ADDRESS. 21 



England, however, stands preeminent as a nation in the noble 

 zeal she has manifested for the furtherance of geographical 

 knowledge. She is ever occupied with great objects, and ever 

 doing great things. She seizes on the sciences as a tiger on its 

 prey, and consults her own interests, and sometimes those of her 

 neighbours, with noble expansion of thought. Her expeditions 

 for the discovery of a northwest passage are familiar to all ; and 

 though unsuccessful in the attainment of their main object, have 

 done much to perfect our knowledge of the geography of the 

 northern regions. By these praiseworthy endeavours, the nation 

 has gained something more substantial than renown ; since, in 

 addition to the lustre shed over the British name, the transfer of 

 the whale fishery from East to West Greenland has yielded a 

 rich return for all her expenditures, lavish as they had been. Not 

 to particularize all the voyages undertaken within the last ten 

 years alone, to promote the interests of science, by this enter- 

 prising, liberal, and philanthropic people, we will merely mention 

 that of Captain Owen for the survey of the southeastern coast of 

 Africa, and that of Captain King for the purpose of exploring the 

 straits of Magellan, and constructing accurate charts of that 

 hitherto almost unknown passage to the Pacific, as among the 

 most useful and interesting. The benefit of the latter will be 

 reaped almost exclusively by our own vessels. 



At this moment, another enterprise to the Arctic regions is 

 being matured in Great Britain. Before a recent meeting of the 

 Royal Geographical Society, Sir John Barrow in the chair, a 

 communication on the subject of further expeditions to the north 

 ern shores of our own continent, prefaced by a letter from Dr. 

 Fitton, pressing, personally and in the name of the society, the 

 expediency of such a measure, was read by Dr. Richardson. At 

 various intervals during three centuries, England has exhibited 

 strong interest in the discovery of a northwest passage ; nor will 

 she ever resign the investigation until the issue is certain. She 



