Chap. I. INTRODUCTION. 15 



them. Those of Great Britain are sent to Lieutenant- 

 Colonel Sabine, who has kindly undertaken to reduce 

 them systematically.* When Franklin's expedition 

 was decided oh, Colonel Sabine was asked whether 

 magnetic observations made on the Polar Sea, and 

 registered in the same manner as in the colonial 

 Observatories, would not be of service ? His reply 

 was, "that he has no hesitation in saying, that the 

 attempt to make the North-west Passage would ren- 

 der the most important service that now remains to 

 be performed towards the completion of the magne- 

 tic survey of the globe/' I shall only add here, that 

 the President and Council of the Royal Society, Sir 

 Edward Parry, and Captain Beaufort, strongly ap- 

 prove of the existing, and perhaps the last, attempt 

 to make the passage through the Polar Sea into 

 the Pacific. But what says Sir John Herschel, 

 when speaking of the atmospheric pressure in cold 

 climates 1 " This, with the magnetic survey of the 

 Arctic seas, and the not improbable solution of the 

 great geographical problem which forms the chief 

 object of the expedition, will furnish a sufficient 

 answer to those, if any there be, who regard such 

 voyages as useless. Let us hope and pray that it 

 may please Providence to shield him (Franklin) 

 and his brave companions from the many dangers 



* The observations made at Toronto have already been re- 

 duced and printed with an admirable and well-written preface by 

 the Colonel. 



