518 Royal Society. 



ciety which takes an active part in its affairs, one of more than usual 

 labour and exertion, — of labour and exertion, destined, as I hope, to 

 produce rich and ample fruit. The great and marking peculiarity 

 which has attended it, has been the sailing of the Antarctic Expe- 

 dition. The importance of following up in the southern regions of 

 the globe the magnetic inquiries so interesting to men of science in 

 Europe, was strongly felt by one of our distinguished Fellows, Ma- 

 jor Sabine, and by him brought before the notice of the British As- 

 sociation at their meeting at Newcastle, as he had also previously 

 done at Dublin. That great assemblage of men of science, con- 

 curring in the views of Major Sabine, resolved to suggest to Her 

 Majesty's Government the propriety of sending out a scientific ex- 

 pedition ; and the Royal Society lost no time in warmly and zeal- 

 ously seconding the recommendation. It would. Gentlemen, be an 

 idle inquiry to ask whether the success of the application be owing 

 to the British Association or to the Royal Society. It would seem, 

 indeed, probable, that, considering the financial difficulties of the 

 time, the Government might have hardly considered itself justified 

 in yielding to the prayers of either body separately on this occasion ; 

 and if to the British Association be the glory of the first proposal of 

 this Expedition, to the Royal Society belongs the praise of perse- 

 verance in seconding the recommendation, and of laborious and 

 earnest endeavours to aid in rendering it in every respect as efficient 

 as possible. It is my duty as your President to return my thanks 

 and yours to Lord Melbourne, Lord Minto, Lord Monteagle, Sir 

 Hussey Vivian, and Sir Richard Jenkins, the Chairman of tlie Ho- 

 nourable Court of Directors of the East India Company, for the 

 urbanity and kindness with which they have received and acted on 

 the suggestion of your Council, and for the confidence which the 

 Government reposed in us, when they asked for our assistance in 

 instructing the officers to whom the Expedition has been intrusted. 



In compliance with the request conveyed to us by the First Lord 

 of the Admiralty, the Council transmitted to the Government a body 

 of hints and instructions in different branches of science, which I 

 trust are likely to be of material use both to the principal and to the 

 subsidiary objects of the Antarctic Expedition*. 



These hints and instructions would have been far less extensive 

 and efficient if the Council had not been able to have recourse to 

 the several Scientific Committees, of whose formation the Society is 

 already aware. The Expedition has now sailed, amply provided 

 with the best scientific instruments and furnished with ample scien- 

 tific instructions : it is commanded by one well acquainted both 

 with magnetic inquiry and nautical research. We may therefore 

 hope that, with the blessing of Providence, it will return with a store 

 of knowledge valuable to the geographer, to the geologist, to the me- 

 teorologist, and to him also who studies the marvels of vegetable and 

 animal life. In addition to all this we may hope, that the main ob- 



[* Partof these instructions will be found in the present volume, p. 177; 

 the remainder will appear in the next volume of the Annals of Natural 

 History. — Edit.] 



