The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-21 00:00:00

SIR JOHN FRANKLIN.

Dr. King hus forwarded the following letter to the
Secretary of the Admiralty :
" 17, baville-row, Feb. 18, 1850.

" Sir,—The period having arrived when a search may
be made for the Franklin Expedition by an overland
journey across the continent of America, I am anxious
to refer my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, for
reconsideration, to my play, dated February, 1848, and
published in a return to an addressC of the HuneuraVe the
Horse of Commons, of the 21st of March following.
" The opinion of Captain Sir F. Parry, published in
that return, was highly favourable to the position I
assigned to the lost exhibition—the western land of
North Somerset, and to the mode in which I proposed to
reach it (by the Great Fish River); but the gallant and
intrepid officer, agreeing thus far, was compelled to differ
with me es to the readiest mode of reaching that coast,
because he felt satisfied that with the resources of the
expedition then equipping under Sir J. Ross, the energy,
skill, and intelligence of that officer would render it a
matter of no very difficult enterprise, to examine the coast
in question, with his ships, boats, or travelling parties.'
" In the plan to which I am now asking their Lord-
ships' reconsideration, this question, which I premised
might be raised, is thus argued by me Does the
attempt of Sir J. Ross to reach the western land of
North Somerset in boats from his station in Barrow
Strait, render that proposal unnecessary ? (to reach
the western laud of North Somerset by the Great Fish
River). Here the facts will speak for themselves :
First, Barrow Strait was ice-bound in 1832, it may,
therefore, be ice-bound in 1818. Second, Sir John Ross
is using the same means to relieve Sir John Franklin
which have led the gallant officer into his difficulty ; the
relief party may, therefore, become a party in distress.
Third, The land that is made on the south shore of Bar-
row Strait will be of doubtful character, the natural con-
sequence of discovery in ships; the searching party, at the
end of the summer, may, therefore, find they have been
coasting an island many miles distant from the western
land of North Somerset, or navigating a deep bay, as
Kotzebue navigated the Sound named after him, and
as Sir John Franklin navigated the sea called Melville
Sound.
''The plan which I have proposed is, to reach the
Polar Sea across the continent of America, and thus to
proceed from land known to be continent, where every
footstep is sure. If that plan be laid aside, the lives of
our lost countryman will depend upon a single throw,
in the face of almost certain failure.'

" This only point of difference between Sir E. Parry
and myself in 1848, is now, in 1850, at an end. Bar-
row Strait was ice-bound. The single throw fell far
short of its mark. Captain Sir J. Ross failed in afford•
ing the least succour to the lost expedition, and I am
thus spared the painful necessity of replying to the
gallant officer's remarks expressed to their Lordship;, in
no measured terms, upon that plan which, in fact, Sir E.
Parry has done for me—the plan of one who learnt his
lesson in active discovery in an overland journey in
search of the gallant officer when the whole civilised
world was as anxious for his fate as it is now for the
gallant Sir J. Franklin.
" All that has been done by way of search since
February, 1848, tends to draw attention closer and
closer to the western land of North Somerset as the po-
sition of Sir J. Franklin, and to the Great Fish River as
the Ligh road to reach it. Such a plan as I proposed to
their Lordships in 1848 is consequently of the utmost
importance. It would be the happiest moment of my
life—(and my delight at being selected from a long list
of volunteers for the relief of Sir J. Ross was very
great)—if their Lordships would allow me to go by my
old route—the Great Fish River—to attempt to save
human lift: a second time on the shores of the Polar Sea.
What I did in search of Sir J. Ross is the best earnest of
what I could do in search of Sir J. Franklin.

. _
" That the route by the Great Fish River will sooner
or later be undertaken, in the search fur Sir J. Franklin,
I have no doubt. That high road to the land where I
have all along maintained that Sir J. Franklin would bo
found, and in which opinion I am now associated with
many others, including Sir E. Parry himself, cannot
much longer be neglected.
" For some time past it has been the cry, even in the
highest official quarters, that the Government will not
again attempt the discovery of the North-west Passage,
and the fate of Sir J. Franklin is invariably referred to
as an example of the fruitlessness of such a❑ attempt.
" The fruitlessness of Sir J. Franklin's attempt ought
not entirely to discredit the service in which he has been
engaged, but rather to awaken us to the grievous error
committed in the instructions which he received, and
upon which it is impossible to look back without the
most painful feelings. The gallant officer was, in fact,
instructed to lead a forlorn hope. The discovery of the
North-west Passage is the certain result of so over-
whelming a catastrophe.
" In the absence of authentic information of the fate
cf the gallant band of adventurers, the terra incognita
of the northern coast of North America will not only
be traced, but minutely surveyed, and the solution of the
problem of centuries will engage the marked attention
of the House of Commons and the Legislative Assem-
blies in other parts of the world. The problem is very
safe in their hands, so safe, indeed, that I venture ti
assert, five years will not elapse before it is solved.
" I may be allowed to state, in urging my claims to
conduct an expedition down the Great Fish River,
whenever such a service is determined by their Lord-
ships, that in addition to my intimate knowledge of
that stream, I persisted, almost single-bander', for
several years prior to the discovery of three most im-
portant features of the northern coast of North America,
the Peninsula of North Somerset, the Great Bay of
Simpson, and Cape Brittania, all of which are now esta-
blished geographical faete.—l have, &e.
" RICHARD KING.
" To the Secretary of the Admiralty."

SIR JOHN ROSS'S EXPEDITION.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

Sir,—ln reference to the article which appeared in
your paper of the 18th, I have only to say that it
never was my intention to establish that dogs were
used to draw sledges in Sweden; the mistake has
arisen from the monosyllable " and" being left out
in copying the manuscript for the newspapers, which
I thought would have been perceived by the reader.
What I wished to establish was, that I had more ex-
perience in sledging than any other officer, be it by
horses, dogs, or men, namely by horses in Sweden,
dogs and men in the Arctic Regions, which can be
easily sustained. I indeed saw the mistake when too
late ; but as I did not thick it would raise the "ire"
of my friends the Swedes, I did,not think it worth
while to correct it; but if your anonymous corre-
spondent's object was to prevent the public from sub-
scribing to my expedition, I am happy to say he has
signally failed in that ungenerous proceeding.—l am,
your obedient servant, JOHN Ross.
267, Strand.
P.S.—,lBe it clearly understood that my expedition
is in aid of the Government one commanded by my
gallant friend Captain Austin.