the best of our way back,
we might, agreeably to my arrangement with Mr. Deese,
meet him bringing oa one of the boats, in which case,
with an open sea before us, we could have still conside-
rably extended our discoveries before the commence-
ment of winter. I may here remark that we were sin-
gularly fortunate in the five days of our outward jour-
ney, the weather being so moderate and clear, that I
daily obtained astronomical observations, whereas before
our departure from the boats, and during our return to
them, we had continued storms, with frost, snow, rain,
and fog. Close to our farthest encampment appeared
the site of three Esquitnaux tents of the preceding
year, with a little stone chimney apart. We passed the
remains of a larger camp, and several human skeletons,
near Cape Franklin, but no where throughout the jour-
ney did we tied recent traces of that few and scattered
people.
Tee morning of the 25th August was devoted to the
determination of our position, anti the erection of a pil-
lar of stones on the most elevated part of the point.
After which 1 took possession of the country, with the
usual ceremonial, in the name of the Honourable Com-
pany, and for the Queen of Great Britain. In the pil-
lar I deposited a brief sketch of our proceedings, for the
information of whoever might find it. Its situation is
in let. 68 deg. 43 min. 39 sec. N., long. (reduced by
Captain Smith's watch from excellent lunars at the
boats), 106 deg. 3 min. W., the magnitude variation
being GO deg,. 38 min. 23 sec. E. The compass grew
sluggish and uncciqaia in its movements as we advanced
eastward, and frequently had to be shaken before
it would traverse at all. Two miles to the south-
ward of our encampment a rapid river of some mag-
nitude discharges itself into the bay, the shores of
which scented more broken and indented than those
along which we had travelled. Independently of Vic-
toria Land, and an archipelago of islands, I have had
the satisfaction of tracing fully 100 miles of coast, and
of seeing 30 miles further, making in all, after deduct-
ing Franklin's hall-day's journey already mentioned,
about 120 miles of continental discovery. This is in
itself important, yet I value it chiefly for ba% ing disclosed
an open sea to the eastward, and for suggesting a new
route along the southern shores of Victoria Land, by
which that open sea may be attained, while the main-
land (as was the case this season) is yet environed by
an hnpenetrable barrier of ice. Whether the open sea
to the eastward may lead to Ross's Pillar, or to the
estuary or Back's Great Fish River, it is hard to con-
jecture, though the trending of the most distant land
in view should rather seem to favourthe latter conclusion.
The same evening, on our return, we met the ice at
Trap Cape driving rapidly to the eastward. As we
I proceeded the shores continued inaccessible, but open
water was now everywhere visible in the ding, Sece-
I ral bands of buck reindeir were migrating to the south-
ward along the hills ; two, which we shot, were in far
superior condition to those in Bathurst's Inlet and riser
the Coppertnine. A few musk oxen were also seen :
and numerous flocks of white geese (anser hyperbo-
reus), generally officered by large grey ones (a canaden-
sis), were assembling on the marshes, and taking their
ariel flights to more genial climates. At dusk, on the
29th August, our tenth day, we regained the boats, and
found them still inclosed in the ice, which the north and
westerly gales seemed to have accumulated front far and
near, towards Point Turnagain.
(Signed) THOMAS SIMPSON.
Fort Confidence, Sept. 15, 1838.

SECOND EDITION.

SUN OFFICE, Seven o'Clock.

THE NEW MINISTRY.

Nothing further has transpired with respect to
the formation of the new Administration. An im-
pression gains ground that Sir ROBERT PEEL
will endeavour to finish the Session with the pre-
sent Parliament, and then dissolve.

NATIONAL CONVENTION.
(THIS DAY.)

Mr. WOODHOUSE, Delegate for Nottingham, in the
chair.
The Secretary, Mr. LOVETT, read letters from Mon-
mouth, stating that a troop of horse had been sent to
that town on Sunday last. A Mr. Taylor, who allowed
the Chartists to meet in his house, was summoned before
the Mayor for doing so, and cautioned not to transgress
again. From Greenwich—Deprecatinr, violent language
or any resort to physical form From Montrose—
Giving some statistical details of the number of Chartists
in that district, and deprecating violent language. They
invited Mr. F.O'Connor to go down there as a Delegate.
ADJOURNMENT OF THE CONVENTION TO BIRMINGHAM.

Mr. F. O'CoNNon then brought forward his motion
for the adjournment of the sittings of the Con-
vention to Birmingham. If he thought it necessary to
offer any apology for bringing the question forward a
second time, he would merely refer to the circumstances
that had recently taken place, in order to furnish him
with ample grounds for pressing it upon the considera-
tion of the Convention. The principal objection that
had been urged against his motion was that they had
a duty to discharge in London, and that they were
pledged to perform it. He had yielded to these sugges-
tions, but recent circumstances had shown, that their
duty with reference to the petition, and the motion of Mr.
Attwood for leave to bring in a bill, must now be post-
poned for some time. The resignation of her Majesty's
Ministers, had come like a thunder-clap on the country,
and their anxiety and zeal for the presentation of the
petition, had been most providentially arrested.—( Hear.)
If it had been presented on Monday they should have
been deprived of the basis of their future agitation. It
appeared to him now, that so far from its being possible
to present the petition on Monday next, it could not be
presented before Whitsuntide. If it were presented
now, its whole interest and influence would be lost, and
it would be thrown into the general turmoil of the
substitution of one Ministry for another.—(Hear, hear.)
Whereas, if it was postponed for a little, instead Of being
a petition with 1,050,000 signatures, it would, ere long,
be a petition with three millions of signatures.—(Cheers.)
He looked upon it as a most providential escape that the
petition had not been presented, and it would now be re-
garded as the first cannon fired against whatever Mi-
nistry would assume the reigns of government. So far
from the timid among the middle classes resigning thou!
scats as Delegates, they would find that in future seats
in the Convention would be sought after and courted.
The question was not what should be done but who was
to do it. And the question would be, not who had re-
signed their seats and betrayed the interests of the
people, but how it would be possible to obtain seats in
the Convention.— (Cheers.) 11,.! was delighted to find
that the Whigs were out, but what he wou!d ask had
been the first act of the Tories ? the arrest of one of
their members ? What might not be the next act ? to
arrest all the members of the Convention—but let them
try it at their peril?—(Ch Ars.) Lord Brougham had
said that any attempt to force a Bourbon on
the Throne a.-linst the will of the people v..ou:d
justify a revolution, and he had no hesitation in
raying, that the acts of the Tories, if they came
in on Tory principles, would justify a revolution
in this country.—(Cheers.) lle had no occasion to
apologize for proposing that the Convention adjourn to
Birmingham. If they had been at BiErniughani instead
of seeing three or lour thousand persons assembled
yesterday they would have had fifty or sixty thousand
men assembled to do honour to the occasion, to do
honour to the day, and to do honour to the voice of
die people. It they were now in Birmingham, they