Star.
London, England, 1820-12-04 00:00:00

ARCTIC EXPEDITION.

The arrival of the lIECLA, Captain PARRY,- and
'the GRIPER, Lieutenant M. LIDDON, at Deptford,
from their voyage of discoveries in the Polar Sea,
has given opportunity to an Officer to supply us
with some particulars relating to their interesting
course, which have not yet been published.
It was on the 11th of May that the lima and
GRIPER left England. In the middle of June they
first fell in with ice ; and at the latter end of that
month they were beset by it, while making for the
west coast of Davis's Straits. After some little time
the ships were liberated, and they steered northward
along the edge of the ice, which led them up to
Disco Island, and no appearance of any opening in
it was discovered. In lat. 72.80. N. they fell in
with a whaler, which reported that the ice was
blocked against the land in 74. N. which determined
the Commander of the Expedition to take the ice at
the above spot. Accordingly they commenced, and
persevered in warping and heaving through between
the floes, when, being aided by a strong easterly
wind, which (limed the ice a little, they were enabled
to force their way through, with all sail set. They
were frequently stopped in their arduous exertions,
from which they liberated themselves by sawing the
ice.—This passage was never Wore attempted, and is
a circumstance of great importance to whalers.

They were now in clear water, and saw no ice
again until they made Lancaster Sound, where it
appeared in small opbn streams. They made this
Sound on the Ist of August, and having a fair wind,
they steered up it, with every yard of canvass set,
but all the time they were in the greatest anxiety.
At length, on the spot where Captain Ross, the
former navigator, had placed Croke'. Mountaini,
they struck soundings, 200 fathoms, and passed it.
Hopes now again revived, especially as in proceeding
the Strait was found neither too close nor too open.
They now ran to the meridian of 90. W. when
having lost sight of the South shore, and having a
long swell, they concluded they had reached the
Pular Basin ; but in stretching across the Strait,
they were stopped, just before night, by the ice.
There being appearance of water to the Southward,
they steered in that direction, and discovered an
inlet, which they called Prince Regent's Inlet. The
flood tide coming from the South, it was considered
probable that this inlet communicated with Ilud-
son's Bay ; the ships, therefore (it not being the ob-1
ject of the Expedition to trace to that source), re-
turned to the spot where they had been stopped by
by the ice. Finding on their return that the ice had
in some degree cleared away, they again proceeded
West, but the ice became so close as to leave only a
narrow channel close along the shore; and they
were frequently stopped altogether, when northerly
winds generally opened it again.
On the 4th of September they reached. Copper
Mine Roads. Previous to this the variation had
changed from 121. W. to 16G. E. the ships having,
as was supposed, crossed the magnetic meridian in
about 120. W. as the compasses there sheaved the
ships' heads to be N.E. on all tacks, they judged
themselves at no great distance from the magnetic
pole. The compasses had indeed been perfectly
useless from the time of their passing Lancaster's
Sound, which obliged them to steer by the sun,
when it was out, and how they could when it was
; often laying to when the fog was thick, as a
change of wind would sometimes clear the atmos-
phere sufficiently for the sun to penetrate it.
One morning, having run about 100 miles in a
thick fog, they made the land, but -could not tell
whether it was a new discovery, or the island which
they had left the day before, until the longitude
was ascertained upon a floe of ice : it then proved
to be Melville Island. Considerable discoveries
were made in the variation, dip of the compass, and
magnetism in general dining the voyage. On the
16th of September the sea was first frozen over,
which carried the ships into dangerous situations,
and rendered them immoveable. This obliged
them to get into port for the winter, and a passage
of three miles into 'Winter Harbour, Melville Island,
was cut for the purpose. Soon after this period the
thermometer fell below Zvi) ; in November it stood
at 50. below, and in April following at 55. which
latter is the greatest degree of cold ever registered.
On the 16th of November the sun set froth them,
and did not rise again till the 6th of February; On
the 21st of December, at noon. they could just read
small print by turning the leaf to the light. They
saw no clouds during the winter, and but little snow
fell. The Aurora Borealis was frequently seen, but
never brilliantly diplayed. It was bitter cold when
the wind blew, but at other times bearable. Its in-
tensity may be judged of from the fact that port
wine -in the officers' cabins, froze and burst the
bottles; and on the officers' beds the thermometer
stood from 16. to 20. below the freezing point.

At Melville Isle the ships were blocked up until
the Ist of August; when, the first opportunity that
presented, they pushed out, and on the 6th reached
the western termination of Melville Island, when the
floe ice was from forty to sixty feet thick, and so
compact that not a bole of water could be seen
amongst it. The ships waited here eleven days (one-
third of the Summer in that clime), when seeing no
change, and the general opinion being that all at-
tempts to proceed westward in that parallel were
useless, they, on the 23d of August, steered to the
Eastward, searching for a passage to the Southward,
that would enable them to reach the Continent (of
North America); but finding none, and the ice
having led them back into Lancaster's Sound, it was
determined to return to England. During the
eleven days the ships were off Melville Island, they
were in the most critical situation, being obliged to
dodge the ice round a point of land the whole time,
to avoid being nipped : the beach was formed of ice,
which projected under water more than thirty yards,
having about two fathoms water on the outer edge
of it, against which the ships lay in nine fathoms ;
so that had they been stove, they would have sunk
deeper than their masts down, and nothing could
have been saved.

, .
SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

BOXING.

Joan. HUDSON AND WlLLlAlds.—Thefapcy to-
morrow will witness
.in the " stvell,fight," as it is
termed, one of the greatest novelties ever exhibited
in the prize-ring. The above battle will take place
within twenty miles of London. It is impossible to
make any comparison between these pugilists, Josh.
Hudson having been engaged in about sixteen battles;
and his opponent, on the contrary, has not even been
occupied in a single skirmish or turn-up. It is rather
singular that Williams should have selected for his
first display in the prize-ring, so determined a boxer
as Hudson. It is still more extraordinary that he
should have been backed against him for I:50 a-side.
Something therefore remains behind the curtain re-
specting Williams that is not known: it is, however,
promulgated, that he is a first-rate artier-to. No de-
pendence being placed on Hudson's shoulder, the
odds are sto 4 against him : in other respects he is
game to the back bone. The gipsy fight, it seems, is
doubtful ; but two minor ones are expected. It must
be a good day's play.
The Birtningham Youth, it appears, can be backed
against Day. Hudson for £lOO a-side The above
" busy lad" in the ring, who finished off Dolly Smith
in such quick time, fought a most determined battle
(a nice thing as to victory) with Josh. Hudson; and
he also behaved in a manly style with the Master of
the Rolls, at Norwich.