FOETY-FIFTH CONGRESS, 1877-1879. 795 



tion a measure of success gratifying to the pride and patriotism of our people and 

 full of promise to the great industrial and commercial interests of the nation. The 

 very ample and generous contributions which the foreign nations made to the splendor 

 and usefulness of the exhibition and the cordiality with which their representatives 

 took part in our national commemoration deserve our profound acknowdedgments. 

 At this close of the great services rendered by the United States Centennial Commis- 

 sion and the Centennial Board of Finance it gives me great pleasure to commend to 

 your attention and that of the people of the whole country the laborious, faithful, 

 and prosperous performances of their duties Avhich have marked the administration 

 of their respective trusts. 



HOWGATE ARCTIC EXPEDITION. 



January 22, 1878— House. 



Mr. B. A. Willis, from Committee on Naval Affairs, reported (No. 

 96) on H. 447, to authorize and equip an expedition to the arctic seas. 



[Extracts.] 



This plan is known as " polar colonization," and has received hearty indorsement 



from such distinguished experts, scientists, students, and explorers as Prof. Joseph 



Henry, president of the National Academy of Sciences; Professor LoomL*, of Yale 



College; President Potter, of Union College; Admiral Porter; Rear-i\.dmiral Davis, 



Superintendent of the National Observatory; Hon. Charles P. Daly, president of the 



American Geographical Society; Dr. Isaac I. Hayes, the explorer, and others, while 



it is heartily approved also by the honorable Secretary of the Navy; and your com^ 



mittee are inclined to commend it to the favor of Congress, more especially if its 



execution be intrusted, as the bill provides, to the President, under the direction of 



the National Academy of Sciences. 



Smithsonian Institution, 



Washington, January 31, '1877. 



Sir: Your letter of the 30th instant, asking my opinion as to the plan of Captain 

 Howgate for exploratiins in the arctic regions, and its utility in regard to scientific 

 and commercial results, has been received, and I have the honor to give you the fol- 

 lowing reply : 



From my connection with the Smithsonian Institution and tlie National Academy 

 of Sciences, I am, of course, interested in every proposition which has for its object 

 the extension of scientific knowledge, and therefore I am predisposed to advocate 

 any national plan for exploration and continued observations within the arctic 

 circle. 



Much labor has been expended on this subject, especially with a view to reach the 

 pole; yet many problems connected with physical geography and science in general 

 remain unsolved. 



(1 ) With regard to a better determination of the figure of the earth, pendulum 

 experiments are required in the region in question. 



(2) The magnetism of the earth requires for its better elucidation a larger number 

 and more continued observations than have yet been made. 



(3) To complete our knowledge of the tides of- the ocean, a series of observations 

 should be made at least for an entire year. 



(4) For completing our knowledge of the winds of the globe, the results of a 

 larger series of observations than those we now possess are necessary, and also addi- 

 tional observations on temperature. 



(5) The whole field of natural history could be enriched by collections in the line 

 of botany, mineralogy, geology, etc., and facts of interest oV)tained with regard to the 

 influence of extreme cold on animal and vegetable life. 



All of the above-mentioned branches of science are indirectlv (•(lunected with tiie 



