Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-07-02

The British Polar Expedition has sailed from
Portsmouth amid salvOs of artillery, cheers
from congregated thousands, and other grand
displays of official and popular enthusiasm
Until the vessels reach Disco, when Mr.. Glenn
ent Markham will leave the party and return
to England with report of the prospects and
general probabilities of success, as far as can
be gathered from appearances at that far north
ern point, we shall have no tidings and after
that time, until the lapse of the three wears al
lowed TO the enterprise the fortunes, good or
bad, OF the expedition will likely remain UNI
known. There is great hope, this time, as TO
the ultimate success of the attempt Never be-
fore have ships started on any voyage of dis
covery so completely fitted out with everything
which Science could suggest or experience
counsel as these two quondam whalers nor
has any previous expedition been projected UNI
der that rigid military discipline for the lack
of which Hall failed, and which, in the present
case, will be maintained by officers already tho
roughly cOnver>ant with the nature of the task
before them, aud the causes which have led to
its non-accompishmcnt by their predecessors
The Alert and Discovery are TO proceed to
Smith Sound, taking the route by which
Hall reached the turtheSt point of north latitude
yetattaned. 1t may be easily argued that, if the
last mentioned commander, in a vessel wretch
eddy prepared for the work, could reach $40
l6< n latitude, and then be foiled in further
attempts to push onward, not through any fault
OF his ship, but through discussions in his crew,
there is every reasonable probability that the
English ships will have no serious obs tacles TO
encounter in steadily advancing until the open
sea, which the peculiar glistening haze (seen
above the ice mountains by DR.. kanes mate
from the mastheaal indicates, is reached =
Then three millions of square miles of water,
possibly frozen continent unvisited by living
he by hal ,ir
which are known 10 emigrate 10 the northward
OF any point yet attained by man. lie open to
exploration; and the explorers will doubtless
traverse that now unknown region until they
reach the end OF their journey upon the spot
where the sun altitude is equal TO its ieclina-
ton, and " here bearings must be obtained by
reference 10 time and not to the magnet
Then what? Science Is rather vague in her
answer, for she relies more upon entirely new
discoveries being made than upon Notifications
OF advanced theories Mr.. Ciemen, Markham
sums up about all that Science has TO expect
from the exploration of the earth apex, thus:
III may hc shown, SAYS he. that no such
extent OF unknown AREA IN ans part oil the world
has ever yet failed 10 Weld results at practical
rs we'll purely seicutifc value: aud il NAV
he safely urged that, as the are4, exists. which
IS maihemaliC.sllt certain. il j, Impossible that
its examination eau fail 10 add Target, to the
In plain ter'Is the discovery at the poe has
rcducrj itself 10 = matter ia " hic the curiosi-
" of mankind 10 know VIA, exists al this
nhtasi thutc u the globe, curiosity augmented
10y repeated l'a;iiing ~ probably ,aore the I'M
DERIVING cause oi attempts to 50 ve the problem
thAa even the thrs; Tor abstract knowledge Ii
there had been or could be, any direc, gain by
reaching the open Polar Sea, We have little
doubt but that il would have been penetrated
long ago; for the arctic whae,s extremely
powerful vessels, with proportioustely strong
engines, make their way through the ice with
case ,p regions and spend months in localities
which the earlier explorers attained ONLY by
immense toll and hardships IT the masters of
these shins had foaAd out that more blusSer
could lie got in the Polar Sea than elsew here. I
the passage would have been made and the
world would probably have remained In isno-
rance OF the fact, until some one had noted
with as;onishment the figures deno,ing lati-
iudc, which the captain would quite as a mat
ter OF course, have jotted down in his log
Curiosity coupled with patriotic desire to
Guido the previous endeavors of other nations,
= the motive of popular attention TO the North
Pole lnst al present, The problem once solved,
the attainment Of the South Pole will be rs
eagerly sought after and there will be scores
Of attempts to- penetrate the ban riers of re-
gion so vast that the moon might easily fall
into il withou; affecting, by the impact alone.
any portion Of the world now known TO man.