xii. Proceedings. {January 6th, 1920. 



General Meeting, January 6th, 1920. 



Professor F. E. Weiss, D.Sc., F.R.S., F.L.S. {Deputy Chairman), 



in the Chair. 

 Mr. NORMAN S. HUBBARD, B.Sc., Metallurgical Research Depart- 

 ment of the Broughton Copper Co., and 228, Plymouth Grove, Man- 

 chester; Mr. John Allan, F.C.S., Technical Chemist, Chief Chemist at 

 Messrs. Joseph Crossfield & Sons, Ltd., and iS. Moor field Road, West 

 Didsbury, Manchester ; Mr. JAMES CHARLTON. Chemist, 40, Lea 

 Road, Heat on Moor, Stockport; Miss MARJORIE DRURY, Secretary, 

 Research Department, Messrs. Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co. Ltd., cjo 

 Messrs. Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co. Ltd., 56,' Oxford Street, Man- 

 chester ; and Miss AGNES CECILIA ALEXANDER, Physicist, Research 

 Department, Messrs. Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co. Ltd., c/o Messrs. 

 Tootal Broadhurst Lee Co. Ltd., 56, Oxford Street, Manchester ; were 

 elected Ordinary Members of the Society. 



Ordinary Meeting, January 6th, 1920. 



Professor F. E. Weiss, D.Sc., F.R.S., F.L.S. {Deputy Chairman), 



in the Chair. 



A vote of thanks was passed to the donors of the books 

 upon the table. 



Mr. R. W. James, M.A., read a paper on " The An- 

 tarctic : Shackleton's Expedition of 1914-17." 



The aim of the expedition was to cross the Antarctic Con- 

 tinent. For this purpose, the main party was to establish a 

 base as far south as possible in the Weddell Sea. From this 

 base a sledging party was to cross the Continent, joining a 

 supporting party from a second base established in the Ross 

 Sea. The project could not be carried out, owing to bad ice 

 conditions in the Weddell Sea preventing a landing. The 

 " Endurance " was beset by ice in latitude 70 30' S., and after 

 a nine months' drift was crushed and abandoned in latitude 

 69 5' S. on October 27, 191 5. The crew formed a camp on the 

 ice, which continued to drift north, and, 5^ months later, were 

 able to take to the boats, ultimately reaching Elephant Island 

 in the S. Shetland Group on April 15th, 191 6. From Elephant 

 Island, Sir Ernest Shackleton, with a party of five, made a 

 remarkable boat-journey in a 22 ft. boat, reaching South 

 Georgia, nearly 800 miles distant, in 16 days, and was able 

 to obtain help, and relieve the Elephant Island party, all 

 well, on August 30, 19 16, after four attempts. 



The peculiar conditions handicapped scientific work con- 

 siderably, nevertheless some valuable results were obtained. 

 Two hundred miles of new coast line were mapped; a chain 

 of soundings was extended across the Weddell Sea; and 

 much interesting work done on the natural histcpry of sea-ice 



Slides illustrating the drift of the " Endurance," the 

 formation and decay of the pack-ice, the crushing of the ship 

 and the life on Elephant Island were shown. 



