The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-30 00:00:00

ARTICLE VII.

The present treaty shall be duly ratified, and the mu-
tual exchange of ratifications shall take place at Wash-
ington within six months from the date hereof, or earlier
if possible.
In faith whereof, we, the respective Plenipotentiaries,
have signed this treaty, and have hereunto affixed our

Done in triplicate, at Washington, the sth day of
June, ♦.D. 1854.

ELGIN ♦ND KINCARDINE.

W. L. MARCy.

THE ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

We await with the greatest anxiety a fuller explanation
of the intelligence which reached the Admiralty by tele-
graph on Thursday from Cork. It was to the effect
that a telegraphic despatch had just been received from
that port, announcing the arrival of the Phoenix with
the captains of the Investigator, Resolute, and Assistance
—(that is Captains M'Lure, Kellett, and Sir E. Belcher)
on board. It is also stated that the Plicenix brought
home part of the crews of the Resolute and Assistance,
and that the North Star, Commander Pullen, conveys
back the remainder of the crews of the Assistance, Re-
solute, and Investigator. Beyond the reasonable infer-
ences which may be founded on the above short despatch
we have nothing as yet to communicate. It would seem
to follow that the three ships are lost to the Queen's
service ; and, if this be so, we say, let them go, pro•
vided the crews be safe, and that there is no fresh tra-
gedy to be added to the chronicle of the Arctic regions.
In the next place, we presume it may be taken that the
search after the relics of Franklin's party has proved
fruitless, otherwise the officers brought home by the
Phoenix could not but have added a phrase to theirdespatch
upon so important a point. The result is what we had
predicted throughout. Nothing was to be expected from
a search continued for so long a period after the disap-
pearance of Franklin's party. Either they had been
overwhelmed by the pressure of some sat den calamity
which had at once swept them from existence—or they
had bpen carried to a point from which they could not
return themselves, and from which no other person who
had made his way thither in quest of them could return.
It was on the 15th of Alieust, 1852, that Captain Sir
E. Belcher sailed up Wellington Channel, and on the
same day Captain Kellett proceeded eastward in the
direction of Melville Island. It was on the 31st of July,
1850, that Captain .M•Lure in the Investigator was seen
by the Herald steering for Point Barrow ; but, as we are
in possession of far more recent intelligence with regard to
the proceedings of this vessel, it is idle to dwell on former
uncertainties and remote dates. We shall soon know
all that can he known of the proceedings of these
three ships. The Enterprise, however, under the corn-
maul of Captain Collinson, has not yet been accounted
far. The latest intelligence with respect to her was
derivgd from a brief paragraph in the Panama Herald
of December 25, 1852, to the effect that she had re-
cently—with reference to that date—been seen by some
American whalers. Happy would it have been, had the
same telegraphic despatch which brought us intelligence
of the three other ships detained in the ice carried with
it some assurance with regard to the Enterprise, which
would have put an end at once to what is called the
" History of Arctic Discoveries."
From the previous character of the three officers con-
cerned we have no manner of doubt that whatever could
be accomplished by human courage or human fortitude
to extricate the Queen's ships from any perilous situation
in which they may have been placed had been effected
by the three Arctic captains before they determined
on abandoning their trust. Of this "trust" the lives
of the Queen's seamen committed to their care con-
stituted by far the most important part ; and
these—at least we trust so—they have contrived
to secure. If the public mind could once for all be set
at rest with respect to the late of Captain Collin son and
his companions, it would be a simple matter to close the
Artic account for ever in the records of the Admiralty.
There is no danger of our being drawn on again to
ce untenance fhe further prosecution of researches from
which no benefit can be hoped ;it all proportionate to the
expenditure and ri•k necessarily incurred. The mischief
hitherto has been that the despatch of one ship almost
involved in strict necessity the despatch of another to
her relief, so that until the last ship was withdrawn
troin the ice there was really no kind of security that all
the vessels in the Queen's service might not he dotted
about the frozen seas anywhere between Cape Storno-
way and the North Pole. What are we to do with fur-
tiler search in this direction as soon as tidings reach us
of the Enterprise ? The great problem of our ancestors
—the north-western passage—has been discovered, said
is proved to be of no advantage to the human race
now that we know all about it. We may presume,
although the experience of the Investigator is not very
attractive, that a ship can, in the space of three or
four years, make her way from Behring's Straits to
Baffin's Bay, or vice versa', by taking advantage of
the short gaps of thaw in open seasons ; but what benefit
is to accrue to humanity from the discovery we are
wholly at a loss to discover. The north coast of Ame-
rica has been surveyed, thanks to the unwearied exer-
tions of Beechey, Franklin, Back, Dease, Simpson, and, Rae, and that result, we admit, is worth something.
But in the higher latitudes, that is, between the Ameri-
can northern coast line and the Pole, as far as search has
yet extended, nothing has been found but streaks of
water generally frozen, and always jammed up with
ice. To be sure, in Lancaster: Sound, Regent's Inlet,
and Wellington Channel, a greater breadth and depth
of water has been &Ailed over, but what purpose it is to
serve except to convey explorers to their destruction it
would be difficult indeed to say. It would be idle, how-
ever, in us to make guesses at the substance of informa•
tion of which we shall presently be in possession. Suffice
it for the moment to mention the three points which it
a o
well.— Times. eßel
the
and Assistance
eta seem to have been
. nce will almost certainly corroborate :—the search after
Franklin has definitively proved A failure ; the Investi-
gt
abandoned in the ice, but the crews saved ; nothing has
been h, a
rd s o
of u t
h , e
Ete
We wish we could have
n3ss
spoken positively as to the safety of the majority of the
crews--the silence as to the numbers saved does not
look

TEE COLONIAL PRODUCE MARSETI.—The
produce markets during the week have been quiet, and
prices are in most instances unaltered. The transactions
in tea have been 'characterised by some excitement con•
sequent upon the receipt of the further news from China
corroborating that by the previous mail. Speculative '
buyers were, as usual, the first to act, and many thou-
sand packages of common congou have changed hands
at an aivance of fully ,d. per lb. The present
quotation for sound condition is 11d, per lb., at which
there are buyers. The dealers, who had previously
in some degree held back, yesterday manifested a
disposition to purchase filly whenever they could
da so at only a slight advance on former rates. The
quantity of sugar brought to sal. has been very
small, but prices are rather firmer, Privately a fair
business has been transacted ; some cargoes of foreign
and several parcels on the spot have been sold. Ripe
still continues to be largely operated in, and considerable
quantities have been disposed of by private treaty, in*
eluding two or three parcels afloat. In the coffee taar•
ket a parcel of Porto Rico has been brought forveked,
arid nearly all sold at and after the auction at steady
rates. Very little plantation Ceylon has been offered,
but quotations until:us without change. There has
been inquiry for saltpetre during the 'week, sad world
parcels have been taken at fall prim.

THEATRE ROYAL, DRIURY-LAJ_CE.--.
Mr. E. T. SMITH respectfully informs his friends and the
Yublic admirers of Mr. G. V. BROOKE that Ito has engaged that
eminent artiste to performfor Seven Nights only, prior to his depar-
ture for Australia.
Mr. G. V. BROOKE will appear on Monday, October 2d, in
yIRGINIti S.
Tuesday, 3d, in THE STRANGER.
Wednesday, 4th, in RICHARD THE THIRD.
Thursday, sth, in THE LADY OF LYONS.
Friday, 6th, in OTHELLO.
Saturday, 7th, in HAMLET.
And Monday, 9th, in MACBETH; being positively his last
Appearance.
Mr. SMITH has also engaged Mr. E. WRIGHT, the public
favourite and eelebrated Comedian, to appear in his original Farces
every Evening after Mr. G. V. Brooke's performance. ,
The Box-of/Ice is open for bookinggplacea daily, from Ten to Five.
In consequence of numerous inquiries, early application is solicited.