The New York herald., 1872-11-14
POLAR EXPEDITIONS AND ARCTIC
EXPLORATIONS.
(From the London telegraph, Oct. 2i.l


from the London Telegraph, Oct. 2a.l
The Northwest Passage was discovered by
Engshmen. In 1860 Mcclure and ConsOn sailed
sowaras aeve rSsre ocRsd IN the cs
they were picked up by Belcher, who had made his
way up into tue sound through Greenland Gull and
Baiiln's LAY. Thus, then. Mcclure and his company
are the only navgat0rs who have ever accomplished
the Northwest Passage, and who have shown that
leaving Greenland on the right. skirt the great
North American Continent, leave Kamchatka on
the right again. and cast anchor in the waters Of
the Mikad0. Great as the discovery Is, 1t yet IS
useless. We have cut Suez; we may soon perform
similar exploit at Panama The Central racine hu;n
line binds San Francisco to New YORK; ana before
another generation has passed away continuous
road will stretch from Table Bay TO the Mozam-
more important by lar and more interesting than
the discovery OF either Northwest or N0rtncast
Channel. we know that North America WIN has rss
Asia and Europe, and-t0 add yet another CONT.
nent-Greenand, are but enormous islands; that
Behring Straits, the Gulf Of Greenland and the
open sea between Spitzbergen aud Nova Zemba
are all in Tree communication with one another.
But how about the Pole itself-how about the
mystic space which lies land-locked between these
c0ntinentss The general theory and one which
facts strongly support. Is that towards the North
Pole sets y continuous undercurrent OF warm
forms huge lrce Arctic Sea. surrounded
by monstrOus icebergS and infinite foes, while
itself is unruled by winds, untroubed by tempest,
teeming with lite and ever open. From its centre
the currents set ,southwafd, and soon the emu
floating towards the Equator, block up Behring
Straits and Ba1in's Bay, and cut or all access to
Hyperboreans over again. We have to get well
behind the north wind, and when once behind 1T
we break upon the scene winch . old Lncretuss M ,as
paints. We see the glory OF heaven, the quiet
dwelling where no winds rattle, no ram drops; no
hall, no snow, no h0ar frost works its cruel will
but a cloudless sky, unlocked, laughs with wide
Who is 20 be the first to break into this silent
sea That 1t is there-that it lies in all its open
glory under the Polar sky-we know as surely as
we know any truth Of science. The great warm
Gulf Stream Is ever flowing towards the Pole; it is
ever rolling back, converted into huge and hdeOus
blocks and humm0cks and bergs. More than this,
the process has OF late years become more rapid.
ribbed ice The Gull oi Greenland used to be navi-
gable up to Grinnel Land and Kane's open sea. Now
IT is Blocked with an immense Good Of crystal which
comes rolling down, crumpling up before 1t all that
comes in Its way, as railway train would crumple
up an egg. Parry-keenest truest most chivalrous
o. Arctic ms MS best tn sH reach S ae
It, travelled faster towards the south than he upon
it could make headway towards the north He
treadmill. The fates were against him, and he
bent his way sadly back. But where one through
no fault Of his own has nas,.,a failed others t;s
glorious open Northern Sea, where the
whale waows and the seal and walrus herd, will
yet BE- cut BY European Keel the Austrans ans have
Zemba Ocean, under Weyprecht and Payer A
Swedish expedition ruled by Paander and VOr-
way northward in light sedges, drawn by fleet
reindeer. The Danes are sending exploring par
Extreme Polar bounds Of waste ana barren Green.
land and even the French, amid all their troubles
from within and without, propose to despatch an
though for the present 1t Is postponed, owing to
some obstacles which stood in the way. Nor is
marck and Prince Hohenlohe take much interest
in these discoveries, and that it is not unlikely that
yet another German expedition may be despatched
next Spring to follow up the researches already
Where is England amid all these expeditonss
Ought she not too, to hold her ownS Where
so great q problem is to be solved, ought
she alone to hold back and to measure the net
its net cost Grant that the dscovery 81 the
open Polar Sea will lead to no real good. VIII
add not q penny either. to our imports or our
exports; that the wretched savages who live on
the extreme northern fringe of the worlds two
huge continents have nothing to offer us for our
and that, on our part, It is cheaper to procure
ivory from Central Africa and sealskins from
Alaska than to despatch vessels to- the terrible
Northern Sea. Even when all this Is admitted,
the broad question yet remains behind of our
national glory and credit Is England to once
While we were debating about Livingstone and
about the possibilities OF passing through Unyan-
yembe to U Mr. ;,s stanley was ALREADY on his
lected Its forces at Zanzibar the young American
was pressing from Ujii to the coast bearing the
defeat to happen again to. the England Of
Drake and Froblsher, of Hudson and
n ana bes H Ross % Franklin na ana nary sosqn Of es
the glory Of discovering this open Northern Sea
ought to be our own. Doubtless the matter is not
pected to take any great interest Mr.. Lowe would
probably reply, as he replied when asked to aid the
Livingstone Search Expedition, that the case is
one eminently suited for private enterprise, and to
which, so long as it is supported by private funds,
all success and prosperity may be wished. But Is
own-the queen OF the ocean, the mis-
tress of the seas-ought to measure her
duties In In old days kings and emperors
Hackluyt Society TEEN with narrative after nara
tive OF expeditions sent out at the expense OF the
such undertakings involve is mere bagatelle. The
results In which they may end, and often do end,
are incalculable. The discoveries OF Livingstone
great line OF rail running due east and west from
Congo to COmor0, and rendering unnecessary the
would seem that the Nicaragua Canal ought to
have been discovered years ago; that in short,
as we do Of the earth surface
says Socrates to his pupils In the "Phgdo." "that
the esga earth s and That ma we wno =, I'VE
| lars OF Hercules along the borders OF the sea are
just like unto frogs about marsh, and inhabit a
like piaces.' How long are we to fix our desires
by the earth which we know9 Is 1t possible
that England ad is to yield ynl up her own place
out for her by others Can it be that we
have already forgotten what Mr.. Stanley's
chief said to his lieutenant when the discovery o
Livingstone was at stake DRAW for 81 900; II
that Will not do draw for e. 900; If that will not dc
draw for $4,000" Is England-Drakes England
| to be outdone by New York journalg Ought we
not at once to send yet another expedition north
ward with orders not to return until 1t has broken
! into the remote Polar Sea lfever honor obliges
| il is here II ever our national prestige viii be
lessened 1T will be when another nation, poorer
! than ourselves, should snatch from US the glory
solving the great mystery OF the North.
THE LADIES' FAIR OF ST. LAWRENCE
CHURCH. Y0RKVILLE