40" Geographical Collections. 



Admitting the accuracy of the above table, the Russian empire has acquired 

 forip millions of inhabitants in the course of a century. — Revue des deux Mondes, 

 i. 458. 



Expedition to the Eastern Archipelago. — A naval expedition, under Captain 

 Fitzclarence, will sail for New South Wales about the beginning of the approach- 

 ing year, with the object of searching for openings, which may be useful to com- 

 merce, in the Eastern archipelago. 



Sand-hank north of Bermudas — The brig, Joseph Hume, of Greenock, dis- 

 covered a bank, whose white sands were seen above water about 387 miles to the 

 north of Bermudas. Its latitude is stated to be 39° N., and long. 64° 20' W. 



. Survey of the Coast of South America. — The Adventure and Beagle, Captain 

 King, are returned to this country. These vessels left England on this service in 

 1826, and have completed the survey from the Gulf of St. George on the Atlantic, 

 to the Gulf of Penas on the Pacific side of the continent, including the archipelago 

 of islands called Terra del Fuego, and those of the S.W. coast. The expedition 

 has been most fortunate in its observations and collections. Capt. King, it is un- 

 derstood, will be sent out again to continue his survey from Cape Horn to the 

 Rio de la Plata. 



Mr. Buckingham's proposed Voyage of Circumnavigation.— The. indefatigable 

 Buckingham has been coaxing the Parisians to support his new scheme, and ap- 

 pears to be as plausible in French as in English. 



"We may mention to our readers, who are not yet acquainted with this project, 

 that Mr. Buckingham's stated objects are, 



1. To form a collection of documents relative to eastern countries. 



2. To diffuse knowledge in all the places which are visited. 



3. To open new channels for European manufactures. 



4. To discover new articles of commerce with which vessels may be laden on 



their return. 



^The interests of science are not, however, to be forgotten. The expedition is 

 intended to be accompanied by an astronomer, an hydrographer, a zoologist, a 

 mineralogist, a chemist, a botanist, an artist, and a librarian, each of whom must 

 procure a hundred subscriptions to entitle him to office, so numerous are the ap- 

 plicants ! 



Whatever may be our opinion of Mr. Buckingham, we wish well to the enter- 

 prize ; for science differs from commerce in this respect, that even charlatanerie 

 may be turned to account. We trust, however, that the Central Committee will 

 exercise a proper supervision over the appointment of those who are to fill the 

 scientific departments ; and that it will be held in recollection that youth and ac- 

 tivity, with a due amount of knowledge, and with habits of regularity, are the 

 proper requisites for a traveller, and not the supineness, ignorance, and drunken- 

 ness which have characterized some of those who have been nominated to such 

 expeditions, with the main object, we much fear, of keeping science at that level 

 which had been attained by the person to whose recommendation so much weight 

 had been injudiciously given. 



Voyage to the Russian Colonies in America ; Discovery of an Inhabited Is- 

 land. — M. Khromtch^nks, during his voyage, which has occupied nearly two 

 years, and on his return from which he arrived at Cronstadt in July last, has dis- 

 covered in 70° 9' 36'' N. lat. and 177° 15" E. long, of Greenwich, a small inha- 

 bited island, which is not marked on any of the most recent maps. M. Khromt- 

 chunks gave it the name of Loewendahl^ in honour of his first lieutenant. This 

 traveller has also determined the position of two groups of islands, (of which 

 Kotzebue only spoke from the narrative of an islander,) and he has given a de- 

 scription of them. — Revue Encyc. iii. 763. 



