344 



Captain Sabine to Davies Gilbert, M.P. Vice 

 President of the Royal Society. 



Portland Place, Feb. 8, 1826. 



My dear Sir, 



I beg to trouble you with a few remarks on 

 the project of measuring an arc of the meridian 

 at Spitzbergen, previous to its discussion at the 

 Council of the Royal Society. 



It is not necessary that I should at this time 

 enter on the reasons which have induced, for 

 more than a century past, measurements to be 

 made of portions of the meridian, for the pur- 

 pose of determining the figure of the earth. The 

 question now is, rather, shall all that has been 

 effected hitherto in this method, with so much 

 labour and expense, remain in its present in- 

 complete and inconclusive state ? or, shall the 

 method be pursued until the result which it 

 is capable of giving be attained ? 



There have been two arcs measured in the 

 vicinity of the Equator ; the Indian one, in par- 

 ticular, deserving of the highest consideration 

 from its extent, and from the care bestowed 

 on its details. To give to these arcs their 

 full value in the proposed determination, there 



