CONCLUDING REMARKS. 209 



immediately communicated his readiness to con- 

 duct the undertaking. In a letter to Mr. Davies 

 Gilbert, Colonel Sabine pointed out the great 

 facility that would attend the operations at 

 Spitzbergen, from the favourable nature of the 

 ground, and that an arc of upwards of four 

 degrees might be measured in that high lati- 

 tude, which would be equal in value to one 

 of nine degrees in the mean latitude of France. 

 But I feel that I am weakening the importance 

 of the subject, which has been so forcibly argued 

 by that zealous and enterprising officer, and 

 beg to refer the reader at once to his most 

 interesting letter, which by permission I have 

 placed in the Appendix. The question is one of 

 paramount importance, and of itself worthy of an 

 expedition, but when it can be combined with 

 another of equal interest, it seems as though 

 there could be but one opinion as to the pro- 

 priety of its becoming a national undertaking. 



With such an undertaking, other interesting 

 objects might be connected. Many of the scien- 

 tific inquiries, mentioned in the Instructions at the 

 beginning of this book, have unavoidably been 

 but imperfectly investigated. Much requires to 

 be done in magnetism. The correct determination 

 of the position of the magnetic poles ; the present 

 Dip and Magnetic intensity, as compared with 



p 



