Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-01-05
THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.

THE NORTHWEST PASSAGE.
/ The recent intelligence of the discovery of thu
long-sought Northwest Passage, by Capt. Nc
Clure, of the British ship Investigator, which
has for over two years been engaged in the al
most hopeless search for Sir John franklin ant
his party, seems to have excited 50 little genera
interest in this and the Old World, that the N
T.. Courier comments upon the circumstances a
some length. 1t remarks, "The existence o
such a passage has been for three centuries reck
oned among the most difficult and doubtful O.
geographical problems. Great prizes have beer
offered by pubic bodicsand by private indisid
uals for its practical solution; and expedition
after expedition las been fitted out at vast ex
pcnso to carry on the investigation. For thi
object, hardships have been endured and dan
gers run in the Arctic Seas such as can be founc
IN no other maratime record And yet aftcl
all, when the result of this long research hal
been at last attained, and sober certainty takc
the place Of imaginative doubt, the fact does
not even excite the interest Of ninc-days' won
der. 1t mixes with tn, current of ordna
ry events, and quickly passes from attention
This is owing mainly to two reasons-the GER
tainty of the utter uSelessness Of the discovery
for practical purposes, and the universal feeling
of dissatisfaction that the lives of so many gal
liant men should have been sacrificed for sucl
an end
This is certainly dcplorablc, unloss--and there
is still little room for the hope--thc object o
the search may still be found, together with new
regions, the discovery of which may be of great
advantage to the world. And after all, we dc
not doubt that all enlightened minds still enter
tain strong interest in the solution of thil
melancholy problem, be it for good or evil. The
correct humanity Of spirit and singular perso
vcrancc shown, by both governments and agents
the repeated and long-enduring prosecution OF
! the search, warrants the conviction in our minC
that the efforts, hitherto bafled, wllbe still pro
longod, until something more satisfactory, OF
conclusive shall be obtained. Abiding to Capt
Mcclure, the Courier says, " For years he hal
been where no other ship has been been bcfor,
him. He has discovered new land, defined 9
long extent of coast line that was before uncer
tain, held intercourse with a new people, ha'
verified the existence Of a northwest passage by
the discovery of channel into Barrow Strai
from the open sea 50 frequently seen by Franklin
and others from the coast of North America
AM, Deing iFozaa nesliss three ysai5 in th
ice, has almost succeeded, and doubtless will
quite succeed, in pushing his ship through, an'
! thus be the first man who has ever sailed iron
I the Pacific into the Atlantic. And yet all hi
achievements are hardly needed in the disap
pointment that nothing has been effected towar,
settling the business on which the ship pwas spec
tally dispatched. The discovery of Sir Johr
Franklin would be worth the discovery of {
northwest passage thousand times over"
What remains of hope is inferred by the fol
lowing;
"fhe question has long been, whether 81
John, after leaving Beechy Island, where HI
built the cairn, sailed westward in pursuance o
his Instructions, Or pushed his way north up tn
newly discovered Wellington Channel.
"But Capt Mcclure, by bis long voyage an'
close search, has choctually dispelled all hop
of finding Sir John in the westerly direction
He has settled that either Sir John did not tax
this course, or that, if he did, he with his YES
sells and all his crew have been destroyed with
out leaving vestige behind. The other qacS
ton is yet to be determined. Did Sir JOIN, afte
leaving Bccchy Island, sail directly north, an
find his way into the Polar Sea, from which h
has never been able to extircate himself! Thi
has long been the opinion of Capt. Penny, {
Dr. William Scoresby, and of DR.. Sutherland
it, the public will not be satisfied, until it, liA
the other, shall be thoroughly tested by an ac
ual search But such a search is extremely diff
cult, if not positively impracticable. Wellinl
ton Channel is usually 50 obstructed by ice, o
when free from ice, so subject to fearful tide
that its navigation is almost impossible S
Edward Belcher, who left England last yea
has been attempting it, but at the last advice
had not made encouraging progress. Yet
VIII pcrsevere, and having large deposit
provisions at Beechy Island, to fall back upo
in case of necessity, will propably in the er
succeed, if success is in the power of man. "
shall probably not learn anything more of IL
history of his endeavors, or of the exploration
of the various other parties which are engage
before another year, the lateness of the seasc
suspendng further intercourse. ."-Boston Lit
rary Museum.