164 Mr. Edmomton on the Situation and Prospects [March, 



Cape Chidley in 60° north latitude, at the south entrance of 

 Hudson's Straits, and Possession Bay at the south entrance 

 of Lancaster Sound, will consequently be their utmost distance 

 in latitude ; while their space in longitude will not here consi- 

 derably exceed 20°, which, at this distance from the equator, is 

 not much. It is not till they reach the latitude of 66° or 67° 

 that their longitude becomes considerable, extending to Icy 

 Cape, or probably to Cape Prince of Wales ; that is, as far as 

 the 168th degree of west longitude, and comprising not less 

 than from 80° to 90° ; while the latitude suffers a corresponding 

 diminution, not including, at the furthest, more than 6° or 7°. 

 This is owino- to the particular direction of the land and water. 

 Within the boundaries denoted by these rough numbers, our 

 navigators, in all probability, must be. But we may, if we 

 choose, very much circumscribe these limits ; and, for the sake 

 of aiding our speculations, it may be well to do so. We shall, 

 therefore, confine them between the parallels of 66° and 72°, 

 and between 80° and 168° west longitude. In this estimate it 

 is assumed, that Capt. Franklin has given to the Copper Mine 

 River a lower latitude than Hearne did; and we may venture to 

 do this with safety, both from what has transpired respecting his 

 voyage, and from a conjecture hazarded with great foresight by 

 Capt. Parry in his Journal. It will also stretch as far north as 

 Prince Regent's Inlet, explored in the last expedition. 



On casting the eye over the map, there is one thing that can- 

 not fail to strike the most superficial observer, viz. the near cor- 

 respondence in latitude (or at least within a very few degrees of 

 each other) of four cardinal points, now ascertained to exist ; 

 namely, Fox's Farthest, the mouth of the Copper Mine River, the 

 mouth of Mackenzie's River, and Icy Cape. From well authen- 

 ticated facts, as well as from many circumstances of a conjec- 

 tural character, such as the probable direction of currents, tides, 

 &.c. it amounts to almost a certainty, that between the latitudes 

 of 67° or even lower, and 75°, and for the whole longitude 

 already mentioned, there is an extensive surface of water more 

 or less open. Whether continuously so from the North Atlantic 

 to the North Pacific, or whether permanently obstructed by land 

 or ice, remains to be seen. So far as Capt. Parry's former survey 

 goes, there has not yet been discovered any aestuary communi- 

 cating with it between Cumberland Strait and Lancaster Sound, 

 though it might be expected that a body of water of such magni- 

 tude would make itself known by an outlet not liable to doubt or 

 mistake. We are not, however, to lay too much stress upon 

 this ; the Sound and the Straits of Gibraltar being familiar 

 examples to the contrary. Still, no passage having been found, 

 full hbertv is allowed to presume that Hudson's Bay through 

 Sir Thomas Rowe's Welcome and the neighbouring passages, 

 forms the prolongation eastward of this vast expanse, and that 

 Hudson's Straits generally, as comprehending Frobisher's and 



