The Sun.
London, England, 1851-11-20 00:00:00

" With respect to traces of Sir John Franklin's ex-
pedition beyond Cape Spencer, none whatever were
observed by Captain Penny's travelling parties, except
a small piece of drift wood which had been recently
charred, and had been exposed to little or no friction
subsequent to the operation of fire (a piece of elm
board that had been originally coated on one side with
mineral pitch or tar, and, after long exposure to the
weather, split by an axe, was too much weathered
even on the most recent surface to come within the
date of Sir John Franklin's expedition. It was found
on Baillie Hamilton's Nand, and must have drifted a
very long way), This was found by Mr. Goodsir in
Disappointment Bay, in lat. 75.36 N., long. 96 W.;
and I consider it to be certainly a relic of Sir
John Franklin's expedition, as these coasts are not
now visited by natives, and this piece of charred
wood could not have been water-borne from
any great distance. It must have travelled,
however, some short way subsequently to its having
been exposed to the action of fire; for if it had been
the remains of a fire kindled on the spot, other frag-
ments of charcoal would have been found lying beside
it. Franklin would undoubtedly, during the spring
passed in Beechey Bay, send out a party up Welling-
ton Sound, as he would never let the opportunity
escape of examining, as far as he was able to do, a
route that might influence his future movements • and
as the course to the westward within the reach of pe-
destrian parties was known, the resources of the two
ships would be turned to the undiscovered way, com-
mencing in their vicinity. That such exploring
party went beyond the limits of Captain Penny's re-
searches, I infer from neither post nor cairn marking
the limits of its journey having been seen. If the
same expanse of open water was visible in 1846 from
Baillie Hamilton's Island, which Captain Penny saw
in 1851, we may readily conceive the efforts that
would be made to carry the Erebus and Terror
into it by any practicable extent of ice-sawing,
particularly if Barrow's Strait remained closed. The
age of a floe of ice filling a strait does not indicate
with certainty the length of time that straits have
been blocked up ; for drift ice, loaded with the re-
mains of several year's snow, may be carried into a
narrow
rem oved paags
as
ili age,o s n
ao
faasv too sn
r sh
bul to i t up, and o
ono,
nrr as suddenly
o n
oe o f
winds
and tides. One navigator, therefore, may be able to
sail, as Sir W. Parry did, nearly quite through that
northern Archipelago in one season, while his succes-
sors may find impassable barriers thrown across the
path which ho pursued, and new avenues opened. It
would be unsafe, therefore, to argue that Wellington
Strait is nearly closed because it was choked by a
floe of some age in 1850 and 1851.

" By the efforts of the searching parties which have
just returned, combined with those of preceding
years, all the accessible parts of the continental coast
of America have been explored, and both sides of
Barrow's Strait, the further side of Melville bland,
and the land beyond Cape Walker. Land has also
been traced, though only by distant view, round the
bottom of Jones's Sound. This has narrowed the
lines of search to two distinct points, that is, to the
south-west of Cape \\Talker, which, from its being
the direction in which Sir John was instructed to go,
seemed to be especially the one in which he was to
be sought ; and the newly-found channel opening out
to the westward from Wellington Strait. It is
greatly to be desired that this one may be pursued by
new efforts.

" Mr. Rae, in April last, was on the eve of setting
out from Great Bear Lake, in the hope of crossing on
the ice to Victoria Land, and of continuing his search
in a boat as soon as the navigation opened. Though
he may not actually attain Lieutenant Osborne's
furthest,approsch h
soe
or of Lieutenant M'Clintock's, as to prove, should he
favourable
o f
that
officer's
find no traces of the ships, that the intervening space
near may,
to tuhned sceneel.
is too confined for the seclusion of living men. Cap-
ehcet i on.
effortsl t
rnisacie fromto
:dm, which
sympathises ta i n MsCl u r e , who passed
etshfuaot
ptoupnwotdsehetedah eastwardreeos
unsatelxeatts oot
open
eo
:If Point
more sanguine believe it to be, may have reached the
west side of Parry's Archipelago, and have spent the
tidingsC h anee lo
f;
ganredatthitnstesereasstonto Cthaeptcaiivnileizoelalinsss,
ysalnweithdirt
sailing
universally
e rtshael l
BB ea winterhr rroi nwgn' Straits,not far
aseason,
af rsoo from
t, h if
tehn eh,
trace and relieve so many gallant victims to science.
" Oct. 20, 186 l."

SN 0 IV ST °Mi.--
ON THE
COAST.LOSS OF THE VESTA STEAMSHIP.
Since Sunday l
as b
tthe north-eastern portion of the
coast has been
visitedY
one continued heavy snow-
storm. It commenced between two and three o'clock
in the morning,
and at the time of our dispatches
leaving several of the ports on Tuesday the snow bad
not ceased falling.
The wind blew violently from the
north-west, and at some places the terror of the scene
was increased by thunder and lightning. A more
dense fall has not been experienced for a considerable
time, and many of the vessels which arrived in the
Humber and other ports had upwards of two feet and
more of snow on their decks. Amongst the many
disasters resulting from the storm, and which are be-
lieued to have been of a most numerous and calamitous
character, was the total loss of a fine steam-ship
called the Vesta, trading between Sunderland and
Hamburgb, and, considering the boisterous state of
the weather, and the great peril those on board were
placed in, their preservation may be deemed one
of the most surprising character. The Vesta was
hcom-
manded by Mr. Smith, who, was part owner, and
crew comprised in all sixteen persons. her
With a good
freight she left Sunderland in the course of Saturday,